Category Archives: Nutrition

24.5

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Today is my half birthday. Happy half birthday to me! The only reason I know this is because my uncle’s birthday is today. Happy birthday to my uncle!

Still, I decided to buy myself a cake to celebrate my half birthday. I was craving ice cream cake and today seemed like the perfect excuse to consume some.

Judge me if you will. My sister already did when I couldn’t take her call because I was buying said half-birthday cake.

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In six months I’ll be a quarter century old. I’m just going think about that for a minute.

….

Done.

And because I shared that photo of my fancy Dairy Queen cake, I may as well share with you some other photos of eats I’ve had lately. I’m also linking up with Jenn at Peas and Crayons for What I Ate Wednesday. Head over to her blog to read more from people who think posting photos of your food is perfectly normal (like me).

IMG_7022Open-faced veggie burger with what I call “plastic” cheese. We bought it because we were craving old-school grilled cheeses one day and oh MAN is that stuff good. But very expensive. And bad for you.

The real star of the show was the crispy parmesan garlic endamame, which I recommend you make immediately.

IMG_7026A protein-y breakfast after a run – Greek yogurt, Vector cereal and berries. Scrambled egg with cracked pepper and tomatoes.

IMG_7028I realize this photo looks like a deranged apple, but it’s actually a stuffed pepper that I made in the Crock Pot. I originally started following a recipe but it turned into me throwing a bunch of leftover stuff from my cupboards and fridge into the stuffing. Refried beans, black beans, corn, brown rice, tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, spices, jalapeno and cheese. And probably more stuff that I forget now. Either way, these were awesome.

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An open-faced Eggplant Parmesan Hero. This was OK, a nice twist on a regular vegetarian sandwich. With roasted brussels sprouts on the side because they’re my fave.

Dan texted me today to say he had bought me some fresh “b-sprouts” at the market and I was like, THAT is why I’m marrying this man.

Four Monday Questions

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1. Do you have a bucket list? I have a “30 before 30″ list, which I have yet to publish on this blog for some reason, but I have never given much thought to an official bucket list. Truthfully, I can’t think of much to put on it! I can only think of fitness-related goals, like running the Walt Disney World Marathon. I guess I need to make some bigger dreams for myself that don’t involve sweating.

2. Do you have any favourite yoga YouTube videos? I try to do yoga often at home to stretch out my tight muscles from running. Sometimes I also do it for relaxation and meditation before bed. My only problem? I find it hard to find good videos. Once I set up my mat and light a candle I find myself aimlessly scrolling through YouTube for the perfect routine. Lemme tell ya, there are a lot of sketchy yoga practitioners on YouTube. Maybe I should just invest in a DVD?

3. Did you feel sad today? I was wrong last Monday … apparently today is officially the most depressing day of the year, and is also known as “Blue Monday.” Despite all this, I actually woke up feeling rested, ate breakfast, made my lunch and then performed “The Call” by the Backstreet Boys. Daniel didn’t think I’d know all the words but BOY WAS HE WRONG. I think one of the toughest things in our relationship has been explaining the depth of my love for the Backstreet Boys. He just doesn’t get it. Even though I had a busy day at work, I was still in a good mood all day. Thanks B-Boys.

4. Did you do any cooking this weekend? I made quite a few things to have for meals this week, but my favourite was actually a dessert. I am a horrible baker, which is fine because I don’t have much of a sweet tooth most of the time. But I do love chocolate macaroon cookies, also known to some people as haystacks. I found this recipe for Marshmallow Swirled No-Bake Cookies on Pinterest and decided to give it a whirl yesterday. They turned out – probably because they didn’t involve any actual baking on my part – and they are amazing!

IMG_7032Let me know if you try them, and have a good week!

 

Guest Post: Dan’s (soon-to-be) Super Famous Chili!

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It’s a momentous day over here on A Fresh Start For Molly. I asked my fiancé to write a guest post about his chili and he actually agreed! I found it hilarious to read through because Dan is notorious for never sticking to a recipe. True to form, he mentions his modifications at the bottom of this post.

Dan is no stranger to eating vegetarian meals, so this is a veggie recipe, although at the end he mentions how to change it up for you carnivores.

I hope you will show some love to him in the comments. Let us know if you try it!

