Saturday, March 21, 2015

Poached Egg with Toast and Sautéed Broccolini

This is a riff on something that I found in the BuzzFeed Clean Eating Challenge, but it has bread, so it's infinitely better.




First, get your broccolini ready. For one serving I used about half a bunch. Wash it, chop off the ends, and peel the woody part of the stem off. I just use a small paring knife. Then, get your egg ready. Crack it into a small bowl or ramekin. Start boiling water in a small saucepan. Add a dash of white vinegar. This will keep the egg from feathering.


While the water is boiling, start sauteing your broccolini. Use a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic, if you like garlic. Alternatively, you can put in a small amount (quarter-cup) of water in the pan, cover it, and sort of steam the broccolini, and then saute. This will make the broccolini taste less raw, which I prefer. While this is happening, toast your bread. I used a challah roll. You can either do open-faced or a sandwich. I prefer the sandwich, since it keeps everything contained.


When the water just starts to form bubbles, you are ready to poach the egg. I like Alton Brown's method. Stir the water to form a whirlpool, and then gently slide the egg from the ramekin into it. Turn off the stove, cover the pot, set a timer for five minutes, and go do something else.


When all the constituent parts are ready, assemble into a sandwich. Eat.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

BuzzFeed Clean Eating Challenge: Day 12

So, today was my last full day of this, so this will be my last post on the subject. Tomorrow I'm off to New York, so I'll do breakfast, lunch, and the afternoon snack. I guess this little experiment worked, in that I lost the weight I wanted to lose, but it's definitely not sustainable, as I've been super-hungry. I'm glad to end early and eat some pizza and bagels! I'll get to today's recipes, and then wrap up at the end.


Breakfast: Blackberry Yogurt Parfait. A repeat from earlier in the week, and still good.


Lunch: Black Bean Chili with Carrots. Leftover chili from last week, along with the smokey paprika yogurt, which I used half of in the chili and half as a dip for the carrots. I felt really full after eating this, but then got hungry very soon after.


Afternoon Snack: Unsalted Peanuts with A Pear. I feel like some of the snacks were just random things put together to meet a caloric goal. My pear was overripe.


Dinner: Asian-Style Cod in Parchment with Bok Choy. This had so much potential, and failed so utterly. I don't know how big they think a bok choy head is, but 6 was way too much. I used three and they barely fit. I had to use more parchment. The sauce was too lime-y, and I ended up giving the veggies to Carl and eating a handful of pecans.


Evening Snack: Almond milk with dark chocolate. Again, a repeat.


Overall, there were some good recipes, but I think I need more fat and carbohydrates in my diet otherwise I get hungry and cranky. It was also a bit meat-heavy, and I prefer to minimize the meat I eat, both because of the environmental impacts and the fact that I don't like handling raw meat. I want to try and continue eating fewer cookies, and this was a good way to sort of quickly reset. I would also like to minimize the carbohydrates, but we'll see. It was also a lot of work, in terms of prepping and cooking and cleaning for so little food. I hate washing pots and pans, so I like to make things that will last me a few days for dinner. It's also a bit limiting in terms of eating out with friends. I'm hoping I can maintain the weight loss and come up with fun, filling meals in the future.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

BuzzFeed Clean Eating Challenge: Day 11

Overall today was far better than yesterday, but I'm getting really antsy to get back to eating things that aren't just veggies and small amounts of protein. Recipes here.


Breakfast: Kale and Banana Smoothie. A repeat from earlier in the challenge, but I added cinnamon to it this time and it made the smoothie far more flavorful.


Lunch: No Mayo Tuna Salad in Romaine Cups. I used Napa cabbage, since I wasn't buying a head of romaine for four leaves, and there was so much cabbage left over. I also used a 7 oz can of tuna, since that's what we had, and it seemed silly to save two ounces. Plus, the caloric intake for the day was on the low side.


