Fine china, fabulous presentation, fireworks. Infusing fun into our smart eating lifestyle is so important.

It was a hot summer evening in Atlanta. A friend and I were doing our weekly meet-up at the dog park.

I arrived first, grabbed the shaded picnic table and waited for Mel. I saw her car pull in and watched her walk quickly with her pup into the dog park.

She made her way to the picnic table, and announced, “I’m starving!”

At that, she pulled out a full block of raw tofu.

And block in hand, she began eating chunks of it.

Raw. Tofu.

Keep in mind that Mel is on a forever quest to lose weight, and reign in her unhelpful eating habits. But like so many of us, she veers wildly from double-cheese pizza to a block of raw tofu which is the perfect way to tank at smart eating.

Mel’s Three Stumbles

Let’s deconstruct the stumbles Mel made (no judgement, of course, everyone stumbles):

• That morning, Mel did not set herself up for success when she neglected to create a smart eating plan for her day.
• In the evening, she left her home feeling hungry. Once at the park, she was super hungry. On a scale of one (stuffed) to ten (famished), Mel was likely at a five when she left her house and a six by the time she sat down at the picnic table. (Keeping hunger to a three to five is a reliable way to have our own back.)
• Mel brought incredibly boring — actually tasteless — food for dinner (I’m a huge fan of tofu, but I don’t eat it raw).

The number three stumble is what we’ll focus on here. I’m a believer in using exciting eating strategies as an important tool for weight loss and forever maintenance.

What Do I Mean By Exciting Eating?

When the food you’re having brings a smile to your face or makes you feel pleased inside, you’re in the zone of exciting eating. I’m always on the look-out for ways to bring some pizzazz to my food.

Topping my first coffee in the morning with whipped cream and sprinkles!

Maintaining a “clean” kitchen by keeping my smart eating “tools” at the ready. I prioritize keeping Costco favorites on hand like plant-based protein powder and their bag of frozen veggies.

Additionally I eat seasonally meaning I keep my favorite fuel-foods on hand depending on the season: spring is asparagus, summer all kinds of fruits (watermelon!!), fall is butternut squash soup from Trader Joes, and winter is a vegetarian chili recipe.

Note that I don’t say anything about raw tofu. Boring eating is not your friend. In fact, it’s one of the best ways to create yo-yo eating.

Scoring Exciting Food at Trader Joe’s

Trader Joes is stocked in fun products that are healthy (i.e. low in trans fat and calories). I love their vegan chicken, a tasty no-gluten bread, polenta, coffee beans, hummus, French Macarons (center freezer aisle), super dark chocolate and so much more.

And Check Out Costco’s Treasures

I struggled forever to eat daily veggies because I hadn’t found a way to make them interesting. One afternoon at Costco, I watched a woman load three giant bags of Sweet Kale into her cart.

I asked, “why so many?” and she explained that she eats two handfuls of the Sweet Kale for dinner every evening. But — and here’s her trick — she doesn’t prepare the kit as sold (way too many bad fats).

Keeping her example in mind here’s what I do: I buy two giant bags of Sweet Kale each week (you’ll find the huge bags in Costco’s walk-in freezer). Kroger and Publix sell Sweet Kale too, but the packages aren’t Costco-size.

Around noon most days,  I prep the salad because, as the woman explained, these ingredients need one to six hours to marinate.

It’s All in the Layering

I put 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil and two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar into the bottom of a large bowl and throw a handful of Sweet Kale onto the oil and vinegar mix.

I then drizzle another 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil and two tablespoons of vinegar on top of the kale. Then I toss a second handful of kale onto the first one and pour another 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil and vinegar onto that handful. (Olive oil is a super healthy fat.)

It sounds convoluted, but once you’re in the habit, layering the ingredients is quick.

Next I sprinkle a little of the dried cranberries and seeds — that come in the Sweet Kale package — on top. Finally I chop a bunch of cucumber and add it too with a handful of baby carrots (also in Costco’s freezer section).

