hungry hungry hippie

Date night, sorta

February 8, 2010 by elise

Don’t mistake the ornament mug for my embrace or acceptance of winter…

Even though it was “sunny” over the weekend, it was still below freezing, and as much as I love running in races, 4 miles in Central Park just didn’t seem worth the misery of losing feeling in my fingers, toes, nose, ears, etc. Instead I slept in and spent time with Kyle…sorta. He actually had to work all weekend, which sucked since it was my weekend OFF of work. At least he was working from home? (that is definitely the only positive I can wring out of the situation). Ah well. Such is life. Moving on.

I’m pretty obsessed with this caramel apple combo I have going on…

This picture = wow. I’m not sure which is more pathetic:

I couldn’t even be bothered to assemble a home-made meal on the weekend (thank goodness for Amy’s burritos, but still, Elise fail)
Michael Pollan’s “Food Rules” (a commentary on the treacherous landscape of modern food and the often-confusing science of nutrition) is literally within a foot of a diet coke [this is probably the most contradictory thing I have ever seen]
I drank a diet coke (wft?!? who am I??)
There are heaps of bills and tax documents surrounding my lunch (sad)
I ate the burrito with a fork (not necessarily pathetic, per se, but worth noting nonetheless)

In case you were wondering, the (above) ~~side dish~~ heap of beans/salsa was my first taste of azuki beans.

These beans are favorites of Terry Walters (Clean Food), as she uses them in many of her fall/winter recipes. Since I am a big fan of shopping seasonally, this book is a great guide. I found them in the bulk bins at Whole Foods a while ago and only recently cooked them up.

Dried VS. Cooked.

As you can see, they look similar to black beans after they have been cooked. They taste similar to black beans, but also a bit like kidney beans, too. They are popular in Asian dishes (second only to the soybean in Japan) and are often eaten in sweeter dishes (with sugar, made into paste, and even as a flavor of ice cream!). Anyways, I liked them and will continue to use them in other recipes now.

As I mentioned, this has been a recent fave. Most of his “rules” are very simple (and seem like they should be common sense), but sometimes it’s nice to be hit over the head with the obvious.

A few examples:

#19 If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.

#36 Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.

Clever, no?

So yeah, I was perfectly content reading, knitting, and doing errands around the house…and I really had no desire to leave the apartment all day. Unfortunately, the empty fridge situation forced me to quit my whining and man up.

This is what dreams are made of It also helped me face the outside temps. Thanks to Annabel (and the delivery services of our local Whole Foods)…We STOCKED up!

I had a little afternoon snack, which involved the Forty Spices Tribe hummus and then Kyle and I headed to a bar to watch the Superbowl. I brought this guy along just in cases…

My bar food options were a veggie burger or a veggie burger…so I went with the veggie burger

Good thing I had my Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar stashed away. It made the Saint’s victory THAT much sweeter. Yes, I was rooting for New Orleans. For some reason I feel like their win was a win for America…cheesy, I know, but I still got butterflies of excitement when they showed Bourbon Street and the French Quarter as the final seconds ticked away.

Posted in Amy's, beans, greek yogurt, hummus, larabar, mexican food | 26 Comments »

Baby steps

February 7, 2010 by elise

My appetite was a monster the other day. Not a little monster either, a BIG a$$ monster.

I didn’t have work, so I let myself sleep in a bit, but once my alarm went off at 8, my stomach was growling like an overly-protective Rottweiler. That’s not typical for me. My stomach usually needs a few minutes (or an hour) to warm up to the idea of calories. If you know me, you know I’m not a morning person, but my stomach is even less so. Ordinarily I ease it in with coffee…today, though, I needed coffee 0.172 seconds after rolling out of bed. I got a pot a brewing and then did my AM routine (wash, brush, scrub, moisturize, yadda yadda).