Snack: Banana Avocado Pudding. I was very wary about this, given my last foray into avocado based puddings. This turned out to be not so bad, though. I also added cinnamon, which I think might be key to everything. I would have preferred a more chocolatey pudding, but overall I was pleasantly surprised. Probably wouldn't make this by choice, but it was fine. It was, however, more of a smoothie by 3:30 PM, since I made it in the blender at 9:30 AM. Speaking of the blender, I remembered to clean it the fancy Vitamix way (even though it's not a Vitamix). Put a few drops of soap in, fill it up halfway with water, and then turn the blender on a low setting. It cleans out a lot of the gunk, and then all it needs is a quick wipedown on the sides and lid.


Dinner: Snap Pea Salad with Radish, Feta, and Hard-boiled Egg. No radish for me. All of the dinner salads just seem so small for dinner. I'd rather eat a smaller breakfast portion (closer to 200 calories) and then have larger lunches and dinners. None of this breakfast like a king, dine like a pauper crap. I think because I generally eat a fairly late breakfast.


Evening Snack: 1 oz dark chocolate. I used my 70% dark chocolate chips. I ate them slowly to savor them, rather than just popping the whole serving in my mouth at once. I guess it sort of helped.


I also ate a few rogue strawberries and some potato chip crumbs, as I continue to experience low-level hunger all day. As I near the end, I've been trying to figure out how to make this more sustainable in the long-term. Most of my breakfasts actually fit in, but I need lunches and dinners that will work, and that I can eat with Carl, because I'm tired of cleaning so many dishes.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

BuzzFeed Clean Eating Challenge: Day 10

Today I hit the wall. I wasn't excited about any of it, and the lunch debacle really set the tone. I've been hungry all day, despite it being one of the higher calorie days. Recipes here.


Breakfast: Cauliflower Hash with Fried Eggs. Fine. Again, it was a pretty good way to use up leftover roasted cauliflower. In a unique turn of events, I actually undercooked the eggs.


Lunch: Arugula Salad with Eggplant, Avocado, Feta and Chickpeas. I took two bites and gave up. What a waste of fancy feta cheese. I can only eat eggplant under very specific circumstances, and cold, mushy leftover roasted eggplant is not once of them. I went across the street to the coffee shop and ordered the kale-chickpea salad. It also had quinoa and carrots, with a yogurt dressing in a very small container, so presumably of similar calorie content. It was not very satisfying. At least it was baby kale.


Afternoon Snack: Bell Pepper with Hummus. I don't like bell peppers, so I had leftover carrots from Friday.


Dinner: Kale and Shrimp Bowl with Mushroom and Avocado. Fine. Similar to the spinach and shrimp I make, but I usually pair it with some sort of carbs, so it's more satisfying. This was a really low-calorie dinner.


Evening Snack: Blackberries. Blackberries, still delicious.


This really was not enough food to sustain me for the day, especially because I exercised. I know all these veggies are supposed to be filling, but they're really not. I ate a few potato chips to tide me over, but it wasn't enough. I need more carbs.

Monday, March 9, 2015

BuzzFeed Clean Eating Challenge: Day 9

The combo of prepping breakfast, lunch, and my snack this morning took way too long, although I guess I did kind of dawdle this morning, too. Recipes here.


Breakfast: Sweet and Savory Apple Omelet. I'm not sure what part made this savory. Maybe the olive oil? I liked this, but the olive oil was kind of weird. It was too strong a flavor. I'd use butter or coconut oil if I made this again. Also, I felt like it really needed brie. Again, omelets are pretty time consuming to make. My flip got messed up, too.


Lunch: Raw Collard Wraps with Turkey Meatballs, Dijon, and Avocado. I didn't use a whole tomato here, just a a few slices. I couldn't really get mine to roll. The collard green didn't really add a lot, so by the last one I just took it off and threw it out. I still really like the meatballs. I should do more wraps for lunch once this is over.


Afternoon Snack: Blackberries and Yogurt. I eat fruit and yogurt a lot normally, but not blackberries. They are delicious and I should eat them more, but they tend to be on the expensive side. Lunch was surprisingly filling, and I didn't end up eating my snack until 5 PM.