Last, handfuls of baby spinach go on top as the final layer. Finally I drizzle — barely — a bit of the poppy-seed dressing (also in the Sweet Kale pack) onto the baby spinach.

Not only am I delivering a huge serving of nutrition to my bod, but I’m also getting my crunching needs met. (I’m a cruncher.)

Does it take an eternity to eat this giant salad? Funny you should ask because yes, it does take forever. But it’s a habit you’ll love incorporating into your life.

You Say Potato, I Say Pizza

When it comes to exciting food, you might want a glass of Merlot at the end of the day, I might prefer a narrow slice of pizza, while a friend wants a handful of Jelly Bellies.

Incorporating food that you love into your daily Smart Eating Plan (in small portions) is key to losing weight and maintaining for the long haul. That said, steer clear of trigger-foods. If Jelly Bellies send you on the quest for more sugar, don’t do Jelly Bellies.

With total confidence I can tell you that infusing interesting food is vital to being successful in losing and maintaining for the long run.

I’d love it if you’d share smart ways you bring fun into your daily eating plan.

♥, Wendy

Having the right food in the house when we’re losing or maintaining after 50 isn’t just nice, it’s essential to smart eating versus chowing like a hungry toddler-gone-wild.

I tend to reach for something sugary every evening (update: this was pre-ditching my evening sugar habit, read more about how I did it here). It took time, but I now get that embracing my sweet-tooth is the only tactic that’s worked.

I taste-tested and reviewed a bunch of “friendly” summer desserts, and rated them from not-so-much to awesome:

One

Two

Three

Angel food cake!!!

Love, love, love angel food cake, especially chunked up with strawberries and whipped cream. I mean, come on! So good. That said the grocery store prices are frightening — I haven’t yet adjusted to our new normal — so rather than buy a pre-made angel food cake: get a box mix or make angel food from scratch. The star of the angel food cake show is about 12 egg whites.

Four

Sugar-free chockablock pudding with whipped cream. Delish. This is my go-to when I “need” something fun that looks decadent.

Five

Creamy Coconut Popsicles.

Have you seen the popsicles by Outshine made for adults? If coconut isn’t your thing, they also come in strawberry, mango, peach, tangerine, strawberry-lemonade and more. Really tasty.

Six

Trader Joe’s Macaron cookies!

These three macarons with a good coffee makes me feel fancy.

Seven

When I’m craving something fun that’s not part of my clean eating plan (like, I made birthday cake for my boys), I’ll skip dinner all together and only have dessert.

And btw, I learned this strategy from “naturally thin” who eat what they want and aren’t limited by what dinner is “supposed to be.”

Having dessert for dinner gets all 5 stars because the scale will never be the wiser come morning (if you don’t go wild of course).

Eight

Voortman Sugar Free Vanilla Wafer Cookies.

Five stars. These wafer cookies are so fun. They come in vanilla, strawberry and chocolate with no high-fructose corn syrup plus 30 percent less carbs than the regular wafers.

Be still your heart because this company also makes sugar-free cookies in oatmeal, short bread, key lime pie, lemon, and chocolate chip.

I can’t be trusted with oatmeal cookies — I know my limits — but I can stop at a (sane) portion size with every other flavor.

Nine

Baby watermelons are my healthiest addiction.

I love everything about a ripe watermelon, but I’m terrible at picking huge melons well; I tend to pick mushy or overripe ones every time. I’ve had more luck with the small guys.

When I really need a huge, ripe watermelon, I ask the store’s fruit guy or the serious senior citizen — thumping melons a foot away — for assistance. (It’s never failed, people love to be helpful.)

Ten

My favorite is saved for last: top fresh strawberries with a whipped cream hat.

Berries are a perfect dessert because they’re beautiful, delicious, nutritious and don’t propel you into eating everything sugar in the kitchen. Five stars.

I love hearing your ideas! How do you keep your sweet-tooth from wrecking your clean eating days?

♥, Wendy

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