2 Scoops

Good morning! So glad that my headache is long gone. Last night was no fun!

This morning's breakfast was a big bowl of oat bran with banana, raisins, and Barney Butter. I started with one scoop of Barney Butter on top of my oat bran, but mid-bowl, I went back for a second scoop. My tastebuds love the BB-oat-banana-raisin combo!


Measurements:

1/3 cup oat bran (dry)
2/3 cup water
2 tbsp raisins
1 medium banana
2 tbsp Barney Butter


Leaving my apartment this morning, I noticed my neighbors are already celebrating the fall season. It put a smile on my face seeing an autumn wreath on their door. I love the fall and everything that goes along with it, especially pumpkin-flavored foods! :)


I also embraced the fall season this morning and used my Halloween travel mug, which I filled with iced coffee and vanilla hemp milk.


I thought this article was great-- just had to share their tips for eating well (and shedding pounds). They make a lot of sense to me.

Fight Flab with Ayurveda
From Health, September 2008

Ayurvedic medicine originated in India more than 5,000 years ago—and even then healthy eating was important. John Douillard, PhD, host of the new DVD, Ayurveda for Weight Loss ($20), offers these three tips for shedding pounds Ayurveda-style.

1. Honor mealtime
Turn off the TV and step away from your desk when it’s time to eat. By focusing on your food, you’ll be less likely to overeat.

2. Eat seasonally
Seasonal foods eaten at the right temperature (warm when it’s cold, cold when it’s warm) may boost your metabolism. For example: Eat berries in the spring, chilled watermelon in the heat of the summer, warm steamed veggies in the fall, and chili or stew on those cold winter days.

3. Rethink dinner
Make it a small, supplemental meal, like soup or salad, and eat it before 6 p.m. This approach extends your body’s fasting time before breakfast and helps you burn more fat.

Question of the Day

What are your favorite things about fall?

Me: All things pumpkin, cider donuts, football games, beautiful foliage, sweaters, hiking, apple picking, cool evening runs

Panini Love

Mmmmmmm!! Lunch was de-lic-ious today! Man, do I love paninis... especially those made with olive oil grilled bread, warm, cheesy mozzarella, fresh, ripe tomatoes and basil! Holy hell! Lunch also included a handful of plain M&Ms (not pictured because I scarfed them down before I thought to take a photo) and an Adora dark chocolate disk. (Obviously, I have some wicked chocolate cravings today!)


My afternoon snack is currently sitting on my desk, but I am waiting until both my brain and body are hungry. I recently read an article in Health magazine about how to "Think Thin." One recommendation especially hit home for me: "Are you really hungry? Figure out if your craving is from the neck-up or shoulders-down." The stress (and boredom) of an office desk job sometimes causes me to snack mindlessly or when I am not truly hungry. Intuitive eating is not always easy for me, especially when surrounded by office treats and events with yummy foods. My new goal is to try to become more in-tune with my body's natural hunger cues and snack less when I am not really hungry.

Today's snack: cherries and a Ginger Snap Larabar...


Question of the Day

Today's Question is more for my own understanding, but I thought it may benefit others too. I recently signed up for a new email account (using my new last name)! I've used hotmail for as long as I can remember, but recently switched to gmail. I'm beginning to learn about the many, many, many helpful, cool tools that google has available to its users, but I'd like to learn about even more of them. For those of you who use gmail, what are your favorite google tools?

Thanks, all! :)

Oat Bran-Bulgar Blend

What is better than bulgar for breakfast? Bulgar and oat bran for breakfast! :) I couldn't decide what I was in the mood for this morning, so I had both!


I combined 1/8 cup of bulgar (dry) and 1/4 cup of oat bran (dry) with 1/2 cup of water, added chopped dates and walnuts, and microwaved for 3 minutes. Viola!


I love this new breakfast blend! It's the best of both worlds: chewy, nutty bulgar and mushy, voluminous oat bran in one bowl!


Reader Tips for Avoiding Office Temptations

• Chew gum or pop in a peppermint
  
• Bring my own healthy snacks
• Go take a walk
• Stay as FAR away as possible from the table with the food (out of sight, out of mind!!)
• Plan an afternoon snack
  
• Lots of water!
  
• Allow myself any treat once or twice a week, followed by a nice walk
• Splurge at a fun party or for someone's birthday when everyone is together enjoying a treat... eating alone at my desk is not really worth it!
• Drink some hot tea
  
• Make [the treat] absolutely worth it!
  
• It helps to think that swimsuit season is coming up, and 5 minutes of pleasure from a cookie will not be as sweet as looking hot in my bikini!
• Resist unless the office treat is something special. For example, Friday donuts aren't special because I can have those anytime, but homemade scones are worth indulging in!
  

Let me know if you have additional tips for avoiding office treats, and I will add them to this list. I also added a "motivation" tag to my blog. If you're like me, sometimes I need a little extra boost (tips, quotes, advice, etc.) to keep me on track-- feel free to refer to my motivation page as often as needed!

I'm off to a meeting. Back later for lunch!

Is It Friday Yet? Hell, Yes!

TGIF! Whew, I am so glad that I made it through this week. Even just 4 days was rough... my body still hasn't quite recovered from last weekend. I went to bed super early last night, and I already feel 10 times better! I'm almost feeling like myself again!

