Cooking

Have you ever said something that you didn't realize was the truth until you said it? It just happened to me. I was talking about food with a coworker and said, "I love to cook."

...I love to cook?  

WOW, this is a revelation for me. Time to get back in the kitchen!

The crazy thing is, up until I started this blog in 2010, I never cooked, ever.   Unless you count grilled cheese (which actually... yes, yes I do).   

Anyway, this newfound realization of loving to cook makes me pretty happy.  I want to shout this from the rooftops.   

I want an apron...

I don't do it as often as I'd like to, though.    I am currently living away from home in Memphis, interning for a few months in Nashville, living with roommates, and sharing a kitchen with two people who cook a lot.  However, starting this summer I am going to try to cook every day (or nearly every day) because I will be BACK HOME IN MEMPHIS WITH STACEY (translation:  I will have a kitchen to myself, because he never cooks) and I will be home a lot more often than I am right now.   

For now, I will continue to try to cook once or twice every week, in a large enough quantities to give myself leftovers for the rest of the week.  This is fairly easy to do when you are cooking for one, as I am.   

Also, I am considering adding fish back into my diet, which would take me from "vegetarian" to "pescatarian" but really...  Do I need ANY label?  (another blog post about labels coming soon, because I could probably write about that one for awhile...)

So if I do add the fish back in, that will open up some new cooking opportunities for me, since I literally have never cooked fish. 

Right now, even though I am technically vegetarian, I cook vegan.  Because when I learned how to cook, I was a vegan.  And I love my vegan cooking!  I don't need to add dairy or eggs to it, because there are a lot of great cooking ingredients in the plant world. 

Following is a breakdown of my typical cooked meals:

My typical meals are full of vegetables.  I find the chopping, washing, and cooking of vegetables to be meditative.  I love working with a wide variety of vegetables, but my staples are:  red onion, an assortment of bell peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, and asparagus.  If I have those, I can make something good, but I also sometimes add more.  Last week I added red cabbage, celery, and carrots to the mix!

Usually I will chop up the vegetables and bake them at 400 for 15-20 minutes, tossed in EVOO, lime juice, red wine vinegar, and a bit of salt. 

I also almost always have a can of beans.  Yes, I know...  I will start cooking my own beans again when I get back to Memphis, I swear.  It's not that hard to do, just crockpot for a few hours.  But for now, a can of beans, drained and rinsed, goes into most of my cooking.

I also will add a can of tomatoes.  Sometimes I will actually buy some tomatoes, chop them up, and add to the baking dish instead of going for canned, but I have found a couple of canned tomatoes that I love so much it's hard to skip it.  One of them is Hunts diced with celery and green peppers.  The other is original Rotel.  The Hunts is kind of sweet, the Rotel is spicy.  So I will let my canned tomatoes help with the overall flavor of the meal.

Also I will typically add a cup or two of whole grains or pasta to the mix.  If I cooked with a large amount of potatoes, I skip the grains and pasta.  Not because "OMG TOO MANY CARBS!!!" but because I just don't like the way potatoes taste with grains or pasta.

Usually this large amount of food will be split into 4 portions, 1 to be eaten right away, and three leftover lunches.  Each portion comes in anywhere from 350-450 calories, depending on how many and what types of vegetables and how much EVOO I use. 

The entire process takes less than an hour.  If I'm cooking rice from scatch (no boil-in-a-bag or microwave pack) it can take longer.  But usually I'm done in about 45 minutes, and that includes clean-up. 

I'm ready to get more experimental now that I've realized that I love to cook.  But I will probably wait until I get back to MY kitchen before I go too crazy with it...

Do you like to cook? 

What is your favorite thing to cook?

Working, Healthy Eating, and 1/2 Marathon Training Day #1

Today was day one of my internship!  In case you guys are curious about it, here's the internship that I'm doing:

TN State internship site!!!

It should be a great opportunity for my future, since my goal is to be an attorney.  These are the people who could write me excellent recommendation letters for Columbia Law!!!  So I'm excited about it, despite that the job itself seems routine and boring to me so far (but that's because I have TONS of office experience, which is a good thing.)

Today was also day one of going back to a more healthy diet.  I've decided against going full force Eat To Live even for 5 days a week.  Instead, I'm starting off relatively slow.

Instead of "NO PROCESSED FOODS!!!" and adhering to strict portion rules regarding whole grains, I'm just trying to eat a healthy and vegan diet through the week, with minimal processed foods.  And the processed foods that I do choose have to be natural, organic, and/or at least kind of healthy.

Also I'm not counting calories right now, because I'm eating healthy foods, cooking, and listening to my hunger signals (therefore I'm not measuring so even if I plugged it into MFP, I would be off).

Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast- oats (old-fashioned) cooked with almond milk with sliced banana
Lunch- out to lunch with co-workers, vegetable sushi roll and tofu sushi
Snack- organic red delicious apple and coconut yogurt
Dinner- a beautifully thrown together bowl meal: brown rice, garbanzo beans, tomato, orange bell pepper, asparagus, steamed greens, and red onion, with EVOO and red wine vinegar
Snack- a whole wheat sandwich round with natural peanut butter

today's dinner (and probably tomorrow's too)

Like I said, no measurements and there was always food leftover (except for the snacks, those were eaten completely) so I cannot accurately count calories.  But I think that I ate a perfectly healthy amount of perfectly healthy food today.

The third thing that began today:  my half-marathon training!!!  It went very well!  I have written a training schedule for myself, which includes three weekly runs (run/walks in the beginning) and 2 to 3 cross training days.

Today was the first day of week 1, which is half mile run/walk intervals.  I absolutely LOVED focusing on the mileage instead of the time or the calories.  It was liberating.

So all in all, those three goals are going splendidly.  I'm very proud of myself after just one day of following through.  And I feel amazing.  (Though a bit stiff from the workout, not gonna lie!)

Things I'm enjoying lately

I think it's been a while since I'm recommended stuff to you guys.  So here's a post about some foods and other products that I have been enjoying recently!

1) my new Osterizer blender!  Stacey and I got this as a gift at his office holiday party, and I've recently re-found my love for green monster smoothies.  DELICIOUS and nutritious.

2) True Lemon powder packets.  100% natural, no artificial sweetners, and still only 5 calories, just like crystal lite.  I get enough artificial sweetners with my diet soda and sugar free syrup, so I figure that I should cut it out where I can.  And I love this stuff!  Delicious.  They also make one in raspberry lemonade.

3) Belvita breakfast cookies.  I must confess that I have not tried them as breakfast yet, so I don't know about the claim that they keep you full, but they are yummy as a snack. 

4) Good 'n Natural food bar in peanut butter!  This is my new favorite breakfast through the school week.  It's delicious, portable, and keeps me satisfied until lunch.  It tastes like a healthy version of my Grandpa's fudge!  YUM.

5) Did I say that all of these would be healthy?  #5 is cocoa puffs!  Also known as an awesome vegan chocolate option.  :-)  And only 100 calories for every 3/4 cup, so not too shabby for chocolately goodness.

6)  and finally, Perrier sparkling water.  I don't drink this often because it's usually expensive, but when it's on sale I stock up because I love this stuff.  It makes me feel fancy.

So those are just a few things that are making my life easier and yummier these days.  I hope you enjoyed the list!  :-)

One more thing I'm enjoying-

Here I am in my brand new scarf which I won over on my friend Jennifer's blog!  She made it herself, which is talent that I cannot even imagine.  Thanks again, Jennifer.  It's beautiful and oh-so-soft!

Unhealthy food obsession creeping back into my life?

I really hope not...  but I'm starting to feel that need to be "in control" of my food intake again.  I haven't felt this way in years, and it scares me.

I am thinking about food way too often.  I think about how much I've eaten, how much I have left to eat for the day, when my next meal or snack will be, what my next meal or snack will be, whether or not I was "good" at my last meal or snack, whether or not I "deserve" a treat, etc.

These are not healthy thoughts!

I am starting to think that my eating disorder thinking is starting to creep back into my head, and THAT IS NOT OKAY WITH ME.

Repeat:  Not okay.

The good thing is that I have recognized that it's happening, and right away.  The bad thing is that I have no clue how to fix it.

I guess that I will just try to focus on the other things in my life, and to listen to my hunger signals and track my food with the Simply Filling Technique of Weight Watchers. 

I am embarrased to come on here and admit to this, because I like to think of myself as a good example of someone who is fully recovered from disordered eating.

But I guess that there is a reason that they never gave me a completion certificate at the end of my recovery program in 2005:  There may not be a completion date for this illness.  In times of extreme stress, my brain's first response is this-

"Must have control!  Must control something... I know, I can control my FOOD!!!  Time to start restricting and being obsessive!  That will solve my problem of feeling out of control, right?!  RIGHT?!"

And that is WRONG.  And I know that.

Since I've recognized the cause of this momentary relapse in healthy thinking is STRESS, perhaps I should start with that.  Deal with whatever it is that is stressing me out.  Practice relaxation techniques.  Say my affirmations and do some meditation.  Take a bubble bath.  Yoga.  Pray. 

Also, I believe that I'm stressed because I feel as if I'm behind at both work and in school.  If I focus on getting caught up, one task at a time, and on studying, on chapter at a time, then I should (in theory) begin to feel that stress melt away.

Thanks for reading.  I will not be doing a Tasty Tuesday tonight, but those should resume next week.

