OBC Nutrition

Day 1....Welcome to Operation Boot Camp!

Produce Choose a variety of fruit - pick some that is ripe and ready to eat and some that will need a few days to mature. If you buy all ripe fruit, you end up throwing so much of it away because you cannot possibly eat it all before it spoils.

Also choose hearty fruits and veggies that hold for a longer period of time - oranges, grapefruit, baby carrots, celery, apples, etc. If oranges and grapefruit are stored in the fridge they can last for up to three weeks. The best storage tactic is to place these items in airtight containers or Ziploc bags and make sure all the air is out of the bag before you close it. If air gets to veggies, it oxidizes them and makes them spoil faster.

Portion your food (which you should be doing anyway). For instance, cut an apple in half and store the other half in the fridge in a Ziploc or airtight container for the next day. Half a medium-sized apple is approximately 1/2 cup. You want to stick to eating two cups of fresh fruits per day or the equivalent size of two baseballs.

Stick to the less exotic fruits and veggies and only buy exotics as a treat when they are on sale! Also, grapes, blueberries and strawberries as well as other fruits freeze very well. Buy these when they are on sale or in season and store them away for a rainy day. They thaw quickly and are usually high in antioxidants. 

Snacks
Make a large batch of trail mix, put it in a Ziploc bag and store it in the freezer. Nuts should always be stored in the freezer to prevent them from getting rancid. If you portion out what you need each day in a 1/2 cup container or a snack size Ziploc, it will last you longer and will be the right portion size.

Instead of buying processed snacks, make your own. This is healthier anyway. Buy whole wheat tortillas and make your own chips by cutting them into wedges and putting them under the broiler for a few minutes. You can do this with pita too; if you add a little olive oil, you will get your daily dose of monounsaturated fats too!

Try using an avocado to make guacamole instead of buying the super expensive version in the produce section. Mash up the avocado, add a little chopped red onion, salt, pepper and cumin and you are ready to go.

Make a batch of mini Morning Glory Muffins and freeze half of them. You can use these for breakfast on the go or snacks in the middle of the day. This will save you from buying mini-bagels or whole grain English Muffins, which these days are super expensive.

Lunches
Try your hand at making a batch of soup - check out "The Cure" Chicken Noodle Soup. Soups are fairly easy to make because they only require one pot and they freeze beautifully. If you have a microwave, they are easy to heat up and enjoy. Homemade soups are usually healthy as well. They have fresh veggies, lean proteins, and low-fat stocks and they fill you up! They are also easy to take to work and heat in the microwave -- almost every office has a microwave!

Buy a bag of lettuce, clean and cut it for the week by storing it in a large Ziploc bag with all the air squeezed out. Take a salad for lunch or a snack or use the lettuce for a salad at dinner. The lettuce will go a long way and you can use it at many meals. Stick to the darker greens such as spinach, romaine, mustard greens, collard greens, etc. The darker the green, the more nutrient dense. Some lettuce such as spinach needs to be blanched for you to receive certain nutrients such as calcium.

Meats
When you choose meats at the store, try to find the items that are on sale if possible. Then choose thinner cuts of chicken or center cut pork. These are going to be less expensive by weight and will help you control your portion size. Most of us eat too much protein anyway.
Choose a lean cut of ground beef or turkey and use half of it for homemade burgers and the other half in a pasta sauce or for tacos. You can use your wheat tortillas, lettuce and guacamole on your tacos. If you can picture getting two meals out of your ground beef or turkey, you can save money and reduce your portion size, which you should be doing anyway.

Think about having two meals a week without a meat protein source. That is, use legumes (black beans, white beans, kidney beans, vegetarian soups and stews with beans) and whole grains (whole grain breads, brown rice, barley, oats, etc.) for complete proteins. This will not only save on cost, but legumes are a great source of very lean protein, fiber, iron and other needed nutrients. Eggs are a medium-fat source of protein and are not that expensive. You can make hard boiled eggs, egg salad with light mayo, egg white omelets, scrambled eggs, etc. Have breakfast for dinner one night a week; that will help save on your budget, and who doesn't love breakfast!

Dairy
This one always gets me because it spoils so quickly. It is better to buy dairy in smaller containers rather than large ones for the portion size factor, as well as the spoilage factor. You want to consume approximately 3 cups of no- or low-fat dairy products per day. These can include skim milk, cottage cheese, yogurt, part-skim cheeses or any non-fat or low-fat dairy variety. (Skim and 1 percent are considered no- and low-fat dairy.)Check out our Healthy Grocery List for easy shopping.

Hooah and Happy, Healthy Eating!

Your Fearless Boot Camp Team