My way of living healthy

I love food - everything about food!
I love shopping for food, cooking food, reading about food - and of course - eating food!
But I also believe that food can be the greatest medicine or the worst poison for your body.
Therefor I try to find the balance between the best taste and the best nutrition. Taste is key, but health is a very close second.
I will blog about what we eat during the week, tips and trick I find along the way and hopefully I will soon learn a bit more about photography so you will have nicer pictures to enjoy.

Measuring
I don't count calories - I dont beleive that calories give you the whole picture. I use common sense, the plate diagram and a sensible sized plate.

I eat every 2 1/2 -3 hours so I never get so hungry that I eat too much or the wrong thing.
If you like some of my recipes, you might wanna tweak the amount to suite your needs.
If you work out a lot, like me, you need a lot of protein and can allow yourself a bit more in the carb department. 
If you don't, then you only need half the amount of protein and very little carb.
If you are trying to lose weight, then portion control is very very important. But don't skip meal and get all the food groups in - you need to feed your body!
And it should be self explanatory that if you want to gain weight that you up the portions.
The only thing that is indisputable is that we all need to eat a lot of veggies and some fruit and berries.
I love fruit and veggies, but it is still taking me a lot of effort to retrain my brain to think veggies first when I plan a meal - the meat and carbs part is just so much easier - don't you agree?

I measure in grams since I am european, but most of the time I won't give you exact amounts since thats the way I cook. This will also mean that you can adjust the amount to you needs.
At the moment it is just me and my husband I am cooking for, so the recipes are for 2 person unless anything else is stated.

Shopping
I try to only eat whole grains, whole foods and make everything from scratch but like everyone else, there are just some thing that you need to buy. 
Just realize that every time you buy something processed you are eating unnecessary additive, extra salt and extra sugar.
I read the label of everything I buy and once you get into the habit it doesn't really take that much effort since most of us buy the same things over and over again.
If it seams like too big a task, just pick one item every week and learn what is in it and if you want to keep it, replace it or make it yourself next time.
Personally I never buy anything light and I don't use any artificial sweeteners. It is a personal decision - I just don't like chemistry in my food.

Exersice Since fall 2012 I have been using the Athlean XX training program and have had great results. Their meal plans are also based on common sense and was a great way to start a healthier way of living. It really made me realize that you don't need to count calories and I have never eaten so much in my life! 
I don't follow their plan all the way anymore. Both because I am fairly happy with the way I look now and don't need to get very very lean - but still want to get in better shape and lose a bit more redundant fat.
I am in this for the long haul and allow myself to eat outside of the plan. But I can only tell you that it really really works and I had great results the months that I followed the plan in every detail.
I am awaiting their launch of the Athlean xx2 and to keep myself motivated I now train the mens program since I get bored easily.
Besides from the program I do horse back riding 2-4 days a week, I work a few hours a week in the stables and I volunteer at a local Therapy Riding Center so I live a fairly active life at the moment.
That being said I don't believe that everyone need to be this active to be healthy (Who has the time?), but it is important to get active at least a few times a week. I would recommend doing short burst training but the most important thing is just to do something - anything! 



I hope that you will enjoy going with me on my journey into a healthier life and hope that you will post any suggestions and knowledge you might stumble upon elsewhere!

One of the best food experiences I have ever had. It was in a small village in Italy where the owners brother did all the sausages, hams and pancetta him self.
Lovely!