What food items do you consider staples in a well-balanced diet?

Wow, we’re on the how stretch with these questions. I can’t believe I’ve nearly made it to the end. When I started I wasn’t entirely sure I’d be able to keep it up. Yey me, eh? ^_^

So… food items.

Well I know all the talk about the five basic food groups, but I don’t tend to follow that as well as I should. Even while I was pregnant I probably could have eaten better than I did and now that I’m breastfeeding, even though I’m concious of what I eat, I’m not going crazy over being good. As a matter of fact, I think the best I’ve been in terms of diet is that phase when I was loosing weight and visiting the nurse every fortnight. If I recall I managed to lose two and a half stone (a blessing in disguise since I seemed to put that back on while pregnant – I’ve got to lose it again now!).

Anyway… probably part of the reason I put on so much weight (aside from the fact that I was carrying two babies!) is because I started to eat more of the things that I felt were super duper awesome. Things that I consider to be staples of if not a balanced diet, a pleasant and enjoyable one. :p

Cheese
I have a thing for cheese. My mum is currently concerned about my calcium intake as I’ve stopped drinking milk, but I have no worries given the amount of cheese I eat. While pregnant there were lots of cheeses that I couldn’t eat, but now that I’m ‘free’ I’m enjoying the likes of soft and blue cheeses that I had to put on hold for many, many months. I have a particular liking for strong cheddar, so putting that in bread or on crackers, or even just eating massive chunks of it just makes me feel better.

 
Mc Donald’s Apple Pies
This was certainly a craving, but I can’t say it was a pregnancy craving, because its more linked to being in the city centre at a certain time of night. When I pass Mc Donald’s, I want an apple pie. I very rarely deny myself on that score, so I make a point of not passing the restaurant very often. But its fruit.. so surely its one of my five day? Yes, its deep fried, but that just adds to the juicy, juicy flavour! 😉

 
Fresh Pineapple Chunks
Mmmm, fruit. I love pineapple. I can never be bothered to buy a whole one and hack it up, but plenty of supermarkets do vacuum packed fresh selections. I scoffed two packs the other day without even pausing and ended up with a sugar rush coma not long after. Yes, it may be fruit, but its also rammed full of natural sugars. I’m sure if I’m not careful I’m going to end up with no teeth!

 
McCoys Flame Grilled Steak Crisps (or just crisps in general!)
Nice. Just nice. Its a tasty flavour and again, potato surely means its one of my five a day. *snerk* Its a vegetable, right? And I love the crunch that comes with those heavily flavoured, ridged crisps. Oh god… just thinking about it now makes me want a pack. Damnit… we’ve run out. -_-

 
Fresh Green Salad
Yep. There is something inexplicably satisfying about a big, overflowing bowl of salad complete with freshly cracked black pepper, balsamic vinegar and chunks of fresh, tasty feta. ^_^ What more can I say?

 

My 80 Post Challenge is brought to you with help from Tom Slatin’s 80 Journal Writing Prompts.