I just got off the phone with my friend who is newly pregnant and living with a “helicopter dad” who hovers over her every decision for their growing child inside of her. His Side: He doesn’t want her eating anything processed, nothing with dairy, or white pasta, milk chocolate, (and she is CRAVING a Snickers bar) or even her absolute favorite food; pizza! Her Side: She’s hungry, moody and craving some pizza sans the whole wheat crust! FYI people: there are 21,000 people eating pizza every minute.. no joke… so why should she be excluded?! I had to side with her and not just because she’s my friend and a pregnant woman! Everything in moderation people, right?! 

While we were chatting, she kept saying that I was the healthiest person she knows (what?) and it got me to thinking what exactly I consider healthy. I don’t diet. I don’t starve myself. I eat when I’m hungry and sometimes when I’m not. I eat pasta and/or pizza at least once a week… I’m Italian, that’s what we do. I eat carbs. Bread. I eat Ben and Jerry’s “Cherry Garcia” on Sundays. Oh, and I love wine. And cheese. With crackers and chocolate. Do I eat all of this stuff in one day, everyday? Hell no! But I won’t deprive myself of it either. Why? Because I exercise! Shhhh! It’s the secret to eating what you want… in moderation though!

I would live on wine and pizza if I could!

In hindsight, I don’t drink soda. Eat fast food. Drink Starbucks. (I would have two venti chai lattes everyday if I could.) Smoke butts. Have French fries more than once a month. Drink coffee. Skip breakfast. Eat maraschino cherries. Yup. That’s about all I got. For me, these equal unhealthy because they either make me gassy, make me poop, leave me with stomach cramps, and I’m usually not able to get to sleep at night if all this is happening thus making me regret my food choices the next morning when that alarm buzzes! You with me?!

All kidding aside though, I am probably one of the healthier one out of my friends… this is due to the fact that I enjoying “working out” and I really love cooking “clean” for myself and my hubby too. But it’s mostly due to the fact that I get up super early (4:30-5 a.m. including Saturdays) and I go bed ridiculously early too. Eating rich, heavy, fried, cheesy foods does not support my yoga practice at all. Who wants to be the gassy girl on the purple mat pretending she’s not the one tooting away? Or worse that yoga teacher who crop dusts the room. Oh don’t tell me you haven’t heard of crop dusting? It’s Midwest for walking around the room while tooting simultaneously. But enough of this talk, my Ma is probably rolling her eyes in embarrassment right about now!

Andy and I love to dance and act silly. Here he is pretending to be Jamiroquai! HA!

You get my point though right? Eating foods that support your lifestyle gives you more energy, you look better, you feel better, you sleep better; over time it’s a no brainer. If you feel crappy, you’re probably eating crappy. So I invite you to not skip breakfast or eat some yucky donut and instead opt for this lovely recipe that I am now obsessed with. Who doesn’t love eggs? (besides my pregnant friend) And avocado? Put them together and it’s a marriage made in heaven! This is eating clean at it’s finest… add some hot sauce and salt and pepper and wallah!

_____________________________

Avocado Baked with Eggs- serves one or two 

Ingredients:

-1 avocado, sliced length wise

-2 eggs

-cilantro

-hot sauce

-salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425.

2. Slice your avocado, remove the pit and place on a sheet tray with some foil. Scoop out some of the avocado if it looks too small for an egg to fit in there.

3. Crack an egg in each half and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. I baked mine for 20 minutes and they came out over medium.

4. Season as desired and enjoy!

___________________

Okay, so I have some exciting (in my world) news for you… I am listening to my first ever Book on Tape (Amazon Audible) and it is changing my life!! Last week I walked over 17 miles to and from work, the library, Trader Joe’s and such and I usually only listen to NPR. But then my wise friend suggested I try listening to a book via my iPhone and I thought, “Why, what a novel idea?” If you drive by me over the next few days and I’m laughing my butt off, it’s because I’m listening to Lena Dunham’s Not that Kind of Girl, narrated by the one and only, Lena Dunham! Could she be any more interesting?

I think not.