Healthy Breakfast - Best Ever Granola

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This post comes to you today as the inspiration of two girlfriends of mine who make eating well a priority.  Koriann of Rain City Kitchen makes all of her friends holiday baskets of treats each Christmas and this past year she included her home made granola that has all of us salivating at its mere mention.  When I ran out last month, I asked if she'd share her recipe, which she generously handed over.  It's fantastically delicious as is, but lately I've been hooked on the recipes and articles posted by my friend Kathy of Nutrition Nerds, so I thought I'd see if I could make  a version that subbed in honey, agave nectar, and maple extract in place of the sugar and syrup, and organic coconut oil in place of canola oil.  It was a total success.  I want to eat this nonstop, which may detract from its healthiness if it's the demise of my will power and portion control.

Ingredients

• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup pecan halves
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 Tbsp organic coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp maple extract

Directions

Mix dry ingredients together and wet ingredients together, then combine, and bake on a parchment lined baking pan (with sides!) at 275 for 40 minutes, stirring at each of the three 10 min marks. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container.

As Koriann recommends, it tastes great with yogurt or milk (I prefer plain greek yogurt sweetened with a teaspoon of agave nectar), and as Kathy (who has her own granola recipe) warns, this will indeed make your entire house smell amazing.

Coffee Revamp

I finally figured out how to help myself out with my coffee situation.  For many years now I have been addicted to hazelnut flavored Coffee Mate.  It is just so delicious.  I know it's not good for me, especially in the quantities I have been enjoying it.  Well, I'm changing my ways.

Here's my new coffee off choice:

6 oz hazelnut flavored coffee made in my mini french press
1/4 cup 1% organic milk
1 tsp agave nectar

It's only 56 calories in an entire mug, as opposed to an 8-oz short lowfat latte with no syrup from Starbucks, which is 110 calories (still not bad) and there's nothing on the label you can't pronounce.  I really enjoyed it this morning and I think I'm on to something.

Monday Night Dinner: Cajun Beans and Rice with Chicken Andouille and Wilted Greens

Again, this is a quick and easy meal that uses pre-cooked brown rice.  I make rice on the weekends when I actually have the 45 minutes to wait while it cooks and then use it throughout the week.  Makes eating healthier a lot easier when you have it on hand.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 package (4 links) andouille chicken sausage (or 1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced if you're going vegetarian)
• 1-1/2 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 tsp cajun seasoning
• 1-3/4 cups (1 can) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups Swiss Chard, chopped in 2-inch pieces
• 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Directions

Slice sausage crosswise in 1/2-inch thick pieces.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pan and cook onion, garlic, and sausage until browned.
Add cooked brown rice, black beans, and cajun seasoning.  Reduce heat to med-low.  Stir occasionally to make sure it's not burning to the bottom of the pan
Rinse and chop chard and add, wet, to a separate pan, cooking on med. When slightly wilted, add 1 Tbsp cider vinegar and 1 Tbsp olive oil.  Cook until tender.
Serve together: rice mix will be quite salty and rich, needing the tannic greens to balance it out.

Serves 5.

My suggestion for making this vegetarian is subbing in sweet potatoes and a 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes for the sausage.  You'll get the sweet spicy elements that the sausage provides without the cholesterol.

Balancing Indulgences

Sometimes it's ok to drink 4 glasses of wine in an evening.  Sometimes it's ok to have little extra snacks outside of meals.  Probably best not to do both in one evening.

goodbye, Reez

 

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Yes folks,  I had to bid a sorrowful farewell and paid a price last night for a walk down memory lane.  I heard yesterday that the OG (that's "original gangsta" for those of you who aren't up on the lingo) Red Robin on Furhman is being closed.  This news left  those of us who grew up in Seattle heartsick.  I love this place.  The University Red Robin was my old high school  hang out, and was known more affectionately to us as "The Reez" (a derivative of "Red Reezy" - hey, it was the 90s!).  It was here where my friends and I would gather to gossip, sharing in hushed whispers our coming of age milestones, and chow on burgers, fries, and cherry cokes.  We'd race to see who could tie the cherry stems in a knot with our tongues first (which I won nearly every time, thankyouverymuch), and laugh until our sides hurt.  Many of my friends from high school live in other states, but when we'd all get together during college breaks, and now holiday voyages home to visit aging parents, we always made the pilgrimage to The Reez.  There's still the on at Northgate and various other suburbs, but it just isn't the same.  We'll never feel the same way about any other Red Robin; they can never be "The Reez."

