Snap Kitchen #21DaysforGood

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have recently noticed a flurry of activity surrounding the #21DaysforGood campaign via Snap Kitchen (and if you're not following me, well, head on over and press that follow button!). For the last fourteen days, I’ve been a part of this awesome campaign/competition centered on cultivating healthy eating habits, goal setting, and raising awareness for a lovely group of non-profits.

During the last two weeks (seven more days to go!), I’ve worked closely with the dietitians and other cheerleaders at Snap to meet my diet and lifestyle goals through a combination of healthy eating and tracking. At the beginning of the process, I set my sights on primarily adapting an overall healthier eating plan. Coming off from my summer of fabulous foodie fun, I’ve been stuck in a bit of a rut while when not in food blogger mode. During the weekdays, I typically swing by Starbucks for breakfast on my way to work (I leave quite early and don't have the energy or time to sit down for breakfast), eat portable, but boring and not necessarily the most nutritious frozen meals for lunch, and then sit down to leftovers from the weekend for dinner. While I usually enjoy cooking, lately I’ve been uninspired and really overwhelmed at the idea of planning out meals for the week; I’ve mostly only been cooking rather spontaneously, which doesn’t always bode well with my schedule. Along with getting out of my foodie rut, I also decided it was time to get back to eating a set number of calories each day. While I abhor calorie counting, I know that I need to do it regularly, as I can easily fall off track and head into "eat all the foods!" mode if I'm not paying close attention.

Thanks to the meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks!) I’ve received from Snap, I’ve already been able to reprogram my weekday eating; while I definitely still indulge in food blogger events during the weekend, I’ve been able to stick to my set 1800 calories per day during the week thus far. Along with sticking to a set amount of calories (which I got away from during the summer), I've also highly enjoyed the variety of foods I've been eating through my Snap meals. I'm a creature of habit and tend to eat the exact same foods over and over (especially when I don't have a lot of time to plan). The great variety is really what has kept me interested and motivated to stay on track! Seeing as the food from Snap is prepackaged, I didn’t have to shift my process too much, as I’m all about convenience during the work week. However, this prepackaged food is *so* much better than what I was typically eating for lunch - not only is it nutritionally balanced, but also it’s quite tasty. I guess that’s why Snap’s motto is "fast food for foodies," right?! Finally, while my goal wasn’t necessarily a number on the scale (although that’s definitely part of the long-term plan), I’m happy to say that I’ve easily dropped 8 lbs in the last two weeks! Out of all of my goals, shifting my eating habits back to the healthier end of the spectrum was definitely the most important and I’m super happy with my progress thus far.

As many benefits as I've reaped so far, the #21DaysforGood campaign isn’t just for my own good - it’s also about competing for $3000 to be gifted to a charity of my choice by spreading awareness and good cheer about my experiences with Snap Kitchen. I’m competing for Felines & Canines, a wonderful neighborhood no-kill animal shelter dedicated to providing a safe and loving shelter to abandoned, injured, abused and neglected animals until their permanent adoptive home is found. They are a fantastic organization who could really benefit from some love (along with some cold, hard cash!).

You can see more on Twitter, but here's a bit of what I've been eating during my challenge so far...