4/7/11: Greetings and welcome to my first blog post. As a Registered Dietitian, I am often asked HOW it is that I eat healthy, exercise daily, get plenty of sleep and water, and manage stress in a productive manner. I am hoping that this blog can help others learn some of my personal tricks of the trade and serve as a way for me to keep track of my meals, moves, and moods. If you have any of your own tips that you would be willing to share with me [and possibly other readers], please e-mail me: jenn.h.haas@gmail.com. We can all learn from one another, and I know I enjoy reading other blogs that encourage healthy lifestyles while also providing unique perspectives on everyday challenges.
So today is a Thursday. I am not into associating particular days with correlating meals, but I do try to figure out 3 days worth of menus for me and Scott, the hubby who I will be referring to as "Director Doc" as he was recently promoted to the Hospitalist Director of his program. That being said, we are lucky to live close to so many grocery stores (we are talking about multiple chains and locations that are no more than a few miles from one another) and a handful of healthy restaurant options that we sometimes improvise and settle for the most convenient dinner choice. Breakfasts are ALWAYS eaten at home, mine post-workout and Director Doc eats before heading to work at 5:30am. We keep yogurts, raw walnuts, bananas (I like mine frozen and dipped in 0% Total Fage pre-workout), cooked veggies (we own a ridiculous amount of glass snapware for this purpose), and egg whites on hand daily. Snacks are a combo of fruit with natural peanut butter or raw nuts and Kashi GoLean cereal (all kept as staples in my car's trunk! ha) as well as raw or roasted veggies and hummus. Lunches are eaten at the Hospital for Director Doc (make sure to choose the veggie with the entree, hun!) and at home or with clients for me. I love soups, salads, turkey sandwiches, and more often than not--LEFTOVERS, yes please! So really the main variant and subject to change meal is dinner.
Which brings us to tonight . . . I forgot to place the 8 frozen single-serve chicken breasts we bought at Costco to thaw in the fridge last night, so no chicken tonight. I have some ground turkey breast in the drawer but just had turkey burgers, turkey tacos, and turkey meatloaf (I was on a kick!) so I am pretty sure that it is time to move on to another protein source or Thanksgiving will not be happening this year. Some pantry staples of canned tuna, canned crab, canned salmon, and every kind of bean you could name that is located on a grocery store shelf are always available as "just in case the Blizzard of 2010 makes a comeback (even though it is April, it is far from Spring here in Northern VA). SO with all of these options, I find it funny that I find myself craving Chinese food. Yes, I am still an RD. Yes, I still LOVE cooking and experimenting in the kitchen (still working on my cookbook which I hope to finish by 2012). BUT, I love how the local joint steams my brown rice, vegetable medley, and shrimp to perfection while offering white and brown sauces on the side for dipping (and can be reused for chicken stir-fry if I ever get around to defrosting the chicken breasts). Talk about double duty dinner :) So unless something miraculous happens, I am going with the take out. On a similar note, try eating ALL of your meals with chopsticks. I bet you will slow down, eat less, and enjoy a game of how many rice kernels can you pick up at a time. Bon appetite!
4/8/11: TGIF! So today is Friday and it is raining. It’s my dad’s birthday (Happy Birthday!!) and since he is a meteorologist he would probably purport that rain is good luck on your birthday. As long as the rain brings May’s flowers and greenery (and some warmer weather), I will not complain about getting wet today.
Breakfast: Veggie Frittata and Dunkin Donuts Hazelnut Coffee (eaten while checking e-mail with my planner to schedule patients and watching The Today Show, per usual)
Dinner (Turkey Burgers planned- prep during breakfast so all I have to do if saute them for 10 minutes and dinner is ready!)
I combined 1# extra lean ground turkey breast (last package of it in the fridge!) and 2 egg whites with ½ cup each: diced Empire apple, celery, and red pepper. I added 2 tbsp of ketchup and 1 tbsp of garlic powder. Mixed and covered with plastic wrap to marinate in the fridge.
I am off to TBC class at the gym. I’ll be back later . . .
