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!

Living in a Zoo

As if the chaos of the end of the semester weren't enough to make me feel like I'm living in a zoo, there is yet another reason these days: campus tours. Yes, it's that time of year again--the season in which reluctant high school students and their parents visit college campuses across the country in hopes of finding "the perfect fit." Overall, I don't really mind their presence, but it does make me feel a bit like a caged animal..."Look! A college student in its natural habitat!" Every time I exit the gym doors or look up from a computer screen in the library, I find multiple pairs of eyes staring back at me. Perhaps I am being overly sensitive to this mild surveillance...but still, this kind of thing makes you think twice about pickin' a wedgie;)

In contrast to the weekday zoo-like experiences, my weekend was pretty tame: just studying, a trip to TJ's, and chillin' with friends. Here's what I've been munching:

Friday
I busted out my Mango Almond Melange granola from my MixMyGranola on Friday night. Yes, I did create my smoothie on the basis of the granola flavors--I'm that cool. I combined frozen mango, raspberries, soymilk, and Tropical Fruit Spirutein, the perfect vehicle for my granola:)
Saturday
I was in a particularly decadent mood on Saturday morning, so I made a choco-berry parfait. I used layers of TJ's High Fiber cereal, plain yogurt mixed with dark cocoa and stevia, and sliced strawberries topped with wheat germ and chocolate-hazelnut spread. YUM.
For lunch, I used more of that bean dip to make a very messy burrito. I put bell peppers, mashed avocado, bean dip, salsa, and spinach in a veggie-wheat tortilla and served it alongside a salad and an apple. I need to work on my wrapping skills, apparently.
For my snack, I tried another Rachel's cottage cheese flavor. I think I have a dependency on this stuff. Cottage cheese is definitely the reason why I couldn't go entirely vegan...for now.
Before heading over to watch the Duke-Texas game (in which we were victorious!), I made a simple dinner: a can of Health Valley's Vegetable Soup with added chickpeas, rice crackers, and a salad with cashews and Tofu-Lime Dressing. In addition to my homemade hummus obsession, I think I feel a homemade dressing fixation developing...
My smoothie that night featured frozen banana, unsweetened banana Spirutein, raspberries, and soymilk. I topped it with some more of that Peak Protein granola by Bear Naked.
Sunday
As you may know, I have a healthy appreciation for Clif bars, especially the Maple Nut and Oatmeal Raisin Walnut flavors. Accordingly, I decided to combine my favorite flavors in my oatmeal bowl: oats, rice milk, cinnamon, raisins, walnuts, and an agave-maple blend made for a wonderful start to the day. I find myself running out of oatmeal inspiration these days. With my Taste the Rainbow challenge and Girl Scout series complete, I need ideas. What should my next oatmeal challenge be?
I whipped up another batch of tofu cream cheese yesterday (NOT in pizza dip this time) and assembled a fruit pizza. I added a little cinnamon to the mix and the resulting flavor was quite reminiscent of the Creamy Cashew Dip from ED&BV (which I have made here and here). This fruit pizza was of the strawberry-banana variety, and I served it with greens topped with cucumber, wheat germ, and raspberry vinaigrette.

This marks the beginning of Chobani Week. This week, I'll be using all of your wonderful suggestions to sample Chobani's various flavors. First up was plain, with pumpkin and almonds.
After chapter, I returned home not really in the mood for a real dinner, so I made Mexican Dip again. This time, I layered the bean dip you've seen so much lately with salsa, TJ's Guac-Salsa, reduced-fat cheddar, and some more tofu sour cream. I scooped up all the goodness with baked blue corn chips and celery. High in sodium, but oh-so-delicious.
The smoothie last night was a bit of a leftovers concoction: soymilk, blueberries, frozen banana, strawberries, and vanilla rice protein went into the blender for this one. I topped it with my Choco-Cherry Treat granola--not the perfect accompaniment but tasty just the same.
Monday
I was in a rush to get to class today, so I slapped together a banana dog: whole wheat hot dog bug, banana, PB, and agave-maple syrup with a glass of rice milk. Fast and delish.
A few important reminders:
-Brilynn at Jumbo Empanadas is giving away a VitaMix. Yes, you read that right. You have no idea how much I covet the VitaMix machines of my fellow bloggers. I mean, come on, I make at least one smoothie per day. I clearly *need* a VitaMix. Anyway, enter by March 28 for your chance to win!
-Kristin from Kristin's Nibbles is giving away an assortment of Quaker goodies. I love the Simple Harvest products...and fuzzy slippers, so I am excited about this giveaway as well! Enter by tonight (March 23 at 9PM).

Eek! Another monster post! Congrats if you read this far! Be back soon:)