What I Ate Wednesday

IMPORTANT: I (mainly) finished fixing up my new site!  Some of your comments from today’s post will not transfer, but for the rest of you – please visit http://www.lovesweatbeers.com  <– nope, no “and” or “wordpress”  WooHoo!  (I’m still fixing a few minor cosmetics, but it’s up and running!)

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Remember those goals I mentioned yesterday in the Goooaaaaals post?  (Can you tell I’m a soccer fan?)  As you can see from my eats, I’ve been fairly good about following the goals.  Woohoo!  I also had a great workout yesterday.  I’m excited to share it with you later in the week.

First breakfast has been a rice cake (which hasn’t included peeb yet but probably will soon).  My post-gym breakfast has been a pear, 15 g walnuts, and 1/3 cup of oats.  Oh, and I also add a dash of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.

Walnuts & Cinnamon = Mmmmmmm

Before lunch, I got the munchies, so I had some tea and sugar snap peas.

My Fav 2 Teas

For lunch this week, I made a tahini cream.  It was supposed to be a sauce, but it thickened overnight.  Whoops!  The flavor still rocks.  It has tahini, apple juice, and apple cider vinegar.  I throw that with some raisins and chickpeas over broccoli slaw and shredded cabbage.

Veg Bowl

Snack is incredible.  I love apples.  I love peanut butter.  Snack is an apple with peanut butter, and despite its simplicity, it’s one of the best meals of the day.

Non-Pink "Pink Lady" Apple

I’ve changed up dinner this week.  Last night I made Tiffos Rancheros.  Those never disappoint!

Delicious Veggies n' Eggs

Going gluten free is easy when you have all your stuff, but I can see how eating out or trying to grab a vending machine snack would be crazy difficult.  I feel for you guys!  I also don’t think I could be vegan.  I thought my eats were vegan yesterday, but I forgot about the eggs in dinner.  Labeling oneself is particularly limiting!  Props to those of you who stick with it!  Luckily my popcorn is GF!

For my salt cravings...

Do you have any allergies or moral restrictions on any foods?  Does it get easier with time or stay hard?!?

Be sure to check out Peas and Crayons to see more great meal ideas!

WIAW: Lazy Girl Edition

This WIAW is brought to you by the leftovers in my fridge, and by the letter W (Actually, by the letters W-I-A-W, for What I Ate Wednesday).

Source

First breakfast has been a slice of 100-calorie whole wheat bread.  As much as I love Trader Joe’s, I have to admit – I dislike their bread.  No.  I despise their bread.  It’s awful.  I woke up very hungry yesterday, so my slice also included a glob of peeb (peanut butter).  Yup – the bread tasted much better!

Sorry – No Pic!

Second breakfast all week will be an EAS shake and an apple.  I like to think it’s a very-repairing and easily-packable, post-workout breakfast.

Lunch is just about as lazy as that breakfast.  For three days, I’m having Applegate Farms deli turkey with flavorless TJs bread.  I go out of my way to make it special by adding a little lettuce and Dijon mustard.  I know, I know – I shouldn’t work myself so hard. ::wink::  I am eating a daily veggie along with my sandwich.

For snack, I’m eating logs all week.  (I guess ants on a log are just logs without the ants, right?)  Actually, I had a bit of ice cream Monday, but for the rest of the week, it is celery and peeb.  (Stupid office treats got the best of me!)

Monday and Tuesday’s dinner was a taco-fajita-thing.  It consisted of spices, bell pepper, onion, green chilies, salsa, and lean ground turkey (browned and drained).  Kevin had his with fat-free refried beans and tortillas.  I threw mine atop lettuce.  Both versions were incredibly quick and easy.

On Tuesday, I did put a tortilla with my salad too - Yum!

Tonight’s dinner will be fish, rice and spinach.  I’m actually kind of excited about it.  My evening snack has been popcorn every night so far, but I think I’ll throw some tea into the mix tonight.

Be sure to check out Peas & Crayons for more fun meal ideas!

What’s the best thing you’ve eaten this week?

The Good, the Bad, and the Spicy

The Good:

Food pushers planned an ice cream social at the office yesterday, and I did not eat any ice cream.  Not even a cone, y’all – this is serious.  Given my overall lack of willpower and my infatuation with sweets, this is good.  Really good.

