Food Fad and a Fever

Happy Wednesday folks. It felt like a Tuesday to me but I guess that's the beauty of ending vacation on a Monday ;) I'm definitely not complaining since it means we are that much closer to the weekend!

Over my breakfast of an egg white and overnight hot cereal (1/4c BRM and buckwheat, 1/4c unsweetened vanilla almond breeze, 1/2c water, drop of vanilla and maple syrup, blueberries, 1/2T almond butter) I watched the Today Show per usual.

To my surprise they did a story on being gluten free and I naturally got excited. Unfortunately, my excitement dwindled to frustration and talking back to my TV as the story discussed a gluten free diet (way one eats vs a weight loss diet). You see, this story was all about celebrities who are choosing to go gluten free and touting it as a way to lose weight. Now, I will be the first to admit that I've benefited from an increase in awareness of a gluten free diet as new products, restaurants, and bakeries have entered the market. Yet, so many of their claims painted this way of eating as a trendy way to slim down.

After 2:30 Natalie Morales finally mentioned that over 3 million Americans suffer from Celiac disease and I had a glimmer of hope. I also appreciated that a physician did mention that many gluten free products are in fact higher in calories, fat, and sugars than glutenous products. Thank you Dr. Raj for expressing your disagreement with this!! I've found this to be the case as well which is why it is so important for folks transitioning to a gluten free diet to incorporate fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and other natural foods (like dairy if you aren't allergic) into a gluten free diet. Like main-stream eaters, relying heavily on processed products will leave your shorts a bit snug.

Take a look for yourself though. What do you think of this clip? Perhaps this just hit on a pet peeve of mine regarding gluten free eating...

The morning flew by and I packed up my lunch to bring to a meeting with me. I had the leftover enchilada stuffing with spinach, 1/4c brown rice, 1/4c kidney beans, and enchilada sauce on top.

In between my 2nd and 3rd meeting I snacked on baby carrots and that's about when my day headed downhill. During my last meeting of the day, I started feeling achy, chilled, and beyond tired. I made it through the meeting and was happy to head home from it to try to sort myself out.

I got hungry during the meeting but couldn't eat so I decided that food would really help me. I had my leftover Chinese vegetables

and when I was still hungry 10 minutes later decided to just make it dinner time. Over the course of a couple of hours I grazed on:

Amy's split pea soup with a pinch of rice mixed in

Udi's whole grain toast with red pepper spread and cheese

Frozen blueberries with half a serving of rice milk chocolate chip ice cream

It's only 9:30pm but it's looking like bedtime for me. I took my temperature a little bit ago and I have a fever of 100.1. Here's to hoping I feel better when I wake up!!

Celebrating the 4th of July

Hi everyone! How was your long weekend?  I took a little blogging vacation over the holiday and am excited to share my adventures from the past 2 days.

I woke up yesterday and whipped together a quick batch of hot cereal. I added blueberries and strawberries on top to kick-off my 4th of July celebrations. This bowl was great - I used the same method as I did for overnight "oats" last week so it wasn't too hot which I was thankful for later in the day.

I walked to the farmers' market to pick up a few things for the week. I can't get over how much variety and bounty there was. It's definitely a sign that we are at the peak of summer and I for one, could not be happier!!

I spent much of my day at Lauren's apartment pool with friends for a picnic. I brought one of my cobblers with me and am proud to say that it was all eaten (and some didn't even know it was gluten free!). When I was finally hungry I made a plate of baked beans, corn, and salad topped with an amazing mango, cucumber salsa that one of our friends made. I probably repeated this plate x2 or 3 plus a serving or 2 of chips over the course of the afternoon.

When I got home, I spent some time in the AC rehydrating and resting. All that time in the sun really wears you out! A Brita pitcher later (not exaggerating) plus a shower and I felt like a whole new woman. Since I wasn't too hungry but needed to eat dinner, I had a pear as well as a piece of cheese toast that hit the spot.

