Cereal Killer?

So, my last post yielded interesting results. The post was simply a photo diary of what I ate that day. It obviously hit a sweet spot. The page view rate on that post was almost 5x higher than on any other post I've published. I can see that's of interest to folks, so I'll be doing that more often. For today though, I want to talk about something several of my friends have asked me about lately.

"What do you think of cereal?" is the question. The answer, in a word - not much (OK that's two words)! I'm not a big fan of cereal and it's definitely not my first (or second, or third) choice of breakfast picks for me or my family. Why? Well, for several reasons. First, most cereals on the shelf contain gluten - first offense. The second gnarly offense is the sugar content. Most cereals are VERY low in nutrition and are basically empty sugar calories. Even the so-called "healthy" cereals like Kashi are high in sugar. Third thing I don't love about cereal is that it's really hard to maintain portion control. I feel pretty strongly that it can be a trigger food for many people (myself included). It easily lends itself to handful after handful dry (you can quickly consume two or three portions and LOTS of calories).

Now, that said, my son is like any other kid and sometimes he just wants cereal. In an effort NOT to drive him away from our family's style of eating, I have come up with a way to feel OK about offering him cereal once a week or so. Here's how I roll with cereal.....

I do a good+crap approach to cereal.

In a bowl I start with a good portion of quinoa puffs. (I buy bags of puffed quinoa on Amazon.com. Funny story - I bought a "bag" of puffed quinoa and this is what showed up at my door! Now THAT'S a bag of cereal!)

To that I add Perky's Crunchy Flax. It's got a nice hearty texture, good taste and the stat's on it are pretty good.

Then, at the end I add a small (I mean small) amount of some kind of "crappy" sugar cereal my kids like. The sugar cereal of choice around here is Leapin' Lemurs (these are sugary enough that I use them for dessert. Anything suitable for a sugary dessert isn't a good candidate for breakfast, a bowl of these babies alone will leave you and your kids feelin' like the crap they're made of!). Mix it all together.

To the cereal mixture, I add about a cup (or so) of unsweetened almond milk whisked together with half to 3/4 of a scoop of protein powder (I use a vegan vanilla) and pour that over the cereal. Then add some kind of fruit, preferably berries, but I've also used banana, peaches, even mango.

Now we have more of a breakfast worthy meal and less of a cereal killer. What do you think of cereal for breakfast???

You Ate What???

So, most of the time I just blog about one single recipe or "thing" I'm eating and/or enjoying. Interestingly however, I've received a recurring request from a handful of people all in the same week. This makes me think maybe I'm "supposed to" follow that lead. The request - will you post exactly what you eat during the day? Just show me what you've eaten. OK! I can do that!

I'm thoroughly enjoying the food I'm eating and the "style" of eating in my life right now. I hope you do too!

Here's what went into my belly today!

Breakfast - a "broccoflower pancake". Shredded super thinly a handful of broccoli, cauliflower, and red onion, tossed around in an egg, added a tiny bit of cheddar cheese (if you're vegan leave out, would still be good. Or, would be delightful with goat cheese!), smashed together in a skillet until well set and brown on one side, flip, eat!! Yumma!!! I put a little hot sauce on it, added half a slice of gluten-free bread with a little shmear of almond butter and yerba mate tea. Heaven.

Mom was here with my peeps, so I went for a good run. Needed a little post-run fuel so I had a smoothie that's not pictured here. It consisted of 1/4 banana, 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1/2 scoop Life's Basics vegan vanilla protein, and a small handful frozen fruit.

Lunch - spicy tuna cucumber sandwiches. Combined half can tuna (get the good stuff! I love Wild Planet tuna...worth the price!), small scoop cream cheese, spicy mustard, onion powder, pepper, little hot sauce, scooped it onto cucumber slices.



 

And a few of these beauties!

Plus a bite of protein brownies leftover from last night for dessert!

That kept me happy until nap time. Enter my current FAVORITE snack! I could eat this everyday (ummm...actually I have been)! A generous helping of roasted cauliflower with sea salt and pepper, dipped in natural ketchup. Yes please! (Also munched on half a chicken patty, and a small spoonful of almond butter while these cooked). 



Time for dinner! I LOVE a dinner that only requires three ingredients! This is a super easy, yummy way to cook up chicken! Chicken breasts, combine coconut milk, teriyaki sauce and cilantro, pour over chicken, cook and serve!

Served mine with a lovely salad and was a HAPPY woman!

(Arugula, orange bell pepper, cucumber, beets, avocado, goat cheese)

And now, my loves are bathed and tucked soundly into bed, so this mama is kickin' it with my man and a lovely glass of pinot! There you have it! That's what this sista' ate today, share with me your yummy eats!!





What the Heck is Quinoatmeal and Things that Make Me Smile!

