AARP Rewards Healthy Plate Contest, Week 1 May 3-9, 2021

I am a bit confused as to how to enter this contest. Is this where I post what I am doing to improve my eating habits? If yes, I order vegan prepared meals from The Vegetable Butchers in nearby Ormond Beach. They are chefs who send out a menu with many selections to their clients once a week. I choose the meals and they are fully prepared, then delivered to my home once a week. They meals are delicious, varied, easy to heat. 

I improved the eating habits for both my husband and me by not having junk food in the house.  We also grow much of our own produce, such as lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers, herbs, and more, and it's all grown organically.  I addition, we have a few hens who provide us with delicious eggs daily.  It's so nice to go into the garden and 'decide' what we want for dinner. We don't frequent fast food places.  The foods we purchase at the grocery store are all organic, and healthy choices.  Do we every cheat?  Occasionally, but then we get right back on track with healthy foods.  Regarding junk food, the less we eat it, the less we want it.  

We are eating healthy by cooking ourselves more.  We use less butter and more salads.  We still have sweets but in smaller portions.  I stop eatting by 8:00.  

We started to eat healthier by cooking and eating home all with fresh vegetables, whole wheat pasta, brown or long grain rice with some occasional chicken or seafoods.  We have also limited snacks to more healthier products with minimal deserts.  What a difference we are loosing weight, feeling and sleeping better.  Exercising more as we have more energy to burn.  Fresh and home made is the way to go....and limit the sugary deserts to occasional treats.

I started eating more water based foods like fruits and veggies as they fill me up more and help me to eat less. I also switched to whole wheat pastas and brown rice. A big part of what I've done, too, is measure out my food portions and only eat the proper portion sizes. I was overeating, so this helped me to eat only what was necessary to fuel my body. And guess what?  A good side effect was I lost weight in the process. I started back in January 2021, and to date, I have lost 33 pounds. I needed to lose weight and these strategies have helped. 🙂

We joined an organic farm CSA and we get a variety of vegetables, fruits, and herbs delivered every week. Each week after we receive our share we plan meals around all the fresh vegetables  we receive and experiment with new dishes and cooking methods. Also we use the herbs to flavor food instead of salt. The fruit and berries make delicious desserts.

Healthy Plate Contest  I use lemon, orange, or lime juice & sometimes the zest, to brighten my food, add a flavor boost, and skip the salt. Fortunately I have a meyer lemon tree which bears fruit nearly year round, and a navel orange tree. I do have to purchase limes, but the additional flavor is worth it.

Re: The Healthy Plate Contest:

I have been giving Meatless Mondays" a try! Found a Vegetarian cookbook at Goodwill and have been experimenting with more plant-based meals. It's been fun!

Also have been learning how to use spices in place of so much salt. That's been a work in progress..

I am virtually teaching younger children while at home. I prepare snack size healthy snacks rations such as nuts, fruit, vegetables , etc. I use those throughout the day so I won’t get up from my seat to grab the wrong snack. Once in a while I’ll make a bag of favorite chips. 

I have never followed any diet plan, counted calories or points or anything else, just tried to eat sensibly.  Then my metabolism seemed to grind to a halt overnight, and I no longer could maintain my weight on my regular routine.  Several years ago I started inserting one or two "500 days" into my week (never on consecutive days) - it was surprisingly easy to limit my eating on those days to 500 calories, still getting plenty of protein and veggies.  Although every 500 day has its own benefit, the real improvement came in the fact that I suddenly became much more aware of serving sizes and just how many calories there are in foods that were part of my normal diet.  The upshot is that my eating habits are now better on "regular," non-500 days, too!