My friend Jason invited us to his rooftop once again for fireworks viewing. After going down to the National Mall my first summer in DC, I felt like I could view the show more comfortably and without fighting the crowds :)

After the show (not to mention, we could see ALL of the fireworks being set off in NE and SE DC as well as in other neighborhoods near Jason's, we headed to a restaurant for a late night "snack." I munched on a few chips and about a cup of rice and beans. I fought my temptation to get nachos after my chip-filled day!

Since I was up so late last night, I figured I would sleep in. However, imagine my surprise when I woke up to see it was 11:45am! Whoops! It actually felt great after yesterday's excitement and I enjoyed being well-rested. I made a light breakfast to bring to pool brunch with me - PBJ toast, a peach, and a few cherries. This was all I wanted after a day of non-stop grazing.

The pool was an amazing way to spend part of the afternoon but I gave up after ~2 hours and made some lunch. That would be a veggie burger on top of spinach with a few Gone Crackers. Nothing too exciting since I was in need of groceries.

I tackled the grocery store but other wise laid low today. I am hoping that a calm day will help my foot pain go away (it's back and I have been in denial). Since I didn't eat a heavy meal today, an early dinner was in order. I roasted the 2 ears of corn I picked up at the market yesterday because as a Texan, who doesn't want to eat BBQ foods 2 days in a row? :-D

This would be an ear of corn with some paprika, baked beans, and a mixture of spinach, FF feta, a pinch of white beans, and dill.

Dessert was a serving of cobbler and a couple of berries.

Now it's time to finish getting ready for a short work week!

How did you celebrate July 4th? What was the highlight of your weekend?

Awareness and Monday

A couple of weeks ago, during the Biggest Loser episode in Dallas, Bob shared some advice with a woman who asked about losing "those last 5 pounds": be really aware of every calorie in to help limit those unnoticed extra calories that sneak up on us. You know the ones - the overflow of a 1/4c of oatmeal here, an extra dip in the PB jar there, and before you know it you're confused about why something feels snug despite eating healthily overall.

For the last week or so, I've been struggling with a couple of things. I am stressed out about a few things I'm dealing with right now and I am also frustrated about feeling good and healthy, except for my foot, and wanting to work out but still can't... unless I want to exacerbate my injury and spend more time in the boot.  I've been struggling with my inability to workout how I normally / used to and how I feel that it is affecting my body. Throw on top constant weather warm-ups and cool-downs and I find myself grazing a bit more these days. Especially on munchy items like cereal and the TJs roasted crac almond butter. Of course, just in time for the summer...

For the past couple of weeks I've been going to the gym again for pilates and water aerobics and lifting weights at home. Of course, I walk at least 2 miles a day commuting to work but there's lots of sitting in between. My goal for this week is to be more aware of my eats and more importantly: my grazing because that's where I know I'm getting lazy. I also am going to think about the things I can do and remind myself that this is temporary and my foot must heal properly. I struggle with patience, can you tell? :)

Anyways, last night's dinner was an attempt to use up some left overs. I mixed a generous 1/4c of each: brown rice and black beans with a couple of spoonfuls of salsa, a handful on spinach on its last leg, and the final bit of fajita veggies. Plus, the most fantastic, fun vegetable ever: an artichoke. These were such a favorite of mine as a kid. I used to try to con my mom and dad out of their artichoke hears too - mmmm, sooo good. I sprinkled this with TJs 21 Seasoning Salute and had maybe a 1/4 tsp melted Earth Balance for dipping but dumped out half of the butter.

Dessert was a pear w/ AB and cinnamon and a 1/4c of some sliced pineapple. I purchased one yesterday on sale and it is juicy and flavorful. I'm very excited to have this on hand this week! Oh, then there was cereal....

It's another rainy, cool Monday morning so I kicked it off with an egg white and a nice pink bowl of hot cereal. In the mix:

• 1/4c minus 1.5 tbsp BRM hot cereal
• ~1.5 tbsp roasted buckwheat
• 1/4c unsweetened almond milk
• 3/4c water
• cinnamon, small bit of Earth Balance
• 1/2T chia seeds, 1/2T PB, ~1/4c frozen mixed berries
• pinch of almond slices, crushed
• 7 or 8 cacao nibs (small pinch)

Here's to a positive, busy, good week!

