Old Habits

As I have mentioned, I am trying to enjoy eating more these days.  As easy as that sounds, it has been a struggle for me in the past, and I am working on breaking unhealthy habits.  Today wasn’t a great day eating-wise for me, but I guess I just have to expect ups and downs.  In terms of calories, today could have been much worse, but it is the mentality I had while eating that troubles me.  Before I went to the gym this morning, I ate a lot of cereal as a “snack.”  I ended up eating more straight from the box, which is never a good choice, since I continue to eat mindlessly, not because I am hungry.  Consequently, I wasn’t particularly hungry for a full lunch. I had some yogurt and about a third of a banana, as well as some leftover brussels sprouts.

This afternoon, I played tennis for an hour with a friend.  It was fun, but now I’m pretty tired! When I got home, I had some leftovers for dinner–spaghetti squash and turkey meatballs with parmesan cheese.  I also had a sliced carrot and 1/2c. of yogurt.

And Now…The Oatmeal Pancake!

One of my other breakfast staples is the pumpkin oatmeal pancake.  I owe the idea to Kath of katheats.com, and it is really easy to make.  The recipe I use calls for 1/2c. oats, 1/2c. pumpkin, 1 egg white, 1 tsp. cinnamon, and 1 tsp. baking powder.  On top, I usually have half a mashed banana or jam, and today it was blackberry jam!  Along with a cup of coffee with skim milk, and another sliced granny smith apple!

Home Cooking

After lunch, I did a much-needed load of laundry at the laundromat around the corner.  Then, before my trip to the gym, I had a caramel rice cake as a snack. 

After a 6 mile run on the treadmill, I made a quick stop at Whole Foods to pick up a few things I couldn’t get this morning.   When I got home, I started on dinner–spaghetti squash and turkey meatballs.  I used the panko breadcrumbs I bought this morning–they really made the meatballs!  I had three meatballs with sauce, and topped my bowl off with parmesan cheese.  On the side, I had the end of the loaf of whole wheat bread from earlier in the week.

For dessert, I had a bowl of yogurt and cereal with the rest of my blackberries.  I used 1/2c. nonfat plain yogurt and 1/2 c. cereal.

**Edited to include another snack.**

A few hours later I was hungry again, but didn’t want to eat too much before bed, so  I had a sliced granny smith apple.  I could have eaten more, but since I was going to sleep soon, I didn’t want to be too full!

Brunch With Friends

After breakfast, I went grocery shopping.  It is a sunny day here, so it was nice to walk to the store and back.  Around noon, I went to brunch at a local place with my friends Maggie and Rachel. Rachel is visiting from California, and it was great to see her! To celebrate the last day of her visit, we went out and enjoyed a nice meal.  I ate two scrambled eggs, one slice of dry wheat toast, a thin slice of canteloupe, and some hash browns.  I don’t have a picture to share, but it was delicious and filling.  I also had two more cups of coffee–probably more caffeine than I needed today.  I’m off to the gym now for a little workout.  I’m not feeling my best, but I am hoping that working up a sweat might make me feel a little better.

The Usual…

I had my usual pumpkin oatmeal again for breakfast this morning–1/2c. oats, 1/2c. pumpkin, 1/2 small banana, 1/2c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and 1/2c. water.  Along with a cup of coffee with skim milk.

I also had a small bowl of the fresh blackberries I got last night! The are pretty ripe so I’ll have to eat them quickly.

Fresh Produce

On my walk home from work, I stopped at a local farmer’s market to get my produce for the week.  It is a great way to save money–I was able to get six bananas, three yams, brussels sprouts, eight apples, and a container of blackberries for about $5.50!! The same amount of produce would cost between $15-20 at Whole Foods, so I have made this trip a weekly ritual since moving here.  

Now, for what I ate today–I’ll start with breakfast.  I had a whole wheat bagel with some plain light cream cheese.  I also had a mug of decaf coffee, which I drank thoughout the morning at work.

This held me over until around noon, when I ate lunch at my desk.  I had some pasta with chickpeas, edamame, and corn tossed in a light curry sauce.  In addition, I had a small bag of carrot sticks and a granny smith apple.  Afterwards, I was really cold, so I made some tea to warm up.

A couple of hours later, my stomach was growling again.  I probably could have done with some more protein at breakfast and lunch.  I love bagels but they just don’t fill me up very well! I ended up having a second whole wheat bagel (half is shown here), since it was either that or a snack from the vending machine.

For dinner, I had a two egg omelet with 3 oz. of goal cheese and brussels sprouts.  I went back for seconds on the sprouts.  I only discovered them recently, and I love them!  For dessert, I had a fage with about a tsp. of jam, and a handful of blackberries (not pictured).  I’m so glad it’s the weekend!

Back to Work

It seems like all my friends are off from work today, but I do have to go into the office.  On Fridays, my company has bagels for breakfast, so I think I’ll just have one of them when I get in.  At home though, I made my usual cup of coffee with skim milk.  I won’t be able to post at work, but I’ll be back tonight! Happy Friday!

Warm Soup on a Cold Day

After doing some shopping this afternoon (which included about 1.5 hours of walking!), I made myself a hot cup of tea.  I had Lipton black tea, and added a bit of skim milk.  It was so cold outside, so I needed this to warm me up!

 

Then, for dinner, I had some leftover Italian Wedding soup that a friend and I made last night.  We used a recipe from Everyday Food, but modified it by using kale instead of escarole and by adding some pasta to make it heartier.  In addition, I had two thin slices of whole wheat bread heated in the oven with a tiny bit of butter. It was the perfect combination.

 

Afterwards, I had a sliced granny smith apple sprinkled with cinnamon and a caramel rice cake (x2).  I have officially finished my first day of blogging!

 

Post-Workout Lunch

I just got home from the gym and put together a quick lunch.  I ran 6.3 miles on the treadmill and then did a short ab workout.  On my walk home, I stopped at the Whole Foods across the street from my apartment to pick up a grapefruit.  I’ve been craving one all week! Usually, I get my fruits and vegetables at a local farmer’s market, but it is only open on the weekends so once and I while I splurge on WF produce.  In addition to the grapefruit, I had a thick slice of whole wheat bread with goat cheese and jam and a Fage 2% yogurt.

Hello world!

Good Morning, and Happy New Year! I’ve been following food blogs for quite some time now, and thought it would be an interesting experience to share my own meals with the world.  I recently graduated college and started working, and have been adjusting to preparing my own meals.  I like to eat healthy foods, but don’t have too much time to cook on a daily basis, so many of the recipes I use are fairly simple.  One of my goals for the new year is to enjoy what I eat more, as I have not always done this in the past. 

To start things off, here is my first breakfast of 2009! Breakfast is definitely my favorite meal of the day, and I am a huge fan of oatmeal.  I have been preparing my oats the same way for a few years now, and haven’t gotten sick of them yet! This bowl includes 1/2 c. Quaker oats, 1/2 a small banana, 1/2 c. Libby’s pumpkin, 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and 1/2 c. water.  I also had two cups of coffee with skim milk.  It was delicious!