And the mystery ingredients are...

Brussel Sprouts

On my quest to try new vegetables and fruits every week I decided that there was no better time than the present to try brussel sprouts.  I can honestly say that I have never tried them.  I don't know much of anything about them really other than the fact that it seems as though you either love them or hate them.  It comes from the cabbage family, it is a leafy green color and it contains vitamin A&C, folic acid and dietary fiber.  Good enough benefits for me to eat it.  So I started thinking about how to prepare this for the first time and I wondered if anyone has any good recipes?  I hear that people steam them, bake them, boil them and even chop them up and throw them in salads and pasta!  So adventurous!



Mango

My new fruit of the week (which isn't "new" because I have had it) is mango.  I have had mango before, but it isn't somthing that I usually buy, so I decided to grab a few since they were on sale.  I am trying to break out of my current habit of buying apples, bananas and grapes.  There is so much more in this world than those 3 fruits and I am determined to try as many as possible.

Lunches for the week are salads galore.  Packed with proteins (egg, grilled chicken), more veggies (carrots, slaw, onion, peppers, tomato) and a dash of vinigrette.  I am really excited to be doing a mixture of salads. I have realized that I usually eat a heavier dinner, so I am trying to keep lunches lower in carbs to balance out my evenings.  I do think its important to have a mixture of carbs all day long.  It makes me feel icky when I just eat vcarbs late at night and then go to bed.  Yuck!

Recent food temptations fought: buffalo chicken pizza, donuts and potato wedges. I decided I am going to try to turn my temptations into reality somehow, so I am bound and determined to make a healthy spin on buffalo chicken this week, so be on the look out for that.  Happy Tuesday!

Lunch....My Favorite Meal of the Day

When I was growing up my parents owned several restaurants in my hometown.  It was awesome because I always had somewhere to work and somewhere to take my friends to hang out.  I also thought it was awesome that I could eat there for free.  I am starting to realize that it was in fact not so awesome.  No, I am not going to blame my weight gain on my parent's restaurant.  That would mean that I was taking no responsibility for what I was putting in my mouth.  I know that there were salads on the menu and I chose burgers and fries instead.  I also know though that if it wasn't so easy and free to get food there I wouldn't have had the opportunity to eat whatever I wanted.

I worked as a waitress for 6 years before I started my "big kid job" that I do now.  I loved being a waitress!  I loved always having cash in hand.  I loved seeing regulatrs who felt like family and tipped me really well.  I also loved that I was on my feet all day.  I was constantly moving and never sedentary like I am at my current job.  I used to work the lunch shift which was about 10-2.  I would then clock out and order some serious food.  I would be starving because I never ate breakfast.  I was usually still half sleeping when I would get to work.  I am not really a morning person.  I honestly had to practice getting up early enough to make it to my "big kid job".  Sad, I know.

Okay, so back to lunch food.  I usually ordered a grilled chicken sandwich that was either covered in swiss cheese and bacon or buffalo sauce and blue cheese.  Just typing it makes my mouth water.  Is that bad?  I would usually get the 1/2 and 1/2 with it which is 1/2 french fries and 1/2 onion rings extra crispy.  I would then dip everything in homemade ranch dressing.  The food at my parent's restaurant was awesome.  All of the sauces were homemade and delicious.  We also had two lunch specials everyday which were things like; spaghetti, meatloaf, beef stroganoff, hot turkey, hot beef, goulash, baked chicken and so on.  They were either accompied by bread or mashed potatoes smothered in homemade gravy.  It is no wonder that I gained approximately 50 pounds or more from freshamn year to senior year!

So, lunch no longer looks like that for me for many reasons. For starters my parent's no longer own those restaurants and I no longer live in my hometown.  The most important reason though is that I am choosing a different way of life.  I may not want to eat healthy right now, but I want to feel healthier and look better.  So, that is my driving motivation right now.  Although my lunches of yesteryear are mostly a thing of the past lunch is still my favorite meal of the day.  I feel like lunch is exciting and always changing and never boring.  Lunch breaks up my day and makes me realize that my work day is half over.  Lunch means socializing with friends and take a much needed break.  Lunch is delicious!

So, what does lunch mean for me now?  What do I eat to satisfy my hunger all the way to dinner?  I am a big sandwich person.  Sandwich usually means carbohydrates, which I try to eat less of, so I by bread that is light, whole grain and fiber filled.  I want it to make me feel full longer.  I like to make wrap sandiwches, regular sandiwches, panini's, salads and soup for lunch. 

Flatout Wrap sandwich with turkey, lettuce tomato and onion sprinkled with herbs and garlic powder.  Side of raspberry/blackberry mixture along with some Veggie Straws.

Mixed Greens, lean beef tips, feta cheese, tomato and Newman's Own Lighten Up Roast Garlic Balsamic Dressing.

In a general sense I stay away from frozen meals.  I usually find them to be less filling, more sodium filled and more carbohydrates than just making my own lunch creation.  The one exception to this is Smart Ones Santa Fe Rice and Beans.  It is my cure to a chipotle craving.  I really miss Chipotle sometimes, so I make this Smart Ones meal and I put it over salad greens to make a sort of homemade burrito bowl.  It really does the trick and makes the craving go away!

Santa Fe Rice and Beans Smart Ones

This is what it looks like before it is mixed.  Yum!

This is making me really hungry for lunch.  Today I have a delicious wrap sandiwch just like the one shown above!  Tomorrow's post is about clothes.  Those that fit, those that don't and those that hopefully will soon!

Food journal

I use The Daily Plate to track all of my food to make sure that I stay within the same caloric, carbohydrate, protein, sodium and fiber levels throughout the week.  I love using it, it is super easy and convenient for me.  I track every single thing that enters my body and it is like a habit now.  I am not sure if I will always use it, because I have already gotten pretty good at number crunching, but right now it is holding me accountable and I like that.  So, some people have asked me what kind of things I eat and so I was going to write down my food intake for the day to give people an idea.

Breakfast
1/3 cup (dry) oatmeal
1 medium banana

Morning Snack
Apple
Sliced Cucumbers

Lunch
2 cups romaine lettuce
4 oz grilled chicken breast
1 Tbs Newman's own Lighten Up dressing
1/4 cup red onion
1/4 cup chopped peppers
10 reduced-fat wheat thins crackers
14 carrots
1 cup strawberries

Afternoon snack
Dannon Light and Fit Banana yogurt
20 reduced fat cheese-its

Dinner
Light Flat Out Wrap
1 Tbs Encino's all natural pizza sauce
1/2 cup rotisserie chicken
1/4 cup low moisture part skim mozzarella cheese
Mrs. Dash hot and spicy seasoning
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup diced peppers

Evening snack
1 medium orange
1/2 cup sugar snap peas

I stay really full and satisfied from these food items and I eat every few hours to keep my metabolism going.  I will try and post some pictures of my delicious dinner tonight once I make it.  Keep up the great work everyone!