P.S. I should mention that I have not acted on my thoughts to restrict, I am still eating a healthy amount of food (following WW guidelines) and exercising a healthy amount (30-60 minutes a day, most days) and will continue to do so.  Just scared of the thoughts.  And yes, I added this disclaimer mostly in case my family is reading this and terrified!  Mom, don't call the hospital, I'm fine.  :-)

Tasty Thursday!!!

Tasty Thursday is brought to you by Forgetful Tuesday... ;-)

I drank 2 big jug fuls of my WW mug water, one before lunch and one after lunch. Love this jug! Seriously, if you don't have a nice 32 oz water jug, I highly recommend one! It's such as easy way to make sure that I always get in at least 64 oz of water daily. Breakfast was a delicious bowl of oatmeal (1 cup dry) made with unsweetened vanilla almond milk (1 cup) and a chopped up banana. YUM.Lunch was seriously amazing. On this open-faced sandwich: 2 Morningstar Farms chik'n grillers patties, 2 tbs hummus, and 1/2 an avocado. On the side I had baby carrots and cherry tomatoes, sprinled with pepper.I really don't know why, but after that gigantic meal I was still hungry, so I ate my Lara Bar early (had planned it for late afternoon) along with 6 redvines. Everything in moderation, folks! My afternoon snack was a can of no-sugar-added peaches. (recycled picture, since I forgot to take a picture of these! I swear this looks exactly the same.) On my way to class after work, I couldn't help noticing this. Whose skinny thighs are those? Mine!!! How exciting to recognize that my thighs are no longer overweight. I hope that each and every one of you reading this has either already had this moment, or will have it soon. It will not soon be forgotten... I have thin thighs. :-)

Before class began, I enjoyed some more baby carrots and cherry tomatoes. Seriously, carrots are nature's crackers, and cherry tomatoes are nature's kettle corn. So sweet and salty!

I had to take this picture in the school dirty bathroom, just to show you a cute new outfit! That's right, I have an hourglass shape, and I'm wearing stuff to show it off, FINALLY! I am loving my new-found confidence, and I'm hoping that I don't bore you too much with "Wow, don't I look great now" thoughts.

Dinner was 1 cup of a mixture of barely and brown rice (cooked together in the rice cooker, YAY, how exciting that I can do that?!), 1 cup of ff refried beans, and a can of tomatoes. Loved this combo!

Now, I have to get back to THIS. Anyone want to write my International Relations paper for me? Hmmm? ;-)

P.S. Just had to add: All pictures that have a steering wheel in them were taken while PARKED. Just in case anyone was worried! :-)

Back to school- meal #1

(not actual pictures of my food, but you get the gist)

1) peanut butter and banana sandwich on whole wheat bread

-PointsPlus: 6

-to be eaten on the drive to school

2) homemade trail mix (recipe coming later tonight!)

-PointsPlus: 9

-to be eaten during class

3) celery sticks

-PointsPlus: 0

-to be eaten...whenever.

What I eat Part #3- Weekends!

I eat a lot more on the weekends, usually. I also tend to eat more salty things, more processed things, and more "junk" food in general. Most of the time, I will ignore the GHGs completely on Saturday, and only half-ass it on Sunday.


This is not what is recommended on either Weight Watchers OR The Kind Diet, but I want to be perfectly honest on this blog. I eat more and poorly on the weekends.

However, I don't throw it all away and binge anymore. Now, it's controlled chaos. :-)

Typically, my weekend will begin with a weigh-in on Saturday morning (or afternoon, whenever I wake up). After that, I will eat a banana or another piece of fruit before heading to the gym with my boyfriend. After an hour of working out, we return home and I will usually eat an entire Amy's pizza and some Ore-Ida steak fries. This meal is usually 30 PointsPlus.

Very delicious. Very filling. I am usually full/satisfied until 8 or 9 pm after this 2-3pm mega-meal.

At that point, I will usually eat some vegetables and some fruit. And sometimes leftovers from Friday's dinner (rice, beans, veggies, evoo). Otherwise, I will eat some air-popped popcorn with EVOO.

My typical Saturday ends with about 40 PointsPlus eaten. I get 29DP and 49WPA, so it's all good. Eating this "mega-meal" of pizza and fries after my weigh-in just feels so right to me. I love it, and I look forward to this meal all week.

On Sunday, I will usually stick closer to my DP than on Saturday, but sometimes I don't. My favorite Sunday junk foods are:


-light lays (14 PointsPlus for entire bag)
- double-stuff oreos (4 PointsPlus for 2 cookies)
- boca vegan burgers (3 PointsPlus for 2)
- Sweet Chocolate Dream vegan chocolate bar (12 PointsPlus for entire bar)

I will snack throughout the day on Sunday, occassionally eating a good GHG-infused meal for dinner.

It's not the healthiest plan, but it works for me. Eating like this on the weekends has really helped me to lose the weight. I get the best of both worlds, so to speak. I still get to eat my favorite junk foods, but in moderation.

