Tag Archives for Food

I’ve actually grown a vegetable!

After the disaster and destruction of most of my backyard garden a few weeks ago, I’m super stoked to report that I’ve actually managed to grow a vegetable!

This morning I finally noticed some cute little baby Green Peppers emerging from the lone surviving plant in the garden!

There are even more blossoms waiting to bloom! I may actually grow more than a few peppers!

I love how funky and wonky locally grown produce looks compared to the stuff you find in the grocery stores! Its amazing to recognize how much effort goes into growing food.

So, I have a question for my fellow gardeners out there… What should I get ready to plant for the fall season? Any advice for this novice with bad luck? 

Beautiful Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

As you know, I love oatmeal. I have oatmeal almost daily and believe that whole grains are an essential part of a healthy breakfast. But sometimes the same ole bowl of hot oatmeal on humid summer mornings in Florida gets a little boring. Blah! And even more annoying is that sometimes it takes me hours to finish my breakfast in class. My solution: turn it into a smoothie! 

Today’s breakfast is my dairy free Beautiful Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie made with healthy super-food ingredients.

Just like I start every bowl of oatmeal, I start my smoothies with the same basic ingredients: 1/2 cup dry oatmeal, 1 tbsp each of hemp, chia and ground flax, and 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce. Although I usually cook my oatmeal in plain water, to wet the smoothies I use 1 cup of light soymilk.

Then it’s time to get creative! This morning I added 1 cup of gorgeous fresh blueberries! These blueberries were recently on sale at my local Publix grocery store at 2 pints for just $5.00! And that’s a great price! 

Then I just add a cup of crushed ice and blend away! Easy peasy! 

And of course, I tracked all of the calories into MyFitnessPal. This smoothie comes out to about 450 calories, with a great balance of fiber, complex carbohydrates, protein, fruit and healthy fats with very little added sugar!

I enjoyed my smoothie on my drive to school along side a Venti Iced Coffee from Starbucks with only a splash of soy for flavor. It was one of those mornings where my Keureg coffee maker just wasn’t going to cut it. And yes, sadly, I’m obsessed with Starbucks!

What did you have for breakfast today?

If only life could be a vacation! I rock a bikini!

Let it be known that you do not have to be at goal weight to rock a bikini! So what if you have stretch marks, a little extra pudge, or no abs? Be you! And if being you is anything like being me, then you wear the heck out of that bikini!

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You better believe, if I wore a bikini at 300 pounds, I’m wearing one on vacation with my husband and father at 170!

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We’ve been swimming, tanning, fishing, and eating, and it’s been glorious! I’m not counting calories, working out, or studying for school. On Monday, though, I’m back on it and starting training for my half marathon. Never lose sight of your goals!

Last night for dinner we went to this place on Sanibel Island called “The Island Cow”, a hole in the wall dive packed full of people with the most ridiculous, amazing four page menu!

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I settled on ordering the Blackened Grouper Tacos with black beans on rice, salsa, and sweet potato fries! It was delish!

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Yep. Not vegan, but its no secret that this Florida girl loves some fresh local seafood, especially grouper! I ordered my tacos without cheese, and the beans were in fact vegan.

Also not vegan, but amazing, was my dad’s 60th birthday cookie cake! Oh my god! I’ve officially blown my 30 day no sugar challenge (Sorry LJay, I just can’t resist a giant cookie!), but have no fear, I’m recommitting on Monday.

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This morning we enjoyed coffee on the terrace overlooking the pool. I’m obsessed with Starbucks, and was super stoked to see the resort was fully prepared to make me a perfect Grande Soy Latte.

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Never underestimate the importance of relaxation and family time. I love this man!

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After a short little storm, which is totally typical for South West Florida, we got to the fun stuff – catching fish!

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And Sean caught a Shark!!!

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Check this dude out! Cute little Bonnet Head:

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I hope everyone can find some time to get outside and enjoy the weekend with friends and family! Happy Friday from Sanibel, Florida!