I’ve been using agave nectar in my coffee lately instead of stevia because I bought (the above) brand last time at WFs and IT. IS. NAST. Seriously. DisGUSTing. Sweet Leaf? I don’t think so. The one time I used it, it tasted extremely bitter, didn’t mix with my coffee, and as a result, I was left with black coffee – ruined by floating chunks of bitter white powder. Ew. So much for saving $2. I should never have strayed from my wonderful NuNaturals. I just wish it weren’t so pricey…

Anyways, for breakfast I knew I needed something with staying power.

Justin’s cinnamon P.B. on an english muffin.

Yeah, that didn’t last long…I immediately felt empty and required more food. Odd. Sooooo get ready for loads of kcals, because the photos are coming ‘atcha.

Hippo-Pita-mmus (aka pita with hummus).

Whole Foods sells their own brand of sandwich thins and they are really good! I have gone through a few bags of the multi-grain kind, mostly with peanut butter and agave syrup, but this time around I went with an open faced sammie with avocado, roasted red pepper hummus, and two different kinds of veggie burgers. Dr. Praeger’s on the left and Boca vegan burger on the right.

These Dr. Praeger’s are from a century ago…can you tell I’m not a fan?? Yeah, they’ve been hanging around taking up room in the freezer for FAR too long. I didn’t really want to eat them, but in the interest of cleaning out the freezer and making room for food I actually like, I decided to just go for it.

I will say, the fact that there were visible peas and carrots in the burger was kinda cool. I like seeing veggies in a veggie burger. Mock meat isn’t my thang.

Greens + balls

Some of my fave things

The more colors in my salads, the happier my tummy is. It’s science.

Apple. Smoothie – about to meet it’s maker.

Sometimes I feel like I could live off of fruit smoothies.

I made a super huge pot of chili (TVP and every bean under the sun), then tupperwared up the rest for later.

I had a bowl for sampling purposes of course, covered in rice milk mozzarella.

This cheese is so-so. If you recall I tried this same brand earlier (in the block form). Well, it’s not amazing, but it’s way better shredded.

At least it’s gluten free, preservative free, soy free, and (clearly) lactose free.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, kids, but the chocolate flavor Oikos isn’t half the man the caramel flavor is. I shed a tear, and then finished it off.

PB&DP…and in case you aren’t down with the TLAs (three letter abbrevs) I’ll break it down for ya. That’s Peanut Butter and Dried Pears, duh! Isn’t it totally obnoxious when people use abbreviations for things and then write them out after anyways…yeah, I hate that!

Have you ever wondered if it’s possible to make oatmeal raisin cookie dough without putting any effort into it? Just me? Fine. But just in case you were, I’d say put rolled oats (not instant, not steel cut, big fatty whole oats), water, and coconut milk in a tupperware and let it soak for a while. I also added raisins, cinnamon and agave nectar. The oats soaked up the liquid, then I added in peanut butter, stirred some’mo and let it chill in the fridge. Basically it was like a massive tupp ’o oats. I ate it with a spoon (yes, uncooked) and it was thick and delish. I felt like a stoned college student, stuffing my face with cookie dough (except that I wasn’t worried that I’d get salmonella poisoning from raw eggs because it was vegan).

As far as my February plan (AAAA) is going, I made it to a spin class (success!), but tomorrow is a 4M run and I’m not going. It’s wasted money, which I’m annoyed about, but it’s freezing, and I haven’t been feeling very well. So whatever. I’m not going to dwell on it. It is what it is. Small steps are better than no steps, right?

I also worked a few days after this post, but I’m too lazy to catch up. Just picture salads, bars, hummus, and apples and you’ve pretty much got it.

Posted in Stevia, beans, big salad, chocolate, dried mixed fruit, english muffins, greek yogurt, hummus, oatmeal, peanut butter, pitas, smoothie, vegan meatballs, veggie "cheese", veggie burger | 44 Comments »

Pearly whites & snowy nights

February 5, 2010 by elise

After my sophisticated breakfast of an apple and frothy cup of coffee, I headed to the dentist’s office for a routine cleaning. Since I was in midtown, I met up with Kyle after my appointment to show off my sparkling new pearly whites. I owe my cavity free chompers to these babies. Kyle and I went for a little stroll before he returned to work.

