Mary – Page 64 – Fervent Foodie

Who doesn’t love a big package?

June 10, 2010 No Comments

Netrition order arrived!!! Yay for flat-rate UPS shipping!!!

Breakdown of the goods:

Mama Lupe’s Low-Carb Tortillas
Dixie Diner Carb Counters Soy Rocks plus Flax Bars (1 Crunchy Apple, 1 Crunchy Caramel Chocolate, 1 Crunchy Chocolate)
Nutritious Living Hi-Lo Cereal, Maple Pecan
Joseph’s Middle East Bakery Reduced Carb/Flax, Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Pita Bread
Joseph’s Middle East Bakery Reduced Carb/Flax, Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Lavash Bread
Bell Plantation Chocolate PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter

Can’t wait to try out all these goodies!

The Jewelry Party went really well! I always feel really happy and empowered when I get together with a group of women. Through my job, I get the opportunity to work with Akron’s Knowledgeable Network of Women, but outside of work I don’t have a ton of women-only time these days. While the Jewelry party was fun, I wish there was something I could do to get a group of women together without the enticement of having to buy a product.

Here’s some pics of the grub:

Separately, it may sound odd but I felt kinda guilty for getting free jewelry based on my friends’ purchases. Yes it offset the cost of the food and drinks, but that’s the sort of thing I like doing for friends without expecting anything in return. Maybe I’m just weird — but regardless I don’t think I’ll have any sort of jewelry/tupperware/purse/candle etc parties in the future, but I’ll definitely have to think of another type of get together for my lady friends.

I was so exhausted from the party that I didn’t spend a ton of time on my meals today. At least I’m going to get to try out a new recipe for dinner tonight 😀

B1 – After my success with the Luna Bar earlier this week, I was pumped to try a new breakfast bar so I decided to go with the Dixie Diner Carb Counters Soy Rocks plus Flax Bars in Crunchy Chocolate….

I took approximately 1.5 bites before tossing the rest in the trash! I felt like I was eating a chocolate scented tire.

🙁 Two thumbs down Dixie Diner… Two thumbs down.

B2 = Oats and fruits!

L: I decided to use up some of the party leftovers and make a lavash sandwich with the new lavash bread I ordered from netrition– a lavawich if you will 😉 . You may be asking, what the heck is lavash? Well my friends, It’s basically a really thin flat bread. I loaded it up with some turkey/ham, and a ton of sprouts, tomatoes, onions, and half a laughing cow french onion wedge.

Check out the height on this sucker:

The bread doesn’t have much taste to it (which is actually good–most low carb products have a funky after taste). I think what I like most about this bread is the sheer size of it. My sandwich was on half of the lavash–but I think I’ll try making a monster flat bread pizza with it this weekend.

Stats on the Lavash: 1/2 of one lavash has 50 calories, 7g carbs, 3g dietary fiber, 5g protein

Man… can’t wait for the weekend to get here! Goal this weekend is to not spend any money — which is good because I could really use a low-key R&R couple of days!

Dinner plan this evening is to try out the stuffed peppers I posted earlier in the week and make some roasted broccoli. I’m really getting sick of frozen steamed veggies, that is for darn sure!

What I ate

Hump day crackalacking

June 9, 2010 No Comments

Happy Hump Day! 😀

Seems like the past few days I have been entirely devoted to preparing for the Jewelry Party! Well today’s the day friends! Those of you who know me well know that I L-O-V-E hosting parties. I tend to over dedicate myself to them — but I really enjoy the whole preparation process. Slightly weird, I know, but I’m ok with it.

Since this fervent foodie has to leave work early today to get ready for the ladies to come over for the Jewelry Party tonight, my meals for the day needed to be quick and light.