Hey everyone,

I’m doing a guest blog post! Isn’t that exciting? It’s taken me a while to end up here, but alas, I’m here. The reason for the entry is because of this:

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Ever since we bought the slow cooker, our lives have been changed. My work schedule allows for me to have a lot of time off during the week days. So, during the day I usually try to find new things to occupy my time. Lately it’s been by experimenting with the Crock-Pot.

Molly has always had an aversion to chili. She loves everything in it, but when it’s all combined into one messy mess, she tends to politely decline (Editor’s note: he gives me more credit than I deserve. I really hated chili and expressed my feelings quite dramatically). After some good ol’ fashioned research I found this recipe that was able to convert Molly to a chili fan!

Thanks to two peas and their pods for the recipe.

Vegetarian Quinoa Chili

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
2-3 tablespoons chili powder, depending on your taste (we used 3)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Optional toppings: green onions, avocado slices, cheese, sour cream, Greek yogurt, chips, crackers, etc.

Directions:

1. In a medium sauce pan, combine the quinoa and water. Cook over medium heat until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Set aside.

2. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, jalapeño, carrot, celery, peppers, and zucchini. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

3. Add the black beans, kidney beans, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Stir in the cooked quinoa. Season with chili powder, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Simmer chili on low for about 30 minutes. Serve warm.

Note-garnish the chili with green onions, avocado slices, cheese, sour cream/Greek yogurt, chips, crackers, if desired. This chili freezes well.

I made a few modifications (I always do).

Instead of making it on the stove top, I opted for the easier Crock-Pot. There was no sautéeing involved, just chop up the veggies and throw them in, that’s it. I put it on for approximately 8 hours, low setting. I would advise cooking the quinoa separately and adding it to the chili at the last 30 minutes of the cooking cycle.

However, I didn’t add the quinoa because I was called into work. So … this can also work as a quinoa-less chili.

And for all the meat eaters out there (myself included), keep the recipe the same, except just throw in some cooked hamburger in lieu of the quinoa.

We garnished with grated cheese and plain Greek yogurt.

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- Dan

I’m also linking up to What I Ate Wednesday on Peas and Crayons – because I ate this chili several times already this week!

Healthy Q&A

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Remember the Myspace days when you’d fill out those overly intrusive surveys about your crush, the last person you kissed and the colour of your underwear? They switched over to Facebook for a while, but I haven’t seen them in a long time, possibly because I’m now at the ripe ol’ age of 24.

Anyway, I saw this health-themed quiz over on Amanda’s blog and bookmarked it for a quiet day. If you try it yourself, link it in the comments! I am a journalist after all, i.e., I have a licence to be nosy.

  1. What did you eat for breakfast? The same thing I’ve eaten pretty much every day for the past couple of months. Oikos vanilla Greek yogurt + granola + frozen berries. Today I mixed it all together right in the yogurt carton, because I’m fancy like that.
  2. How much water do you drink a day? A lot, but less than I used to. I’d say I probably chug back three litres a day. I had to reduce it a bit because my new work’s bathroom is too far away for my lazy legs. I’m serious.
  3. What is your current  favourite workout? My only current workout is running, unfortunately. I do it five times a week. I really want to get into strength training but I think it’s going to have to wait until the new year. My favourite workouts this year, though, were when I was training for the triathlon and got to switch it up every day between running, biking and swimming. I also used to love Group Power (Body Pump) classes.
  4. How many calories do you eat a day? Noooo clue. I lost my weight on Weight Watchers and have never been a calorie counter – it was all about “points” for me. Now that I’m maintaining my weight, I just eat to fuel myself and feel good. If I feel like I’m gaining, I just try to be more mindful. No math here.
  5. What are your favourite healthy snacks? (P.S. I changed all the “favorites” in this quiz to “favourite.” #canadian) This is a good question. Baby carrots pretty much saved my life when I was on Weight Watchers. I still eat them by the pound and am currently eating them as I type this. Lately I’ve been eating a lot of frozen mixed berries. I grew up eating tomatoes and cucumbers as a snack, so I still do that a lot.
  6. What do you usually eat for lunch? Some form of vegetarian protein with veggies (raw or cooked). Sometimes a grain is thrown in there. Example: Black bean cake with salad and cheese. Refried beans with salad and tortilla chips. Tofu with cooked veggies and rice noodles.
  7. What is your favourite body part to strength train? Legs!
  8. What is your least favourite body part to strength train? Triiiiiceps.
  9. What are your “bad” food cravings? Triscuits. Miss Vickie’s salt and vinegar chips. French fries. My cravings are always simple: carbs + salt.
  10. Do you take vitamins or supplements? Way to make me feel guilty. I need to buy some multivitamins and start taking them again. Sometimes I have protein powder, but we are currently out.
  11. How often do you eat out? We try to keep it to once a week but it’s probably more like twice (if we’re being good).
  12. Do you eat fast food? Yessir! Yesterday I had a veggie burger from A&W. I LOVE their veggie burgers. Wendy’s Baja salad is also a fave.
  13. Who is your biggest supporter? Daniel. If he hadn’t been there for me the night I weighed myself and joined Weight Watchers, I may never have started this healthy-living journey.
  14. Do you have a gym membership? Nope! After moving in September, I never signed up for the gym across the street from our new place. Running is keeping me busy right now, but I actually have a void cheque in my purse for when I finally feel the need to go to the gym and sign up.
  15. How many hours of sleep do you get a night? A lot! At least eight hours. I need my sleep.
  16. Do you have a “cheat” day? No, and I never did while losing weight either. This is a lifestyle, so there is no “cheating” built in. It just is what it is.
  17. Do you drink alcohol? Yes, but a lot less than I used to. I usually only drink to get drunk, so I don’t usually have a drink if I’m out for supper, but I will if I’m going out on the town (which is rare these days).
  18. Do you have a workout buddy? No, but I think it’s turned out better that way. I don’t depend on anyone, but when I get a chance to run with my parents or Dan, it’s a treat.
  19. What is the best thing that has changed about your life since committing to a healthy lifestyle? The best parts have mostly been mental.
  20. What was the last healthy thing you did? You name it – ate a protein-filled breakfast, drank some water, moisturized my lips, thought happy thoughts (Christmas!), thanked my fiancé. Healthy choices – both physical and mental – all around.

