seefood

after an hour of weight training this morning, i went to war with the stairmaster for 20 minutes before wrapping up my workout. i'm a huge fan of interval training.  it can be done on any elliptical machine, treadmill, or running outside.  i'll expand on that shortly though. afterwards, i came home and had my daily bowl of oatmeal with an egg white omelette, salsa, and 1 piece of light turkey sausage.

rewind: for dinner last night, i needed to use the rest of the wheat tortillas cause they go bad pretty fast.  i looked in the freezer and found some shrimp. yep, shrimp tacos it is.

i chopped up some tomato, avocado, cilantro, and red onion.  the more color the better!  not just cause it looks pretty, but because it supplies tons of added health benefits e.g. essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber. didn't have any brown rice, so i made some steamed corn to accompany the black beans.

there were only two tortillas left, and i have to make sure Sonny is full else he is quick to head to jack in the box!! so i let him have them and made myself a shrimp bowl.  when i work out in the early a.m., i don't like to wake up feeling heavy and full from the night before, so the bowl was just right.

fastforward: it's lunch time again and i had to come up with something quick. i found two cans of salmon in the pantry so i decided to make some 'tuna fish', or salmon fish. oh, whatever!

le's 'salmon' fish

the stuff:

• 2 cans salmon (or tuna, or albacore, or chicken)
• 2-3 boiled eggs (1 yolk)
• 1 tbsp capers (you can also use dill or sweet relish- i'm just being fancy)
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp honey mustard
• 1 tbsp  lite caesar dressing
• handful of cranberries
• 1 celery stalk
• salt, pepper, and Tony Chacheres to taste

do this:

i boiled 3 eggs, dismissed two of the yolks (i know, i know) and threw it in the bowl.

then i added everything else.  this is totally different than the tuna fish/chicken salad i grew up eating.  i swapped out the mayo and used light caesar dressing.  the celery adds crunch and texture, and the cranberries add tartness and sweetness.  WF adds grapes and walnuts to their chicken salad and it is delicious! my version is different no doubt, but try it out.

mix!

can you tell i'm out of wheat thins:( those were definitely at the bottom of the bag.  you can put this salad in between those 100 calorie sandwich thins that have become so popular, add some cheese and make a tuna melt, or scoop it with wheat thins or some regular old saltines. you could also skip the bread completely and scoop it onto some tomato slices.  i ate two servings of the salmon salad and added a banana for a light, protein packed lunch.

le

what's the craziest thing you've seen or added to your own tuna fish / chicken salad?

oatmeal...it doesn't have to be so bland

when clothes and/or shoe shopping, brand name matters because that signifies quality. the same goes for grocery shopping.  however, some items taste the same all across the board from generic to top shelf.  oatmeal is one of those items.  from Quaker to Great Value to the bulk bins at HEB and WF, an oat is an oat to me.

i eat oatmeal for breakfast often for reasons i'll explain below. here's how i make mine.

err' day oats

the stuff:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 packet all natural stevia
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp real vanilla extract

do this:

as soon as the water and milk begin to boil, add in the oats and vanilla.

turn the heat down as low as it will go, put the top on your pot,  and set your timer for 10 min.

since i have to blend everything for my son these days, i have grown to love eating my oatmeal this way and will prolly continue to do so! i put the  stevia and cinnamon into the blender, then add the entire pot of slightly cooled oats.

 i blend away until creamy, about 30 seconds.

here's where you can get creative.  try adding peanut butter, nutella, canned pumpkin, maple syrup, nuts, fruit etc,. i have added prunes before (yeah, we stay regular in this house)- however, you should cook them in with the oats so that they can soften a little first.  i've also skipped the stevia and added a banana for sweetness instead.  or, you could just top it with some fresh fruit of your choice.

 you forgot avocado was a fruit too, didn't you:) anyway, when sugar enters your bloodstream, your body stops burning fat, and diverts its attention to burning off the sugar.  the more sugar you consume, the less fat you burn.

so, you should start your day with oatmeal because:

• low calorie (130-150)
• low fat (3g)
• fibrous(4g),
• protein (5g)
• heart healthy
• enhances your immune system
• keeps you feeling full longer; hearty

and it tastes really, really good.

