Bonjour!  What are you guys up to this lovely Saturday?

I want to highlight a blog posting on eating alone that I enjoyed and think you’ll enjoy, too. Special K wrote the following: “It’s been said that cooking a meal for one is one of the most difficult challenges a chef encounters. They cite measuring obstacles, portion doubts, paring problems and presentation apathy.  I think the challenge is almost 100% psychological. We think of eating alone as a sad experience, although research has shown otherwise.”  What do you guys think? She then challenges us to prepare a “me” meal and relish our own company doing what most consider an inherently social act — eating.

I’ll be honest — I may not eat “alone” all the time in the sense that I may have company, but 95% of the time, I am eating something I prepared for myself alone while others eat their own meals.  In that sense, preparing a meal for one is not a challenge for me — I find it fun (and absolutely necessary!).  I never feel restricted to create a meal that yields only one serving as I prefer to eat hearty foods and like having leftovers for later. Because I’m a vegetarian and share my life with people who have eating habits very different from my own, it’s a pleasure to try new things catered specifically to my tastes and lifestyle.

In the sense of companionship, I do eat solo the majority of the time as well.  Do I mind?  Not at all.  Because my health journey has involved forging a new relationship with food, each time I eat alone is like a chance to truly embrace the budding new relationship, to truly savor the foods and cherish the “fruits” of my cooking labors.  But note — when I say “eat alone,” I mean eating alone at home.  I have yet to dine alone at a full-fledged, sit-down restaurant.  Even when I actually enjoyed going out to eat, I bought into the stigma that eating alone is just not something to do.  I am confident that I certainly could do that today, however, I have yet to prove it.  Have you guys ever eaten alone at a sit-down restaurant?  Would you?

Want to take the challenge to prepare a meal for yourself and eat it alone?  See Special K’s give-Away here for a chance to win a copy of Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone by Jenni Ferrari-Adler (the deadline to enter has been extended).

My all-time fave “alone” meal is any kind of bean filling in some sort of tortilla or pita with some hot sauce on top!  I’m one spicy vegetarian!

Suggestions for Meals for One

• A pizza made with a pita!  It’s perfectly sized for one person and you get to put whatever toppings you’d like.
• A burrito made with canned beans or chili.  There are usually 2-3 servings in canned beans or chili, so you won’t have much leftover (or if you eat like me, won’t have any left…).
• A salad.  It’s like a pizza, just without the dough   You can choose your toppings and go wild!
• A sandwich or wrap.  Easy to make, easy clean-up and no left-overs.
• Your secret faves!  No one is going to judge you if for dinner you want Cheerios and Chobani!
• Suggestions?

What do you guys think about eating “alone”?

Product Review — FEED GRANOLA

Full disclosure: I sought out Feed Granola after having read about them on No Meat Athlete and they sent me samples at no cost to me.

Because I wanted to provide a more rounded review (and because it is way too dangerous to have so much granola in the house!), I sent away two of the samples of granola I received to friends of mine for their opinions to offer in addition to my own. My thoughts?

Considering that after I first dug into the Cranberry Coconut, followed by the Bittersweet-ness flavor, I knew I would have to send a couple of the other bags away to friends or you’d find me plump and laying in the fetal position in a granola-induced coma, I think it’s safe to say this granola pretty much tastes like miniature nuggets of heaven.  I eat granola by itself, by the handful, so the fact that a lot of the pieces were very tiny and crumbly did not matter.  The Cranberry Coconut was the best tasting granola I have ever had and I did not expect it to be as I usually go for more chocolate-bearing granola than fruit-bearing ones, but the taste of the coconut with whole almonds mixed in with cranberries was truly delectable. I was surprised at how “light” the granola tasted — defintley did not taste like more traditional granolas that have left me feeling like I just stuffed myself with a highly concentrated dose of fat and sugar.  I was also pleasantly surprised at the very nice “spice” flavor.  The cinnamon and other spices really rounded out the taste.

