Eating Healthy Is Boring!

[disney junky]

That's all.

 

[PollyannaMom]

When DH first had to change his diet, I was pretty good about exploring different condiments and things - roasted peppers on sandwiches, stuff like that. But I've gotten lazy over time, and our menu is pretty boring now. I think the right recipes are out there, but I'm not good about digging for them, and I fall back on the few things that I know work for both DH and DS.

 

[wenrob]

I guess it depends on your definition. For me it’s eating a balanced diet while allowing for treats and the occasional take out or night out. All or nothing doesn’t work for me.

 

[mjkacmom]

Not if you like to cook. This week’s menu had spicy shrimp tacos with cilantro lime sour cream and avocado salsa, green curry salmon with baby boc choy, turkey sausage meatballs in a red curry over brown rice, and black bean soup. I love looking online for new recipes, and the kids love eating new things.

 

[GreatLakes]

It doesn't have to be. Usually I see this with people that just start eating healthy and only make the 3 or 4 healtht things they have been making their whole life.

If you are eliminating unhealthy options you should replace them with new healthy options. Just go out and experiment and not only with ingredients but methods.

A good place to start is a vegetarian or vegan cookbook. You don't have to be either of those, though personally I think a healthy omnivore diet is plant focused, but use the recipes as sides.

It isn't boring, you are likely not adventurous enough.

 

[Klayfish]

I guess it depends on your definition. For me it’s eating a balanced diet while allowing for treats and the occasional take out or night out. All or nothing doesn’t work for me.

Yep, this. It can also depend how deep into it you get. If you do go all the way to the extreme end, yes it can be limiting. DW weighs her salads...by ingredient. I don't quite go that far. However, as said above you can just do a good balanced diet that won't be so boring. My dinner last night was healthy and delicious. I had a chicken taco salad. Shredded some lettuce, added green peas, a bit of diced onion, 7 oz of diced boneless/skinless chicken breast, some taco seasoning, a bit of taco sauce, sprinkling of low fat mozzarella cheese, crumbled just a few white corn tortilla chips to top it off. Mmmmmmm.......

Another way to keep it from being boring is to make sure you stick to your very well balanced nutrition all week, but allow a once per week cheat meal where you can eat anything you want. It gives you something to look forward to every week. I find it makes the rest of the week easier.

 

[mombrontrent]

I’m vegan so while I do eat some vegan junk food the majority of what I eat is pretty healthy and very vegetable heavy. When I need to eat quickly sometimes I eat boring food but when I have a little more time what I eat is the opposite of boring.

I was vegetarian for 15 years before I become vegan in 2012 and since then I’ve expanded my cooking knowledge and experience and I’m amazed at what delicious things can also be healthy. I make so many different types of ethnic cuisines now. Make all my own spice mixes, sauces, dressings ect. All of it is so flavourful and definitely not boring. It does take a little planning and time though.

 

[Christine]

OP, I agree with you. Part of my "eating healthy" (which I'm not doing BTW) is calorie control and I think that's where the boring part comes in for me.

Right now, in the dead of winter and not feeling great because of it, eating decadent things seems to be my only joy. I can cook but don't often have the time so I find cooking and researching recipes drudgery. With a hurt ankle and several food limitations, it all just overwhelms me and, yes, BORES me.

Mjckamom, your food sounds delicious, but shrimp, curry, and most beans are digestively problematic for me. It's a struggle these days. But I need to get on board with it.

This week I researched some Paleo recipes (just trying to lower some carbs a bit) and found a recipe for chicken, brussel sprouts, apples, balsamic and rosemary all roasted on a sheet pan. Sounded delicious. But it was super boring tasting when it came time to eat it.

 

[wenrob]

When DH first had to change his diet, I was pretty good about exploring different condiments and things - roasted peppers on sandwiches, stuff like that. But I've gotten lazy over time, and our menu is pretty boring now. I think the right recipes are out there, but I'm not good about digging for them, and I fall back on the few things that I know work for both DH and DS.

Have a look at Skinnytaste. She has a huge variety of recipes and has symbols for all sorts of dietary needs. Several of her recipes have been in my rotation for years.
https://www.skinnytaste.com/

 

[kdonnel]

As long as you are not trying to get a chiseled set of abs or have a medical condition that dictates otherwise, you can eat most anything you want, as long as you eat it in moderation and stick within the correct calorie count for the day for what weight you are trying to maintain.

