June 25, 2013

Daily Breakfast Redux

Friends, let me tell you a creamy little story. (Impatient type: skip to the fourth paragraph!). 

I started eating Stonyfield Greek yogurt (Oikos) for breakfast in 2009. In the middle of an super revolution when it came to my diet. Cutting out cereal, toast, pretty much any less than protein-packed, low-carb fuel. See, I wrote about it here

And then in 2010, I started commuting an hour, which meant breakfast on the go and I slacked off on the nutritious craze. Breakfast looked like the more tasty and convenient flavored Greek yogurt containers. Chobani blood orange and apple cinnamon. Stonyfield super fruit. nom.

Fast forward a few years to 2013 when I start paying attention to those pesky little things called calories, and I realized that not only had my portion gone from 8 oz. to 5.3 oz, those little cups of fruited goodness, while still packing a whopping 28% of your day's protein, also had a LOT of sugar. In fact, it's the second ingredient...19 g of it to be exact.  Plus there is weird stuff like concentrate resulting in 140 calories. 

Recently, I started thinking about how I could makeover my daily breakfast, and possibly work on a little environmental stewardship by reducing the purchase of those plastic yogurt cups. In talking with a dietician, she gave me a great idea to try buying a 32oz plain Greek and 32oz vanilla regular yogurts, mixing them together, and doling out in 8 oz servings for each day of the week. 


That worked okay, but while the regular yogurt added calcium and a little sweet, it wasn't quite as filling. So, from the two steps forward, I took one step back and bought just the plain Greek 32oz. But how to flavor it without adding too much sugar?


Moment of genius I wish I could claim! There is a pre-existing pureed organic fruit product, with absolutely ZERO added sugar (plus some vitamins!) already sitting on grocery store shelves across the nation. Have you a clue?


Hello baby food aisle!! This week, I opted for a blueberry/beet/banana mix, which spread out nicely over four cups adding ~15 calories of pure fruit to each 6 oz serving (105 calories) of yogurt. 


That results in a 120 calorie, filling breakfast (plus I add some whole grain grape nuts, oats, and sunflower seeds) with just over 17 g protein. Note that this may seem like a small calorie savings (20), but it is a larger serving size than the purchased cups AND has no added sugar. I also just feel healthier about it because who wants to feed a baby junk? 


All mixed up and ready to go for the week. My last step will be converting these reusable plastic containers to glass cups!

June 22, 2013

Combos v 2

A new one to add to the list of interesting but tasty combos!


Grilled fresh pineapple & sweet potatoes. 
Mixed with a little EVOO and cilantro and tossed in a grill pan for about 15 minutes. Tip: microwave the peeled and diced sweet potato for 3-4 minutes first to get it tender. The pineapple cooks much faster.

June 18, 2013

Chopping Block

It wasn't too long ago, I saw 'chop salad' on a menu. I could sort of understand chopped salad so I just figured it was just a Southernism. Prior to that though, a salad with chopped veggies was just a salad, but now it seems adding those four letters make it something different than a regular salad.

This one sure is!




















This is my version, inspired by a recipe I saw in the fancy Boar's Head (who, coincidentally has a really nice, classy website design), handout on the deli counter. Have you ever picked those up? This one was so slick, I thought I'd give it a try while I waited, and got a few great ideas!

Maple Honey Turkey Waldorf Salad
I followed the ingredients pretty close, but omitted the mayo and used agave instead of sugar. Turned out great and was perfect for a hot summer evening, with a side of CSA squashes & red onions.

Also coincidentally, this meal matched a pic I snapped of my view from work that morning.


June 16, 2013

And Counting!

We're just over a month away until the big TWO WEEK vacation to Cape Cod. Since it is nice and toasty here in NC, it can't get here fast enough. To pass the time, here's a top 10 of things I'm looking forward to for #CC2013!

1. Outdoor breakfast





2. Camp fires & hammocks

3. These boats at (photographed 3/5 years!) at Forest Beach
  

4. Cape-style houses and all their blooming glory

5. Traveling with the Canine Component

6. City Shoes

7. Fresh salsa and guac















8. Baseball at Chatham


9. Rail trail biking & freshwater pond kayaking


10. Crossing this bridge

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...