Tag Archives: food

If Hunger is the Problem, Food is the Solution

Diet, Dietitian, Food, hunger, Snacks, weight loss, , , , , , ,

Yesterday I was so hungry. I wanted to snack my way through my afternoon. I am working on weight loss so how much I eat is a factor. I try to eat enough food to fuel my body without eating more than I need at any one time.

Here’s the question – a person is working on weight loss and is hungry in the afternoon, what should they do?

Some common answers might be:

  • Ignore it, the hunger will pass
  • Drink a huge amount of water to fill up your stomach
  • Eat a snack pack bag of carrots (low calorie) or a boiled egg (protein) and then stop
  • Give up, go off the diet, feel bad, pledge to start again tomorrow

I’ve heard all these answers in practice and they don’t address the problem in a realistic way. There is a mindful eating saying that if hunger isn’t the problem, food isn’t the solution. (Read that again). So true and if I were bored or pissed off, then food wouldn’t be what I needed. However… I was hungry!

Isn’t the flip side of that saying: If hunger is the problem, then food is the solution?

Here’s the thing, our bodies are not steady-state machines in terms of how much energy (calories) they need each day because we don’t ask our bodies to do the same things every day AND all those inside workings are different day-to-day (immune responses, stress, etc.).

Some days, I may not need much food; my hunger will be low and I should take advantage and eat less if weight loss is my goal. As long as I ensure adequate nutrition that is – please don’t eat less than your BMR!

Other days, I may need more food (energy) and my body will let me know it’s hungry and so I should… well, according to the answers above… I should ignore that and eat by my plan. I should deprive myself, tell myself I’m a failure if I eat in response to hunger, fight through it because weight loss is hard and this is expected. I should basically spend the afternoon fighting a mental war between my body and mind.

Um, no. Why be so unkind to yourself?

Here’s the question again – a person is working on weight loss and is hungry in the afternoon, what should they do?

Eat.

Simple. Easy. Honoring your body and loving yourself.

First, check in and make sure the hunger physiological. If it is, then FEED YOUR BODY!

Here’s how this dietitian handled a ravenous appetite:

  • A handful of fresh cherries and about a cup of fresh blackberries. Wait. Still hungry.
  • Add protein. A fresh apple with a little tub (3/4 oz. or a heaping Tbsp.) of peanut butter. Wait. Still hungry.
  • Add protein / healthy fat. Pecans, Just under an ounce. Wait Still hungry. Are you kidding me body???
  • Bring out those carbohydrates. A Flatout with 1 Tbsp. of light olive oil butter, a sprinkle of Splenda, cinnamon. Wait. Finally satiation! No more hunger!

I added nearly 600 calories in snacks yesterday and that put my total calories up a little higher than usual. So what? I ate to satisfy my hunger! Nutritious choices = more food! Choosing a convenience crispy-crunchy or chocolately snack would not have satisfied my hunger. I instead made nutritious choices and got to eat a whole lot until I felt satisfied.

Are you shaking your head at me and saying: I bet you put on weight by giving in to your cravings and eating all that food. Nope. I weigh in every morning and I’m up 0.2 lbs this morning, which is 100% water-not-weight variation. If in doubt, see my last post: Weight Loss: A Long and Winding Road.

The moral of my story is – feed yourself when you are hungry and do it with healthful choices.

(Image for blog from: https://memegenerator.net/)

Meal Plan Yumminess

Diet, Dietitian, Food, health, Healthy Diet, meal plan, meal planning, Recipe, , , , , , ,

It’s been a while since I posted a meal plan and I’m back with a delicious week of meals to share with you. I’ve been faithfully planning and prepping and have started to get a little bored with the same old meals. This week, I added a few new recipes.

Do as much prep as you can over the weekend. I chop omelet veggies, make overnight oats, boil eggs (last 5 days if they don’t crack!), make mason jar salads, and do whatever else I can to prepare ahead of time. Notice this week is heavier in cooking the first few days but then relies on leftovers to get through the week.

Not listed is a Chocolate Chia Pudding dessert I’ll be making when I sign off from here because chocolate. Yum.

Sunday: 

B – Egg white omelet made with egg whites, shredded cheddar/jack, onions, mushrooms, and spinach served with a piece of toast with olive oil butter. TIP: Do your breakfast prep for the week by chopping onions and mushrooms that have been cleaned with a paper towel (no water!) and storing in mason jars – you still have to cook; but the chopping is the time-consuming part so this saves time in the morning!

