Chocolate Peanut Butter Muesli
I had to try it some day!! I added about a tsp of Ghirardeli Unsweetened Cocoa powder to my muesli - along with a spoonful of PB stirred in. Decadence, health style.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup wheatberries (you could just do 1/2 cup oats instead)
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- 1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt
- 1/2 a small banana
- 1 tbsp PB
- 1 tbsp ground flax
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 tbsp chopped walnuts
It was quite good! I don’t think I’ll have this all the time, but certainly for a change every now and then. And next time I will NOT be stirring in the PB - it totally got lost in there. What a waste of good PB flavor! Go easy on the unsweet cocoa. I added a little too much to the husband’s and it got a little bitter. He had to add brown sugar to balance it out.
Still lovin’ those chewy wheatberries 
With coffee…
Spinning
I was up early for spinning this morning. I’ve missed my Friday class! I don’t know how much I’ll get there this summer since Friday will be the one day I don’t have to get up super early, but I’ll make the effort when I can 
Class was good, but a little slow today.
I had some TJ’s High Fiber Fruit and Nut cereal with a bit of PB before I left. I don’t think I’ll ever eat another non-TJ’s cereal again! (Well Kashi H2H maybe ) I love all of their kinds, and they all have great nutritional profiles and ingredient lists.
By Car, By Plane
After some quick packing, I’m driving to my small hometown of Hillsborough (2.5 hours) to have lunch at my favorite hometown restaurant, the Saratoga Grill, with my mom and best friend from high school. The Saratoga has the BEST SCONES on this side of the Atlantic!! I’m hoping to get one with lunch. They are round like biscuits, but perfectly crumbly. I’m going to see if I can get the recipe…
Tonight we’re attending a benefit dinner and auction for the Burwell School, where we had our wedding rehearsal dinner BBQ.
Then tomorrow my mom and I fly to Baltimore! I’ll be flying (and driving) home on Tuesday. Blogging might be a bit sporadic the next few days, but I promise all of my meals will be up eventually.
Until the next meal…
Tags: Muesli
May 9th, 2008
It’s National Barbecue Month, folks! In North Carolina, that means pulled pork, so I think National Grill Month or Cook Out Month would fit better 
That age-old debate…
Anyways, I’m becoming quite the grillmaster since I boldly pushed the ignition button yesterday. I had to get dinner started early tonight before the husband got home from work because my sister needed to eat early. So I basically grilled the whole dinner myself - including using the side burner, which was kind of scary too but cool!
Sweet potato fries and AmyLu Apple Gouda Chicken Sausage.
My plate, complete with “hot dog”, fries and greens.
The trick to grilling sweet potatoes is to cook them 90% of the way before you add them (or the outside will burn before the are tender). This was 2 medium potatoes and I sliced them and microwaved for about 9 minutes. They were perfectly steamed and then went on the grill for about 10 minutes or so to get some good char.
We have a lot of bread so I skipped buns and just used normal bread.
We sauteed some of the CSA kale with a big chopped date and drizzled it with maple syrup. Mmmm! Nothing like greens with maple!
Fake Scone
Dinner tasted great and I was actually too full to have dessert right away. A while back I would have just eaten it anyways for the taste but I decided I would enjoy it more if I got a little hungry and waited about 45 minutes.
Then I had my scone in the hammock! It was like a chocolate chip biscuit.
Afternoon Snack
Lunch held me over until about 5:15, including a walk to the grocery store to buy a (mom, don’t look!) Mother’s Day card. I could have probably waited for dinner, but I decided it would be better not to sit down starving, so I made a little snack pack of trail mix, Kashis, graham sticks, and Kashi H2H.
Trip
Tomorrow I embark on a journey to Hillsborough before I fly to Baltimore on Saturday morning with my mom to visit my grandparents! My grandfather is turning 90 (!!) on Mother’s Day! Can’t wait to see him and my grandmother. They are moving out of the house my mother grew up in this summer. It’s so sad - I’ve been going there my whole life. But I may come home with some goodies for my house
Here’s my sister and me with my grandfather a year ago at my wedding
I’ve got a whole week of meals out coming up - it will be quite a challenge! Four dinners in a row. But eating healthy does get so much easier each time I go to a restaurant.
