How to: Balance Your Meals

It seems like everyone (including myself) is always running. Running to work, to the store, to see friends and family...and at the end of the week, we're exhausted. We're completely burned out and run down; we begin to feel down and out! So, what is the solution? Why are we feeling like we can never have a moment to just chill out? I've found in my own experience that it is a lack of  

bal-ance  /ˈbaləns/
Noun: An even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady.

Our culture has no real concept of balance. We're rushing to get to wherever we've decided we should be going and when we get there we're left feeling lousy. Now, I'm no professional organizer or zen master type who has this all figured out. But I have figured out that the days I am more balanced in my activities, I am more focused on each task and I am able to get more done without feeling as stressed out. What's the first thing I do in order to find balance? I balance my meals (of course it's food related!)

Why Balance Meals?
Balancing your meals can be the foundation of your whole day. How are you supposed to work to get everything else in order if your own body chemistry isn't in order? You might be able to, but your body is going to feel pretty stressed out while you do. The reason behind balancing your meals is this; to feel even keel you need to eat even keel. Where am I getting this idea from? Research from Dr. Diana Schwarzbein's book The Schwarzbein Principle. From there we get the Schwarzbein Square, which we use a reference for balanced eating daily in my office.

1.  Quality Proteins- Main nutrient in your meal. Fresh as possible,     not full of preservatives or hormones. Organic is best. Eggs, meat, fish, and whole milk dairy.
2.     Healthy Fats- Ensures good brain function, make some hormones and keep all your cells happy.  Avoid all damaged fats found in processed foods. (hydronated, oxidixed or trans fats)
3.     Eat Non-Starchy Vegetables- Celery, cauliflower, onions, cucumbers, greens and leaf vegetables.
4.     Real Carbohydrates- Grown, picked or harvested. Real carbohydrates in whole organic grains, legumes and starchy vegetables. 

 So a balanced meal means each of the blocks is present every time you eat. In order to get consecutively balanced meals throughout the day takes planning. But, it's not as complicated as we make it out to be it just takes forming some new habits. Here are some examples to get you on your way.

Breakfast
Seemingly the hardest meal for anyone to get, breakfast can be made easy with a little planning. A balanced breakfast looks something like this: A free range, organic egg prepared how you like it and dinner's leftover sweet potatoes and spinach fried up in a quality butter. We have at least one thing from every portion of the square. A breakfast like this will carry you well into lunch without any hunger pains!

Lunch
Personally, I like to switch around my typical lunch and dinner (eating a bigger meal in the middle of the day) but for a lot of people it's just not possible. A balanced lunch would look like this: A large green salad with any and all veggies you like, rice or beans on top, raw cheddar cheese, and a homemade olive oil dressing. A lot of people's beef with salads is that they never feel full after eating. With this kind of salad, there is no chance you will not feel full and satisfied with the amount of protein and fat present.

Snack
When you just grab an apple for a snack, all you're getting there is some quick energy in the form of a real carbohydrate that is going to spike your energy then drop it low again. Now if you added some coconut oil and organic peanut butter to your apple, you'd have an energy sustaining snack. The reason you're feeling hungry and/or tired is because your body needs some protein and fat.

Dinner
I find dinner to be my favorite meal because it usually decides what I'm going to eat tomorrow for leftovers! I am a great big believer in left overs because it means cooking (along with everything that got dirty to make it) just once. It's a huge time saver. So here is what a well balanced dinner looks like: A free range, organic chicken roasted in the oven, baked sweet potato or brown rice, broccoli and cauliflower steamed and a quality butter dabbed onto everything.

Doesn't sound like much of a diet does it? And that is really the best part about this. When you eat a balanced diet your body will begin to heal, you'll begin to metabolize properly, you'll have more energy, and you'll begin to lose weight. I love food, no doubt about it. But sharing my knowledge base is just as enjoyable to me as actually eating! Leave me any questions you may have in the comments and I'll be happy to answer them! ^_^