L – White Bean Caprese Salad (added chopped raw videlia onions) served on spinach/romaine lettuce.

D – Baked tofu (press, cube, toss with Italian salad dressing and bake) mixed with zucchini carpaccio (pictured with this blog). Note to self: invest in a mandolin.

S – Boiled egg; cucumbers and Zesty Carrot Hummus – you seriously must try this! DELISH!

Monday:

B – omelet with toast

L – Loaded Sweet Potato

D – Strawberry Cucumber Salad (with balsamic glaze – yes please!) and (Chicken) Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats. 

S – Apple with Laughing Cow Cheese

Tuesday:

B – Overnight Oats (were prepped over weekend so easy breezy breakfast) with a sliced banana.

L – Leftover White Bean Caprese Salad on lettuce/spinach

D – Leftover Sausage Boats and Strawberry Cucumber Salad

S – Kefir and blackberries

Wednesday:

B – Overnight Oats with banana

L – Leftover Loaded Sweet Potato

D – Baked fish, steamer vegetables, quinoa

S – Egg salad (egg, mayo) with carrots

Thursday:

B – Overnight Oats with banana

L – Mason Jar Salad (prepped over weekend) with a boiled egg and blue cheese crumbles

D – Fish Bowls (leftover fish, quinoa, chipotle, jalapeno, veggies, sour cream – whatever is on hand and needs to be eaten but with a Mexican twist).

S – Apple with carrot hummus

Friday:

B – Omelet with toast

L – Leftover Loaded Sweet Potato

D – Turkey burgers (tomato, lettuce, red onion, avocado, cheese) and fries (yes – the splurge meal happens for me too!)

S – Kefir and blackberries

Saturday: 

B – Overnight Oats

L – Mason Jar Salad with tuna packet (buffalo tuna is so yum).

D – Turkey Burger Bowls (chopped burger, lettuce, tomato, pickles, blue cheese and the rest of the chopped food that needs to be eaten!

S – Carrots with carrot hummus

Thanks for the inspiration as always to Clean Eating Magazine (just the recipes please people, not the articles! Food is NOT “clean” or “dirty” unless of course, it needs to be washed), SkinnyTaste (easy, low calorie, and crazy good recipes) and this week to my new find, Minimalist Baker.

Let me know if you try any recipes this week and if you like the Meal Plan posts!

Overnight Oats

Dietitian, Food, Healthy Diet, Heart Healthy, meal planning, oatmeal recipe, overnight oats, Recipe, , , , , , ,

“Getting what you want is simple, but not easy.” – Mel Robbins.

I believe this is true when applied to nutrition. I think many of us know WHAT to do – nutrition is really simple once you get away from the hype of the media and uneducated bloggers. We just struggle with ACTUALLY DOING IT – it isn’t easy!

To further my mission of “heart healthy nutrition made easy,” I bring you a way to fit a healthy breakfast into your meal planning. I love the ease of the week when I take the time to do meal preparation on the weekends. In fact, my husband and I have only eaten out about 8 times since the year began five months ago. That was not our goal; but is a happy unanticipated consequence of having a plan in place.

One of the best perks of meal prep is having a hot breakfast for very little work. I’ve been accomplishing this with overnight oats and with pre-chopped vegetables for omelets or “scrambles” if I’m in a hurry. Mason jars are AMAZING for keeping my chopped onion and mushrooms (cleaned with a paper towel, not water) fresh through the week!

However, in my work with my patients lately, I have been hard pressed to find an overnight oats recipe online that works for all of my patients – especially those working on blood sugar control. Once you add oats, dairy, and fruit together, you’ve got a small jar carbohydrate delight that is just an overload for the morning meal.

Note – carbohydrates are NOT bad. Carbohydrates are AWESOME! However, many people tend to eat tooooo many of them. So, please DO NOT ban or severely limit carbohydrates; but many of us could do with reigning in our portion sizes a bit.

Without further ado – my basic overnight oats recipe is below. This serving provides 215 calories and 30 grams of carbohydrates per jar. Feel free to add more fruit and nuts and other assorted yumminess to fit your needs and preferences.

Oh and by the way, Mel Robbins 20 minute video is so worth the time!

Click the recipe title for a printer-friendly version!

