Monday, June 23, 2008

Weekend of Relaxation

Hi all! I ended up going down to our lake house this weekend with my dad and Ryan (my brother-in-law whom you've seen in earlier posts). We loaded FOUR dogs into the car and headed out for a short stay by the water. It was a great time! Ryan demonstrated the proper wakeboarding technique, and I fiddled around in the kayak. Plus, I even got some studying done--I finished my nutrition project and got around to memorizing some of those muscle attachments. I couldn't have asked for a better study environment. Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Friday
The evening smoothie was comprised of raspberry Spirutein, mixed frozen berries, and plain soy milk. Tasty, but I think I'm getting burnt out on smoothies and shakes. I think I have come to rely on the Spirutein too much for my protein, which isn't really ideal. Got any other evening snack ideas? I would have a vegan cookie or something, but I prefer more voluminous snacks...maybe a big bowl of oatmeal?
Saturday
Another breakfast parfait--this one was truly exceptional though. I combined puffed rice and Grape Nut flakes with layers of fresh blueberries and soy vanilla yogurt. The puffed rice absorbed the vanilla flavor and got nice and soggy--just the way I like it:)
For lunch I relied on pantry staples at the lake house: two refried bean tacos, a spinach salad with mushrooms, and peanuts with dried cherries.
Dinner was kind of pathetic, to be honest. After much dithering, I just decided to make a peanut butter-banana pita and grilled it on the ol' George Foreman. I dug out some frozen veggies and made a salad with honey roasted soy nuts for crunch (and protein!).
As I mentioned above, I am smoothied-out at the moment, so I made some snack mix as my evening snack. This one had stale pretzels, old Fiber One, and some delicious dark chocolate pieces. I washed it down with soymilk.
Sunday
OK, so maybe I'm not completely tired of smoothies. I had a strawberry-soymilk smoothie for breakfast, and I nibbled on some GoLean throughout the morning as well.
Lunch was a tad weird again, owing to the limited ingredients in the house. I found some old Morningstar Farms Chik strips, and I made a stir-fry with them. Normally I don't use such processed meat analogs, but these were really tasty! A tad salty but tasty, nonetheless. I also had a salad, sliced peaches, and some almonds. Check out my cute bowl:)
Dinner was also somewhat Asian-themed. We ordered Chinese takeout, and I just got some steamed veggies to which I added edamame and cashews.
Last night's snack was a mixture of puffed rice, Life cereal (it's whole grain!), Craisins, and pumpkin granola, plus a tall glass of soymilk.

Monday
Quick brekkie this morning: vegan cheddar muffin top from the freezer and a banana with almond butter.
Just before class I threw together a taco salad: spinach, pinto beans, mashed avocado, roasted red peppers, salsa, and corn cut off the cob. I think that covers everything in that mound. I also had some perfect grapes.
A few of you have requested more snack ideas from yours truly. Here is today's: organic vanilla yogurt with dried papaya and a handful of peanut butter Puffins.
Dinner came out of the Imus Ranch cookbook. This dip included silken tofu, garlic, fresh cilantro, and a few other things, but salt was noticeably absent. I didn't really care for this dish...at all. The natural applesauce with walnuts made up for it though.
FYI, I added a list of my favorite cookbooks today...enjoy!

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those dogs are too cute! Sounds like you had a fun weekend, and that yogurt parfait and cheddar muffin top both look SO good!!

Sarah @ See Sarah Eat said...

Great pics! Glad you had a relaxing weekend :) And thank you for blogging about "So Delicious" I finally tried it and it's become my new favorite! I have the cinnamon bun flavor today, I can't wait to try it!

Anonymous said...

How much peanut butter do you put into your pb-banana pitas?

And is it just my screen, or is the font for all your commentary too small to read in this post? (It could just be a problem with my internet. I can see all your other posts' commentary just fine.)

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

What a fantastic trip/weekend!! Aww, your dogs are precious - cherish them for me, please (since you saw my latest post).

Kimberly said...

What a great weekend getaway!

It's not really voluminous, but my favorite evening snack is an Ezekiel tortilla with tahini or peanut butter and preserves. Soup or pumpkin dip are also good.

Alicia said...

Do cold cooked chickpeas count as a snack? Because I love them!

Anonymous said...

I posted a comment/question on your "speedy post", two posts back. I thought I'd let you know, in case you didn't see it :)

-Missy

J said...

What a fun weekend!

