Barbara's Blueberry Fig Bars (Full Day 11.23.10)

I had the day off today, which was good because I needed time to get ready for Thanksgiving. I have quite a few guests coming for the Holiday so I have a lot of cooking, cleaning, and preparing to do. Thankfully I was able to get some it done today so Thursday won't too hard to manage. Breakfast this morning was a bowl of Kashi Heart to Heart Warm Cinnamon Oat Cereal with Skim Milk and an apple. I also was able to enjoy two cups of coffee with Skim Milk, and sweetened with Truvia. I had my breakfast around 8, and my Lunch around 11, so there was no need to have a mid-morning snack in between. I usually eat a snack when I have more than 3 hours of time passing in between each meal. This is to keep my metabolism revving and supply a steady flow of energy. Lunch today was pretty simple, and could've probably been more interesting since I was home, but I was busy and it was quick & healthy. I had a Dr. Praeger's California Veggie Burger, a Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin English Muffin with butter, a pack of Emerald's 100 calorie Dark Chocolate Cocoa Roast Almonds for some extra protein, and a banana. This was the first time I tried the cocoa roast

almonds, and I infact really liked them. There's no added sugar so the cocoa doesn't add any extra calories, but they have a nice, deep chocolatey flavor with a light sweetness. They're a perfect, healthy way to fix my chocolate craving. For my afternoon snack I had a Stonyfield Organic Superfruit Yogurt along with a few Barbara's Bakery Blueberry Fig Bars. According to their website, "Barbara’s recipe calls for no added sugar and includes only the finest ingredients such as real fruit and fiber – making these the best you ever tasted. Bursting with juicy blueberries and sun-ripened figs, for an indescribable taste adventure." They're low-fat, low-sodium and sweetened with only real fruit juice. It's one cookie you don't have to feel bad about having. Dinner was one of my weekly favorites, pasta with broccoli & beans. It's a mixture of whole wheat pasta, steamed broccoli, and cooked cannellini beans all tossed together with a little garlic salt. This meal is a staple in my house because it's easy to throw together on busy week nights, is very healthy, and is also super tasty!

Steaz Teas (Full Day 11.21.10)

I made it to Trader Joe's yesterday, so that means my refrigerator is fully loaded with lots of my favorite, healthy foods. In fact both my breakfast & lunch today were from Trader Joe's! Breakfast this morning was a Moral Fiber Blueberry Bran Muffin, half a large banana, and 2 cups of coffee with Skim Milk. For lunch I had Trader Joe's Organic Hearty Minestrone Soup, which was a new find, along with some Multi-Grain Saltine crackers. The soup was good, filling and really healthy as it was loaded with a variety veggies. I also drank a Steaz Sparkling Raspberry Green Tea. I love these teas because they are one of the only zero-calorie beverages that is naturally sweetened, low sodium, full of antioxidants, and actually healthy. I think the explanation on the bottle really is the best way to describe it. It reads "Our zero-calorie sparkling green teas are brewed fresh with sustainably sources, fair trade organic tea and naturally sweetened with leaves from the stevia plant- for a great taste that refreshes the mind, body, and soul without sugar or artificial sweeteners. We use only the finest natural and organic ingredients for a healthy, refreshing soft drink you can feel good about drinking every day." For my snack this afternoon I had a Stonyfield YoKids Strawberry Vanilla Yogurt with some dried cherries mixed in and a Deep Chocolate Vitatop. I like the consistency of the Stonyfield kid's yogurts better than the regular ones, but unfortunately they're smaller so they don't quite count as a full serving of dairy. Dinner tonight was a Gardein Tuscan Breast, a baked potato with some butter, and a side of steamed asparagus. It was a pretty easy meal so thankfully I don't have much to clean up, and I can relax for the night.

Changes

As of today, I am going to be changing the way I blog. Instead of writing a new post for each meal, I will just write one post per day. Writing several posts each day is very time consuming and has become very unrealistic along with having a full-time job & lots of other responsibilities. Instead, I will write one post to sum up all of my meals for that day, at the end of the day. By now I have pretty much explained at some point, most of the foods that I eat day to day. I will try and link as many things as I can on the new posts, back to the old posts to make it easy to find out more about that food or product without having to search all over the blog. However, I will continue to explain & share new finds and products the same way I always have. This change will just help me save time & keep me from repeating myself over and over again. This way I can still blog and help you all make healthier food choices day to day, in a not-so time consuming way.

