- Lady Gaga
And now I'm bopping my head to the song as it plays on my iPhone.
Did you all have a good weekend? I did - we didn't do jack. Friday, we stopped by my in-laws house for a little while to say hello. Saturday, we checked out a model home in a new neighborhood. Saturday night we met my dad out for some sushi as a belated birthday celebrating for my husband. Sunday, I literally laid around in my pajamas and read the third Hunger Games book. This is the second time reading the second and third book. I think the second book is my favorite but I enjoy the end of the third book because Katniss ends up with the person I think she should end up with. The only reason I don't like the third is because there is just SO much going on, the first time I read it I found I had a hard time keeping track and trying to visualize as I read.
I got my hair cut Friday and I lurve it - I need to snap a picture and post it. My hair dresser took 6 inches off! My hair was long and now it feels SO much better.
I have been dealing with my insurance company again since Saturday - I swear they think it's some sort of sick joke to mess with me and my health benefits. I went to pay for a prescription (that I have paid for many times with this insurance without any issues) and suddenly the medication is $23.52 more than it was last month. Uh, excuse me? So I do what any sane person would do, I fire off about 20 twitter rants to my insurance company. They finally respond and send me an email. I think they like to draw straws and unfortunately for this one girl, she's the same one I dealt with last month when I had issues. I mean really - it's a BIRTH CONTROL PILL, how hard is this? It's been on the market for like 12 years too so it's not like it's brand new and people are trying to figure out how much to price it out or what tier it needs to be in (and it's name brand, which my insurance accepts, and should be in the top tier k thanks). So the rep at my insurance company said that she's following up with the pharmacy management team to see what the deal is. I pointed out to her about 10 times how this is illegal and the insurance company can't just go in and change the cost of the medication halfway through the contracted year and that I will be following up with my health benefits group.
Something else to mention - so Friday I made some clean pumpkin pancakes and they were delish. Recipe is HERE and if you read my post (I know I have lurkers, please say hello) I mentioned I had a little agave nectar. Well apparently that agave nectar threw my whole life into a tailspin and all I did Friday was eat. I think I had about 8-9 servings of whole grains (oatmeal and/or quinoa) and possibly more because I freaked and was like, okay it's a lot I'm just going to admit defeat and call it a day. I was casually chatting with one of my boot camp frands on Saturday and he was telling me that when a recipe he was using called for agave nectar he did some research and found that basically the body turns the agave nectar into fructose once it's in your body. So nutritionists chalk this stuff up to be better than granulated sugar, which to an extent I'm sure it is but I started thinking that this was probably why I was hungry all day and just couldn't get content. Because every other day I was fine. He said I should use the raw honey instead since there's nothing in it to turn it into fructose and believe it or not, I used a very small amount of raw honey and have had no problems. Very interesting, thought I would share.
Also, wanting to share a new recipe for when I want something sweet.
Basically it's just 1/4 cup white quinoa, 1/4 cup red quinoa, 1 small handful of raw plain unsalted cashews, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and salt to taste. I don't know what it is but it makes me feel like I am indulging on a small piece of pound cake. It has to be the vanilla but I have been thoroughly enjoying this treat when I want something sweet but I don't want any sugar.
Another thing I do that has been buzzing around the internet is banana ice cream. I went to the dentist today and my teeth are now sore from them scraping. I can't really take any over the counter pain stuff anymore because they're cornstarch in it (and I can't have cornstarch) so I have been sitting here suffering but I threw some chopped bananas in the freezer and I will be eating those soon. I figure the cold bananas will help some with the pain.
I think that is it for me - I have boot camp tonight yay! It's only 79 out today so I'm hoping the rain will hold off and we'll be outside.
Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts
Monday, August 20, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
Rock That Body - Clean Eating Challenge Day 7
It's Friday, Friday, getting down on Friday!
Wohoo - made it to the end of the week. Today, I am home "sick." Honestly, I needed a mental health day and it feels so good. But just because I gave myself an extra long weekend doesn't mean there's room to slack off. I started my day by getting up at 6:30 and immediately putting on my work out clothes. I headed out around 6:45am to go over to the Lochmere neighborhood near us to go run. It's a beautiful, older neighborhood that is very popular for all sorts of active people. Plus I knew going out there at 7:00am would be safer than going to Lake Johnson at that time (hello woods for Balt Salt Creepers to lurk!) and I had to go to Whole Foods anyways which is right down the street from Lochmere so you know, win-win, go me.
My run felt SO good. It was gorgeous out this morning. The sun was just coming up and it was a crisp 66 degrees (and not too humid). Could I even dare to say it felt a slight chilly when I started running? But it was such a welcome change to the heat and humidity that we have been experiencing this summer. Blah is an understatement. I completed a 3.76 mile run in 34 minutes. I ran my first mile in 8:04! Holy cheeseballs that's amazing!
