Whooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooo!

Up at 5 this AM for a chilling hour-long cycle class. I didn’t push it too hard and chatted too much with my cycle friend Jim. The music was fun and we ended with Phantom of the Opera!

Of course we had to do themed oats this morning.

My bowl was:

• 1/3 cup oats, milk, water
• 1/2 large banana
• Salt, vanilla
• 1/2 cup pumpkin (heated in my bowl)
• Pumpkin pie spice
• 1/8 cup cottage cheese (stirred in)
• 1/2 tbsp flax
• Chocolate eyes
• Raisin mouth
• TJ’s fiber worms for brows

He had craisins, worms and almonds -

I added a spoonful of PB on the side – plus coffee!

I’m off to Chemistry (plus an hour of annoying driving) and then I am having my best friend from my youth, Becca, and her daughter Zora for lunch!!

Heather at Hangrypants reminds us to enter her ProBar contest! (But I discourage you from entering so my chances of winning are higher )

Lastly, it appears that my email address sent out some spam email about Burt’s Bees. Have any of you gotten any random emails from “me” ????

Hope your day is full of tricks and treats!!

Grilled Salad with RoseBerry Dressing

With a house full of greens, I knew a salad was in store for lunch

The base is arugula, spinach and unknown CSA greens, which I tossed in homemade dressing:

RoseBerry Dressing

• 1 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp raspberry blush vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
• 2 tsp raspberry jam
• 1 tsp rosemary, chopped
• Pinch salt

Shake in jar to combine.

On top I grilled:

• 1 peach, cut into sections
• 1/4 cup chopped pineapple
• 1 carrot, cut into 4 strips
• 2 small turnups, sliced
• 1 radish, sliced
• 1 zucchini, sliced

=

It was so big I only ate about 3/4 of the salad. The arugula was a bit strong by the end. But the dressing was fantastic!

P B & J Fries

With my salad I made PB & J fries: toasted bread (for crunch) with peanut butter and jam and cut into strips. Just another way to stretch + savor a PB&J!

The antique glass was a wedding present to my grandmother.

This morning I also made a batch of Coconut Almond Granola. This time I used maple syrup and Sarah’s 90 minute method. I’m not sure I can really tell a difference between the 30 minutes at 300* and 90 at 250* so I’ll probably stick with the shorter method – unless the difference appears with time! I had a few pinches of it while it cooled.

Didn’t feel like working out this morning because it was cloudy. So I didn’t go

Off to study chem…

Smoked Salmon + Parmesan Omelet Muffins

I was on my own for dinner tonight so I ask myself out of all the recipes in the world, what was I in the mood for? Eggs came to mind (I think I saw a pretty photo of a poached egg recently that triggered the craving). I thought about omelets, but I’m not that great at making them, so I then I decided something baked would be fun to try. In a muffin cup. I checked out a few recipes online and settled on this one from Kalyn’s Kitchen as inspiration: Cottage Cheese and Egg Breakfast Muffins. I liked that there was flour in them for a heartier texture and when she said it was like a cross between a biscuit and an omelet, I knew this was the one!

I also LOVE smoked salmon and dill in eggs, so that’s the direction I headed.

Here’s the kind of salmon I buy:

Here’s the recipe I came up with:

• 3 oz fat-free cottage cheese (about 1/3 a cup)
• 2 eggs, beat
• 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1.5 tbsp water
• Lots of dried dill
• 2.5-3 oz smoked salmon (about 1/3 cup chopped?)
• 1 tbsp ground flax (Kalyn used almond meal so I thought maybe the flax would serve the same purpose. But I think it’s safe to call it “optional”)
• 1 tbsp grated parmesan (also pretty much optional)

Preheat oven to 400*. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Pour batter into 5 muffin cups (any you like – aluminum, silicone or well-sprayed paper cups). Bake for 15-18 minutes, top with parmesan, bake for 5 minutes more. Makes 5 muffins, 88 kcal + 9 grams of protein each.

Before:

After (but before parmesan – I decided to add it a moment later)

On my plate

My problem was that I did not spray the paper cups well and the muffins totally stuck. I used paper because Kalyn said she microwaves here and obviously you can’t put aluminum in the microwave. I guess I need some silicone ones!

Here’s a photo of the inside consistency – it was PERFECT! Flavor like a biscuit, but still egg-like. And did I mention that I love smoked salmon!?

While the muffins were baking, I popped in some purple haze asparagus (just another variety!) and some cremini mushrooms to have on the side. Drizzled with a little EVOO and sprinkled with more Parmesan.

And I had a piece of cracked pepper bread with Smart Balance.

What a great dinner!! Totalled about 425 kcal, 9 grams fiber and 24 grams protein.

Super Healthy Kids

I bet kids would love these egg muffins as a snack or for breakfast.

I came across this site, Super Healthy Kids, about kids’ nutrition. Those of you who are moms will want to read all of her tips on getting veggies and whole grains into your kids and the cute divided plate that outlines portions with photos!

While I know with kids you just have to cross your fingers and hope for the best, I think one of the keys to raising a healthy eater is to be SUPER enthusiastic about eating veggies, whole grains, fruits etc. Think about the tone of how adults typically talk about vegetables and other nutritious foods:

“Nowwww Johnny, you need to eat those vegetables or you won’t get dessert!”

It’s like you have to ‘get through’ the veggies to get to the ‘real stuff’.

My goal with kids is to be very enthusiastic about eating, cooking and shopping for healthy foods with my kids – I don’t think that’ll be a challenge! And then I’ll sit back and cross my fingers it works. I’m sure I’ll have a house full of veggie-haters regardless! (Actually, I think there have been studies done on kids’ taste buds and veggies not getting along for many years).