Skim Milk vs. Almond Milk (breakfast 11.16.10)

Good morning everyone! Tuesdays are usually a busy day for me, so I made sure I went to bed early last night so I wouldn't be tired today. I actually slept really well and I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day! I started my morning off with a bowl of cereal, a banana, and some coffee. The cereal was a combination of Nature's Path Smart Bran & Flax Plus Cereals with skim milk. It was nice to have this cereal mixture again considering I hadn't been able to find the Smart Bran for some time. With 13g of fiber per serving, it's such a nice way to start my day off right. Now since I have some extra time this morning, I thought I'd answer a question I was recently asked. The question is how often do I use Skim Milk vs. Almond Milk. Well, since they're both healthy options, I try to mix it up as often as I can. However their nutritional information do play a role in my decision from day to day. The Skim Milk I buy (Farmland Dairies Skim Plus) contains 110 calories per cup, as well as 11g of protein. The Unsweetened Almond Milk on the other hand, contains only 40 calories per cup, but only 1g of protein. So basically, my choice usually depends on the situation and the kind of cereal I'm eating. For instance, if I'm eating a high-protein cereal, like Kashi Go Lean, than I'll use Almond Milk since I don't necessarily need the extra protein from the milk. However, if I'm eating a cereal that isn't very high in protein, like today's, than I'll use Skim Milk to add protein and balance out the meal. Other times, I'll use Almond Milk if I'm trying to save calories, or Skim Milk if my dairy intake is low and I need the calcium. They both taste pretty much the same to me, so taste isn't really a factor, my decision is usually based on my meal as a whole. Since I like to switch up my cereals, I often switch up my milk as well. I'm sure you've heard the saying, a varied diet is a healthy diet.

Chicken & Broccoli Stir-Fry (dinner 11.14.10)

Deciding on what to make for dinner tonight was tough. I bounced a bunch of ideas back and forth, but I couldn't decide on anything I wanted. Finally after a lot of mindless searching through the kitchen, I decided to make a chicken and broccoli stir-fry with brown rice. It's one of my favorite meals, but I haven't made it in quite a while so I was excited to make it again. I made my stir-fry with chicken, broccoli, onion, & organic soy sauce, and then served it along with brown rice. To make it, I first steamed the broccoli (about 1 cup) to soften it up. While the broccoli was cooking, I cut up a chicken breast (I used a Perdue Perfect Portion All Natural Chicken Breast) into bite size pieces and set it aside. When the broccoli was ready, I drained the excess water, and then added the chicken, chopped onion (about 1/4 cup), and about 2 tablespoons of soy sauce as well as 1 tablespoon of water to the pan. I then sauteed all the ingredients over high heat until the chicken was cooked through & browned, and almost all the moisture had boiled off. I served it with some brown rice (about 1 cup) that I already had made, but ended up just mixing it all together so the extra sauce would blend with the rice. It turned out to be a very easy, healthy, and delicious meal.

Waffle & Cream Cheese (snack 11.14.10)

As I was cleaning out my fridge this afternoon, I came across the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread that I bought at Trader Joe's a while back. Somehow it hadn't yet gone bad, so I decided to use it in my afternoon snack. I toasted a whole wheat Nature's Path Flax Plus Waffle and topped it with some of the Pumpkin Cream Cheese. I also cut up an apple on the side for some fruit. The cream cheese was just as good as last time, if not better, and went great with the delicate sweetness of the waffle.

Food Should Taste Good Multi-grain Chips (lunch 11.14.10)

My walk this morning was nice & relaxing, and it was great to get some fresh air. I can't believe it's 60 degrees in November! When I got home I had a nice bowl of chili and some chips for lunch. The Chili was Amy's Organic Medium Chili, which was actually very good. The last time I had Amy's Chili I had the Vegetable Chili, which I didn't like so much. So this time I bought the regular old Chili, and I really enjoyed it. It was much higher in calories, with 280 per cup, but it also contained 15 g of protein, and 7g of fiber so it was so hearty that one cup was enough to fill me up. The chips that I had on the side were also a new find. They're Multi-grain tortilla chips made by the brand Food Should Taste Good. To start off, these chips are probably the

healthiest chips you'll find on the market these days. They are all natural, and are made with healthy ingredients including Stone Ground Corn, Brown Rice Flour, Flax Seeds, Oat Fiber, Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, and Quinoa. One serving is about 9 chips, which may seem like a small amount, but in reality really wasn't. In that serving you get 3g each of both fiber and protein, and out of the 6g of fat, only .5g is saturated. Food Should Taste Good is all about the taste and their multigrain chips prove that point. They are full of rich taste and have a wonderful texture. Additionally, they quickly fill you up so that you don't over indulge. To me, they had that distinct "tortilla chip" flavor, with a hint of salt and a special nuttyness. These chips were simply delicious and I can't wait to try the other flavors including Buffalo, Chocolate, Jalapeno, Olive, Sweet Potato and The Works.

