Good Foodie Blogger

I have redeemed myself!! Happy Saturday everyone! So far this morning has been great, but more on that in a minute. First, let’s go back to last night! In an effort to make up for my dinner in a box Thursday night, I went all out and made my awesome Puff Pastry Salmon. Basically it is a salmon fillet rubbed with pesto and topped with fresh spinach…all rolled up in a puff pastry crust and baked to yummy goodness. The hubs was quite happy! (Always a plus!!)

PUFF PASTRY SALMON 

2 (4 oz) boneless skinless salmon fillets 

1/8 tsp. garlic powder 

1/4 tsp. onion powder 

1/3 package puff pastry, thawed 

2 tbsp pesto 

1/2 (6 oz) package fresh spinach 

Preheat oven to 375* F. Season salmon fillets with salt, garlic powder and onion powder. 

Divide 1/2 the spinach between 2 sheets of puff pastry and mound in the center. Place salmon on top of spinach. Spread pesto over salmon and top with remaining spinach. Moisten the edges of puff pastry with water (or you can use an egg wash); fold to center and seal the seams. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes until pastry is puffed and golden. 

Serves: 2 (You can make 2 individual packets or one big packet and then cut it in half) 

574.4 Calories; 34.2g Fat (7.5g saturated fat); 85.5mg Cholesterol; 432mg Sodium; 28.9g Carbohydrate; 4.4g Fiber; 2.1g Sugar; 38.1g Protein 

Ready To Wrap

 

Ready for the Oven

 

Golden Brown Delicious!

 

EAT NOW!

 

Did I redeem myself?  

So now this morning I am enjoying my coffee, post workout. Speaking of, it was great! I had been uber sore this week from my race last weekend and today I was finally starting to feel like my old self again!! I ran 10 miles at 8:30 pace and it felt great! My quads are still a little sore but I have a date with my foam roller in a few minutes…so that should help! I hope everyone has a fun Saturday!  

Do you have plans?  

I have to run a diet analysis on 4 nutrition clients and design some meal plans! But at least I can do my work curled up on the couch in my boxers, right?! haha! Then tonight me and hubs have a date! Woot woot! 

Oh and keep on entering the give-a-way for the Perfect Foods Bars! YUM! YUM!  

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Don’t be a CRASHER!!

We’ve all heard the term “crash diet” but do you know what exactly it means? I looked it up: A crash diet is a general term for an extreme diet that is severely restrictive in its calorie intake. It’s meant to achieve rapid weight loss, and not meant to last for more than a few weeks at a time. Many celebrities go on crash diets when they want to lose weight quickly. Crash diets are typically unhealthy and are rarely, if ever, recommended by health professionals. And often, as soon as a dieter stops a crash diet, he/she ends up gaining back the weight he/she lost and then some.

In Hollywood, where standards of beauty are already skewed toward the unrealistic and the idealistic, these rapidly dissolving stars seem to be pushing the boundaries toward the unreasonable and the unhealthy. And in a superficial world where celebrity weight-watching is a spectator sport and the media is glad to oblige, what effect if any do these vanishing beauties have upon the masses? Could it be argued that the image projected by uber-skinny stars is not only irresponsible, but also deceitful? I read all the time in magazines how these stars claim to eat whatever they like. BULL CRAP! All this does it make young [normal] women feel like freaks because it doesn’t seem to work like that for them. In a lot of cases these women are lying. Bottom line…they are.

Here are a few of my all-time favorites:

C is for Cookie
We like the sound of any diet that involves eating cookies and promises you’ll lose 15 pounds in a month. Sanford Siegal, M.D., is the creator of the Cookie Diet, in which followers eat six of his specially formulated cookies along with one meal a day. It’s not surprising people lose weight on this diet, considering they’re eating a mere 800 calories a day — hum…that sounds plain crazy!!

