one of the things i've missed most about this blog is my ability to capture (and remember!) the dinners i create via my weekend review posts. time to bring them back.
after an indulgent friday night, saturday called for vegetables.
...gasp...
beautiful vegetables, which i turned into saturday night's dinner: weekend glow kale salad.
i got an iron skillet for a wedding gift (yes, we have a lot to catch up on) and i broke it in sunday night with some delicious white cheddar yogurt cornbread.
sunday night's dinner: dijon almond crusted tilapia, white cheddar yogurt cornbread smeared with earth balance, and roasted green beans.
let's be honest, the weekend is the time for wineicecreamcheesechocolatedidimentionwine? but by the time monday rolls around i am craving a bowl of veggies so large that it makes people stare. i love this bowl of veggies so much that i didn't even envy the cheesy enchiladas my husband was eating right next to me. fast, light, & healthy - this bowl of beans is the perfect weeknight dinner.
green bean delight
coat a shit-ton of green beans and cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. roast at 400 degrees for ~25 minutes, turning halfway through (i like mine roasty).
fill a bowl with an exorbitant amount of roasted green beans and tomatoes (hey, they are veggies) and top with chopped pecans (or walnuts) and a solid drizzle of tahini.
add a toasted piece of healthy bread (Ezekial sprouted grains) if you just finished spinning for two hours and need to refuel (it happened, i needed carbs and i needed them fast).
curl up on the couch with your veggie bowl and be delighted...
Oh, so you want to know what I ate because it is Wednesday? A bunch of food I didn't take a picture of and this...
...chocolate-dream cupcake, which was so amazing it deserves not only this picture, but its own photo shoot.
My Mom and Dad are obsessed with Bang Bang Shrimp from Bonefish Grill. I agree, they are delicious. But, I have two problems with this delicious dinner: they aren't the healthiest dinner you've ever had and, my biggest issue, I don't have a Bonefish where I live! So, this dinner creation - a healthy version of bang bang shrimp made in my own kitchen is just for you, Mom and Dad.
Figure 3. Sunday night's dinner: skinny bang bang shrimp (I used Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise for the sauce and they were great!), Asian cabbage mango slaw, and brown basmati rice. Of course, this isn't a perfect replacement for the real thing - but a pretty fantastic and healthy substitute that I will be making again.
It's my birthday. Let's eat cereal...er...cake.
I wasn't going to post today. I'm embarrassed, people.
But, the more I thought about it the more I realized that I needed to give my experience from yesterday a voice. A voice because I know that this happens to many of you and we don't talk about it. We feel ashamed, embarrassed, and out of control. I feel these things too, but balls to the wall here is 'What I ate Wednesday: the binge day'.
The day started normally enough, with a typical breakfast of cereal and fruit and a lunch of leftover healthy broccoli salad made with Greek yogurt.
I even managed to have a healthy and filling snack of Greek yogurt and a carefully measured tablespoon of peanut butter.
My day was stressful. Like tear your hair out stressful. In fact, right now my life is more stressful than it has ever been and I can't workout because I have a stress fracture in my heel from over-running and I am struggling with how to deal with it every.single.day. I am in panic mode. Some days, I am ok. But, yesterday I came home at five in the afternoon with an overwhelmed feeling of not knowing what to do with myself and my severely anxious energy. So, I thought a glass of wine and a bowl of cereal would comfort me.
It didn't. It didn't because my emotions are so much deeper and so much stronger than a bowl of f*cking cereal.
But, at the moment I didn't know that and I thought a second bowl would do the trick. Well, my friends - it turned into a massive sh*t show of granola + cereal + yogurt + peanut butter + cool whip and I can't even talk about the details. Like eating directly out of the container-style. Easter candy may have been involved. I'm not even kidding. You know, right? You've been there, right?
In the end, I felt nothing but gross and exhausted and passed out at 8 PM feeling not better, but worse. Much worse. Ashamed, guilty, worse.
Today, I have choices. But, I have decided to move on. I (god knows why) will publish this awkward and way-too-truthful post for the world to know my weakness (ok I know why because someone has to talk about it and it might as well be me). I could eat 0 calories and work out like a beast to compensate for my binge. But, no. I won't.
I just ate my normal breakfast and will focus on hydration, fresh food, and treating my body with respect. Yesterday, I abused my body. Today, I need to be nice. Super duper nice. Nice in the form of water, and vegetables, fruit, and lean protein. Moderate exercise and sunshine. Finally, I need to spend time reflecting on the emotions behind the binge. It isn't food that is the problem (or solution) at all. It is something deeper, something larger. I need to explore this and more than anything I owe it to myself to move on. I am okay. If this speaks to you and you find yourself in this situation today or in the future - you are okay, too.
And this, my friends, is what I ate Tuesday, April 16.
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