EJCC and Showbread's Cooking/Exercise Extravaganza!

[EJCC]

Exercise update:

My allergies have been so bad this week that I mistook them for a cold. Felt tired and awful from Monday through Thursday. So I haven't been running, and am a few days behind on Exercise Challenge exercises. Might try to run tomorrow if I have time.

Food update:

Due in part to [MENTION=19948]Showbread[/MENTION]'s experience with the falafel burgers, I am finding a new use for the can of chickpeas I bought: Kale Salad with Tandoori Roasted Chickpeas
Super excited about it! Will eat it for most dinners this week.

My other meals:

Breakfasts: Fat free "European style" plain Trader Joe's yogurt with blueberries and honey

First set of lunches: Sesame-Ginger and Cucumber Soba Noodles - Cookie and Kate (made several servings today -- really yummy and good for you!)

Second set of lunches: Tomato Cobbler Recipe | Martha Stewart (my favorite!)

Snacks: Crackers and tahini

I also got tired of looking at my 3/4 empty bag of Trader Joe's pumpkin pancake/waffle mix, so I binge-cooked like 20-30 pancakes, bagged them, and froze them. Decided I wanted to make them healthier, so I used the "basic whole grain yogurt pancake" formula for healthier pancakes from this website -- with oat bran instead of wheat germ, and also with a bunch of chopped pecans I had lying around. They turned out awesome. And I am pretty much set for breakfasts for life, lol.

Side note: Does anyone have a suggestion for healthy pumpkin-pecan pancake toppings?

 

[EJCC]

Also: warm weather means COLD BREW ICED COFFEE, which is my favorite. So I am sharing the recipe I usually use, not because it's healthy, but because it is delicious and I love it.

the velvet bird: Most Delicious Iced Coffee in the World!

(I usually leave it out on the counter instead of the fridge, overnight, and only put it in the fridge after it's been strained. And that hasn't killed me yet? Maybe it will in the future?)

 

[Showbread]

Exercise update:

My allergies have been so bad this week that I mistook them for a cold. Felt tired and awful from Monday through Thursday. So I haven't been running, and am a few days behind on Exercise Challenge exercises. Might try to run tomorrow if I have time.

OMG I feel you. I haven't gone for a real run in over a week because of: PMS (period is late so it's taking forever), allergies, giving blood. I couldn't even go to the gym this morning because my allergy meds had worn off and I kept sneezing and getting super watery eyes. No good. Might try again tomorrow depending on the weather. If it's below like 55 degrees my lungs don't cooperate even with inhaler.

I also got tired of looking at my 3/4 empty bag of Trader Joe's pumpkin pancake/waffle mix, so I binge-cooked like 20-30 pancakes, bagged them, and froze them. Decided I wanted to make them healthier, so I used the "basic whole grain yogurt pancake" formula for healthier pancakes from this website -- with oat bran instead of wheat germ, and also with a bunch of chopped pecans I had lying around. They turned out awesome. And I am pretty much set for breakfasts for life, lol.

Side note: Does anyone have a suggestion for healthy pumpkin-pecan pancake toppings?

Ooh, yum! Um, if you want to eat it like toast reduced fat cream cheese would be good. I really like honey on my pancakes too.

(I usually leave it out on the counter instead of the fridge, overnight, and only put it in the fridge after it's been strained. And that hasn't killed me yet? Maybe it will in the future?)

Nah, you're fine. I drink day old coffee that's been sitting in the pot overnight all the time. It's acidic enough to inhibit bacterial growth for a short time.

 

[EJCC]

Exercise update:

My allergies have been so bad this week that I mistook them for a cold. Felt tired and awful from Monday through Thursday. So I haven't been running, and am a few days behind on Exercise Challenge exercises. Might try to run tomorrow if I have time.

Two updates to the above.

1) I went for a 2.5 mile run yesterday and it didn't go amazingly, which I attribute to the VERY warm and sunny weather (75 degrees!) and to my not having exercised for a little under a week. Once it gets to be summer, I may have to get up early to run. Or, God forbid, start using a treadmill at the gym.

2) As soon as the trees started to bloom, this weekend, my symptoms went away. Which means it probably wasn't allergies?? Either way, I'm glad that's over with!


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OMG I feel you. I haven't gone for a real run in over a week because of: PMS (period is late so it's taking forever), allergies, giving blood. I couldn't even go to the gym this morning because my allergy meds had worn off and I kept sneezing and getting super watery eyes. No good. Might try again tomorrow depending on the weather. If it's below like 55 degrees my lungs don't cooperate even with inhaler.