Truvia & Kim's Light Bagels (breakfast 11.14.10)

Good morning everyone! It's such a beautiful day. The sun is shining and I think it might have warmed up a bit too. I'm actually hoping to go for a hike this morning to catch some fresh air and get some exercise in. For breakfast I had a toasted whole wheat mini bagel topped with peanut butter, along with a Stonyfield Organic Super Fruit Yogurt and a banana. I also enjoyed two cups of coffee with skim milk, sweetened with Truvia. Truvia is a natural, zero calorie sweetener made with Rebiana (Stevia) & Erythitol. Being that I often use a combination of Stevia & Erythitol to sweeten my coffee, these pre-mixed packets are perfect. It's much better to use than any artificial sweetener, and it has a nice, clean taste with no bitter aftertaste. According to the box, one packet provides the same level of sweetness as 2 tsp of sugar, but for zero calories. Sounds like I've got myself a new sweetener! The bagel in which I had this morning is a new product that I spotted at the store yesterday. It's made by the company Kim's Light Foods. I bought these bagels instead of

Thomas's Whole Wheat Mini Bagels, and I'm glad I did because not only were they bigger, for the same amount of calories, but also tasted better. These bagels are only 110 calories with 4g of fiber and 5g of protein. I love bagels, but because they're usually so big & loaded with calories, I don't get to enjoy them too often. I'd rather use all those calories on something more substantial. However, these whole wheat mini bagels make it possible to "have your bagel, and eat it too." For my mid-morning snack in a couple hours I plan to have a Deep Chocolate Vitatop, and then I'll head out to the trails!

Kashi Frozen Entree Review

Sometimes I don't always get a chance to blog all my meals and share everything I eat, but even still, I would like to share with you some of the frozen entrees I try and how they rate. Kashi is one of my favorite brands so any time I see something new, I love to give it a try. All their products are all-natural, made with wholesome ingredients, and packed with nutrition. Here's a few frozen meals of theirs that I have recently tried:

Kashi Tuscan Veggie Bake:

Kashi strikes again with another delicious, healthy product. This time it's a tasty, vegetarian take on lasagna. It's loaded with veggies, whole grains, and like all Kashi products, made with great, all-natural ingredients. The noodles, which stayed moist thanks to a zesty tomato basil sauce, were made from Kashi's seven whole grain blend and were the perfect consistency. I really enjoyed the savory, slightly spicy sauce, and the sun-dried tomatoes really gave it a "Tuscan" kick. Sandwiched between the lasagna noodles were large bits of yellow squash, eggplant, onions, and sweet potato which blended well together for a great, unique flavor. Another interesting addition to the dish were the lentils that help this meal provide eight grams of fiber and seven grams of protein. This dish was a bit high in sodium, coming in at 700 mg. But since it's paired with such great taste and wholesome nutrition, I let it slide. Each entree has only 260 calories which is impressive when you consider the generous serving size. Overall, this meal won itself a place on my list of favorites and I'll definitely be purchasing it again. For more click here.

Kashi Pesto Pasta Primavera

Kashi's Pesto Pasta Primavera dish is a warm blend of yellow carrots, sweet red peppers, and peas served over 7 Whole Grain penne pasta with a basil pesto sauce and shredded Parmesan cheese. When I looked at the back of the Pesto Pasta Primavera package, the ingredients were easy to understand and as with all Kashi products, there wasn't anything on that list I didn't recognize. For a pasta dish, I was surprised to find out it has 11 grams of protein. It also has 7g of fiber, and out of the 11g of fat, only 2g are saturated. The sodium level was a little high clocking in at 790 mg, but not over the top high, so I let it slide. The meal packs in lots of nutrition with wholesome whole grains and colorful vegetables. The serving size was also very filling with lots of pasta and plenty of crisp, fresh-tasting veggies. There was  a surprisingly large amount of sauce, so I'm not really sure how Kashi managed to make this meal with only 290 calories, but I won't question their mastery. Overall, the dish was very creamy, flavorful, and quite enjoyable. I liked this meal so I would probably buy it again in the future, just not on a regular basis. For more, click here.

