I haven't been too fancy this past week- simple is the name of the game- particularly when my hubby isn't home. For breakfasts I've been having oatmeals, cereals, and shakes. For lunches I've been having sandwiches, salads, and the last of that summer salsa from last week. For dinnners, I have been craving and eating LOTS of vegetables. Sunday night and Monday night each I had a whole huge homegrown zucchini to myself, sliced, sauteed with a tablespoon of butter and several tablespoons of grated parmesean cheese. Yum! Last night I had two ears of fresh corn on the cob. For snacks I've been having 2 cups of chocolate milk after runs, fresh heirloom cherry tomatoes from the farmer's market, whole wheat rolls (frozen, pop in the oven for 7 mins kind), Terra Mediterranean Vegetable Chips, and Babybel cheese rounds.
Being in tune with your body is difficult, but if you listen to what it's craving and satisfy it, I think you'll feel more statisfied overall with your food. So what is your healthy or lo-cal fix for a salty craving? For a sugary craving? For a comfort food craving? For a chocolate craving?
For salty fixes, I like a few olives from a jar, a big dill pickle, pita chips, salted & steamed edamame, or Snack Factory's Buffalo Wing Pretzel Crisps. For sugary cravings, I like chocolate milk, but I really don't get sugary cravings much. For comfort food cravings, I like lean cuisine mac & cheese or lean cuisine lasagne. For a chocolate craving, I like the chocolate milk again, or Emerald Dark Chocolate dusted Almonds.
I also love zucchini and I recently bought a "spiralizer" from Sur Le Table. You grind a zucchini (or any vegetable or fruit) through it and it creates spiral, spaghetti-ish (sp?) "noodles." I then toss it with some fresh salsa and a bit of guacamole and I had a super-flavorful and healthy dinner.
ReplyDeleteI also love dry-roasted garbanzo beans for a crunchy but not salty snack. I take three cans of no salt addes beans, (drained, rinsed and dried) and toss them with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and then minx them with a lot of fresh cracked pepper and cumin (any spice you like would work) and then spread them in an even layer on cookie and put them in a 400 degree oven for about an hour. I love to eat them when they are warm but they also make a great snack in lunches!
MMMMM those garbanzo beans sound delightful. I will definitely try since I just bought 6 cans from wal-mart. My main go to for food this past week has been fat free cottage cheese with a few scoops of yogurt or some fruit in it. I'm a big broccoli fan so I usually eat a large helping with my meals. For my salty fix I like cheddar mini rice cakes from Quaker; they also have caramel and chocolate for the sweet cravings. My comfort food is definitey sandwiches.
ReplyDeleteThat zuchini looks sooooo good! I think I'll try that tonight! I don't get salty cravings, I'm a sugar, sugar, sugar girl. That includes chocolate. I like Orville Redenbacher's 94% fat free kettle korn for a sweet fix. I also love Jello 60 calorie pudding snacks for a chocolate fix. As far as comfort food goes, I enjoy having a cup of homemade hot chocolate (skim milk, cocoa, almond extract, splenda, and vanilla) along with an english muffin with whole fruit jam while I'm snuggled into the sofa at night. I love reading all the other ideas! Keep them coming!
ReplyDeleteMmm, I am definitely going to try the dry roasted garbanzo beans, Kristin! Yum! The spiralizer sounds useful, too- can you post a link to it's catalog or website page on here? Jessie, I love the fat-free cottage cheese that has pineapple in it already, hits the spot! I too love having a huge plateful of broccoli for dinner, with a couple slices of Kraft fat-free sharp cheddar (30 cal per slice) on top. I think I'm gonna do that tonight. Meghan, the Jiffy Pop 100 calorie kettle corn bags are good, too. I keep those in my desk drawer at work. Keeps me from absentmindedly eating a huge bag when it's just a mini-bag like these are. Hot cocoa sounds good- I'll have to pick up some splenda & almond extract :) What measurements would you say do you use for each ingredient there?
