Smoothies | Healthy and Sane

It’s a matter of perspective

May 6th, 2010

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how my mindset impacts the outcome (or my perception of the outcome) of the exact same situation. I should credit this food for thought to the Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff book by Richard Carlson, which I’m currently reading.

After a day full of delicious and pretty healthy meals, I found myself snacking on some fresh bread with sundried tomato pesto, which went undocumented. And then of course there were too many almonds. I didn’t feel great afterwards physically but this is where my mindset about this situation could make or break my night, or even the next day. I had 2 choices: understand that some days we are just hungrier than others and also that I have a weakness for roasted almonds which can only be controlled by portioning them out before hand. This is the reasonable approach and if taken, could let me move on with my life… like a normal person. My other choice was to view this as a failed attempt at eating reasonably and mindfully. I am no longer counting calories so listening to my hunger cues is key to maintaining my weight. The problem with the second approach is that of course it’s negative and not constructive. This kind of mindset would only bring me down and make me question other things in my life because that’s exactly what happens when I’m in “that” kind of mood. How many of you believe that the first approach is the right one? How many of you can’t help but take on the second one? The same situation can take on a really different life, depending on your perspective. I’m happy to report that I let this little incident slide. I just brushed it off and ate like I would (read: healthy + yummy eats) the next day (see below). Your perspective can make a big difference. I am questioning my own ways of viewing things and mindfully trying to take the right approach. As a result, I’ve been much happier lately. I think the sunshine may have helped a little too.

Now let’s talk food + fitness

BREAKFAST

Green monster: 1/4 block of silken tofu, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 frozen banana, frozen spinach, frozen organic wild blueberries, 1/4t xantham gum, 1/8t guar gum

Toppings: Zoe’s granola + dried bing cherries

I love the crunchy cereal in every few “bites.” This was a delicious combo

MID-AFTERNOON/PRE-WORKOUT SNACK

I actually ate only 1/2 of this banana. This is definitely one of my favorite snacks, although a big messy.

WORKOUT

We have summer weather here in Boston (like 80*!!) and I’ve been taking full advantage of it by incorporating more outdoor runs. Yesterday I ran for 5.25 miles (taking a short walk in the mega sun at some point for maybe 2 minutes). Warm up + cool down walks also amounted to about a mile. I was a giant sweaty mess at the end. It was a tough run. I’m trying to work up to 6+ miles over this week and maybe even attempt some double digits soon. Man, taking time off from running is really making it difficult for me to come back. I’m determined though.

LUNCH

This next picture is lame but this lunch was delicious!

Ww Tuscane pane, edamame spread, grilled asparagus + grilled peppers, feta cheese

Fantastic sandwich! I just love eating fresh foods like that. It makes me feel so good, knowing how well I’m feeding my body. And seriously, just the thought of this sandwich makes me a little more excited. It was the perfect lunch!

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK

I shared another one of these little packets with Adam at night.

DINNER

Yes, go ahead, start drooling now.

Manchego-stuffed pork chops with roasted red-pepper pepita sauce (recipe can be found here).

+ fiddleheads! I steamed these guys for 7 minutes then quickly sauteed them with garlic and 1tsp of EVOO on a hot skillet. They were so yummy – reminded me of a cross between sauteed spinach and snap peas with a texture of tender asparagus. Yummy.

The manchego stuffed pork chops were of course the stars, though. This recipe was so simple and produced such flavorful results. I forgot how much I love manchego cheese (I nibbled on a little square while prepping this meal). The roasted red pepper-pepita sauce also freshens up the indulgent, cheesy pork chop.

I think it’s going on my favorites list! [PS. I only ate 1/2 of what you see here. 1/2 of a pork chop just doesn't photograph well so I took a picture of the whole thing and saved what I left on the plate for lunch the next day.]

MID-EVENING SNACK (at photography class)

Chocolate white chocolate chip cookie

And once again, I’m running late for work. Story of my life. Peace.