If you want to eat more, exercise more.

 

[Meriweather]

Dietary restrictions, so yes.....boring

 

[mnrose]

Not necessarily, although it is more work. I've been losing weight for about 7 months now (down 33 pounds), and I find myself generally rotating between about 10-14 main meals because I KNOW their caloric content by heart and I know how much I can eat without a problem. That's on me, though, not because lower calorie food is boring. Also, I pretty much eat anything I want, just smaller portions of higher calorie food.

I just came back from two weeks at an all-inclusive in Mexico, and I still managed to continue my slow weight loss (at least I didn't gain). I avoided all those lovely mixed drinks (I had two margaritas the entire time, and that was it for mixed drinks....otherwise, stuck to dry white wine), and ate a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables. I still had some lovely meals with what were sure to be higher calorie items, but small portions. It's really the key. Our traditional American portions are just way too big on most things.

 

[Christine]

Not necessarily, although it is more work. I've been losing weight for about 7 months now (down 33 pounds), and I find myself generally rotating between about 10-14 main meals because I KNOW their caloric content by heart and I know how much I can eat without a problem. That's on me, though, not because lower calorie food is boring. Also, I pretty much eat anything I want, just smaller portions of higher calorie food.

I just came back from two weeks at an all-inclusive in Mexico, and I still managed to continue my slow weight loss (at least I didn't gain). I avoided all those lovely mixed drinks (I had two margaritas the entire time, and that was it for mixed drinks....otherwise, stuck to dry white wine), and ate a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables. I still had some lovely meals with what were sure to be higher calorie items, but small portions. It's really the key. Our traditional American portions are just way too big on most things.

Wow, you're doing great!!! It really is helpful when fresh fruit and veggies are in season. Here in the mid-Atlantic all of that tastes like cardboard right now, if they even have it available.

 

[mnrose]

Wow, you're doing great!!! It really is helpful when fresh fruit and veggies are in season. Here in the mid-Atlantic all of that tastes like cardboard right now, if they even have it available.

Agreed! The fruit in the tropics is pretty amazing all the time. If I lived there, maintaining weight would not be an issue at all! LOL. And, no bananas were consumed. It was things like grapefruit, orange slices, pineapple....OMG....so good. I also discovered something new to me, which is Tajin...a spice concoction you sprinkle over fresh fruit and veggies. Adds some more "ooomph" without adding (many) calories.

I'm actually below my original "goal" weight. And, back to the weight I carried before I got pregnant. All good.

 

[Christine]

Agreed! The fruit in the tropics is pretty amazing all the time. If I lived there, maintaining weight would not be an issue at all! LOL. And, no bananas were consumed. It was things like grapefruit, orange slices, pineapple....OMG....so good. I also discovered something new to me, which is Tajin...a spice concoction you sprinkle over fresh fruit and veggies. Adds some more "ooomph" without adding (many) calories.

I'm actually below my original "goal" weight. And, back to the weight I carried before I got pregnant. All good.

So jealous. After hitting menopause 3 years ago, my weight loss as taken MUCH more effort. When I was in my 30s, I could get it off with reasonable effort. Heroics are now involved!

 

[wvjules]

Have a look at Skinnytaste. She has a huge variety of recipes and has symbols for all sorts of dietary needs. Several of her recipes have been in my rotation for years.
https://www.skinnytaste.com/

I love Gina! Most of my dinners and lunches are from her website or cookbooks. Lunch this week has been stuffed pepper soup. Dinner tonight is going to be fish Florentine (but with scallops). I make A LOT of her recipes.

 

[Klayfish]

With a hurt ankle and several food limitations, it all just overwhelms me and, yes, BORES me.

Mjckamom, your food sounds delicious, but shrimp, curry, and most beans are digestively problematic for me. It's a struggle these days. But I need to get on board with it.

I don't mean this to sound all preachy or , so don't misunderstand my message. I would just say don't let those obstacles become total roadblocks. Without going to far into boring details, I've got similar challenges. Crohns' disease limits my food intake, and among other physical challenges just last month I had my second hip surgery in 5 years (I just started walking again last week). But I refuse to let those issues keep me down. I totally understand how they can be overwhelming, because they sometimes feel that way, but keep pushing.