Actually, since PointsPlus started, I will usually have 25-40 WPA left for the work-week. Which I love! I used to burn out most of the 35WPA on the weekends. No more! I love PointsPlus.

What I eat: Part #2- Dinner and Snacks

My favorite week day dinner is home-made (mostly. I used some canned things in my meal). I cook some brown rice, usually the "boil-in-a-bag" kind. This really helps with portions, because one baggie makes 2 cups of cooked rice.

While that is boiling, I will start cooking the rest of the meal. I usually will start with red wine vinegar and lime juice, but sometimes I use balsalmic and lemon juice. I will add some minced garlic, some chopped red onion. Once the onion starts to carmelize, I add a chopped tomato, a can of rotel (usually original diced tomatoes and green chilles), a chopped bell pepper, and finally, a chopped heart of romaine lettuce.

Salt and pepper to taste. This whole process takes about 10 minutes. Then the rice is done.

Add the entire two cups of cooked rice to the mix. Stir in one cup of beans (I usually will use canned beans, rinsed off, in either black or kidney). Eat half of this entire pot for 7 PointsPlus, but it's a good idea to also add a teaspoon of healthy oil (I use EVOO) for another Point.

Save the other half for the next night, or share with someone.

A simpler version of this meal will suffice for days that you don't want to cook. The convenience foods are more costly, but some days I need a break from cooking! All you need for the simple version:

- Uncle Ben's "ready rice" in whole grain brown

-a bag of Bird's Eye "steamfresh" in your choice of 0-points veggies (I love broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots)

-some canned beans

Microwave steamfresh bag for 5 minutes. Microwave rice for 90 seconds. Add a half cup of beans. For more flavor (and to meet the GHGs) add a teaspoon of EVOO. Salt and pepper to taste. Filling, delicious, easy.

Snacks. I love them! I crave them. I need them! :-) There are some things that have remained the same for me since starting WW, and one of them is my need for snacks. Usually I will eat something between lunch and dinner, and then something else late at night after my workout. Here are some of my staples.

Blue Diamond almonds in BOLD- Wasabi & Soy Sauce. I love these! One serving is 28 almonds, and I get all 28 for a PointsPlus value of 5. It's definately a point-y snack, but it's so filling that I never need more than that. Of course, if you want just 1 PointsPlus, you can eat 7. 14 almonds come out to 2 PointsPlus. But I almost always eat the whole serving. I get so many daily PointsPlus that it works for me.

Fruit. Now that fruit is zero PointsPlus, I eat it like candy. No, I don't "abuse" the zero-point fruit, I just eat it when I really want something sweet, instead of going for cookies. My favorite snack fruits: apples, bananas, clementines, black seedless grapes, canned pineapple (no sugar added).

Redvines are amazing to me. If you like licorice, you'll love redvines. The only boo-hoo is that they have now doubled in Points, so they are an entire point for one stick. I used to get 2 for 1, but you win some, you lose some! It's still a pretty good deal when I really need some candy. I will usually have 4 vines for 4 PointsPlus.

Finally, I like to eat at least one big bowlful of steamed vegetables a day. This wards off other cravings and usually will help me get another healthy oil in, too. I am in love with these Ziploc "Zip n' Steam" bags. Put in a bunch of veggies (I usually use cut up broccoli, baby carrots, and cauliflower), add a bit of water, and microwave the bag for about three minutes. 0 PointsPlus, unless you add a teaspoon of EVOO for 1 PointsPlus.

My next post will be all about what I eat on the weekends!

What I eat: Part #1- Breakfast and Lunch

It's been awhile since I have let you guys in on what I eat. The truth is, most of what I eat now through the week is pretty much the same things. breakfast is usually:

a Nature Valley crunchy granola bar in either Peanut Butter or Roasted Almond (5 PointsPlus), plus a banana (0 PointsPlus). This will usually get me through to lunch time, but sometimes I'm hungry again and will eat a second piece of fruit to tide me over.

For lunch I have one of two options: Wasa crisp n' light (6 slices for 3 PointsPlus), fat free refried beans (1/2 cup for 2 PointsPlus), 1 tsp EVOO (1 teaspoon for 1 PointsPlus), salsa (0 PointsPlus). I will mix the beans with the salsa and EVOO and use it as a dip for the crackers.

The second meal I have sometimes, if I'm feeling more sweet than salty, is:

an Arnold sandwich thin (1 sandwich thin for 3 PointsPlus), Peanut Butter & Co. peanut butter in "White Chocolate Wonderful" (1 tablespoon for 3 PointsPlus), and some grapes on the side (0 PointsPlus).

I will come back later and let you know what I eat for snacks, for dinner, and what I eat on the weekends (which varies almost every week!).