Anxious? Workout & Eat Smart!

This morning I woke up anxious. My heart was racing and with the buzz of my alarm, I was wide awake. Not good.

I like to chill. Not freak out. Take my time with my morning routine. But today I was up at 5:30am with way too many thoughts racing through my head. Work was busy yesterday, I had an extra errand to run this morning, and I have a final exam on Thursday that I’m not yet prepared for.

My solution: an intense heavy lifting and sprinting workout.

I broke a sweat. Dripping in the humidity in my garage gym for 45 minutes of stress busting awesomeness. I was gifted a FREE treadmill from a coworker a few weeks ago, and it was finally put to good use! In between weight lifting and push up circuits, my 5 two minute sprints burned an additional 150 calories while keeping my heart rate up!

Ever since I’ve started working the evening shift (and an additional 10 hours per week) and my current nutrition class has been keeping us until the very end of scheduled time, I’ve been missing out on my serious gym sessions. Workouts are my mood regulators. Exercise keeps me sane. And if you ask my husband, he’ll tell you that consistent exercise makes me much easier to live with!

In addition to good workouts, good nutrition reduces my anxiety. After my workout I conducted another delish smoothie experiment. I’m having a ton of fun making new smoothies in the morning. Its a nice way to get in a refreshing, cool, and filling breakfast of healthy food on these hot summer mornings.

Today’s Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Smoothie was fantastic!

Today’s smoothie ingredients include: 1 banana, 1 cup of sliced strawberries, 1/2 cup dry oatmeal, 1 cup light vanilla soy milk, crushed ice, a pinch of stevia, and 1 tbsp each of flax, hemp and chia seeds. This smoothie comes in at about 530 calories and 22 grams of protein! Sounds pretty darn good to me!

I poured my pretty pink smoothie into an awesome $4.99 tumbler from Walmart (that I own in every color), and out the door I go to start my busy day in a much better mood!

What did you do for your health this morning?

My Own Veggie Garden: Phase One

Today my husband and I made a spur of the moment decision to finally build a vegetable garden of our very own in the back yard! We found ourselves spending a couple of hours at the Home Depot buying everything we thought we needed.

A whole bunch of lumber, 20 bags of dirt (which wasn’t quite enough), other odds and ends, and a small selection of potted veggies and seeds cost us about $150. Four hours of hard labor in the Florida heat produced two huge 10ft x 4ft boxes of dirt right up next to our back patio.

We still have a lot of work to do. And I really need to do some serious research; I know there’s got to be some awesome “how-to” manuals to make this process much easier.  Then I’m excited to get to work planting my plants and seeds.

I am so excited to one day be able to say I’ve eaten vegetables that I’ve grown for myself in my own backyard! Talk about local produce! 

Do you have a vegetable garden at home? What have been your most successful veggies to grow? I’d love to hear any tips or tricks to get started on the right foot!

 

Read this! An article on Calorie Density & Weight Management

Here’s a great article from the awesome people at Forks Over Knives that is definitely worth reading…

Forks Over Knives | The Calorie Density Approach to Nutrition and Lifelong Weight Management.

The basic idea is eating low energy density foods so you can eat a large volume without eating high calories.

Calorie density is the simplest approach to healthful eating and lifelong weight management. This common sense approach to sound nutrition allows for lifelong weight management without hunger; more food for fewer calories, and is easy to understand and follow. In addition, by following the principles of calorie density, you will also increase the overall nutrient density of your diet.

Something like this:

Which day of food would you prefer to eat? What do you think about this idea?

Super Saturday Oatmeal

This masterpiece is my breakfast this morning:

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How it’s made: 1/2 cup dry real oatmeal cooked in water in the microwave for 2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1 Tbsp Chopped Walnuts, 1 Tbsp Craisins, 1 Tbsp Ground Flax Seed, and a dash of cinnamon to taste.

I have a long day ahead of me – outdoor workout at a park downtown followed with an afternoon at the beach – so I need the extra oomph to power through my morning!

