Monday, August 30, 2010

High Fructose Corn Syrup Anonymous

At some point I started getting used to not having processed sugar.

I started out by following the principals of "Clean Eating" over the last year or so.  I've been careful to cut out products that incorporate High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) into their label.  I recognize that HFCS is the latest 'devil' of why we are overweight.  However, I am somewhat swayed in the favor of the devil on this one.

Hopefully it is not just a placebo effect, but I do think that when I consume HFCS I am hungrier sooner than I would be after eating something that does not contain it.

Recently I've been trying to cut back on my consumption of honey as well.  I am a sugar addict.  I tend to lean towards sugary foods...I just like them.  A lot.  I don't like bitter very much and savory is ok to balance out the sugar...but man, do I love sweets!

I eat a lot of Greek yogurt to help myself get enough protein to keep up with the athletics I enjoy so much.  I find it easier to consume than meat because it doesn't need to be cooked, has a longer expiration date, does better things to my stomach, and you can mix all sorts of things into it.

I like to add:
local honey
fruit-love strawberries. blackberries. banana.
toasted wheat germ
plain (nothing added)

My favorite Greek Yogurt right now is Fage 0%.  This morning I mixed in blackberries and half a banana.  Then later in the morning I sliced in the other half of the banana and topped it with some toasted wheat germ and some of the buckwheaties I made last week.  Yum!

This is my early morning yogurt...I was too hungry to take a picture the second time around.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Quick post

I'm tracking my food for the day, just to kind of see what types of food I am eating and do a quick calorie count.

I may or may not post the list here later.

These are the peppers I bought at the Northside Farmer's market yesterday.  I bought him out :).
Some of them are starting to turn a little bit, but I'll just cut those parts off.  I'm really not picky.  I love the scratch and dent section at the grocery store.  I go through so much produce that I am often able to use up whatever it is immediately.

This is a picture of my 'making do' breakfast at the Holiday Inn over the weekend.  This is a multigrain bagel with peanut butter and a banana.  This was delicious, but only kept my satisfied for about an hour.  It probably would have been better if I took one to go, as well. 

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

first extensive food post

This is my first chance to really do a food post.  I've got a couple photos ready to go and I've been doing a little of this and that in the kitchen.  I'm very excited to share.  :)

Buckwheaties!   I've seen them on a few other blogs and read Ani Phyo's Raw Food Essentials.  I don't have a dehydrator yet, so I just put them in the oven at a low temperature for a while.  They remind me of grape nuts.  ;)  I haven't done anything with them just yet, and this was my first try.  So we'll see.  Cereal?  hmm.


Beware, food porn lurks below.
I've developed an addition to a certain Ani Phyo recipe.  I questioned my own sanity when I purchased six cucumbers with the intent of making them all into this dish.  And knowing I will have no problem eating all of it. I learned how to make my cucumbers all pretty like from Loves Veggies and Yoga.




This is by far my favorite recipe from Ani Phyo's Raw Food Essentials book.  I haven't made too many things from there.  This is Spicy Korean Cucumber Slices, or something like that.  Since I got the book, I've probably made this five or six times.  A must try.


Some collard greens I got at the Northside Farmer's market today.  I really got some nice produce.  :)  This is already in my blender, waiting to be blended in the morning.

Beautiful Swiss Chard, with lovely red stems.

All cleaned up and waiting to be eaten!  I put a little of this in the blender too.  The rest of the collard greens and chard will probably be used for soup.  I'm never quite sure what to do with them besides adding to smoothies or making greens with bacon...and I'm trying not to consume much bacon.

So, that's it for now.  More to come another time.

Cell Phone pictures and growing pains

I'm not doing so hot with the cell phone pictures just yet...

I thought I sent one in on Saturday, and another this morning.  But the sending ID didn't work and they are definitely not here.

So, what I wanted to show you was a breakfast that 'made do' at the Holiday Inn on Sunday morning.

I had a multigrain bagel with peanut butter and a sliced banana on top.  I accompanied it with coffee and OJ.  It didn't last me very long.  I was starving within 2 hours.  Perhaps next time I will take one for the road.

Are you ever not very hungry in the morning?  I feel like I want a little something and I nosh on that.  But the true hunger doesn't come until about 8:30 or so.  I generally wake up between 5:30 and 6. 

Sometimes I make a large omelet and eat a little at home and pack the rest to go.

Today was a weakness day.  :(  I was running late and had to get out the door without a lot of time in the kitchen.  I made a huge green smoothie with 1 frozen banana, 1 or 1 1/2c of organic baby spinach, 5-6 ice cubes, a spoonful of: spirulina, ground flax seed, maca powder, and cacao.  I also mixed in 2 servings of Sun Warrior Chocolate protein powder, which is my favorite.

I was starving by the time I got to work, so I quickly guzzled my smoothie.  And then I went down to the work cafeteria and had a breakfast burrito with sausage and scrambled egg and cheese.  And I was still hungry.  I finished off about a cup of leftover Fage 0% from yesterday.

Now I am having some hot green tea in the hopes that it will soothe the hunger beast.  :)

Back to work, and hopefully I will figure out the picture texting message issue later this afternoon.  I would really like that to work.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Introductory Blog Post

I've been posting pictures of my cooking and food on Facebook for about a year.  I started this blog as a way to get the photos into more of a story format.  Although I liked the convenience of Facebook, I wanted the ability to link photos together in a string with more wording then the captions would allow.

One of the reasons I was reluctant to start a blog is that I wouldn't be able to send picture messages with my phone.  Well, lucky me, the blogging world already realized that I might want to do that and that I'm not rich enough to have a fancy smart phone.  I was super happy when I realized I could have the best of both worlds right here in the blog format I was looking for.

A bit more about me:

I have a standard office job for a large company.  I am fortunate enough to work in a large building with a cafeteria that serves lots of fresh vegetables, both cooked and raw.

I also have some part time employment that takes me away from Cincinnati from time to time.  This part time employment is a big part of why I am not 100% vegetarian or vegan.  We travel frequently and it is just easier to eat the food that folks provide than to work really hard to be vegan or vegetarian.

One of the things I like to do for myself is limit the amount of animal consumption in my home.  That means that I rarely buy cow milk or meat.  I do eat a large amount of Greek yogurt at home.   Lately I've been craving cheese and have been keeping that at home as well.  I enjoy chocolate rice or almond milk mixed with my coffee.

I try to avoid heavily processed foods and focus on cooking for myself.  I avoid corn products as much as I can, although I do eat popcorn.  I try to stay away from high fructose corn syrup, and regular corn syrup as well.

When I am away from home on trips or just out in general, I do not actively avoid meat.  If the restaurant has something that interests me, I will eat it.

My interests:

I enjoy fitness a lot.  I work out in a small group with a personal trainer a few times a week and do a lot of other fun active things on my own as well.

I belong to the local gym and enjoy swimming laps.  I find workouts online and take them to the gym.

I recently completed my first full marathon.  I strained a muscle(s) in my thigh on the 20 mile run, and ran the race anyway.  I am having a long, slow recovery from that injury.  It's taken an unfortunately toll on my ability to work out the way I want.
 
I have a "Giant" brand bicycle that I like to take to the local bike path and ride.  This is put on hold for a while so the leg can heal.

My purpose for the blog:

To share lovely recipes and photos with the interwebs!  

And as soon as I get back from my travels, I will start!