Part-Time Diet
Who wouldn’t go for a diet that promises you can eat whatever you want and as much as you want? But the “Alternate-Day Diet” by James B. Johnson, M.D., has a pretty big catch: You can only indulge every other day; on alternate days you’ll be eating a mere 200 to 1000 calories total. Switching between overeating and starving sounds like torture, but does it work? A review published in a 2005 issue of the ‘American Journal of Clinical Nutrition’ found that non-obese followers of the plan did lose weight on the diet, but they reported high levels of hunger and irritability that would likely prevent this from becoming a long-term plan. Really…you couldn’t do this forever..now that’s a SHOCKER?!

Soup’s On … Always
All soup all the time should be the motto of the Cabbage Soup Diet. The plan in designed for you to slurp soup made from a watery mix of cabbage, peppers, onions and celery for seven days. It’s no surprise that you lose weight because you’re not eating much, but after your soup fast is over, the pounds pile back on. Cabbage Soup for 7 days…oh yum..sign me up!

  

Really let’s just be real for a minute. The only way (YES…THE ONLY WAY) to lose weight and maintain that weight loss is mindful eating, healthy choices, and activity. If something sounds too good to be true; it is!

 

What’s the craziest diet you’ve heard of?

Don’t forget to enter my Perfect Foods Bar Give-A-Way!!

Blogger Confessions + a GIVE-A-WAY!

Happy Friday everyone! Is everyone ready for the weekend? Count me in…I definitely am! Well last night I was a bad foodie blogger (confession time) and I made dinner from (gasp) a box! Check it out:

 But now check out the finished product (Keith’s monster portion)…ah sometimes you just need greasy goodness from a box! 🙂

 

IT’S A GIVE-A-WAY!

Earlier this week I wrote a review on the Cranberry Crunch Lite bar from Perfect Foods. All the Perfect Food Bars are made from a delicious creamy blend of organic peanut butter and honey. The organic honey provides quick balanced energy and the added omega-3 “healthy fats” increase endurance. There’s also plenty of easy to digest, alkaline forming protein for immediate tissue repair. Enjoy this innovative approach to consuming over 30 different high nutrient foods not readily available in todays fast pace society. Plus all the bars are:

 

Gluten Free

Soy Free

Good Source of Dietary Fiber

Rich in Antioxidants

Well, the good people over at Perfect Foods have offered a give-a-way to one lucky reader! Woot Woot!! Here’s what you have to do to enter:

1. Tweet this contest and leave me a comment letting me know you did!
2. Link this give-a-way on your blog and leave me a comment letting me know!
3. Go to the Perfect Foods website and then leave me a comment letting me know what flavor you would most like to try.

The give-a-way will run through Monday night! I will randomly pick a winner and announce it on Tuesday morning! Good luck and have fun! Seriously… these bars ROCK!!!

It’s That Time Again…

Girl Scout Cookies

 GIRL SCOUT COOKIE TIME, that is! On every corner there seems to be a cute little girl just begging you to buy some cookies! “Would you like to buy some girl scout cookies?” rings loud and clear! Are you a sucker? Join the club! 🙂 But just how bad are they? Check it out:

• 2 cookies: 140 Calories; 7g Fat (6g Saturated Fat); 19g Carbohydrates; 13g Sugar; 1g Protein

• 2 cookies: 150 Calories; 8g Fat (5g Saturated Fat); 17g Carbohydrates; 10g Sugar; 2g Protein

• 4 cookies: 120 Calories; 4.5g Fat (2g Saturated Fat); 19g Carbohydrates; 4g Sugar; 1g Protein

• 4 cookies: 160 Calories; 8g Fat (6g Saturated Fat); 21g Carbohydrates; 10g Sugar; 1g Protein

• 3 cookies: 160 Calories; 6g Fat (2.5g Saturated Fat); 26g Carbohydrates; 8g Sugar; 2g Protein

• 2 cookies: 150 Calories; 6g Fat (3.5g Saturated Fat); 22g Carbohydrates; 9g Sugar; 2g Protein

• 2 cookies: 150 Calories; 7g Fat (4g Saturated Fat); 22g Carbohydrates; 9g Sugar; 1g Protein

What’s your favorite?

Mine is a toss up between the Peanut Butter Sandwiches or the Shortbreads! YUM!

 

And The Winner Is…

Happy Thursday! First, I need to start off by saying THANK YOU for all the support everyone gave me yesterday regarding my “I Don’t Need No Baby Drama” post! You guys are awesome!