What I Ate Wednesday: Halloween Costume and Work Food

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Spooky Snacks and Healthy Halloween TreatsIt’s time for another edition of What I Ate Wednesday, hosted by Jenn at Peas and Crayons. Oh, and it’s also HALLOWEEN, which I really don’t care about, but I’ll show you my costume anyway.

I attended a Halloween party on Saturday, and stayed true to my ambivalence towards Halloween by leaving my costume to the last minute.

In my suitcase for the weekend I had packed a striped dress and Minnie Mouse ears from my April trip to Disney World. Costume options: mime or Minnie Mouse. I went with the latter.

I walked into a store in the mall at 7:30 p.m. and tried on two polka dot dresses, before quickly deciding on the one that was on sale. It was a complete fluke that it was so Minnie Mouse-ish. A little eyeliner on the end of my nose and I was good to go.

As for the “What I Ate” portion of this post, I’m keeping up with my plan to pack both lunch and supper to take to work. It is a serious pain in the arse, but it’s happening.

Even though these are crappy Blackberry photos, I hope some of you can get ideas for work meals.

These were Monday’s meals.

Roasted veggie tortilla pizza. Inspiration found here. Basically roasted red peppers, zucchini and spinach on top of hummus on top of a tortilla.

Easy pad thai. Recipe found here. It was yummy!

Snacks from Monday: melba toast, Puffins, tomatoes and cheese.

Some of my other work meals this week have been:

  • Sweet potato with salsa and cilantro
  • Veggie sandwich on a bagel thin
  • Veggie dogs
  • Pasta with basil olive oil
  • Roasted brussels sprout salad

Also, this is a thing that’s happening a lot today:

And I hope it’s happening for you too.

WIAW: Taking Food To Work

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It’s been a long time since I participated in What I Ate Wednesday with Jenn at Peas and Crayons, but I think it’s time to jump back in again.

When I first started my new job a few weeks ago and found out I’d be working from noon to 8 p.m., I knew I wanted to try to preserve my regular eating schedule.

I messed my metabolism up a lot when I was a teenager by trying to starve myself in the hopes I could make myself look like Christina Aguilera in her “Come on Over” video (you know, before she looked like she does now). This usually only lasted for a few hours before I caved and ate a lot of crappy food because I was totally hungry. I did the same thing in university just because I was so busy during the day and was too lazy to cook well-rounded meals.

I’ve read that it is hard to fix your metabolism, so I was kind of resigned to the fact that mine might never get better. Thankfully, that hasn’t come true. By eating regular meals/snacks, drinking water and working out, my metabolism seems to be working great these days.