i usually buy whatever fruit is on sale, but i normally do blueberries because i like the combo of tart and sweet. pick a good one!

le

what what do you put in or on your oats? do tell below!

souped up canned soup

some days i work from home and i have to find time for lunch somewhere in between the job and taking care of my little guy. today i went in the pantry and found some tasty but boring black bean soup.

i love and recommend Amy's products, but remember, just because something is organic, natural, or any other deceptive word companies try to blind you with, that doesn't mean it's HEALTHY and/or good for you.  the info is right there for you to look at- just turn it around and read that label. yes, especially in the store before you spend your money on it.

i always watch my portion sizes.  1 cup of soup is around 140 calories.  however, you see that there are 'about 2' servings.  so do the math and yep, that's almost 300 calories.  300 calories is actually a small lunch for me, so i have no problem eating the entire can.  but remember though, if you double the calories, you double everything else!  1500mg of salt is the minimum needed to support all physical functions. that's 1240mg for one can of soup and this is not even close to my last meal of the day.  too much salt makes me bloat like crazy, so i try to keep my intake fairly low.

so, how do i enjoy this soup and get full from just one serving?  throw some other stuff in there. but not just any stuff, fresh veggies and/or protein of course.

turns out  i didn't have any cooked chicken breast or ground turkey ready, but i did have tomatoes, cilantro, and my fav cheese.  then i looked in the freezer and found some frozen corn. perfect.  be creative though- you can do spinach, zucchini, broccoli.. the list goes on.

i added half an apple and some wheat thins and chowed down.

back to work!

le

fish. it's what's for dinner.

back from church and i'm on it. i usually do pancakes or french toast or something indulgent on the weekends, but blogging has really kept my diet on the straight and narrow!  i won't hold back though, i promise.  so i made the usual, but i bought some wheat tortillas from yesterday's shopping trip for Sonny.  fyi, fresh cilantro makes a REALLY big difference in your food.   key word: FRESH.

i had an egg white omelette w/ salsa, turkey sausage, fruit, and oatmeal. since i have to blend my son's food, i have just been eating my oatmeal extra creamy as well.  now i like it that way all the time! we eat a lot of eggs. instead of buying the 5 dozen pack (yes, for two people) every shopping trip, i have been buying my whites in the carton.  the guilt from throwing out the yolk was haunting me.

a dear friend of mine was having a 1st birthday party for her son later, so i got dinner going before we left.

my tilapia marinade: couple sprigs of fresh dill weed (chopped), 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1 packet of  dry ranch dressing mix.

then i sprinkled it with some Tony Chachere's creole seasoning and fresh cracked black pepper and stuck it in the fridge.

by the time we got back, it was ready to go straight into the oven.  remember that polenta from WF?  i made some pan fried, creamy, cheesy polenta and fresh asparagus for the sides. we ended dinner with brownies and called it a night. don't worry, the polenta recipe is coming right up.  about to wind down and get ready for the week!

le

wake up and run

my 2nd 5k of the year is over and done!  i love running early in the morning and getting it out of the way before the rest of the world wakes up.  i had a handful of almonds and blueberries about an hr before go time. my camera died just as i was heading out, so i had to leave it:( cell phone cam to the rescue.

the weather was pretty icky- it was darn near misting when the race began.   however, it was pretty fair and clear by the time i ran and finished my post race snacks.

i finished around 25 min or so this time- not as hard to do as i expected. i don't ever get in the very front at the start line, but i try my best not to get in the very back.  having to weave in, out, and around the walkers or not so fast runners really hinders my finishing time.

yes, that's pizza! heck of a post race snack, huh. however it was my motivation for running this 5k in the first place. free papa johns. hello.  i did pick up some heathy goodies before i left though. see.

after that, i headed back towards my side of town to hit the gym in time for an hr long weights class.

we had company coming by later on, so i stopped by HEB on my way home to get a few samples things. they get extra crazy with the free stuff on the weekends- i arrived at the perfect time. lunch time! i mean really, this is a SAMPLE. gaaaaah i love this store.------->

i left HEB with a full stomach and a full basket. as usual. headed home for a nap before a little entertaining.

soooo have you signed up for that  race you were talking about running yet?

le