Much to my chagrin it's still cold and I'm still mostly in the mood for warm breakfasts. You? I used to love oatmeal on cold mornings. I enjoyed the sweet start and the warming yumminess. When we went completely gluten-free that meant oats got kicked to the curb too. Yes, there are "gluten-free oats" and some gluten-free'rs opt for keeping oats in their diet, however oat (even gluten-free) proteins are still really hard for many people to digest. If you've gone gluten-free, but still consume oats and are still experiencing uncomfortable symptoms, try eliminating them completely. I really wanted a good oatmeal substitute and for me, quinoa does the trick! I call it quinoatmeal, I love this breakfast. It meets the sweet, warm, yummy and filling criteria required. Try it!

Ummmmm.....I was a little hungry and got excited before remembering to click a pic...here's what was left.

Quinoatmeal
Quinoa flakes (follow box instructions), can buy at Whole Foods, Vitacost, most "health food" stores.
Almond milk
Blueberries
1/2 scoop protein powder (I used a vegan vanilla)
Cinnamon
Top with hazelnuts

I'm feeling a little overly excited for spring and feel a STRONG need to be surrounded by all things colorful. This fun little $10 project makes me grin every time I see it (bought cheap vases at the dollar store and painted them funky colors). This makes me happy.

And so does this, my silly baby girl and all her hair (like mama like baby, her Nana thought it was funny too)....



Finding Joy in Plagiarism and Blintz Bliss!

What a great Friday it's been! Here's what a perfect Friday for me looks like...

Started the day with this....

I am finding GREAT joy in something I've never tried before - plagiarism (over a cup of tea)! A wise and inspiring friend was telling me over breakfast how profoundly she was being moved and improved by writing out the words of scripture, specifically the book of James. She explained how she'd tried everything to memorize scripture with little success, until now. I could feel excitement rising up in me over the thought of trying it myself. I cannot tell you how powerful it has been for me too. I'm hooked! I'm finding myself looking forward to any quiet moment to jot down a few more words. Feeling really thankful for the encouragement to try it and now encourage you - if you've never tried it, you will be changed!

Then did this....

Deceivingly hard and wonderfully addictive. I LOVE this workout!

After a workout, it was still early and I felt the urge to serve my crew something new for Friday breakfast, so I LITERALLY threw this together (excuse estimate amounts, you'll have to play with it). Protein Blintz's, oooohhhhhh, so yummy (and another cup of tea).

Put in the blender:
A heaping scoop of protein powder
About a cup of almond flour
1 egg
About a tablespoon vanilla
Two full squirts vanilla stevia
A bunch of cinnamon
Enough almond milk to make a thin batter.

Poured a small amount into a skillet, cooked, flipped and served with a scoop of Greek yogurt, scoop of cottage cheese, and a little bit of strawberry jam.

Did a little shopping with the kiddos to buy some craft stuff for the week and a new food processor (sad story!!), then came home hungry and had a little snack. Fresh, yummy, happiness....

Roasted (no oil) brussel sprouts, tomatoes and asparagus with a generous amount of nutritional yeast, hot sauce, sea salt and pepper. Drool.

What a fantastic Friday!! Tell me what a fab Friday you enjoyed!

Breakfast Baby!

Hello!! I'm back. Took a little hiatus from writing during the holidays, but glad to be back here with you!

Breakfast. It's my favorite meal. I love breakfast (often for dinner)! We all know that breakfast is "the most important meal of the day," but maybe we don't all know why (other than our grandma's said so). I recently ended a 5-day fasting cleanse that caused me to think of fasting in a whole new way and caused me to appreciate the idea of breakfast infinitely more. (By the way, the fasting cleanse was an amazing experience on many levels. One that I would recommend!) In literal terms, we refer to it as breakfast, because we are "breaking" the nighttime fast that occurs when we sleep. The period of time when we sleep allows the body time to digest and process all the food we've taken in during our waking hours. While all of our functions are at rest, the body can use that energy to work on properly moving our food through our bodies. It's a miraculous idea when you really consider it and just another testament to how intentionally our bodies were created. I could spend hours talking about that, I won't. So, why then is breaking the fast so important? Because when we wake our blood sugars have dropped and the fires of our metabolisms needs to be kindled with food. Skipping breakfast in an attempt to lose weight is not a good plan. You're more likely to eat something high in sugar and too much food because you've allowed yourself to become too hungry and the body is looking for a rapid blood sugar hit. Don't skip it! Eat a good breakfast and enjoy it! In my next few posts I'm going to be talking about some of my current favorite breakfasts, give them a try and let me know what you think!

Quinoa Breakfast Scramble

I simply adore this breakfast. It's easy, fast, super satisfying, well balanced and, of course, gluten-free.

In a pan I combine about 1/4 cup precooked quinoa, one Applegate Farms Chicken and Maple sausage, one egg, and soft scramble. Sprinkle with a tiny bit of cheese, salt and pepper, and serve on a big bed of arugula. Half a slice of gluten-free toast with a little smear of almond butter, cup of Yerba Mate tea and I'm smiling. Love!