WIAW: Intuitive Eating

INTUITIVE EATING:

Intuitive eating is a nutrition philosophy based on the premise that becoming more attuned to the body's natural hunger signals is a more effective way to attain a healthy weight, rather than keeping track of the amounts of energy and fats in foods. It's a process that is intended to create a healthy relationship with food, mind and body, (Wikipedia, 2013)

This is a concept that I have heard a lot about lately and one that I agree with. Although it is important to try and maintain a healthy diet and get adequate amounts of the different food groups, sometimes our bodies just need something a little bit different. That is what happened to me yesterday on my Tuesday eats.

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BREAKFAST 7:00 AM

Gluten Free Banana Coconut Oatmeal with Almonds

This has been my favorite flavor of oatmeal lately. I cook 1/2 cup gluten free oats with 1 tbsp ground flaxseed, 1 sliced banana, and a sprinkle of unsweetened coconut. I thin it with water and after it is cooked I sprinkle it with 2 tbsp unsalted almonds. I love the flavor and it is very filling.

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 SNACK 10:45 AM

1 medium Fugi apple, 1 100% natural string cheese

This is usually what happens when I try to do this WIAW... I forget to take the picture until after I actually eat the meal. I was at school in the car, thus the lovely background of the picture.

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LUNCH 2:25 PM & DINNER 8:00 PM

Sweet Potato-Peanut Bisque, 1 large carrot

Chocolate PB Banana Yogurt

This was the major intuitive eating portion of my day. I started with the bisque because I felt like I really needed to get vegetables into my diet today. I munch on carrots while my meals are prepping which is why the carrot is already partially eaten in the picture. I got about 2/3 of the way through the bowl and knew it just wasn't going to satisfy me, although it was delicious. So I mixed up the yogurt. I sliced a very small banana into a bowl, added 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tbsp stevia in the raw, a spoonful of all natural pb and about 1/2 cup nonfat, plain Greek yogurt. It was delicious and left me feeling very satisfied and VERY full. 

I could've eaten dinner earlier since my class gets out earlier on Tuesday but instead felt the motivation and energy to go on a short 1.8 mile walk with the family to enjoy the weather. I munched on another large carrot during the walk and when we got back I finished the last 1/3 of the soup and mixed up some more of the yogurt. 

Although it was a less-than-average day yesterday for various reasons (aka car problems and defiant children) my eats kept me satisfied, full and energized.

QUESTIONS FOR MY READERS: Have you ever tried the intuitive eating approach? What is something that you have eaten lately that just hit the spot perfectly?

Loves...Shayla

WIAW: Monday Eats

I have another WIAW for you this week! These are my eats from Monday this week. Mondays are a bit unusual in our house because I have school in the evening so I usually have to throw something together that I can eat on the go. Again, I apologize for the Smartphone photos. Easy and convenient doesn't necessarily equate to beauty in photography...

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BREAKFAST 7:20 AM

Cocoa Protein Apple Oatmeal

I know that it doesn't look very appetizing and, truth be told, a lot of people probably wouldn't like it. It isn't very sweet and is VERY thick. But I love it and it was my breakfast so that is all that matters! I mix 1/2 cup gluten free old-fashioned oats with 1 scoop of my vanilla plant protein powder and 1 tbsp ground flaxseed. I add 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder and 1/2 apple (chopped). I thin it out with water and cook in the microwave. Usually I add almonds as well but I completely forgot today so oh well!

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SNACK 1 10:35 AM

Banana Yogurt

I know that the perspective on this one isn't really great. The bowl my oatmeal is in is from our "normal sized" bowl set. This one is actually a little bowl that you can buy for kids. They come in fun colors, all neon. 

Anyways! I decided to go with something a little bit different today. I am horrible about my calcium intake and so I wanted to make sure my snack included some calcium. I sliced a small, frozen banana and put it in my mini chopper with about 1/2 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt. I added a splash of pure vanilla extract and a few sprinkles of Saigon cinnamon and chopped away until it was smooth. I topped it with some chopped, unsweetened coconut. 

This picture is actually the one I made right after I made mine for my girl [A] because she determined she had to have some. I didn't have a second frozen banana so I just used one off the counter for her. I definitely liked the frozen banana version better but this one was good as well.

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LUNCH 1:55 PM & DINNER 5:00 PM

Deconstructed Sweet Apple Burger & Baked Sweet Potato Fries

This turned out to be quite the creation! I started with a large sweet potato and peeled it. I cut it in half and put a big slit in each half. Then I wrapped each half in a sopping wet paper towel and microwaved it for 3 minutes. After it was finished I cut it (very easily) into fry sizes, tossed with a little EVOO, chili powder, minced onion and freshly ground black pepper and stuck it in the oven at 375. I think I let them cook for about 30 minutes.

While those were roasting up I used my handy Kitchen Aid attachment to grind a pound of chicken. I also put 1/2 red delicious apple and a large handful of spinach right through the grinder. I mixed that all up and added 1 tbsp ground flaxseed, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1 egg, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/8 tsp allspice, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp tarragon, and 1 large shredded carrot. I made up six patties and cooked them on a griddle with nonstick spray until they were done. I placed one patty on a bed of organic spinach leaves, spread some classic hummus on it, topped with a few banana peppers and some yellow onion and enjoyed!