Simple-Overnight-Oats

Serves one

Ingredients

1/3 cup of old-fashioned or quick cooking plain oats

2/3 cup of unsweetened almond milk

1 tablespoon of chia seeds

1 Tablespoon peanut butter powder (no sugar added)

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1.  Put all ingredients into a Mason jar or other container and stir to combine.
  2. Store in refrigerator at least overnight (can be made up to 5 days in advance and stored in fridge!)

To serve: This can be eaten cold or hot (microwave 1-2 minutes but do NOT microwave in a plastic container).

Nutrition per serving (entire recipe): 215 calories, 8 grams fat, 7 grams unsaturated fats, 1 gram saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 165 milligrams sodium, 30 grams carbohydrates, 10 grams fiber, 8 grams protein.

NOTES:

The chia seeds act as a thickener (in addition to be a great heart healthy food!) but they are expensive so you can try leaving them out or substituting ground flaxseed.

For those counting carbohydrates to manage blood sugar:  Don’t forget to add your carb grams for any fruit or sweeteners you add!

Bag Full of Heart Healthy Foods

No More Excuses for Fast Food!

Diet, Dietitian, Fast Food, Food, Healthy Diet, Lunch, meal plan, Snacks, , , , , ,

I get it. You’re busy, you’re tired, you don’t have time for meal planning, grocery shopping, meal prepping. You think your only option is that fast food drive through or the quick convenience restaurants.

I completely disagree.

We are ALL busy, tired, and don’t have free time to do all that planning and preparation. You have no less hours in your days that anyone else. You have chosen how to prioritize your time and to what and whom you give your time and effort. I’m not trying to make you feel any certain way but I can already hear your reasons that it’s not your choice and there is nothing you can do to change it.

Perhaps that is true for some people. I’ve been a caretaker for a family member going through a multiple year crisis and I found myself not taking care of myself at first. After devoting all my energy to care-taking, I realized I needed to take care of me too and I found a way to fit it in. (Anyone else ever walked the parking garage stairs and levels at a hospital? Yep, me too).

The thing is – we pay for our choices one way or the other. We pay in dollars and health when we routinely eat most choices available for a quick lunch (and we save time and effort). We pay in time and effort spent every evening or in a block of time on the weekends to meal plan, shop, and cook dinner (and we save our health and dollars). You get to decide which is more important for you in this moment.

The good news is that YOU have the power to shift your schedule and priorities. Maybe not completely; but I challenge you to find ONE SMALL THING over which you have control and can make a change.

Trust me – you’ll feel better if you do. 🙂

So, to help you realize that you DO have some control to choose something simple – like a healthier lunch or snacks – I bring you my “I’m-starving-and-have-nothing-to-eat-for-lunch” list for the grocery store. These are grab-and-go meals and snacks that you can choose instead of a fast food meal. (Spoiler alert – that fast food salad likely has more calories and less nutrition than the bacon cheeseburger).

  • Lunch?
    • Tuna (or salmon packet or packaged grilled chicken strips) mixed into prepared green salad (from produce section) with dressing of your choice
    • 1 whole wheat roll with sliced meat and cheese (all from the deli so you get only what you need!) plus a mustard packet and box of high-fiber crackers
      • Bonus – now you’ve got crackers to stash at your desk for snack-time!
    • Sushi roll with edamame (if store has this option)
    • Diced fruit and nuts on cottage cheese (major yum!)
  • Going back to the office?
    • Frozen dinner and steamer bag of vegetables (no sauces please)
    • Can of low-sodium soup plus green salad (from produce section) with dressing
  • Snacks?
    • Cheese stick with those crackers you stashed in your desk
    • Chopped fruit from produce section with a handful of nuts
    • Yogurt with Grape Nuts (really, don’t spend money on “granola” or “trail mix” as Grape Nuts give you the crunch without added sugar or ridiculous price!)
    • Apple with peanut butter (single packs are now sold! Try the natural no-sugar-added kind)

Oh, and do yourself one more favor and just grab a simple, cold, refreshing bottle of water (or fill up your bottle!) on your way out of the store.

Tell me  your other ideas and tricks for eating healthy when crunched for time?