Second, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who played Trivia Wednesdays for the month of January. It was fun! Yesterday’s question was: What fast food restaurant is credited with introducing the first modern-day drive-thru window? The answer was WENDY’S! Wendy’s crafted the formula for drive-thru operations that made it a staple in the fast food industry, convenient for soccer moms and frantic road trippers.

So, I guess I should announce the winner?! Everyone who played every Wednesday and got the correct answer had their names entered in a drawing. I actually wrote all the names down on little pieces of paper (and you got your name written multiple times based on how many times you played and guessed correctly) and then I had Keith randomly pick one name out of a bowl. (Sorry if that was elementary but that was the most fair way I could think to do it) Okay without further ado..the WINNER IS:

EMILY @ Homecookedem’s Blog

Congratulations girl! Shoot me an email with you information and I will send out your care package ASAP!

So let’s back up to last night. Keith and his friend, Zach, had tickets to the UT/Texas Tech basketball game, which left me on my own. So usually when I am on my own for dinner I do one of two things: breakfast or vegetarian. (Keith isn’t a fan of breakfast for dinner and he thinks if a meal doesn’t have meat then it isn’t a meal) So I went for a combination and did a veggie breakfast!! 

First, I made an egg-white asparagus frittata with sautéed mushrooms and onions! It was so good!!

Plus I had a piece of cinnamon toast on my gluten-free Udi bread!

It was the perfect dinner that Keith would have turned his nose up at! 🙂

What’s your favorite thing to make for dinner when you are on your own?

I Don’t Need No Baby Drama

Okay…so I have to vent! Hold on to your seats peeps because I am H-O-T! So a woman asked me today when Keith and I were going to have kids. I get this question A LOT! Keith and I have been married going on 4 years and I know that is a natural question to ask.

[BACKGROUND] But here’s the truth, I am not sure we are. It isn’t that I don’t love kids! I do! I just am not 100% sure I want my own. I am not so much the “mothering” type and the idea of children really SCARES me. But, I am only 28 and I feel like I still have time to make that decision. I don’t feel like I have to make it today or even tomorrow. Keith would love children, but also respects the fact that I am not sure I want them.  He is okay with it either way and we have basically decided to table the discussion until I am 30 and then we will see where we are.

Okay…back to my story. So the sweet lady asks when Keith and I will be having children. Since I get this question a lot I have my answer down pat and I usually just laugh and say, “I’m not sure, we’re not ready just yet.” But pushy lady keeps going with, “but you are going to have them, right?” I falter and say, “Well, I’m not really sure. We may not.” And now bitchy lady looks at me and says, “Well if you don’t have kids then I feel sorry for you. That is just sad. What was the point in getting married, then?” My reaction: jaw-dropped, speechless (yes me…speechless) staring at really bitchy lady.

HOLY COW! WHAT?!?! Since when was the only point in getting married to have kids? And what, she feels sorry for me? EXCUSE ME?!? I don’t even know what to say. How insensitive? What if we couldn’t have children? Would she still feel like it was a waste of a marriage? And who is she to judge me? I think that if more people actually put some thought into what being a parent actually meant there would be a lot less children in this world! I feel like I am being mature and not falling into the mold society has set for me by actually admitting that (GASP) I may not want children. But does that make me a horrible person? Does that make me less of a wife? Does that make my marriage pointless? How dare she judge me based on a decision that I may or may not make?! Okay…I’m done. Feel much better! Can you see the steam coming out of my ears?

How do you deal with rude people?

Trivia Wednesday!

Well good grief how did it already get to be Wednesday? This week is flying! Last night for dinner we did Ahi. I love Ahi tuna steaks. But Keith and I differ substantially at how we like it prepared! I want mine one step up from raw, whereas Keith wants his cooked through. What about you? 

How do you Ahi?   

Ahi Goodness

 WASABI TUNA 

• 2 ahi tuna steaks
• 1 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 teaspoon wasabi powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder

Melt butter in a small casserole dish (in a microwave). 

Place tuna steaks into the melted butter and coat all sides. 

