Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Foods I've been eating

Trying to change my weight has meant I have to change how and what I eat and that's not easy at all. Aside from the m&m blip the other day, I have been doing pretty well and only face the stumbling block of appealing snacks because seriously, who eats only three times a day?

Anyway, my breakfast generally consists of Chobani Yogurt (they are not paying me to get all googly-eyed over their stuff although if they wanted to, I certainly wouldn't mind and I'd insert their name in every post I do on here from now on--just sayin') in lemon, honey, cherry, or my new discovery of apple cinnamon. If I have felt motivated to actually cook breakfast at breakfast time or have a bucket of leftovers, I enjoy a cup or so of apple cinnamon breakfast quinoa. I got the recipe from somewhere on the internet but I can't for the life of me figure out where (or find it again) so here it is:

Apple-Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa
makes 4 (3/4-cup) servings

2 c. unsweetened plain or vanilla almond milk
1 c. dry quinoa, well rinsed (do not skip rinsing!)
1 medium apple, diced
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt

In a 2 quart saucepan, heat almond milk over medium-high heat. When the milk is almost boiling, stir in the quinoa, apple, cinnamon, and salt. Reduce the heat to a low simmer, partially cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until most of the milk has been absorbed. Remove from heat. Stir in vnilla, cover tightly and let rest for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

I will admit that I tend to double the apple and use a heaping tsp. of cinnamon plus splash far more vanilla extract in there than the recipe calls for. I get a warm, healthy breakfast out of it plus 3-4 more reheated breakfasts that same week. Also not to be sneezed at is the chance to feel all self-righteous and healthy that making this offers. Unfortunately, my daughter appreciates this toasty meal and will sometimes snag a small bucket of it I had earmarked for another day, leaving me short. I'd teach her to make her own and keep her paws off mine if she didn't leave such a godforsaken mess in my kitchen when she cooks!

Lunch has tended to be leftovers from dinner and if I am extra hungry, I dump the leftovers (as appropriate) over salad to bulk up what I'm eating. Pretty much anything Mexican can be coaxed into a taco salad of sorts if you're desperately hungry. And dinner has run the gamut of healthy looking new recipes or old standbys.

Where I struggle is the snack concept. I know that I should snack on veggies and fruits but they don't appeal so very much. Well, I take that back. They look really good at the grocery store under their deceptive lighting. Once at my house though, they aren't as pleasing looking and since this food battle is 90% mental for me, that's not a good thing. I do have a few things that I will eat that fall in the "acceptable any time" category: hearts of palm out of a can, dill pickles, dilly beans (pickled green beans), and grape tomatoes but they get old really quickly and then I eye the kids' stash of after school snacks (mainly chosen with an eye to being generally unappealing to me at normal times, incidentally). I really wish I could find something healthy that I'd be happy to be stranded on a desert isle with because I'm pretty sure that my current "desert isle" food choice of cheese and bread or just cheese if I only get one thing, is going to leave me fat and suffering from scurvy. That's a pretty mental image, eh? Any suggestions for me out there?

1 comment:

  1. Unfortunately I'm right there with you (as I'm muching on carrot sticks). Snacks are supposed to be full of carbs and or chocolate. Retraining this brain to want the carrot sticks and grapefruit is tough work! Good luck to you - stay out of the kids' snacks!

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