 

A Weekly Meal Planner

“ASPIRE” – Six Steps to Healthy Meal Planning

Diet, Dietitian, Food, Healthy Diet, , , , , ,

The one best thing you can do to make healthier, nutrition-rich meals, save time and money, and make life easier is to plan your meals ahead of time. You need a strategy to plan healthy meals. If you wait until you are hungry and tired at the end of the day, figuring out what to make for dinner is not easy and you’re more likely to choose something fast, easy, and unhealthy. However, this is one of the things that my clients find the hardest to do.

I’m here to help you “make nutrition easy,” so here is my strategy for you.

Grab some paper, a pen, and ASPIRE to plan your meals. Remembering this acronym will guide you through a simple way to plan meals that are healthy, yummy, and reduce your grocery expenses! I designed my free Weekly Menu Planner just for this! You can use any format as long as you have one column for each day of the week.

A = Agenda

The first thing to do is check your agenda for any commitments, meetings, and changes to your usual schedule. Also check the calendars of the others in your household. This is important so you know which nights you have time to make a meal and which nights you don’t and should plan for leftovers. It also lets you know which nights you need quick and easy meals and which nights you can spend more time on your meal creations. You can also note the days that you have to be out of the house early and may benefit from packing your a lunch the night before. Write down everyone’s commitments that have an impact on meals on the weekly menu planner.

S = Stock

What do you already have on stock, on par, or in your pantry and fridge? Flip your weekly menu planner over and make a list of all the foods in your fridge and pantry (your “stock foods”) on the left side of the back of the paper.

P = Promotions

Check the store promotions. What is on sale this week? What do you have coupons for? We all want to stretch our food dollars and this is one way to do it. If you don’t clip coupons, go to the grocery store’s web site as many are now allowing their customers to electronically collect coupons on reward cards or by their phone number. You can also check one of my favorite coupon sites, Southern Savers, for printable coupons. On the right side of the back of your weekly menu planner, write down the “promotions foods” you plan to buy based on sales, coupons, and promotions.

I = Invent

Put on your creative chef’s hat, and invent meals you can put together using only foods on your list of “stock foods.” If you can’t make anything with what you have in stock, then figure out what you can add from the list of “promotion foods” to make a meal with your  “stock foods”. The idea is to use as few foods from the “promotion foods” list so you make as many meals as you can without spending money on new foods! Once you have invented a few meal ideas, flip your weekly meal planner over and put the meals where they fit best based on your schedule.

A Weekly Meal Planner
A Weekly Meal Planner

Tips

  • Google is your friend. I made this delicious Puff Pastry Tart just by putting “puff pastry,” “spinach,” “sweet potato,” and “healthy easy recipe” into Google!
  • Cook more than you need so you have leftovers from every time you cook! A few tweaks and one night’s baked chicken, sauteed mushrooms and zucchini, and brown rice transform into the second night’s chicken quesadillas.
  • Make the first meal on your weekly planner one that you have all the ingredients for… just in case you don’t make it to the store right away.
  • This is the hard part and it takes time – so save every weekly meal planner you create to re-use for those weeks you don’t want to spend the time and effort doing all this work.
  • Use the food group tallies on the bottom of my weekly meal planner to make sure you are including food from all food groups in your meal plans. Don’t know how many of each food group to include? Here’s a guideline based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

R = Run

Get out and run those errands! Use your list of “promotions foods” to make a shopping list. Clip your coupons. Go to the grocery store and do your shopping.

E = Execute

You spent all that time and effort making a plan, now execute your plan.

Post the weekly meal planner in the kitchen where you can see it. If you have helpers at home, let them know they can start prepping foods for dinners before you get home.

Most importantly, be flexible. This plan is an outline and life happens. You may have forgotten you need fish for one dinner… just push that meal back to another day. You may decide that you are way too tired to cook one night… just pick up your plan the next night.

Always have a Plan B Meal in mind. In my home, it is either flatbread pizza or turkey burgers and sweet potato fries. We always have the ingredients in stock  and, on those nights we aren’t feeling our meal plan, we have a yummy 20-minute, low-effort dinner.

Let me know if you like my strategy. I hope you ASPIRE to give meal planning a try this week!

Delicious, Easy, and Healthy Vegan CrockPot Quinoa Chili

Eat More Beans! Crockpot Quinoa Chili Recipe (Vegan)

Dietitian, Food, Grains, Healthy Diet, Heart Healthy, Quinoa, Recipe, Vegan, Vegetarian, , , , , , , , ,

Imagine this. You are in the grocery store and you need to buy some beans. In one hand, you hold a can of beans. In the other hand, you hold a bag of dried beans. Which one do you buy?