Like the beach, I’ll be blogging from Maryland, but will have to save questions + comments again for when I get back (The comments are the most time consuming part of the blog, and I need to spend some time with my grandparents!) Thanks for understanding
Countless Days
Jenna ask me for an update on how my “countless” days have been going. Well, GREAT! While I do feel a certain loyalty to calorie counting because it got me where I am, I do find not counting to be quite fun. Really more refreshing than anything. Since I read SuperFoods HealthStyle well over a year ago, my attitude toward food changed from weight loss to health. But now more than ever, I feel that food is more than just good taste and calories (and it probably helps that I just finished reading In Defense of Food). Calorie counting was never bothersome for me - I was very happy doing it - but I do feel happier towards food now.
I will say: I have been counting very generally. I will do a quick tally: “200 for hot dog + bread, 100 for fries + ketchup, 50 for greens + sauce. Ok I’m done.” More of a mental check to see if I’m on the right track, but as you might guess, I usually am. I think that will go away with time, and I think it’s a very natural habit for me at this point. And probably not a bad idea in general.
‘Night!
Tags: Chicken Sausage, Kale, Scones, Sweet Potato
May 8th, 2008
The sun came out for me to eat lunch!! She’s been in and out of the clouds all day, so I’m hoping she’s out for good.
Before the sun came out, I was thinking split pea soup for lunch, but after - what else but a fresh salad! I used some of our CSA greens for the base. I’m not quite sure what kind of greens they were, but they were tender enough for a salad so I ate them!
I made a delicious homemade balsamic vinaigrette to go with them:
- 1 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
- 1.5 tsp honey dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp honey
- 1/2 tsp EVOO
- Pinch kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary (the most important ingredient)
Shake all together in a jar.
I also broiled some of our new radishes and carrot slices for about 8 minutes (thanks Julz for the recommendation!). In In Defense of Food, Pollan says one pro of CSAs is that you eat veggies you otherwise wouldn’t. I’ve never been fond of radishes - my dad used to eat them raw with salt when I was little and they just tasted too grassy for me. Well, of course I like them now. But I thought they were WAY better cooked than raw. Raspberries and goat cheese rounded out the salad
I also made a ham and cheddar sandwich, complemented with jalapeños, romaine and mustard.
And lastly, kiwi and Fage:
It’s been so nice to eat lunch at home this week. My summer school night chemistry starts in a week and a half, and during the 3 weeks of just that course I’ll be making more dinners for lunch and lunches for dinner (since the course is from 6-9pm). Then in early June, I start my 5 weeks of summer school craziness (8 am to 9pm practically straight through), and I’ll be eating both lunch and dinner away from home. It’s going to be 5 weeks of on-the-run packed meals. Hopefully those 5 weeks will lend some good tips on eating healthy when you don’t have a minute to spare.
I Baked A Cake
Well, not technically. I tried scones again. This time it was Cooking Light’s Lemon-Walnut Scones (minus the lemon plus chocolate chips). Well, these are delicious - if you like CAKE!! They are not scones. Scones should be crumbly and dry!! Nevertheless, they do taste good. I had a piece of one but did well resisting licking and nibbling. I only licked the bowl and there wasn’t much left!
Please help me find a crumbly scone recipe that doesn’t call for 2 sticks of butter!! (I did use real butter in these but I think the problem was the milk. I think I need a drier dough.) Any tips?
Cake:
The crust is great - very scone-like. But it’s the inside that needs work. Again, I think I just need less liquid in my dough.
Tags: Salads, Sandwiches, Scones
May 8th, 2008
Raspberry + Wheatberry Oatmeal
with Banana, Flax + Walnuts
I love all berries, raspberries especially. I could probably eat a pint a day!
Despite having an open agenda today, I got up with the husband to workout. I have to say, it was nice to be exercised and fed by 8 a.m. - leaves the day wide open! But we have CLOUDS and RAIN - boooooooo! That is not conducive to hammocking. But I guess it is good for some baking. My sister is coming for dinner tonight, so I think I’ll baking something fun. I’m going to do it this morning with a piece of minty gum in my mouth to prevent me from nibbling my way through. Now I just have to decide on a recipe!
Gym this morning was ET and pull-up machine for a round of upper body challenges. My biceps have really gotten toned from all the pull-ups! I used to be able to do 1.5 real pull-ups (I do 3 sets of 10 of assisted ones) so I should see if I can do 2 full ones now - or maybe 3-4!
I had half a slice of spelt bread with PB before we left. The spelt wasn’t as filling as my other toast breakfasts.
Breakfast was our usual oats/banana/hemp/milk/water/flax/vanilla base with about 1/4 cup of wheatberries and 1/2 a cup of raspberries stirred in (and a few for garnish!) plus toasted walnuts and a half tsp of brown sugar on top.
