Category Archives: healthy

Junk in the Trunk

Posted on April 25, 2011 | 3 Comments

Or in the tote bag. And that’d be junk salads, thankyouverymuch.

Passover doesn’t officially end until sundown tomorrow night and leaving my current craving for an English muffin aside, I haven’t really craved any grains, beans, or too many potatoes. That has been a new experience for the most part and I credit having my gluten free matzah with the difference.

But enough about all of my eating over the past week. I want to focus on what has been my go-to lunch during the holiday: the junk salad. These things haven’t been small and I’ve loved trying different combinations of vegetables for my meal!

I’ve used romaine lettuce and spinach leaves as the base for every salad. They provide good nutrients, taste, and the perfect canvas for colorful toppings!

This salad had sliced carrot, English cucumber, red onion, artichoke hearts, red bell pepper, Feta cheese, dill, Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning salute, and a pickle on the side.

Today’s lunch changed up the mix a bit. The focal point was a beautiful roasted portobello mushroom cap that I roasted with Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute. I also had artichoke hearts, English cucumber, carrot, red onion, roasted cauliflower, Feta, black pepper, and green olives.

They take maybe 5 minutes to assemble, including washing an cutting some of the vegetables, and they take a good 25-30 minutes to eat (I’m a slow eater anyways) and I get to savor each bite!

With some extra (non-cheese) protein mixed in (beans, chicken) I am thrilled to continue toting junk salads for lunch throughout the spring and summer! They are naturally gluten free, healthy and all around satisfying!

What are your favorite salad toppings?

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Letting Intuition Take Over

Posted on April 15, 2011 | 1 Comment

I’m not sure if I’ve been mentioning this on the blog but my nightly snack habit has resurfaced. I try to limit it to fruit or some cereal but I know that sometimes I eat more than I should. Yesterday morning it appeared like that habit caught up with me and my body was ready to show me who was boss. (I’m going to give you meal times to give you the complete picture!)

I woke up at my usual time and got ready for the day. I packed my breakfast to eat at work when my stomach was telling me that it wasn’t ready for a meal yet. I had a few nibbles here or there but nothing I would classify as major.

Staying in touch with my stomach, I drank some water and coffee and headed off to my meeting, breakfast in town just in case. It wasn’t until 10:15am that my stomach finally started rumbling letting me know it was ready to eat. Enter Bob’s Red Mill Mighty Tasty GF Hot Cereal (my usual BRM love) in a Jar! Cooked in half water, half almond milk, I added in blueberries, a bit of maple syrup, and almond slices on top for a delicious meal!

Despite not being hungry I took my lunch break to enjoy the sunshine. These gorgeous flowers captured my eye and reminded me that spring is finally, finally here!

Around 2:30pm I was hungry for lunch. I had a favorite salad combo as of late – spinach and romaine, black beans, roasted carrots and asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, and a sprinkle of cheese, all topped with Annie’s Green Garlic dressing.

Snack time came around 4:45 – half of a Yoplait key lime yogurt, 1/2c grapes, and some peanut butter.

I hit the gym after work to give my new sneakers a test run. They felt great during my elliptical. However, I think that taking a long lunch walk tired me out before I even got started. I wrapped up after just under 30 minutes and spent a good deal of time stretching.

I was hungry by the time I got home around 7:15 and made use of the final piece of bread in my apartment – an Udi’s whole grain hamburger bun! Review to come. I toasted it up and topped it with spinach, red pepper spread, sriracha, an egg, and a slice of lite cheddar cheese. I had the final 1/4c of baked beans on the side.

Dessert was around 9 – raspberries and blueberries (plus half a pear) topped with cinnamon, a few chia seeds, a pinch of crispy rice cereal, and peanut butter.

I was excited when I woke up this morning and was hungry! I feel back on track and in control which is a wonderful feeling. I think yesterday was my body reminding me it’s time for spring and summer eating / foods and I was happy to listen!