I’m not the only one who fought the urge to partake.  I’m not sure why companies don’t just offer fruit socials or tea time instead.  Many health insurance providers give discounts for employees’ healthy actions, so why is our insurer cool with this?  It just sounds hypocritical to me.

The Bad:

I am skipping today’s workout.  I hit the gym kind of hard yesterday morning, and my body was dragging the rest of the day.  I’ve been in a slump all week, so I think rest is more important.  I only hope I’m not getting sick.  I have started to hear coughs and sniffles in the office.  Yipes!

The Spicy:

Here’s a makeshift version of the recipe I promised yesterday.  I was inspired by the Whole Foods recipe I saw on Brittany’s blog.  It’s not hot n’ spicy; it just contains a lot of spice.  You could easily spice it up if you wanted though.

I’d love to provide the nutritional information for this, but my numbers are very different from Whole Foods.  This is partially because I used different lentils and changed things a wee bit, but I’m still surprised at the size of the variance.

Indian Spiced Lentil Soup

My pepper thinks it's a star, and my lentils look like fish food.

Ingredients

•  8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 TBS garam masala
• 1-2 tsp turmeric
• 2 cups orange lentils (Next Time I’d Use Green Lentils)
• 2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes (More If You Like it Hot)
• 3 handfulls of kale leaves, torn into bite-size chunks
• 2 tsp cumin (I Didn’t Add This But Might Next Time)
• 1-2 carrots, chopped (I Didn’t Add This But Might Next Time)

Directions

1. Prep all your ingredients (washing, chopping, rinsing the lentils)
2. Put everything in your slow cooker except for the kale.  Give it a stir.
3. Here’s the hard part… turn the slow cooker to “low.”
4. Let the slow cooker do the work for about 8 hours.
5. Add the kale in the last hour of cooking.  It’s firm, but that’s better than mushy.

***I was running low on time and cooked mine for 3 hours on high.  I added kale for one additional half-hour.  This was okay, but I wish it had cooked a bit longer.

Why is this adapted recipe awesome?

If you don’t mind eating the same thing all week, this is a great lunch.  Although I ate it without sides, I think naan would pair well with the meal.

In addition, according to the American Cancer Society, turmeric might be able to slow the growth of some cancers, help lower “bad” cholesterol, serve as an anti-inflammatory, and more.  Gotta love spices!

Have colds started circulating in your area yet?  Do you love your slow cooker as much as I do?

WIAW: Ugly Edition

It’s time for another What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW). I feel awful about this, but this week’s WIAW is the Ugly Edition. No pretty food here!

I’m eating the same thing M-F for breakfast, lunch, and snack all week… unless I get a chocolate craving, of course. Dinner will change a little, but even that is pretty basic.

I start my protein packed day with first breakfast, which is a salt-free rice cake with 1 TBS of natural peeb. It’s great workout fuel.

Second breakfast a few hours later is a third of a cup of old fashioned oats, half a banana (mashed in oats), and one scoop of natural vanilla whey protein. I also have one third of a cup of raspberries on the side.

Lunch is the ugliest meal of the day, but darn is it filling! I have two servings of lean deli meat, half a sweet potato (I guess approx 7 oz), and one 50-calorie pack of steamed Brussels sprouts. It’s ugly, but it’s yummy. That’s what counts, right?

I usually try not to buy deli meat for various reasons, and now I have one more reason to add to the list. Sodium! I knew deli cuts had a lot of sodium, but I didn’t realize how much until after I got home from the store. Whoops!

Snack has been 110 calories worth of 2% cottage cheese and 15 raw almonds. This is a very fatty yet protein-packed snack. It’s ugly, but it’s incredibly satisfying!

Dinner has been meat, a green vegetable, and a carb. Typical. I had the same thing Monday and Tuesday, beef tenderloin. I enjoyed it with a spinach salad Monday night and broccoli last night.

Tonight is chicken night instead. Chicken gets boring fast, but I have to admit that I really do like the taste of plain ole’ baked chicken. I’m not sure if I’ll pair it with rice, quinoa, or something else all together.