Entering through Artisan’s Gate (Central Park South and 7th Ave)…

A crossroads in The Park (if there’s ever a park to be capitalized and deemed “THE” park, it should be this one)…

Much like The Donald’s hair sitch, there was something interesting going on atop the Trump tower in Columbus Circle. However, unlike Mr. Trump’s comb-over hairdo, the way the towers were reflecting in the sun was beautiful. Sunlight makes the snow much more bearable.

Pigeon perch.

I tried to put off lunch as long as possible because my teeth felt so amazing (and I wanted to prolong the feeling forever), but eventually my stomach let me know enough was enough.

Conveniently I was in Columbus Circle at the time…which meant…

Whole Foods love.

In the bigger beast: seaweed/sesame salad, baked ‘fu, kale, swiss chard, spinach, quinoa, carrots, haricots verts, edamame, shredded squash/zucchini, and I don’t remember what else.

In the smaller: lentil dal and MORE baked ‘fu.

After lunch, it was errands time…followed by apple time…and then next thing I knew it was exercise time!

I wasn’t amazingly inspired, in fact, it’s a miracle I made it to the gym at all. I ran a wimpy 2.5 miles and then rode 3 miles on the spin bike, and even though I felt like it was a pretty pathetic workout for a day off of work, I am literally SO proud of myself for just making it to the gym at all. Snowy days like these are my biggest enemies…all they want to do is hinder my healthy lifestyle. With each day being a small battle for me, it was nice to get one in the win column.

I had the rest of the Gardein’s seasoned bites on a big salad for dinner.

These “bites” were atop spinach, steamed broccoli, and carrots.

Kyle always saves me the heel pieces of bread because I love them so. I don’t even need to include it in our vows, he knows what’s up.

Talk about big and beautiful! The end pieces have more booty than J Lo.

Caramel apple dessert – yes please!

Posted in WF tofu, big salad, edamame, greek yogurt, hummus, kale, quinoa, seaweed, soy nuggets, spinach salad, zucchini | 34 Comments »

Practice what you preach

February 4, 2010 by elise

As a cardiac ICU nurse, patient education is a large part of my job. After patients undergo bypass/valve surgery, it is critical that they make significant changes in both their diet and activity level…

Fortunately for them (and me) I am quite passionate about health and nutrition, which makes that aspect of my job all the more enjoyable. Unfortunately, not all of my coworkers are as gung-ho about this part of nursing (nor are they as keen on incorporating what knowledge they do have on it into their own lives). Not to get all judgmental or anything, but it’s pretty pathetic to leave the hospital on my lunch break and see crowds of health care workers huddled in the ER entryway smoking after polishing off their Dunkin Donuts. I really despise hypocrisy. Not only do several of my colleagues smoke, but they often belittle my vegan ways. It’s especially confusing and frustrating because we are taking care of patients who had to have surgery because of the exact same unhealthy lifestyle choices. I just don’t get it…

I mean, it’s one thing to enjoy a donut every once in a while, but it’s QUITE another to be fully aware of the damage cigarettes and high cholesterol diets do to your arteries and just carry on like you are ignorant.

For me and my patients, every month is heart healthy month (not just February).

In honor of that, here are my eats along with some heart healthy tips.

This salad’s layers were deeper than Jack Handey.

spinach
kale
broccoli
cauliflower
asparagus (stinky pee!)
carrots
mushrooms
dried cranz

I also had a sweet potato/raisin ensemble, two apples, and two bars. Unlike the magic of Larabars, this thinkThin chocolate covered strawberry bar was unable to replicate the flavor after which it was named and was a complete miss in the taste department. I have to say, I definitely fell for the marketing ploy on this one. Chocolate covered strawberry sounds like such a yummy idea, though!? And as long as I’m confessing, I actually do like the thinkThin white chocolate bars. I’m not proud of this since the label’s ingredients read longer than Kate Gosslin’s grocery list (assuming she still does her own shopping for the small army of children she has).