Breakfast was quick and easy banana walnut oat bran. Like always, it was super filling and hit the spot!


Warm, mushy goodness...


I seriously need some new placemats-- I think a trip to Target is in order!


I decided to skip out on Tim Blane's show last night. He wasn't scheduled to play until 9:30, and I really wanted to be in bed well before that time! Instead of going out, Mal cooked dinner and I baked some oatmeal raisin cookies. I found a recipe for Giant Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies on VeganYumYum's blog. My cookies weren't really vegan because I used regular margarine and eggs, but they came out great! Mal and I both ate 3 or 4 each!


So much margarine... but oh so delicious!


A sea of oatmeal raisin cookies... I ate one before my workout this morning! Cookie fuel! :)


Mal's dinner was Shepard's Pie made with ground turkey, mashed potatoes, and canned corn. What an amazing comfort food!


I ended up having seconds! Mal is such a good cook!



Healthy Good Things

You guys responded with a number of great things that help keep you healthy and contribute to your wellness. Just wanted to share some of my favorites...

• Variety in my morning meals, always keeping my tastebuds happy, which means less "searching for something tasty" in the afternoon.
• A daily salad or chopped raw veggies to keep my snack tooth happy, and filling me up without weighing me down.
• Peanut butter...I need the extra fat and calories, and this guy always manages to make it his personal duty! (Love this one!)
  
• Keep junk food out of the house.
• Eat breakfast as soon as I wake up.
• Plan my meals to ensure they are balanced, and so I never feel hungry.
• Eating as many whole grains, organic and raw foods as possible! (Love it!)
• Snacking a lot in the afternoon! I have a bigger snack around 2:30 and another around 4, so when I get home, I'm feeling good about going to work out. I used to get home starving and talk myself out of it, so I could have dinner!
• Dark Chocolate - So rich I only need a little
• Small Bowls - keeps my ice cream to the appropriate serving size
• Hummus - not a huge meat-eater so it allows me to get that extra protein
• Exercising on a regular basis. I find if I don't, I am more likely to eat "crap" food.
• Always keeping Kashi granola bars, nuts or a piece of fruit in my purse for emergencies.
• Having a treat (or 2) everyday! I love sweets! (Right on!)

Feel free to add other healthy good things to the list! I love the exchange of ideas to better ourselves!

Shrimp with Roasted Red Peppers and Feta

Ugh, Blogger is driving me nuts! I was finally able to upload photos from tonight's dinner, but it took forever, and I had to upload one at a time. Blah. Anyway...

Dinner tonight was so yummy! On my travels to the west coast, I picked up the latest issue of Real Simple magazine. Inside was a recipe for Shrimp with Roasted Peppers and Feta, which took about 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook. Delicious... and real simple! :)


Dinner was served with a toasted baguette with garlic and swiss cheese. I dipped the baguette in the leftover "sauce" in my bowl. Yum!


Up close in the casserole dish... after about 20 minutes in the oven, the feta began to brown. Mmmmm...


Right out of the oven...


A Lesson from Pink

In the May issue of Allure magazine was an article about Pink, the rock-infused pop star. In her interview, she revealed some of her secrets of staying strong. I especially loved her Lesson #10:

"Food is a blessing. Even if you're eating a hot-fudge sundae, you have to feel good about it, otherwise you're swallowing guilt. I also believe that you have to think for yourself, My body is an amazing, fat-burning machine; my body is healthy. Your mental approach can affect how you look and feel."

In my opinion, Pink is right on! Food is a blessing, and should be throughly enjoyed! How you think and feel about food is just as important as what you chose to eat. I love Pink's food philosophy-- it's a lot like mine!

Early bedtime again tonight-- still catching up on Zzzzzz! Good night!

Whirlwind Week

I can't believe it is already Friday (not that I am complaining)! Being out of the office on Monday and then again yesterday has made the work week fly by! Hurray for the weekend! :)

My pre-workout snack this morning was 2 Cranberry Rise and Shine Cookies and a big glass of water. I was so comfy in bed this morning... and so close to skipping the gym, but I'm glad that I went. My recent motivation is this quote from Women's Health Magazine: "I never regret it when I do it, but I always regret it when I don't." It's a great reminder and inspiration, especially when I am just feeling lazy.

Breakfast this morning was bulgar with walnuts and dried cranberries-- another wonderful combo to add to my breakfast arsenal.


While waiting for my bulgar to cook, I chomped on 2 Rise and Shine Cookies. I definitely could have waited a whopping 6 minutes for my bulgar to finish cooking, but my body was saying, (well, yelling) "Feed me NOW!"


The cookies pictured are "stand-ins" for the cookies that I ate while waiting for my bulgar, so I pretty much "recreated" what I had just eaten for the photo.


I wanted to use up some random leftovers in our fridge, so lunch was a mix of black beans, corn, and sauteed mushrooms with a side of Kashi TLC crackers. The salad is rather ugly, but I used the crackers to "scoop up" the bean mixture, and lunch ended up being quite delicious and satisfying.


I love Kashi's TLC crackers! Yum!


Dessert today is ice cream from JP Licks! Free Cone Day was earlier this week, but the line for ice cream was enormous, so I didn't end up waiting. I've been craving ice cream ever since, and it's finally time to "succumb" to my craving! I can't wait! :)