Dinner: Fried Quinoa with Snap Peas, Mushrooms, and Scrambled Eggs. I rushed home because I thought this would take FOREVER to make, but it only took 30 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised. They did want me to use way more pans than necessary, though. I liked this way more than I thought, since I'm not a big fan of mushrooms, but they don't really have a strong flavor when cooked that long.


Evening Snack: Pear with Almond Butter. I ate this in a restaurant while everyone else ate real food and it was kind of awkward. I'm still kind of hungry, though.


Overall, I feel like I have way more energy and I'm a lot less tired. This may be in part because I might have mild anemia, and I've been eating way more meat than usual. It might also be the joy that the semi-warm weather and the late sunset brings to me.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

BuzzFeed Clean Eating Challenge: Day 8

I think the hardest part of this is the emotional aspect. I alluded to this earlier, but I oftentimes use food (specifically sweets) to make myself feel better. It's been a particularly stressful time for me, which has been exacerbated by trying to plan around specific meals. I didn't get home from my office today until almost six (yes, I am aware it's Sunday) so didn't get to eat until nearly 8, since it took two hours to do all that roasting. It's why I generally like to make meals that last for a few days, so I can just reheat. Anyhoodle, recipes for today can be found here.


Breakfast: Blueberry Yogurt Smoothie. This was kind of tart, and boy did it make a lot. I probably should have cut the yogurt, since again, I'm using low-fat instead of non-fat. It was hard to drink the whole thing in 10 minutes, but I didn't want to be late to yoga.


Lunch: Shakshuka. This used leftover sauce from last night, so was actually pretty quick to make. I overcooked my eggs, though (notice a theme?). They were still translucent, I went to change clothes, and when I came back, BAM! Overcooked. Still good, though. We've eaten this before, and while I think it's often served with challah, it was fine without. This will probably get made during Passover (well, not this version, specifically).


Afternoon Snack: Strawberries with Almond Butter. Again, my almond butter is super-dry, so it didn't really drizzle. Also, the strawberries weren't that great.

Dinner: Roasted Eggplant with Chickpeas, Cauliflower, and Lemon-Parsley Yogurt. Eggplant is best covered with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese, but this was fine. Lots of roasted veggie goodness.


Evening Snack: Two Dates Stuffed with One Almond Each. Meh. I'm not a fan of dates.


One thing I've noticed is that I think I've been eating too quickly in the past. I'll wolf down dinner, and then still be hungry, so I'll get seconds. This past week I've been eating more slowly, and I haven't still felt hungry after eating. Also, next week is spring break, which is part of why I picked these two weeks to do this, but I'll still be in my office, so I guess it won't be that different.

Saturday, March 7, 2015

BuzzFeed Clean Eating Challenge: Day 7

I've reached the half-way point! Actually, since I'm going to New York next Friday, I'm not doing the last day and a half (although I might work the recipes in to the next week), I'm actually over half-way done. Today was pretty good. I also went shopping for the rest of the week. The total bill was ~$91, although I was overcharged for my mushrooms, since the cashier rung them up as Shiitake, when they were Crimini, which were $7/lb cheaper. I found this out when I was already at home, and the extra $6 wasn't worth going back to fix. I also included some of Carl's lemons/limes in this total, and the new bottle of olive oil, which should last six months. Averaging over the two weeks, it was about $110/week, which is a little pricey, but I also think that I will have so much food left over. I actually didn't buy any romaine this week, since it was just supposed to be used solely for lettuce cups, so I'm going to use leftover Napa cabbage. I also didn't buy the arugula, since I had so much left over, along with blackberries. Anyway, today's recipes can be found here.


Breakfast: Asparagus with Poached Eggs. I hate asparagus, so I used broccolini. I wasn't paying attention, so I overcooked my eggs, which was probably for the best, anyway, because broccolini isn't great for sopping up runny egg yolks. This would have been significantly better with bread to sop up the yolk. In fact, I've made this with challah rolls, and the sweetness of the challah really makes it delicious.