In a small bowl, mix together wasabi powder, coarse black pepper and granulated garlic powder. 

Sprinkle tuna steaks with wasabi mixture on all sides and lightly rub into the steaks with your fingers. 

Grill or pan fry to your liking! 

Serves: 2 

214.6 Calories; 7.2g Fat (4.0g saturated fat); 81.0mg Cholesterol; 117.1mg Sodium; 0.9g Carbohydrate; 0.2g Sugar; 34.2g Protein 

 TRIVIA TIME

Alright this is our last week of Trivia Wednesday! Every Wednesday, for the month of January, I am posting a trivia question that is health and/or food related. All you have to do is leave a comment on my blog with what you think the answer is. Every Thursday I will announce the correct answer. All the people who guessed correctly will have their names put into a drawing for a really cool prize. But this Thursday I will also be announcing the WINNER!! (woot woot) So have fun and don’t go googling to cheat! haha! 🙂 

What fast food restaurant is credited with introducing the first modern-day drive-thru window? 

 A: McDonald’s 

B: Burger King  

C: Sonic 

D: Wendy’s

Cranberry Lovin!

Okay, I am officially in love! I have mentioned before that I am kind of a bar junkie and I have found my new favorite! It is by  company called Perfect Foods and I tried the Cranberry Crunch Lite flavor. Holy wowsers! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Okay so it gets better! Not only does it taste awesome it is also:

Gluten Free

Soy Free

Good Source of Dietary Fiber

Rich in Antioxidants

Check out the nutritionals: 172 Calories; 8g Fat (1.5g Saturated Fat); 1.5mg Cholesterol; 55mg Sodium; 250mg Potassium; 20g Carbohydrates; 3g Fiber; 12g Sugar; 9g Protein

Plus I LOVE their company philosphy: “At Perfect Foods we strongly believe that natural whole foods (not synthetic, artificial, or isolated “non-food” elements) are the best and most effective source of nourishment for the human body.” 

 

Cranberry Crunch Lite

 Go find these and buy them NOW!!! 🙂

Are you a bar junkie? What’s your favorite?

_________________________________________________________________________________

SELF MAGAZINE ARTICLE

 

 

SELF

 Get this! I was reading Self Magazine and I saw the coolest thing! It was an article on what motivates you to go to the gym! Readers get to write their tips for not skipping the gym. And I LOVED this one: “I put my house key in my gym bag and drop it off at the gym before work. That way, I have to hit the gym before I go home and I can’t cop out on a workout session!” Isn’t that great?!? If you have any wacky-but-it-works fitness secrets. Send them to Self at getfit@self.com. Or just tell me!

What things do you do to ensure you get in your workouts? 

I’m going Greek on your arse…

Good morning everyone! So I have to confess that dinner last night rocked it!! We had BBQ chicken. Which was basically just chicken covered in BBQ sauce and baked in the oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Yum! Served up with a side of red potatoes and broccoli. Dinner heaven! But what I want to share is my easy, never fails to please, potato recipe! 

EASIEST RED POTATOES EVER 

• 12-16 small red potatoes
• 2-4 tsp of butter
• 1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp dried chives

Thoroughly wash red potatoes. Then place in a pot with enough water to cover the potatoes by about 2 inches. 

Cook the red potatoes over medium high heat until they are easily pierced by a fork but still are a bit firm, about 20 minutes. Once the potatoes are done drain immediately, set aside and cover them to keep warm. 

Microwave the butter until melted (about 5 to 10 seconds). Then stir in the dried parsley and the dried chives into the melted butter and then pour the butter mixture over the warm potatoes tossing to coat the potatoes. 

Serves: 4 

65.6 Calories; 2.9g Fat (1.8g saturated fat); 7.6mg Cholesterol; 24.8mg Sodium; 9.1g Carbohydrates; 0.9g Fiber; 0.5g Sugar; 1.1g Protein 

Yum Yum

Try these out…very tasty and easy to make! Now that is a win-win in my cooking book! 

How many people wear a heart rate monitor when they work out?  