I hit up Whole Foods on my way home to pick up the rest of my groceries and came home to make PANCAKES! I tweaked my clean pancake recipe and OMG it was perfect. Here is the recipe:
Clean Eating Pumpkin Pancakes
1 1/4 old fashioned oats
1/2 cup ground oats (I took my old fashioned oats and ground them up in my ninja chop!)
1 TSP of baking soda
1/2 TSP of salt
1/2 cup water
1 cup organic pureed pumpkin
Cinnamon to taste (I love cinnamon so I use a lot)
Mix and make you some pancakes.
This yielded 8 pretty big pancakes and I ended up eating 6 of them. Well I started with 4 pancakes, waited 30 minutes, and I was still hungry so I had 2 more and it was just enough. I only used 1 tablespoon (which is a serving) of agave nectar. I poured the exact amount on my spoon and then drizzled it all over my pancakes. It was a very nice treat.
I jumped a quick team call for 30 minutes and then took a nice relaxing bath (I'm getting my hair did later today so I didn't want to wash it. Lazy alert!).
My husband was then nice enough to pay for me to get a pedicure so I hit up the local nail salon. It felt so nice especially after the run this morning.
I came home and made some lunch. Today I had 1/4 cup quinoa, some sweet potatoes, and my tilapia avocado salad.
Tilapia Avocado Salad
Grill tilapia with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. I have one of those flat griddles that goes on the stove and it's awesome - I recommend it.
While the tilapia is grilling, I cut and scoop out an avocado and mash it up. Once the tilapia is cooked, chop it up and then mix it with the avocado. Add salt to taste as needed. Scoop mixture back into empty avocado shells if you like. You end up with 2 servings which is perfect for 2 lunches or a lunch and a dinner or whatever!
I'm going to head out and relax some more (in bed!!) before I head to my hair appointment. Pictures to follow.
Happy Friday friends!
Wohoo - made it to the end of the week. Today, I am home "sick." Honestly, I needed a mental health day and it feels so good. But just because I gave myself an extra long weekend doesn't mean there's room to slack off. I started my day by getting up at 6:30 and immediately putting on my work out clothes. I headed out around 6:45am to go over to the Lochmere neighborhood near us to go run. It's a beautiful, older neighborhood that is very popular for all sorts of active people. Plus I knew going out there at 7:00am would be safer than going to Lake Johnson at that time (hello woods for Balt Salt Creepers to lurk!) and I had to go to Whole Foods anyways which is right down the street from Lochmere so you know, win-win, go me.
My run felt SO good. It was gorgeous out this morning. The sun was just coming up and it was a crisp 66 degrees (and not too humid). Could I even dare to say it felt a slight chilly when I started running? But it was such a welcome change to the heat and humidity that we have been experiencing this summer. Blah is an understatement. I completed a 3.76 mile run in 34 minutes. I ran my first mile in 8:04! Holy cheeseballs that's amazing!
I hit up Whole Foods on my way home to pick up the rest of my groceries and came home to make PANCAKES! I tweaked my clean pancake recipe and OMG it was perfect. Here is the recipe:
Clean Eating Pumpkin Pancakes
1 1/4 old fashioned oats
1/2 cup ground oats (I took my old fashioned oats and ground them up in my ninja chop!)
1 TSP of baking soda
1/2 TSP of salt
1/2 cup water
1 cup organic pureed pumpkin
Cinnamon to taste (I love cinnamon so I use a lot)
Mix and make you some pancakes.
This yielded 8 pretty big pancakes and I ended up eating 6 of them. Well I started with 4 pancakes, waited 30 minutes, and I was still hungry so I had 2 more and it was just enough. I only used 1 tablespoon (which is a serving) of agave nectar. I poured the exact amount on my spoon and then drizzled it all over my pancakes. It was a very nice treat.
I jumped a quick team call for 30 minutes and then took a nice relaxing bath (I'm getting my hair did later today so I didn't want to wash it. Lazy alert!).
My husband was then nice enough to pay for me to get a pedicure so I hit up the local nail salon. It felt so nice especially after the run this morning.
I came home and made some lunch. Today I had 1/4 cup quinoa, some sweet potatoes, and my tilapia avocado salad.
Tilapia Avocado Salad
Grill tilapia with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. I have one of those flat griddles that goes on the stove and it's awesome - I recommend it.
While the tilapia is grilling, I cut and scoop out an avocado and mash it up. Once the tilapia is cooked, chop it up and then mix it with the avocado. Add salt to taste as needed. Scoop mixture back into empty avocado shells if you like. You end up with 2 servings which is perfect for 2 lunches or a lunch and a dinner or whatever!