I only ate half my burger, but needless to say, I went over on my calories yesterday.

Yesterday:

Total Calories: 1908

Net Calories: 1669 (428 over)

H2O Intake: 72 oz at least

Total Exercise: 20 min

Cardio: 0 min

snacked.

 

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So I come back from lunch today, and someone is walking toward the front desk with a giant basket full of little chip bags.  I'm like, "no thanks, I just ate."  Wait, no; I didn't say that.  What I really said was, "Snacks!  AWESOME!"  Then I visualized the bikini bod.  Then I grabbed a bag and read the nutritional info: 100 calories per bag?? Well done, team!  Now I am all for finding a healthier, lower-cal alternative, like an apple for 50 calories, but sometimes nothing will do but salty, crunchy chips covered in a delicious powder, in which case this is the healthier alternative.  A typical (smaller) bag of Tim's Cascade tater chips will get you at about 140 calories and has a lot more fat.  I was intrigued, so I did some field research right then and there.

Anyone ever had popchips? They're new to me!  I was a little wary when I read the package: "never fried, never baked."  Then what the hell are they??  More of an explanation on the back reveals they are hit with heat and pressure (I'm imagining the espresso process, minus water) and "pop!"  Whatever the case, these little suckers are delicious.  I am currently enjoying the salt and pepper flavor.  Secretly stashed in my desk drawer are cheddar and bbq flavors. Ok, sea salt and vinegar too.

So I'm munchin' away, and my FedEx Ground guy comes in to make a delivery and gets all excited about popchips. "they're THE best chips EVER!" he says to me.  Too true.  I want to eat another flavor, but  I am visualizing the bikini bod and have decided I can wait until tomorrow.

gallery wandering

 

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Hey!  Did you know an hour of wandering leisurely around an art gallery burns about 150 calories?  That's equivalent to that beer/soda/quarter of a doughnut you just consumed.

Last night I went to the Frye to see what they had going on.  It was nice to be in a museum - something I haven't really made time for lately.  As for the shows, I was more a fan of the intent behind the projects rather than the actual pieces.

I then went home and made a delicious Thai chicken soup.  I want to eat this every day.

Yesterday:

Total Calories: 1601

Net Calories: 1114 (135 under)

H2O Intake: 48 oz

Total Exercise: 40 min

Cardio: 0

will power: work for me, please!

 

This is what I saw sitting by the coffee pot when I walked into the office this morning.  Just so you're all aware, it's directly behind me on the other side of the partial wall.  I can smell the sweet fried goodness and fresh-brewed coffee right now.  I'm trying to tell myself it's not worth it on multiple levels: it will go straight to my ass, my fingers will swell, and my tummy will do somersaults.  That being said, they look so good and the maple iced old fashioned especially is taunting me.  Oh yeah, and wii told me I gained a pound since yesterday morning.  I'm positive it had something to do with the super-salty fries I had for dinner last night.  Sad face.

I have been working out regularly, which is an improvement.  My lunch-break gym trips are my saving grace.

Yesterday:

Total Calories: 1556

Net Calories: 1157 (91 under - not sure I believe this)

H2O Intake: 48 oz

Total Exercise: 30 min

Cardio: 30

Day before:

Total Calories: 1802

Net Calories: 893 (355 under)

H2O Intake: 80 oz

Total Exercise: 90 min

Cardio: 50

birthday weekend survived

 

Over the weekend we celebrated a birthday (not mine), and this inevitably means meals out and lots of drinks.  Saturday night was spent at the Attic, where I did not drink.  Super proud of myself.  Yesterday was a little tough to keep the calorie count down, but I went for a 40 minute run in the morning, so at least I was able to off-set a little of the damage.

Yesterday:

Total Calories: 1965

Net Calories: 1471 (220 over)

H2O Intake: 56 oz

Total Exercise: 60 min

Cardio: 40 min

relieved

On my way home last night I stopped at the store and bought myself some tulips to bring a little cheer into my heart (this is what they looked like this morning).  I was feeling a little bummed about my weekend weight gain because I'd worked so hard to kick the first four pounds in the first place.  I didn't want to, but I got on the scale last night and discovered I was down another three pounds.  I'm not exactly sure how, because I take full responsibility for the ginormous amount of calories I took in Fri-Sun, but I'll take it!  Wahoo!