The Best Kind of Friday

You know those days - where there's a perfect mix of work, meetings, and a great lunch that just makes the day fly by? I enjoy those day, especially when the weekend is waiting at the end of it!

Breakfast was... raspberry vanilla hot cereal. It's still been cool in the mornings so I'm enjoying my favorite breakfast while I still can!

A mid-morning meeting brought about lunch somewhat surprisingly yet I was happy to head out to eat. After the Cherry Blossom Brunch at the beginning of the month, I discovered that Quinn works right near my office. Since she is wrapping up her time in DC, we had planned to meet up once more before her move. A reader Ashley met us as well as Quinn's favorite sushi spot - Kaz Sushi Bistro.

Ashly was so sweet - when she arrived, she had cupcakes in tow for Quinn and she brought me some of my favorite hot cereal! I really couldn't thank her enough for this gesture. Thanks again Ashley!!

There were 2 things I noticed right away on the menu: 1 - that they add dashi (seafood broth) to their soy sauce and 2 - they actually tell you that it's mixed in! This helped me avoid an allergic reaction for which I was extremely grateful. The waitress was also helpful in identifying a couple of dishes that were safe for me to choose.

I ordered the Chicken Teriyaki Bento which came with rice, seaweed salad, and what I think was tempura tofu. I inhaled my seaweed salad as we talked and made a small dent in the chicken and rice.

The conversation was great as well - Quinn wrote a great re-cap as well. While lunches won't be possible, I'm sure we will see one another again with the great DC-area blogger community we are proud to be a part of.

My afternoon included a celebratory awards picnic outside which wasn't a horrible way to spend a sunny afternoon ;)  It was quitting time as soon as I got back to campus and I ran an errand before heading home.

I had a small bit of plain NF yogurt with a bit of cereal, cleaned up my apartment (I love to start the weekend off with it clean), and then headed out for a short walk and more errands. Along the way I spotted this

I'll be sharing more about this little sign over the weekend. Any guesses what it's for and why I noticed it?

It took a while for my dinner appetite to kick in but once it did I just couldn't fill up. I started with a salad with about ~1/4c kidney beans and corn, veggies, and romaine and spinach mix. Plus tortilla chip crumbs with some cheese.

Then I had a generous 1/3c brown rice with half a roasted zucchini, bell pepper, and mushrooms which I roasted and topped with soy sauce.

There was some more cereal and then ~1/8c defrosted frozen berries, almost a serving of Coconut Milk Vanilla ice cream topped with a bit of PB and a few more nibbles of rice. Fullness finally came after this!

I'm calling it an early night because I have an exciting day planned for tomorrow. Have a good night!

Smart Choices in the Workplace

Now that I am back in the swing of full time work, I decided it was time to adjust my daily habits to help avoid those dreaded workplace temptations and distractions. I don't call myself a grazer for nothing - when push comes to shove, I often prefer to nibble on small snacks or meals throughout the day and keeping it all in check can be a challenge if you aren't aware of the things you're eating.

Below is a list of a few of the small changes I've been making throughout the workday that help me avoid mindless (read: bored) eating and make smart, healthy, gluten free choices!

- Use your break room! Most days I find myself eating lunch at my desk, working away, or taking a break to catch up on life. At the end of my lunch, I would simply toss my trash into my desk trashcan and wonder why I would find myself hungry just an hour later. The culprit - the food scents! I'm a social eater so when I hear, see or smell people eating, my brain wants me to jump right in. To try to avoid overeating at lunch, I now throw away (or recycle) my lunch trash in the break room so that my desk stays scent-free! I can't tell you how well this has worked for me.

- Keep healthy snacks within reach! I have one desk drawer that I keep stocked with a few healthy options in case I forget a snack. I have a few boxes of caffeine free tea (I don't consume caffeine after noon - it keeps me awake at night), fruit leathers, nuts, etc. in case of snack emergencies.

