Whether you’re trying to get to a healthier weight or just eat healthier, one of the most powerful tools you can use is self-monitoring. Self-monitoring is simply paying attention to what you’re doing and keeping track of it. You can use self-monitoring to improve your eating habits, track your physical activity, become more aware of your moods – you can even track how you’re spending your money. Self-monitoring gives you power.
At De Las Mías we like to say, ¡Saber es poder! Knowledge is power.
If you are trying to make healthy changes, self-monitoring puts you in the driver’s seat.
The De Las Mías app offers you two great self-monitoring tools:
- The Healthy Habits Checklist
- Activity Tracker
The Healthy Habits Checklist
Find this quick and easy-to-use tool on the De Las Mías app! It’s there to remind you of the healthy habits you need to lead a healthier life. Use it daily to keep up with your healthy lifestyle goals. The checklist will help you stay on track: Eat more veggies! Drink more water! Call your comadre! Cut down on sugar! When you use the checklist you build healthy habits.
Do it for 3 days straight. See what happens. Then do it for 5. Then do it again until it sticks.
The Healthy Habits Checklist is a great self-monitoring tool. The healthy habits on the checklist are proven to improve your health. Get into the habit of using the checklist every day. And then one day, ¡Boinas! You are in the habit of being healthy.
Start doing it today. ¡Te va encantar! ¡You’re gonna love it!
The checklist includes all the important healthy habit goals you need to lead a healthier life, but there are 3 we would like you to start with:
- Eat more vegetables
- Eat more fruit
- Get more exercise
First, let’s talk about healthy habits and how to eat more fruits and veggies. Next, we’ll talk about how to build a healthy habit of moving your body every day.
Let’s Get Started with the Veggie Habit!
The very first 2 healthy habits we want you to build is to eat your fruits and veggies. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), only one in 10 adults in the U.S. get the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. Eating your daily fruits and veggies can help reduce the risk of many chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.
To jump start your healthy habit of eating more fruits and veggies, our certified nutritionist, la mera Malena Perdomo, came up with daily menus you can try from our recipes. If you choose your meals from the many delicious De Las Mías recipes, you’ll be well on your way to building healthy habits and becoming a Healthy Habit Super Mujer!
At De Las Mías, we are taking a page from the latest research that shows that you don’t have to count every calorie to get to a healthier weight. You can get to a healthier weight by building healthy habits over time. This is a more balanced way of living and one that you can keep up over your whole life. We’re not losing 30 pounds by Christmas here, Comadre. We’re working on a healthy lifestyle you can keep up ¡Por Vida! (And no, you don’t have to give up tamales.)
So Malena, our nutritionist, works with hundreds of women all over the country in her own practice as well as helping De Las Mías. She tells us, “Many of the women I work with want a simple approach to eating healthier. I help them by giving them a menu to follow for the week.”
Tres Días of De Las Mías: Three-Day Meal Plan
So her is a 3-day De Las Mías plan that she prepared for you. All of these recipes can be found on the De Las Mías app or website. We call it, Tres Días of De Las Mías!
Here’s how it works:
- Review the recipes , check your pantry for ingredients you may already have, and go shopping for the rest.
- Try the plan for 3 days and start checking off those healthy habits.
- Let us know how it goes.
Remember this: De Las Mías is evidence-based! That means that all our Mexican, Southwestern and New Mexican recipes align with the highest standards set by the USDA as heart healthy and good for you! Our recipes are developed by our Test Kitchen Chef, Lori, in Saguarita, Arizona and then Malena analyzes them in her kitchen in Denver, Colorado. Our recetas are tried, tested and approved by Latinas just like you!
¡Buen Provecho!
Day 1 – Tres Días of De Las Mías
Breakfast: Spinach Scramble with Queso fresco (140cals) – Check off 1 serving of veggies!
Lunch: Watermelon and Almond Salad (130cals) and Enfrijoladas de Pollo* (400cals) – Check off 1 serving of fruit and 1 serving of veggies!
Dinner: Tuna Tacos (330 cals) and Nopalitos Salsa (1cup 40cals) – Check off 1 serving of veggies!
Snack: Add one fruit, like an apple, orange or banana – Check off 1 more serving of fruit!
¡Eso! You just checked your 3 veggies and 2 fruits for the day! (All this for under 1200 calories – not that you’re counting!)
Day 2 – Tres Días of De Las Mías
Breakfast: Brunch Quesadilla (250cals)
Lunch: Turkey Taco Salad* (320 cals) – Check off 2 servings of veggies!
Dinner: Spicy Cauliflower (60cals), Roasted chicken* (190 cals), and Lori’s Quinoa Jalapeño Salad* (220cals) – Check off 2 serving of veggies!
Snack: Add a cup of chopped fruit like melon, pineapple, and strawberries . Have an orange, apple or banana. – Check off 2 servings of fruit! (Note: Fruit is better with – ¡limón y chilito!)
¡Eso! You just checked 4 servings of veggies and 2 fruits for the day! (Total calories for the day: 1,040. Pero lo más importante is you are building your healthy habits!)
Day 3 – Tres Días of De Las Mías
Breakfast: Old Fashioned Mexican Oatmeal* (90cals) and Mango Banana Smoothie* (180 cals) – Check off 1 serving of fruit!
Lunch: Shrimp and Veggie Taquitos (230cals) with Pico de Gallo Salsa (1/2 recipe: 55cals) – Check off 2 servings of veggies!
Dinner: Poblano Chicken Soup (140 cals) Arroz Verde* (150 cals) – Check off 2 servings of veggies!
Snack: Add your two fruits and check them off!
¡Eso! You just checked 4 servings of veggies and 3 fruits for the day! (Total calories for the day: 845.
*Recipes only available on the De Las Mías app. Download it today! Available on Google Play and App Store.
Note: For these three days, we are just counting veggies and fruits, but notice you are eating whole grains and lean protein too! ¡Eso! You are well on your way to becoming a Healthy Habits Super Mujer!
And we kept the calorie count low on purpose to encourage you to add some healthy snacks, such as your 2 frutas al día, a handful of almonds with a crispy apple, some hummus and veggies, a quick licuado or gazpacho in the afternoon slump.
Healthy Habits Recap
So just to recap: Here you have 3 full days of healthy eating that honors your culture and your buena salud! Get into the habit of eating your 3 veggies and 2 fruits a day and get into the habit of using the Healthy Habit Checklist. And soon you will be a Healthy Habit Super Star!
This is the way you create a habit:
- Find something you like, for example, our delicious ways to eat more fruits and veggies.
- Do it. Do it again. And repeat until it sticks.
- Use the Healthy Habit Checklist to see how you’re doing and to nudge you to keep doing it! (Self-monitor!)
- Enjoy those ¡Esos! And share them!
- When you get through to the other side of Tres Días of De Las Mías, get yourself a reward! Flowers! A romp through Instagram or Pinterest! A new nail polish. You get the picture.
- Encourage your amigas, comadres, hermanas and even your vatos to join you in your healthy habit quest!
See our 9 Steps Healthy Eating Plan for more ideas on how to embark on a healthier life.
¡Unidas for a Healthy Life!
De Las Mias 