Kelsey was in charge of lunch today (I brought the snack) and she packed a colorful spread centering around the wild smoked salmon she bought last week (she needed someone to help her eat it and of course I came to mind 😉 )
Only one problem: miscommunication resulted in just 1 plate and no forks!!
But creativity + flexibility resulted in a delicious lunch:
We layered salmon, cream cheese + capers on TJ’s WW mini bagels and some TJ’s pepper and poppyseed crackers
Some cornichons – little pickles that I loved!
And a salad made with spinach, green pepper, carrot, cuc, feta, walnuts and greek dressing (Ken’s Lite Caesar, which I liked a lot being bottled and all)
=
For entertainment, we watched The Office on Netflix.
For snack, I packed us yogurt with strawberries and H2H that we’re going to eat during Foodservice 🙂
In other exciting news, I am a runner up for the Bloggers’ Sweet Potato Recipe Contest where I entered the Nutty Vanilla Sweet Potato Soup!!!! I’m up for an $1,000 prize. That would be SWEEEEETTT (potato) to win!!
Andddd….you can find a post about counting that I did for Gather here: Stop Counting. I’ve been meaning to write down my thoughts on counting for the past few months and finally put the words to the screen.
EAT MORE GREEK YOGURT: Fage Yogurt; Reviews and a Giveaway!
Our
SUNSHINE
Courtney (The Hungry Yogini) says
Yay for picnics and sunshine!
Jake says
Capers are KEY. Good choice.
Jennifer says
Cornichons rock
life coach jen says
Your article on counting was interesting. I think that calorie counting is definitely a very, very effective way to lose weight, but some people can definitely fall into obsession over it, so I’m happy you blogged about giving it up and show us that you maintain a happy weight by eating moderate portions and exercise. Good stuff!
PAPowerball says
wowowowowow… deliciouss
rhodeygirl says
just read your counting article.
I am someone who sometimes counts, and sometimes doesn’t. I found myself become a little too obsessed (like going to bed STARVING just because half an apple would put me over the green mark- you know what I mean) and I didn’t like feeling that way.
Only problem is that I have stopped losing weight! I haven’t gained, but I am right within a 3 lb range, when I wish to be in a lower range. So it’s back to counting (loosely) for me until I can lose 5 more lbs and move back to a more intuitive eating style.
I think it is difficult when our food is so pumped up with extra stuff. For example I found out that the chicken at one restaurant I like, although organic, also had a terrible nutritional profile- they were marinating it in straight up olive oil. It’s really hard to eat intuitively when your body doesn’t recognize those extra calories, especially for someone eating intuitively with her stomach AND her eyes.
zestycook says
HOLY…. not only do I love the title… the food looks amazing and fresh!
zest!
Tyler (Raspberry Runner) says
mmm..salmon! great lunch!! your pot luck lunches are too cute 🙂
congrats on being runner up in the sweet potato contest!!! and i’m about to go check out your counting article. sounds interesting…
Betsy says
1. Lunch looks beautiful, love the creativity.
2. SO awesome about your sweet potato recipe, best of luck!
3. Off to read your article. 🙂
Kristin says
Oh.wow….Capers and smoked salmon??? AWESOME combo!!
Kara says
Seriously, your lunch makes me more envious than I can express. You guys are awesome.
Angie says
Great lunch! You are so creative!
VeggieGirl says
A SWEET POTATO RECIPE CONTEST?!?!!?!?!?!??!
Bec says
what a great lunch that Kelsey packed!
Aimee says
Congrat and good luck on being a runner up in the contest. I have seen so many bloggers try out and love your recipe.
Lara (Thinspired) says
I like this post 🙂
I just read your Stop Counting piece and I am so glad I did. I know exactly what you mean about being fine with ups and downs during weight loss and then having them drive you nuts during maintenance. I am working on that now. Thanks for articulating your thoughts so well.
Mara @ What's For Dinner? says
Your article was fantastic Kath, and I just posted on Lissa’s blog that I really needed to read that today. You’re so right!
Rose says
Capers on crackers? I love that idea.
AlliJag says
The salmon/caper combo looks fabulous! I love the salty addition capers add to any recipe!
The Duo Dishes says
The salmon cracker snack is tasty!
Sarah (lovINmytummy) says
You spelled “sereal” wrong. Maybe with that $1,000 you can buy a dictionary.
I’m TOTALLY kidding, btw. 😉
Missy (Missy Maintains) says
Love your lunch! I haven’t had lox in so long! Congrats on the contest!
sue says
yummy lunch spread. kelsey did a great job!
brandi says
yay for the office! so much pretty green in your lunch today 🙂
Moran (The Running Addict) says
What a cute picnic!
It would be amazing if you won that contest!
Weekly Bite says
Hi Kath,
Just read your “Stop Counting” article. What a great article and interesting read! Calorie counting can become obsessive… I love it when you said “eating too much causes weight gain”… so true!
healthy ahsley says
A great lunch and The Office? Sounds perfect!
Lisa D says
wow good luck with the recipe! I’ve been meaning to try that one
Kiersten says
Nice article Kath. As someone who suffered from an eating disorder in the past, I too had to learn how to live without counting calories and constantly weighing myself. I don’t do either of those things anymore and I am as happy and healthy as ever.
Jenn (eating bender) says
Good luck in that sweet potato contest! That would definitely be sweet…potato if you won 😉
I just read your latest post on Gather and thought it was fabulous! I posted a reply on there, but thought I’d also post it on your blog to encourage others to read what you had to say!