Anyways, at least the Honey Graham Z bar was on stand-by to rescue my taste buds.

When I got home from work I had a pinata apple while I put dinner together – eaten so fast that I only had the fruit sticker as photo evidence.

And by “put together” I mean added my prepared food to a plate. Such effort. My scrumptious dinner included cannellini beans, steamed broccoli, quinoa, whole wheat pita, and roasted red pepper hummus.

Round deux was hearty, but left plenty of room for dessert. Dates + home made soynut butter = love. It’s been so long since I last had medjools and the reason is fairly legit. I’m picky when it comes to my dates, and I haven’t been able to find the big, fat, juicy mothahs to which I’m accustomed. I searched my Whole Foods high and low and could only find the pitted kind. I guess I just need to find another grocer

If only my patients got as excited about beans, grains, veggies, and dried fruit as I.

FYI, 100% of my patients’ histories contain this trifecta: high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Sure, some of this is genetic, but there are certainly lifestyle issues to blame, too. Add on years of smoking and you pretty much have the recipe for heart disease.

Being 94.6% vegan, I have pretty stellar cholesterol levels (I had labs done in November). Your body makes enough cholesterol on it’s own, so in reality, we don’t need to consume any. Because cholesterol is found in animal products, this is pretty easy for vegans. If you aren’t vegan though, fear not, because there are foods that are known to lower your cholesterol levels such as omega-3 fatty fish (salmon), walnuts, oatmeal/oat bran, and foods fortified with plant sterols. If you increase these kinds of foods and reduce the animal sources in your diet, you are sure to improve (lower) your cholesterol levels. So get crackin’ peeps!

More packed lunch food/snacks for work:

Salad with da works, hummus, whole wheat pita, sweet potato ~~pie~~ with raisins, caramel greek yogurt, and an apple.

Hope you don’t think I’m being preachy…it’s just so hard to not write pages and pages about this topic. In a world with cancer and war causing deaths that we can’t control, it’s so ridiculous that everyone doesn’t heed the advice that is scientifically researched, proven, and documented to keep you out of the hospital. I see (and treat) the effects from ignoring said advice and trust me, it’s better to dodge the bullet all together than to rely on surgery to give you a second chance. Dietary choices don’t have to be sacrifices – it’s not cardboard, it’s hummus! Ok, soapbox is back under the sink now. Night!

Posted in beans, big salad, chickpeas, clif bar, dried mixed fruit, greek yogurt, hummus, pitas, potatoes, quinoa, spinach salad | 43 Comments »

Taste the Rainbow

February 3, 2010 by elise

For some reason, I have been failing to include my desserts in my posts lately…which is ESPECIALLY weird since I have been indulging in some of the most delicious treats ever. Although ending my day with heaps of apple slices will always have a special plate in my heart, the combination of frozen fruit and xanthan gum has taken over my liiiiiife (in a good way). The proof is in the ~~pudding~~ smoothies:

Frozen montage much? If that wasn’t enough evidence that I need a BlenTec blender, I don’t know what is. Hello, BlenTec, are you listening??

What’s your favorite fruit for smoothies? The above treats have everything I could get my hands on in the Whole Foods freezer aisle, including mango, peaches, strawberries, cherries, raspberries, and chocolate (yes, I realize this one isn’t a fruit). Some have tofu, some don’t, but ALL involve copious amounts of xanthan gum.

I’ll be back with a regular post tomorrow…I have been in the ICU the entire week (as opposed to the step-down unit) and I’m really enjoying myself. It’s scary at times because my patient’s are on the very edge, but I’m learning so much!