Unfortunately, and made very clear by this taste-testing extravaganza, granola is a food I really should not keep in my house.  Given its generally high calorie content per serving size, and the fact that I can’t just stop at one serving, it’s just best for me not to have access to it :/

To a taste-tester friend of mine who tried the Blueberry Almond, the granola did not bode well when eaten as a cereal but was rather tasty by itself.  To my other taste-tester friend who tried the Apple A Day flavor, she ate it with yogurt and loved the “dessert” taste. I think it’s arguable that me saying this granola is delicious really isn’t convincing given that granola is pretty much always going to taste great given its mainstay ingredients, right?  So, I’ll add that Feed Granola is approved by nutritionists (whom specifically? Not sure!), and is “made with organic multi-grains, a combination of “energizing complex carbohydrates, muscle-building proteins, cholesterol reducing soluble fiber, and essential omega-3s.” The nutritional content per 1/4 cup for all of the referenced granola flavors, ranges from 140-160 calories a serving, up to 4.5 g of fat, 3-4 g of fiber and 4-5 g protein.

The question all readers want answered:  Would I buy this product myself? Answer:  A resounding yes if granola was a staple part of my lifestyle.  Right now, it just isn’t.

Compare to the average granola: 150 calories, 7.45 g of fat, 2.63 g fiber, 4.53 g protein per 1/4 cup serving (and usually does not have added omegas and such an impressive ingredient list as Feed Granola).

You can buy Feed Granola from their website here, for $5.99 per 12 oz bag + way too much for FedEx Ground shipping, or buy a 6-pack for $4.58/each (total $27.51 + free shipping) on Amazon.com here or find in the store at Whole Foods Market for $5.99.

What’s your favorite brand of granola?  Can you usually stick to one serving?

In the News

• Calorie Lab’s, “Women Eat Fewer Calories When Dining with Men…” (8/7/09) here — I always giggle when I think about silly girls who order side salads when they eat with dudes simply because they think it makes themselves appear more “feminine.” Crazy how we went from the Renaissance view of eating yielding curvy bodies being the sign of beauty and femininity, to starvation being feminine (and, of course, we see many variations in between depending on era, geography and culture).  Trust me, what I order when out with the boyf is solely for health reasons, but I always save a belch to remind him how feminine I am (he’s so lucky to have me, eh?!).  Do you gals order fewer calories worth of food when out with a dude simply to appear like a delicate and dainty flower?

Give-Away Round Up

• Win some Musselman’s Healthy Picks Applesauce here
• Win some Medora’s chips here
• Win some Chobani Greek yogurt here
• Win some Larabars here

I hope you guys have an amazing day!  I won’t be blogging tomorrow, but look forward to “seeing” all of you on Monday!

<3,

The Cranky One

Riddle #1:  How did carrots + cake yield oats + peanut butter?  Well duh!  The genius behind Carrots and Cake came up with a recipe for Peanut Buttery Bars with oats and I just had to try them!  I haven’t had many sweets around the house aside from fruit and I’ve really been cravin’ something with a cake-like texture so this totally did the trick!  Here’s the recipe with a few alterations I made per my taste:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) smooth peanut butter — 400 calories, 30 g fat, 4 g fiber, 18 g protein
• 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) smooth almond butter — 380 calories, 36 g fat, 6 g fiber, 16 g protein
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder — 20 calories, 0.5 g fat, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour — 200 calories, 1 g fat, 6 g fiber, 8 g protein
• 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) agave nectar — 240 calories, o g fat, o g fiber, 0 g protein
• 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk — 5 calories, 0.38 g fat, 0.13 g fiber, 0.13 g protein
• 1.5 cups oats — 450 calories, 9 g fat, 12 g fiber, 15 g protein
• 1 egg — 74 calories, 5 g fat, 0 g fiber, 6.3 g protein
• Total nutritional value of entire pan =1,769 calories, 81.88 g fat, 29.13 g fiber, 64.43 g protein
  
• One serving (12 servings) = 147.42 calories, 6.82 g fat, 2.43 g fiber, 5.37 g protein

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray Pam in a 8×11 square pan
• Mix ingredients, place in pan (the mixture was a bit dry, so I used my hands to spread it out — it was fun!)
• Cook for 15 minutes

These came out deliciously!  They are very subtly sweet, so if you like something more “bam! I’m suhweet!” than I’d recommend adding a bit more agave syrup.  Or, if you’re in a saucy, not too stringent on the calorie/fat content, mood, you could always do what my twin did and add some white chocolate chips to the top and nuke it in the microwave:

The bars dry out a bit and taste best when nuked in the microwave.  Do you like that I keep using the word “nuked”? hehe Makes using the microwave sound very appetizing — sorry!   TGIF pals!  What’s your favorite way to eat peanut butter, almond butter, etc.?