ReplyDeleteHere is the link to the spiral cutter: http://www.surlatable.com/nav/i/category/kitchen+%26+bar+tools/specialty+tools/vegetable/saladacco/*/price+range/%2425+%E2%80%93+%2449.99/n/218.do?sortby=priceAscend
ReplyDeleteI love reading all of your ideas!
This homemade hot cocoa is lower in sugar than other recipes. It can be made with soy milk. Try flavoring it with cinnamon for a little change.
ReplyDeleteIngredients:
2 T. cocoa powder
1 T. sugar (or use splenda at the end to taste)
2 T. water
6 oz. skim milk or soy
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. almond extract
In a small saucepan, stir together the cocoa powder and the sugar. Add the water and stir well. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a low boil and the sugar dissolves. Stir in the milk, vanilla and almond extract. Reduce the heat to low and stir until warmed through. Makes one serving. Enjoy!
Okay here's one of my new favorite recipes (also on my blog), but it's SO good, and pretty good for you too!
ReplyDeleteSpring Soup
(from Recipezaar)
Serves 12
* 1 cup scallion or onion, chopped
* 6 tablespoons margarine (I use the low trans fat kind)
* 5 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth
* 2 cups non-dairy coffee creamer or half and half (or you can use rice milk and it would taste good too!)
* 2 potatoes, thinly sliced
* 2 carrots, thinly sliced
* 1/4 cup rice
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 (10 ounce) package frozen asparagus, thawed and diced
* 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
In a large heavy pan saute' scallions in margarine. Add chicken broth and non-dairy creamer, beating with wire whisk to blend. Add potatoes, carrots, rice and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 more minutes, until rice is tender. Add asparagus and spinach. Simmer at least 45 minutes longer.
Yummy yum yum! My whole family LOVE it!
This is a bad time to be talking about food, when I'm hungry!!! :) Don't worry Sarah, I'm headed to bed with a big glass of water instead. :) So some snacks that really hit the spot for me: handful of cashews (always yummy), chocolate protein shake (usually I do after my workouts or if I'm feeling run down and need something to give me some energy-has 20g of protein and tastes like I'm having a treat!) Fiber One oat and chocolate bars. These have 35% of your daily fiber and also give me that chocolate fix, steamed Spinach, broccoli, asparagus and brussel sprouts always fill me up well. My comfort food is mashed potatoes. Not great for dieting, but I love em. :)
ReplyDeleteNicki- what chocolate protein shake do you get? Mine make me gag...
ReplyDeleteFirst, I have to say that I'm excited I don't have to give up my Saturday eats! We have eggs, bacon, toast and fruit for brunch every week. A couple months ago I cut back from two strips of bacon to one. Then I have a little snack in the late afternoon to tide me over until dinner, and as long as I keep that healthy, I'm consuming the same as a weekday breakfast & lunch.
ReplyDeleteAs for recent meals, this is arguably the easiest time of year for healthy eating. I can't get enough of all the delicious vegs and fruits. We mostly eat them raw or steamed so no recipes. With our new "square foot garden" (see book by Mel Bartholomew if you're interested) we've gotten higher yields of peas, green beans, tomatoes and cucumbers. Then there's the variety at the farmers' market. Even the grocery store produce is really good right now.
Cravings. Am I a testament to Tuesday's Sleep Check? I remember having cravings often in college, but now they are rare. I know that my cravings are inversely proportional to the number of daylight hours. Here at 43° latitude we get over 15 hrs in summer but barely 8 hrs in winter! Compare that to 33° latitude, which has 14 hrs in summer and 10 hrs in winter. I'd say this group needs to band together to fight the difficulties of maintaining a healthy lifestyle Nov-Feb.
When I do have a craving, it's for something sweet at lunchtime or shortly after lunch. If I think that what I really want is to be perked up, I'll have some extra coffee or tea. Or I'll have fruit. Or I'll just have the dessert, but keep the portion small.