I'm going to head out and relax some more (in bed!!) before I head to my hair appointment. Pictures to follow.
Happy Friday friends!
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Clean Eating Challenge: Day 2
You like how creative I am with titling the posts? I'll work on that.
Day 1 went better than expected. After the initial omg I am kind of hungry all the time feeling subsided (or I learned to block it out) it wasn't so bad. It's been a while since I stepped away from refined and processed carbs and I forgot how quickly the body recognizes that and wants to change your mind. I know after a few days it'll be fine.
Dinner went exactly as I had planned it to go. I asked for my fish grilled plain and then subbed out the sides for a double order of grilled (plain) veggies and everything came out really tasty. The only veggie I couldn't eat was cauliflower (damn you sulfites) but the restaurant did a good job giving me a giant piece of sea bass and a nice helping of veggies. But then again for $30, I wouldn't expect any less. I also drank water all night and avoided alcohol, which worked out well because we ended up staying out until after 1:00am and I was so tired this morning when I woke up. I was a bit dehydrated (which is odd considering I drank water everywhere we went) and I had a bit of a headache reminding me that I could be hungover. Then there were the cookies. A couple of friends that we were with are friends with the sous chef at the last bar we went to and she made cookies for our friend to have as a birthday gift. TEMPTING. But you know, the whole clean eating thing plus the fact I can't have any of the ingredients in the recipe gave me enough reason to stay away.
Another thing I have been thinking about and am going to do is stop weighing myself. I hear conflicting data saying that you shouldn't weight yourself because numbers could be deceiving but then on the flip side I read that you should weigh yourself regularly so you can easily identify when you are slipping up so you don't step on the scale one day and realize you've gained 20 pounds. I weigh myself daily which is a bit compulsive (but then again that's just who I am if you haven't noticed) but I use that as a guide to determine if anything I ate caused a reaction. Sometimes my reactions don't show up in hand swelling but they show up in weight gain. I identify any sort of gain beyond half a pound to be flagged as a reaction, unless of course I was eating salt out of the canister or drink soy sauce (to which I really can do neither). This is a behavior that really helped me to navigate through the early stages of my intolerance but at this point I need to stop being so dependent on it or I'll continue to drive myself crazy and overanalyze every little thing I eat. Plus, I'm doing a clean eating challenge so I shouldn't have to worry that anything I ate would cause me to swell because I'm avoiding all the really bad-for-me foods by doing this.
So I weighed myself this morning and I'm going to try really hard to not weigh myself again until next Sunday. I don't really know if this will happen but we will see. I might crack halfway through the week. But starting weight officially is 125.0 pounds. And at this point, I am not really looking to lose anymore weight. I usually float between 123 and 126 pounds it seems like. I am focusing more on overall health and muscle building so it's possible that at the end of this month, I might have not lost any weight at all but I will be able to see the difference.
I also am working on tweaking a new recipe. I love pancakes and when I say love, I mean I could eat them everyday. They are a part of the reason why I am obsessed with raw honey and agave nectar and the recipe that I found (which I scoured the internet for for years) is so adaptable that I feel like I have 1 recipe that could easily turn into 10 or so variations.
Original Healthy Pancake Recipe:
In a bowl mix, 1 1/4 cup old fashioned oats, 1/2 cup flour, 2 teaspoons of baking power (or 1 teaspoon of baking soda), 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 1/2 cup of milk, and 2 ripe bananas. Cook pancakes over medium heat on a skillet or griddle.
The best thing about this recipe is how versatile it is. If you don't have bananas, no worries, just cut the milk down to about 1 cup. When I do that, I will add cinnamon for some added flavor. I have also substituted the bananas for about 1 cup of pureed pumpkin and then added some cinnamon as well. AMAZING.
But as you can see above there are some things that I have cut out for my challenge so I started playing around with modifying the recipe again so I can continue to enjoy my pancakes. I cut the initial recipe in half (which I do a lot) and went from there.
Clean Eating Healthy Pancake Recipe:
In a bowl mix, 1/2 plus 1/8 cup of old fashioned oats, 3 teaspoons of chia seeds, 1/2 cup of water, 1 banana, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook pancakes over medium heat on a skillet or griddle.
I used pureed strawberries as my "syrup" and the pancakes tasted great but had a hard time sticking together while cooking. Next time, I might eliminate out some of the water and add in a teaspoon of almond oil and see if that helps. I could also grind up some oats into a "flour" to help with keeping the mixture together.
Happy Sunday!
Day 1 went better than expected. After the initial omg I am kind of hungry all the time feeling subsided (or I learned to block it out) it wasn't so bad. It's been a while since I stepped away from refined and processed carbs and I forgot how quickly the body recognizes that and wants to change your mind. I know after a few days it'll be fine.