Snacks have been all over the place (whole wheat pita, peeb, or popcorn), so they aren’t pictured. I don’t really think you need any more pictures of ugly food anyway, do ya???

Do you often eat “plain” meals at your house? Or does something generally have a sauce or require a real recipe?
Be sure to check out Peas and Crayons for other great meal ideas!

PS: At least Leia finds them attractive…

WIAW: Melon Baller

Sorry about yesterday’s bum post.  I guess that’s what happens when you’re in a bum mood.  Stupid hormones.  I digress…

I’m in a much better mood today.  We’re all one day closer to Friday.  My book club meets tonight.  And of course it’s What I Ate Wednesday time!  Woohoo!  Be sure to check out Peas & Crayons for other great meal ideas.  I stole this little ditty about Jack and Dianne WIAW from her site, and it helps explain why I love it:

What WIAW isn’t about

Comparison – Judgement – Restriction – Guilt

What WIAW is about

Celebrating one of the glorious things we all have in common: We all eat!

WIAW is about food and fun! It’s about making new friends, breaking out of a food rut, inspiring

yourself & others, embracing fruit & vegetables, finding new ways to eat your favorite foods, and so

much more <3

Celebrate blogging. Celebrate Food. Celebrate Individuality.
[Cause over here, we like to party!]

Yesterday’s breakfast began with a rice cake, though I predict I’ll be having half an Eat.Think.Smile chewy bar before my other workouts this week.  I also had an Oikos plain, fat-free, organic Greek yogurt (mouthful) with almost a cup of raspberries and half a cup of Kashi GoLean cereal after my workout.

On Monday, I made a quinoa bowl with summer veggies that I plan to eat on all week.  I also threw in half a can of tuna (though I’ll be using a full can for other days this week).  This actually tasted much better than anticipated.  I’ll share more about this veggie bowl tomorrow.

Oh, I also had a few (okay… 10… exactly 10) raw almonds with lunch.

(Not Pictured) I ate a peach with a hard boiled egg for snack.  

loads of nutrients + a little fat + non-refined carbs + protein = perfection

Dinner was a simple dinner straight from the kids’ menu, but I don’t care.  It’s an organic chicken frank on a wheat bun with onions.  I assume I also had about 2 cups of cantaloupe.

As you can see, I do not have a melon baller.  But I’m loving this melon so much that I think I am actually a melon baller, if you will.  Eatin’ melon the flyyyyyy way… (You’re welcome.  You know you’re going to have this song in your head all day.)

I also had a hearty serving of all-natural peeb and some totally unnatural popcorn.  It was the last bag of the pack, so hopefully I’ll swing for something more natural next time!

Lastly (sorry… long post… too many saved words from the weekend?), I have not only been eating, but I’ve been eaten.  I have soooooo many verrrrrry itchy bug bites from the cookout this weekend.  It’s driving me bonkers!

What’s the best thing you’ve eaten lately?  Is that song in your head yet???

WIAT&W

Ready to see what I ate Wednesday? Actually, I ate this Tuesday, but I’m pretty much having the exact same thing today. Big surprise, eh?

After nearly entering a carb-coma** Monday, I decided to hit up spin class after work Tuesday. I usually hate exercising out after work, but I needed the extra burn of spin. 24.4 miles later, I definitely felt the burn! I also did this pilates workout in the morning and strength training right before the spin class.

**Seriously, I don’t know what came over me, but I had the maniac munchies on Monday!

Breakfast was half of a chewy Eat.Think.Smile bar (80 calories) before my workout. Second breakfast included plain, fat-free Greek yogurt (95 cal) with Kashi GoLean (70 cal) and 1 cup of blueberries (85 cal). That is such a filling breakfast!

Lunch was a turkey, cheese, and lettuce sandwich on Great Harvest Bread Co. bread (305 cal). That bread is daaaaang good! I paired it with Green Giant Baby Brussels (50 cal). Those frozen sprouts come in convenient single-serving pouches you can pop right into the microwave.

Snack was 7 almonds (50 cal) and a pear (105 cal). I also downed a rice cake (35 cal) as I was walking out of the office. It was just enough to get me through my workout… barely.

Dinner was a Tex-Mex scramble that I like to call Tiffos Rancheros. It came to approximately 380 calories and was a great post-workout, protein-packed meal. I can’t wait to make it again tonight!