Yesterday:

Total Calories: 1305

Net Calories: 934 (315 under)

H2O Intake: 56 oz

Total Exercise: 30 min

Cardio: 20 min (light)

ready to hit the gym

 I took the weekend a little easy with the workout, but not so much with the food.  The bacon party I went to did not help.  I managed to squeak a run out on Saturday, but Sunday was a wash.  Yesterday I stayed home, and spent much of the day indoors, doing light exercises (like 4 hrs worth, because I felt so guilty) and then got cabin fever and hit the pavement for a 3.5 mile run.  I ate about 1500 calories yesterday (including two cocktails I had on a date with Andrew), but since I worked off roughly 1000 calories, my net was around 500.  As it turns out, my calories came from a fairly balanced ratio, which is ok since I have a hard time hitting that recommended 50/30/20 ratio I've been talking about.

4 days away from the gym is quite enough to get me anxious to go back and kick into gear.  Today at lunch I scooted over there and snuck in 20 minutes of cardio - 10 on the treadmill and 10 on the elliptical.  It felt great.  I'm going back right after work to finish things off.  I've got a plan for 10 min on the rowing machine followed by my abs work-out.  I ate a lot, though, so maybe I'll hula hoop a little too before BL tonight.

Yesterday:

Net Calories: 501

H2O Intake: 40 oz

Total Exercise: 280 min

Cardio: 40 min
Yay!

a delicious nemesis

Yesterday I had a great day, workout-wise and eating-wise.  Mid-day Wednesday was gloriously sunny and crisp so I took the opportunity at my lunch hour to go out and run.  It was fantastic.  Plus, I'm still sore from my work-out the day before.  In that sense, I feel really good.

After work yesterday, in an effort to stay away as long as possible while my man hosted the fellas for poker night, I went out with some folks to belltown for a light dinner... and drinks.  The whole evening I thought to myself, "edamame, curried cauliflower, and sushi aren't so bad but these cocktails are gonna get me!"

Even with that in mind, I enjoyed three gin and ginger ales during the course of the evening.  They were fantastic.  When I 'fessed up to all of last night's indulgences on the Daily Plate this morning, I noticed I was 600 calories over my recommended intake - about 3 gin and ginger ales, I'd say.  I knew it.

This is just further confirmation that I need to cut down those cocktails that go down so easily and stick to wine, which is under 100 calories a glass and would have cut the impact of my "oops" in half.

a serious test in restraint

Ladies, wish me well.  I have a whole tupperware of molasses spice cookies in my file cabinet drawer and I'm starving.  Not only did I make them with regular wheat flour (for other people), but I'm also trying to limit my carb intake to 55g per day.  I'm at 53.  Basically I need to eat a giant hunk of meat and nothing else.  That means none of these:

Oh the pain!

I'm pumped to get together with some of my favorite ladies tonight and tune in for another episode of Biggest Loser!  Maybe we'll wii-hulahoop too!

four victories and something to work on

I have been doing really well lately, even with some minor set-backs.

1. I worked out for 40 min at lunch yesterday
2. I stayed within my suggested daily calorie intake
3. I drank a ton of water
   
4. My scale said 166 today (but that was before breakfast; does it still count?)
   

So that's all well and good, but I still need to work on my calorie ratios.  They look nothing like what Jillian suggested:

See?  Still way too many carbs.  I guess I'm still getting used to the idea of eating a motherload of protien and minimal carbs.  It's tough, man!

I'm meeting an old friend from my girlchoir days for lunch today.  Haven't seen her in 10 years.  I'm pretty excited.  Just hope I can stick to my guns about eating well - restaurants are tough, man!

wtf granola??

I was all excited about this cholesterol-free breakfast I love, but the calorie count is pretty much through the roof.  700 calories is ridiculous!  I feel tricked!  Am I just having sticker shock or do you think it's worth it?

Here's what's in it:
1cup granola mix:
low-fat granola with pumpkin seeds and flax seeds
dried cherries
sliced almonds
raw walnuts
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/2 cup fruit

Half an english muffin with a tbsp of cream cheese and an egg on top is only 300 calories including my coffee with coffeemate.  Is it worth it to double my calories and go cholesterol-free?  Am I being too anal about the whole thing?  Since I'm only supposed to take in a net of 1600 calories I'm feeling a little miserly.

Also, it's been over a week and I'm still at the same weight.  I kind of feel like I suck.  Maybe I should just take delight in the fact that I didn't gain any weight during the holidays, but I still feel a little defeated.  Any suggestions?