Friday, October 30, 2009

Contest: Eating Healthy Pays Off!

Its weird how my tastes keep changing. I mean, 2 years ago, you couldn't get me close to a plate of kabobs. Now, I'm in love with them. I actually had them 3 days last week and once so far this week.

Hubby and I chop up a sweet onion, a green pepper and 10-12 ounces of top sirloin (very lean) then slip everything onto 3 skewers and plop them on the Foreman Grill for just a few minutes and voila! dinner is served.

The first time we had them, I made some brown rice to go with. I can't stand rice but it seemed like the thing to eat with meat and veggies. I added some steamed corn to the rice so I could tolerate eating it (I have a natural gag reflex to rice when I eat it, don't know why). But I was STUFFED after eating all that food. So the next night, no rice and it was perfect.

It's just funny how my tastes have changed over the course of this weight loss plan. Watermelon used to be a waste of my time—too watery. Now, it's like nectar from the gods.

So what is it that's changed my tastes? Is it that my body is getting used to the new food? Is it perhaps because my body is craving healthy food now that its actually getting some? Or is it just because I can't eat the fatty foods like I used to so I might as well be happy with what I'm allowed to eat? Who knows, but the benefits are wonderful. I feel so much better eating healthy. My body feels good and my mind feels good—like I'm making smart decisions.

So I thought I'd start a contest to find out what you guys eat that's healthy and yummy that you would have never eaten before you started your weight loss plan.

I was given a set of Measure Up bowls to give away on my blog from Heather at Measure Up Bowls. The bowls have ring indent markings on the inside if the bowls to show you where the 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, 3/4 cup, etc. marks are. So when you're pouring your morning cereal or afternoon snack or bowl of soup, you don't have to worry if you're putting to much in the bowl, you'll just pour until you fill to your desired portion size. How genius is that!?!?


















No more "guesstimating" on your portions. I was reading a blog post the other day from Jinxxxygirl and she showed a picture two bowls of cereal sitting on the counter. The one on the left was the serving size suggested on the box. The bowl on the right was the actual amount of cereal she'd been pouring into her bowl every morning. It ends up that she was eating 3 times the serving size and thought she was doing good. She thought she was a little over her servings each morning so she added another point or two but had no idea she'd actually tripled the amount she should be eating.


















It's things like this that trip us up on our weight loss efforts. We think we're doing good, but if we don't measure, we don't know. With these Measure Up bowls, you don't have to worry about getting out the scale or the measuring cups, you just pour to the line that you want and enjoy.

(By the way, if you have a sec, you should check out Heather's weight loss story on the Measure Up website, here.)

So to enter the contest, leave me a comment telling me about the healthy food you eat now that you would have never eaten before you started on your weight loss plan. You can increase your chances of winning by Tweeting about the contest. Just use the hash tag #measureupgiveaway. I'll choose one comment or tweet at random and the winner will get a set of Measure Up bowls—one "Small Bowl" and one "Classic "Bowl". The Classic has 1/2, 1, 1-1/2 and 2 cups premeasured portions on the inside of the bowl and the Small has 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 cup premeasured portions on the inside of the bowl. Together, it's a $29.99 value. Yours for the taking.

I'll draw one winner at random on November 15th.

(Don't forget, if you want to tweet about it you have to use the #measureupgiveaway hashtag.)

If you want to follow me, my Twitter account is @mag_maker.

Good luck!

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25 comments:

Rochelle said...

Portion control is half the battle I think! These are very cute bowls and could come in handy. The kebobs look yummy too!

Lauri said...

I think the bowls are a great idea. As to something healthy I eat....I never dreamed of eating califlower. Just wasn't going to do it. Then I told Steve about a recipe I had read, so he steamed some califlower then pureed it in the blender adding salt, pepper, and butter (or substitute, if you have something you use instead of butter), and it was like eating mashed potatoes. He tried it another time without the blender, just using the potato masher, and it didn't work for me....wrong consistancy. But through a blender, great.

Shelley said...

What a great idea those bowls are!

The thing that I never thought I would eat is plain yogurt. And I'll admit it took me a few tries to like it - I add some fresh fruit and it's good - who knew?!? Fage 0% plain is my go-to food.

Georgia Mist said...

Veggies: Never tought I'd come to love them!
Quick recipe: 1 zucchini (small), julienned, 1 yellow squash (small), julienned, 1 yellow onion, julienned. 1 clove garlic, diced. Saute in 1 tsp. olive oil until tender, serve over brown rice!
Just "tweeted" this contest!
I could (and would) defintely use those bowls! I'v been eating my creeal out of a measuring cup for 10 months!

screwdestiny said...

Oh, I WANT these! How genius!

I did a diet for, oh, a couple weeks (ha!), and pretty much the only breakfast-y proteins I could eat were eggs or cottage cheese. I used to HATE cottage cheese. It made me gag. The texture was just so nasty, and the flavor definitely left something to be desired as well. But I was not going to eat eggs seven days a week for breakfast. I need variety, man. Plus, I've always known that cottage cheese is like a perfect protein and it's so good for you and blah blah blah. So I bought myself some cottage cheese and some strawberries and blueberries, and forced myself to eat it. The first few times it did activate my gag reflex about half the time whilst eating it. But I knew it was good for me so I kept at it. And you know what? I kind of, sort of enjoy it now. Only with fruit, gotta have the fruit, but I really don't mind it. Wow, that was really long, sorry. I tend to be wordy...

jinxxxygirl said...