Lunch: Kale Salad with Tomato, Feta, and Black Beans. Too much kale and tomato. All of these salads with tomatoes have included a whole tomato along with a citrus vinaigrette, which is a lot of acid. Also, the salads have been made with bitter greens, and I really can only do spinach or romaine in salads.


Afternoon Snack: Almonds and a Clementine. Pretty straightforward.


Dinner: Turkey-Basil Meatballs with Collard Greens. I added parmesan to this, since it was in the picture but not in the recipe. The meatballs were really good, although I may have slightly overcooked them. The greens were a little bitter, though, and I had to really coat them with the tomato sauce.


Evening Snack: One Ounce Dark Chocolate. Again, pretty straightforward. I just ate the fancy chocolate chips that were in my cabinet.


On to week 2!

Friday, March 6, 2015

BuzzFeed Clean Eating Challenge: Day 6

Today had challenges. I strayed from the menu, once on purpose and once on accident. Recipes here.

Breakfast: As I mentioned, I switched today's and yesterday's breakfast, so today was the Cauliflower Omelet. This was a much quicker omelet than the scallion one from the other day, and a good way to use up limp roasted vegetables. For some reason the two teaspoons of olive oil today was able to lubricate the pan more, and I was able to flip the omelet, although in a cheat-y way (I slide it on a plate and then turned the plate over).


Lunch: Arugula Salad with Green Beans, Salmon, and Dijon Vinaigrette. Things fell apart around lunch. I had to go to this stupid seminar thing that I really didn't want to go to, and it was from 12-2, i.e. in the middle of lunch. I felt weird being the only person eating lunch, and I didn't want to have everything smell like salmon. Also, this seminar was so awful, and to make myself feel better I ate three small cookies and some extra fruit. Then I ate lunch at two. I dressed the salad at noon, though, which in some ways was better, because all the arugula got coated and so it wasn't as bitter.


Afternoon Snack: Carrots and Cucumber with Hummus. I didn't eat all of this, because see above re. cookies.


Dinner: Black Bean Chili with Greek Yogurt and Zucchini Ribbons. More mistakes were made here. It was late when I got home, so I skimmed the recipe and put the whole can of black beans in when the recipe only called for half. More fiber, I guess. I liked the paprika in the greek yogurt, because it's super-smokey. I also added the green onions to the yogurt. The zucchini ribbons reminded me that I have a spiralizer that I bought on a whim that I've never used, and now I kind of want to do so.


Evening Snack: Blackberries with Pistachios. Didn't actually eat this, because of the cookies, the extra beans, and the late dinner.


I feel a little sad that I cheated, but not that sad. Sometimes life gets in the way of healthy eating, and that's ok. And at least now I know I don't have a gluten problem, since I have had no adverse effects from eating those cookies.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

BuzzFeed Clean Eating Challenge: Day 5

I had to switch things up a bit today, since breakfast called for another omelet, which I didn't have time to make, so I swapped it with Friday's. Recipes here.

Breakfast: Chia Seed Pudding with Mango and Pistachio (actually Friday's breakfast). Pretty good, but I'm used to chia seed pudding. I don't love (or really like) mango, so in the future I'd use a different fruit. I'd also reduce the sugar content, because it was a bit sweet, but that may have been because the recipe called for honey, which I don't think dissolved well.


Lunch: Quinoa, Fennel, Blueberry Salad with Mint and Lime. Did not put fennel on this. Gave the rest of the fennel to Carl last night. Blech. Not the greatest of salads. A bit bland, and not very satisfying.


Afternoon Snack: Carrots and Hummus. Again, I'm not sure I got the right size carrots. I just ate carrots until the hummus was gone, and then saved the rest for tomorrow. There were A LOT of carrot sticks from my four carrots.