In our HUGE Pottery Barn bowls. They aren’t as photogenic because they’re so big you have to get down in them with the camera!
With coffee. I need a break from coffee. It’s starting to give me that headachy/shoulder-achy feeling I get when I have it too often. I just love it so much. I’ll take a few days off during my weekend trip to Baltimore.
Now to find a recipe!
Tags: Oatmeal, Raspberries, Wheatberries
May 8th, 2008
Mexican Chopped Salad
Another Robin Miller hit!!! This meal took all of 10 minutes to throw together, thanks to morphed chicken and leftover veggies. And it was fantastic! Filling and full of variety. I think the green apples were my favorite part
I pretty much followed the recipe, but here’s what went in:
- 1/2 cup leftover chopped chicken
- Can of pinto beans, drained
- About 1/2 cup chopped leftover grilled bell peppers and squash
- About 2/3 a cup of frozen corn (heated in skillet)
- 1 cup leftover green beans
- An un-recallable amount of shredded Mexican low-fat cheese. Probably 3/4 a cup?
- 1/4 cup chopped pickled jalapeños
- 2 small tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
- 1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
Dressing:
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tsp EVOO
- Salt (2 pinches)
- Splash hot sauce
- 1 tsp cumin (untoasted - I wasn’t going to dirty up another skillet!)
I think that’s all of the ingredients!?
Method
- Heat corn in skillet until hot.
- Add chicken, beans, veggies, and tomatoes and cook until hot.
- Toss in a large bowl with jalapeños, cheese and apple.
- Add dressing.
(Some of my ingredients were icy cold and I thought the beans and chicken would be better hot, so I heated the bulk of the salad in a skillet. But it would be great as a room temp. salad.)
We also each had a piece of Spelt toast from the loaf we received from the CSA delivery (see below)
My portion:
The apples in a salad reminded me of all the wonderful potluck suppers I have attended - good memories minus the gloppy mayonnaise!
Reflections
This meal was actually a big step for me. We normally make dinners for two and rarely have leftovers. Mostly because I don’t like leftovers or eating the same meal twice in a row, but also because it’s much easier to measure portions and be accurate with the calories when you’re splitting a meal evenly in half. When I was making this salad I was keeping an eye (brain?) on the total calories to ensure I wasn’t going overboard adding ingredients. I reserved some of the beans for later instead of adding in the whole can and was going to not use all of the cheese, but then I decided to just throw the extras in and make it two to three portions and just take what I wanted. So we served from a bowl and I just had a portion that seemed reasonable - no thought to the calories. While I do know that my portion couldn’t really have been more than 500 calories since I know the total was probably around 1000 - 1200 calories, I am not worried/concerned/dwelling on whether it was 350 or 500 calories. That’s all part of the balance.
Green + Green
We have a half membership to a CSA this summer, which means we get fresh organic produce bi-weekly through the fall. Today was the first pickup (although we have to skip 2 weeks instead of 1 for the next). It’s all so GREEN (in more ways than one!)
Produce:
- Georgia Collards
- Siberian Kale/Red Russian Kale Mix
- Pink Beauty Radishes/Easter Egg Radishes
- Pak Choi
- Oriental Spinach/Red Leaf Lettuce Mix
Herbs
- Flat Leaf Parsley
- Curly Leaf Parsley
- Garlic Chives
- Bronze Fennel
- Chives
- Rosemary
- Cilantro
And a welcome loaf of homemade spelt bread. It’s quite good! The husband has some competition
Snacktime!
Dentist went well, but I have a “watch on tooth number 19″ 
Not really sure what that means (guess they’ll just re-check it in November), but I inherited my mom’s teeth so despite the fact that I floss daily and brush up to 3 times a day, I still have troubles.
When I got home I had a wonderful snack of Emmi Swiss Yogurt with fresh raspberries and wheatberries. SO good in yogurt. This was so filing too!
I LOVE this yogurt. It’s actually the opposite of Fage - runny and really sour. But something about it sits well with my palate I can only find it at Fresh Market so I don’t get it often, but I had to make a trip there today for chicken sausage for tomorrow’s dinner and couldn’t resist.
Off to read in the hammock!
Tags: Beans, Chicken, Raspberries, Wheatberries
May 7th, 2008
Lunch was quite over the top today! After spending the morning walking, running, cleaning the kitchen floor, and weeding the garden, I got the bright idea to grill my lunch. I never grill. I’m kind of scared of it. The husband is usually the grill master. But here by myself with a craving for grilled vegetables, I took a stab.
