Day 1 of Healthy Eating
Today started my healthy eating adventure. My first order of business was to go purchase some healthy foods, because of course I didn’t have any at home. I just lost my phone while in New York last week, going way too hard, so I had to wait for UPS to deliver my new baby. I felt pretty immobilized without my phone. It got to the point where I was bringing my iPad around with me in order to communicate, or get directions in case I got lost. Without a phone everything becomes an adventure, I actually had to talk to people, and since I don’t own a watch, I had no idea what time it was.
As a result, the acquirement of this phone, was a very important matter. UPS said the scheduled delivery was before 3pm, which doesn’t really help much. How can one plan ‘before 3pm?’ I found myself on the couch trying to be productive and scared to go get groceries from 11:00am on. Desperate, I found some asparagus and turkey sausage in the back of the fridge and made a little healthy scramble in a skillet. Off to an unexpected great start with this healthy eating, I patted myself on the back. Then I watched a few YouTube bloggers who posted various videos about eating clean and healthy eating options. I learned a few things and felt pretty encouraged to give this lifestyle a try myself. The rice cakes with organic peanut butter really stood out to me, and made it to my must try list. I wasn’t to get going in theYouTube world and I think if I can Vlog this whole experience, I will be able to hold myself accountable. Also most of the healthy eating people were pretty corny, and I feel like I can bring some flavor to my videos. B-)
2:45 rolls around and while I’m having a conversation with my roommate, I glance out the window and see the UPS truck. Yes! I scramble around the apartment looking for my Nike’s and grab one. My roommate tells me to just go down in my socks, I’ll just have to go to the door anyway. By that point, I had already had on one Nike, so I was pretty much committed to finding the other one. I tell him that my feet were cold, grab the other and run out the door. I get downstairs and there isn’t a slip on the door, and I don’t see the UPS guy. I walk outside, assuming he must be next door and just hasn’t arrived yet. I look to my right and the fucking Truck is pulling off. I slightly freak out, then run after it in 40 degree Chicago weather without a coat. Subconsciously glad I decided to put on my Nikes. Luckily he stops around the corner. By the time I get to the truck he is already knocking on someone else’s door. I try not to be a creep and stand equal distance from him and the truck. I figured it would look like I was trying to rob him, if I stayed too close by the truck. I’m a black man in Chicago, no need to be naïve about that. He finally starts to head back to the truck and I go ‘Hey did you stop by 3516 already?’ He says, “Yeah you weren’t in the directory.” Oh. Gotcha. That makes sense, seeing as I don’t officially live there. But you could have left a slip, or tried to knock on the glass hard, come on, help me out bro. I didn’t say any of that. I just smiled and followed him to the truck. I get the phone and say “Thanks bro,” walking away a happy camper.
Back in the apartment, I go to set up my phone. I find out my last backup was in December of last year and come to grips with all of the lost photos and videos, which I knew I lost when I realized I lost the phone. Once I got up and running and connected myself back to the matrix, I headed out to Jewel Osco to get some groceries. It occured to me as I walked in, that I don’t shop for groceries much. For the most part, I wing it. Here and there, I may pick up some turkey bacon, yogurt, and the occasional rotisserie chicken with a few Hawaiian rolls. But today, I am on a healthy mission, and I am hoping that I can keep this going. I really need to incorporate this time into my schedule. Time to shop. And time to prepare meals. I am one of those people who thinks he can cook, but never actually cooks. And to be completely honest, I can just follow a recipe, but in reality not that well. I can’t cook. But I tell myself that I can. My friends are usually pretty nice to me about it and play along, but they know I can’t cook. Bastards.
So I’m walking through Jewel Osco with my handcart in hand. I grab some kale, more asparagus; squash already chopped, mushrooms, apples, avocados, bananas, and grapes out of the produce section. Off to a good start. After leaving the vegetable section, I am no longer sure what else I should get and what else is ‘clean.’ I learned in my YouTube classes earlier, that I needed ‘whole’ foods and to become a label whore. I.e. I needed to search for foods that were exactly what they appeared to be, and with ingredients on the label that I could recognize. I went on to grab some prepackaged and lemon pepper pre-seasoned chicken breast, turkey bacon, rice cakes, oatmeal, peanut butter and egg beaters. Coming to a grand total $55.43 for my healthy foods. Those damn grapes were $8.00 and I just feel like that’s a little ridiculous. Not as ridiculous as the $13.00 strawberries I put back in horror, but still a little ridiculous. Clearly I am not well versed in fresh fruit prices.
My roommate Paul, who is also about to serve as my nutritionist, separated my new purchases into Proteins, Fats and Carbohydrates. Basically everything I bought was a carbohydrate except for the meats (Proteins) and the eggs and avocados (fats). That was pretty cool to learn and I feel a little more educated on picking out foods in an intentional manner. I still need to go out and get some more proteins, but all in all, today went pretty well.
Things I ate today after shopping:
Rice Cakes with peanut butter
Rice Cakes with peanut butter and sliced bananas
Grapes
Baked chicken breast with sautéed kale and mushrooms
Grapes
Rice cakes with peanut butter and a little jelly
Again. Pretty satisfied with today. I feel like I’m off to a good start and I just need to thug my way through this period of eating nasty foods, and soon I will have an acquired taste for them. That’s what I told myself about beer and now, fewer things bring me as much joy as an ice cold IPA. This too shall pass.
This is day 25 of a 30 day writing challenge. #BAFBP