Beauty

Riddle #2 — How is it that some of the most beautiful people in the world look in the mirror and see anything but that beauty?  Or, the question I’ve pondered before (and find kind of funny) is: how is it that someone you once deem beautiful can later seem to be the ugliest site on Earth (and vice versa)?  I guess it has a lot to do with beauty being a fluid and dynamic identity.  There are so many larger issues that fit into the equation of one’s perception of beauty that it would take a dissertation’s worth of research just to touch the surface.  No matter what, I hope we realize how in control of our own beauty we are and it doesn’t come from time spent in the gym or in counting your calories.  Go check out Caitlin’s blog on Operation Beautiful.  And don’t forget — feeling “beautiful” is not just limited to chicks.  Go tell your husbands, boyfriends, guy pals, brothers, fathers, etc., how beautiful they are.

I left this at the gym last night:

“‘The Greatest Treasures Are Those Invisible to the Eye’ Thank you 4 being you!”

Wish I could’ve left it in the boys’ locker room too … Maybe next time if it seems all clear!

Pita Pizza Goop

Don’t mind my pasty legs and me icing my right knee!

• One Western Bagel’s “The Alternative Pita – Whole Wheat – 110 calories, 0.5 g fat, 8 g fiber, 7 g protein
• ¼ cup Clasico traditional pasta sauce – 25 calories, 1 g fat, 1g fiber, 1 g protein
• 1 oz Lite Shredded Mozzarella Cheese — 45 calories, 3 g fat, 0 g fiber, 5 g protein
• I literally tear the pita into pieces, place the sauce and cheese on top and nuke for 35 seconds.  Talk about lazy cooking, but it seriously tastes YUMMALICIOUS!
• Total nutritional content: 180 calories, 4.5 g fat, 9 g fiber, 13 g protein

Marriage of Peach Salsa & Eggplant Hummus Wrap

• 1 Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain tortilla — 150 calories, 3.5 g fat, 5 g fiber, 6 g protein
• 1/2 cup cucumber slices — 8 calories, 0.1 g fat, 0.3 g fiber, 0.3 g protein
• 5 rings of red onion — 12.5 calories, 0 g fat, 0.4 g fiber, 0.3 g protein
• Trader Joe’s Herb Salad Mix — 12.5 calories, 0 g fat, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein
• 1 tbsp Trader Joe’s Eggplant Hummus — 17.5 calories, 1 g fat, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein
• 1 tablespoon Trader Joe’s Spicy, Smoky, Peach Salsa = 7.5 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein
• Total nutritional content:  208 calories, 4.6 g fat, 7.7 g fiber, 8.6 g protein

I Look Sinful, But I’m An Angel Taco Salad

• 2 cups Trader Joe’s Organic broccoli slaw — 50 calories, 0 g fat, 4 g fiber, 4 g protein
• Half of 0ne 1.25 oz packet of dried cranberries from Trader Joe’s — 60 calories, 0 g fat, o.5 g fiber, o g protein
• 1 Trader Joe’s Italian Soy Sausage — 140 calories, 7 g fat, 1 g fiber, 13 g protein
• One single organic tortilla chip crumpled –14 calories, 0.7 g fat, 0.3 g fiber, 0.2 g protein
• Total nutritional content:  264 calories, 7.7 g fat, 5.8 g fiber, 17.2 g protein

I always have some sort of tortilla and tons of salad on hand so I tend to eat a lot of wraps, burritos and salads.  What are two staples you ALWAYS have stocked in your fridge or pantry?

Don’t forget to check in tomorrow for a question and answer session with **drum roll**
MizFit!!!