Posted in smoothie | 58 Comments »

‘Fu master

February 2, 2010 by elise

This is how my food prepping has been going…

TOFU you are my b!tch

Clearly I have been a busy little bee on my days off. Busy with LA SOYA that is! To provide myself with several meal options, I mixed things up in the seasoning department.

From L to R: plain cubed, plain slabs, Whole Foods’ asian seasonings, and chili powder/paprika).

After some bonding time in the oven, they came out looking like this:

Shrinkage.

Spice-ayyy.

And here’s how I’ve been gittin’ my soy on.

Meal numero uno:

Big salad with mayj crunch, including an entire head of romaine lettuce, red bell pepper, BN squash, carrots, plain baked tofu, and OrganicVille’s Tangy BBQ sauce.

Big salads will never get old. Fiber belly love.

J’adore le green (yeah, French isn’t my forte). Let’s try it again. Me gusta la verde. Whatever, close enough, right homie?

Meal numero dos:

This was another completely effortless post-work meal thanks to the food prepping (it is seriously such a life saver)!

In addition to the seasoned tofu, this plate contained quinoa, broccoli/corn/Bragg’s salad, and mashed UNpotatoes. I forgot how awesome that parsnip, squash & cauli mash is…SOOO tasty!

And since I can’t leave you all on the edge of your seat, here are my delish packed eats for work.

A little of the same, and a few newbies, too.

Honey Graham Z bar, Apple Cinnamon Luna Sunrise, roasted red pepper hummus and whole wheat pita.

I’m really starting to like Luna bars (which is weird since I poo-poo-ed them for years before now)…looks like this girl was right all along. This apple cinn flavor was oaty and breakfasty and reminded me of a more substantial and wholesome version of apple Nutri-grain bars. Does anyone else remember those bars?

My salad was pretty tradish, loaded with every single veggie my fridge had to offer – including spinach, steamed kale, steamed broccoli, steamed asparagus, steamed carrots, corn, mushrooms, and dried cranz.

And last, but not least, I HAD to show you the dualing colors of my pinata apple.

Isn’t it SO weird how a mere 180 degrees and a fruit looks completely different? No? Just me? Ah well…

More work tomorrow. Happy Feb

Posted in bbq, bbq tofu, beans, big salad, hummus, pitas, quinoa, spinach salad, tofu, tofu salad | 52 Comments »

Shiitake, cannellini & kale soup

February 1, 2010 by elise

I didn’t intend for this to be a stew, but the extra juice was too good to waste.

This dish was born from my desire to try new things…and a while back I mentioned that I wanted to experiment with new types of ‘shrooms (in a legal way)…so I bought some Shiitake mushrooms from Whole Foods and started brainstorming what to do with them.

It took me a while to decide how to incorporate them into a recipe, but then a light bulb went off (does anyone else experience cooking related “AHA moments” while zoning out on the treadmill?).

Here are some of the cooking pics (sorry they are so steamy).

Simmer (washed) mushrooms in ~1 inch of water and ~1 tsp Bragg’s liquid aminos. Toss in kale when ‘shrooms start to soften.

Cover pot to allow kale to steam, then add in seasonings (I am approximating, but I think used about 1 tbsp onion powder, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp more of Bragg’s aminos).

Then add 1/2 can cannellini beans, and allow it all the stew on low heat until the aroma fills your pint sized apartment.

After letting it cool, I packaged them up in tupperware – ready for post-work dining.

It’s hard to believe that what started as a simple take on a stir fry evolved into a super delicious soup?

I served it atop soy noodles to absorb the extra juice, and it was really really reallllllly good.

The kale was so tender and flavorful. I am always amazed at how much better things taste when they marinate overnight…it’s like the difference between dances in junior high and high school – the seasonings have time to get over their shyness and mix and mingle to the fullest.

Next time you see these, don’t be afraid to give this recipe a shot.