I had been wondering how you were feeling since that big day that you decided to stop counting. Your thoughts and opinions are very similar to my own, as I stopped counting calories in mid-2008. Although I still do the quick calculations with new meals that are unfamiliar or new recipes, it feels nice to finally be at a place where I am not dependent on the scale, and I think I agree with you that this mindset had to be learned.
When I first heard through the blogosphere about all of the “listening to your body” references, I kind of scoffed at it. I thought it was a lot easier said than done, especially on those days where I felt like listening to my body would mean carbs, carbs and more carbs – and no veggies ;o) But I think I’ve finally recognized that listening to my body doesn’t necessarily mean listening to what I’m craving, but rather listening to how it responds when I give it the foods it needs. My body is now a much happy camper when I do eat those veggies than it is when I reach for a bag of jelly beans, and that, to me, is a big success!
Have a great afternoon!
Joanne says
Good luck with the sweet potato contest. It would be GREAT if you won…can we vote?… I didn’t see any place at the site.
Sharon says
Oh wow, SUPER DELICIOUS!!!
Run Sarah says
Yay for sunshine!! That’s so fun that you bring lunches to share.
Nicole says
I love that you two have pot luck lunches, it is such a good idea!
Heather says
Glad the sun finally peeked out for you!
Another YUMMY potluck!!! At the risk of sounding a bit brainless, what are capers? Haha, I’ve always wondered, but have never known or tried them.
Good Luck in the recipe contest! I’m rooting for you!
Kudret says
That looks delicious!! I’m a long time reader who is coming out of my lurker shell. Your post made me wanna watch the office, which is what I’m doing right now 😀
Perfect rainy day activity!!
Michelle Hisae says
Do you guys whip that all out in a classroom? Or are you in a more populated area like a student center. That would be awesome to eat and watch The Office in peace!
Can’t wait to read the article.
Elizabeth says
Hi, Kath! I may be a bit late on this one– but I noticed that all weekend you worked and worked on your school project, and you work *ahead.* My question is, how do you get started and keep going on a project you really don’t want to do? How do you get started? What do you tell yourself that gets and keeps you going?
Just asking ’cause I’m a chronic procrastinator– I deal well with external deadlines, but not always that well with my own. 🙂 Thanks!
Anyway, I’m a long time reader of your blog, and I love it!
Ileana says
Thank you for the “Stop Counting” article. I too have successfully have lost my college fat, and I too am type A with the calorie counting, because it’s true, it’s what actually works!
The thing is, my brain hasn’t totally caught up with my body that I weigh what I want to now.
I’m also really scared of not counting calories anymore, because my body, in the past, has proven to be a really successful weight gaining machine.
While I know that I now know much more about nutrition, calorie-dense foods, and portion control, it’s scary for me to just eat something without doing ANY math. It’s almost like I’ve forgotten how to eat until I’m satisfied- it’s much easier for me to do the math for the ingredients and then just have a set portion in front of me and not worry about it.
But anyway, you got over it, and hopefully I will too! The article was great and helpful and encouraging!
K says
Good luck with the contest!! Fun lunch – too funny about the utensils though 🙂
Meredith (Pursuing Balance) says
Good luck with your sweet potato contest!!
Kath says
Rhodey,
I agree that it’s hard not to gain – I think humans are programmed to gain. But that’s another blog post 🙂
Jenn (eating bender),
Thank you! I agree on the whole “listen to your body” point 🙂
Joanne ,
I wish there was voting, but I don’t think there is 🙁
Heather ,
Capers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capers
Michelle Hisae,
We change our location around, but today we were in our classroom to be with the door closed. Sometimes it’s locked, but we lucked out today.
Elizabeth ,
I have always been terrified of procrastination, so it’s never been hard for me. I get the procras. panic about 2 weeks out from a major project! You just gotta crack down and do it. I wanted to have this done in January and of course it’s not April, so I procrastinate too, just not to the VERy last minute.
Kath
Diana says
Good luck with the contest! 🙂
rebecca (unintuitiveeating) says
hi kath,
first off, your soup really should win. it was Freakin’ Fenomenal (haha).
secondly, and i’ve said this before, but not calorie counting has been the most freeing thing i’ve ever done (well, other than giving away my scale). my nutritionist has me doing quick checks/random samples on a few days’ food journals (using exchanges, not calories) to make sure i’m eating what i need to, and all it does is prove that i DON’T need to count. i do still occasionally glance at nutrition info when grocery shopping, but when buying staples, i don’t need to look… bread = bread, cheese = cheese, etc., and those slight variances really don’t matter.
julie says
hi fabulous and healthy kath!-lurker here who 1) wants to say i LOVE your site and it has given me a bunch of healthy living pointers and guidelines. 2) i must know your dining room (?) wall color- LOVE that! would you mind sharing? I would so greatly appreciate! thanks for being such a healthy and stylish! inspiration. cheers- Julie
Kath says
Julie,
Thanks! The color is “La Fonda Olive” and we got it at Lowes.
Kath
Elina says
Great post on not counting! I think I plan on doing what you did. I can’t not count right now (as I’m still trying to lose weight). And some people get obsessed with counting, but I like it (the math part appeals to me). But once I reach my goal weight, I slowly want to stop. It’s not something that I want to do for the rest of my life. I hope it works for me too!