By now, most of us have been brainwashed with the newest health and wellness Netflix documentary, ‘What the Health’. The claims and health discoveries addressed in the documentary took the social media world by storm and now has everyone vowing to become devote vegans and health aficionados.
Even if you are a late comer to the new wave of diet control, I’m sure some other health ministry has influenced your grocery shopping for the better. And why not, proper nutrition and diet maintenance is important.
According to Mercola.com, a website dedicated to creating healthy individuals and run by Medical doctor Joseph Mercola, “People who ate a diet focused on macaroni and cheese, processed lunch meat, sausage biscuits, mayonnaise, and microwavable meals with unhealthy fats, for example, showed serious negative changes to their metabolism after just five days.” Luckily, “The good news is that eating a healthy meal helps your body return to its normal, optimal state, even after just one. James O’Keefe of the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri told TIME.”
The goal is simply to learn how to balance out our diets and keep the unhealthy food to a minimum. The difficult part of a proper diet is being consistent and disciplining your urges to indulge in delectable Honeybuns microwaved and then smothered in chocolate sauce every time you receive a compliment or hear the ever so smile induced, “Hey, good looking.”
Now, it is not uncommon for one to be on their best behavior on first dates. I’ve heard of individuals who only drink water with two lemon wedges and order sorry iceberg lettuce disguised under the name house salad, in which they spritz the smallest amount of low sodium salad dressing, and I have to wince at their deprived taste buds. And I get it, first dates can be rather nerve racking, but unless you are on a date with your CrossFit instructor, I highly doubt your meal would be impressive or win you points on your dates coolness scale.
So how can you stay true to your diet and not threaten your date with bland appetite? The answer, my friend, is versatility.
Tasty, healthy food and dating can go hand-in hand. For example, if your date is bold enough to suggest a brunch date (which barely gives me enough time to wake up and dazzle with my “I Woke Up Like This” morning beauty), then you’re already in a good spot. With brunch, you are privy to not just one section of the menu, but two, and this means you have a wider variety of tastiness to choose from.
Instead of ordering your traditional egg whites and avocado toast or your granola yogurt and fruit medley, you can also indulge in the more savory items of a lunch menu. How about ordering Cauliflower "Grits" with Tomato-Mushroom Gravy. The ingredients include Cauliflower florets, low-sodium chicken broth, fine yellow cornmeal, Cheddar cheese, grape tomatoes, unsalted butter, cremini mushrooms, kosher salt, black pepper, hot brewed coffee, cornstarch, scallions. And while your date’s mouth begins to water at the pull of the cheddar cheese, you could inform them of how cauliflower is the new “it” vegetable on the nutritional block.
In the case of dinner, the meal intended to be the smallest of the day, opt out of your inclination toward the lean, overly praised turkey breast. Instead, impress your date with how well you can put a fork to that protein mountain. That’s right, order the steak! Leave the dainty meal for another time, and tear into the scrumptious, juicy, and delectable in moderation.
Balance the grilled 6oz sirloin and occasional thigh rub from your date with a blue cheese salad and light conversation. If you are not into red meat, then lean toward dishes that are still fun and light like lime and cilantro chicken quesadillas. These hand-held little cases of yum can even take the date to a more flirtatious level since they’re easy to feed to one another without the mess. Go ahead and have your date try a few dipping sauces.
See it is possible to date on a diet without jeopardizing your commitment to healthy eating or coming across as a new age health nut to your date. This practice can even be a fun experience if your date is willing to try old recipes with a new spin on them. Even more, diversifying your diet can be a fun experience that demonstrates how accommodating you can be in even the most controlled areas of your life without sacrificing discipline.
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