Homemade lentil soup (dinner 11.11.10)

I was really in the mood for soup tonight, so I decided to make some lentil soup for dinner. I have plenty of canned soup in the pantry, but it's just not the same as a nice homemade bowl of soup. I only made enough soup for one person since I'm on my own tonight, but it was quite a big serving. To make it, I just cut up all the veggies & threw all the ingredients into a pot and let it boil/simmer for about an hour and a half. The ingredients consisted of :

• 1/2 cup dry lentils
• 1 cup chicken broth (I normally would use vegetable broth, but I'm all out)
• 1 cup water
• 5 baby carrots
• 1 medium celery stalk
• 1/2 small tomato
• 1 cup raw spinach
• 3 tbsp. chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 bay leafs
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• dash of pepper

The soup came out good, but since it was a last minute throw-together, it wasn't my best. I used to make soup all the time, so I've been through a lot of soup recipes. I find it comes out the best when I start from scratch and make it up myself. I usually like to bulk it up with lots of different veggies, but tonight I just kept it simple with the basics. I should really make soup more often because it's so good for you. Maybe that will be another goal of mine (2 in one day, wow)- to make more homemade soups! The soup I made tonight had about 210 calories, 22 grams of fiber, and 19 grams of protein! Not to mention it's full of veggies so it's loaded with nutrition. With my soup I had a few multi-grain saltine crackers with a slice of reduced-fat American cheese. The cheese is Weight Watchers brand, which I've found to be the best-tasting reduced-fat American variety. Most brands of low-fat American cheese taste really fake and have a plastic texture. Weight Watchers however tastes like fresh, full-fat cheese even though it isn't!

Blueberry theme (lunch 11.11.10)

I was craving something salty for lunch today, and the eggs in the fridge were calling my name. Remembering I also had a new package of turkey bacon, I decided to make myself a bacon & egg sandwich. I used 1 egg, 3 slices of lean turkey bacon, and put it on 2 slices of whole wheat toast. I also had some fresh, ripe strawberries with it for some fruit. It was a simple meal, but very yummy and it satisfied my craving. Later on for my afternoon snack, I had a Stonyfield Organic Fat Bree Blueberry Yogurt with 1/2 cup of Kashi Oat Flakes & Blueberry Cluster Cereal mixed in. It was a lot of "blueberry", and now that I think of it I have fresh blueberries in the fridge that I could have added to keep the theme. Too bad I remembered after the fact! Now I need to get some cleaning done before my entire day is wasted away!

Hot Cocoa (breakfast 11.11.10)

Happy Veterans Day everyone! Thank god for this holiday, I really needed the day off today. I have a lot of cleaning to catch up on and some work to get done. It also gives me a chance to blog again since I haven't had much time to post lately. Breakfast this morning was a nice warm bowl of oatmeal. Somebody must have eaten my organic oatmeal so I had a packet of Kashi Go Lean Hearty Honey Cinnamon Oatmeal instead, and topped it with raisins & almond slivers. I like that the Go Lean oatmeal has extra fiber & protein to keep you going longer, but I prefer the short, simple ingredient list of my usual Erewhon organic oatmeal. I also ate a banana to get some fruit in, and made myself a cup of hot cocoa. I didn't really want coffee this morning, but the cold weather really put me in the mood for some hot chocolate. I don't buy the packets of hot chocolate since they're more junk than anything, so I experimented in making my own. I put 2 tablespoons of Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa (did you know cocoa is good for you!?) and three packets of Splenda into a mug, and then added boiling water & 1/4 cup of skim milk. It didn't come out bad, and I actually enjoyed it, but I'll probably

make some changes the next time I make it. I think I'd use more milk & less water to make it a bit more creamy, and since I'm not fond of artificial sweeteners (It was all I had in the house today), I'd try using Erythritol or a little organic cane sugar to sweeten it instead of Splenda. Hopefully after a little more experimenting I'll get the recipe just right so I can share it with all of you! For my mid-morning snack I had Luna Iced Oatmeal Raisin Bar along with a string cheese. I noticed recently that I don't always eat enough dairy products. Calcium is important, so I'm going to make more of an effort to get all my servings in.

Healthy Choice Frozen Entree Review

Okay so I've been busy and haven't had the time to post all my meals every day, but as soon as things calm down again I'll resume my blogging. In the meantime, I'd like to share a few frozen meals I've tried recently. Healthy Choice has made some changes and is now offering some new, healthier entrees. In the past Healthy Choice entrees weren't actually so healthy. They contained lots of no-good, unrecognizable ingredients, and didn't provide all that much nutrition. Now, for the first time ever, Healthy Choice entrees are actually becoming healthy! Made with real ingredients, and nothing hidden, here's a few that I felt were worth trying:

Healthy Choice Creamy Basil Pesto:

