What do I eat? BMI = 30.7

I've criticized a lot of foods as unhealthy and some people have started asking what is left that I can still eat. In a word, plenty.

I eat a lot of slaw. I hesitate to call it coleslaw because I don't just shred up some cabbage. I crave a lot of colour in my food now so I shred carrots, red bell peppers, red onion, and red cabbage to go along with the standard green cabbage in my slaw. These days I top it with a little grapeseed oil, douse it in apple cider vinegar, and then add either sambal or sliced ginger to spice it up. It would be better with sugar, but since getting used to a sugar free diet I find I seek out acidic/citrus-y flavours.

I also eat a lot of cucumbers, marinated in apple cider vinegar and sambal. Adding some thinly slice red onion gives me the colour appeal I seek now. Sometimes I add Mrs. Dash or sliced orange for a change of flavour

In September I ate a lot of corn. Once again, I got some contrasting colours on the plate by adding some green beans and Brussels sprouts. That thin slice of roast beef is a typical serving of protein for me now

Most of my protein these days comes from thin slices of roast beef or roast pork. Transformed meats like ham or sausage are for my weekly indulgence meal only.

My 'stir fries' are all cooked in my counter-top steamer. I add minced red onion, celery, and carrot to the rice, along with a wedge of lemon in place of salt. For the veggies on top I try to have at least 3 or up to 5 different types and colours. In this one I have red cabbage, broccoli, yellow beetroot, Brussels sprouts, and green beans. Once again, the protein is about 2 ounces of lean roast beef. If that looks like a lot of food to you then that is because it is. I'm not starving myself skinny, I'm eating myself skinny. Once you drop sugar, processed meats, and fried foods, it's actually hard to take in enough calories. All those veggies don't carry many calories but they do have lots of vitamins and the like so I cram them all in.

For this meal, I had my no-added-sugar potato salad as my starch. Another big pile of food, including slaw, Brussels sprouts, green and yellow beans, cucumbers, and pepperoncini peppers. Notice that the potato salad has a lot of carrot, celery, and red onion in it, along with chick peas. I'm writing this post to make you hungry for healthy food. Is it working?

I've found that there are some no-sugar-added breads out there. Mind the label though, sometimes they add malted barely flour (maltose) or potato flakes that contain some form of dextrose - both are sugars. Anyway, once you've dropped all your other sugars, you can quickly identify bread that has significant amounts of sugar added because it starts to taste like cake.

Let's not forget about breakfast - most important meal of the day, they say. I go for a whole grain porridge topped with a lot of fruit. Yes, I also have an ounce or so of protein with breakfast - in this case, a thin slice of lean roast pork with some Dijon mustard. I find that a little protein with breakfast keeps me full longer - making it easier to not snack.

I'm also starting to really like apples again. You just don't see anyone walking around eating an apple anymore. Everyone has a muffin, a soft drink, or a bag of chips (crisps for my English friends). It took me months to rebuild my eating habits, but as you can see I'm eating plenty of good food and nowhere near starving.