Food log from 7/26/2011

Here is another day of food logging.  This was on Tuesday, which is a day that I am at home and not working.  You will see how it differs from last week's log when I was in the office. 

Breakfast

Tropical smoothie

1 small peach

1/2 frozen sliced banana

3/4 cup almond milk

1 T rolled oats

1/2 T coconut oil

Half caff coffee with almond milk

After a little play time, we headed out for a run to the park (5.36 miles total).  I was famished after my run (not usual), so I grabbed a snack to tied me over until lunch.

Snack
Nutri-grain bar

Lunch
Open faced sandwich
Toasted pumpernickel bread
pesto sauce
a little extra sharp cheddar
red onions
kale

Oh She Glows -  Apple Sandwich
Apple
PB
Dried cranberries

2nd water for the day (first was during my run)

Snack
My big salad via No Meat Athlete's advice for an afternoon snack
Spinach
Romain
Tomato
Red bell pepper
Cucumber
Spanish olives
Homemade lemon vinaigrette

Dinner

Spaghetti and "meatballs" with nutritional yeast sprinkled on top

I am not a huge fan of fake meat, but it has been really difficult getting meals on the table these past few weeks.  The little guy is not sleeping well (advice?) and I am exhausted as well as not getting enough protein in my diet, so I had about 3 oz. of veg Italian sausage, the hubs had pork sausage meatballs.  This particular brand is very lean and tasty.  I had had in the freezer forever, so I needed to use it anyway.

Snack
Turkey Hill Choco Mint Chip Ice cream (I had a coupon, not bad ice cream, but not great either)
Dark Chocolate Chips

I ran so I get ice cream.  Yeah!!!  It is one of my 2 vices.  Unfortunately, I was hungry all day long but we were so busy that I didn't get a chance to eat enough.  Since coming back to my pre-pregnancy weight, I don't need to be cutting calories anymore, and I am running more, so I actually need more calories.  When I plugged this into Sparkpeople, I was only to 1700+ calories.  That is not enough if I am running and nursing. 

And I was still hungry to after the kids were in bed, I ate a small bowl of dry cereal (Kix) and a handful of Kashi crackers dipped in cottage cheese (not pictured).  That got me very close to 2,000 calories so I called it a day.  I didn't want to eat too much since it was so late.  If I am too full at bedtime, I don't sleep well. 

Daily Totals

Calories:  1,994

Carbs:  306 (61%)

Fat:  65 (29%)

Protein:  73 (10%)

I know I need to get my protein up.  Any advice?  I think I will have to start incorporting more cottage cheese into my diet to help me. 

A new purchase for me

I bought some extra virgin coconut oil yesterday when I was at the farmer's market.  I had been looking for it at both the grocery store and the farmer's market but hadn't seen it yet.  I saw it yesterday, so I grabbed some up.  I have seen a lot of information on coconut oil over the past several months as well as it coming up in a lot of recipes, so I thought I would give it a try. 

Benefits of Coconut Oil

The health benefits of coconut oil include

• Promoting heart health
• Promoting weight loss
• Supporting your immune system health
• Supporting a healthy metabolism
• Immediate energy source
• Helps with dry skin and hair

Coconut oil is about 92% saturated fat (OMG, no) and is solid at room temperature.  Research has shown that not all saturated fats are alike and that most of them are Medium Chain Triglycerides, which do not raise serum cholesterol or contribute to heart disease, but are in fact very healthy.  Coconut oil is rich in lauric acid, which is known for being anti-viral, antibacterial and anti-fungal.

Most oils are light and heat sensitive, meaning that they easily turn rancid if not kept in a cool, dark place. Coconut oil is highly stable and is much more resistant to heat than other oils, even olive oil. So it's great to cook with but supposedly also great to have raw.

What to do with coconut oil?

So now I have it, I don't have any specific recipes to use coconut oil.  How do you use coconut oil?  I will be scouring blogs for recipes, so if you have any good ones, please let me know.  Also, if you use coconut oil for things other than in recipes, I am all ears. 



Thanks for the cyber hugs

Thanks for the great comments on my last post.  I don't know why I am so anxious about losing the baby weight.  I was not like this last time.  So weird.  I feel like a failure so much recently.  I feel like I am  not getting enough done around the house, not spending enough time with the daughter doing things she would want to do, not making great dinners, not losing the baby weight fast enough, etc.  Again, I don't know why I am feeling this way.  I was much more laid back last time.  I guess because I have been feeling better sooner, I feel like I should be getting more done, especially when it comes to losing weight.  I know I need to relax and chill out and let it be.  I am not sleeping much.  The son is not sleeping well so of course, I don't have a lot of energy to get me through the day.  I am also breastfeeding which means every 2 hours, I have to take a 20-30 minute break to feed him.  I don't mind doing it but I have to realize that, it takes a lot of time out of my day to feed the little man.  He is an eater! 

I am starting to work out again and am getting on a regular schedule with it so that is good.  I think that will continue to be the way I operate and not worry so much about eating.  I typically eat healthy, wholesome foods, so I should really worry about it. 

So I enjoyed my dessert last night (and tonight, ice cream both nights) and don't regret it.  I know I just need to relax.  I wish I could more.  Any tips to relaxing?

