Health Diary #1 + Tips

Hello darlings!
Today was my second day of my journey to a healthier lifestyle. I want to share some meal ideas and overall tips that I have been following. This will give you guys an idea of what I am eating. I will also update you on any weight changes and on how I am feeling overall. Let's begin :)

Also to clarify, this is not what you might think of as a "diet". I am not restricting myself completely to things I would want to eat. I will probably treat myself once a week to some form of junk food, but only in very moderate portions. This way, I am not depriving myself of everything, and merely encouraging myself to eat more veggies and fruits.
*I am not a nutritionist or anything of the sort. This is merely what I am doing. I advice seeing a professional for any of your needs and/or concerns.

Breakfast
I have never been much of a breakfast person, and I also detest eggs and bacon. I am also always in a rush in the mornings, so my breakfasts have always consisted of cereal/breads/ and foods that are quick to make. Because I wanted something quick, I made a protein smoothie. I went to Costco the other day and bought a bunch of strawberries, bananas, and blueberries. I freeze half of them and use them for smoothies, while I keep the other half fresh for salads/cereal/ect.

My smoothie consisted of:
1 banana
1 cup of freshly frozen strawberries
1 cup of soy milk
1 tsp of soy protein powder

I blended all of the ingredients in a blender. It was yummy :)

Lunch
I am a huge lover of soups. I was craving some soup so I made a chicken rice soup. My grandma used to make me this type of soup when I was young and I never noticed that it is actually very healthy. This is a Mexican version of chicken soup, haha.

Ingredients:

1 breast of organic chicken
1 tsp of chicken bouillon
1 tsp of oregano
1 tbsp of cilantro
1 tomato
1/4 of an onion
6 carrots
5 potatoes
1/2 cup of rice
(You can add any other veggies if you like)

I first cook the chicken breast in a pot filled with water. I add the chicken bouillon for more flavor. I also add the oregano.
When the chicken in half way cooked, I dice the tomato and the onion and add them into the pot. I guess this is added to add flavor to the broth.
When the chicken is cooked, I add the rice, the chopped carrots and potatoes. The rice will cook as fast as the carrots and potatoes.
The best thing about making soup like this, is that left overs taste ever better. You can make loads and keep in in your fridge.
This soup is delicious and it reminds me of my grandma. Of course, if you want to make it even healthier, you can use whole grain rice instead of white rice.

Tasted soooo much better than those canned soups, and it is much healthier and fresher. 

Dinner
I like to keep dinner light, and because I felt extra lazy tonight, I merely warmed up some left over soup and ate that. I should mention I don't really eat much of the chicken. I make my brother, who is as skinny as a stick, eat most of the chicken. He needs it way more than I do xD I also felt in the mood for some "dessert" so I had some plain yogurt. I like yogurt because it makes my stomach settle down. I also had a cup of really amazing, organic green tea. No sugar added.

TIPS

Protein: 
Meats are the usual source for protein, but if you are cutting down on meats, you need protein from another source. In my smoothie, I used soy protein in a powder form. I bought a protein supplement to makeup for the lack of protein in my diet. Soy protein is the healthiest form of protein. You can eat all kinds of soy products; I personally like edamame (cooked soy beans) and miso soup. Protein also keeps you full, and that is why I like to have it for breakfast, because it will kept me from being hungry, which in turn will help me to stay away from eating junk food for lunch.
I noticed that Japanese people constantly eat miso soup for breakfast. Miso soup is made from miso, which is made from soy beans. And of course, the Japanese are one of the healthiest people is the world, and  they have the longest life expectancy. Lets take a page out of their book and consume more soy products :D

Salt:
You should control the amount of salt that goes in your diet. Salt is absolutely necessary for your body, but too much can be harmful. Try not too add salt into your food, or if you do, try to make it very little. I added bouillon to my soup, which has salt, but I only used a tsp for an entire pot of soup.

Sugar:
As with salt, try not too add sugar to your food. I mention this because I notice many people add sugar to their smoothies. Of course it will make the smoothie taste better, but it defeats the purpose of a healthy drink. Besides, fruits already have natural sugars in them; you don't want too add more.
I enjoy drinking green tea, but I do not add sugar. I actually prefer the taste of green tea without sugar.

Okay that is all for today! I am not going to do these posts everyday since I am sure they would take over everything else. But I can do them about once a week or so. Let me know what you guys think ^_^