my less serious day: 20-minute observations

For those of you who regularly follow my less serious life, you know I'm in the middle of testing the 20-minute method for my eating slowly experiment.

Today I bring you a few mid-test period observations:

• Laying your stop watch on the table during a lunch out with friends will make the entire table uncomfortable.
• Timing your dinner during a date is inappropriate.
• So far this method is...working! Check out each meal below for the actual (rounded) eating times for a glimpse of the action.

Wearing.

Top: gifted via Sister-in-Law; skirt: LOFT; necklace: J Crew outlet; mini-wedges: TJ Maxx.

Doing.

This morning I went on a 30-minute run at working pace followed by a short 15-minute cool down walk with L. After work I hit the gym for a 60-minute kickboxing class. I just started kickboxing and love it - nothing relieves stress like slamming a bag with your fists while dripping in sweat. I finished the day with a 10-minute walk with pup when I returned home.

Eating.

Pre-workout I had 1/2 banana, 1/2 mug of black coffee, and 1 pint of water. For breakfast I had a bowl of Kashi GoLean Original mixed with Post Great Grains Raisin, Date, & Pecan cereal, 1/2 sliced banana, and almond milk. Breakfast eating time: 24 minutes.

Lunch was Amy's Palak Paneer on top of mixed greens. Lunch eating time: 21 minutes.

Although I try to stay away from processed food, sometimes it is necessary. Most frozen entrees are fantastic on top of a bed of greens. This adds bulk to what tend to be less than filling meals and adds vegetables to what would otherwise be a veggie-light lunch.

My afternoon snack was a Golden Delicious apple and cocoa-roast almonds.

Dinner was pasta with sun-dried tomato pesto and sauteed chicken alongside roasted eggplant and red peppers (roasted in oil, salt, and pepper at 450 for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through). Dinner eating time: 19 minutes.

Dessert was dry Cascadian Farm vanilla almond granola and peanut butter.

Note: this post represents what happened in my world on Tuesday, June 5. 

what i ate wednesday: issue 37

Three meals, three sensible snacks, one happy belly.

  Figure 1. Breakfast: a bowl of Kashi GoLean Original mixed with Post Great Grains Raisin, Date, and Pecan cereal, a sliced banana, and almond milk.

Figure 2. Lunch: a spinach and romaine lettuce salad with tomatoes, dried cranberries, smoked almonds, hummus, and balsamic vinegar. Carrot sticks with peanut butter on the side (move over apples, carrots and peanut butter is a killer combination).

Figure 3. Sensible snack #1: plain Greek yogurt, a sliced banana, and Quaker Oatmeal Squares.

 Figure 4. Sensible snack #2: a post-run/pre-Body Pump Golden Delicious apple.

Figure 5. Dinner: asparagus and mushrooms (sauteed with olive oil, salt, and smoked paprika), quinoa, a crumbled MorningStar Farms spicy black bean burger, salsa, and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt.

Figure 6. Sensible snack # 3: a bowl of dry Cascadian Farm vanilla almond granola.

And that concludes another What I Ate Wednesday (featuring what I ate Monday, June 4).

my less serious momma: easy rigatoni

I recently began a new series called my less serious momma, where my mom shares her tried and true recipes in her own words and from her own perspective. 

Her latest recipes are to the theme, which she devised herself, of Red Hot Momma. Brilliant. And, let's not forget her first recipe was red beet eggs - how fitting! First up, a red hot easy rigatoni - from my mom to your table.

Take it away, mom...

--

I think I’ve worked most of my life so I’ve always looked for fast, easy, and tasty. Long ago a friend told me the secret of red sauce was to brown the tomato paste, and thus began my long repertoire of easy red recipes. Easy to adapt to carnivores and herbivores, my classics are easy to strip of meat, a twist learned when my son married a vegetarian.  

 

Red Recipe #1.  Easy Rigatoni

Redlight warning—this makes a lot so be prepared to freeze or eat it three times. I roast zucchini and yellow squash and onions for the repeat dish and simply toss it in the sauce to serve. 