As usual, here are the calories and nutrients as tracked on my fitness pal:

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What are you having for breakfast today?

What’s for Breakfast…

This morning I’ve decided to experiment with the idea of making a Breakfast Quinoa with some left over plain cooked quinoa from Tuesday’s Dinner. For those of you who haven’t heard of this strangely named awesome whole grain, Quinoa (prounounced Keen-Wah) is a high fiber, gluten-free, low glycemic index, complete protein that is actually technically more of a seed than cereal. Serious nutritional powerhouse!

I’ve hunted the internets for vegan recipes and found most of them involve cooking the quinoa in a non-dairy milk which isn’t really helpful for me since I’m starting with pre-cooked quinoa. I did find one recipe from SavyVegetarian.com that suggests simmering pre-cooked quinoa in flavored soy milk on the stove top until it reaches the desired consistency, so I’ve adapted that technique for my tastes and the ingredients I have on hand.

I believe a good breakfast should include whole grains, protein, a healthy fat and fruit - and this morning I’ve got the superfood versions of all four!

Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa: 

  • 1 cup cooked Quinoa
  • 1 cup Light Vanilla Soy (or Almond Milk)
  • 1 Tbsp Sliced Almonds (or Walnuts)
  • 1/2 cup Berries (I’m using defrosted Blueberries this morning)
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract, if needed – taste first!
  • A drizzle of agave nectar or maple syrup to sweeten, if desired (I didn’t use any)

After reheating the Quinoa on the stove top with soy milk at medium heat with stirring until most of the liquid is adsorbed, then simply add the remaining ingredients. allow it to cool some and enjoy!

For an experiment, this turned out awesome! I think I prefer the consistency of oatmeal compared to this, as it almost reminds me a grits (and for those of you who know me, grits and I are not friends).

Here are the calories and nutrients I’ve tracked on MyFitnessPal and although they are slightly higher than my normal breakfast, I think they are totally worth it!

 

How did you start your food day? Have you ever tried a breakfast quinoa? How was it made?

Oranges & Almonds {Snack of the Day}

Today is one of those difficult food days for me, as Wednesdays usually are, because of my crazy work schedule. I work seven overnight shifts in a row and Wednesdays are transition days. I plan on going back to sleep in a few hours in preparation for work tonight so I’m not going to eat anything too heavy today.

Today’s snack of the day: A fantastically juicy Navel Orange, a handful of Almonds, and some Green Tea. Yum! Love this fruit, healthy fat, protein, antioxidant combo!

 

For those of you interested in the calories & nutrients:

 

I love pairing almonds with fruit – apples, grapes, peaches. What is your favorite fruit and nut combo?

What’s for Lunch: Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini

I was inspired by something I saw on pinterest, a craving for quinoa, and the gigantic zucchini I had in my fridge to come up with today’s fun and nutritious lunch. Quinoa is a great whole grain, packed with protein, and zucchini is probably one of my favorite veggies, especially when they are coming into season in Florida. I tend to make zucchini with pepper, onions and garlic sauteed on the stove top, so this is really just a creative way to enjoy the same flavors.

What you need to make my Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini:

  • One large zucchini – the fatter the better
  • 1/4 cup Quinoa
  • 1/2 Onion, chopped
  • A few cloves of Garlic, chopped
  • 1 tsp Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste

Rinse the quinoa first and thenstart it cooking per the package directions. This should take about 15 minutes.  Also remember to preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Meanwhile, chop the onion and garlic and let them sweat on the stove top with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.

Carefully cut the zucchini in half long-ways and scoop out the insides with a spoon.

Add the zucchini pulp to the onions and garlic on the stove top at medium heat for a few minutes. When the quinoa is ready, add it to the onion/garlic/zucchini mixture just long enough to combine well.

Spoon the mixture into the zucchini shells. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes depending on how crispy or mushy you like your zucchini.

For those of you interested in the calories:

What did you have for lunch today? Whats your favorite vegetable?