24-Day Challenge, Day 23: The Secret to Healthy Shopping

I’m getting oh-so-close to the finish line!* I’ve learned so many things along the way and can’t wait to keep sharing more in the coming weeks.

First, let’s look at today’s stats.

Breakfast: Meal replacement shake

Lunch: Leftover breakfast casserole; Plain yogurt with blueberries

Supper: Strawberry Poppyseed & Chicken Salad at Paradise Bakery

Snacks: Banana; Apple slices with crunchy peanut butter on top; Unsalted peanuts with raisins

Tea of Choice: Teavana green tea – Jade citrus mint

Exercise: Deep cleaning

Energy Level: Much better than yesterday, thank goodness! I capitalized and got a lot of things done around the house.

Other Observations:

– One thing I’ve discovered on a healthy diet is that my grocery cart is at least half full with foods from the produce section. While many people avoid a healthy lifestyle because of the claim that it’s too expensive, I’m convinced I’ve been able to actually eat much cheaper on this diet than my previous one. I plan to prove this out in a future post with a grocery-store experiment. 🙂

– Since I’m buying so many fruits and vegetables, I’ve had to develop a strategy to eat them before they spoil. This means buying a variety of produce–some that might spoil quickly and others that will last for several days or even weeks.

For example, the picture below shows some of the fruit I bought in Week One of the challenge. Since the pineapple and cherries would spoil first, I incorporated them in my diet early in the week. (Berries are another example of a fruit that needs to be eaten quickly.) The pears and kiwi have varying times for ripening, so I kept an eye on them and ate them as they ripened. The apples and oranges both are great long-term options to keep in the fridge. I’ve found they stay good for as long as 3-4 weeks sometimes!

As far as veggies go, broccoli, zucchini, and fresh spinach might need to be eaten sooner, whereas carrots, celery, and sweet potatoes can be kept for later in the week.

I hate to see good food wasted, so anything I can do to prevent food in the garbage makes me happy! 🙂

That’s it for Day 23. One more day to go!!!

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*My completion of Advocare’s 24-day challenge is not a personal endorsement of Advocare or any of its products. Advocare’s products may cause adverse health effects in some people and shouldn’t be entered without full understanding and consultation with a physician.

Title photo by Twigy Posts; Cucumber photo by shalunx/BigStock.com