Yuck. :/ The Internets tell me that exercise actually makes you feel better, when you have cramps? But I'm not sure if I believe them.

Ooh, yum! Um, if you want to eat it like toast reduced fat cream cheese would be good. I really like honey on my pancakes too.

Hmm, there's a thought. I like the idea of using some kind of spread. Worst case scenario, I don't think a teaspoon of maple syrup ever killed anyone.

Nah, you're fine. I drink day old coffee that's been sitting in the pot overnight all the time. It's acidic enough to inhibit bacterial growth for a short time.

Excellent.

 

[Showbread]

I'm going to post one of my recipes! I've been making this every few months for the last 4ish year probably. My ISFP friend made the recipe when were in high school. Basically they are cookies, but with much less butter, reduced sugar, WW flour, and lots of oatmeal. That probably doesn't sound good, but I LOVE them. I keep them in the freezer and eat them as snacks all the time. I've counted before, they are about 160 calories a cookie, with almost 3 grams of fiber each.

Cream together:
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- scant 1/4 cup white sugar

Add:
- 3/4 cup low fat yogurt* (plain or low sugar vanilla)
- 1 T vanilla extract
- 2 eggs

Mix well and add:
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour**
- 1.5 tsp of baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt

Finally add:
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1.5 cups dark chocolate chunks***
- 3 cups old fashioned oats

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. They don't spread much, so I usually squish them down a bit before I put in the oven.

* If using plain either add a squeeze of honey, or make the white sugar a full 1/4 cup. I use a low carb vanilla yogurt.

** In case you've never used it before, WW pastry is the same as white whole wheat. It's still 100% whole grain, just made from a softer wheat with a but less protein. Makes for less dense baked goods.

*** I often chop my own dark chocolate, my favorite are the Pound Plus bars at Trader Joe's. $4.99 for 18 ox of really good quality dark chocolate.

 

[Showbread]

Went for my first good run in about two weeks. Thanks to cold weather, allergies, and TMI ->

Eternal PMS. My stupid period was 8 days late. Damn stress!

But, today went pretty well. 3 miles, a little over 30 minutes. I finished my first mile in 8:33, which is progress!

I've also been calorie counting using the myfitnesspal app. I have it set for only like .5 pounds of weight loss a week though, so I'm aiming for 1450-1500 calories a day. WAY more doable than the 1250 it had me on before. 250 calories shouldn't make that much of a difference, but it really does. With my run today I was still under, even though I definitely had Thai food (noodles!) for dinner.

Not sure what I'll be eating this weekend. Saturday will be a bust, probably going out with IxFJ bestie, and we are definitely making boozy smoothies with coconut rum and frozen fruit afterwards. But, the other days should be fairly healthy.

 

[EJCC]

Welp my 3.4 mile run became a 4 mile run-walk because I lost track of where I was on the trail and overshot. I'm guessing it was a little over 3 miles in that my right thigh started hurting, so I walked, then stretched, then walked, then ran maybe half a mile, then did a cool-down walk and stretched again. Hopefully I won't be horrendously sore tomorrow.

On the bright side... farthest I've ever run-walked!

 

[Showbread]

Welp my 3.4 mile run became a 4 mile run-walk because I lost track of where I was on the trail and overshot. I'm guessing it was a little over 3 miles in that my right thigh started hurting, so I walked, then stretched, then walked, then ran maybe half a mile, then did a cool-down walk and stretched again. Hopefully I won't be horrendously sore tomorrow.

On the bright side... farthest I've ever run-walked!

Woohoo! I'm going to shoot for 3.5 tomorrow. No idea what I'm doing on the food front though. I have ground beef and ground turkey in my freezer currently that I would like to use.

 

[EJCC]

This week's food:

1) Leftover pumpkin/oat bran/yogurt/pecan pancakes up the wazoo! (following up on the pancake topping thing: I tried putting fig jam on one and it was GREAT, so I will be doing that)

2) Red curry with chicken, eggplant, and spinach, and brown jasmine rice

3) Eggplant scallopini marsala with wheat pasta

Because scarcity breeds innovation, I ended up deciding on that last recipe while scouring the index of my copy of the Moosewood Cookbook, figuring Mollie Katzen of all people would have some ideas about what to do with half an eggplant. (I already knew I wanted to make red curry with eggplant, but the recipe on the side of the can said 200g, which is apparently about half an eggplant.) So I decided to try this, having discovered marsala wine in the Room of Requirement* -- which ended up being bad**, so I bought a bottle of dry sherry that I will most likely pour into an ice cube tray and freeze. ANYWAY, I made half the recipe and will be eating it for the next 3-4 days most likely.


