Be Prepared

That's the girl scout motto. "Be Prepared." I chuckled to myself tonight as I recalled my girl scout days and this saying. I can be meticulous when it comes to preparedness. But such attention to detail and follow through have, for me, always been dependent upon the topics or tasks at hand. I've come to realize that my ever-changing food philosophy and my food plan could use some predictability. They needed to get better acquainted and live together in harmony. The missing link? Preparedness. With a bit of leeway for transgressions.

O's blog post (VitaMix Love 12/7/09) documented her own food philosophy and it also summed up mine. When reading her entry I thought, "That's it! That's what I am!" I'm a raw foods hopeful who on occasion will dabble in vegetarian and vegan foods but has "omnivore guilt." I'll add that I love enriched pasta and I am still in love with cheese and coffee. Shhh. Don't tell the kale.

When I last blogged about food plans I was attempting 50% raw and 50% cooked meals. But for the past few weeks I've slipped into a funk with food. A busy work schedule hasn't helped it. I tend to eat the worst when I have to put in longer hours at the office. The weather is also effecting the food plan. Summer and Fall were great seasons for juices and smoothies galore but now that it's getting colder I'm reluctant to blend even lukewarm elixirs on a regular basis. Sudden drops in blood sugar have also left me leaping for the nearest food-like item, which is usually pure crap (candy, cookies, etc).

Aside from these being bad excuses for poor food choices, I realized that these situations had other things in common: a lack of preparedness and a need for balancing consistency with creativity. Here are some goals I'm working on to fix my food plan and prepare the way for better health:

* Compile juice recipes; research and experiment regularly
Kristen Suzanne's blog is chock full of them.

* Have some quick fix meals or shakes that are always ready at home - Frozen berries, fresh fruit and vegetables, homemade soups, nut butters, and nut milks will have me covered.

* Store healthy snack options at work
Herbal teas, nuts, fruit bars (Larabars rock!) should do the trick.

* Explore healthy variations on less healthy food cravings - Anything involving cheese substitutes hasn't held up - if you have recommendations please send them! The search continues (as does my love affair with the real thing).

* Make weekly goals for health contributions - This will motivate me to focus on food preparation.

This weeks goals include:

1) 2 green juices
2) 2 leafy green salads
3) flax meal/seeds, chia seeds, or hemp seeds daily
4) make 1-2 smoothies this week

I'd love to hear suggestions and tips that work for you and keep you motivated!

Happy prepping!