Dinner went exactly as I had planned it to go. I asked for my fish grilled plain and then subbed out the sides for a double order of grilled (plain) veggies and everything came out really tasty. The only veggie I couldn't eat was cauliflower (damn you sulfites) but the restaurant did a good job giving me a giant piece of sea bass and a nice helping of veggies. But then again for $30, I wouldn't expect any less. I also drank water all night and avoided alcohol, which worked out well because we ended up staying out until after 1:00am and I was so tired this morning when I woke up. I was a bit dehydrated (which is odd considering I drank water everywhere we went) and I had a bit of a headache reminding me that I could be hungover. Then there were the cookies. A couple of friends that we were with are friends with the sous chef at the last bar we went to and she made cookies for our friend to have as a birthday gift. TEMPTING. But you know, the whole clean eating thing plus the fact I can't have any of the ingredients in the recipe gave me enough reason to stay away.
Another thing I have been thinking about and am going to do is stop weighing myself. I hear conflicting data saying that you shouldn't weight yourself because numbers could be deceiving but then on the flip side I read that you should weigh yourself regularly so you can easily identify when you are slipping up so you don't step on the scale one day and realize you've gained 20 pounds. I weigh myself daily which is a bit compulsive (but then again that's just who I am if you haven't noticed) but I use that as a guide to determine if anything I ate caused a reaction. Sometimes my reactions don't show up in hand swelling but they show up in weight gain. I identify any sort of gain beyond half a pound to be flagged as a reaction, unless of course I was eating salt out of the canister or drink soy sauce (to which I really can do neither). This is a behavior that really helped me to navigate through the early stages of my intolerance but at this point I need to stop being so dependent on it or I'll continue to drive myself crazy and overanalyze every little thing I eat. Plus, I'm doing a clean eating challenge so I shouldn't have to worry that anything I ate would cause me to swell because I'm avoiding all the really bad-for-me foods by doing this.
So I weighed myself this morning and I'm going to try really hard to not weigh myself again until next Sunday. I don't really know if this will happen but we will see. I might crack halfway through the week. But starting weight officially is 125.0 pounds. And at this point, I am not really looking to lose anymore weight. I usually float between 123 and 126 pounds it seems like. I am focusing more on overall health and muscle building so it's possible that at the end of this month, I might have not lost any weight at all but I will be able to see the difference.
I also am working on tweaking a new recipe. I love pancakes and when I say love, I mean I could eat them everyday. They are a part of the reason why I am obsessed with raw honey and agave nectar and the recipe that I found (which I scoured the internet for for years) is so adaptable that I feel like I have 1 recipe that could easily turn into 10 or so variations.
Original Healthy Pancake Recipe:
In a bowl mix, 1 1/4 cup old fashioned oats, 1/2 cup flour, 2 teaspoons of baking power (or 1 teaspoon of baking soda), 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 1/2 cup of milk, and 2 ripe bananas. Cook pancakes over medium heat on a skillet or griddle.
The best thing about this recipe is how versatile it is. If you don't have bananas, no worries, just cut the milk down to about 1 cup. When I do that, I will add cinnamon for some added flavor. I have also substituted the bananas for about 1 cup of pureed pumpkin and then added some cinnamon as well. AMAZING.
But as you can see above there are some things that I have cut out for my challenge so I started playing around with modifying the recipe again so I can continue to enjoy my pancakes. I cut the initial recipe in half (which I do a lot) and went from there.
Clean Eating Healthy Pancake Recipe:
In a bowl mix, 1/2 plus 1/8 cup of old fashioned oats, 3 teaspoons of chia seeds, 1/2 cup of water, 1 banana, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook pancakes over medium heat on a skillet or griddle.
I used pureed strawberries as my "syrup" and the pancakes tasted great but had a hard time sticking together while cooking. Next time, I might eliminate out some of the water and add in a teaspoon of almond oil and see if that helps. I could also grind up some oats into a "flour" to help with keeping the mixture together.
Happy Sunday!
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Clean Eating Challenge: Day 1
I decided that even though we are going out to dinner tonight, starting the clean eating challenge today would be for the best. Why put off something when you can start right now? I decided on a game plan for dinner; since I normally have to check menus ahead of time because of my sulfite issues (thank you the internet), I figured I could take advantage of this and pick out a healthy "clean" dinner meal. Why? Because this is real life and chances are that in the next 4-5 weeks, I will be going out to eat again. If I can't plan ahead this early in the game, what am I going to do when my patience is starting to wane or my self control is diminishing. Just because I am challenging myself diet-wise does not mean I cannot go out and actually enjoy life and have fun with my friends. I already planned to DD (remember, no alcohol) so my husband could drink and have fun with his friends who he doesn't get to see as often and this will allow me to be able to be up early tomorrow morning for my morning work out.