Protein Powder recs?

Do you use a protein powder in shakes, smoothies, homemade bars, etc?  If so, I am interested in what you use and why?  I currently only have Designer Whey Chocolate Protein Powder in the house for Adam (which I think is vegetarian (obviously not vegan) according to at least one website).  I am looking for one that is vegan (I am not planning on switching to veganism right now, but this seems like something that I could switch to and not make any difference in my day), gluten free would be nice, one that is high in protein and relatively low in carbs, organic would be nice too, but also one that you like, i.e. tastes good.  I have tried soy protein powder, and it's ok, but I wonder if there are other kinds (or a soy protein powder that tastes really good).

Please post a comment on which one you like and why or send me a link.

Menu Planning going on hiadus

Since we are moving in 3 1/2 weeks (eek, did I just type that), menus are going to be difficult. We are trying to go through what we have in the freezer and cupboard so meals are not going to be very exciting and will probably look pretty scary. So I am not going to be planning a lot of meals ahead of time and buying a lot of new ingredients. I will be using up what we have and just buying some fresh fruits and veggies to keep in the house. Hopefully, I can resume this part of my blog soon, but I will tell you about one meal we have utilized for the past 2 weeks - veggie nachos.

I wanted them last weekend after my race, so we stopped at the store after church and gathered up what we needed. Surpringly, we made them super fast and while they are not the healthiest thing you can eat, we made them using healthy alternatives. We used baked tortilla chip scoops instead of regular chips, drained and rinsed black beans instead of chicken or beef, and veggies to top it off (tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and lettuce). We did use cheese (2 kinds actually), but it was still probably less cheese then if we had gotten it at a restaurant. They were so good last weekend, that Adam wanted them again. And it was very satisfying for the meating eating husband that we now have another vegetarian meal for us. :)

Work health plan for last week and this week

I didn't realize I didn't post what my work's around the world to a healthy lifestyle was last week, so I will combine them. Last week was 3 servings of calcium and this week is to watch your sodium.

3 servings of calcium

That is usually not too hard for me. I really like cheese and yogurt so I was able to get in 3 servings most days. I usually have either yogurt or cereal with milk for breakfast and then yogurt for a snack in the afternoons. So that just leaves me with one more serving to have at lunch or dinner. I am not a fan of drinking my calories (except for my green monster smoothies) so I don't drink much milk, except a couple of tablespoons in my morning coffee (heaven!), so I rarely sit down to dinner with anything but water, but I should start to rethink that. Milk for dinner might be fun and will remind me of being a kid again (my mom made us drink a cup of milk every night at dinner).

Sodium

You are supposed to keep your daily sodium to less than 2,300 mg each day. I am fortunate enough not to have a blood pressure problem, so far at least. My blood pressure if very low, usually 90-100/60. Even pregnant, I never had 120/80. But I am not a big salt fan either. I don't put a lot of salt into dishes and never add salt to my food (with the exception of sliced tomatoes eaten by themselves). I also don't eat a lot of processed foods (I didn't say none though) so that helps. But if you do, you have to watch out, because there is a lot more salt in them then you think. Frozen entrees, soups, cereals and breads all have a lot more salt in them then you think. So since this week is to watch my sodium, I am going to buy reduced salt/reduced fat cheddar cheese at the farmer's market this week and try to keep my processed foods to a minimum.

Good luck to anyone following this.

Holiday Challenge

So, some of you are as bad as me when it comes to message boards, and some of you frequent the same ones I do, but I have to say I am addicted to The Nest. I was on The Knot before I got married, and I am also on The Bump now. On The Nest, I frequent the Health and Fitness message board. One of the nesties started a Holiday Challenge and even if you are not a big fan of message boards, I thought this might be something you might want to do on your own. You can download the spreadsheet and do it anyway. I am such a competitor that I plan to do it this holiday season, but instead of going crazy to fill in every 5 and 10 point block, I am going to be realistic about it. In the past, I would have gone over and above to make sure I won it, but now I have a child and I have to put her needs first (wow, look at me, I am growing up). It started Nov. 1, but you could start today and runs through the end of Dec. I will let you know how I am doing periodically, and how many points I end up with. For those that plan to do it as well, good luck!

Rule #2

So again, if I were writing a book, rule #1 would be portion control, then rule #2 would be balance. Now balance means a lot of things. Like, if you are going to have a big piece of cake for dessert one night, you probably ought to hit the gym that day too. But when I think of balance, I think of food balance. I used to be much better at this, but with a child, everything is more difficult. When I am menu planning, and I plan to make baked ziti for dinner or cottage cheese and noodles, I will try to be conscious of my lunch. I will/would normally eat a big salad for lunch and not cereal or oatmeal for breakfast. It's not good to eat a big plate of carbs at every meal, or a big plate of protein either. I notice that I feel better when I balance out my day. I don't feel heavy and bloated. I feel light and energized. I am not a believer in low-carb diets, but as a runner, there is no way I would have the energy anyway, but the same goes for high carb. If you are more conscious of what you eat throughout the day and balance out the day's meals, I think you will find weight will come off more easily and you won't even think about it.