Beating the Challenges of Eating Out

Enough Is Enough!

Between summer vacations, day trips, the heat and life’s unexpected interruptions I find myself seated in a restaurant far more often than I do at any other time of the year. This week I decided I had enough, and needed to clarify my boundaries once again.

So, to refresh my memory and give me a little motivating pep talk, I re-read my own class lesson that I teach at some of my Clean Eating Classes.

Yes, even those of us who preach and teach the clean eating lifestyle can fall off the wagon at times! The important thing is not that we fall, but that we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get back in the wagon.

There is definitely no ‘one size fits all’ To-Do List that is going to work for everyone. I wish it were that easy! We all lead different lives, and our schedules and activities do not look the same. In the same way, there are times when our normal weekly patterns change significantly (summertime, holiday seasons, life circumstances) and we find ourselves struggling to ‘keep it clean’. The important thing is to recognize when my clean eating lifestyle is being consistently compromised, and to make the changes necessary to bring it under control.

When we stop thinking about our food and what we are ordering, we are led by our cravings.

Pure and simple.

And we all know where that gets us!

Even if you are not overweight because you happen to have a super metabolism or you’re still young, you are not nourishing your body with healthy food, and you will pay a price at some point in time, in some way. All it takes is a little pre-planning and research to make some smart choices. Below are some things I regularly practice when eating out:

Sweet & Salty Appetizers to Please Everyone

Nothing is better than an explosion of sweet and salty all together in your mouth at once.

Nothing. Is. Better.

I haven’t met many people who will turn down that experience!

I have two incredible appetizers that will be a hit at any party or gathering you host or attend: Salty Lime Cashews and Maple-Bacon Wrapped Dates.

Unless…

Someone is allergic to nuts…or doesn’t eat pork.

But chances are fairly good that at least one of these recipes should work.  😉

For any recipe, it’s always best to start with the cleanest ingredients you possibly can. By that I mean always buy organic if you can afford it, and always buy the real, whole ingredient, not some processed product that comes in a can or a box with a boatload of ingredients that you can’t pronounce and wouldn’t find in your own kitchen cupboards to cook with.

Just Eat Real Food!

Eat Clean & Live Healthy Challenge

EAT CLEAN & LIVE HEALTHY 14 Week Challenge

This 14 week challenge is a short-term commitment that will lead you to long-term healthy eating habits. Whether this is your first step towards making a change in your eating habits or simply the next step in your health journey, you will find this class encouraging and challenging!

The program is called a Challenge for a reason. Anything worth doing will be challenging. You cannot reach the mountaintop without a bit of a struggle. There is a feeling of confidence that comes with accomplishing a tough goal that brings energy and fulfillment to your being, driving you to continue on. The perseverance and discipline it takes will make you not want to backtrack, thus having to do it all over again from the starting point. This program will take you beyond your comfort zone into a place that will become your “new normal.”

Because each person is an individual with their own unique goals and differing ways of successfully accomplishing them, this program is designed for you personally. Using some basic “clean eating” guidelines, you will be given the tools to formulate your own plan to individualize it to how you best attain goals. You’ll receive instruction, encouragement, and accountability from others on the same journey you are on.