Saturday, January 22, 2011

you've got to start somewhere...

last year i lost seventy pounds.

yup, seven-oh. it was hard, but easier than everyone makes it out to be. there really isn't any get-thin-quick secret, just getting your heart pumping and watching what you put in your body.

i was, what you could call, a picky eater. i come from a cuban family where vegetables were not the top priority. i also grew up in a tropical climate where being outside and standing was enough to get you sweating, so the thought of going out and "running around the block" was totally insane in my young mind.

when i started to evaluate my health i realized i needed to completely renegotiate my relationship with food. in the past year i've learned that food, to me, can fall into three categories:

one: food that is generally considered "healthy," but that doesn't taste all that great and therefore i have to force myself to eat. and then gets pushed to the back of the pantry/fridge/cabinet until i forget it and it gets old and i get to throw it out.

two: food that is also widely considered healthy, but that actually tastes great, and that i happily eat because i know that it is good for my taste buds and for my body.

three: food that is not good for me, but that i would sacrifice appendages/children/small animals/etc. to eat again because it is just that good. this is a tricky category because of how often i, and maybe you, eat things that are just okay but that have a ton of calories. for example, eating that fake-chocolate that comes in off-brand novelty holiday containers versus having a godiva truffle. it's learning what's worth it - and really enjoying it when you have it - that's the tough part.

so, all that being said, i absolutely love to bake. the problem? and yes, you might already be there, baking is not good for me. cookies and cakes and frosting and chocolate are, generally, the enemy when it comes to being healthy.

i know there are a million baking blogs out there, which contributed to part of why i am hesitant to start another one, but what sets my baking hobby apart is that when i whip up stuff in the kitchen i carefully balance between the aforementioned food categories two & three. i make hearty breakfast muffins and decadent molasses chocolate chip cookies. i calculate the nutrition of everything i bake, so i know what i'm getting myself into calorically, but i also don't skimp on the stuff i think is really worth it - and that's the key.

while everyone is fad-dieting this new year i will be baking & eating responsibly, and i hope you'll tag along for the ride.

12 comments:

  1. yay!!! along for the ride, and expecting some samples when i finally make it over to you. xoxosol

    ReplyDelete
  2. soooo stoked. has andy told you how everytime we talk i gush over how smokin' you are? i hope you are very, very proud of yourself. i'm in similar shoesies (20 down, 25 to go) and i'm excited to read more about yummy, healthy food!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Agreed on #3 - if I'm going to treat myself, it isn't going to be some crap Hershey's "dark" chocolate bar, it's going to be an 80% cacao Lindt bar. Or a piece of chocolate cheesecake. That, I would give away appendages for.

    Can't wait to follow you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. thank you all for the encouragement!! xox!

    ReplyDelete
  5. p.s. I am kind of a dark chocolate snob & I eat a square every morning while still in bed. But all this shitty fake chocolate from christmas staring me in the face? Oh, it got eaten. I actually ate one that said something like "chocolate flavored candy" on the label. Ewww.

    ReplyDelete
  6. So excited to find your blog! I lost 90lbs last year and still have about half that much more to lose. Congrats on your success. Looking forward to reading along!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Holy creamed corn. Between last night (well... it might have been early this morning...) and this morning I've read your entire blog backlog. I wish I had found your blog back when you started it. Oh well, better late than never :) I can't wait to try out your recipes. I live in Asia, so it might be more difficult to locate some of your more healthy ingredients, but I'll sure as hell try. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. okay literally just read your ENTIRE blog. so glad i found it today!! i have to know. how do you figure out the calories?

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love that I found your blog! Can't wait to catch up and keep reading. You're a great inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  10. So happy I found your blog. I can't wait to learn how to mesh #2 & 3 together. Sugar is my problem.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Awesome blog.. I'm with you.. love to bake, but not always good for me, so constantly thinking up alternative / health-ier creations, that still taste good but better for us! Nice one, I'll be bookmarking your site :) x Jasmine, Perth West Australia

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm so glad to have found your site today, while searching for a lemon ginger loaf that doesn't require a mixer (I don't have one!)

    I love to bake, but hate feeding my family the fat/sugar/cream combo that seems to inevitably accompany most delicious baking, I don't have the ability to substitute healthy ingredients myself, so am really happy that you will do it for me!

    I'm going to make a bunch of your recipes over the coming weeks, but for today it's lemon giner loaf and those crazy donut muffins!

    ReplyDelete