what i ate wednesday: issue 29

 Figure 1. Breakfast: a bowl of Kashi GoLean Original mixed with Post Great Grains Raisins, Dates, & Pecans cereal, 1/2 banana, and almond milk. I also had 1/2 banana (un-pictured) before my morning run.

Figure 2. Lunch: leftover roasted asparagus and Brussels sprouts with two of mom's red beet eggs. A bowl of plain Greek yogurt with homemade granola on the side.

Figure 3. Afternoon snack: a Braeburn apple (I tragically bought the wrong kind) and almonds.

Figure 4. Dinner: a Morningstar chicken patty with ketchup, roasted garlic and olive oil couscous, and steamed broccoli. This is my go-to quick and easy dinner.

Figure 5. Dessert: popcorn with a drizzle of chocolate PB2 'sauce'.

And that concludes another What I Ate Wednesday (featuring what I ate Tuesday, April 10).

the cereal experiment: Kellogg's Special K Protein Plus

I started the cereal experiment many, many months ago after realizing the cereal I was consuming every day, Special K Fruit & Yogurt, was a sugary (albeit delicious) concoction of low fiber and low protein flakes. While recently standing in the cereal aisle admiring my old love, I spotted a new addition to the Special K family, Kellogg's Special K Protein Plus. Once I realized it fit all of my criteria for a healthy cereal, I decided it would be the next test case in my experiment.

Results. A cereal story:

Sunday morning I opened my box of Kellogg's Special K Protein Plus and popped a flake in my mouth expecting flavor reminiscent of cardboard. To my surprise, a burst of flavor and sweetness struck my senses. "Oh wow!" I exclaimed to my boyfriend who was patiently watching my experimentation. I continued chewing the flake and my smile quickly turned into a grimace as I realized that flavor was coming from artificial sweetener. "What the..." I started while reaching for the cereal box. I quickly searched the ingredient list and made an unfortunate discovery. "Damn artificial sweeter," I muttered in a huff only a healthy living blogger would make. "You have to eat that cereal for the sake of the experiment," retorted my boyfriend in a statement only a healthy living blogger's boyfriend would make. Knowing he was right, I sat down and continued eating...

Sure enough, this cereal is flavored with sucralose. And, while a year ago I wouldn't have noticed - my re-vamped taste buds, now used to fairly 'clean' food, are heightened to this unnatural flavor. My taste buds were not pleased.

Despite its questionable use of artificial sweeter, I enjoyed the hearty, whole grain flavor and crunchy texture of these flakes. As do all flakes, these went soggy a bit earlier than I would have preferred, but maintained the crispness better than other flakes I have tried (I'm looking at you Golden Goodness). There are only 100 calories in the 3/4 cup serving size, which means I poured a double serving and mixed in granola. A girl cannot survive on a measly 100 calorie breakfast.

Kellogg's Special K Protein Plus has some surprisingly impressive nutritional stats. Per serving, there are 5 grams of fiber and a whopping 10 grams of protein. There is also a notable 8% of calories from sugar, which is almost half of what the other cereals contain. But, as noted above this is because although there is little sugar, there is sucralose.

I feel like its final standing as a 5th place winner is biased because my formula does not account for the artificial sweetener content. But, to be fair, based on the current formula results this cereal comes out with a good ranking.

All in all, Kellogg's Special K Protein Plus is a protein-packed sucralose-laced cereal choice that will likely not make a second appearance in my cereal bowl.

weekend review: Easter weekend

 Figure 1. Easter dinner (Saturday night - made by mom and I): asparagus with balsamic browned butter, tomatoes Provencal (my boyfriend's mom's recipe), honey-baked ham, mom's broccoli casserole, perfect potatoes au gratin, mom's corn casserole, and a Sister Schubert's homemade yeast roll

Figure 2. Easter dessert: Cadbury cream egg brownies and white chocolate key lime pie.

Figure 3. Sunday night's dinner: pasta with sun-dried tomato pesto and feta cheese with roasted broccoli. And easy, fast, and delicious vegetarian dinner, which was perfect after a long weekend of cooking.

my less serious day: fiber edition

I find it helpful check in with my diet every now and then. Today, I tracked my fiber intake. Grams of fiber for each food is indicated in parentheses below. Today, I consumed 59 grams of fiber. The recommended amount of fiber for women 19-50 years of age is 25 grams (References: 1, 2, 3).

It's a wonder I don't have fiber coming out of my (ahem) ears....

Wearing.

Skirt: J Crew; tee: Old Navy; Cardigan: LOFT; necklace: gifted via mom; pumps: Urban Outfitters.

Doing.

This morning was my day off of running and I hit the stationary bike for a 35-minute ramp interval ride followed by a 15-minute walk with the pup. I also took L on a 10-minute walk on my lunch break. The day concluded with a 60-minute Body Pump class.