This morning I had boot camp, which is an hour-long intensive group fitness class I take 3 times a week. I really enjoy the class and the instructor. The class is small and I have had the opportunity to get to know a lot of the folks I take the class with which has made the experience even more enjoyable. I'm super competitive so this kind of training is really up my alley. We do a lot of circuit training and high intensity training, mixed with running and cardio. To say I come home drenched in sweat is an understatement. It was particularly humid this morning and we were doing laps around the building in between rounds of circuit training today which gave me some glorious extra-sweaty funk.
On the days I am not doing boot camp, I will go run at the lake next to my house (so convenient) or I will do Bodyrock (www.bodyrock.tv). Bodyrock is a fitness and health website that I stumbled upon a little over a year ago thanks to Pinterest. They focus on 12-20 minute high intensity interval training that you can do at home in your own living room. The best part about this website is that it's completely free. Also to note, their community of fans and advocates grows exponentially by the minute. BodyrockTV was also named one of the best online fitness websites by Shape Magazine back in December and that has done a lot to help get Bodyrock out there and propel it's popularity. I also follow along to Zuzka Light's work outs (www.zuzkalight.com) which also builds on the philosophy of short but intense body weight (or little equipment) work outs that you can do anywhere. The beauty of these free sites is that I can mix and match old and new work outs and do them at home, or even on our back deck (when the weather permits).
But back to my diet. I will aim to post what I am eating everyday so help give an idea of what I am eating and how I am following along to my own challenge. I do not calorie count but rather go by a basic food "goal" for the day: 3 servings of lean protein, 3 servings of healthy carbs, 1-2 servings of healthy fats, and 5 servings of fruits and veggies. This plan usually gets me to about 1600-1800 calories a day which is ideal for my height, weight, and training program. Some days I am hungrier than others and some days I am not very hungry at all. I also drink about 4 liters of water a day mostly because I love water and crave it all the time. I drink 1-2 cups of coffee a day, usually with 1 teaspoon of sugar but because of the challenge, I am drinking it black. When I do have alcohol, I am pretty much limited to only vodka and seltzer (plain carbonated water) so that is normally what I drink. I usually will have only 1-2 drinks and this is maybe once a week but more often about two times a month.
Okay my diet for real this time.
Here is a list of what I ate so far today, including a new recipe.
Breakfast (Pre-Boot Camp Work Out): 1/4 cup red quinoa, 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, 1/2 water, 1 small (like SUPER SMALL) dollop of raw honey (I realized that for something like this, since I am no longer using milk, I do need a small amount of sweetener to help and that little tiny bit of honey made a HUGE difference so I will allow myself some raw honey but only in the morning in my oatmeal and that is it).
Lunch (Post-Boot Camp Work Out): Stuffed Green Peppers (adapted from Mama Laughlin's Pinspiration Wednesday Dinner Recipe)
3 Green Peppers
2 Tomatoes
1 Jalapeño
1 Teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon
Salt to taste
1/2 Pound lean white ground turkey meat
1/2 Teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of red pepper
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon of ground mustard seed
1 Avocado
Red Quinoa (cook according to package)
Chop the heads off of the green peppers and de-seed. Place peppers in a pot with water and set heat to high to boil. Boil for 3 minutes and then remove peppers to dry off and cool.
While the peppers are cooking, chop tomatoes and jalapeño. Place in a bowl with the freshly squeezed lemon and a sprinkle of salt. Set aside.
In a frying pan set on medium heat, cook turkey until cooked through. Add in chopped tomato and jalapeño and spices. Stir and continue cooking for an additional 3-4 minutes.
Scoop out avocado from shell and mash. Set aside.
Once the peppers are cooked, scoop in spoonfuls of the turkey and tomato mixture and then scoop in a spoonful of red quinoa. Continue until filled to the top. Top off with mashed avocado and serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.
Snack: Leftover ground turkey/tomato mixture and 1 handful of raw almonds
Dinner: Since I have planned ahead and looked at the menu, I am going to have the Chilean Sea Bass but ask for it grilled plain (it comes plantain encrusted) and then ask for the spaghetti squash to be cooked plain (instead of caramelized), and also ask for the mango salad plain with no vinaigrette. By asking for everything plain, this ensures that I am not only sticking to my challenge but that I am also avoiding sulfited foods and a possible reaction later this evening.
I will report tomorrow if I really stuck to my dinner wits and didn't cave. Fingers crossed!