This dish is a blend of whole grain pasta, broccoli, and tomatoes in a creamy pesto sauce, topped with mozzarella cheese. It's in Healthy Choice's new line of All Natural entrees, which means all real ingredients and no preservatives! From a nutritional standpoint, this dish is low in calories, and for a creamy pesto sauce, low in fat as well. It has 10g of protein, 5g of fiber, and only 450 mg of sodium. Being that most frozen meals are off-the-chart high in sodium, anything less than 600 mg is ideal. The dish is also made with whole grains, and unlike Healthy Choice's old products, has a completely understandable list of ingredients. Healthy Choice is definitely improving.. Their dishes are finally actually becoming healthy. As for the taste, this dish had a good, but somewhat simple taste. The "creamy" sauce was light and the basil was thankfully not overwhelming. The spiral shaped pasta surprisingly held the sauce well, and the tomatoes added a nice touch. The cheese, although there wasn't much, added a pleasant saltiness. The worst part of the meal had to be the broccoli. It tasted far from fresh and was almost flavorless. There also wasn't very much of it since the dish was skimpy on veggies. More would've added more volume and made the meal a bit more substantial. But I guess that's what you get in a portion-controlled meal. Overall, I enjoyed this meal and I would most-likely buy it again in the future. For more click here.

Healthy Choice Chicken Romano Fresca:

This dish is a combination of whole-grain pasta, chicken, broccoli, and red peppers in Romano cheese & a butter glaze sauce. The dish has only 230 calories, and 5 grams of fat, but packs in 16 grams of lean protein. As advertised, it was made with pretty good ingredients, all of which were recognizable & understandable. It also has only 490 mg of sodium, so it satisfies the guidelines for frozen meals. Nutritionally, this meal scored pretty high, but unfortunately the taste didn't rise to the same level. The chicken was low quality and tasted overly-processed, and the noodles were a little too flimsy to hold the sauce well enough. The broccoli and peppers also didn't taste fresh, in fact the broccoli barely had any flavor at all. The only part of the meal that I actually really liked was the sauce. It was creamy and had a nice buttery flavor that spread throughout the dish. Butter-sauce wouldn't usually be included in a "healthy" meal, but in this case it worked pretty well & clearly didn't add too many calories or fat. Overall I think this meal was okay, but I probably wouldn't bother buying it again since there's so many better options out there. For more click here.

Healthy Choice Rosemary Chicken & Sweet Potatoes

Healthy Choice really made this one sound good, which made it even more disappointing when I found this dish to be the complete opposite. It's described as savory chicken tenderloins blended with pearl onions, sweet potatoes, and yellow carrots in a rosemary garlic sauce. Sounds yummy right? And then there's the fact that there's only 170 calories in the entire meal, and according to the box it contains 50% of the daily vegetable servings and clocks in at 12 grams of lean protein. I couldn't wait to try this one, I thought I had found myself a new low-cal favorite. Boy was I wrong! To start, it all looked really processed, which is the complete opposite of what you'd expect when you a stamp that reads "Fresh taste from quality ingredients." As for the taste, the "sweet" potatoes were hardly even sweet, and the sauce was almost inedible. I thought that chicken was alright until I bit into a piece of pure fat, which was just plain unappetizing. The only part of the meal I actually liked were the carrots, and the pearl onions weren't all that bad, but just didn't seem to fit in. It may have been better with regular (not sweet) potatoes, but the rosemary-sweet combo just didn’t work for me. After finishing the meal I decided to check out some other online reviews to see if it was just me, or if other people felt the same way. I was glad to find that it wasn't just me. Some of the reviews I looked at were really cruel, and I couldn't find a single one that talked positively about the meal. I wouldn’t say it was absolutely terrible, but I most definitely wont be buying it again. For more click here.

Pasta & meatballs (dinner 11.4.10)

Dinner tonight was one of my favorite, classic Italian meals, pasta & meatballs! I know it should be spaghetti and meatballs, but I'm not really a spaghetti person (I can't eat it without making a mess of myself), so I stick with pasta. My meal consisted of whole wheat pasta, in my mom's homemade tomato sauce, topped with some Parmesan cheese, and two "meatless meatballs", along with a side of steamed asparagus. These meatballs are made by Veggie Patch, and are a meatless alternative to normal meatballs. I do eat meat, but since meatballs are usually made with the not-so-healthy parts of meat, I'd prefer these which are made with soy protein & are all natural. They're also 100% vegetarian, cholesterol free, and high in protein. I've tried these meatballs both plain, and cooked into tomato sauce. In the sauce they taste so much like "normal" meatballs that you wouldn't even know the difference, however when eaten plain, they have an odd taste that doesn't really resemble meatballs. It's strange how much the sauce makes a difference. Anyway, it was a delicious, home-made meal and it definitely hit the spot! Now I think I'm going to have a nice, warm cup of tea & relax for the rest of the evening.

