Food Porn

So anyone that knows me knows how much I love food, any food. I'm not picky in the slightest. I've tried to steer more towards the organic side of things in the past few years, because I also love vegetables and knowing that what I'm eating is clean (besides the drunk binges at Waffle House and McDonald's). Come to think of it, it's always really been the exercise portion that's been my downfall. I eat fairly healthfully, but it wasn't until lately I realized I was eating entirely too much. (Did you know that one can of tuna is actually two servings!?)

The fitbook that I've already pimped in my previous post has really kept me honest about tracking what I eat and the calorie content. I tried the phone apps that are available, but they killed my battery and were just too slow or didn't have what I needed in their database. Luckily, I've developed a new love for cooking, even if it's just for myself (Geoff hates any food that is green, literally and figuratively). Cooking for yourself is a great way to actually stick to single servings and be totally aware of what you're putting in your body.

However, it's the single servings part that kills me. I wish they actually made meal pills like in Willy Wonka because I think I honestly enjoy the taste more than the sensation of a full belly. In that regard, I've tried to be more conscientious of eating, with no distractions, actually tasting and savoring the food, and stopping when I'm full. You'd be surprised how little can satisfy you. As a challenge to anyone that reads this, eat your next meal at a table, with no tv or internet, and put your fork down in between bites. Actually chew your food and pay attention to the way you feel. I bet you don't finish your meal! (I've also found that using side plates as opposed to full on dinner plates limits what I can fit on the plate and my body.)

This morning I made a turkey, swiss, and egg breakfast sandwich on a whole wheat english muffin (important to get whole wheat and not just wheat or multi-grain!). I also had a small cluster of red grapes and 8 oz. of chocolate soy milk. All together it came in at 450 calories. Not bad for what I think should be the biggest meal of the day.

Actually really delicious and filled me up.

For lunch I made a grilled chicken ranch whole wheat wrap. 1/2 breast of chicken, 1/2 serving of shredded cheddar cheese, lite ranch, and a ton of lettuce all for 350 calories.

And for dinner, I made egg rolls! I've been craving something crunchy since I've given up fried foods for lent, and I love egg rolls, so I figured I'd try to bake them and see how they turned out. I've made them once before with tofu, but as I was out, I substituted scrambled egg. They were delicious!

I ended up using 4 eggs because I ran out, but the rest of the ingredients are as follows:

1 Celery Stalk
1/4 Onion
4 Eggs
1/2 Bag of Cole Slaw Mix
1 Package of Egg Roles (next to the tofu in the produce section of most super markets)
(Use as much or as little of the following as you'd like)
Minced Garlic
Siracha (God's gift to mankind)
Soy Sauce
Lime Juice
and Olive Oil (for the eggs and sticking the egg roles together)

Basically you cut up the celery and onion, mix it with the coleslaw, and add the garlic, Siracha, soy sauce, and lime juice to taste.

Next, grill up the eggs (I added black and red pepper, turmeric, and cumin to them.) I left them a little runny, because I didn't want them to overcook in the oven.

Now you can set up a little assembly line in which you lightly baste the egg roles with olive oil, flip them over, fill them, fold them like an envelope, and roll them up.

Be sure to put a dab of olive oil on the flap of the envelope so they stick. Put this part face down on the pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

A serving is 3 egg roles, and by my calculations (which are usually pretty accurate--my boyfriend is a math teacher afterall!) a serving is only about 250-275 calories depending on how heavy your hand is with the olive oil and fillings. It's okay, I know. I'm amazing. You are welcome.

These provided that crunch I was after with a very low calorie count (the soy sauce was of course low sodium, and I recorded the entire thing at 300 calories in my log to be safe). The great thing is at about 87 calories a piece, I can eat these as a side with dinner, a snack, or a full meal like I did tonight. I made about 14, but could have made more if my pan was bigger (the egg role package includes 21 sheets). I ended up using the rest of the coleslaw mix with my other half of a tuna can (remember that guy from earlier?) so I can have a tuna salad sandwich tomorrow for lunch. Brilliant!

Please share any other healthy recipes you may have found along your way. I'd love to hear them!

And as for my workout today, I think I produced even more sweat than yesterday (which I didn't think was possible), but I also burned more calories. According to my HRM, 475 to be exact, which puts my net calories for the day at 1,525 (I didn't blog my snacks and the protein shake I had after my workout).

Not once was I hungry or deprived, and my workout only used up 40 minutes of my precious time which otherwise consisted of watching tv and thinking about finishing the laundry (the perks of not having a big girl job). Absolutely no excuse for me not to be able to keep this up. But just in case, please remind me I said that in about 2 weeks.