You probably consider a few things before you decide.

The first consideration may be convenience. The canned beans are ready to go. You can throw those in the microwave and have hot, cooked beans in just a couple of minutes. The dried beans will take much more time because you have to soak them for many hours and then cook them for another couple of hours. Do you have time for this? Do you know how to cook dried beans? Will you forget and then have to come up with a Plan B dinner?

The second consideration may be nutrition. Beans are a nutrition-packed food! If you cook dried beans, then in 1/2 cup of black beans you get 7 grams of protein, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 14 grams of fiber, and 10% daily value of iron with only 115 calories, 1/2 gram of fat, and no cholesterol or sodium! If you choose the canned beans, much of this stays the same; but you get more sodium. If you choose regular black beans, that 1/2 cup can have 500 milligrams of sodium and reduced sodium black beans can have 240 milligrams of sodium. Some canned products are also packaged in cans that have BPA.

Many people don’t consider cost because those other two things are more important. A 15 ounce can of beans gives you approximately 1 3/4 cups of beans for $1.00 to $3.00. A 16 ounce bag of dried beans contains 3 1/4 cups of dried beans which gives you about 9 cups of cooked beans for about  $1.00 to $2.00. If you do the work of cooking dried beans, you get about five times a much for your money!

I used dried beans most of the time and save canned beans for when I don’t want to rely on myself to remember to cook dried beans the day before I need them or I decided on having beans for dinner on the day I grocery shop. I went in search of dried bean recipes that eliminated the need to cook the beans the day before. After reviewing a few recipes for cooking times and methods and a few trial runs, here is what I ended up with.

Crockpot Quinoa Chili

Makes 9 cups cooked chili

Prep time: 15 minutes, Cook time: 6 hours 15 minutes

Skill level: low

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups dried pinto beans

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed

1 teaspoon or 2 cloves minced garlic

2 cups frozen corn

1 package (10 ounces) spinach

2 cups low-sodium salsa

1/2 large red onion, chopped

5 cups water

1/2 teaspoon each: Hot Shot (red/black pepper blend) and red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon of each ground spice: turmeric, paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin, and chipotle chile pepper

Quinoa Chili Ingredients
Ingredients – Yes, those are pinto beans from Hatch, New Mexico courtesy of a great neighbor!

Directions

1. Layer all ingredients except spices in crockpot in order listed above.

2. Cook on high heat for one hour and then reduce to low heat for five hours. If home, stir occasionally making sure beans and quinoa stay covered by liquid.

3. Add spices and stir before serving.

Quinoa Chili Start
How it starts…

Nutrition Information per 1-cup serving: 138 calories, 1 gram fat (0 saturated, 0 trans), 0 milligrams cholesterol,  225 milligrams sodium, 34 grams carbohydrate, 13 grams fiber, 8 grams protein.

Serving suggestion: Stir in plain Greek yogurt (not vegan!) to cool it down or top with chopped chipotle peppers and hot sauce to kick it up a notch! I added homemade cornbread muffins on the side (also not vegan) following this recipe and sliced tomatoes.

Delicious, Easy, and Healthy Vegan CrockPot Quinoa Chili
Delicious, Easy, and Healthy Vegan CrockPot Quinoa Chili

 

Prepping for the Tart

Weekly Meal Plan: Puff Pastry Tart & Cottage Cheese Enchilada

Dietitian, Food, Healthy Diet, Recipe, Vegetarian, , , , ,

This is the first in a new recurring post. My plan is to do my personal meal planning for the week and then share the recipes and tips from the week with you. My hope is that you will try something new and be inspired with your own weekly meal planning.

One of my recipes this week was based on the foods I had that needed to be used, specifically a big bag of spinach and thawed puff pastry. I found a recipe for a Sweet Potato, Spinach, and Caramelized Onion Tart with Balsamic Reduction that sounded delicious and I had every single ingredient on hand. I reduced the amount of oil from 3 Tbsp to 1/2 Tbsp only used when caramelizing the onions; but that can even be swapped out for starting the onions with cooking spray. If you are trying to improve your cholesterol numbers, use the olive oil and if you are trying to reduce calories, use the cooking spray. I also replaced the honey with agave syrup (what I had) and used about 1/2 Tbsp for the balsamic reduction, which thickened up beautifully!

