Nutritional Self-Esteem

I have no idea whether "nutritional self-esteem" is an actual term, but it describes a construct that has been prominent in my mind this week. Allow me to explain.

I feel like my diet has gotten progressively poor in nutritional quality lately, with far too much sugar and sodium than I would prefer. For example, on the Early Show this morning, there was short segment about various sweeteners (sugar vs. HFCS), in which they stated a sugar intake guideline--I think I had consumed that much as of 10 AM this morning. Granted, some of those were natural sugars found in milk and fruit, but I have a hard time justifying the sugars in that Z-bar and sweetened yogurt. What happened to the health-nut I used to be?

Just to be clear, I am not indicating that I feel guilty about kcalories or that I "feel fat" today. Rather, I am merely concerned that my diet's nutritional quality is not as satisfactory as it has been in the past. I am thinking that I should endeavor on a "crap-free week" in the near future, although it may have to wait until the chaos of school comes to a close.

On a lighter note, I received some great suggestions for my next oatmeal challenge. Here are a few ideas:
-Premium Ice Cream (a la Ben & Jerry's)
-Desserts!
-Savory oats
-Exotic fruits
-Clif flavors
-Tea varieties

Here is my idea: Alphabet Oats. I could incorporate ingredients with every letter of the alphabet into my oats, sweet or savory. For example, "A" could include apple, apricots, almonds...What do you think? Suggestions are welcome (especially for those pesky letters like Q, X, and Z).

Whew! Enough jibber-jabber--onto the food!

Monday
After my test on Monday, I came home in the food for some produce. So I made a quick Waldorf salad out of chopped apple, dates, walnuts, and vegan mayo. I used dates rather than raisins just 'cuz I am on a date kick these days. I also had some Ak Maks and veggies with (storebought) hummus.
Continuing with my attempt to break out of my snack rut, here's a new one: cinnamon graham cracker sticks with almond butter.
I stopped by the salad bar after my dining committee meeting and came home to prepare some quick BBQ tofu. I just slathered some pressed tofu with Whole Foods brand BBQ sauce and baked it in a 400* oven for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. I also had some corn, melon, and added Goddess dressing to the salad.
The smoothie of the evening featured mango, strawberries, vanilla rice protein, and soymilk. I used more of that Bear Naked mango granola for crunch.
Tuesday
Inspired yet again by Clean Eating Magazine, I made some pumpkin pie oats, although I changed up the recipe a bit--their version included the protein powder as an "icing" mixed with water. I thought that sounded a little gross, so I just mixed it in with the oats. I don't think I am a fan of protein powder in oatmeal--it changes the texture too much. It might also have been this brand of protein powder; I am glad I didn't buy a big drum of this! This made a LARGEbowl of oats, but I managed to pack it all in;)
As part of my dining committee duties, I had to evaluate an on-campus eatery yesterday. I ordered their Greek salad ("The Parthenon"). When I got back to the apartment, I added a protein component by whipping up a batch of roasted red pepper hummus with chickpeas, roasted red peppers, lemon juice, garlic, ground red pepper, and tahini. I served it with whole wheat mini pitas and an apple.
My snack creativity continued with a kid-food craving: ants on a log! PB, celery, and raisins, plus a string cheese.
For dinner, I made a Mexican Pizza. After spreading some refried black beans on a flatbread, I baked it for about 10 minutes. Then, I spread the guacamole and sliced tomatoes on top with a little chili powder. On the side, I had a salad with chopped pear and raspberry vinaigrette. As a side note, these refried beans have been a pantry staple for me, ever since my dorm cooking days. I highly recommend them!
Another mango-strawberry concoction, this time with Pina Colada Spirutein. I topped it with coconut and Mango-Almond Melange.
Monday
Continuing with Chobani Week, I made another concoction featuring Greek yogurt this morning. I combined blueberry yogurt with bluberries and almonds. I dipped blueberry mini waffles into the mixture. (I also had a blueberry Clif Z bar this morning as my pre-workout snack--totally intentional, of course).
Before we part, a few reminders:
-Julie from Julie GoLean is giving away a few of her favorite goodies! Enter by March 29th at 11AM, EST.
-I'm not sure if the contest is over yet, but Courtney from the Hungry Yogini is giving away Barney Butter, a product I've never tried, oddly enough. I'd like to give it a whirl though! Enter by March 25th.
-Em at The Health Nut is giving away an *awesome* "I Love Oatmeal" shirt. I can think of severeal food bloggers, including myself, who NEED this shirt:) Enter by March 27th at midnight, EST.
-Jaime at Fearless, Fabulous, and Full of Life is giving away Oikos coupons! I am on a mission to sample every as many brands of Greek yogurt as possible, so I want to win this one! Enter by March 27th at 11:59 PM.