Let me begin with a spontaneous couplet to show my love for my favorite little pals:

Oh black beans you are quite the treat
My addiction to you I cannot beat

Wow, I’m silly.

I have been craving my favorite pizza from California Pizza Kitchen.  Can you guess which one?  The tostada one, of course, because it has black beans! Instead of going out, spending the money and wasting the calories, I decided to come up with my own version for lunch.  While CPK does not have the nutritional content/caloric content of their pizzas online (shame on them!), I would guess that one slice of that delectable devil has about 400 calories and who knows how much fat. My version? Oh it’s a dainty, but super filling, delicious swap! Gotta love the magic of creating healthier versions of your favorite foods right in your kitchen.

Bella’s Mediterranean Black Bean Pizza Wrap

Ingredients

• ½ cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained – 70 calories, 0g fat, 6g fiber, 5 g protein
• ¼ cup Polly-O Fat-Free Ricotta Cheese – 50 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 10 g protein
• ¼ package Cedarlane Tabouli – 55 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein
• 1 c. Romaine lettuce – 8 calories, 0 g fat, 1 g fiber, 0.6 g protein
• 1 Rudi’s Organic 7 Grain with Flax Wrap – 160 calories, 3 g fat, 3 g fiber, 5 g protein
• Garnish with tabouli, cilantro, corn, and cheese if you like

Directions

• Blend black beans, ricotta cheese and tabouli in a blender
• Bake tortilla in oven at 500 degrees, middle rack, until its the “crust” texture you like* and remove
• Spread black bean mixture on tortilla as the “sauce”
• Add lettuce and garnish

*Caution – I know not everyone is as “special” as I am, but please be careful when putting your tortillas in the oven:

Yowza! This tortilla literally caught on fire because I’m an idiot and put it on broil on the top oven rack for like 10 minutes.  I almost had a heart attack!

This was super filling and you could easily eat half, have an apple and be stuffed!
Nutritional information for entire pizza (without garnish) – 343 calories, 7 g fat, 11 g fiber, 21.6 g protein

Dessert was an apple and some Dark Chocolate Dreams

1 medium-sized red apple sliced – 72 calories, 0.3 g fat, 3.3 g fiber, 0.4 g protein
1 tbsp Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams –  85 calories, 6.5 g fat, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein
Total:  157 calories, 6.8 g fat, 4.3 g fiber, 3.4 g protein

Have you guys tried any Peanut Butter & Co. peanut butters? Which is your favorite?

Dinner was a nice little snack plate (I think I’ve been reading Gliding Calm’s blog too much!)

2 tbsp Cedar’s Garden Vegetable Hummus –– 50 calories, 2 g fat, 3 g fiber, 3 g protein (I used the nutritional content from the package, which differs a tiny bit from their website. oy!)
¼ pakage Cedarlane Tabouli – 55 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein
½ a cucumber – 22.5 calories, 0.15 g fat, 0.75 g fiber, 1 g protein
1 Rudi’s Organic 7 Grain with Flax Wrap – 160 calories, 3 g fat, 3 g fiber, 5 g protein
Total:  287.50 calories, 9.15 g fat, 7.75 g fiber, 10 g protein

Just a note that the hummus and tabouli were AMAZING! Wow, my body is so content with the food choices I’ve made!  I am, however, screwed in terms of my paper. Wish me luck!

Anyone have any black bean recipes I should try?

I hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

p.s. Has any one read The End of Overeating by David Kessler?  Just curious what you thought.

Yesterday was an amazing day.  Why?  I think because I had actually slept an adequate amount. If that’s how I’d usually feel with more sleep, I am definitely making sleep more of a priority!  Here are the main things that made my day a great one:

Beach Babe Workout
I went to the beach to workout by myself for the first time.  I’ve worked out at the beach before, but only when accompanied by a friend or my twin. Why have I lived in this beach town my entire life and only now taken the opportunity to relish it as a workout spot?  Not sure.  A) I’m lame.  B) I think as a “chubbier” person, I just didn’t like being “exposed” at the beach and developed an aversion to all beach activities.