This morning I had boot camp, which is an hour-long intensive group fitness class I take 3 times a week. I really enjoy the class and the instructor. The class is small and I have had the opportunity to get to know a lot of the folks I take the class with which has made the experience even more enjoyable. I'm super competitive so this kind of training is really up my alley. We do a lot of circuit training and high intensity training, mixed with running and cardio. To say I come home drenched in sweat is an understatement. It was particularly humid this morning and we were doing laps around the building in between rounds of circuit training today which gave me some glorious extra-sweaty funk.
On the days I am not doing boot camp, I will go run at the lake next to my house (so convenient) or I will do Bodyrock (www.bodyrock.tv). Bodyrock is a fitness and health website that I stumbled upon a little over a year ago thanks to Pinterest. They focus on 12-20 minute high intensity interval training that you can do at home in your own living room. The best part about this website is that it's completely free. Also to note, their community of fans and advocates grows exponentially by the minute. BodyrockTV was also named one of the best online fitness websites by Shape Magazine back in December and that has done a lot to help get Bodyrock out there and propel it's popularity. I also follow along to Zuzka Light's work outs (www.zuzkalight.com) which also builds on the philosophy of short but intense body weight (or little equipment) work outs that you can do anywhere. The beauty of these free sites is that I can mix and match old and new work outs and do them at home, or even on our back deck (when the weather permits).
But back to my diet. I will aim to post what I am eating everyday so help give an idea of what I am eating and how I am following along to my own challenge. I do not calorie count but rather go by a basic food "goal" for the day: 3 servings of lean protein, 3 servings of healthy carbs, 1-2 servings of healthy fats, and 5 servings of fruits and veggies. This plan usually gets me to about 1600-1800 calories a day which is ideal for my height, weight, and training program. Some days I am hungrier than others and some days I am not very hungry at all. I also drink about 4 liters of water a day mostly because I love water and crave it all the time. I drink 1-2 cups of coffee a day, usually with 1 teaspoon of sugar but because of the challenge, I am drinking it black. When I do have alcohol, I am pretty much limited to only vodka and seltzer (plain carbonated water) so that is normally what I drink. I usually will have only 1-2 drinks and this is maybe once a week but more often about two times a month.
Okay my diet for real this time.
Here is a list of what I ate so far today, including a new recipe.
Breakfast (Pre-Boot Camp Work Out): 1/4 cup red quinoa, 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, 1/2 water, 1 small (like SUPER SMALL) dollop of raw honey (I realized that for something like this, since I am no longer using milk, I do need a small amount of sweetener to help and that little tiny bit of honey made a HUGE difference so I will allow myself some raw honey but only in the morning in my oatmeal and that is it).
Lunch (Post-Boot Camp Work Out): Stuffed Green Peppers (adapted from Mama Laughlin's Pinspiration Wednesday Dinner Recipe)
3 Green Peppers
2 Tomatoes
1 Jalapeño
1 Teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon
Salt to taste
1/2 Pound lean white ground turkey meat
1/2 Teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of red pepper
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon of ground mustard seed
1 Avocado
Red Quinoa (cook according to package)
Chop the heads off of the green peppers and de-seed. Place peppers in a pot with water and set heat to high to boil. Boil for 3 minutes and then remove peppers to dry off and cool.
While the peppers are cooking, chop tomatoes and jalapeño. Place in a bowl with the freshly squeezed lemon and a sprinkle of salt. Set aside.
In a frying pan set on medium heat, cook turkey until cooked through. Add in chopped tomato and jalapeño and spices. Stir and continue cooking for an additional 3-4 minutes.
Scoop out avocado from shell and mash. Set aside.
Once the peppers are cooked, scoop in spoonfuls of the turkey and tomato mixture and then scoop in a spoonful of red quinoa. Continue until filled to the top. Top off with mashed avocado and serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.
Snack: Leftover ground turkey/tomato mixture and 1 handful of raw almonds
Dinner: Since I have planned ahead and looked at the menu, I am going to have the Chilean Sea Bass but ask for it grilled plain (it comes plantain encrusted) and then ask for the spaghetti squash to be cooked plain (instead of caramelized), and also ask for the mango salad plain with no vinaigrette. By asking for everything plain, this ensures that I am not only sticking to my challenge but that I am also avoiding sulfited foods and a possible reaction later this evening.
I will report tomorrow if I really stuck to my dinner wits and didn't cave. Fingers crossed!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Vegan Dinner: Ricotta "Cheese" Eggplant Roll Ups with Roasted Tomato Sauce
Hello my peoples.
My apologies once again for the lag in posting. I was busy getting married. Who would have thought that getting married would actually take me away from my favorite things - writing and cooking!
