Apologies and a new way of eating in the new year

My apologies for being such an awful, horrible blogger. I started off with the best intentions and then life and work got in the way. As a result I ate out more, blogged less, gained weight and was generally horrible. But it's a new year, and I'm back to an eating plan that makes so much sense.

It's simple really. When cooking for myself I plan to avoid using and consuming the following foods:

• Wheat and wheat based products
• Highly processed grains
• Refined sugars (honey, molasses, agave are ok in small quantites)
  
• Most if not all dairy products (hard cheeses are passable)
  
• Processed foods

Foods I plan on consuming more of:

• Alternate grains (oats, spelt, quinoa, teff, millet etc)
• Whole grains
• Vegetables
• Legumes

This is not necessarily restrictive since there are still carbs (yay) and there are no real forbidden foods. This means I will not turn down foods prepared by friends and family, and that while I will make healthier choices while eating out, I am not reduced to salad and water.

I know this method of eating works and results in better skin, stronger nails and shampoo commercial hair. I feel like I have more energy as well - and not surprisingly, this makes me a nicer person.

From here on in I plan to chronicle my eating habits )partly for my dietician - and to provide you with recipes that you may want to consider using.

While the rest of the posts will be recipe focused this one gives your a rough outline of how this eating plan works. There isn't specific time blocked off for exercise but i stretch for about 10 minutes every morning and spend about an hour of my day walking to and from work/on errands/ up and down an interminable flight of stairs. I agree that I could be doing more..and I'll work on it.

Breakfast:
2 glasses of water
1 apple (or fruit equivalent - when I run out of apples I'm thinking pumpkin puree)
1/4 cup steel cut oats cooked with water

Afternoon Snack
1 large herbal tea (white/mint/berry)
1/4 cup toasted almond and dried fruit mix
1 whole fruit (optional)

Dinner
2 cups of cooked green or orange vegetable
6-8 oz protein
4-6 oz carbohydrate
2 glasses of water

Granted this does not seem like enough food - but for someone who is used to only eating one large meal a day (often at the end of it) this is more food than I am used to. Breakfast, while it still does not seem worth the time, is making a huge difference to my energy levels.

I will keep you updated. In the mean time, take a look at the two food pyramid's below, 1 from the USDA and 1 from Harvard Which do you think makes more sense for the individual consume, and which is easier to follow?