Update: So the instructor was absent and the sub happened to be the same instructor who taught Body Pump yesterday, and she taught the same class today. So I had 3 days of Body Pump this week! Go me J
Lunch today was eaten at the mall (which does NOT have a Subway but I got the sandwich after the gym-since Subway is next door to the gym they give a 20% discount to members, love it!):
I was at the mall for 2 reasons: 1) it was crazy raining here so walking outside was not happening and 2) I was hoping to be inspired for Mother’s Day gifts. Missions were both accomplished. The Mall has two floors and has been measured to be 1 mile if walked both levels . I stopped in Kirkland’s (not affiliated with Costco) and found tons of “on sale” merchandise including photo collage frames. Score! I decided to make my mother-in-law a collage of me and Director Doc. How thoughtful of me. Ha! Not sure what I will get my mom yet as I have already made her collages of wedding photos. Still on the hunt . . . guess there will be more mall excursions in my near future.
The rest of the afternoon was spent creating theme menus for my upcoming cooking classes. I like to have these planned out so that if someone needs a last minute class/get-together/bachelorette party, I am ready to go with less stress than if I had not been prepared. I’m gonna cook those turkey burgers over medium heat in a sauté pan for 5 minutes on each side. Served alongside roasted cauliflower for me and atop a Thomas Light English Muffin for Director Doc. There will also be vegetable crudité and hummus (another staple at the Haas’s House). Dessert will be a square (or two) of Lindt 70% cocoa dark chocolate and cup of herbal tea. See you tomorrow!!
4/9/11: Good morning all! I wanted to review a new fav from the kind folks (thanks Jason!) at Love Grown foods:
Anyone who knows me, knows that my weakness is granola. I love chunky, uniquely flavored granola. This granola is super special, because it is gluten-free and minimally processed. Flavors include raisin/almond, apple/walnut, cranberry/pecan, and original. All of them rocked! Huge pieces of nuts and not too sweet, these made a perfect snack eaten solo [and with my fav Greek yogurt in a parfait]. The Love Grown company (whose mission is to "spread the love") was kind enough to send me multiple single-serve packages of granola to disseminate to my patients. The nutrition stats are great with only 120-130 calories per pack and 5-6 grams of fat (all healthy monounsaturated fats from nuts, milled flax, and sunflower seeds!) with about 3 grams of protein. They do not use anything artificial and are sweetened with agave syrup. Love the company and love the products . . .
New outfit bought at Charlotte Russe- gotta love CLEARANCE racks!
4/10/11: Sunday= errand day! So my breakfast today was nothing new, but nonetheless DELISH! Veggie frittata and hazelnut coffee (which BTW, has risen more than 2 dollars at the SuperTarget probably due to increasing gas prices. I justify the expense as “it is still cheaper than buying coffee AT Dunkin Donuts everyday, and I tend to dilute it so I get less caffeine anyway- bigger cup for the buck). I ran 13.1 miles this am (this is not a new phenomenon as I LOVE running- not so much racing anymore- but the pure endorphin-sweat-inducing feel of a good long run. Now the errands shall commence . . .oh, but I want to show you my lunch which was made while prepping my eggs:
I use Kirkland’s canned albacore tuna whisked (makes the best consistency, thanks dad!) prior to adding chopped orange pepper, celery, and carrots as well as 1 Tbsp of veganase (shown to the left), 1 Tbsp yellow mustard, and ½ cup o% Total Fage (yes, by now you have realized I use this stuff in EVERYTHING!). I plopped a serving into Tupperware and added it to my cooler of goodies( including: 1 Jazz apple, 2Tbsp natural, crunchy pb, bag o’ raw veggies, Hannah’s single-serve hummus, and a high-fiber wrap). Should tide me over until about 1pm J Haha. Be back later with an update and dinner!
My morning and early afternoon were spent hangout out with my parents :) I helped spread mulch and walked with my dad, and my mom and I discussed recipes and made kale chips:
Then I headed over to the library to check out some magazines (I LOVE to read during my cardio!) and a few cookbooks to stimulate new recipe ideas for menu planning. There is a walking path that leads down to a pond with benches in the back of the library, so I explored . . .
I decided to hang out and read for a few while soaking up my vitamin D allowance for the day. Since Director Doc is working the late shift, I am on my own for dinner. I baked those chicken breasts that finally defrosted and served them alongside roasted cauliflower that were both dipped in with my ranch-like concoction:
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp mayo
2 Tbsp chopped chives
1 tsp each black pepper and garlic powder
Blend and serve as salad dressing or dip!
I am off to shower (I smell like mulch) and relax with some dark chocolate, Sombra, and my [freshly cleaned sheets] bed. See you tomorrow!
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