I have recently started to delve into sulfite-free, soy-free vegan cooking and baking, mostly as a challenge but also knowing that a way to conquer my food allergy is to eat as clean and as healthy as possible. So here I am - back with a YUMMY sulfite-free, soy-free "cheesy" eggplant dinner. This meal took me about an hour from start to finish to make. The longest part is roasting the tomatoes and letting the eggplant drain but trust me it's worth it! I broke it up into parts and so if you want to piece this recipe into other recipes then you can mix and match easily. This recipe came solely from my head. I had done some previous research on roasting tomatoes and draining eggplant properly but other than that, this was a giant Monday science experiment.
ROASTED TOMATOES
4-5 medium tomatoes
Olive oil
Salt
1-2 Tablespoons of chopped fresh basil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut tomatoes into quarters. Place on a cookie sheet (covered with aluminum foil) skin side down and brush with olive oil and salt lightly. Cook in oven for 30 minutes. Once done, take the tomatoes out and let cool for about 10 minutes before peeling the skin off the tomatoes. Once the skin is peeled, take the "insides" of the tomato and place in a bowl and mash with a fork. Mix in chopped basil and salt to taste. Put aside.
EGGPLANT BASE
2 small eggplant (or 1 large eggplant)
Salt
Olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice eggplant long ways to create long, thin bases. Lightly salt both sides and sit eggplant in a strainer over the sink for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, water will have sweated out of the eggplant. Pat dry with paper towel until dry. Place on non-stick cookie sheet and lightly brush with olive oil. Bake in oven for 10 minutes, flipping the eggplant over after 5 minutes. Remove from oven.
RICOTTA "CHEESE"
1 to 1 1/4 cup of unsalted non-roasted cashews
1/4 cup of filtered water
1/4 cup of freshly chopped basil
2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
Sea salt
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
Place cashews, filtered water, and about 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt in a bowl to soak for about 30 minutes. Once soaked, dump the bowl into a food processor. Add lemon and nutritional yeast and blend until creamy (takes about 10-15 minutes). Remove from processor and place in seal-tight container.
EGGPLANT ROLL UP
Take the ricotta "cheese" across the cooked eggplant base. Add chopped basil and roll up. Bake in oven for additional 5-10 minutes. Serve with roasted tomato sauce on top.
My apologies once again for the lag in posting. I was busy getting married. Who would have thought that getting married would actually take me away from my favorite things - writing and cooking!
I have recently started to delve into sulfite-free, soy-free vegan cooking and baking, mostly as a challenge but also knowing that a way to conquer my food allergy is to eat as clean and as healthy as possible. So here I am - back with a YUMMY sulfite-free, soy-free "cheesy" eggplant dinner. This meal took me about an hour from start to finish to make. The longest part is roasting the tomatoes and letting the eggplant drain but trust me it's worth it! I broke it up into parts and so if you want to piece this recipe into other recipes then you can mix and match easily. This recipe came solely from my head. I had done some previous research on roasting tomatoes and draining eggplant properly but other than that, this was a giant Monday science experiment.
ROASTED TOMATOES
4-5 medium tomatoes
Olive oil
Salt
1-2 Tablespoons of chopped fresh basil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut tomatoes into quarters. Place on a cookie sheet (covered with aluminum foil) skin side down and brush with olive oil and salt lightly. Cook in oven for 30 minutes. Once done, take the tomatoes out and let cool for about 10 minutes before peeling the skin off the tomatoes. Once the skin is peeled, take the "insides" of the tomato and place in a bowl and mash with a fork. Mix in chopped basil and salt to taste. Put aside.
EGGPLANT BASE
2 small eggplant (or 1 large eggplant)
Salt
Olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice eggplant long ways to create long, thin bases. Lightly salt both sides and sit eggplant in a strainer over the sink for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, water will have sweated out of the eggplant. Pat dry with paper towel until dry. Place on non-stick cookie sheet and lightly brush with olive oil. Bake in oven for 10 minutes, flipping the eggplant over after 5 minutes. Remove from oven.
RICOTTA "CHEESE"
1 to 1 1/4 cup of unsalted non-roasted cashews
1/4 cup of filtered water
1/4 cup of freshly chopped basil
2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
Sea salt
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
Place cashews, filtered water, and about 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt in a bowl to soak for about 30 minutes. Once soaked, dump the bowl into a food processor. Add lemon and nutritional yeast and blend until creamy (takes about 10-15 minutes). Remove from processor and place in seal-tight container.