Well, it was beautiful.  I ran along the beach for three miles (yes, I RAN! My knee is getting better and better!).  I am keeping my runs short and sporadic — I do not want to overextend myself again.  So, 3 miles of beach sand running at the slow and steady pace of 10-minute miles.  I then sprinted for half a mile at a 7:30 minute/mile pace.  I wasn’t sure what to do next, then I saw a huge flight of stairs and evil laughter escaped my lips as I ran towards it.  Up, down, up, down, up down. I’m sure I looked like a nut running up and down this very high and steep staircase, but I can’t tell you how much fun I was having.  Again, if this positive mindset was a result of sleep, I profess my love to the Sleep God.  I was able to see my total mileage, pace and calories because I wore my new Garmin 305 for the first time!  Thanks to Tamara for her recommendation.

Do any of you have Garmin 305s? Work out at the beach?

Whole Foods
I have been a loyal and ardent supporter of Trader Joe’s during my health journey and have felt no need to branch out…until A) I started seeing other foodies writing about products from WF that I had not tried and did not have access to and B) Out of state friends complained they could not try my recipes/snack ideas since they did not have a TJs. So, yesterday, I marked a big “WF” in my calendar and excitedly went to this health food Disneyland to scope out the goods.  I feel like there should have been an induction ceremony involved or something, but, alas, there was not.

I had no clue that WF allowed you to make your own trail mix or to mix your own nut butter!  Why had no one told me this?!  Insane!

The goods:

It might not have been smart to get the Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams.  I tried a spoonful last night.  And then another.  Repeat.  Yea, unbelievably scrumptious.

Just a note – I was surprised to find that WF still carries a lot of foods on my “no-no” list.  I had envisioned WF as a place that shunned refined flours and high-sugar foods, but everywhere I turned there was something that I would never put in my mouth. I guess no matter where you go, you always have to be a smart, health-minded consumer.

What do you guys love about Whole Foods?  Any product recommendations?

Mimi’s Cafe
I did not end up cooking the black bean dish I had envisioned for dinner, but instead went to dinner at Mimi’s Café.  Meh.  I didn’t know Mimi’s was like a high-end Denny’s, but it was.  Their saving grace, however, is that they are so open with the nutritional content/caloric content of their dishes and they even have A) A “Just Enough” section on their menu where you can choose items in smaller portions for less money and B) a Fresh and Fit menu that has specifically nutritious and less calorie-dense foods with all the nutritional information posted right there on the menu.  While I’ve read here that only 1/10 people will actually look at nutritional content at fast-food restaurants, I’m pretty sure that the 10% are you guys and myself!  I am always stoked when the info. is available and applaud all restaurants that provide it.

Do you guys check out nutritional information of restaurant foods before you order?

Alright, it’s going to be a lame weekend spent at the library   Hope you guys actually do something fun!

Now before I divulge one of the main ingredients of gallo pinto (since I’m assuming most of you don’t know what it is), let me just preface this with how beautiful and radiant you look (this is me buttering you up so you don’t poke fun of me!).  Gallo pinto is made with BLACK BEANS!  I know, I know.  But, really, what are you going to do? Call the bean police?  So I have a tiny obsession with those little fellas, big deal!  It’s better then obsessing over Mister King Sized Hot Cheetos and Reese Sticks, my two unrequited high school loves!

Back to reality…Gallo pinto is the national dish of both Costa Rica and Nicaragua and it happens to be something my mom used to make and that I adore.  This was my first time making it on my own and it actually came out deliciously if I may say so myself .  My mom usually cooked both the rice and beans in olive oil, but I’ve omitted it (feel free to add it in — olive oil is good for you, but remember there’s 119 calories per tbsp).

