We hosted a pasta feed for my kid’s cross country team this week. You know, 70-80 hungry kiddos carb loading the night before a meet. Families generously signed up to share pasta bakes, crockpots of pasta, and lasagna, among other food to go with it. When all was said and done, we had a large amount of lasagna left over to keep or throw.
I. LOVE. LASAGNA. Fitness and nutrition coach aside, this is one of my favorite foods. And, I believe that you can make healthy versions of it, so I keep it in my menu at home. So, there was no way I was going to throw this out.
I confess- I’ve eaten a piece of lasagna almost every morning since for breakfast. Since this particular lasagna-maker left out any sign of a vegetable in her recipe, I took it upon myself to make a “better,” more nutrition version of it. One morning, I put a bunch of shredded zucchini with it. Two other times, a handful of spinach. My other strategies were to cut a SMALL piece and to eat it SLOWLY. I made it better....I made the experience worth it. I savored my favorite food. And, I stopped when I was 80% full.
The lesson here is that you can take almost any meal and use these basics to support your goals. Food isn’t “good” or “bad,” and YOU are not “good” or “bad” for eating it- although we are quick to label it that way. It’s on a continuum of better or worse. So, with something like lasagna, pizza, creamy casseroles, high calorie/sugar anything- how can you move it along the continuum to make your meal a bit better? If you’re going to have those foods, fine- but eat them slowly and stop when you are comfortable. Restriction is where trouble can start, so have your favorites once in awhile, within reason.
Go ahead, have your lasagna. I know I did.