As always your food looks amazing. I can't tell you how long it has been since I've had a smoothie, your blog makes me miss them terribly. I don't have a blender though.

I am so sorry I haven't been commenting on your blog lately. When I changed you link on my blogroll I didn't change it on my Google Reader, I just thought it had been a long time since you had posted! :-(

Emma said...

mmm food all looks gorgeous as usual!

I had a couple of ideas for snacks:

A big plate of raw veggies with hummous or some other dip

Popcorn with a some nutritional yeast sprinkled on

Anonymous said...

Why do you want voluminous snack ideas? Isn't that an eating disorder behavior to never allow oneself to eat cookies or cake, and always want as much food as possible for the amount of calories instead of calorie-dense foods?

ChickPea said...

Jenn: Thanks!
Sarah: I just picked up another container of the cinnamon bun yogurt myself...I might to think of a creative way to use it.
Anonymous: I use 1-2 tablespoons; this time I used closer to 2 since it was for dinner. Thanks for catching the text error--fixed it!
VeggieGirl: I'll pass on the compliment to the pups...and I DO cherish them:)
Kimberly: Those are some great ideas. I've never had tahini straight (as in not cooked with something), so I might try that soon.
Alice: chickpeas totally count! I love them too:)
Missy: Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I answered your question on that post.
Jennifer: I've missed you! I figured you were just busy with gardening and such. Glad to have you back!
Emma: Great suggestions! I've never tried the popcorn/nooch combo, but a lot of people seem to really enjoy it.
Anonymous: I don't write this blog so that people can misconstrue everything I say into something symptomatic of an eating disorder. I acknowledge that anorexics typically look for foods that are voluminous. I don't choose foods that are low in kcalorie density all day--I challenge you to find an anorexic who eats PB and avocado on a regular basis. In addition, I didn't say that I plan on NEVER having a cookie; I am looking for snack ideas for every day. While it's not healthy to never have treats, it's also not healthy to indulge to excess every day.

Anon said...

just ignore anonymous! he/she needs to get a life! and your idea for a voluminous snack is totally what i look for too. cookies are nice on occasion but most nights i prefer something more substantial and hearty. keep up the posts...i read every day :)

Erika said...

It really makes me mad when people make comments about things that they obviously have no knowledge about whatsoever. As someone who is also recovering from anorexia, I know the difficulties we face on a day-to-day basis from those who totally judge us and think that they have us all figured out. ("Just get over it and eat a cupcake"--blah blah blah)

I think the fact that you are so open in your blog about what you've gone through and divulging your daily food intake (which, btw, is huge for someone used to keeping that a secret) is wonderful and I wish more people would appreciate it instead of inject their completely untactful opinion.

Sorry to sound so pissy. Anonymous just kind of struck a chord that I couldn't ignore.

Anonymous said...

your dogs are adorable :)

man, why did you have to take a pic of peanut butter puffins...those are my FAVE.

i might need to go get some now....

Little Miss Sunshine said...

wow I'm blown again by how nutritious everything looks on this page ... It's so great to see that you are taking such GREAT CARE of your health ... you go girl!! :0)

ignore those mean 'anonymous' comments!!

Have a great day!

Little Miss Sunshine said...

Oh oh one thing! I'm interested in buying a blender right now .. what blender do you use and do you recommend buying it at all? :0) I really like vitamix but it's SO EXPENSIVE...haha.. thanks for replying

ChickPea said...

Andrea: Thanks for backing me up! It's easy to let mean comments put a damper on your mood, so thanks for your kind words.
Life Love and Peanutbutter: It's nice to know that some of my readers understand where I'm coming from, even if "anonymous" doesn't. I think it's important to be honest about what I eat--food secrets ARE part of an ED, and I don't want anything to do with that anymore. BTW, I really like your user name!
Every Gym's Nightmare: Give in to the Puffins! They're such a satisfying sweet snack:)
Cecilia: Thanks for cheering me up! As for blenders, I use 2: I have a Magic Bullet, which is small, powerful, and really convenient. Check buythebullet.com. Also, for tougher jobs I use a Krups Power Extreme. I totally covet those VitaMix blenders too...maybe someday!

Erin said...

The lake house sounds like a great place to hang, especially with those cute doggies. And I really like Grape Nut Flakes and Morningstar chicken strips. Sometimes processed foods aren't all that bad when it's all you've got :) You seen to have still rounded out the meals pretty well!

I don't have any advice on evening snacks...I eat my snacks during the day and then try not to eat after dinner.