The meal:

Gallo Pinto

Ingredients

• One 15oz can black beans, NOT drained — 385 calories, 0 g fat, 21 g fiber, 21 g protein
• 3 ½ cups cooked brown rice (or 1 cup uncooked) – 600 calories, 4 g fat, 4 g fiber, 12 g protein
• 1/2 cup diced red tomato – 16 calories, 0.2 g fat, 1.1 g fiber, 0.8 g protein
• ½ cup white onion chopped — 33.5 calories, 0.1 g fat, 1.1 g fiber, 0.75 g protein
• ½ cup cilantro — 2 calories, 0 g fat, 0.2 g fiber, 0.15 g protein
• 2 eggs – 109 calories, 7.3 g fat, 0 g fiber, 9.3 g protein
• Dash of cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper, paprika
• Total for entire pan = 1145.50, 11.60 g fat, 27.40 g fiber, 44 g protein
• Nutritional content per 1-cup serving (5) = 229.10 calories, 2.32 g fat, 5.48 g fiber, 8.8 g protein

Directions

• Cook brown rice according to instructions.  I added some cilantro to the water.
• Add cooked rice, can of black beans (with water content), tomato and onion to a large pan over medium heat.
• Cook until rice has absorbed the liquid from the beans.
• Add the two eggs, stirring while still over medium heat.
• When egg is cooked, turn off heat.
• Season as desired and garnish with cilantro.  I added all of the spices listed above. Would go well with guacamole and salsa.

Dessert Corn Bread

Ingredients

• 1 cup unbleached white whole-wheat flour, King Arthur brand – 400 calories, 2 g fat, 12 g fiber, 16 g protein
• 1 cup 100% whole grain cornmeal, Bob’s Red Mill brand (medium grind) – 440 calories, 4 g fat, 20 g fiber, 8 g protein
• 2 tbsp flax seed meal – 60 calories, 4.5 g fat, 4 g fiber, 3 g protein
• 2 eggs – 109 calories, 7.3 g fat, 0 g fiber, 9.3 g protein
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1 cup organic, unsweetened apple sauce – 100 calories, 0 g fat, 4 g fiber, 0 g protein
• ¼ cup honey – 257 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein
• 1 ounce chocolate-covered cacao nibs* – 172 calories, 13 g fat, 3 g fiber, 2 g protein
• Total for entire pan = 1,538 calories, 30.8 g fat, 43 g fiber, 38.3 g protein
• Nutritional content per serving (12) = 128.17 calories, 2.57 g fat, 3.58 g fiber, 3.19 g protein

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients – best if you beat the eggs separately then add.
• Pour into an 11×8 pan that’s been “greased” with Pam cooking spray.
• Check in 15-20 minutes.

*I had never heard of cacao nibs until recently.  I found them at a specialty health foods store. From Raw Food Underground: “Cacao nibs are the edible part of the cocoa bean after it has been harvested, dried, fermented and hulled (winnowed). Cacao is rich in magnesium and contains small amounts of caffeine and theobromine (stimulants). Other chemicals that naturally occur in cacao include MAI inhibitors (diminish appetite), PEA (similar to what the brain releases when we are in love) and anadamide (the “bliss” chemical which is the same chemical released when we are very happy).”

Hey, CCK – That’s TWO new foods in one week!  Agave syrup and cacao nibs.  Those count, right?

Ugh I am so exhausted but I haven’t worked out since the hot yoga experience and am feeling rather horizontal.  Will I force myself to go to the gym?  No clue.  Tune in tomorrow to find out (aww, I’m making a little tele-novela on here!).

Onward and forward into the path of black beans my friends.

Later this evening I was starving for a nice salad and something different, so I pulled the following together, which I really enjoyed:

The Oh Yes You May Pizza

• 1 Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain tortilla – 150 calories, 3.5 g fat, 5 g fiber, 6 g protein
• 1/2 Trader Joe’s Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Sausage – 55 calories, 3 g fat, 0 g fiber, 5.5 g protein
• ¼ cup Clasico traditional pasta sauce – 35 calories, 1 g fat, 1g fiber, 1 g protein
• 1 oz (2 tablespoons) Trader Joe’s non-fat feta cheese – 35 cal, 0g fat, 0 g fiber, 7g protein
• Instructions:  Cook sausage, assemble pizza and put in 350-degree preheated oven for 10 minutes. The feta cheese will not melt — it has no fat!

Nutritional Content: 275 calories, 7.5 g fat, 6 g fiber, 19.5 g protein

w/a pretty generic salad:

Tomorrow’s post will include a review of at least one of the YouBar items so kindly sent over for me to sample

Thanks YouBar!

