Healthy Tips I've Learned So Far Part I

No, I don't eat all my meals from the Vitamix (just the vast majority!). Here are a few healthy eating tips I've learned since starting this journey:

• You can still eat sugary cereal.
  I love Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I could eat it for every meal. The only problem is, there just isn't that much nutritional value. That's where Fiber One cereal comes in. It has almost half of the fiber your body needs for the day! Fiber One cereal tries really hard not to taste like cardboard...But it does. A mix of 1/2 cup of Cinnamon Toast Crunch with 1/2 cup Fiber One satisfies your belly and your taste buds. What a sweet compromise! 

• Green tea doesn't have to taste like plants.
  There's nothing better than a cup of hot tea. And green tea is really good for you. Unfortunately, I think it tastes like someone boiled freshly mowed grass. Then I discovered citrus and peach flavored green tea. So what did I do with the entire box of plant flavored green tea I bought? I didn't waste it! I just boiled two cups and added a raspberry black tea bag to the green tea bag.
  
  Hot chocolate is a good source of calcium.
  I never understood those diet hot chocolate mixes. They're full of strange chemicals and you have to make it with water. Gross! In Buenos Aires, I used to order "submarinos," which are cups of hot milk with a small bar of chocolate at the bottom. Now I throw a few chocolate chips into a mug of skim milk, heat it in the microwave, and enjoy my low cal, calcium rich hot chocolate.
  

• Fries can be healthy. I've always had problems making sweet potato fries crunchy. They just don't like to get crisp without being fried or rubbed with oil. I learned that if you cut them into thin strips, and quickly spray with Pam, they'll brown at 425 degrees in 20 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. And make sure they're separated. Sweet potato fries do not like to be huddled together!
  
  Veggies taste good if you don't know they're there. Even if it were slathered in cheese, I would not eat cauliflower. The texture, the taste, the smell- it literally makes me gag. But I discovered that adding steamed cauliflower to smoothies makes for a creamier texture. And because sweet fruit (like pineapple or peaches) mask the taste, it's like I'm not eating vegetables at all! I can mix in equal parts cauliflower and fruit without noticing!