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 chopped onion

3 crushed clove garlic

1 6 oz can tomato paste

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 tsp sugar

 1 ½ tsp oregano

1 ½ tsp basil

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

rigatoni

grated Parmesan to taste

Saute garlic and onion in heated olive oil, about 10 minutes. Add tomato taste and fry another 3-5 minutes. Add everything else, except rigatoni and simmer about 30 minutes. Cook rigatoni, toss w sauce, add cheese, eat. Consider wearing an apron.

 

Here’s the ingredients, easy to keep on hand.

Lightly sautéed onions.

Frying the tomato paste.

Enjoying with lightly browned garlic bread (just butter and garlic salt on Italian bread).

--

Thanks, mom. And, I must say - I've made this dish and it is, indeed, both easy and delicious. Stay tuned for the next red-themed recipe, Easy Eggplant Parmesan.

weekend review: note to self

This weekend I remembered that living is more important than blogging.

And that not every weekend can (or should) be filled with perfectly balanced and perfectly photographed meals.

Rather, some weekends should be filled with slow morning walks, cold mid-afternoon beers, and simple undocumented food.

Note to self: Live first. Blog second.

the eating slowly experiment: 20 minutes method (introduction)

Eating slowly is an elusive and complicated beast. So far I have tackled four methods for three weeks each in the eating slowly experiment. Today marks the final method as defined at the beginning of the experiment, the 20-minutes method. Brace yourselves, this one requires equipment...

No, I don't have a Garmin. Yes, I am still awesome.

Eating Slowly Method #5

Method to be Tested. Time 20 minutes and stretch out meals accordingly.

How to do it. At the beginning of each meal, time 20 minutes (the amount of time it takes your brain to register satiety). Start your timer and eat your meal slowly enough so it lasts the entire 20 minutes. I would also suggest to pause at the halfway point and assess your experience and satiety (mindful eating).

Dates for Implementation. Thursday, May 31 to Thursday, June 14.

Remember this experiment is designed to be interactive and this is the last test method so you should play along if you haven't already! No really, you should. E-mail me (mylessseriouslife@gmail.com) or leave comments on this post to provide me with feedback as you try this method along with me.

 Find other eating slowly methods on my food experiment page. 

Ready, set, eat (for 20-minutes)...

what i ate wednesday: issue 36

    Figure 1. Breakfast: a bowl of Kashi GoLean Original mixed with the last of my slightly stale but still tasty homemade quinoa granola, 1/2 banana, and almond milk. Pre-run I had 1/2 banana and 1/2 mug of coffee.

   Figure 2. Lunch: leftover quinoa mac and cheese (I froze the last serving for a quick lunch - it reheated wonderfully) on top of arugula. Yes, I ate this straight out of the arugula container. Some call it lazy - I call it efficient.

Figure 3. Afternoon snack: a Gala apple and a mix of cinnamon-roast and raw almonds.

 Figure 4. Dinner: Scrambled eggs (1 egg and 2 egg whites) with a leftover grilled portobello mushroom (worth making!) and leftover marinated roasted red peppers, roasted zucchini and eggplant, and two pieces of whole wheat toast with Earth Balance. 

Figure 5. Dessert:a Skinny Cow heavenly peanut butter crisp.

And that concludes another What I Ate Wednesday (featuring what I ate Tuesday, May 29).

weekend review: memorial day for one

Figure 1. Friday night's dinner: 15-minute creamy avocado pasta and roasted squash and zucchini.

Figure 2. Saturday afternoon baking: mom's favorite granola.

Figure 3. Sunday night's dinner: sausage ragu over creamy polenta and a lemony asparagus salad.

Figure 4. In preparation: my first roasted red pepper. I put a whole red pepper on a baking sheet in the oven at 450 degrees for 45 minutes, turning over every 15 minutes. I then immediately transferred the pepper to a bowl, covered with plastic wrap, and let cool. Once cool, you can easily remove the skin, stem, and seeds. I put a quarter of this pepper in the mayonnaise for my burger (see below) and sliced up the remainder, added a sliced garlic clove, covered in oil, and refrigerated for future use.

Figure 5. Monday night's dinner: a portobello burger with roasted red pepper mayonnaise, sweet potato fries, and roasted broccoli. I must say, a night to myself on the couch with a delicious burger and a Bethenney Ever After marathon turned out to be a pretty great Memorial Day after all.