*** The Quantum Scale winner is Michelle M.! Email me at toohottieforthatbody@gmail.com with your mailing address so we can get that sucker shipped to you! ***

I don’t know about you but I like pretty things. I especially like pretty things I can eat. This is why cupcakes and I get along so well.

Now, this might sound counter intuitive but one of the most powerful arsenals I have with this weight loss business is food blogs… the healthy kind. I feel that if I inundate with myself with beautiful images of healthy clean food then I’ll start to crave it.

Guess what. It works!

Since Halloween I’ve been trying to detox my sugar cravings and get back on track with good old fashioned clean eating. When I’m in the middle of a sugar rush this never sounds like fun. I always forget that I can eat stuff that my body loves and truly enjoy it too.

In order to get into the spirit of things I’ve starting taking the time to really appreciate how beautiful simple whole foods are. So I’ve been taking pictures of what I’ve been putting in my belly. It’s kind of my weird way of giving thanks.

Just taking the time to slow down and appreciate my food has helped satiate the part of me that eats for comfort. With that being said, here is what I have been eating/craving lately…

I typically try not to drink coffee every morning because I just simply can’t drink it without adding sugar and cream. I’ve learned never to completely eliminate something from my diet, otherwise my inner brat throws a tantrum, so I allow sugar coffee when needed. That being said, if I drink coffee I eat a breakfast that is sugar free. On these days I usually eat eggs.

On the mornings when I’m strong enough to simply opt for green tea, I’ll splurge on a little sugar in my morning yogurt.

I have been obsessed with plain greek yogurt with a little bit of brown sugar and cinnamon. It tastes so decadent and “Fall like”! I’ve been loading it with things like pears, apples, nuts, cranberries and Kashi cereal. I was inspired by this post and have been eating/craving yogurt for breakfast and snack ever since!

I’ve also been on a big oatmeal kick. But I like my oatmeal thick and bread-like versus soupy so I decided to try this oatmeal bake for breakfast this weekend (swapping blueberries for blackberries and walnuts for almonds).

Bridget ate the last piece this morning as she darted out the door for school.

I’ve been trying to increase my vegetable intake because I tend to eat less crap when I fill up on veggies. The only problem with that is I don’t really like vegetables all that much… or at least I didn’t used to. My thoughts on veggies are starting to change, especially if I roast them.

Brent and I had this yummy roasted spaghetti squash boat the other day for lunch. (I used chicken sausage versus grilled chicken.)

I made this a ton last winter and I had forgotten how good it was. What I love about spaghetti squash is that you can pile on more cheese and sauce than you normally would without feeling guilty because the rest is just veggies. If you’ve never had spaghetti squash don’t go into it thinking your going to eat a vegetable that tastes like spaghetti. Go into it thinking you are going to eat a veggie that tastes awesome topped with lots of cheese and tomato sauce. Otherwise, you’ll be disappointed.

I also roasted a whole chicken… while I was at a party. Don’t tell Fire Marshal Bill Brent. That meant that while Penelope was off kissing boys…

Something magical was happening in my oven. (Don’t try this at home.)

I used this Ina Garten recipe, I roasted it with multi colored potatoes, carrots and onions instead of the fennel she suggested. I don’t like licorice so I definitely won’t like a vegetable that tastes like licorice. I have to admit, violating a chicken before going to a party on a Saturday night isn’t usually on my list of things to do. We didn’t even eat it that night but I had to cook it before it went bad. Luckily, it was still delicious the next day.

I just reheated the chicken skin side down on a skillet so that it got crispy again and yes I ate the skin…. and I LOVED it!

I had also made my favorite Chicken Harvest Soup at the end of the week but this time used jewel yams versus regular sweet potatoes. I thought it would look so pretty. Well… the left overs ended up looking like something made from a zombie chicken since the purple color leaked out and turned the chicken and everything else in the soup grey. BUT was still super yummy so we polished it off anyway. (This is Bridget’s all time favorite soup which makes me happy because it’s full of vegetables that she normally refuses to eat.)

If you follow my Facebook page you saw this brilliant homemade microwave popcorn recipe I posted on Friday.

I was so amazed that it actually worked. You would have thought I had never popped popcorn in the microwave before! Just fill a small paper lunch bag with 1/4 cup popcorn kernels, 1/2 tsp canola or peanut oil and salt. Fold the top of the bag over and pop it in the microwave for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Ta da!!! Clean microwavable popcorn without the weird chemical additives that cause cancer. I got this recipe from Ellie Krieger’s Comfort Food Fix, and according to her you’ve just made yourself a 100 calorie pack for way less money.

Yeah… so that about sums it up. And now I’m feeling kind of awkward for loving food so much.

Anyway, now you have a few ideas on what you could munch on just in case you were in a recipe rut. Feel free to return the favor…

What kind of good stuff have you been eating lately?

P.S. Here is a link to 9 Sneaky Reasons You’re Ravenously Hungry.