This morning I was up early with Brody. I made some coffee first thing and had a bran muffin that I baked yesterday. It was kind of dry but the parts with banana chunks were good. (I will post the recipe and full review later.) I sat in bed watching the Food Network (have I mention I am obsessed?) and drinking coffee. It was a wonderful leisurely way to relax since I was home alone.
A few hours later I got hungry for real breakfast. I was going to make a bowl of oatmeal but the bag of oat bran caught my eye. S to change things up, I made a bowl of bran instead. On the stovetop, I boiled a cup of almond milk with a cinnamon stick. I added 1/3c oat bran, 1/4 c pumpkin, 1/2 banana, 1 tablespoon raisins and more cinnamon! Usually, when I make any type of hot cereal, I don't add any sugar because I find that the fruits/nuts/milk that I add are sweet enough. However, any time I add pumpkin, I find that it does need extra sweetening. I ended up adding about a tablespoon of brown sugar. Half mixed in, and half sprinkled on top which caramelized into deliciousness. I wish I had a picture of this beautiful orangey bowl of bran, but I was sans camera since my sister borrowed it for prom.
After breakfast, I sat down to read the chapter on carbohydrates in my text book. I'm such a nerd, I LOVE reading about nutrition. There was an "Expert Opinion" section on the benefits of a high-carbohydrate diet. I thought it was interesting so I wanted to share this passage:
"The great civilizations of the world developed and flourished consuming high-carbohydrate diets. The classic examples are the Chinese civilization, based on rice; the Egyptian and Babylonian cultures, which consumed wheat; and, in the Americas, the Maya, Inca, and Aztec peoples, whose staples were corn and beans. Except for the affluent countries of the Western world, the majority of the world's population continues to consume a high-carbohydrate diet derived from cereals, legumes, vegetables, and fruits....Ecologically, a high-carbohydrate diet makes better use of the world's resources. Cereal crops and legumes require about one-fifth of the resources needed to yield the same energy that beef would require. Thus, the available resources of the world would not be sufficient to produce the high animal fat diet of North America for everyone." - Dr. William E. Connor
It's a good thing I love my carbs!
After studying, I thought about running, but I didn't feel like I was energized enough for my long 90 minute run. So what did I do? Watched Giada's Weekend Getaway and A Cook's Tour. Another show came on afterwards and that's when I fell asleep for 2 and a half hours!!! It was 5:30 when I woke up!
Despite not eating lunch, I had no appetite. I've also felt dehydrated all day long. I keep drinking huge glasses of water but my thirst isn't satisfied.
Like I said, I wasn't hungry but my sister was so I got to work on dinner, a mexican chopped salad. This salad was very easy to make. I brushed honey mustard on top of a few chicken breasts and baked them in the oven a little under an hour. While the chicken was baking, I chopped the ingredients for the salad:
- Tomatoes
- Onion
- Green Peppers
- Avocado
- Corn
- Apple
- Cilantro
Once the chicken was done, I chopped that up and added it to the bowl. For a dressing, I tossed the ingredients with lime juice, chipotle pepper juice, a little bit of EVOO, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper.
Served on top of a bed of lettuce with chili-lime chedder cheese quesadillas.
The salad tasted fresh and a great combination of flavors. I wish I would have actually had an appetite so I could have enjoyed the meal more. I'm having leftovers for lunch so I'll be able to enjoy it then!
I am trying not to feel too guilty about not exercising today. I feel like such a couch potato today. Ahh tomorrow I can get back on track and start a fresh week, right?
5 comments:
Hey, we all deserve lazy days every once in a while - sounds like yours was enjoyable! Oh and Food Network is definitely a guilty-pleasure of mine - I too am obsessed! :0)
It's sick how much meat American's eat. We get 70% of our protein from animals while the rest of the world 35%. Jeez! How do you make the cheese chili lime? I would love to make that for 'cheeze.'
That's a great meal for just throwing something together!
I love Food Network and am also obsessed... I spent quite a few hours glued to it last night ;)
Jill- My mom bought the chili-lime cheddar cheese at Sams club. It's basically a block of cheddar cheese with a chili lime rub. I'm not a huge cheese fan but this has great flavor. I'll be interested to see if you come up with a recipe! Let me know!
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