Posted in beans, kale, soup, soy noodles | 26 Comments »

Food prep (aka AAAA part 3)

January 31, 2010 by elise

Work dayyyy…

Big salad, small salad, Iced Oatmeal Raisin Luna bar, Honey Graham Z bar, Tazo chai tea, and 2 apples (gala and pinata)

So yeah. Moving on to the last of the AAAA (refer back to part 1 & part 2 if you missed it)…

3. The last issue I want to tackle relates to my days off. I cut myself MAJOR slack on work days (probably more than I should). But let’s face it, completing a 12 hour shift shouldn’t equate to a get-out-of-jail-free card. It’s not brain surgery (it’s heart surgery – ha!). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about trying to hit up the gym after my work days – I’m a huge advocate of giving your body rest. It took me a long time to recognize how damaging the stress of both work and exercising was on my body, so I am not proposing work-outs after long days on my feet in the hospital. What I have to do is remember that having an exhausting day is not an excuse to abandon my healthy lifestyle. On days I work (and days off too, to some extent) most of my snack-type eats aren’t photographed because I eat them in a hurry, or on the go, or while I’m cooking (you get the point…), and so what you guys don’t see are often several meals worth of non-meal food that I just pretend doesn’t exist. Additionally, I often have seconds or thirds of my meals and don’t bother taking pictures because, well, I just took a photo of the first plate. Now, it’s not the quantity that bothers me but the QUALITY. I have a good metabolism and I have come to terms with the fact that my portions are larger than life, but I don’t want to eat an entire bag of pretzels because I am lazy and call that my first course. It’s fine every once in a while, but I feel SO much better (it’s very noticeable) when I eat good, wholesome, clean food. So. Given all that, I am ready to get my act together. This means back to meal prepping in advance (I used to be so good about this but somehow it just fell by the wayside). Chopping veggies for the entire week ahead of time (you can’t be lazy when everything is already done for you), and having food on hand that is ready to eat in the moment.

I have already re-started this and am proud to say, so far, so good.

I came home from work hungry, and was thrilled to have everything at my fingertips to make a nice (relatively gourmet) dinner.

More on that later though…now I’m off to bed

Posted in beans, big salad, clif bar, edamame, kale, spinach salad, tea | 20 Comments »

Muscle memory (aka AAAA part 2)

January 30, 2010 by elise

An Anti-Atrophy Agenda that is…(if you missed part one, or the OG dilemma, click away). Otherwise, I’ll just continue where I last left off…

2. As per several of your comments, I am going to be travelling outside my comfort zone and giving group classes a shot. Because I am a wuss, the only ones I have ever done are spinning [which I love(d)]. I don’t know how I fell off the wagon with those… Anyways, since I am working on diversifying my exercise, I think classes are the way to go. To start out, I’m going to set small goals for myself. Three classes in February. That’s all. Imposing a set number of classes may seem forced, but I know myself, and if I don’t quantify it or put it in writing, it won’t happen. I’m hoping this will break the ice and I will prove to myself that looking like a fool in front of others isn’t so scary after all.

Aside from spinning, I’d like to try yoga/pilates and some sort of kickboxing/cardio class (that doesn’t involve complicated steps or memorizing routines). I’m not a cheerleader or a dancer for several reasons, and my lack of coordination is only the tip of the iceberg. Want proof? After a few weeks of ballet when I was 5 years old, I was ~~kicked out~~ kindly shown the door. Apparently, the instructor couldn’t recognize my (very) raw talent at such a young age. HA! Oh well, what could be seen as a tragic loss to the ballet world turned into a gain for the soccer community

Moving on. I finally learned how to “cast on” (and don’t worry about not-so-beautiful tan yarn, it’s just a practice skein). HAHA, I sound like such a grandma, I can only imagine the search prompts that I’m going to get now…oh well, at least I don’t live alone with 50 cats, right?

The rest of the day was fairly tradish.

