Friday, January 6, 2012
Breakfast:
- Toasted Nuts & Cranberries Luna Bar
This morning was crazy! My friend/partner-in-crime Max and I missed the bus on the way to school because I didn't know that the schedule changed to the winter schedule. Whoops! So before I hustled my way to school on a bike with half flat tires I snarfed down half of my Luna Bar on-the-go as I was rushing away. The second half of the bar was eaten at a much calmer and more conscious pace.
Later in the day I reached into my pocket when I was walking my way back from Atkins, the local grocery store, and was pleasantly surprised to find the half unwrapped Luna bar. As Max and I walked through the empty corn field, crunching and cracking the stubs of corn stalks beneath our boots, I munched on the rest of the bar. The air was brisk and we were light-footed.
My granola bar was filled with full grains and real cranberries, plus crunchy toasted nuts. The crisp winter air filled my nostrils with an icy burn, but the smell of the toasted nuts and the warmth that comes from eating calmed the chill for a moment. The toasted nuts were slightly smokey when crunched. The cranberries were chewy, gummy, sweet and tangy. The grains weren't broken up too much; they were pretty simple, and worked well as a base.
I really enjoy keeping a food journal because it helps me stay conscious about what I'm eating, how I'm eating it, where I'm eating, who I'm eating with, and more. I think that everyone should try it at some point in their lives. Keeping a food journal forces me to be honest about what I'm putting in my body, which effectively encourages me to live a healthier lifestyle.
If I look back at the bigger picture of what I am eating I can easily see what I might want to cut back on and eat more of in order to feel really healthy and balanced. When I snarfed down the first half of the luna bar in the morning I missed all of the best parts of what I was eating! I used it as fuel instead of appreciating all of its delicious and gratifying characteristics. And most importantly, I learned through this experience that if you are conscious of your daily actions it's possible to find meaningful lessons in something as normal and straightforward as eating a Luna bar! Speaking of this lesson, right now as I'm sitting in the kitchen writing this post Max has been cooking his dinner for the past hour or more. Haha! I have a feeling he's going to savor that meal once he sits down to eat it!
Lunch:
- Lentil soup (1 bowl)
- A good consistency that lied between a thin and and thick broth
- Lentils were filling, tasty, and plentiful to the point where they nearly filled the spoon
- White flour bread roll (1 serving)
- Pretty standard roll that reminded me of a hot-dog bun consistency
- "Chex" and "Captain Crunch" cereal mix with fat free milk (1 small serving)
- crunchy and sweet-- a good dessert
Max and I ran for a quick lunch at SAGA (our schools dining hall) while the ice cream we made was churning. Don't you worry friends, I'll talk about that in the next post! People always complain about the food at SAGA, but I think there are certain things that are pretty good. I would, however, love to be able to see how things are made so that I know what I'm actually eating. It's hard to know what you're putting in your body if you are only looking at the final product. Things like salad bars are great because I get to make it myself. But the soup that I got- I don't even know if it was made from scratch, bought in bulk, frozen, or canned. I don't know the salt content, the type of stock that was used, or where the soup ingredients came from. Despite my closed eyes, I still enjoyed the soup.
Snack:
- Organic blue corn tortilla chips
- Not to salty, which was nice
- Crunchy and thicker than most white corn tortilla chips. I find that blue corn tortilla chips have a little more depth to their flavor.
- Organic black bean & corn salsa
- My favorite salsa! The corn and black beans are such a great sweet addition that plays with the spice of the salsa. The spice isn't too much so that you can only eat a few bites, but it's just enough that you definitely have to take breaks. It wakes you up!
- Homemade mango/orange/apple/banana and vanilla-caramel chocolate chunk ice cream!(1 cup)(more details to follow)
- Fresh and creamy! It tasted so genuine. I'll explain more in the following post.
Dinner:
- Organic chicken wild rice soup (1 can)
- Quick and filling
- Smooth, light broth
- Tender chicken and vegetables, not too much rice
- It's not the most amazing canned soup I've ever had flavor-wise (a little bland), but I did enjoy the feeling of hot soup going down my throat and warming me from the inside out on a frosty night.
- 9 grain sourdough bread (1 and 1/2 slices)
- I broke the bread up into small pieces and mixed them into the soup. The bread soaks up the broth and when you bite down on a piece in your mouth you get a flood of flavor. I love doing this with other starches as well, such as crackers and rice cakes.
- Organic carrot sticks from a local farm (1 large carrot)
- I can definitely taste the difference between the bagged carrots from the store and the ones from the farm. There's so much more flavor in these ones! You take one bite and say "Wow! Now that's a carrot!" instead of having a watery bite with a little carrot flavor from the baby carrots you get at the store. It tastes authentic. They even come still covered in some dirt, which takes more time because you have to peel it, but makes the experience of eating it so much more fun.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Breakfast:
- Honey & Almond Granola with 2% organic milk, a handful of blueberries, and half a sliced banana (1 bowl)
- This granola is so delicious. It's not too sweet and it has a deep and hearty crunch. The fruit kept the combination clean and fresh. I love granola in the morning because it cures those early morning stomach grumbles, it's light so it doesn't weigh you down, and it gives you a major energy boost throughout the day. Plus, when I add some fruit, it's like a little spoonful of happiness in every bite.
- One thing I wished I had were strawberries. I think that really would have completed the dish.
Snack:
- Organic blue corn tortilla chips
- Organic black bean & corn salsa
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- Still eaten like an apple, of course! (previous entry) New tip: Take care to dodge the seeds. They're plentiful and uncomfortable if you get a bite of them.
Dinner:
- Organic chicken noodle soup (1 can)
- I ate this soup out of a mug that was given to me by my best friend Rachel and her mom before I left for college. Whenever I use it, it's like their love seeps into the food or drink and fills me up. Yummy.
- 1 brown rice cake
- I broke up this rice cake and mixed it into the soup just like the bread. Great addition, in my opinion.
- All natural crispy cheddar crackers (1 handful)
- Salty and addictive! Once you start you can't stop because they're just that good. They're preservative-free and they contain no hydrogenated oil, otherwise known as harmful trans fats.
Dessert:
- A cold-from-the-fridge honeycrisp apple
- So refreshing and juicy! Honeycrisps are the best, especially for juicing. In case you ever want to make fresh apple juice, these are #1.
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