I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. By now, you are likely finishing up the leftovers and had your "clean" start on Monday. If I could offer any advice to jump start heart-healthy eating habits as you welcome the last month before 2012!!, think small and don't try to do everything at once.
My 3 easy suggestions to help you out for this week....
1) Start your day with a protein-rich breakfast (balanced meal, emphasizing protein)
2) Plan your meals and PLAN for wholesome "REAL" food snacks (ex. celery w/ PB, hummus with veggies, hard boiled egg w/ veggies, fruit w/ non fat yogurt) rather than grabbing processed "foods".
3) Turn 1 meal (or sandwich) a day, into a salad. Focus on balance, prioritizing plants as the base of the meal, then complimenting your color-foods with quality lean/low fat protein, whole grains (1 serving, 3 servings whole grains/day) and healthy fats.
After the Subaru Half Marathon on Thursday, Karel and I took our time and relaxed in the early part of the morning. The compression tights went on immediately and we were quick to prepare a recovery protein shake and stretch. Rather than hitting the couch (which looked very inviting), I took Campy on a long walk to keep my body from getting too tight. Then...the couch called my name.
Around 1ish we had a light snack and I cooked for about an hour and we ate around 3:30. It was just Karel and myself for Thanksgiving but I can never pass up an opportunity to make a traditional homemade meal.
Early afternoon snack: pomegranate seeds, non fat Dannon plain yogurt, sliced almonds, banana slices
Homemade Cornbread:
1 cup yellow or white cornmeal
1 cup cooked corn
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 tbsp raw honey
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 eggs (1 egg white, 1 whole egg)
1 cup skim milk
1 shredded apple (without skin)
Pre-heat over to 400 degrees.
1. Sift together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and sea salt.
2. Mix egg whites, honey, milk and apple with a wire whisk until smooth.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients stirring until just combined.
4. Pour batter into non-stick baking pan or cake pan (sprayed with a little non stick spray).
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until light brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Let cool for 5 minutes before cutting and serving. Serve with warm honey.
Cooked spinach:
1. Spinach in a little olive oil, cooked in a skillet on low heat.
Cooked cabbage:
(Karel's mom's recipe from Czech)
Cabbage
Salt, pepper
Apple
Balsamic
Sugar
Onions
Olive oil
Cumin
All spice
1. Cook sliced onions in a little olive oil in large cooking pot, on medium heat.
2. Add chopped cabbage, a pinch of salt, cumin and all spice, pepper to taste and a little balsamic.
3. Combine and cover. Stir occasionally.
4. Cook for around 30-40 min. When cabbage is soft, add a pinch of sugar and chopped apples.
Potato casserole
(Thanks to my friend Kelly who posted a pic on facebook and Karel said "I have to have this!"
2 potatoes (cooked)
non fat plain yogurt
Milk
Pepper
Onions
Garlic
Grape Nuts flakes cereal
This is the recipe I kinda followed..but I am not very good at following recipes since I always like to make my own creations.
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/potato_casserole.html
I modified this recipe with the above ingredients.
My VEGETARIAN Thanksgiving plate!
(I didn't buy a large turkey so Karel made his dinner from Turkey Breast chops)
Mashed Sweet potatoes
Grilled tofu (made in the oven while everything else was cooking)
Cornbread
Cabbage
Spinach
My 3 easy suggestions to help you out for this week....
1) Start your day with a protein-rich breakfast (balanced meal, emphasizing protein)
2) Plan your meals and PLAN for wholesome "REAL" food snacks (ex. celery w/ PB, hummus with veggies, hard boiled egg w/ veggies, fruit w/ non fat yogurt) rather than grabbing processed "foods".
3) Turn 1 meal (or sandwich) a day, into a salad. Focus on balance, prioritizing plants as the base of the meal, then complimenting your color-foods with quality lean/low fat protein, whole grains (1 serving, 3 servings whole grains/day) and healthy fats.
After the Subaru Half Marathon on Thursday, Karel and I took our time and relaxed in the early part of the morning. The compression tights went on immediately and we were quick to prepare a recovery protein shake and stretch. Rather than hitting the couch (which looked very inviting), I took Campy on a long walk to keep my body from getting too tight. Then...the couch called my name.
Around 1ish we had a light snack and I cooked for about an hour and we ate around 3:30. It was just Karel and myself for Thanksgiving but I can never pass up an opportunity to make a traditional homemade meal.
Early afternoon snack: pomegranate seeds, non fat Dannon plain yogurt, sliced almonds, banana slices
Homemade Cornbread:
1 cup yellow or white cornmeal
1 cup cooked corn
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 tbsp raw honey
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 eggs (1 egg white, 1 whole egg)
1 cup skim milk
1 shredded apple (without skin)
Pre-heat over to 400 degrees.
1. Sift together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and sea salt.
2. Mix egg whites, honey, milk and apple with a wire whisk until smooth.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients stirring until just combined.
4. Pour batter into non-stick baking pan or cake pan (sprayed with a little non stick spray).
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until light brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Let cool for 5 minutes before cutting and serving. Serve with warm honey.
Cooked spinach:
1. Spinach in a little olive oil, cooked in a skillet on low heat.
Cooked cabbage:
(Karel's mom's recipe from Czech)
Cabbage
Salt, pepper
Apple
Balsamic
Sugar
Onions
Olive oil
Cumin
All spice
1. Cook sliced onions in a little olive oil in large cooking pot, on medium heat.
2. Add chopped cabbage, a pinch of salt, cumin and all spice, pepper to taste and a little balsamic.
3. Combine and cover. Stir occasionally.
4. Cook for around 30-40 min. When cabbage is soft, add a pinch of sugar and chopped apples.
Potato casserole
(Thanks to my friend Kelly who posted a pic on facebook and Karel said "I have to have this!"
2 potatoes (cooked)
non fat plain yogurt
Milk
Pepper
Onions
Garlic
Grape Nuts flakes cereal
This is the recipe I kinda followed..but I am not very good at following recipes since I always like to make my own creations.
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/potato_casserole.html
I modified this recipe with the above ingredients.
My VEGETARIAN Thanksgiving plate!
(I didn't buy a large turkey so Karel made his dinner from Turkey Breast chops)
Mashed Sweet potatoes
Grilled tofu (made in the oven while everything else was cooking)
Cornbread
Cabbage
Spinach