I had “oats” in a jar, this time with the last 1/2T of peanut butter and the same toppings as yesterday. I also had an egg white on the side.

Here’s to Friday even if it includes a lot of Passover cleaning and packing for my trip tomorrow!

Does your body ever say “enough” and demand a break from food?

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Posted in breakfast, dinner, healthy, lunch, snack, staying on track, Uncategorized, workouts

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Tennis Practice Throwback

Posted on March 15, 2011 | 5 Comments

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it on the blog before but I was on the tennis team all throughout junior high and high school. I loved being part of a team and the sport of tennis. I still try to play as an adult when I can!

After warming up for a mile on the elliptical I headed to my usual total body conditioning class. Today’s felt just like tennis practice. We had a different instructor who led us through 45 minutes of speed work drills, footwork springs, walking stretches, and boot camp moves. The class was a refreshing change from my usual routine and really got my heart pumping. Save for a couple of groan-worthy moments, the class really flew by!

After yesterday’s breakfast “debacle” (I didn’t stay full for very long) I rotated back to a favorite – PB&J English muffin with an egg white and half a pear, diced.

I only had a bite of a Larabar before my workout and didn’t get hungry for lunch until I sat back down at my desk. I had a grilled chicken breast with onions, black beans, a carrot, and green olives over arugula and spinach.

After an afternoon meeting I snacked on some popcorn and strawberries. I was in a finger foods mood O:-)

After work I ended up on my couch reading Room for an hour and a half before I got hungry for dinner. The book has sucked me in!

Dinner was quick and easy tonight: a sweet potato with a warm vegetable salad. The salad included:

  • 2 carrots, grated
  • 1/2c black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1/3c frozen peas
  • 1/4c frozen corn
  • chili powder, garlic powder, cumin
  • 1t ketchup
  • 1.5t BBQ sauce
  • 1/2t each mustard and syrup

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Microwave for ~90 seconds and enjoy!

Now it’s Biggest Loser time although I’m debating picking up my book again. For some reason, technology has been overwhelming me after work and I’m trying to honor that and unplug when I can.

Do any of my DC friends play tennis? What is a go-to quick and easy meal for you? Eating with your hands – yay or nay?

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Posted in Biggest Loser, breakfast, dinner, healthy, lunch, snack

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Wonky Wednesday

Posted on February 24, 2011 | Leave a comment

I think that confusing my days yesterday set me up to feel just a little bit “off” this week. I can’t pinpoint any particular thing but in general I feel like I have more to do than I have time for.

I switched back to a favorite breakfast – cream of buckwheat cereal, in light of the return of winter weather. This bowl just had cinnamon and 1/2T of chia seeds mixed in and was topped with blueberries, pomegranite arils, 1/2T of peanut butter and a super light sprinkle of granola. It was perfect.

Lunch was leftover chicken chili with spinach and was just as good, if not better, after sitting in the fridge overnight.

When my pear for a snack (and bit of trail mix) failed to quell my hunger I picked up a small salad to fill me up. This had mixed greens, beets, carrots, a piece of tofu sushi, and some mixed beans.

I had a bunch of stuff to tackle when I got home from work which meant that today was a rest day from exercise. As a reward for my productivity, I painted my nails for my conference this weekend.

I didn’t get hungry until late which meant dinner was easy – a small sweet potato with a serving of black beans topped with BBQ and cheddar and some roasted broccoli and asparagus.

I then proceeded to have some fruit and cereal when that didn’t completely fill me up.

This morning I was thrilled for my wonky feeling Wednesday to be behind me but wasn’t too excited since I slept poorly. I threw together a breakfast my foggy mind could handle – an English muffin, half topped with red pepper spread and an egg white, half with PB and a bit of fig jam, plus some fruit.

Here’s to hoping the rest of the day leaves that wonky feeling behind!

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Posted in breakfast, dinner, healthy, lunch, snack, work

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