Pitas & bean dip (lunch 11.4.10)

Lunch today was a toasted whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter, along with a yogurt and an apple. It was simple, but exactly what I wanted. I could've made something a little more exciting since I was home, but I was craving peanut butter so I had that instead. My afternoon snack consisted of a few whole wheat mini pitas with some spicy black bean dip and 1/2 cup of edamame. The dip was the same dip that I used the other day in my burrito, Desert Pepper Trading Company's Spicy Fat Free Black Bean Dip, and the mini pitas were from Trader Joe's which I bought a while back. I came across them in the back of the fridge today, so I decided to use them up. I'm actually surprised they weren't stale yet!

Scrambled egg (breakfast 11.4.10)

I feel as though every time I'm posting, I'm mentioning how terrible the weather is! Either it's just coincidence, or the weather here is rainy more often than not! Last time I checked I didn't live in Seattle... Anyway, I'm home from work today, so at least I don't have to go out in the rain. My breakfast this morning was good, and a nice switch up from my usual bowl of cereal. I had a scrambled egg, 2 slices of whole wheat cinnamon raisin toast with butter, a banana, and a nice big cup of coffee. The banana was huge and honestly one of the largest I'd ever seen, so I only ate about 2/3 of it and threw the rest out (what a waste!). The whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread that I buy is made by The Vermont Bread Company. Their products are all-natural and are made with good quality, wholesome ingredients. It's also the only whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread I've ever come across, so when I see it, I buy it just to keep in the freezer so that I have it on hand for when I want it. Now I'm just waiting to find whole wheat cinnamon raisin bagels..Yum! For my mid-morning snack I had a Trader Joe's Apple Cranberry Bran Muffin. They're small, snack sized muffins made with wheat bran and sweetened with fruit juice. There's only 80 calories per muffin, with 13 grams of fiber, 5 grams of protein, and only 2 grams of sugar! No oil, no butter, no added sugar! I wouldn't say they're the absolute best tasting, but I like them and they're really healthy, so it works for me. I find they're the best when microwaved for 30 seconds just to warm it up & soften the inside.

Morning Star Garden Veggie Patty (dinner 11.2.10)

My afternoon snack today was a Stonyfield Organic Fat Free Yogurt with almond slivers mixed in. It was just something small since dinner was going to be early. I had somewhere to go tonight so I had to eat dinner before I left at 5 or I wouldn't get a chance to eat until 9! I threw together a pretty easy, but healthy meal before I had to go, and it actually kept me satisfied for the rest of the night. I had a veggie burger on a whole wheat sandwich thin along with some steamed broccoli and roasted butternut squash. I made the squash by cutting it into cubes, coating it with a little olive oil, sprinkling it with sea salt

and then baking it in a covered baking pan until it softened. The burger was Morning Star's Garden Veggie Patty. It's a "yummy, hearty blend of mushrooms, water chestnuts, onion, carrots, green and red bell peppers, black olives, brown rice, and rolled oats." It provides 11g of protein, 3g of fiber, and only 110 calories per burger. According to the box it's diet exchange is 1 lean meat and 2 vegetables. That's exactly what I look for in a veggie burger, and paired with such a great taste, it's a perfect alternative to meat.

Black bean burrito (lunch 11.2.10)

For my mid-morning snack this morning, I really wanted something sweet. With a huge bowl of Halloween candy sitting on my counter, I was so tempted to reach for a piece of chocolate. However, I contained myself and had a Deep Chocolate Vitatop instead. It satisfied my sweet tooth and was a much better choice than the candy would have been. Later on for lunch I made myself a black bean wrap, which more or less ended up being a bean burrito. I made it by taking a low-carb whole wheat wrap, and filling it with black bean dip, organic black beans, reduced-fat Mexican cheese, and lettuce. I used 2 tbsp. of the bean dip to spread across the wrap as my base. The dip was Desert Pepper Trading Company's Spicy Fat Free Black Bean Dip. It was good and it added a spicy kick and lots of flavor. Then I added about a 1/2 cup of black beans, about 3 tbsp. of reduced fat cheese, and a couple leaves of lettuce. I probably should've used a bigger wrap because I think I over-stuffed it a little. It was almost too stuffed to close, but I managed to hold it shut with a toothpick. I then microwaved the wrap for a minute to melt the inside, turning it into a warm & gooey burrito. It was very messy because the inside was falling out of both ends as I ate it, but at least it tasted good! I paired it up with some pineapple for fruit, and it wound up being a healthy, yummy, and filling lunch. What more could I ask for?