Dinner: Simple Roasted Salmon with Lentils and Green Beans. I love salmon, so this was good. Unfortunately, the piece of salmon I got was very thick in the middle and very thin on the sides, so it cooked a bit unevenly. Oh, well.


Evening Snack: Blueberries with Almonds. Pretty self-explanatory. I definitely needed a snack after yoga.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

BuzzFeed Clean Eating Challenge: Day 4

Today started off pretty well, but ended poorly. Recipes here.

Breakfast: Scallion and Feta Omelet. A little onion-y, but I got to use my fancy fresh, local, sheep's-milk feta, which was very tasty and creamy. Omelets are kind of time-consuming, and maybe not the best weekday morning breakfast item. Also, two teaspoons of olive oil is not enough oil to be able to flip the omelet, which is a skill that I am not great at under the best of circumstances, so this turned out to be a little more like scrambled eggs, but still fine.


Lunch: Greek Salad with Lentils and Lime Vinaigrette. I misread the directions and used up all the lime vinaigrette yesterday, so I just used oil and balsamic. I also don't like bell peppers, so I left those out, but overall a pretty good salad.


Afternoon Snack: Mango-Banana Smoothie with Chia Seeds. I think my banana or mango was underripe, because this was kind of bland. I was surprised at how well it held up in my thermos in the refrigerator, though. Unfortunately, my office is really cold so it was hard to drink a smoothie today.


Dinner: Roasted Chicken Breast with Fennel and Spinach. I tried to choke this down, but it triggered my gag reflex, so I basically just ate the chicken. Fennel is kind of a strong flavor, and the spinach was just really dry.


Evening Snack: 2 dates stuffed with one almond each. Eh.


Because I knew that dinner was going to be iffy, I ate the random left-over half of a banana, as well as the half of the orange left-over from the other day. It helped soothe my desire for sweets.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

BuzzFeed Clean Eating Challenge: Day 3

Today's food was pretty good, and filling. Except for before dinner (which I'll get to later), I was satiated all day. Recipes can be found here.


Breakfast: Blackberry Yogurt Parfait. Since I used low-fat yogurt and not non-fat, I reduced the amount of yogurt from one cup to 3/4 of a cup. I should have also reduced the flax, since it was a little bit dry, but not too bad. I liked this, but I also eat something similar for a snack many days. I really liked the blackberries, but they're usually expensive so I don't normally get them. I should eat them more. A good, filling breakfast.


Lunch: Asian Chicken Salad with Tamari-Lime Dressing. Again, I don't think these people have any idea how big certain foods are. This called for half a head of Napa cabbage, which would feed about four people. I just chopped up leaves until my container was full. Pretty good lunch. The "tamari" (I actually used regular soy sauce) cut down the lime in the vinaigrette and made it way less citrus-y. I liked this.


Afternoon Snack: Lemony Avocado. This was supposed to be 3/4 of an avocado with lemon juice, but I used an extra bit for dinner last night. I have texture issues with avocados, so I mashed it up with the lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and then used it as a dip for carrots. I didn't have enough carrots to eat it all.


Dinner: Cauliflower Steaks with Lentils. I really liked this. I probably undercooked the lentils, but I was super-hungry. I will definitely add paprika to my lentils in the future, and maybe soy sauce. It was a little on the sweet side, so I'd probably reduce the honey.


Evening Snack: Almond Milk Heated with Dark Chocolate. All my chocolate sunk to the bottom, which was fine. This isn't a very filling snack, but I also had it basically an hour after dinner.


I was very satisfied with today. Tuesday is my exercise day, and I was able to do my three miles on the treadmill, although I did feel a little tired by the end. That might have been tired muscles from yoga, though. Unfortunately, I didn't read the recipe and found out the lentils take an hour to cook at 7:30 PM. Thus, by the time everything was done I was very hungry and then wolfed it down.

Monday, March 2, 2015

Buzzfeed Clean Eating Challenge: Day 2

In the interest of full disclosure, I forgot to mention yesterday that I ate the skin off the chicken instead of disposing of it. I did the same today when I got my second chicken breast. #Sorrynotsorry. Now, on to today. Recipes can be found here.