Spotted at Costco:

$10.79 for 24 bars = $0.45/bar = WOW!

Two things today reminded me of:

1. It’s hard to eat right at social functions, but it can be done. If you want to splurge at a social function every now and then, be my guest, have a ball. But you can’t do it all the time.  I couldn’t afford to eat like a pig today after the MixMyGranola incident so I didn’t.  It helps that most people who surrounded me knew my goal.  My twin offered me half of his cupcake — a perfect compromise for me since I couldn’t not have a taste — did you see them?! When people are informed of your goals, it’s harder to screw up.  Not impossible, but harder.
2. Looking at pictures of yourself can be extremely depressing. My dad sent me pictures from the event today and a few of them made me want to run to the hills, throw up my hands and scream, “i quit! i quit!” while stuffing double-stuffed Oreos in my mouth and chasing them with a butter-cream milkshake.  I’m not where I want to be yet in terms of feeling comfortable with how I look at all times; but I have to know that I’m getting there.  That every day is a new day to progress, to evolve in a beautiful way.  It’s hard to be positive all the time, especially when you feel like your efforts are forlorn — but being positive and content with the journey as its own end is 10xs better than the alternative of a static, unhealthy, existence.

What are some of your tips for maintaining your health goals when at social functions that may not cater to your preferred lifestyle, eating habits?  Have you ever seen a picture of yourself that plagued you with disillusionement or discontent?  Did it/they spark a change or ignite resignation?

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup ReddiEgg egg substitute – 30 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 6 g protein
• ¼ cup water
• 1 Splenda packet – 2 calories
• Sprinkles of cinnamon – For calories sake let’s say 1 tsp = 6 calories, 0.1 g fat, 1.2 g fiber, 0.1 g protein
• 1 medium-sized red apple sliced – 72 calories, 0.3 g fat, 3.3 g fiber, 0.4 g protein
• 2 slices Oroweat Double Fiber Bread – 140 calories, 2 g fat, 12 g fiber, 6 g protein

Directions

Mix egg substitute, water, Splenda and cinnamon in shallow, wide bowl.  Dip slices of bread in mixture so they absorb the liquid equally on both sides of each slice.

Spray a pan with Pam Cooking Spray and heat over medium heat.  Cook bread until lightly browned on each side and remove from pan.  Add apple slices in pan, still on medium heat, until soft.

Serve each slice of bread with half of the apple slices. Sprinkle apple slices with cinnamon.  Yum!


Nutritional content per serving: 125 calories, 1.2 g fat, 8.25 g fiber, 6.25 g protein

** The boyfriend even liked it – though he would have added more cinnamon.

Similar thing happened to me this past weekend – I had to jet to the library and planned on being there for at least 5 hours.  I needed some quick snacks and, again, refused to spend money or sacrifice my health!  So one of the new things I tried, and really liked, is a mix of a popcorn, cranberries and FiberOne cereal. I call it…

Shh I’m Studying in a Library But Crunching Really Loudly Mix

Ingredients

• Trader Joe’s 94% Fat Free Microwaveable Popcorn – 130 calories, 2 g fat, 4 g fiber
• Trader Joe’s Cranberries in pre-portioned 120-calorie packs — 0g fat, 1 g fiber
• ½ cup FiberOne cereal – 60 calories, 1g fat, 14 g fiber

Directions

• Pop popcorn and remove all excess uncooked kernels
• Mix all ingredients together!

Total calories:  310 calories, 3 g fat, 19 g fiber

Ever come up with some really funky recipes b/c you lack time and ingredients? End up loving any of them?

I love you for three very specific reasons — you’re cheap, you’re healthy and you’re delicious!  You’re so near and dear to my heart and I love parading you around in pictures so much so that I’d actually like to name you like a pet (is that weird? How about “Ben the Bean”?). My love for you aside, there is no way in hell you’re going to catch me singing “beans, beans the magical fruit” during a commercial or wearing it on a t-shirt.

Yours truly,

Annabel

I had to start with this letter because I foresee being called “bean girl” or something based on the entries I’ve written and the one I’m about to write featuring, yea you guessed it, BLACK BEANS, and I wanted to make clear that you won’t find me posting YouTube videos of myself singing about beans and flatulence.  Just thought I’d throw that out there.