That’s why I wanted to stay on my regular eating schedule when I took this job – breakfast in the a.m., lunch at noon and supper at 5 p.m. with snacks in between. It means I have to pack both my lunch and supper for work. I’m used to packing my lunch and snacks but making two meals before leaving for work has been hard.

Enter the giant lunch bag I picked up at Winner’s recently:

It’s giant enough to hold enough food to please my giant appetite, and it’s cute to boot.

And here are a few meals from a day that I had my s**t together and packed all my food.

Breakfast before work: Weight Watchers bagel with cream cheese and grapes.

Lunch at work: Whole wheat tortilla with veggies and mustard, greek yogurt bowl with vanilla greek yogurt, granola and banana.

Supper at work: Whole wheat spaghetti with vegetarian bolognese sauce and extra veggies thrown in (zucchini and bell peppers).

I should have had a bit more protein, and my snacks aren’t pictured, but it was a pretty good day of Tupperware meals.

Here’s a list of 11 Easy Lunches that I recently pinned. I plan on making the vegetarian ones.

Do you have any favourite take-to-work meals that you’d like to share? I need some inspiration!

In A Slump

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Lately I’ve been in a bit of a rut when it comes to healthy living. When our life was shaken up a bit in September with our decision to move, I fell out of my routine and haven’t found a new one since.

I’ve been feeling supremely lazy about cooking; my kitchen has been cooked in only a few times. I mostly survive off of Triscuits Thin-Crisps, greek yogurt bowls, Puffins, Subway and frozen fruit. It’s getting boring.

I put my frozen fruit in a wine glass because it makes me feel like an adult.

My workouts have completely dropped off. I don’t have any goal races to keep me motivated about running. I can’t work out at night anymore because I work until 8, so I need to get my crap together and eat breakfast, work out, shower and get ready, and pack my lunch and supper before I go to work at noon. I thought it wouldn’t be that difficult but I am still struggling with this.

I’m not beating myself up too much because three weeks in the grand scheme things is not a big deal. I’m just sort of…bored…and don’t feel as great as I did when I was at the top of my game.

Other than my healthy-living rut, things are going really well. I am having fun bringing together our ideas for a fall wedding in 2013, and feel great about our new apartment and city.

I’m going to try keep blogging more regularly, because I know it’s important to express the good, the bad and the ugly of striving to maintain a healthy lifestyle (speaking of which, I wrote about those three sides of weight loss on Georgia’s blog today…I actually wrote the post a while ago so it was fun to look back on, especially the part where I mention engagement photos!). I hope to use this blog as a tool to get back in the kitchen, set some concrete goals and get back into a fitness routine.

What do you do to get motivated again?

Some Thanksgiving Advice

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This weekend is Thanksgiving (also known as Canadian Thanksgiving, to you Americans). Daniel and I are heading our separate ways so we can spend it with both of our families.

I always think of Thanksgiving as a sort of “homecoming” weekend, so it’s fitting that I get to go back home, even if I’ve only been gone for one week.

Because I’m getting adjusted to a new work schedule and a new city that you apparently can’t go running alone in, I haven’t exercised since Sunday. I decided that I’d just keep an eye on what I was eating leading up to our Thanksgiving extravaganza.

That hasn’t really worked out – so I turned to the trusty Weight Watchers site for tips on how to survive Thanksgiving supper. I have them all pretty much memorized, but I like to browse around the site just to remind myself of my goals.

It also reminded me of this time last year, when I was only two months into my weight loss journey at Thanksgiving. I had lost about 20 pounds at that point.

At the time, I was pretty strict about what I was putting in my belly. Because we were heading to my in-laws who weren’t familiar with my food preferences, I pre-made a lot of food and brought it with me. As for the actual Thanksgiving dinner, I’m a vegetarian, so I passed on the turkey anyway. I think I had also been extra good that week and saved up a bunch of activity points, too.

This year things are different now that I’m maintaining my weight loss. I can afford to be a little less strict, but I’m still going to be aware of what I’m putting on my plate in conjunction with what else I’ve already consumed that day, and how much exercise I’ve managed to fit in. That’s how maintenance works for me – it’s mostly about mental planning.

If you’re worried about Thanksgiving supper, I’d recommend taking a look at the Weight Watchers site and searching “Thanksgiving.” Holidays can be extra tough when you’re trying to lose weight, not only because most traditions revolve around food, but also because your family and friends may not completely understand your goals.

