Eri's Kitchen

Anyone who knows me well knows I love to eat and I have a big appetite! I can seriously out eat many of my guy friends and that's no joke. The challenge for me has always been to enjoy food and not feel I am depriving myself of anything, but also choosing to eat healthy and give my body the nutrients it needs.

So if you ask me if I like pizza, hamburgers and fries, chocolate and many other food items most people will say they don't eat, my answer is yes I love them! The important thing for me has been to achieve balance and find healthy options to the cravings we all have. So I try to make smart choices and still indulge in my favorite foods like pizza!

I could write a lot about different diets and how to choose food, but I find that I may not always feel like what is on the menu that day, so I like to be flexible in my food preparation and how I feel that day. I have found my body responds very well to high protein and high fat diets. So that allows me to indulge in high fat lower carb options when I feel the urge. I think most people know what a clean diet is (staying away from processed foods) and can make good choices in their diets, but how do you add the flair of flavor to a blander diet and still feel fully satisfied and eliminate your cravings?

I have learn to a do a few creative things with my diet to help me get through the day. So here are a few of my tricks on how I balance:

One of my favorite things is to have a cheat day or a cheat meal and just not worry about anything. You don't cheat everyday, but when I am not preparing for a photoshoot or anything and am in my off season where I just want to maintain, eating one or two cheat meals a week or having a cheat day helps me satisfy my urges. To be perfectly honest sometimes the cheat hits the spot and sometimes I feel bad I cheated because it didn't really make me feel better. I also feel the need to get right back into the gym after. Recently I had a cheat meal when I should not have done it so I was in the gym doing midnight cardio to rest and ease my mind. You need to find how to best balance your cheats as well.

Secondly I like to have some healthy snack options for myself. One of my favorites is grilling slices of sweet potato on the grill and topping with fresh peanut butter from Mother's market. I prefer to buy fresh peanut butter because of the taste, but Skippy extra chunky is also a favorite of mine. The balance of sheet potato and peanut butter is a great blend and really satisfies me.

So you are wondering about sweets? Yes I have a go to for sweets as well when I am craving desserts or something sweet. If I can't wait for my cheat meal or day to indulge in one off my favorites desserts I love to keep dark chocolate nearby. I try to eat a square and sometimes that turns into the whole bar (lol), but I find dark chocolate to be lower in sugar and still satisfy my chocolate cravings in a little healthier way. There are many version of dark chocolate with nuts, coconut and other ingredients that make the dark chocolate experience all the better.

We are all different and have different cravings and urges and learning to find your balance is most important. I grew up with a great metabolism and eating whatever I wanted. In my earlier years I thought eating healthy was rice and vegetables. I have learned a lot about macro nutrients and the types of food I put in my body. That has helped me learn what foods work best for me and how to best balance my protein, carbohydrate, fat and calories each day. In the end I find balancing my diet, exercise and sleep make me most productive and keep me at my peak. Hope this article helps you to find your balance too!

If you are looking for creative menu ideas visit my website www.erianton.com and checkout Eri's Kitchen for new ideas on healthy eating without losing the flavor.