Eating.

Pre-workout I had 1/2 banana (1g), 1/2 mug of black coffee, and 1 pint of water. For breakfast I had a bowl of Kashi GoLean Original (13g) mixed with Post Great Grains Raisins, Dates, & Pecans (2g) cereals, 1/2 sliced banana (1g), and almond milk (2g). Breakfast fiber total: 19g.

Lunch was a spinach (3g) and romaine lettuce (2g) salad topped with grape tomatoes, leftover zucchini and squash (1g), hummus (1g), peanuts (2g), and dried cranberries (1g), and balsamic vinegar. Lunch fiber total: 10g.

My afternoon snack was a Pink Lady apple (4g) and almonds (2g). Snack fiber total: 6g.

Dinner was a sweet potato (4g) and kale (16g) sauteed in olive oil, shallots, and Dijon mustard topped with two fried eggs. Dinner fiber total: 20g.

Dessert was a 100-calorie kettle corn popcorn pack (4g). Dessert fiber total: 4g.

Note: this post represents what happened in my world on Wednesday, April 4. 

Previous special edition my less serious day posts:

• Protein edition

what i ate wednesday: issue 28

 Figure 1. Breakfast: a bowl of Kashi GoLean Original mixed with applesauce granola, 1/2 sliced banana, and almond milk. I also had 1/2 banana (un-pictured) before my morning run.

Figure 2. Lunch, inspired by Julie @ Peanut Butter Fingers: a toasted whole wheat English muffin sandwich with a fried egg, melted sharp cheddar cheese, and strawberry jam. A spinach salad with white onion, grape tomatoes, white wine vinegar, salt, and pepper on the side.

Figure 3. Afternoon snack, inspired by Ashley's @ Edible Perspective 3 Greek Yogurt Dips: a sliced Pink Lady apple with protein-packed chocolate peanut butter Greek yogurt dip.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Greek Yogurt Dip. Combine 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, 2 T cocoa powder, ~3/4 T chocolate PB2 powder, and a hint of vanilla extract. For a thinner consistency add a bit of water or milk. If you want to add sweetener, consider a teaspoon or so of agave nectar or maple syrup although I find with a sweet Pink Lady apple, this isn't needed.

One 1/2 cup serving: ~110 calories, 15 grams of protein.

 Figure 4. Dinner: pan-seared teriyaki chicken tenders, roasted red pepper and basil quinoa, and roasted zucchini and squash (tossed in salt and Mrs. Dash garlic and herb seasoning).

Figure 5. Dessert: chocolate pudding with homemade applesauce granola.

And that concludes another What I Ate Wednesday (featuring what I ate Tuesday, April 3). And a note about April's veg-pledge. Although I (more than) happily support the pledge, I find that I err on the side of eating too many (gasp) veggies!

the eating slowly experiment: pause and calm method (introduction)

The eating slowly experiment, a carefully designed evaluation of a series of methods to slow down my 'eating too fast' habit, is in full swing. Although the first method couldn't slow me down, the second method, placing my fork down between bites, was relatively successful. Given that I have a long way to go in eating slowly, today marks the beginning of test method number three.

Eating Slowly Method #3

Method to be Tested. Pause and calm before eating.

How to do it. Stop, pause, and calmly breathe before diving into any meal. Specifically, I plan to pause for at least 1 minute with the food in front of me and focus on calming my energy before eating anything. I hope that this sets the tone for a focused, calm, and slow eating experience.

Dates for Implementation. Tuesday, April 3 to Tuesday, April 24.

Remember to e-mail me (mylessseriouslife@gmail.com) or leave comments on this post to provide me with feedback as you go! Or, if this is a method your practice already, tell us how it works for you. I'll let you know how it goes with a results post around the 24th.

Breathe...and then eat.

weekend review: just add vodka

Figure 1. Saturday night's dinner: balsamic chicken with pine nuts, roasted asparagus (simply, in olive oil, salt, and pepper), and Parmesan-topped twice-baked sweet potatoes (see below for filling details).

Figure 2. Before the oven: twice-baked sweet potato filling. These sweet potatoes were AMAZING (yes, worthy of all caps). The filling is a creamy mixture of sauteed onions and kale, Greek yogurt, thyme, Parmesan cheese, and sweet potato.

Figure 3. Saturday morning baking: applesauce granola made with pecans, almonds, sesame seeds, and golden raisins.

Figure 4. A close up of the applesauce granola goodness.

Figure 5. Sunday night's dinner: shrimp vodka pasta served with creamed spinach and mushrooms (mine served on a bed of additional raw spinach). Luckily, I had vodka on hand for this pasta sauce that had me bracing myself not to go back for thirds. And this creamed spinach? I died. Delicious. Absolutely delicious.