*That's what my roommates and I call our basement storage room. Treasures left behind by previous group house tenants include an old tube TV, three doors, a mini fridge, and a framed Pittsburgh Steelers poster.

**I should have seen this coming. A few months ago, while cleaning out our basement fridge -- we have two fridges -- I found food in the freezer from 2011. So I should always assume that food discoveries in the house should be thrown away.

 

[Showbread]

Food has been okay. I need to 100% commit to calorie counting, rather than quitting for the day if I eat something "bad" or run out of calories. I ate a burrito at like 11 pm last night as a right of passage. There's this semi-crappy 24/7 Mexican food place walking distance from campus that students go to at all hours. I've never been (intentionally) but some of my friends found out an insisted that I had to go before graduation. So, I ate a rather large burrito late last night. It was really fun though, and surprisingly not gross!

I did a little photo shoot about two weeks ago and I got the pictures back today. Not because I'm unhappy with the photography, but because I just really don't like the way I look. My face gets a lot chubbier when I gain weight, even if it's only 5-7 pounds. I almost didn't take pictures because I knew I would feel this way.

Oh, well. What's done is done I suppose. I've seen people put pictures of themselves they don't like on their fridge before to deter them against snacking. I've considered doing that, but I'm not sure how healthy it is...

I have no idea what to make for food tonight. I have lots of lettuce, thinking some kind of salad. But I don't have a protein.

I also haven't been doing a lot of running. It's not getting easier for my lungs, which is really discouraging. I've also just been exhausted the last few days. I forced myself to do 20 minutes on the elliptical last night because I knew I needed some exercise.

 

[EJCC]

Forgot to update on this:

Due in part to [MENTION=19948]Showbread[/MENTION]'s experience with the falafel burgers, I am finding a new use for the can of chickpeas I bought: Kale Salad with Tandoori Roasted Chickpeas
Super excited about it! Will eat it for most dinners this week.

The dressing for this salad was freaking awesome -- didn't realize how easy (and amazing!) it is to roast garlic and add it to sauces -- but the tandoori seasoning was meh. If/when I make it again, I'll use a MUCH more potent seasoning mix.

Two other miscellaneous updates:

1) I've decided, in part due to [MENTION=4939]kyuuei[/MENTION], to start alternating my lunches/dinners a bit more. Which I guess means making a big batch of something freezer-safe once every couple of weeks, and noshing on it every once and a while. Also means making smaller batches of things, when they aren't freezer-safe. And means that my meals and groceries will be harder to plan. But if eating the same 3-4 meals all week is really THAT bad for you, then I guess it's worth it to put in the extra effort.

2) I cannot describe how difficult it's been to find an upper-body workout routine that's worked for me. Every single workout suggestion I've been finding is either a million times too difficult, or I don't feel any impact at all. I gave up on the push-up and plank sections of the exercise challenge I was working on, when I improved too slowly for the pace of the plank section (stalled out at 1 minute 15 seconds), and realized I was doing modified push-ups wrong and got 100000x worse when I corrected my technique. The whole thing is demoralizing, especially since I've always been insecure about my lack of upper body strength. (I'm naturally weak from the chest up -- even when I was a little kid, I couldn't use the monkey bars at the playground.)

 

[Showbread]

1) I've decided, in part due to [MENTION=4939]kyuuei[/MENTION], to start alternating my lunches/dinners a bit more. Which I guess means making a big batch of something freezer-safe once every couple of weeks, and noshing on it every once and a while. Also means making smaller batches of things, when they aren't freezer-safe. And means that my meals and groceries will be harder to plan. But if eating the same 3-4 meals all week is really THAT bad for you, then I guess it's worth it to put in the extra effort.

Wait, what? Was this an article you read? Can you send it to me?

 

[EJCC]

Food has been okay. I need to 100% commit to calorie counting, rather than quitting for the day if I eat something "bad" or run out of calories. I ate a burrito at like 11 pm last night as a right of passage. There's this semi-crappy 24/7 Mexican food place walking distance from campus that students go to at all hours. I've never been (intentionally) but some of my friends found out an insisted that I had to go before graduation. So, I ate a rather large burrito late last night. It was really fun though, and surprisingly not gross!

Meh, my attitude towards that sort of thing is to just go for it. It's a sign of a depressing diet, IMO, if you can't go out and splurge every once and a while.

I did a little photo shoot about two weeks ago and I got the pictures back today. Not because I'm unhappy with the photography, but because I just really don't like the way I look. My face gets a lot chubbier when I gain weight, even if it's only 5-7 pounds. I almost didn't take pictures because I knew I would feel this way.

Ugh I'm sorry you ended up feeling that way about it. That sucks.