And for the record, we’re not planning on kids for 3-4 years at least. I just was thinking about them today in class

Snack

I had a doctor’s appt. this afternoon and didn’t get home until around 5:30. I was pretty hungry but knew dinner was around the corner so I had some fresh strawberries and a few kashis + 2 flatbread triangles (the last!) for a tide-me-over until dinner while I chilled on the couch. Along with a tonic + lime

Roll your eyes, but when I swirled the yogurt into this pumpkin oatmeal I HAD to put a face on it and make it a snail!!

So my idea today was to swirl in maple/yogurt icing like I did for the carrot cake oatmeal into pumpkin oatmeal. It worked OK, but greek yogurt would have been better (because it’s so thick) and I only had Stonyfield on hand. This bowl of oatmeal was HUGE!!! I added 3/4 cup of pumpkin (started with 1/2 a cup but it didn’t look orange enough!) as well as 1/4 a cup of egg whites (for protein) and both made my portion double in volume! The egg whites changed the consistency a bit and make it all thicker – I kind of liked it! It wasn’t as creamy as my usual banana combo so I don’t think I’d add egg to that, but with the pumpkin it worked.

Wheeeeeeeee!

So this oatmeal combo was:

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/4 cup hemp milk
• 1/4 cup skim
• 1/2 cup water
• Pinch salt
• 3/4 cup pumpkin (stirred in mid-way through cooking)
• 1/4 cup egg whites (also stirred in mid-way through)
• 1 tbsp shredded unsweet coconut (which got lost in the mix – bummer)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (stirred in at end)
• 1 tbsp ground flax (stirred in at end)
• About a tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds
• 1 oz of plain yogurt blended with a drizzle of maple syrup for “icing”

The smile counts as a freebie!

The bowl could have been sweetened a little – perhaps with brown sugar? It was very pumpkiny once I got through the topping

Con cafe -

This humongous bowl ended up being 440 kcal, 13 grams fiber and 25 grams protein. With the extra protein, I’m hoping this carries me through my back-to-back tests and an hour-long trip Uptown (taking the lightrail) before a late lunch with the husband. We’re going to Taverna 100 – not sure what I’ll get but it all looks good!

Spinning

Went to spinning this morning. ‘Twas fun, as usual. I had half a KIND bar before I left – and added a tsp of almond butter mid-way through for a bigger punch.

After lunch I’m going to my old office to go over my work with the new hire (yes, 4 months after I left!), so I’m not sure what time lunch’ll be up. Soon enough!

From the moment I bought these buns I’ve been waiting to make this breakfast – the timing had to be right Those who like PB+Banana sandwiches should consider hot dog buns – no banana slicing necessary or slippery slices sliding out of the sandwich!

I love these buns! They come frozen (as most Food for Life breads do) and there are some hard spots on some of them from the freezing process, but overall they are delicious, filling, voluminous and super healthy. They are also on the dry side, but I’ve found 15 seconds in the microwave makes them chewy and moist again.

The “ketchup and mustard“ really topped off the sandwich!

Mango fries. I’ve found the best way to “deal” with mangoes is to peel them with a veggie peeler and then cut off the fruit in big slices. All the criss-cross dicing methods waste too much flesh on the skin and it’s hard to get strips that way. Perhaps a video is in store soon…

With coffee -

This breakfast was 430 kcal, 11 grams fiber and 11 grams protein. We’ll see how it holds me until lunch!

Workout + Snack

All cardio today, as my upper body and abs are both tired from the past two days. I did the ET for about 40 minutes followed by 10 minutes on the Stat bike.

Before I left, I had pumpkin bread with PB. My bread had two mold spots this morning, so this is probably the last of it (I have one sliver left – maybe snack today?). I got 5 days out of it in tin foil, unrefrigerated, which seems good to me since it was so moist.

Off to two classes (a quiz and an exam review) and then it’s HOME for lunch!! No Chem Lab today!!!!

Spaghetti (Squash) with Mushrooms, Olives, Capers and Chicken

I. am. stuffed! The last time we made spaghetti squash I made a note to self to eat less this time. I gave myself about 75% of last time’s and am still stuff! Maybe it was the extra toppings!

Check out the Spaghetti Squash Video if you have never heard of spaghetti squash.

If you have had the pleasure of eating this wonderful volume-eater’s delight, lucky you!

The husband and I also split a single serve bottle of red wine, so about 3 oz each. It was the perfect amount!

We topped our spaghetti squash with a homemade tomato sauce made with a can of fireroasted tomatoes, some chopped kalamata olives, 2 tbsp capers, red pepper flakes, oregano and a splash of sherry.

On the side we sauteed a pint of cremini mushrooms in a little Smart Balance.

And cooked some all-natural chicken (on sale for $.39 per pound!!). I took the skin off my thigh and had just a sprinkle portion on top of my spaghetti while the husband ate the rest of of my thigh and a drumstick. I finished my mountain off with some capers and more oregano for garnish.

This whole bowl was only 300 kcal!

Spaghetti!

All together with some fresh daffodils from our front yard!

Dinner tonight including the 3 oz pour of vino was about 375 kcal, 9 grams fiber and 18 grams protein.

Swimming Snack

A little fish!

I can’t wait to have kids!! This snack was 1 cup of plain yogurt topped with 1 cup of thawed and heated frozen mixed berries and 6 honey graham sticks. Oh yeah, and the almond eyeball! It was delicious!

I enjoyed it with a cup of Yogi Sweet Thai Tea, which I like a lot more with skim milk -

I was pretty hungry when I got home so I went for a bigger snack. It was about 275 kcal, 4 grams fiber and 10 grams protein.