I wanted to make a lot so that I would have enough for lunch and dinner when I am running out the door to get to class. For dinner I had exactly the same thing as pictured above. I didn't eat half of that for lunch and half for dinner. Sometimes I will do that if I make something big enough but this was only 1 burger atop the spinach and 1/2 sweet potato worth of fries. It was very filling but 1/2 of it would have left me hungry. Plus making extras meant that I was able to make chicken sandwiches for my kids for lunch as well. I also had 3 bites of a red delicious apple my girl [A] had been munching on. I'll be honest... I'm not a big fan of red delicious apples! They aren't crunchy enough!

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I don't eat after 7:00 pm because of my resolution for Lent and so this was it for the day! 

QUESTION FOR MY DEAR READERS: Have you had any delicious eats lately? I could definitely use some new breakfast and lunch ideas! Spread the love to me!

Loves...Shayla

What I Ate Wednesday

You see these around the web all the time and I wanted to join in the fun! The eats that I chose to share were from Sunday, February 17th. Weekend days can be scary and don't usually reflect the normal eating patterns you follow but Sundays aren't really like that for me. Now if we were talking Date Night Fridays... :0)

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BREAKFAST 9:55 AM

Tone it Up Protein Pancake topped with homemade almond butter and 1/2 banana (sliced), "lemonade"

I put "lemonade" in quotations because all it really is is 1/2 lemon squeezed into 24 ounces of water with a little bit of stevia to help take the super sour edge off. And I am just not sure if there is a way to make protein pancakes look really pretty; however, they taste so delicious that it doesn't even matter. This has been my go-to breakfast for the last couple of days ever since I got a new protein powder:

I am loving this stuff and since it is not sweetened with any artificial or refined sugars it is great for me! The scoop that it came with was HUGE so I replaced it with a smaller scoop that I had from a previous protein powder. This recipe is courtesy of SarahFit. The only things that I do differently are that I just use the whole egg instead of only the egg whites and I add water if I need to to thin it out. 

I don't like wasting the egg yolk but also... here is a bit from Livestrong about Egg Yolks:

"An egg yolk provides almost 2 mg of highly absorbable lutein and zeaxanthin, two carotenoids beneficial for eye health. The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University suggests consuming 6 mg of dietary lutein and zeaxanthin daily. An egg yolk provides 27 percent of the adequate intake, or AI, of choline for adult women and 21 percent of the AI of choline for adult men. An egg yolk also offers 17 percent of the RDA of selenium and 9 percent of the RDA of phosphorus."

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/544071-calcium-and-egg-yolk/#ixzz2LCIf1ULM

Anyways... onto the eats!

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SNACK 12:35 PM

1 can low-sodium V8 Vegetable Juice, 1 rice cake with lowfat cottage cheese

This is one of my favorite snack combos. I get the low sodium Quaker rice cakes and I love the Darigold 2% fat cottage cheese that you can buy in a big tub at Costco. The V8 juice is refreshing and a wonderful way to get 2 servings of veggies during a snack.

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LUNCH 2:20 PM

1 small bowl leftover Picante Chicken and Black Bean Soup topped with lime juice and green onions, 1 small braeburn apple (sliced) with ~1 tbsp all natural peanut butter, 1 organic carrot

I almost always start lunch and dinner with a carrot. I have a big bag sitting in a very accessible place in my fridge and I munch away at it while I am prepping food. It helps me to not mindlessly munch on other less healthy things and helps to take the edge off of my hunger. I also really like the Braeburn apples because they are a bit sour instead of super sweet like the Red Delicious or Jonagold apples. 

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DINNER 5:45 PM

Kyle's Favorite Beef Stew

My lovely mother made us this wonderful stew for dinner. The recipe is from Allrecipes.com. It was DIVINE! The broth had an almost sweet taste to it and it was hearty and delicious with the beef tender. YUM!

She didn't dredge the meat in flour at all so that it would be gluten free for me. She didn't use any of the real onions (just the onion soup mix) and just added 1 tsp onion powder. She used red wine vinegar instead of the burgundy and just poured the onion soup mix on top of everything in the crock pot.

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DESSERT 6:20 PM

Chili Maple Cinnamon Popcorn

My friends who know me really well know that it wouldn't be a "What I Ate" any day without some popcorn. I LOVE popcorn. Love love love it. I air pop the popcorn and add melted coconut oil. This particular popcorn is sprinkled with pure maple syrup, cinnamon, chili powder, and sea salt. I definitely had more than just this one small bowl. 

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WATER INTAKE (Whole Day)

24 ounces "lemonade" + 84 ounces normal water = 108 ounces total

Not my best water intake but pretty good for a weekend day. It is harder to drink water away from home when I don't have my trusty orange cup with me. 

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QUESTION FOR MY DEAR READERS: Is there something that you eat regularly? A favorite meal or snack? Share your ideas with me!

Loves...Shayla