..but…beans are indeed a magical fruit… And after the rough weekend of paper writing I had, I needed a very satisfying and soul-warming meal:

My Baby Ben Wrap

Nutritional Content

• 1 cup refried fresh black beans – 220 cal, 0g fat, 12g fiber, 12g protein
• 1 oz non-fat feta cheese – 35 cal, 0g fat, 0 g fiber, 7g protein
• 1/4 avocado – 72 cal, 6.75 g fat, 4g fiber, <1 g protein
• A tad over ½ cup Trader Joe’s Organic broccoli slaw = 13 calories, 0 g fat, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein
• ½ of a Trader Joe’s “Clay Oven Baked Whole Wheat Lavash Bread” = 120 calories, 0.5 g fat, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein
• Total:  460 calories, 7.25 g fat (6.75 is healthy avocado fat – no worries, pals!), 19 g fiber, 25 g protein

I find meals that are this calorie and nutrient dense keep me full and satisfied for a long time, which is great!

Mmm health in a wrap!

So, what should we change the bean slogan/song to guys and gals?  Here are my top three:

1.    Beans. Good for the body, good for the wallet.
2.    Beans.  Technically a fruit, but we’re not judging.
3.    Beans. Powerful little balls.

(forgive me for my juvenile sense of humor!!!)

Ok, done with that digression.  Last weekend I went to the San Diego Zoo and was reminded of how hard it is to find healthy things to eat at amusement type places. If I had been more prepared, I would have brought my own snacks both for health and budgetary constraints, but I didn’t.  C’est le vie.  The most prominent options on every corner of the park, from vendor to restaurant, included the following items which I have listed with their estimated nutritional value from Calorie King so that you may get an idea how awful we end up eating on these fun-filled days:

• Churro (1) – 430 calories, 18 g fat, 3 g fiber, 6 g protein
• Nachos (large, cheese) – 1101 calories, 59 g fat, 7.5 g fiber, 23.6 g protein
• Taquito (1!) – 256 calories, 14 g fat, 2.6 g fiber, 10 g protein
• Hot Dog (1 large, with ketchup, no mayo) – 365 calories, 23.5 g fat, 0.5 fiber, 13 g protein (note, if it’s “giant” size, the calories moves up to 455)
• Spaghetti & meatballs – I can’t find an average calories for this as the range is too difficult to discern.  A spaghetti dinner from Macaroni Grill has 1810 calories and 118 g of fat (that’s possible?! Oy!).  I guess I’d say it averages at about 600 calories, 25 g of fat.

Here’s what a plate at the zoo looked like:

You may say, “Oh come on, it’s just one day!”  And it is.  And maybe part of the draw of going to amusement parks IS the food and rightly so.  But this may help you better plan or make the smarter choice of two rather unhealthy choices.  Mmmm churros!

What did I end up eating?

Spinach Tortilla and Turkey Wrap.  I didn’t like any of the Calorie King nutritional breakdowns of this as a whole item, so I broke it down myself.

• Spinach Tortilla, 12 inch – 290 calories, 9 g fat, 10 g protein
• Turkey – for 6 slices (a very generous estimate given there was hardly any!) – 131 calories, 2.1 g fat, 0.6 g fiber, 21.5 g protein
• Provolone – 2 slices – 98 calories, 7.4 g fat, 7.2 g protein
• Tomato – 4 slices – 11 calories, 0.1 g fat, 0.7 g fiber, 0.5. g protein
• Lettuce – 1 cup – 8 calories, 0.1 g fat, 1 g fiber, 0.6 g protein

Total:  538 calories, 18.7 g fat, 2.3 g fiber, 39.8 g protein
(Since I ate it in two sittings, that’s decent.  I also did not eat a lot of the extra tortilla so that shaves off calories and fat from the total.  Yay!)

If you would just like to save your calories for something like…FUNNEL CAKE…boy, I understand! (Just keep in mind it’s 710 calories, 32 g fat, 2 g fiber, 10 g protein, for a 6-oz serving, which seems about the right size).

Revel!