Tazo chai tea with a dollop of coconut milk and agave syrup (instead of stevia) and a PINATA. Yup, I found a new kind of apple! This tasted like a cross between a pink lady and a gala. Me likey

The new caramel flavored Oikos greek yogurt tastes JUST like caramel. It’s insanely sweet (in a good way), although I can see how others may be turned off by it. The ratio of caramel to greek yog was maybe a touch heavy on the caramel end, but my sweet tooth was quite pleased with the proportion. Wow. I am going to be buying these again for sure.

I putzed the afternoon away, knitting, zoning out to the tv, smoothie slurping, etc. Who knows why I thought a frozen drink would be the smart move when it’s barely over 20 degrees, but it’s what my tummy wanted.

Are Larabars shrinking?

After the above Cinnamon Roll Larabar (which has a pretty legit resemblance to a cinnamon roll for being just nuts and dried fruit), I went to the gym and had a mini health assessment thingy (yes, that’s the official title) with a personal trainer. It was not an intended session, but it was free and I figured why not? If nothing else at least now I know where I’m starting from in my whole AAAA. I gotta be honest though, it’s been a while since I’ve stepped foot on a scale, and now I know why. Numbers play with your head. You can be a totally healthy secure person, and BAM!, tell me my weight and percentage body fat, and it’s like, suddenly I care. Anyways, that lasted all of 5 minutes, then I remembered that in my head I have the endurance of Lance Armstrong and that’s really all that matters. It’s my head, so don’t burst my bubble please.

Anyways, I was especially pleased that I wasn’t remotely sore after yesterday’s exercise-athon. Just goes to show you, muscle memory is the real deal (although stretching doesn’t hurt either)!

After a decent gym effort I came home and threw together a salad with the help of Gardein’s meat-free seasoned bites.

The stats can be seen here in detail, but note there are NO artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.

Similar to the last Gardein product I tried, this came in a bag and looked (I hate to say it) kinda vomy.

It’s never very settling to see something you are about to eat mashed up in a see-through plastic bag covered in a sketchy appearing marinade. Attention Gardein peeps – you may want to work on your packaging?! Still, I decided I would give it a shot…but unlike last time’s solo feature, this time I was giving it a go atop a salad.

In the salad: assorted spring lettuce, steamed broccoli, & red bell peppers.

And then…the newbie…Gardein seasoned bites!!

PROS: I said it before, I’ll say it again, these products are easy peasy. The ingredients are decent and free of shady crap, although they are fairly long (something I try to avoid in my food).

CONS: What the eff does “seasoned bites” even mean? It seems a fairly vague name…and upon closer examination, the marinade has a smorgasbord of herbs, which makes me wonder if the hyper-spicing was the result of the company’s indecision or if the non-meat is just way bland without it. Similar to the other Gardein product I tried, I had a bit of an issue with the consistency of the bites. Again, they were too mushy and didn’t resemble any food I have ever had before.

The bottom line, though, is that for a ready-made vegan dish, this is pretty much the cream of the crop. And I do think it’s a great alternative to meat and perfect for someone trying to start a veg lifestyle. Personally, though, I don’t think I will be buying many more of Gardein’s products. They are $$$ and I prefer less packaging and fewer ingredients.

I still have half the package left, so expect to see them again…most likely in a salad where the odd texture can be easily masked with the fresh crunch of veggies.

Can’t get enough of these smoothies!

Posted in big salad, chik'n strips, greek yogurt, larabar, smoothie, soy nuggets | 47 Comments »

An anti-atrophy agenda (part 1)

January 29, 2010 by elise

After I started writing, I realized I had more to say than I thought, so it’s gonna be a three part plan (stay tuned). For now, let’s talk about my ~~tapeworm~~ insatiable appetite. For the life of me, I couldn’t get my hunger in check the other morning.

