Rainstorms

It rained all day today, which generally makes me want to curl up in my big armchair and drink hot chocolate or soup from a mug. Instead I sat at my desk and ate the following over the course of the afternoon:

Lunch was soba noodles with chicken, bell peppers, cucumber and sesame/soy dressing, same as Tuesday.


First Snack was half of a whole wheat lavash with braesola, arugula, and avocado. An unorthodox combination, but not bad.

An hour later, a few honey roasted peanuts:
After work I tried to go for a run but things just weren't cooperating - some days your body just doesn't want to work as well as others. So I ended up walking for a bit and then packed it in to get home to this!

Whole wheat naan pizza with arugula and olive oil, same as last night. Not original, but delicious. There were also a few chocolate covered almonds, eaten as soon as I got home to ward off the ravenous munchies.

Good night!

Cheesiness

This would be my other go-to breakfast when I don't feel like cooking in the morning. Egg and cheddar on half a whole wheat bagel.



And iced coffee of course!

After Hours

A couple in a row here. First, lunch: Chicken, Farro, Corn and Green Beans Salad with Goat Cheese. I made this recipe basically as written, just varying the proportions a little (less farro, less corn, more chicken, more green beans). The marjoram is a unique taste, but I like it. High quality olive oil also helps. I only ate half a serving though because I got full - so many green beans!


Snack was a mini wrap made of 1/2 a whole wheat lavash with turkey, salami, arugula and avocado. Forgot to photograph but it wasn't all that visually exciting.

Second snack was iced coffee with milk - didn't photograph this because it was obtained on a coffee break with the intern and I wasn't quite ready to explain why I was taking a picture of my drink.

Third snack (!) was honey roasted peanuts.


Then, post-pilates, PIZZA! A whole wheat naan pizza with mozzarella and parmesan whipped up in the toaster oven, then sprinkled with torn fresh basil and piled with arugula, and, finally, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. If you have not tried heaping arugula on your pizza yet I recommend you do so immediately! Followed with a few unpictured chocolate-covered almonds.




Mmmmm.

On The Go

One of my go-to breakfasts when I don't feel like making eggs in the morning. A whole wheat bagel (hollowed out) with about 1.5 tbsp of cream cheese (ie 1.5 of those little containers). Cream cheese is an area where I don't believe in using a "light" substitute. Would much rather hollow out the bagel to save a carb serving that way!



Accompanied by my morning drug of choice: triple iced espresso with milk (I tote my own organic grass-fed in a little bottle) and stevia.

Dinner & Post-Dinner

I was super excited to find these at my local Whole Foods yesterday, and immediately slotted them in for dinner tonight. But I have to say, I think I like my old default ones, also obtained at Whole Foods, better (no link, sorry). I liked the idea of whole grain but they got kind of soggy, and they weren't as filling - I think maybe not as much chicken.


Eaten with this delicious dumpling sauce I got at an Asian supermarket around here. I have no idea what is in it, but man is it good.



I usually try to work a veggie into dinner but sometimes that's just something as simple as a bag of baby carrots.



Followed up with a few chocolate-covered almonds which are insanely, addictively, dangerously delicious.



And then, an hour later, followed up with this. I was still hungry after dinner, and it's always a hard call as to whether to ride it out or have a snack. Tonight, I went for the snack: whole wheat english muffin with a little pepperjack cheese.


Alright. That's it for me for tonight!

Afternoon Delight

I am clearly not a natural-born food blogger because I forgot to take a picture of my lunch. Luckily, however, I have another serving of it in the fridge, which I subbed in when I got home, photograph-wise. This is soba noodles with chicken, cucumbers and bell peppers. It's based on this recipe but when I made the dressing Martha calls for it just tasted...bland. So I whipped up the dressing I use for sesame noodles I make for our summer house weekends. Equal parts soy sauce and toasted sesame oil, with 1/4 as much sugar and rice vinegar, and chili oil to taste. For two servings I did 2 tbsp soy and sesame oil, and 0.5 tbsp sugar and 0.5 tbsp rice vinegar.

In real life it's all mixed together nicely and the noodles are lovely when slicked with dressing. In its subbed-photo-straight-from-fridge-without-dressing state, it's not as lovely.


Snack #1 was a mini wrap, made with 1/2 of a whole wheat lavash, 2 slices of turkey, arugula and a little aoli, and a string cheese on the side.


Snack #2 was a handful of honey roasted peanuts. Mmm.

And that was the work day!

Routine

Breakfast is the least variable of my meals. When I eat at home it is always the same: two eggs, a whole wheat english muffin, and an exchange worth of cheese (65-75 calories). Plus iced espresso with 1/2 cup 2% milk (organic, grass-fed) and two packets of natural sweetener. My favorite is Previa - it dissolves but isn't bitter like some other stevia brands.

Phoning It In

On Sunday I usually cook for the week - at least two meals to have twice each for lunch, and sometimes a dinner or two as well. That means by the end of the day I usually don't want to cook dinner as well. Enter Annie's whole wheat mac and cheese. It isn't the most balanced meal on the planet but it is fast, easy, and relatively wholesome. I like to mix in some frozen veggies (the only time I ever use frozen veggies in fact, apart from frozen peas and frozen corn when out of season). Usually I use green beans/peas/corn but today I realized that mix clocks in at 90 calories per half cup whereas the squash medley I picked up tonight is 20 for the same amount. I'm not going to lie, the veggies were a little mushy. But still a good trade.

So here you have it, times two. I should have stopped halfway through the second bowl I think. Now it's time to get cooking for the week!

Refreshing!

Dear god, I forgot how hot it was here in the swamps. I was only gone 48 hours but still, it came as a shock to feel like I was swimming through the air again. I went straight to the grocery store from the airport so I'd have everything I needed to cook for the week and wouldn't have to motivate to leave the house again later. My reward: juicy juicy watermelon for an afternoon snack. Pricey but so so good! Tastes like a nice cool shower on a hot day. It may be spring up north, but it's definitely summer here.

Cold Bread

I object to refrigerated sandwiches on principle - there is nothing worse than cold bread! That being said, when it comes to airport food you can do a lot worse than a Starbucks sandwich. This was turkey, cheddar, light mayo and mustard on wheat with lettuce, sharing the stage with some tropical jelly bellys. How many of them will be eaten on the flight remains to be seen!

Introduction

The short version of the story is that over the past three years I have lost almost 40 pounds, very slowly, but surely. I've worked with a nutritionist and followed a dietary exchange method of tracking my food intake, and I've integrated yoga, pilates, and more recently, light running and some elliptical interval training, into my routine.

I've come a long way in my eating habits over this time: I cook most of my meals, and I eat mostly whole foods. But recently I have been having a hard time making the healthy choices that have come to be second nature to me. For the last two or three weeks my eating has felt out of control - in reality it's only a few hundred calories a day more than normal but those can add up quickly. And more importantly I FEEL like it is so much more than that - I am too full, I don't feel as comfortable in my skin, and my energy feels lower. I am trying this as an experiment: maybe blogging everything I eat will help me stay accountable, whether anyone is reading this or not. I want to keep it simple - one photo, maybe two or three, a short explanation. This is mostly for me, but if anyone else is interested, maybe it will be helpful to them too.

So, here we go: first post.

This is a triple espresso over ice with whole milk and splenda in the Albany airport of all places. I am on my way back from a friend's wedding and mulling over love, partnership, and life. Caffeine most definitely necessary. (Usually I carry my own natural sweetener with me but I ran out this weekend.)