C. Yode, out!

Ready to Race

As I mentioned in Friday's post, my sister Lea and her husband Ryan came to visit this weekend. In one of our conversations we got to talking about running, since Ryan will be participating in his first marathon next weekend. As I approach the one year anniversary of my introduction to the world of running, I have been pondering the idea of completing my first race; I think doing so seems to be the logical next step as I develop my interest in the sport. I did a little research and found a 5k that will be taking place during my spring break next month, and I plan on signing up ASAP. I also found another one taking place in May in the Birmingham Zoo--how cool is that?! For you runners out there, have you ever participated in a race? What was your favorite part of the experience? Don't judge me for saying this, but in addition to the novelty of the racing experience, I am also looking forward to all the freebies available at the end of the race (I'm keeping my fingers crossed for mini Larabars!).

In addition to our running chit-chat, Lea, Ryan, and I had a fabulous time this weekend. It's always nice to have visitors, but I especially appreciated having a mini-vacation from schoolwork to break up the semester. Here's what we munched along the way:

Friday
Before heading to bed, I made a quick Pina Colada smoothie, with Spirutein, soymilk, pineapple, coconut, and granola.
Saturday
I prepared a quick breakfast to enjoy before Lea and Ryan arrived. I made a banana-blueberry smoothie with rice milk and served it with some toast spread with Sunbutter.
Since we couldn't manage to finagle any tickets for the basketball game, we headed to a sports bar (Champp's) to watch Duke beat Miami. The vegetarian pickins' were slim (OK, nonexistent), so I ordered a Greek salad, sans chicken and egg. We also ordered an ice cream sundae to share among the three of us...I can't say no to hot fudge:)
After a glorious trip to Trader Joe's, we headed to my favorite Greek restaurant for dinner. (I dined here last October with my parents as well). This time I ordered an order of the hummus and pita and a bowl of vegetable stew. You can't beat authentic hummus and warm pita! The stew was delicious as well; the eggplant and potatoes made for very hearty and filling dish.
Even after all that food, I was still hungry for my evening shake. I made a strawberry-banana-chocolate concoction, using Spirutein and soymilk. I tossed a few bunnies on top for good measure.
Sunday
I made my usual Sunday morning stovetop oats, inspired by another Girl Scout cookie: the lemon chalet cremes. I combined oats with rice milk, vanilla, and lemon zest, then crumbled a Lemon Bar Larabar on top. Heaven.
For lunch, we went to Elmo's. Yes, I am very consistent about the places I choose to dine in Durham. Anyway, this time I ordered the vegetarian taco salad with black beans and plenty of jalapenos. This salad would be perfect if it came with the option of guacamole...
After saying goodbye to my guests, a sudden illness came over me, so I didn't feel much like eating (or doing homework). I finally did regain my appetite around 9PM, so I just put together a simple meal: greens with tomatoes, walnuts, white beans, reduced-fat cheese, and Bragg's; crackers and a tie-dye blood orange.
I kept my smoothie simple last night: peaches, peach Spirutein, soymilk, and granola.
Monday
Inspired by a post by Kath a few months ago, I decided to make a banana dog for breakfast this morning. I simply placed a banana in a warmed whole wheat hot dog bun, spread with White Chocolate Wonderful PB. I also had a dish of TJ's Greek yogurt. Delish.
I am counting down the days until spring break now...anyone have exciting plans? I am going to DC for one weekend, where we'll be eating here and here. I am such a foodie--I plan my trips around the restaurants!

Enjoy the rest of your Monday!