Horay for the self-timer! With my tongs and giant spatula:
My art. Zucchini, squash, peppers, broccoli and carrots (yes, they were GREAT grilled!) and a Trader Joe’s frozen salmon patty.
After-shot. I didn’t eat all of these veggies - about 1/3 to 1/2 are for tonight’s dinner.
Grilled carrots = amazing!
So with all of this bounty I made a HUGE salad. The base is romaine and spinach topped with chopped veggies, the salmon patty and about 1/2 an oz of soft goat’s cheese. For a dressing I drizzled on some good-quality balsamic vinegar and a splash of EVOO. Oh, and can’t forget the capers!
Goat cheese makes any salad perfect -
I needed some whole grains to round out lunch and thought about Kashi crackers, but I was really craving PB&J so I had a slice of bread with a little of both smothered on.
The spread out on the patio -
The salad was very filling, and the PB&J added a nice sweet satisfying ending. I am perfectly full!
I better floss and hit the road or I’ll be late for the dentist!
Hasta luego amigos!
May 7th, 2008
Can I say it again? Please?!
WHEATBERRIES ROCK!!! 
Mango-Coconut Wheatberry Oatmeal
Today’s oatmeal concoction was….
- 1/3 cup oats (less b/c of wheatberries)
- 1/3 cup skim/hemp blend
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/2 a mango
- 1/4 cup wheatberries
- 1 tbsp flax
- Vanila extract
- Greek yogurt + maple “icing”
- Sprinkle of unsweetened coconut
- Spoonful almond butter
I added the oats, liquids and mango to start. When they were almost done, I stirred in the cooked wheatberries, flax, vanilla. Once in the bowl, toppings were added.
I loved chewing my way through this bowl in combo with the creaminess and volume of rolled oats. Steel cut oats have chew, but the portion is too small and they aren’t chewy enough. The addition of wheatberries to rolled oats is definitely the winner in terms of texture.
A Wheatberry Lesson
Since you all have been asking, here’s all I know:
Wikipedia for technical info
I buy “Cracked wheat berries” (I think that’s what they’re called) at EarthFare in the bulk foods section. Check your local health foods store - and ask if you can’t find them. Mine are 150 kcal per 1/4 cup dry. Bob’s Red Mill also makes a line, which you can order online or maybe find in a store.
There are 2 methods to preparing wheatberries.
1) The soaking + sprouting method
2) The boiling method
The soaking method was the first we tried for sprouted grain bread. You can read lots’s more on the husband’s wheatberry bread page.
The boiling method was my experiment and I followed the instructions on the EarthFare bin.
- Put 1 cup of wheatberries in 3.5 cups water
- Soak overnight
- The next day, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes - 1 hour.
I ended up adding 1 cup of water as they were cooking when the water level got low.
I also weighed them before and after to get an accurate nutritional profile to keep in mine for portion control.
1 tablespoon = appx. 20 kcal.
1/4 cup = appx. 60 kcal.
Enjoy stirred into oatmeal and yogurt, as a cold salad with veggies, or just to chew plain
Bein’ Green
I walked the husband to the lightrail this morning. It’s about a mile and a quarter and when the sun is shining and we have the time, there’s no reason he shouldn’t walk. I joined him for some good conversation and plan on meeting him for the walk home too. I’m headed out for a short run soon and to the dentist this afternoon. Also to pick up our first CSA bushel!!
Dessert
For the record, I had half a cup of PB Chocolate So Delicious with a Meringue last night!
Tags: Oatmeal, Wheatberries
May 7th, 2008
Thai Noodles with Tofu and Veggies
The Setting
The Inspiration Recipe
Thai Noodle Salad With Tofu
The Ingredients
I pretty much followed the recipe but changed/added veggies.
Plus, fresh grated ginger, a second lime, red pepper flakes, canola oil (for sauteeing veggies), 1 pint mushrooms, about 2 cups bean sprouts, and a cup of broccoli. And 4 oz whole wheat spaghetti.
We used MoriNu Silken Firm Tofu, which kind of fell apart on me. This is NOT the best tofu for stir-frying, but it’s my favorite tofu texture. It’s kind of like a smooth scallop vs. the more grainy regular tofu. I just don’t know how to get it to stay together. I did press it under some paper towels to remove some of the moisture, but then I ended up baking it because I didn’t think it would stay together in a skillet.