Sometimes you have to break the rules

April 22nd, 2010

I have all these topics I’d like to cover on the blog but somehow new material keeps becoming more relevant every day. I guess we’ll get to all those other things eventually.

So let’s cover a few things today…

1. Apparently even healthy meals with 1 treat may be too much for me some days. Yesterday seemed like a well balanced day. I ate only when I was hungry and I may have eaten a bit past the fullness point but it was all on super healthy and crazy delicious foods so I was okay with it. The hardest thing for me to do is throw away food that I know is good for me and that I LOVE. So yeah, after an amazing salad and a treat (which I knew I didn’t need but I wanted) – I went to bed super full and woke up, if it’s possible, even more full. I forced some coffee with milk into myself after walking up (just to get my metabolism going) but was unable to eat real breakfast for another 3 hours.

Introducing BREAKFAST:

Green monster: 1/4 block of silken tofu, 1/2 cup skim milk, 5 giant frozen organic strawberries, 1/2 banana, a few cups of fresh spinach.

Toppings: Zoe’s granola, kashi golean cereal, raw cacao nibs

These pictures are atrocious but I overfilled this bowl and couldn’t bring it to the table I usually photograph my food at (the lighting is slightly better there). What I can say is that it was one of the best smoothies I’ve ever made!!!!! The cacao nibs tasted just like chocolate in this (I usually find them bitter). I think they soaked the sweetness from the cereal and the natural sugars in the banana + strawberries. Yum!

2. Emotional eating is hard to stop sometimes, even when you realize you are doing it. Sometimes it doesn’t seem as important. Sometimes food is soothing and that’s ok (just don’t do it every day!!). Sometimes you can break the rules!

Introducing DINNER:

Stonyfield cookies ‘n cream organic frozen yogurt with TJ’s organic chocolate flavored syrup

Oh yes, and this:

Didn’t stand a chance! Picture is of the wrapper.

I felt bad because although I was satisfied with my “dinner,” I didn’t feel like cooking anymore and Adam was on his own. His dinner: cereal.

LUNCH had no other significance than being amazing –> healthy + delicious = a winning combo!

Mixed greens, heirloom grape tomatoes, Niman Ranch ham, tamari roasted chickpeas, goat cheese, Samira’s baba ganoush + 1T Annie’s goddess dressing.

I could seriously eat this every day of my life and be happy. SO good! I also had an orange for dessert (unpictured because we all know what oranges look like ).

Do you break the rules sometimes and still feel healthy?

Friends make everything better

April 7th, 2010

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, once again I want to thank you all for your wonderfully supportive comments on my last post. I will admit, though, that the morning was rough and that I felt like a bit of a hypocrite reading about how “great my attitude was.” I felt sick and I knew I did this to myself.

No worries, though, because I feel fantastic today!!!! Weeeee I’m going to thank you and a few friends I was able to meet up during the day that just made yesterday a really great day despite a slow start. As planned, during lunch I met up with Shannon for a long walk. It was exactly what I needed. We just walked briskly, sweating and catching up on all things non-food related and then I dove into it and just spilled everything I’ve had on my mind recently – all the conflicting thoughts, all the behaviors I’m ashamed of. She had no “answers” (she often goes through the same struggles) but it was just really good to get it all out of my system. Go to Shannon’s blog and thank her for the little therapy session we had, otherwise I would have written novels and novels here. Haha. Seriously, it’s amazing how a brisk walk with a friend really clears your head. You guys should try it sometime!

BREAKFAST

So I wasn’t hungry in the morning but I knew I needed to eat. The perfect solution – SIAB (smoothie in a bowl).

This guy contained: 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 water, 1/2 frozen banana, frozen mango chunks, frozen organic strawberries, frozen spinach, almond butter, 1/4t xantham gum, 1/8t guar gum

It tasted like a refreshing sorbet!!! I added some Kashi GoLean cereal on top, mostly for esthetics but actually ended up enjoying the crunch. Awesome, awesome breakfast!!!

