I had a hankering for ice cream the other night. I'm somewhat lactose intolerant--I can have the real stuff, but it wreaks havoc on my tummy. I decided to peruse the frozen treats section to see if I could find any low/no-lactose goodies to satisfy me. | These Weight Watchers Frozen Greek Yogurt pops have only 80 calories per bar, and 5g protein! They didn't upset my tummy (Greek yogurt has less lactose than regular yogurt, and yogurt in general has less lactose than milk). It tasted creamy and a bit tangy at the same time--healthy but still like "real" food because there's plenty of FLAVOR going on. The swirl was overly concentrated in the middle of the bar, and the peach flavor was average. Basically, it tastes like peach yogurt. Also available in blueberry swirl. I would definitely try these again, especially if they came out with berry or pomegranate flavors (peach and blueberry are not my fave yogurt flavors...).
| This little pint was very disappointing. The texture is smooth and creamy (kind of like a more solid version of fro yo), but it's kind of grey in color, which isn't very appetizing. And then I took a bite... There wasn't a lot of sweetness, or flavor, or really anything else going on. It tasted like some science experiment diet food, not like real food AT ALL. I wanted to like this because of the low cal content, and the low lactose content, but it ended up going in the trash after a few spoonfuls. It's available in other flavors, like Chocolate Peanut Butter, but I'm done wasting my money on this product. Hungry Girl recommends it--maybe a different flavor would be better? | What are your favorite frozen treats? Are they high calorie or low calorie?
This is kind of a weird topic, but I figured it would be helpful to someone. There were many times that I've seen low calorie foods at the grocery store and wondered if they were worth trying. I know that "low calorie" foods are a hot topic, and that processed foods are a hot topic--and in an ideal world, I'd be a half-Asian version of Martha Stewart who cooks fancy food and keeps everything organized, and makes fancy crafts (but I wouldn't go to jail). If you won't eat this sort of stuff, skip this post. But if you're like me, and you're curious, then continue on! Fiber One 90 calorie Chocolate Fudge Brownies and Chocolate Chip Cookies  I'm pretty much the cookie monster. The sight and smell of freshly baked warm cookies sends me into an eating frenzy. It's an issue. These Fiber One 90 calorie chocolate fudge brownies and chocolate chip cookies got me stoked when I saw them at the grocery store. I love the delicious Fiber One granola bars, so I was hoping these would be equally awesome. But they're just okay. They're not great, but they're not bad either. They're individually portioned and high fiber, but other than that, all I can really say is that they're not terrible. But they're definitely not awesome. One Nestle Tollhouse break-apart chocolate chip cookie only has 90 calories--same calories, just less nutritious than the Fiber One version. These are also available in Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie.
I'd rather have the real thing, and just try to limit myself to one or two cookies.
Bolthouse Farms Yogurt Dressing - Salsa Ranch  Now THIS is exciting. I like creamy dressing. I've tried making my own greek yogurt dressings and they were NOT delicious. I've tried the "low calorie" versions of dressings and they taste weird. This Salsa Ranch dressing is low calorie and made with yogurt, but it's delicious. Tangy and creamy and delicious. I've also tried the Chunky Blue Cheese. The blue cheese flavor is pretty mellow. But only 35 cals/2Tbsp., I don't have to sacrifice flavor--I can throw a little real blue cheese crumbles on as well and still have a low cal salad! I LOVE this stuff, and I'm so excited to try out the other flavors: Classic Ranch, Caesar Parmigiano, Honey Mustard, Thousand Island and Zesty French (all 45 calories or less for a 2 tablespoon serving). The price is pretty comparable to other bottled salad dressings.
This one's a winner.
Do you eat processed low cal foods? What are your favorites?
Disclaimer: This post is all about high calorie fattening food, and how I suck at cooking. I would not advise making this or doing what I do when it comes to baking. You have been warned!
So a couple of months ago I decided that if I got to the lower end of my "goal weight" range, I could make myself delicious s'mores bars that I've seen on Pinterest. I've been obsessing over them the moment I saw them, because it's TWO TREATS IN ONE!!! But I figured this should be a one time treat, so I made it my reward for getting back in shape.
Here are the delicious treats that inspired me (click to go to the link on Pinterest):
Sorry it's been so long, gals and guys! But I have a special cooking post for you guys. It's special because I suck at cooking. Things that come in a box and can be microwaved are my specialty. My brother gives me crap about my food being poison. It wasn't for lack of trying. I just wasn't very good at it. But one day, I found something I was alright at. Back when I was in college, I tried to make my mom's Vietnamese curry. She doesn't measure anything because she's an amazing cook, but I had to start from something, so I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, and started testing it out. I've made some revisions, asked my mom for a little advice, and have pieced together a decent meal. My roommate at the time loved it, and now my boyfriend even requests it! I guess I can cook something after all... So here it is, "my" recipe for Vietnamese curry:
Marilyn's Fool-Proof Vietnamese Curry(if I can make something that people can eat, so can you!) - 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped (or 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic)
- 2-3 inch piece fresh ginger root, thinly sliced (leave skin on)
- 1 pkg lemongrass (8 or so 2" pieces)
- 4 tablespoons Vietnamese curry powder (2T generic curry + 3T Thai red curry powder, if you can't get any legit Vietnamese curry)
- 1-2 red or yellow bell peppers, small bite sized pieces
- 4-5 carrots
- 1 pound fried tofu, cut into bite-size pieces (optional)
- 2 cans chicken broth (2 cans)
- 3 bay leaves
- 4-5 medium potatoes, into 16pc/potato
- 1 sweet potato
- 2 (14 ounce) cans coconut milk
- 3 teaspoons sugar
- Sriracha, to taste (about 1-2 teaspoons)
- salt, to taste (about 1 teaspoon)
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion until soft and translucent. Stir in garlic, ginger, lemon grass and curry powder. Cook for about 2 minutes, to release the flavors of the curry. Add potato, sweet potato, carrots, tofu and bay leaf. Pour in chicken stock. Stir. Bring to a boil, then stir in bell pepper. Add sugar. Add Sriracha and salt to taste. When soup returns to a boil, reduce heat (about level 4) and simmer for 40 to 60 minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are tender. Serve with rice, or French bread, or rice noodles. Anyone else struggle with cooking?