Breakfast #1

: 3 Egg Whites, 12 Grain Bread with Sunflower Seeds, Broccoli, Squirt o’ ketchup

Breakfast #1 Stats: 173 Calories, 23g Carbs, 2g Fat, 17g Protein, 2g Fiber

Breakfast 2: Oikos Greek Honey Yogurt, Blackberries, and some Bear Naked Maple Pecan Granola

Breakfast #2 Stats: 200 Calories, 32g Carbs, 2g Fat, 16g Protein, 3g Fiber

Lunch: Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wrap! broccoli (meh..) carrots and Trader Joe’s Jalapeno Cilantro Hummus (A-MAY-ZING).

Lunch Stats: 283 Calories, 24g Carbs, 6g Fat, 33g Protein, 8g Fiber

Looking forward to trying out some new recipes tomorrow and this weekend!!!

Countdown til food and Bling: T-minus 6 hours 😀

Ramblings

Fervent Foodie – Golden Rule

June 8, 2010 1 Comment

Dinner tonight needed to be super quick because I have a crap ton to get done before the party tomorrow! I bought the new MorningStar Lasagna with Sausage Style Crumbles a while back, and it’s just been chillin in the freezer since then (get it? 😉 )

The Lasgana was pretty good – but when I flipped the box over and saw the crazy long list of ingredients I was shocked! The ingredients list is extreme. Had I checked out the back of the box before buying, I would have put this frozen entre back on the shelf.

Jewelry Party

All week I have hemmed and hawed over what to make for the jewelry party I am hosting. Usually at these types of get togethers, the host sets out tons of tempting goodies that would not typically fit into my work-week diet. Don’t get me wrong — I love to partake in all the indulging, but I always feel a little guilty afterward for eating 3 pounds of cheese and sampling every dessert on the spread.

Since I am hosting this particular get together, not only would I be indulging at the actual party but I’d also be left with tons of scrumptious goodies tempting me throughout the rest of the week. Ughhhh….

So with all this in mind, I decided to go with the Golden Rule methodology. Do unto others as you would have done unto you… or in Fervent Foodie language: feed others what you would like to be fed. So, the plan is to keep my menu for the party as simple and healthy as possible. Things that I would eat on a normal day, and that I would not feel guilty about eating as leftovers for the rest of the week.

Here’s what’s on the agenda:

Mini sandwiches (whole grain bread, turkey or ham, cheese, lots of veggies)
Carrots, tri-color peppers, light veggie dip, hummus
Cucumbers Provencal
Strawberries & Cream (dang I hope mine look this good!)

Hope my guests aren’t disappointed by this healthy(er) menu–I know I won’t be 😀

What I ate

B#1, B#2, L

June 8, 2010 2 Comments

I’ve never really tried to make an omelet before, but this morning it sounded like just what my belly was craving! I’m sure there is a technique behind omelet making, but I decided to just throw everything in the pan and see what turned up.

Breakfast #1 Omelet: 1 egg, 3 egg whites, splash skim milk, 1/2 cup broccoli, 1/4 chopped spinach, 1/8 cup salsa, Frank’s Red Hot

Pleasantly surprised by how tasty the omelet was. I was worried the top/inside wouldn’t cook through, so I ended up covering the pan with a lid for most of the cooking time. This worked perfectly–the eggs were fluffy but not underdone. Think I’ll pick up some canadian bacon at the grocery store to throw into my next omelet creation!

Breakfast #1 Stats: 153 calories, 9g carbs, 5g fat, 20g protein, 2g fiber

Dessert Breakfast #2 – I’ve been wanting to try a Luna bar for quite some time. I usually eat breakfast/granola bars as snacks rather than meal replacements, and these bars are kind of high-calorie in my opinion (well they are if you eat the whole thing). Several times over the past couple months I’ve picked up a Luna bar in the store, looked over the package, placed it in the cart, then subsequently put it back on the shelf and walked away as quickly as possible. Yesterday, I happened to see them at a discount store so I grabbed a few. I’m a sucker for a good deal 😀

When I unwrapped the Caramel Nut Brownie Luna Bar I was presently surprised. It looked and smelled like a big fat candy bar.