This dinner made me very happy.

I took 3 pics of dinner because I’m a dork in hopes that at least 1 would look somewhat appealing.

See the fat-free re-fried beans poking out?

This dinner would have made someone else happy (she loves scrambled eggs), but I don’t think she’d like the salsa!

Sorry Leia - No Eggs for You!

My total daily calories only came to about 1255, which would normally be too low. However, given the aforementioned carb-coma and calorie overload yesterday, my body just didn’t feel like it needed much else. (Thank goodness!) Sometimes you’ve just gotta listen to the belly!

Check out Peas & Crayons for other awesome eats and meal ideas!

Do you ever have “hungry days” when you just don’t ever feel full? Goodness knows I do!

What’s the best thing you’ve had lately?

I joined the Dark Side.

Weekends go soooooo fast! After my relaxing night at home with a pizza, a little wine, and a book on Friday, I was ready to get out on Saturday. So here is a recap of my semi-healthy and super-fun weekend…

I enjoyed trashy magazines while getting my hair done (guilty pleasure) and stopped by the beer shop on the way home. Woohoo for fall ales, Oktoberfests, and pumpkin beers!

I then stopped at the pretty grocery store for lunch stuff. Delish! Even Kevin liked it.

After a few hours of boating, (no pics to share), I made the most awesome lasagna for dinner. It was waaaaay better than restaurant lasagna, and it was vegetarian and cheap. Winning!

We then went out around 10 p.m. and had a unique experience. For a buddy’s b-day, the group of us rented a cabana at a rooftop club. Then, believe it or not, we saw Bret Michaels. I didn’t believe it at first until his bodyguard escorted him away from the crowd. So crazy!!!

Can you see his headband??? Did you notice that I joined the Dark Side by going brunette???

Yup – that about summed up my Saturday. It rocked. Sunday on the other hand = chores and grocery shopping, but at least I got leftover lasagna and frozen yogurt!

Even if I had to eat it all by myself since Mr. No Sweets didn’t want any.

What was the best thing you did this weekend?

WIAW: Sandwich Edition

Yeehaw y’all – it is wiiiii-aaawwww (WIAW) time again.  Before I share my eats of the week, I’d like to share the link to the awesome Peas & Crayons WIAW Blog Party.  I recommend you hop over to check out all the other great eats.

Breakfast for the week includes a pre-workout rice cake and a post-workout parfait.  The parfait is about 95 calories worth of non-fat, plain Greek yogurt, 70 calories worth of Kashi GoLean cereal, and 85 calories worth of blueberries.  It’s berry filling.  (Forgive my embarrassing pun, but there really are a lot of berries in there!)

Lunch is both simple and wonderful.  I hadn’t purchased Great Harvest Bread Co. bread before, but I am sooooo glad I did this weekend.  I got a loaf of the honey whole wheat.  It was delicious and contained only 5 ingredients!

I’m having one large slice with 1 can of tuna, 2 or 3 TBS chipotle yummus, 1 or 2 leaves of iceberg lettuce.  I pair my simple sandwich with side of sliced bell pepper or zucchini.

filling, fibrous, and fatty (healthy fatty, that is)

Snack has been pretty awesome.  It involves 1 peach and 1 half of a nutrition bar.  Want more information about the bar?  Well you can’t have it.

Just Peachy

Sorry – that was the bratty only-child in me.  I’ll actually be happy to share the details, but you’ll have to wait.  (Psssst… The details are worth the wait because it involves a delicious giveaway.)

I’ve been utilizing leftovers for dinner this week, but I haven’t been abusing them.  I had the same thing Monday and Tuesday, which was a grilled onion and chicken sandwich on more of that awesome bread with lite cheddar cheese.  That too went with a side of green beans.

I’m also having the same thing tonight as Thursday, which will be some sort of Shirataki noodle stir-fry.  I’m pretty excited to try those suckers out!  I’ll let you know what I think of them tomorrow.

Oh, and I definitely had some after-dinner treats.  Monday was a bar I can’t tell you about yet, and Tuesday was a 100-calorie bag of popcorn.  Mmmmm… salty goodness!  My last note, I was so proud of myself for turning down office sweets yesterday.  Woohoo!!!

