About Cait’s Plate

My Mission

I’ve wanted to start a balanced lifestyle blog for so long now to share my passion for health and wellness.  It’s such a part of my day to day life and something that I’m constantly absorbing as much information on as possible.  It makes me so sad to see so many people jumping on and off fad diets only to ‘fail’ the next day and “give up” – your health should never be something you want to “give up” on. Plain and simple.  You only get this one body and you really should treat it like your temple.  Feed it and nourish it and love it and it will give you all that you need in return.  And the best part about getting healthy is – there’s nothing you “can’t” do or “can’t” have.  You can do it all so long as you find a healthy balance.  If you eat a cookie for breakfast one day – eat a healthy salad for lunch.  If you skip exercise one day, add a lunchtime walk in the next day to make up for it.  For every action there’s always a counter-action.  I hope to inspire people that feel like a healthy lifestyle is hopeless or boring and show them that it can b e fun and delicious!  It’s all about focusing on what you can ADD to your life rather than what you feel like you’re giving up.

About My Passion for Health

I first became heavily interested in health and wellness in college.  I began running more and more distance (I was a sprinter in high school so I was NOT familiar with distance!) and to offset what that was doing to my body, I took up Iyengar yoga.  I went religiously 5 days a week, determined to find my flexibility from my childhood gymnast days and sure enough – about 3 months in I began noticing how much further I was able to go into poses.  Not to mention how incredibly helpful it was in aiding my muscles to recover from my long runs. The change was so slow and gradual, but as I began noticing how much better I felt, my interest in food and nutrition, and the connection that can have to how you feel, also became stronger.

I’ve always loved food.  Coming from a large family of Greeks, I think I would have been quickly disowned had I not.  Everything that we do revolves around food: from cooking to baking and most importantly, eating.  As a result, most of my favorite memories are ones that have something to do with food.  I think that connection really enabled me to embrace food as a good thing and something that can be enjoyed – not feared.

The more that I learned about nutrition, the more interested I became in the idea that YOU have the power to change yourself.  What you put into your body effects how you feel, think AND look – a concept that I’m so enamored by.  You actually have the power to change your body’s ability to fight disease and improve your health – all while actually enjoying the ride.  What could be better than that?

Food Philosophy

I truly believe in eating healthy, whole foods as much as possible.  That’s not to say that there’s no room for other types of food – believe me, I’m all for indulging when the mood strikes. I just think that it’s a shame how much we’ve come to rely on processed foods, especially when we have a plethora of delicious whole foods at our disposal. I grew up eating family dinners every night. My plate almost always consisted of the same thing: a protein, a vegetable and a carbohydrate.

People seem to shy away from eating healthy because they either feel it’s too hard or that it’s tasteless – but I promise you, eating well does not have to be bland or difficult!  If you work with fresh, whole ingredients you’ll soon find that you have endless possibilities for meals.  Take a salad for instance – there are an infinite number of combinations that you could make by just adding different fresh or dried fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains, beans, lean protein and dressings.  The biggest mistake people can make when trying to eat healthy is to shy away from too many ingredients.  I’m a strong believer that the more colorful your dish is, the better it will taste.

Most importantly though is making sure you take pleasure in what you eat at every meal and snack. Eat what you crave and stop when you’re full.  Food is meant to be enjoyed, not feared.  Think of how much your social life revolves around it – whether we like it or not, food is something that unites us and brings us together and SHOULD be a positive thing in your life.  There IS a way to find the balance that’s right for you so that you’re not ever over OR under-indulging.  If 80% of the time you’re focusing on healthy, whole foods and creating well-rounded meals for yourself, then there’s absolutely NO reason in the world that you should not enjoy yourself to the fullest the other 20%.

Eating well does not and should not mean overhauling the entire way you eat, but rather slowly beginning to make healthier choices that you can maintain in the long run.  Once you begin to feel the effects of doing that – TRUST ME, you won’t want to go back.  I have yet to meet someone who literally does not enjoy ONE healthy food.  Even if you only have one, start with that and go from there.

Remember – EVERYTHING in moderation. It’s truly the golden key to health and happiness.  I hope this blog is able to show and encourage you to be as passionate about your health as I am.  Feel free to ask questions at anytime – I will always do my best to answer them honestly.  Now kick back and enjoy