So the No Cheat Challenge was originally supposed to be two weeks long, but after my friend called in a a second "food emergency" to our nutritionist, our nutritionist had us come in early, weight in, and then decide if we'd earned a cheat day.Well, I'm down 1.2 lbs this week, and 4.2 since we started, although my body fat is about the same. (My nutritionist blames that on the inaccuracy of the body fat calculating instrument). So I decided I've earned it! I've been craving pizza like crazy so I had pizza. I ate half of a large pizza. I didn't know I could eat that much pizza. I will definitely have to go on a nice long run tomorrow. What I've learned: - I'm obsessive about treats. And I still am. There's nothing like a cupcake to motivate me to finish a long run! But I don't need cupcakes all the time.
- I know I can eat clean for 11 days. It really wasn't that terrible, and I although I was kind of hungry sometimes, better planning could have helped (more fresh veggies to fill me up, less salad)!
- My body felt pretty good, and do long runs during those 11 days except for the work-related stress and seasonal allergies.
I think I'm going to be pretty strict about my eating from now on. In a way, it was really nice just having the same routine with my food every day. But I would like a bit more variety, so I'll probably be a little more flexible. And I'll definitely have cheat MEALS, and those will only be once a week.
Today was a crazy day. Very very crazy. But fortunately, I have some good gals that I work with and with whom I am friends, and we were there for each other when we needed it today.
And... I stuck to my plan! Kind of. I ate the right breakfast, snack, lunch, and second snack. I had planned on working out in the afternoon, but there had been a crisis and one of my friends really needed some support, so we were going to go get some drinks (for her) and then go to a Scentsy party another friend was having. But I didn't have any dinner food and couldn't make it that long. So I called my nutritionist, saying, "I have a food emergency!" I was at On the Border and wanted to get the okay to eat a tortilla, grilled fish and grilled veggies instead of a tortilla, tofu, and veggies. He laughed and said it was fine, as long as I stayed away from cookies (which, by the way, have been EVERYWHERE lately!)
Today was Day 9 of the No Cheat Challenge. It was fine for the most part. I'm getting anxious for this to be OVER. My last day, after I weigh in, I'm definitely going to treat myself to some of the things I've been craving the past two weeks. Items include: Peanut Butter Oreos (omg, I love Oreos, and I love PB, so I am flipping out about these), Oreo Cakesters, Pizza with alfredo base, cajun tots with ranch, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, and some MARGARITAS! (I'm a little obsessive about making sure I get to have some of EVERYTHING... but I'll try and pare down the list eventually so I don't go overboard).
The most exciting meal of the day was dinner. I had some fresh cooked carrots, and an AMAZINGLY YUMMY wrap. The Don Poncho high fiber tortilla is a little bland and... well, fiber-y, but edible. But the Morningstar Farms Grillers Turk'y Burger and the 100 calorie packet of Wholly Guacamole made it heavenly. The burger was nice and moist and tasted delicious. The guac was fabulous. And together, it was magical. I'm definitely going to be eating this again.
Went for a 7 mile interval training session again today, since the weather was gorgeous. My running crew and I were still tired from our long workouts this weekend, so we ended up taking it easy. I'm allowed to have as much fuel while running as needed, and since I love eating Shot Bloks like they're candy, I had four bloks (I shared two with my friends, who had forgotten to bring fuel).
Oops, forgot to post yesterday! Things have been a little crazy :P
Day 7: Stuck to the plan! My body was a little sore from Sunday's 18 miler, so I took it easy at the gym and did a light workout, and then took The Stick to my legs.
Day 8: Still stuck to the plan. I was really tempted to snag one of my brother's Jolly Rancher's as I walked out the door this morning. I thought, "Eh, it's just a few calories!" But I knew I'd end up confessing it to my nutritionist and would be mad at myself for not strictly sticking to it (I hate losing. haha). Did some cardio and weights.
Planning on doing 7-10 miles of running/walking tomorrow outside, if the weather continues to be nice!
What foods tempt you?
Today was Day 5 of the no cheat challenge. I managed to stick with it, even though weekends tend to be some of the hardest days for me in terms of eating clean.
 Banana and almond butter for breakfast!  Also for breakfast, I tried out a new coffee flavored protein drink called 'Click.'  Yummm...review to come!  Morningstar Farms meatless crumbles, broccoli slaw with onions, taco seasoning, and a whole wheat tortilla Yay for being more than 1/3 of the way finished with this challenge. I can't wait til it's over.
Tomorrow, I have an 18 mile run planned. The good news is that my nutritionist said I can add 2 cups of pasta + 1/2 cup tomato sauce to my plan any time I run farther than 12 miles! :)
Do you eat well on the weekends? Or do you struggle like I do? :P
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