I do and I LOVE it. I sport a Polar F6 and it is the best watch I have found. I totally rely on it to check my heart rate levels during my workout especially when trying to stay in certain zones. After you workout, it also tells you how many calories you burned, your average and maximum heart rate (and what percentage of your max heart rate you were working). Plus the watch talks with  my computer and I can upload all my stats each week to compare progress and chart my workouts. It is a pretty cool gadget…considering I don’t consider myself a gadget girl! I sell this out of my Opensky store…if anyone is interested! 

Polar F6

 

Okay, let’s go Greek! At the risk of being exiled from the blogging community I need to say that my favorite Greek Yogurt is the plain Fage 0%! I LOVE IT! I know, I know everyone else is on the Chobani bandwagon but I am a Fage girl all the way! I love the plain flavor and then adding in my own mix-ins! So yum! 

Fage Goodness

 

 Are you a Greek yogurt fan?  

I also need to tell everyone THANK YOU for all the sweet comments on my legs yesterday! What is funny is that honestly my legs have historically been my least favorite part of my body. I guess I have always just thought they were a little too big for my small body due to all the running I do. But yesterday made me realize that I need to EMBRACE my legs and be thankful that they are so strong and allow me to run like I do! Thanks for giving me some perspective! 

What is your FAVORITE part about your body?

Can You Believe This?!?!

While I was cycling this morning I was reading a fitness magazine (that will remain nameless) at the gym and I read an article that kind of annoyed me a little….okay truth it downright pissed me off! It was about losing weight in a healthy way and emphasising the importance of snacks. So far so good! I am a huge believer in snacking! It is a great way to keep the metabolism engaged and it helps you not overeat and gorge yourself at meal time. So far I am digging this article. And to be helpful it gave some snacking options..perfect! Sounds innocent enough. Turn the page and here was the list of 10 calorie snacks! (yes you read that right…10 calories):

1 Whopper

2 large strawberries

4 1/2 mini-marshmallows

1 Wheatables cracker

12 1/2 blueberries

1 1/2 almonds

2 1/2 Jelly Belly jelly beans

1 French onion SunChip

3 watermelon balls

3 Altoids mints

1 Austin Zoo animal cracker

11 pieces shelled edamame (soybeans)

1 cashew half

1 dried pineapple piece

1 pecan half

1 Big Cheez-It Cracker

1 Tostitos Scoops! chip

1 gummi bear

1 large celery stick

1/3 cup air-popped popcorn

1 Keebler mini vanilla wafer

4 Cheddar Goldfish crackers

2 Skittles

1 apple slice

2 1/2 pistachios

1 reduced-fat Pringle

4 Nestlé Toll House semisweet chocolate chips

10 Wheat Chex

2 1/2 baked Cheetos

3 cherry tomatoes

2 Fritos

1 shoestring french fry

1 peanut M&M

3 green or red grapes

1 1/2 Twizzlers black licorice bites

2 1/2 baby carrots

2 Teddy Grahams

3 plain M&M’s

Okay I have 4 words….ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!?! These are considered snacks?? A half of a pecan; 1 peanut M&M, 1 gummy bear! WHAT?!?! I was so outraged!! This is what we are going to tell people that a snack should be? This is what is supposed to keep my metabolism running and my appetite controlled? Really?! Hum…okay so the next time you are hungry in-between lunch and dinner (which is natural…as I seem to think eating every 3 to 4 hours is NORMAL) you should reach for 3 cherry tomatoes and BAM! hunger controlled! Who are they talking about? Certainly not me…I can only think that if someone gave me a snack of 2 1/2 baked Cheetos I would LAUGH! Great…so this apparently “healthy” magazine is showing women they can snack in between meals…no problem! It is as easy as eating 1 apple slice! This magazine would probably think my snacks were complete meals! I mean how could a container of Greek yogurt with some almonds and a few sprinkles of oats be considered a snack. I mean that is at least 200-250 calories…gasp for a snack?!?! What on earth am I thinking feeding myself substantial foods like that?

Hum…and women have body image issues why? When you tell them 1 stick of celery is a snack then what kind of sick and twisted thinking are we creating about eating and health?!

What do your typical snacks look like?