Prepping for the Tart
Prepping for the Tart

I found this to be scrumptious… but… the toppings were too thick. If you make this, I’d recommend using half the spinach and onions (or make two tarts). I piled it up anyway and I think this contributed to the pastry being a bit doughy in the middle (or it could have been that I should have cooked it a little bit longer). I also recommend you serve this on a day that you’ve had enough protein (meat, dairy foods, eggs, beans, nuts, etc.) since it is low in protein. I served this with grape tomatoes that I halved and roasted with mozzarella cheese on top. One tart serves 2-4 people depending on their appetites and what else you serve it with.

Tart Ready for the Oven
Tart Ready for the Oven

My other new recipe this week was enchiladas. I’ve been playing with using cottage cheese in cooking. While I love cottage cheese on its own; I’m kind of enthralled with cooking with it right now. Last week, I made lasagna rolls and they were delicious. I’ll be tweaking that recipe and posting it here in the future. I found myself with 1-cup of cottage cheese and I found a Cottage Cheese Enchiladas recipe. I’m not a huge fan of corn tortillas so I had to purchase those and I need your advice on these (see below).

Of course, I modified this recipe as well. We were out of cheddar cheese so I used shredded mozzarella as the only cheese, I omitted the chives and lime wedge, and I made the enchilada sauce. The sauce was simple, I used diced tomatoes (what I had) and pureed those in the food processor, then added chipotle powder, cumin, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper and a touch of Splenda. Perfection! To the filling, I added some boiled chicken I had since my dog is currently not feeling well and is on a chicken and rice diet. Omit the chicken to keep this vegetarian.

Enchilada Filling
Enchilada Filling

These were INCREDIBLE in terms of flavor; but they completely fell apart. So, readers, if you know how to handle corn tortillas so they don’t fall apart, please comment on this post – I need your help since I will be making this dish again. I served this with chips and salsa and a side salad of halved grape tomatoes, diced avocado, and lime juice. As you can see, it makes a hefty portion!

A Whole Lotta Enchilada
A Whole Lotta Enchilada

I do apologize for the quality of the photographs. My wonderful husband got me a Galaxy Tablet for the holiday and I am still learning how to best use the camera… and to be honest, hunger was a factor in not having the patience to get that perfect picture!

Yummy Southern Shrimp Scampi

Southern Shrimp Scampi

Dietitian, Food, Heart Healthy, Recipe, Shrimp, , , , , ,

Yes, shrimp scampi can be heart healthy! With a few adjustments, this dish becomes low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium and yet is still chock full of flavor.

I believe a traditional scampi would include lemon and butter; but I used what I had on hand from the wonderful UNF Ogier Gardens. I ended up with a scampi that has okra and kale. Since these are traditional southern ingredients, I named this southern scampi.

This recipe is one the came together as I cooked it and so the ingredients are estimations. I did not measure ahead of time and I ended up with 3 servings (an odd number for a recipe, I  know!) and leftover spaghetti. If you want more or less of an ingredient or don’t think the consistency is right (too watery or too dry), please make adjustments to the amounts listed.

Yummy Southern Shrimp Scampi
Yummy Southern Shrimp Scampi

Southern Shrimp Scampi

(Makes 3 servings)

Ingredients

  •  1/2 package of spaghetti (I used Dreamfields but recommend whole wheat)
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons minced garlic
  • 6 okra pods, chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth, divided
  • 1/2 cup white wine, divided
  • 3 large Dino (lacinato) kale leaves, stems removed, cut into 1-inch square pieces
  • 3 button mushrooms, sliced
  • 15 medium raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, each one cut into 3 pieces
  • Garlic powder, to taste
  • Italian seasoning, to taste
  • Pecorino-Romano cheese, grated, to taste

Directions:

  1. Begin spaghetti by boiling water. Add spaghetti and cook to desired tenderness. Drain and set aside until sauce is prepared.
  2. While pasta water is coming to a boil, begin sauce by heating oil in saucepan. When heated, add garlic and sauté 1 minute – do not let it brown.
  3. Add okra and cook, stirring frequently for about 2 minutes. Add half of vegetable broth and white wine and simmer, stirring frequently until okra begins to soften, about 5 minutes.
  4. Add kale and mushrooms and cook until kale begins to wilt.
  5. Add shrimp and the remaining vegetable broth and white wine. Simmer and stir frequently until shrimp is pink and cooked through.
  6. Sprinkle liberally with garlic powder, Italian seasoning and stir to combine.