Tofu going into oven:
The Method
- Make marinade (in recipe).
- Press tofu between papertowels or dishcloth and weight down (this step might be skipped?)
- Marinate tofu for about 15 minutes (or longer) in sauce.
- Bake tofu at 450* for 15 minutes (didn’t really do much and just fell apart more)
- Cook spaghetti (or noodles of choice).
- Cook veggies in hot oil.
- Toss all together, including the marinade sauce.
Next time I might add a little cornstarch to the sauce, as it was rather runny and could have clung to the noodles better.
The Result
The Pros and Cons of Chopsticks
PRO: Slows down eater.
CON: VERY difficult to manage small pieces!
Small pieces:
Failed attempt with chopsticks:
What to do?
Ewwww! (The sauce was too much at once)
(Yes, this scenario actually happened)
Afternoon Snack
Despite being just a salad (well, plus hummus, almonds, goat cheese and EVOO), lunch held me over well! I always think alcohol tides hunger. I did start to get hungry around 5:30 but didn’t want to have an official snack because I was about to prep dinner, so I had a few Kashis and nibbled on some of the wheatberries I was cooking to test their texture.
We’re headed out on an evening walk. G’night!
Tags: Pasta, Tofu
May 6th, 2008
Woooo hoooooooo! Done with the semester!!! Both of my exams went really well. I’ve got a week and a half off (filled with traveling and events) until my night school chemistry starts and a month before my slam-packed summer school session starts.
Christy and I celebrated the end of Medical Terminology with wine at Cupps.
Cheers!
I ordered my very favorite salad with a scoop of the best black bean hummus in the world. I shared a third of the hummus with Christy but otherwise ate every bite of the salad!
The wine left me a little tipsy and dehydrated, but it was worth every sip We walked it off after lunch.
But here’s the sad news: Cupps is closing!!!! In 4 days. I’m SOOOO SAD!!! This was the last time to get my favorite salad, dressing and hummus. I’m going to email them for the recipe. But the good news is the EarthFare they are building across from Winthrop just got its sign up today, so it should be opening in a few weeks! I’ll have another fun lunch spot soon.
My muesli did strange things with my hunger. I was hungry at 9:30 (only 2 hours later!) and then growling at 10:30. I drank some water and then ate some of my emergency trail mix around 11:30. That did the trick and kept hunger at bay until our 1:00 lunch date.
See you for dinner - soon! Where did the afternoon go!!??
May 6th, 2008
Strawberry Banana Almond Muesli
We dined in the garden this morning 
But afterwards, I had to get the husband to trim my hair. I went to a new salon and the woman had no idea what she was doing. I keep finding stray hairs and the whole back row had a big hanging down chunk that I just discovered! So picture us, him dressed in a tie for work, with a huge pair of kitchen shears trimming my hair over the garden. (Hair is great as a deer deterrent!)
We were up at 5 this morning for an early workout. I almost had to get off the Stairmaster early it was so exhausting today!! I could barely make 30 minutes and my HR was nearing 178 when I got off. Guess a few days off set me back. Whoever was asking me about Mets a while back, I finally remembered to look at the screen - it was 11.6 average over 30 minutes. Not really sure what that means! I also did a cool down on the Squirrelliptical and upper body lifting with resistance tubes. I find the tubes give me a much better workout than free weights and machines. My muscles are always more tired. I think it has to do with better isolation? It was a great workout.
Before I left I had half of a scone with AB. The husband ate the others, so they are all gone. Time to try another recipe!
Muesli was good - but not as filling as I has been before.
Today’s mixture:
- 1/3 cup dry rolled oats
- 1/3 cup chocolate granola from OhNuts.com (It got lost and I couldn’t taste it
)
- 1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt (plus a dollop more)
- 1/3 cup vanilla hemp milk (plus a splash more)
- Small handful sliced almonds
- 1/2 tbsp-ish of ground flax
- 2/3 cup-ish cup of strawberries
- Half a small banana, sliced
With a steaming cup of coffee to keep me warm!
Agenda
- Commute to Winthrop
- Study 15 minutes
- Take Cultural Foods Final
- Pick up Physiology test
- Dietetics Final (not a real test)
- Medical Terminology Final
- Lunch @ Cupps with Christy
- Sell back textbooks
- Commute home
- VOTE
- Grocery store for milk
- Read on the hammock
Tags: Muesli, Scone
May 6th, 2008
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