Eating healthy is definitely a challenge from a variety and taste standpoint, at least for me. I do wind up eating a lot of the same foods over and over and over. Yeah, it's boring at times, but I try to spice it up where I can (pardon the pun), such as the taco salad I mentioned. Plus leaving some flexibility to eat whatever I want from time to time makes the boring days more tolerable.

 

[Christine]

I don't mean this to sound all preachy or , so don't misunderstand my message. I would just say don't let those obstacles become total roadblocks. Without going to far into boring details, I've got similar challenges. Crohns' disease limits my food intake, and among other physical challenges just last month I had my second hip surgery in 5 years (I just started walking again last week). But I refuse to let those issues keep me down. I totally understand how they can be overwhelming, because they sometimes feel that way, but keep pushing.

Eating healthy is definitely a challenge from a variety and taste standpoint, at least for me. I do wind up eating a lot of the same foods over and over and over. Yeah, it's boring at times, but I try to spice it up where I can (pardon the pun), such as the taco salad I mentioned. Plus leaving some flexibility to eat whatever I want from time to time makes the boring days more tolerable.

Yes, I have a failing posterior tibial tendon and a collapsed arch. I am in PT now and things aren't overly improving (and they won't). I have just received a new set of orthotics which don't feel any different from my old ones. Right now, I have not been cleared for any significant weight bearing exercise.

For me, (and I'm an all or nothing person), if I can't get out and move it's like I can't mentally get it together with my eating. When I can put the factors of exercise, eating, and nice weather together I do well. Right now, I am not doing well with any of the factors. Also, my husband is is pretty much a 56-year old triathlete and also has an active job to boot, eats anything he wants and he is forever trying to get me to go out to brunch, lunch or dinner or some other food related thing. He can burn it all off but he's active 8 hours a day and then exercises at least another hour each day.

 

[Southernmiss]

I think a lot of it has to do with what we are used to eating. Been in the South and live near New Orleans all my life where we are known for really good food.

The challenge for me has been to re-learn to find healthy recipes and ways of cooking our favorite foods and buy the ingredients for those recipes. Very different than what mom, grandma, mother's in law and anyone else a generation or two before me cooked. DH and I grew up on the foods they all made and those foods are familiar and comforting.

It's quite a challenge to still be around the majority of people who cook with those tried and true traditional recipes. I would love to find a cooking class for the healthy eating lifestyle that we should be following which remakes our favorite comfort foods. Working and eating with people who have not and will not change their cooking/eating styles is also part of the challenge.

Looking up recipes on the internet is time consuming and a task to try new recipes and then be discouraged when they don't turn out right.

But, at home we will do it for our overall health. DH is the one that has the hardest time with trying anything that has a different taste, texture than what he's grown up with. It's just part of his personality that he prefers comfort and familiar in all things.

 

[Christine]

I think a lot of it has to do with what we are used to eating. Been in the South and live near New Orleans all my life where we are known for really good food.

The challenge for me has been to re-learn to find healthy recipes and ways of cooking our favorite foods and buy the ingredients for those recipes. Very different than what mom, grandma, mother's in law and anyone else a generation or two before me cooked. DH and I grew up on the foods they all made and those foods are familiar and comforting.

It's quite a challenge to still be around the majority of people who cook with those tried and true traditional recipes. I would love to find a cooking class for the healthy eating lifestyle that we should be following which remakes our favorite comfort foods. Working and eating with people who have not and will not change their cooking/eating styles is also part of the challenge.

Looking up recipes on the internet is time consuming and a task to try new recipes and then be discouraged when they don't turn out right.

But, at home we will do it for our overall health. DH is the one that has the hardest time with trying anything that has a different taste, texture than what he's grown up with. It's just part of his personality that he prefers comfort and familiar in all things.

Yeah, it's tough when you have certain things you like.

Many years ago, I used to faithfully by Cooking Light magazine. They often would take standard recipes and lighten them up. At some point, they changed a lot of their recipes to include very "new" trendy types of foods and I often didn't care for them. When I used to make 5-6 new recipes from the magazine to making none (or one if I was lucky) I had to stop spending the bucks for the magazine only to be disappointed. I still try to go online and look at their recipes to find one. Occasionally I luck out. I find their stuff to be successful when I cook it. I think the test them out well before publishing.