To serve: top 3/4 cup of spaghetti with 1/3 of southern shrimp scampi sauce, sprinkle with a small amount of  pecorino-romano cheese. Serve hot.

Per Serving: 310 calories, 7 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 4 milligrams cholesterol, 290 milligrams sodium, 38 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 14 grams protein

Let me know what you think. I’d love to hear about any adjustments you make!

Mangia!

The Vegan Experiment – Day Four: All Protein Powder is Not Created Equal

Dietitian, Food, Recipe, Vegan, Vegetarian, , , , , ,

I made two breakfasts on Day Four. It is rare that I make something that is inedible. Even my most crazy flavor combinations result in edible, even if unusual, dishes. This was not the case on this day. I had to toss my first breakfast. It was truly that bad. Most protein powders that I’ve used have anywhere from 16-22 grams of protein in a scoop. Since plants do not contain as much protein as the other foods used to make protein powders (whey, soy, etc.), the amount of powder that has to be used to get to 21 grams of protein is huge. It completely overpowered my usually-delicious pumpkin pie oatmeal. I couldn’t eat it. I almost forced myself since I dread throwing away food; but I just couldn’t make myself eat it.

So, here we go – food pictures!

Breakfast #1: Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal – adapted from Clean Eating Magazine. I’m sharing the recipe because if you make this with vanilla whey protein powder, it is very yummy!

First, start your oatmeal on the stove by boiling 2 parts water, adding 1 part whole oats (example: 2/3 cup water and 1/3 cup oats), and then simmering until the desired consitency. While simmering, mix one scoop protein powder with a tiny bit of water and stir into a paste. You can see the plant protein powder took up half the bowl!

Nearly half a bowl-full of plant protein powder to get 21 grams of protein
Nearly half a bowl-full of plant protein powder to get 21 grams of protein

Next take the same measuring cup you just used for measuring your oatmeal and water, and fill it half with pumpkin puree (no salt) and half with sliced almonds. If you use the same measuring cup, then you can easily adjust this recipe for any amount of oatmeal without having to do any food math!

Pumpkin puree and sliced almonds
Pumpkin puree and sliced almonds

Once the oats are cooked, simply add them to the bowl with the protein powder and stir in the pumpkin and almonds. Top this with a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Breakfast #2:  Kashi Heart to Heart Honey Toasted Oats cereal with almond milk, sliced almonds, and raisins. Coffee with almond milk and splenda. Thank you to Jason McDonald for commenting on my blog post to add nuts to cereal because it made me realize I can add some protein and fun to a basic cereal!

Pumped up cereal
Pumped up cereal

Post-workout Snack: Smoothie made with banana, pineapple, peanut butter, and flaxseed. Blend with as much ice and water as it takes to get the volume and consistency that you like.

Smoothie in progress
Smoothie in progress
Smoothie completed!
Smoothie completed!

Lunch: Hummus wrap (homemade with chickpeas, olive oil, garlic, curry powder, and salt) with lettuce, tomato, and cucumber served with pretzel sticks.

The insides of the hummus wrap
The insides of the hummus wrap

Snack #2: almonds

Dinner: Whole wheat spaghetti with homemade sauce of onions, tomatoes, garlic, silken tofu, marinara sauce, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and fresh basil served with sandwich thin garlic toast (olive oil, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning). For this, I first sauted the onions then added the chopped garlic and chopped tomatoes and let those cook just a little. Then I added the marinara sauce and tofu and cooked to heat through. Last step was seasoning with the spices. It looks a little weird as a sauce due to how the tofu stirred in to the sauce in a chunky way. If I make this again, I’ll blend the sauce as a last step to make it smooth. Regardless of what it looked like, it was good! I think this was extra yummy due to the organic onions and basil from the university’s garden!

Pretty tomatoes, onions, and garlic
Pretty tomatoes, onions, and garlic
Vegan spaghetti
Vegan spaghetti
Mangia!
Mangia!

