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!

Ch-ch-changes

I am loving all of your valuable feedback! I haven't made any final decisions on how I will change the blog once I get to school, so please keep on comin' with the suggestions and comments. I want to make this blog intriguing and enjoyable--for you and me.

Anyway, I have been making the most of my last few days at home. My mom and I made a few last minute shopping trips, and I've been doing my favorite running route this week. I made my current favorite recipe last night (Cashew Ginger Tofu), plus I also did a little experimenting of my own in the kitchen. A nice way to relax before the storm of academia enters my life...

Monday
I discovered a great combination--cherries and strawberries. To be honest, I got the idea from the HempShake package, which pictures cherries, strawberries, and raspberries, among other things. I switched up my topping too--I used Clifford Crunch instead of granola.
Tuesday
I tried a new component for my parfait yesterday morning--Annie's Bunny Love cereal. Frankly, I chose the cereal 1) because it was on sale and 2) well, because it's bunny-shaped! It turned out to be a pretty good purchase; it reminds me of slightly sweeter, more porous Cheerios. Anyway, it went into the parfait glass with plain organic yogurt, Enjoy Life's Mountain Mambo, and a mix of strawberries and blueberries.
After several hours of packing (and going up and down stairs), I needed to refuel. With a can of refried beans I need to use up, I made mini Mexican pizzas. I topped 4 corn tortillas with the beans, salsa, and sliced avocado. Spinach salad and peaches with wheat germ and cinnamon also made an appearance.
As mentioned earlier, I made my fave dish of the moment, Cashew Ginger Tofu. I really am addicted to that sauce--maybe I should just make a huge batch of sauce and put it on...broccoli?
It's been a while since I had whipped up a chocolate-y shake (and by a while I mean a few days). I decided to bust out my artistic skills with the chocolate syrup.
Wednesday
I had another doctor's appointment this morning, so I needed a quick and portable breakfast. Smoothie and cereal to the rescue! The slurpable component was a combination of strawberries, blackberries, and soymilk; the crunchy component was Clifford Crunch, honey-roasted peanuts, and Nature's Path Oaty Bites.
A workout and a few errands later, I was famished. I experimented with a new way to make mock-tuna--I combined chickpeas, Nayonaise, a touch of dijon mustard, lemon juice, olives, and dill. This dish presented a host of new flavor pairings for me, and I really enjoyed it. I plopped the mixture on a bed of spinach and served it with an Ezekiel pita and an organic nectarine.
Tonight is my dad's first night of classes for the semester, so my mom took the time to make meatloaf for dinner before he darted off to teach. I wanted to follow suit, so I had planned on making a tofu loaf (something I have never tried), but I nixed the idea when I read that the recipe required pureeing the tofu. Call me crazy, but I think the best part about tofu is its texture, you know, being able to bite into it. Plan B turned out pretty well--I made tofu cutlets instead. I dredged the tofu slices in sage, dry mustard, garlic, salt, pepper, and dried parsley; I also threw baby bella mushrooms and diced onion into the pan. Add a zigzag of organic ketchup, and you've got a tasty dish. In an effort to continue the "meat and potatoes" theme, I also had a baked sweet potato, brussels sprouts, and salad. Completely satisfying.
With that, I bid you farewell until my next post--from Durham! Remember, keep contributing your thoughts and suggestions for future blog changes. Thanks in advance!

Prep Day

Today was all about preparation for me. In the next 8 days, I have a few important events: my mom's birthday, my first day of classes, and, of course, my sister's wedding. So I spent most of today in a constant state of preparation: picking up my mom's present, touring the campus to figure out where my classes will be, and trying on my bridesmaid dress...The present pick-up was successful, but I went to a wrong building on campus, and my dress was too long. Oy.

As per usual, cooking has continued to be a source of pleasure in the midst of this craziness. I have had several successful dishes in the past few days, which makes me and my tummy quite content.

Wednesday
The evening smoothie consisted of cherry Spirutein, frozen cherries, nonfat organic plain yogurt, and pumpkin flax granola. I wasn't expecting much from this smoothie, but it ended up being delectable and the perfect consistency. Two nights in a row with successful smoothies--I'm on a roll.
Thursday
This breakfast changed my day. Seriously. I was in a good mood all day because of it. I tried the vegan banana pancakes recipe from Sweet Eats. The original recipe includes chocolate chips, but I didn't want that much of an indulgence yesterday morning. I enjoyed mine with some sliced peaches with cinnamon and a mug of chai green tea, which was a gift from a neighbor. This one gets two thumbs up.
Lunch was intended to be a pasta salad, but I think it ended up having a 2:1 ratio of veggies to pasta. This dish included broccoli, yellow bell pepper, carrots, mushrooms, tofu, and some whole wheat pasta in a light balsamic vinaigrette. I also had some apple slices with melted peanut butter.
I made an attempt at a "pulled seitan" BBQ sandwich for dinner yesterday. The texture wasn't exactly right--it felt more like a sloppy joe than a pulled BBQ sandwich. I made the sauce out of tomato sauce, mustard powder, a little agave, and apple cider vinegar. I enjoyed mine on a whole wheat bun with a salad and some almonds.
Friday
I had another decadent breakfast this morning using my new PB & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams PB. I was sweating buckets after my run this morning, but that didn't stop me from making a piping bowl of banana oats (check out that steam!). I topped it with a spoonful of said PB, and it was out of this world. This PB is like not-so-bad-for-you Nutella. My dad dipped into the jar after dinner this evening to use it as an ice cream topping. Not a bad idea...
Lunch was supposed to be a Mexican pizza, but ran out of time, and I got hungry, so I rushed through the preparation. I had intended to crisp it up in the oven, but ultimately I just nuked it in the microwave to warm it up. Here's what went into this concoction: a whole wheat tortilla, sweet vidalia salsa, mashed avocado, and cubed tofu dusted with chili powder. I think it was tasty, but I was in a rush to get to the alterations place. I also had a side salad and a big apple.
Dinner tonight was inspired by those Chinese Chicken Salads I see on so many restaurant menus these days. Mine included a random bunch of leftover veggies: lettuce, yellow bell pepper, carrots, tomatoes, green beans, water chestnuts, and seitan (which was simmered in ginger, rice wine vinegar, and garlic). I also had watermelon and some rice cakes with apple butter. Random but good.
That's the extent of my culinary adventures for now. Be back Monday!