“Nature is a giver, a true friend and a sustainer.” The same can be said about Justin’s nutbutter. On the english muffin was the “classic” almond butter, and DANG, was it tasty. This is by far my favorite kind of nut butter. I never thought the day would come when I would sell out on my loyal and true peanut butter, but I have to admit, this is THE best nutbutter. Period. Rumor has it they are sold in whole jars (as opposed to the little packets), so I’m gonna need to find some stat. Since I was up at 7 (who knows why), I had two cups of coffee with breakfast, and still my stomach was growling by 11.

I was supposed to meet Kyle and a friend for lunch, so I didn’t wanna ruin my appetite, but something had to be done to quiet the beast in my tum. Enter Blueberry Crisp Clif bar.

Went. Right. Through. Me.

At this point I was annoyed and concerned (dilemma!). I was still abnormally hungry (given the amount I had just eaten), and yet I was supposed to be going to lunch in less than an hour. Ordinarily, I’d just suck it up and arrive for lunch with my stomach growling, but it was starting to get painful. At this point concern set in since my (already fussy) stomach was beginning to act up…and there’s nothing worse than having a fussy GI tract before a lunch date.

Can’t a girl get something with some staying power?

You may think it’s odd that I turned to greek yogurt in a state of inner turmoil, but I know my digestive tract really well and greek yogurt + pumpkin + cinn settled my stomach down before heading out.

Since you are ALWAYS asking for outfit pics, this one’s for you Ethel!! And yes, those a wine bottles on the floor – don’t ask.

For lunch I got a mortar full of guacamole with an entire tree’s worth of avocado. It was glorious. I polished off every tortilla they gave me and then had my way with the chips. Sadly, I barely made it home as my rebellious stomach was, yet again, giving me grief. Sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason. IBS should stand for It’s Bull Sh!t.

After lounging on the couch with a Housewives marathon (giving both my stomach and my brain a rest), I decided to make something nice and benign…a super thick peach smoothie. I used so much xanthan gum this was like legit ice cream texture. Naturally I took a pic of my smoothie ‘stach to send to Janetha. Then I scooped it into a bowl and dug in.

Skrumpsh.

Now. Let’s get to the real stuff. Remember the other day when I said I was working on a game plan for February (an anti-atrophy agenda, if you will)? Well, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to put my Type-A skills to good use.

Yup, it’s a Trapper Keeper!! (Can you tell I like pink?)

Filled with all my ~~deepest darkest secrets~~ planned runs, classes, and anything else that I have on my fitness agenda. I made the cover collage to represent the countdown until I walk down the aisle. It’s 7 months away now, so I think that should be motivating enough, but (since I’m fairly dense and need constant reminders) I put a gorgeous wedding cake with a running shoe on the front cover…two things that are sure fire to light a fire under my a$$.

I also have a few other tricks up my ~~sleeve~~ notebook.

1. Since running is what I love, I know signing up for races is one of the easiest ways to get me pumped. So far I have signed up for two races, one is a 4M in February (just to get the kinks worked out), and the other is a 1/2 marathon in April (to keep me excited about training). I’m all about goals. I love working towards something with a fixed end point (hence my love with running races). Is there any feeling better than crossing a finish line?

Coincidentally, the 1/2 marathon I entered in April is the same one I did last year (and was also my FIRST half ever). I guess I should try to beat my time from 2009, huh?

Anyways, in the interest of putting my best foot forward, I went to the gym and powered through 10 miles on the spin bike, followed by 5 miles on the elliptical. I owe it all to this mix. Seriously, if you need good upbeat workout music, go to that link and download away. I’m super picky about my gym music and I was in the zone for over an hour of cardio without looking at the clock once. As an aside, the DJ who put the mix together happens to be our wedding DJ (and a friend of Kyle’s).

For dinner, I made a monster salad.

San-J Sweet & Tangy Polynesian sauce drizzled over romaine lettuce, green bell peppers, cukes, and chopped up Health is Wealth chik’n nuggets.