LUNCH

After a long walk, my hunger finally came back. I was super happy about that because this lunch was amazing and I didn’t want to just eat it like a robot.

Leftover spinach, artichoke, chickpea and tomato frittata

I know the pictures don’t make it look like anything special, but please trust me – this is a fantastic dish! Make it and you won’t regret it!!!!!

For lunch dessert, I had an orange.

MID-AFTERNOON SNACKS

Needed a sugar fix…

And then some more food to tie me over until a 7pm dinner – 1/2 FFL english muffin with 1T Barney Butter and 1/2 banana + tea

I forgot how much I love this snack – it’s so comforting. You will likely see it again tomorrow.

DINNER WITH FRIENDS

So we had some fun dinner plans as well. Adam and I met up with Melissa (@mgonyeo – she’s a twitter goddess!!) and husband Josh at American Craft for dinner + drinks. Josh writes a beer blog so we wanted to make sure he could try some fun new beers. I knew the beer menu would be fantastic, but I’m always nervous about eating at a bar. Food just always seems secondary and for me that’s just not good enough.

I started the evening with Ommegang Hennepin as per Adam’s suggestion

I loved this beer!! It’s a saison, which I usually like. Has a very full body and a very smooth taste. Later Adam told me it had 9% alcohol. Well, I couldn’t tell from the taste! Good thing I have high tolerance, though, huh? Jeez

For my meal, I decided to get a burger. American Craft offers a “make your own burger” with a natural beef, turkey or veggie base, then lots of creative toppings. I ordered a veggie burger with cheddar, garlicky greens and mushrooms + mixed greens.

The veggie burger was homemade at the restaurant and as per the waitress, was their take on falafel. This was my very first time having a veggie burger at a restaurant because they usually have onions (this one only had onion powder, which went undetected by me). You guys, this was the best veggie burger I’ve ever had!!!!!!!

It was soft and slightly chewy + super flavorful and all the toppings of my choosing were great as well. The garlicky greens were VERY garlicky and I love me some garlic. Hopefully I wasn’t breathing it onto everyone. The challah bun was also out of this world amazing. I originally planned on only having half of this, but there was no way I could stop myself at just that. It was seriously amazing. The mixed greens instead of fries also insured that I wasn’t in a food coma for the rest of the night. I did steal a few fries from Adam.

So after some food (everyone liked their meals, btw – we’ll definitely be back. I will be craving that burger without a doubt!!), we decided to try our luck at getting a table at the Publick House. The Publick House is very famous around these parts but this also means that there is always a wait… as we found out, even on a Tuesday. It’s ok, we waited patiently, with a few drinks in our hands.

I got a pint of the Original Sin hard cider. Creepsville (haha, Adam – just for you!)

About half an hour later, we finally got a table. Hi, Josh and Melissa!

Josh was a smart man and ordered a cheese plate – gruyere on the left, chimay on the right

I had 2 toasts with both cheeses and a bit of the whole grain mustard (which btw tasted like nothing). I believe the bread had some cheese baked into it – it was excellent. Both cheeses were great too – I surprisingly preferred the creamier chimay (usually I’m a hard cheese kinda girl). It tasted like a harder and slightly stronger brie. Yum!

We all stayed past our bedtime, leaving the restaurant at 10:15. It was just so much fun. Thanks, Melissa and Josh, for driving all the way to Brookline to meet with us. I think a day spent with friends is what the doctor prescribed for me. Oh, and I just have to say this….. 2 more days until Aruba! Yay!!!!

If you’d like to guest post on Healthy and Sane while I’m away, please send your posts to elina@healthyandsane.com by tonight (Wednesday) or the latest tomorrow morning. Thanks so much! K, back to the grind….

It’s a matter of perspective

Sometimes you have to break the rules

Friends make everything better

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