EGGPLANT ROLL UP
Take the ricotta "cheese" across the cooked eggplant base. Add chopped basil and roll up. Bake in oven for additional 5-10 minutes. Serve with roasted tomato sauce on top.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Recipe Thursday: Sulfite Free & Guilt Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Hello there. In keeping up with my blogging outline, I have dedicated today as Recipe Thursday. Wohoo! I reason I picked Thursday is because I figure by the time Thursday rolls around, I have come across and tried at least one new recipe. Sometimes I will post old favorites but today I have a new recipe that I have made a few times and let me tell you, it's SOOO hard not to just have one.
Because of my sulfite allergy, I cannot tolerate chocolate. Saddest.sentence.ever. I have searched high and low for a "sulfite free" chocolate or chocolate chip and am happy to report that there is a brand found at Kroger that is completely sulfite free! I picked a bag up last weekend when I went grocery shopping. I had been eying the bag for some time but I was patient and eventually it went on sale (it was like it knew I wanted to try it and this just gave me all the more reason). I went through my Pinterest to find a good chocolate chip cookie recipe to tweak. My favorite thing to do is to take recipes and see how healthy I can make them. I understand that some recipes are not meant to be healthy but it's kind of a weird passion of mine and it keeps me entertained. I have posted the link to the regular recipe below and obviously given credit where credit is due (I don't steal!).
Also noted is that this recipe is egg free for all your egg haters out there. Just kidding. I actually used to be able to tolerate eggs but found that with my allergy, it's becoming more difficult. Major sad face. I love eggs - I seriously could eat them all day everyday and not get tired of them. So I have pretty much cut eggs out of my diet except for special treats like if I am dying for some sunny side up eggs.
But back to the cookies....
These cookies have come out so good. You're in for a real treat if you like soft, chewy cookies, even days after they've been baked. My batch yields about a dozen and a half but really it depends on how big you like your cookies to be. I don't like to make too many or I feel like I have to eat them all before they go bad. First world problems. Enjoy!
Sulfite Free & Guilt Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 1-2 dozen
Ingredients:
3/4 cup 0% Greek yogurt
3/4 cup all natural organic applesauce
1/4 cup organic blue agave nectar
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups plus 3 tablespoons organic oat flour (the kind I used so happened to be gluten free but any kind will due)
1 cup of Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips (sulfite free chocolate chips - I just pour in and mix until I think there's enough)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray. In a large bowl, mix Greek yogurt, apple sauce, agave nectar, and sugar until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add in chocolate chips and stir until well-mixed.
Use a tablespoon to scoop and place dough on cookie sheets. Bake cookies for about 15 minutes or until cooked through completely. Let cool and keep refrigerated afterwards.
Original Recipe From: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2012/01/cream-cheese-chocolate-chip-cookies-egg-free.html
Because of my sulfite allergy, I cannot tolerate chocolate. Saddest.sentence.ever. I have searched high and low for a "sulfite free" chocolate or chocolate chip and am happy to report that there is a brand found at Kroger that is completely sulfite free! I picked a bag up last weekend when I went grocery shopping. I had been eying the bag for some time but I was patient and eventually it went on sale (it was like it knew I wanted to try it and this just gave me all the more reason). I went through my Pinterest to find a good chocolate chip cookie recipe to tweak. My favorite thing to do is to take recipes and see how healthy I can make them. I understand that some recipes are not meant to be healthy but it's kind of a weird passion of mine and it keeps me entertained. I have posted the link to the regular recipe below and obviously given credit where credit is due (I don't steal!).
Also noted is that this recipe is egg free for all your egg haters out there. Just kidding. I actually used to be able to tolerate eggs but found that with my allergy, it's becoming more difficult. Major sad face. I love eggs - I seriously could eat them all day everyday and not get tired of them. So I have pretty much cut eggs out of my diet except for special treats like if I am dying for some sunny side up eggs.
But back to the cookies....
These cookies have come out so good. You're in for a real treat if you like soft, chewy cookies, even days after they've been baked. My batch yields about a dozen and a half but really it depends on how big you like your cookies to be. I don't like to make too many or I feel like I have to eat them all before they go bad. First world problems. Enjoy!
Sulfite Free & Guilt Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 1-2 dozen
Ingredients:
3/4 cup 0% Greek yogurt
3/4 cup all natural organic applesauce
1/4 cup organic blue agave nectar
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups plus 3 tablespoons organic oat flour (the kind I used so happened to be gluten free but any kind will due)
1 cup of Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips (sulfite free chocolate chips - I just pour in and mix until I think there's enough)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray. In a large bowl, mix Greek yogurt, apple sauce, agave nectar, and sugar until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add in chocolate chips and stir until well-mixed.
Use a tablespoon to scoop and place dough on cookie sheets. Bake cookies for about 15 minutes or until cooked through completely. Let cool and keep refrigerated afterwards.
Original Recipe From: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2012/01/cream-cheese-chocolate-chip-cookies-egg-free.html
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