One victory for today is the realization that my usual urge to (over)-snack on the days that I work from home is greatly diminished following this plan. That’s usually a huge struggle for me and I give in to the temptation to graze all day even thought I’m not hungry. Today, I had that urge for a minute and I was able to overcome it. Overall, I’m feeling good and strong; still gassy but my body is (finally!) adjusting to the extra fiber it’s starting to get a little better! My energy levels are normal for me and I can still think clearly and have strength for
yoga class.

In case you are wondering, I did live the vegan lifestyle for five days in a row. I’m just not the fastest blogger. It’s something I’m working on.

Nutrition information: 1415 calories, 235 grams carbohydrates, 46 grams fiber, 395 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 0 trans fat, 0 cholesterol, 55 grams protein, and 1360 milligrams sodium. For the daily values, my numbers were 54% calcium, 77% iron, 30% vitamin D, 36% zinc, and 250% vitamin B12.

Once again, all images are my personal pictures. You may use them as long as you credit me (my name and a link back to my Web site).

A beautiful vegan salad

Vegan Experiment – Day Three: Taking It to the Office

Diet, Food, Vegan, Vegetarian, , , , , , , ,

This was the first day that I was following my vegan diet at work. This added just a little more of a challenge since I had to prepare my lunch and snacks in the morning. I also forgot to photograph my meals while at work, even though I did remember to bring my camera.

Breakfast: Same as previous two days and I’m getting bored with it – Kashi Cinnamon Harvest cereal with almond milk, coffee with almond milk and splenda.

Post-workout Snack: Smoothie with banana, pineapple, and ice/water.

Lunch: Peanut butter and banana sandwich on a sandwich thin.

Snack: Snack: Roasted spicy chickpeas.

Snack: Vegetables from veggie tray (grape tomatoes, baby carrots, snap peas, broccoli).

Dinner: Huge salad with romaine lettuce, broccoli, celery, carrots, mushrooms, snap peas, grape tomatoes, avocado, raisins, roasted chickpeas, sliced almonds, and balsamic vinegar served with triscuits.

A beautiful vegan salad
A beautiful vegan salad

Overall, I have been feeling fine; but I was a little low on energy on this afternoon. I came home and found myself wishing I didn’t have a meal to prepare for dinner, especially a salad – so much chopping! I also am still ridiculously gassy! I ran this morning and was happy to find that I am still properly fueled to enjoy my morning workouts.

My biggest struggle so far has been my ability to meet what I’ve deemed my nutrient goals for some nutrients.

Nutrition information: 1430 calories, 249 grams carbohydrates, 48 grams fiber, 37 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 0 trans fat, 0 cholesterol, 51 grams protein, and 670 milligrams sodium. For the daily values, my numbers were 67% calcium, 65 iron, 33% vitamin D, 12% zinc, and 0 vitamin B12.

Overall, the quality of my diet is good in many ways following a vegan diet; but there are some concerns. I am concerned with my low protein intake (I am for about 55 grams/day minimum) and I haven’t been able to find soy protein in the conventional grocery stores. I went to a supplement store and purchased a plant protein powder. It was expensive and I’m realizing that it may not be possible to easily stick with non-specialty foods and get enough protein as a vegan. Today I was closest to my minimum protein goal (4 grams under). While it sounds weird to say, I think I may not be getting enough sodium either (ranging from 670-890 mg/day); but from what I can find there is no set minimum requirement. The previous two days, it has been difficult to get enough calories; but today I was right where I like to be on workout days!

I’m learning how to better work with this type of diet and my goals.

This has gotten me thinking… My goal was to do this without any specialty products; but perhaps vegans do need to use the specialty products (protein powder, aminos, TVP, etc.) to meet their body’s needs. At least, it would make it much easier to meet the body’s needs. While my food costs for this week were low (before the protein powder purchase); I think if I followed this as a permanent lifestyle, my food budget might increase to account for these products.

As a final thought, I want to hit on one of the miconceptions about veganism. I’m a talker; I talk to anyone and everyone. I stopped by the dollar store to pick up more spices and pretzels and was chatting with the cashier and mentioned that I was doing this vegan challenge. People have such misguided notions about food and nutrition… he asked me how my immunity was, since I wasn’t eating meat, wasn’t I more likely to get sick? Ummm, no. I have learned not to go to deep into nutrition unless people ask, so I just told him I was feeling fine. 🙂 And in case you are wondering, no, a vegan diet does not make anyone who is generally healthy already more likely to get sick.