My basic advice comes down to this:

1. Make a plan. Your plan may be to completely indulge for this one meal, or to skip dessert. Whatever you decide, as long as you have a plan, you don’t have to panic when you are faced with a giant pot of mashed potatoes beside a vat of gravy. Your decisions will have already been made for you.

2. Exercise. It’s a little late to tell you to make sure you get your workouts in leading up to Thanksgiving weekend, and I completely failed at this over the past few days anyway. But I do plan on getting a run in at home tomorrow morning. Even if the calories don’t balance out from just one run, you’ll feel better and be able to enjoy yourself. After dinner, take a walk with your family.

3. Stick with your regular meal schedule. When it comes to the grub, try not to go into the meal completely starving. Think about what you’ll eat for breakfast and lunch. And bulk up your plate with extra veggies – if there are any that have escaped the buttering or caramelizing process, that is. I’m getting hungry…

4. Trust yourself. If you are serious enough about your healthy lifestyle, one meal isn’t going to undo everything. It will, though, if you tend to make these excuses all the time. Monday Night Football or “National Chocolate Bar Day” may not be great reasons to indulge, but I think Thanksgiving is a perfect excuse to relax and celebrate good food with great family.

I have a full week of posts planned for next week, so I’ll see you on the other side! Happy Thanksgiving!

$10 Date Night

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Daniel and I decided to celebrate our last week as residents of this city with an impromptu date night on Monday. A restaurant called The Blue Door (that is usually out of our budget) marked its 10th anniversary by putting three main dishes on special  for $10.

I threw on a dress, straightened my hair for the first time in forever, and we headed out the door.

We treated ourselves to a glass of wine…

I had the Pad Thai with tofu and no shrimp…

And Daniel had the Thai Chicken Curry.

We were both stuffed, which is saying something because Dan is a bottomless pit. The service was great, the food was great, and the price was awesome.

It was the perfect spontaneous date night and I’m  glad we had a chance to eat at The Blue Door before we leave.

Farewell, sweet summer.

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Yesterday was officially the last day of summer, so I thought I’d check in on how many things were crossed off my Summer To-Do List.

Summer is not my favourite season, but it definitely has its merits. Long daylight hours, plenty of statutory holidays and lake time make it pretty awesome. This summer I also noticed how great it was to experience the season as a healthy person, compared to the last couple of years of despising wearing shorts and bathing suits, and avoiding a lot of the activities that come along with the warmer season.

Here’s how I did during Summer 2012…

Discover new music:

I did well at this! Read about it here. You guys helped me out with some suggestions.

Go to a music festival:

This was completed just last week, when my Mom and I walked around downtown to enjoy some free shows at the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival in our city. There were definitely a few festivals I wanted to buy tickets for (Osheaga being a big one) but it just wasn’t in the cards.

Go camping:

Spoiler alert: this is the only item I didn’t complete. That makes two years in a row we didn’t make it out camping. I find weekends book up too fast in the summer and when you do have one off, you just want to chill at home.

Go on a spontaneous road trip:

We did this a couple of times, but I’d say the most spontaneous is when we went to Magic Mountain, a water park in another city. I mention it in this post.

Get a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box:

Done, and it was yummy.

Grow my own basil:

I love my basil plant! It’s still going strong, despite the fact that I often forget to water it. I would highly recommend a basil plant – it seems very resilient, which is great because I’ve killed every plant I’ve ever had.

Do something scary and adventurous:

Our day at Tree Go was one of those experiences this summer that made me realize how much more fun life is when you’re healthy.

Plan for our new home:

Well, technically I did complete this. I had a plan, but then things got turned upside down and now we’re planning for another new home. It’s OK thought, this one’s got a view of the ocean!

Find the perfect one-piece bathing suit:

I bought the perfect black one-piece at Belezza Lingerie in Fredericton. I absolutely love it and wore it all summer. I also wore a bikini this summer, but I hope to feel more confident in it next year (i.e. have a ripped set of abs by somehow upping my protein intake while also giving up my love of carbs).

Join the 10K Running Room clinic:

I did this, and the clinic is still going strong. I moved my goal race up a few weeks, and when I move to Saint John I won’t be able to run with my group, but I still plan on completing the program.

Celebrate my Weight Watchers-versary:

I celebrated by going to the first night of the 10K clinic…I thought going out to eat would be a little strange. I wrote about my first year on Weight Watchers here.