As a person who is not very skilled in the art of cooking, I will be the first to admit that fast food has become a rather prevalent alternative to a home cooked meal in my recent years. At times, it has been easier for me to turn down anything remotely healthy and instead give into all of the cravings that drive thru restaurants have to offer. Yet, after moving in to a new apartment, I made a promise to myself that I was going to make a serious effort to shop for healthier foods at the grocery store and, in turn, use them to create healthier recipes. After only two weeks of living in my apartment, I can easily say that the combination of buying fresh produce and researching health conscious recipes has greatly improved my everyday life.
Out of all of my goals related to adapting to a healthier lifestyle, one of my main priorities was to figure out the best way to reduce my carb intake. As a person who could easily live off of bread and pasta, I realized I needed to make a change in order to feel less sluggish and hopefully gain more energy. To my surprise, I found that it was very easy to reduce my carb intake by substituting it with certain vegetables. For example, one of my favorite recipes that I have made to replace carbs in my diet is cauliflower mashed potatoes, where you can substitute the potatoes for the vegetable. Though it will never taste exactly like the mashed potatoes we all crave now and then, it is an excellent choice that will provide the same feelings of fullness without the overload of carbs. Though this is only one of many new health conscious recipes I have incorporated into my diet, I am pleased to say that I am happy with the results I am experiencing. I feel as though I have more energy overall and more motivation to continue on my path to a healthier lifestyle.