Kashi Oat Flakes & Blueberry Clusters (breakfast 11.2.10)

Ok so it's been almost a week since I last posted, and I apologize for that. I've been very busy and didn't have a chance to document my meals. I hope you all had a great Halloween weekend and didn't eat too much Halloween candy. This morning for breakfast I got to "taste-test" a new cereal. When it comes to breakfast, I'm a big pour & eat person, so I'm always on the lookout for good breakfast cereals. Although this cereal has actually been around for a while now, I had surprisingly never tried it. It was Kashi's Heart to Heart Oat Flakes & Blueberry Clusters Cereal, which I ate along with a banana and a cup of coffee. Kashi describes this cereal as a delicious blend of crispy oat flakes and crunchy oat clusters made with sun-sweetened blueberries, one of nature’s best antioxidant fruits. It's advertised to reduce cholesterol with soluble fiber, support healthy arteries with 6 natural antioxidants, and reduce blood pressure since it's low in sodium. It's made with whole grains, including whole grain oats and Kashi's seven whole grain blend. The flakes are sweetened with a distinct blueberry flavoring, and are very crunchy and hearty. The blueberries appear freeze-dried, and coated with small whole grains such as oats. Therefore, they're crunchy as opposed to chewy, and actually taste like wild blueberries. The flakes are large, the blueberry clusters add flavor and texture, and it stays crunchy to the end of the bowl. So overall it ranks pretty high on the taste scale, but nutritionally, this cereal isn't the greatest. It's a bit high in calories, with 200 calories per cup, and has more sugar than I'd like, with 12 grams per cup. The first two ingredients are oat bran and rice, which isn't too bad, and the third ingredient is evaporated cane juice crystals (sugar). The next two ingredients are whole grain rolled oats and Kashi's Seven Whole Grains and Sesame Blend. Again, pretty good. But the next ingredient is evaporated cane juice syrup (sugar), then brown rice syrup (more sugar), and then malt extract
(even more sugar). As if that weren't enough, if you look a few ingredients down, you'll see honey. That's a lot of sugar. So yes, this cereal tastes good, but now we know why. To sum it up, this cereal is a tasty and somewhat healthy breakfast choice, just not one I'd eat every day. But if you're like me and you love cereal, you should definitely get yourself a box of this. It's got to be better than half the other commercial cereals out there.

Tuna & hummus (dinner 10.27.10)

Though the beginning of my day was pretty easy, the ending ended up pretty hectic. I got a lot done though, and now I'm all ready for Halloween! For my afternoon snack I had a deep chocolate Vitamuffin and a yogurt mixed with raisins. I'm running low on fresh fruit so I put the raisins to use. I'd actually prefer raisins in my yogurt, but I try to eat fresh fruit more often than not. I had a night class tonight so by the time I made it home I was tired, cranky, and hungry. Tonight probably would've been a good night for a frozen meal, but since I already ate one at lunch I wouldn't let myself resort to that. I ended up just making myself a tuna & hummus sandwich on some whole wheat bread with a side of steamed asparagus for some greens. Although it was a last minute choice, the tuna actually really hit the spot. I guess sometimes it's the simple things that do it! Have a good night everyone.

Amy's Vegetable Pot Pie (lunch 10.27.10)

Today ended up being quite an easy day. Luckily I didn't have a lot going on at work so I was able to leave by 11:30! I had packed a sandwich for lunch, but since I went home I decided to have something else and save the sandwich for tomorrow.  So instead, I had an Amy's Vegetable Pot Pie. I first tried this pot pie a while back, and even though it isn't low in either calories nor fat, it's still healthier than normal pot pies. It's a quick, healthy comfort-food ready in 5 minutes and full of veggies, whole grains, and flavor. The only thing I don't like is that the fat content is a little high, but it's made with all natural ingredients so that makes me feel better. The crust is thick and doughy on the inside, and crunchy around the edges. It's made with organic whole wheat flour and has a nice, warm flavor to it. The filling consists of soft potatoes, carrots, peas, and tofu "chicken" in a creamy, well seasoned sauce. Surprisingly, the pie is very filling even though it looks a little small. Amy's also makes a Non-Dairy Vegetable Pot Pie, which is even better from a nutritional standpoint as it contains much less saturated fat. However, I think that they both taste great and are a nice, healthier alternative to most pot pies which are loaded with calories, fat, and unhealthy ingredients.