Oh, well. What's done is done I suppose. I've seen people put pictures of themselves they don't like on their fridge before to deter them against snacking. I've considered doing that, but I'm not sure how healthy it is...

Sounds really unhealthy TBH. Don't motivate yourself with shame! Stay body-positive!

I have no idea what to make for food tonight. I have lots of lettuce, thinking some kind of salad. But I don't have a protein.

Do it! Make some of that garlicky dressing, if you have hummus or tahini around!

Wait, what? Was this an article you read? Can you send it to me?

No, it was just kyuuei talking about it on her blog. Haven't looked into it besides that.

 

[Showbread]

No, it was just kyuuei talking about it on her blog. Haven't looked into it besides that.

Ooh, I do! I have some roasted red pepper hummus from Trader Joe's. Hmmm, protein... I have some chicken breasts, but they are all frozen. Maybe I'll go buy some fresh ones after work. I will definitely be too hungry/impatient to defrost after work.

 

[EJCC]

Update:

You Asked: Is It Bad to Eat the Same Thing Every Day?

Is it Bad to Eat the Same Healthy Foods Almost Every Day? | Women's Health Magazine

 

[Showbread]

Update:

You Asked: Is It Bad to Eat the Same Thing Every Day?

Is it Bad to Eat the Same Healthy Foods Almost Every Day? | Women's Health Magazine

I think as long as you're switching it up on a weekly basis it's probably fine. This seems to be more directed at people who eat the same food for breakfast/lunch every single day. I don't get the impression it's bad to eat the same dinner 3x in one week, as long as you switch it up the next.

 

[Ivy]

I agree with [MENTION=19948]Showbread[/MENTION] here. I'm not really understanding why it's bad to eat the same meal several times in a given week. At least for me, things naturally ebb and flow over time as I tire of dishes, so I'm getting variety from one week or month to the next, but in the span of a week I might have the same lunch/dinner several times. If it's working for you I don't think you need to chase variety for its own sake, in the short-term.

Something that has become a sort of mantra for me lately is "don't let the perfect become the enemy of the good." And its soul sister, "keep it simple, stupid."

 

[Showbread]

I agree with [MENTION=19948]Showbread[/MENTION] here. I'm not really understanding why it's bad to eat the same meal several times in a given week. At least for me, things naturally ebb and flow over time as I tire of dishes, so I'm getting variety from one week or month to the next, but in the span of a week I might have the same lunch/dinner several times. If it's working for you I don't think you need to chase variety for its own sake, in the short-term.

Same. I generally just can't eat food more than 3-4 times in one week. I get sick of it and it starts to not sound good anymore, no matter how much I usually enjoy it.

 

[kyuuei]

1) I've decided, in part due to kyuuei, to start alternating my lunches/dinners a bit more. Which I guess means making a big batch of something freezer-safe once every couple of weeks, and noshing on it every once and a while. Also means making smaller batches of things, when they aren't freezer-safe. And means that my meals and groceries will be harder to plan. But if eating the same 3-4 meals all week is really THAT bad for you, then I guess it's worth it to put in the extra effort.

Sorry? and/or you're welcome?

Frozen veggies are totally my friend here and frozen stuff. I have frozen breakfast sandwiches I alternate with cereal and oatmeal (when I have that rare gem of time in the mornings to cook I'll make a big breakfast of poached eggs, toast, bacon, and pancakes.. omg <3) .. Lunches typically are the dinner the night before + a new veggie, fruit, or carb, so I don't really ever have to think about those.. Dinner is typically what I rotate out the most. So if you look at it from that aspect it might not be so bad?

 

[EJCC]

Sorry? and/or you're welcome?

Frozen veggies are totally my friend here and frozen stuff. I have frozen breakfast sandwiches I alternate with cereal and oatmeal (when I have that rare gem of time in the mornings to cook I'll make a big breakfast of poached eggs, toast, bacon, and pancakes.. omg <3) .. Lunches typically are the dinner the night before + a new veggie, fruit, or carb, so I don't really ever have to think about those.. Dinner is typically what I rotate out the most. So if you look at it from that aspect it might not be so bad?

I mostly just like not having to cook more than twice a week. Usually I cycle out two sets of lunches and dinners during the week (cooked in bulk on one or two different days), plus eating out (out of necessity) on Tuesday evenings and maybe 1-2 other times during the week, spontaneously.

After what Ivy and Showbread have been saying, and after reading the articles I read, I figure I'm pretty much fine and can keep doing what I'm doing -- as long as I make sure that each of my meals is nutritious in a way that balances out the rest of the day's/week's meals.