- Mind your posture! Especially now that I'm in my aircast, sitting is more a part of my day than I would like. My calling attention to how I'm sitting and trying to be as comfortable as possible, I find myself sitting up straight and using my abs to support this effort. it also makes mindless nibbling harder when you're focused on sitting in a healthy way.

- Go for a walk! When I know I want to snack simply because I'm bored, I make myself get up from my desk for a couple of minutes. Whether it's chatting with a co-worker for a few minutes or taking a walk around the block, I typically find that I forget my munchies after a change of scenery.

- It's ok to indulge once and a while! Whether it's leftovers from big meetings or baked goods, a treat every now and then is ok! I often find that sandwich fixins' (if they're not platted with bread) make a great little "salad" and one little bag of chips won't hurt and just may satisfy that craving for something salty and crunchy. Just make sure that whatever treat to pick doesn't contain something you are allergic to and that it hasn't come in contact with an allergen (bread, fish, etc.) that you could react to.

I hope these tips are helpful in making the right choices at work!

Oh the dilemma...

What's the other perk of a long weekend? A short work week! I couldn't help but feel like today was Monday, being back at the office, but I'm excited for tomorrow to already be Wednesday.

My day started not-so-bright and early and for some reason I wasn't hungry when it was time for breakfast. I nibbled on my egg white as I got dressed and ended up packing my hot cereal to eat at the office.  It's much better fresh but I wanted to wait until my body told me it was really ready to eat.

I had a few meetings on campus which I didn't mind because the sun came out and it was in the 50s! Sooo nice, especially because another cold front is supposedly on the way  :(

After my morning meetings, I was more than ready for lunch before another afternoon meeting. I had a salad alongside the bowl of tofu fried rice that I prepared last night. It tasted just as great the second day - the flavors had a chance to settle in.

I ate my snack in waves because I just couldn't decide what I wanted: first I had this Trader Joe's Fiberful Bar

then an orange and an Apple Pie Larabar. Yum - the sweetness of the apples and cinnamon and the tartness of the bar made this taste just like apple pie filling, with a decent dose of fiber and protein.

My gym class was particularly tough tonight because I'm still sore from power yoga on Sunday. I pushed myself through though and am glad that I did. I'll enjoy my rest day tomorrow even more knowing that I didn't quit even when I felt tired. (I was channeling Jillian Michaels in my head and knew I'd enjoy tonight's episode of The Biggest Loser after kicking my own butt!)

My big dilemma of the day was dinner. For the second night in a row I wasn't hungry until after 8pm which is unusual for me - I like to eat all day long. On top of that, I wasn't in the mood to make the meal I thought I was looking forward to: my own version of Bar Louie's Burger in a Bowl. What prompted this change?  Well, after finishing Food Rules I decided to go back to reading The Omnivore's Dilemma which I started a while ago but have had a hard time getting through, until last night.

I read the section about raising America's beef supply, what they feed the cattle when they're born, when they go to the feedlots, etc. and what I learned raised some interesting questions for me about no-grass-fed beef. So, despite planning for my turkey burger patty, the idea of meat really didn't sound appealing to me.

Instead, I made a taco salad with black beans, corn, some rice (which I cooked on the stove top with some garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and salsa) and topped it with a bit of 2% Mexican cheese and a crumbled toasted corn tortilla.

 

I had seconds on the salad part as I watched The Biggest Loser. Then, dessert was another mini-dilemma - fruit? Chocolate? Cereal?  I decided to combine a few favorites in a bowl: a Comice pear, a drizzle of PB, a few raisins, and a couple of dark chocolate chips. Plus an Adora dark chocolate disk for calcium.

 

I'm trying out Adora to help with my calcium intake since I can't really tolerate yogurt anymore and don't drink milk.

It was a great day, even with a couple of mini-dilemmas and a bigger one for me to still ponder. Hopefully I'll sort some this out soon! G'night!