Kashi again (breakfast 10.27.10)

Wow it's grose out today! Dark, gloomy & incredibly humid. So much for blow drying my hair.. this weather stinks! Breakfast this morning was a bowl of cereal again. You probably could've guessed that being that I eat it for breakfast 90% of the time. I really should start switching it up and having other things. It's just convenient on work days and being a creature of habit, it's what I'm used to. Anyway, my cereal was a mixture of 1 cup each, Kashi Go Lean & Kashi Go Lean Crunch Honey Almond Flax. I also ate an apple and had a cup of coffee with skim milk. I forgot to use half decaf coffee today, so it made me jittery and nauseous, yuck. For my mid-morning snack I bought a Clif Chocolate Brownie Z-bar from the vending machine. I love that the school vending machines now contain healthy options instead of all junk!

Alexia Rosemary & Garlic Oven Fries (dinner 10.25.10)

Dinner tonight was an easy oven meal! Dontcha just love those? You can just throw everything in the oven and wait for it to cook. No mess, no stress! For my meal I had a baked Perdue Perfect Portion chicken breast, along with Alexia Rosemary & Garlic Oven Fries, and a mixture of peas & lima beans. I seasoned the chicken the same as last time, with Mrs. Dash's Table Blend Seasoning. The fries on the other hand, were a new find. I've tried some of Alexia's other potato products, but I had never tried the fries. I normally don't buy fries because they're so processed that they're basically just empty calories. However on a recent trip to the grocery store, I found Alexia's Olive Oil, Rosemary & Garlic Oven Fries. As always, I checked out the ingredients & nutritional information. To my surprise, I couldn't find anything that was considerably unhealthy. In fact, they weren't bad at all. They are all-natural, and are made with Russet potatoes, oil, herbs & spices, and that's it! Nothing bad and nothing hidden! I also observed that unlike most fries, these fries still have the skin on, so they should still contain some of the vitamins & minerals found in potato skins, and not only the flesh. They tasted okay too. They're not like your typical fry, these taste more like roasted potatoes, and you can definitely taste the spices. Like the name states, they're oven fries, so they're thick, and very "potatoey". I was not super impressed with these oven fries. For my taste they were a little too well seasoned and all the herbs and spices were actually kind of overwhelming and took away from the taste. They were also a bit dry. Next time I'll try spraying them with some natural cooking spray to see if that helps retain some of the moisture so they don't dry out. I'm also more of a "little crispy fry" person, so that could play a role in my opinion as well. Overall, I think these fries are a healthy fry alternative, and a perfect way to treat yourself while still keeping it healthy. Sometimes a plain old baked potato just gets boring! I probably won't buy this flavor again, but now I'm curious to try some of the other kinds of fries Alexia makes.

Luna Cookies & Cream Delight (breakfast 10.25.10)

And another long work week begins... Mondays are the worst! Breakfast this morning was a quick bowl of cereal along with an apple and a LARGE cup of coffee to wake me up. The cereal was a mixture of Kashi Go Lean & Kashi Go Lean Crunch Honey Almond Flax with Almond Milk. I couldn't find Unsweetened Almond Milk last time I was at the store, so I had to resort to Original. I prefer the unsweetened because the Original contains evaporated cane juice (sugar), which makes it really sweet. I prefer my Almond Milk to taste like regular milk, and I find the unsweetened is the most similar. I also think it's unnecessary to add sugar to an already sweet bowl of cereal. I guess I'll just have to do deal with it for now, and next time I'll get the unsweetened version again. Around 9 I had my mid-morning snack which was a Luna Cookies & Cream Delight Bar, and around 11 I had some

Trader Joe's Whole Grain Pretzel Sticks that I had packed from home to hold me over until my late lunch. I forgot to take a picture of the pretzels before I ate them, so unfortunately I could not add a picture of them. I ate about 1.5 oz which would be 1.5 servings. It's the same amount that I had here. I really need to start packing a lunch again because eating at 2 everyday is just not working out all that well. Today for lunch I heated up an Amy's Spinach Feta Pocket Sandwich and paired it up with the last of my organic strawberries.
The pocket was very convenient being that it was already a late lunch, and it was a nice, easy way to have a balanced meal. It's also another great way to get some spinach into my diet being that I don't like to it eat it plain. I'm not really much of a spinach eater, so blended it into a tasty pocket is a perfect way for me to enjoy its many health benefits without the bitter taste. Later in the afternoon I had a Golden Corn Vitatop for a snack. I noticed I went a bit heavy on the carbs today, so I'll make up for it by not having as many tomorrow.