Do you typically snack after dinner?  If so, what’s your go-to snack?

Also, thanks for all the sweet bday wishes.  You guys made it more special than a typical Tuesday!

What I Ate Wednesday: Simple Eats

I know today is “What I Ate Wednesday,” but I have to share a wee bit about yesterday.  I swam laps in the morning, and that made me sooooo hungry and tired for the rest of the day.

Speaking of tired, I got the kitties new toys last night, so we played like champs.  Leia was totally tuckered out by bedtime.

Okay, now on with the eats…

Breakfast this week includes half a banana before my workout, then 100 calories of oats + 80 calories of protein, and the other half of the banana once I get to the office.  Soooo hungry by the time I get there!

Lunch is boring but wonderful.  No new veggie bowl recipes this week!  It’s a turkey wrap with lettuce, mustard, and leftover shredded carrots.  I pair that with tart, green grapes.

Snack has been good, but it was too small Monday and Tuesday.  I had carrots with 1.5 servings of hummus.  I am bringing a couple extra crackers for the other days this week.

Sorry - no snack pics.  Then again, do you really need more photographs of yummus?  I think probably not.

Dinner has been excellent.  I’m the queen of simple meals, and Monday’s was pretty much perfect.

Dessert included two graham crackers (not pictured).   Tuesday’s dinner wasn’t bad either…

Of course, cooking meat for dinner draws extra attention to the dinner table.

I promise I don’t drink a beer every night with dinner.  It’s actually very rare that I drink mid-week at all, but these were just hitting the spot.  Plus, they’ve been in my fridge for months, and I’m sick of looking at them.

What is the best thing you’ve eaten recently?  Do you think other people’s eats are interesting? 

I like checking out other people’s healthy meal ideas.  Check out all the great eats at Peas and Crayons’ weekly WIAW post:

WIAW: Normal Edition

Guess what!!! I flailed around in the water swam for 15 continuous minutes yesterday morning! Woohoo! That’s a first for me. Here was the overall workout: I completed 10 minutes of lower body pilates before heading into the pool. I then swam 15 minutes, walked 1 minute, and swam 14 more minutes. It was an excellent start to the day!

Okay… moving on to the yum stuff….

I wish I had a cool theme for you guys this week, such as WIAW Dessert Edition, Vacation Edition, or even Pretty Picture Edition, but I don’t. Luckily, WIAWs are always fun as-is. Check out Peas & Crayons for other WIAW posts.

Breakfast has been broken into only 2 parts this week. Yeah… crazy. I’m having 1 of the 2 Kashi Pumpkin Spice Flax Crunchy bars or a banana pre-workout. I thought the bars would be like Nature Valley bars, but they’re actually sooooo much better.

Once I get to the office, I’m having 1 scoop (80 calories) of all-natural vanilla whey protein cooked in 1/3 cup of oats. I top that with a shake of pumpkin pie spice and 3 diced almonds. The protein to oats ratio is a little off, so it comes out sort of like a rubber muffin top. It’s not particularly tasty, but it’s fun to eat and super filling.

Lunch is the awesomeness I described in yesterday’s recipe. It reheats very well.

So far, snack has been either a pink lady apple or a plum with 1 serving of 2% cottage cheese. Although it’s pretty good, I think I may change it out one or two days with a Larabar, yogurt, or something a little more sinful. Muah-ha-ha-ha! I hope I see a cookie in my future!

Ya think that was a gigantic blueberry at first?

Dinner Monday and Tuesday was vegerific. I made a bag of these veggies with a little extra broccoli slaw added to the mix while I cooked 1 serving of quinoa (divided between both nights).

I served baked general tsao’s tofu. Yum! Yes… I’m one of those oddballs who actually likes tofu, especially baked.

Tonight will be an Italian-style bake of eggplant, zucchini, chickpeas, red sauce, and Parmesan or feta. I’m pretty pumped!

Of course every night has at least 1 treat. Monday was half a green apple with a spoon of peeb, but Tuesday included loads of popcorn. Who knows was I’ll be craving later tonight!

What was the best thing you’ve eaten lately? Are you a fan of tofu?