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Originally Posted by bluebicycle
Thanks
I rarely eat meat. I get my protein from sunflower seeds, eggs, protein shakes, etc.. Red meat is a no-no for me because it's only worsened my cholesterol over time, so I leave that out of my diet. If anything, I would have turkey or chicken, but I haven't had turkey in like 4-5 years. I just find turkey to be bland even with spices and stuff. Also not a huge fan of turkey sandwiches, but I would eat one if that was the absolute only thing around.
I used to eat tons of sweets as a little kid up through high school, which was obviously bad. The funny thing is that I was overweight at like 4 years old when I DIDN'T eat tons of junk food, but I lost a lot of weight when I did eat tons of junk. (I started eating McDonald's Happy Meals about 2-3 times a week because my parents were too lazy to cook most days. And at 5 years old, you don't know any better.) It was definitely weird and made no sense! But I used to get lightheaded all the time and felt like I was going to faint, so I stopped the junk food thing because I think I suffered from malnutrition. And my cholesterol went up, so I started paying attention to red meat. People don't realize that weight doesn't always matter when it comes to cholesterol and diabetes. Anyone of any size can get those things. I was like 95 lbs and legit had cholesterol like you would see in a 300 lb man! Part of it was hereditary, but the other part was me eating cookies, cake, candy, etc everyday instead of fruits, veggies, etc..
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Thanks for sharing. Yes, cholesterol and other hidden factors can easily get out of control. It can be hard as a parent when you are stretched for time or when you are feeding super picky little ones. I do my best to feed my kids well, but some nights they eat junk. Like tonight... My husband and I had leftovers and I fed my kids a slice of pizza, some chex mix and apple slices. I think the overall goal though is balance and an aim to stretch their pallete so they will be able to eat a range of foods as adults. We do great with fruits, but veggies are a constant struggle. I get creative and hide the veggies in foods a lot.
I hear you on the meat. I don't eat red meat or pork. I eat turkey, chicken and fish now, but I was a vegetarian for most of my twenties. I had extreme morning sickness for 9 months straight each time I was pregnant and my doctor encouraged me to eat protein. I couldn't keep veggie protein down so I went back to chicken.
I use ground turkey a good bit in place of ground beef for tacos, spaghetti, burgers and the like. If you use the kind that is 93% lean or less you can barely tell a difference. I don't eat a ton of lunchmeat either. My kids are obsessed with turkey pepperoni though
I asked about your vegetarian status because I know you mentioned trying to incorporate protein. They make plant based protein crumbles that mimic ground beef that aren't terrible. Also, today I ate a breakfast sandwich at Dunkin donuts that had a plant based 'sausage' on it. It was surprisingly good.
How do you feel about smoothies? You can throw spinach in with berries and bananas and you cannot taste it. You can also use almond milk, yogurt and protein powder to boost the protein. I serve those a lot to my family when we need a quick meal. My kids think they are getting a treat because they are sweet. Sometimes they are easier to process and digest becasue they are already broken down to an extent.
It is great you made the changes you did when you did. Your body and heart thank you!