So today’s dessert breakfast #2 consisted of 1/2 a Caramel Nut Brownie Luna Bar on top of some Dannon vanilla greek yogurt along with some blackberries.

Stats for B#2: 215 calories, 34g carbs, 3g fat, 17g protein, 4g fiber

Lunch

Lunch today is a repeat of yesterday (boring, yet tasty) with some steamed broccoli. Lettuce wrap in action:

I also brought some carrot sticks and Trader Joe’s Jalapeno Cilantro hummus. The hummus is so freaking good! I can’t wait to try out some of the other hummus flavors they sell.

I literally licked the container clean. This is why it is good I sit by myself at work 😀

Trader Joe is my homeboy 🙂

On the agenda this evening:

Mow my crazy overgrown backyard
Finish cleaning for the Jewelry Partayyyy (which is tomorrow evening)
Start Prepping food for party… menu selections to be posted this evening.

What I ate

My fight with fish

June 7, 2010 7 Comments

I am the type of person who hates disliking foods, let alone an entire group of foods. As evidenced by this blog, I love food, trying new things, and sharing my experiences with others. There are few foods I truly hate, but throughout most of my life I’ve despised seafood. 🙁

This distaste for seafood has caused me a great deal of sadness over the years, and a while back I made it my personal mission to trick train myself to tollerate enjoy seafood. Once during my teens, my mom actually bet me $20 I wouldn’t eat a piece of sushi. This bet ended with me in tears and a lonely uneaten piece of sushi on my plate. (BTW – my mom still paid me the $20–think she felt bad for envoking tears 🙂 )

Whelp, I must say I’ve come along way since then! At this point, I thoroughly enjoy shrimp, crab, clams, and most other shell fish. I L-O-V-E sushi and calamari. (Insert golf clap here)

Despite these applaudable advances in my palate, I have not been able to find a fish I thoroughly enjoy eating. Every fish that I have tried comes up subpar (well unless it is fried — but fry pretty much anything and it’s tasty).

All day, I’ve been dreading tonight’s dinner. The plan: to eat and thoroughly enjoy a salmon patty sandwich courtesy of my Sunday Trader Joe’s shopping excursion.

When I got home, I noticed I was subconsciously avoiding dinner. I found plenty of things to clean and straighten up even though my stomach was grumbling. Finally I pulled the salmon out of the fridge and stood there staring at it for a few solid minutes. After much contemplation, I decided I needed a sauce for the salmon patty so I whipped one together:

Fish Sauce Recipe (not really sure what else to call this concotion…)

2 tbsp breakstones fat free sour cream
½ tsp horseradish
1/8 tsp minced garlic
¼ tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Frank’s red hottttt

Once the sauce was assembled, I started choppin excessive amounts of onion and lettuce to top the salmon patty.

At this point, there was no more delaying the inevitable, so I threw the patty on the george. 😯

When I finally mustered up the courage to try the sandwich, I realized it wasn’t horrible — but it’s not exactly something I would look forward to eating either. I just don’t enjoy the flaky texture of fish, and I find it pretty bland. I would rather sink my teeth into a hamburger, turkey burger, piece of chicken, steak, etc.

I guess it’s one small step for woman… one giant leap still to come?

Stats on the sammy with 1 tbsp fish sauce recipe (above): 200 calories, 24g carbs, 3g fat, 23g protein, 4g fiber

Since dinner was mediocre, I figured I’d try something else new and throw together a protein shake using one of the samples the BF got me at the Vitamin Shoppe over the weekend.

Here’s what went into my first ever protein shake:

1/2 of a serving IntraPro Double Chocolate Pure Whey Protein
1/4 cup sliced frozen banana
3 ice cubes
8 ounces of water

Topped her off with a dollop of fat free whipped cream! This was actually quite tasty! I could really taste the bananas, but the chocolate was a little too subdued for me. Next time, I may use coffee instead of water (mocha frap baby!) or try adding some different fruits and cocoa powder.

Stats on the protein shake: 130 calories, 13g carbs, 2g fat, 13g protein, 2g fiber