Breakfast: Overnight oats with Blueberries and Chia seeds. Pretty standard. I used blueberries that we had frozen from when we went blueberry picking in August. I also used low-fat yogurt, since that's what I had. When I usually make this I use only a teaspoon of chia seeds, and a higher almond milk:yogurt ratio, which makes it a little more liquid-y. I think I prefer that, but overall a good start to the day.


Lunch: Kale, Chickpea, and Fennel Salad with Orange Vinaigrette. I was surprised at how few chickpeas were supposed to go in this. A quarter of a cup is half a serving of chickpeas. Also, after shaving some of the fennel, tasting it, and realizing it sucked, I skipped the fennel. This was not very filling.


Afternoon Snack: Sliced tomato with Basil and Feta. This was a lot of tomato, and then there was even more tomato for dinner. Too much tomato, and I like tomato.


Dinner: Napa Cabbage Wraps with Tomato, Chicken, Mango, and Avocado. I made this into a salad. Again, the vinaigrette was too citrus-y. I think the people that wrote this recipe have no idea how much juice is in a citrus, because I felt like the salad was drowning. I also used half the avocado, because I was so hungry, and there is no way I can eat 3/4 of an avocado plain as a snack tomorrow (I have texture issues with avocado). I couldn't finish this due to the high acid content, and I was starting to get really full.


Evening Snack: Two clementines. Not a lot to say, other than I only ate one.


Today was hard. Lunch/afternoon snack were not very filling, and I was so hungry by the time dinner came. I ate some pineapple while getting it ready, but since I only ate one clementine, I'm fine with it. I also had to skip cookie time/pub with the speaker, because I knew I would crack. Trivia wasn't as bad, because I don't always get food, but I did feel weird eating my clementine.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Buzzfeed Clean Eating Challenge: Day 1

After a few months of holiday eating, I've been feeling blah and unhappy about what I've been eating and how I look. Vanity got the better part of me, so I enlisted my mom and got her to do the BuzzFeed Clean Eating Challenge. I went and bought all of the groceries, and the total came out to ~$130, which is much pricier than I expected. I think some of it is for next week, as well, so I'm not sure what the per week total will be. I will check back after the next round of grocery shopping. My goal is to lose a little bit of weight, and reset my eating, especially my lunches. I chose this because all of the lunches can be packed for work.


Today was day 1, which can be found here.


Breakfast: Your standard green smoothie. I prefer the Classic Green Monster from Oh She Glows (made with spinach), but they're pretty similar. For the next one I'll probably add some cinnamon, since this was pretty bland.


Lunch: Shaved Asparagus Salad with Shallots and Fried Eggs. I don't eat asparagus, so I replaced it with broccolini. I thought the dressing was too lemony, and as with the smoothie, I would have preferred spinach to arugula. While eating, I felt like I couldn't finish, but I got hungry pretty quickly after.


Afternoon Snack: Carrots and Hummus. I have no idea how big a medium carrot is supposed to be, so I may have gotten large carrots. Oh, well. This was surprisingly filling.


Dinner: Roast Chicken Bowl with Quinoa and Kale. I cheated and bought pre-washed, bagged kale, which cut down on prep time but this still took a surprisingly long time to prepare. It did create leftovers to use later in the week, though. Which brings me to my next point. The grocery list called for 2 chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on, for a weight of one pound. I bought a chicken breast that was slightly over 1 lb, which I thought would be enough meat for the week. It was not, as there was supposed to be 12 oz left over, and I have six. I will have to get more. This dinner was pretty bland and not very filling.


Evening Snack: Pear with Almond Butter. My almond butter was not liquidy enough to drizzle over the pear, but it was fine. Nothing special.


Overall, I was underwhelmed by today's meals. I would have preferred spinach in breakfast and lunch, and I'm a little irritated by the chicken thing. Hopefully tomorrow goes better.