I don't think i eat something now that i would have avoided 2 years ago. Its just now i make it a point to eat somethings. Like fruit and veggies . I never would have gone out of my way to 'make sure' i ate some but now i do. And fried foods i never worried about it before now i avoid them like the plague they are. Your contest sounds GREAT!

Stacie said...

First of all, the kebobs look great -- and now a George Forman is on my christmas list! If they're as easy as you say- I can even do it!

The one thing I never used to eat is two-fold: squash and zuccinni. I never really knew what to do with it - but there is so much! Now I get it every time I go shopping!

--cara said...

Lauri, I've only tried califlower mashed "potatoes" once and it was at a restaurant and I didn't like it at all. Now, I'll have to give it a try at home, because if you like it, it's gotta be good. =D

Georgia, that sounds yummy. Must try!

Stacie, the Foreman grill is awesome. Some say that the food turns out bland. But I use seasoning on everything I cook anyways to it always tastes great and very healthy for me on the grill.

Diane, Fit to the Finish said...

Those bowls are so smart! I still occasionally measure my serving sizes even after being in maintenance all these years.

Portion control is such an important part of weight management. One new thing I've learned to like is greek yogurt. I can't do it plain though.

I'll tweet this contest too!

Josie said...

Those bowls are AWESOME!

The one food I had so far that I had never tried before and thought I would absolutely hate is grilled tilapia. I tried it and LOVED it and now I want more of it. There are a lot of foods left that I want to try but was always afraid to...kale, almonds, salmon. I'll face my fears one by one till they're gone.

Thanks for offering this giveaway!

Leisa said...

HI Cara - Just found your bog. Love it & the bowls. What a perfect question - I just started my blog http://fifteenfavefoods.wordpress.com to answer that very question. What I would have never eaten before: Broiled broccoli! Now it is one of my 15 favorite foods. If you find just 15 healthy fave foods, weight loss is almost automatic.

HD said...

Cool bowls!

The one thing I never would have tried is flaxseed. Now, I add ground flax to my oatmeal every morning, and I can't live without it!

Georgia Mist said...

Tweeting and Facebooking the Contest now!

WWSuzi said...

I actually eat a lot more veggies now and recently i've been eating them with no dip :) That is huge for me!

paulawannacracker said...

I am totally crazy about acorn squash, spaghetti squash and butternut squash...

Who knew they were so tasty. Oh, and I'm lovin lentles as well.

Georgia Mist said...

Hey! I'm TWEETING this contest and posting it to Facebook again!

Renee said...

benefiber powder... great to add to water or yogurt!


it fills you up!

Tina said...

Cute bowls! I JUST two days ago tried a baked sweet potato. YUM!!! Before this I had only been introduced to them in their slimy can form...BLECH.

paulawannacracker said...

What a great idea. I need those bowls. I hate pulling out the measuring cups. Bowls are much easier to use...

Princess Dieter aka Mir said...

I never used to eat okra, but I discovered they were fabulous sauteed with tomatoes. Also kale. It looked too weird to me. :)

Thanks for holding this giveaway. Cool bowls.

Sandy Hentzel said...

This is easy for me. Broccoli!!!! I didn't know what I was missing before. I also replaced ground beef with ground turkey. I had to make beef one day for church and my husband wanted to know what that smell was in the house. The grease was just awful, lol.

Georgia Mist said...

Zucchini, Cauliflower, and squash are the veggies I would NEVER have eaten a year ago. Now, I eat them as often as possible. I like to put them in a foil, bake about 15 minutes and serve them over brown rice!
Tweeting / facebooking again!

Kenlie said...

I eat so many things now that I wouldn't have eaten before...like...spaghetti squash, baby spinach, eggplant, scallops and fish.
I've always known that fish was a good choice, but my answer was "i don't like it." And the same goes for mushrooms for several months ago, I decided I would will myself to like those things...and it totally worked.
I love the bowls....I measure everything, and that would make cereal a lot more convenient!
Thanks for sharing and congrats on your success!

Shelley said...

Hey...great idea to get people sharing and have a nice contest too. Those bowls looks fantastic.

For me, there are two things I would NEVER eat before and turned my nose up at. Spinach and sweet potatoes. Now, I love both...and eat them as often as I can. I add spinach to my daily salad for some variety and some extra iron punch to my diet. And baked sweet potato fries are a great treat.

Mmmm....mmmm....good!

Anonymous said...

Growing up my parents never introduced us to any kind of fish dish (not even frozen fish sticks). When I married my husband his family was used to eating fish on a regular basis. As a result of married life and branching out cuisine-wise due to healthy dieting, I have now come to truly enjoy fish. It has become a food that I look forward to eating rather than a food that I am uncertain about. It is now my goal to pass this knowledge and experience on to my parents in hopes that they too will begin to eat healthier meals.