I’ve been loving The 40 Day Breakfast Challenge over at Corrine’s blog. She makes up some incredibly healthy and scrumptious looking breakfasts. So, this morning I thought I’d share what I had for breakfast… your basic ezekiel bread with a fried egg and a smidge of cheese… yummmmm

No Frills but yummy

Not bad for 220 calories…. now, let’s see how long I stay satisfied…

Last night I tried some of HEABs Protein Pancakes… I halved the recipe and added shaved dark chocolate and some ABU!

HEAB'S Protein Pancakes

I am now getting serious about getting healthy.  I say hello to the big FIVE-OH in 121 weeks… that’s 853 days.. I have some things to get done by that deadline.. and I’d better start now… today I will eat healthy, spend 15 minutes outside and come up with my plan for the next 30 days.

When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is no “I’ll start tomorrow.”  Tomorrow is disease.  ~V.L. Allineare

Annie

Once again, another marvelous day has come to an end. I’m a bit surprised at what good luck I’ve had these last two days. Typically, my mood swings all over the map with ED thoughts ebbing in and out of my head. But not so much lately.

And I must say, I have no complaints.

When I woke up at 9:30 A.M., the house was empty. The house was empty and desolate except for a young man playing ‘Ghostbusters’ on his playstation and two cats. One of those cats lay on my head.

“WHAT!” I cried out, unhappy that the first thing I felt in the morning was a wad of Sanura’s fur in my mouth. <—uncomfortable.

I forgave my cat and cuddled with her for about fifteen minutes, before I escaped to the kitchen to whip up some breakfast.

Tapping into my inner rebel, I chose to diverge from my beloved oatmeal and gingered up the morning with a small feast:

2 slices of toasted hemp bread slathered with Smart Balance, a mozzarella string cheese, Oikos with cranberries, half a chopped apple, and a kiwi with a comforting mug of hot chocolate.

After breakfast, I read up on many blogs… with my booty on a chair… most of the time. I personally think I did really well today with trying be seated more and existing as the “couch potato” my nutritionist wants me to be. She insists that it is crucial that ballet be the only exercise I get in a day, but ED wishes I could do more.

But what ED says is irrelevant, because his opinion doesn’t cut any ice.

Lets gang up on ED and taunt him together, shall we?

ED, You are a scum sucking, brat faced jerk. No one gives a rat’s a** about what you have to say or order us to do. We are the writers of our own stories, not you.

Don’t you feel great!? In this case, bullying does make us feel better about ourselves.

Okay, I couldn’t resist. I had to have some oats.

Originally I wanted to make Mitri’s “3 C’s Oats” to a T, but couldn’t find my bag of carob chips anywhere at the last minute. After throwing a small tantrum due to heart break, I remembered my dear Maggie’s vanilla protein oats and decided to hook up her oats with Mitri’s so that they could make a tasty baby:

1 packet of oatmeal cooked in coconut milk & vanilla whey protein powder, 1/4 c. cottage cheese, shredded coconut, and crushed almonds.

On the side of their delicious offspring, I had carrots and hummus.

I was really impressed with the flavor of this protein powder. It reminded me of a french vanilla crisp Pria Bar, which I used to LOVE to death and swear on. What I especially loved about this protein powder was that it was free from Betsy’s Health Food.

When lunch was over, I discovered a video that my beautiful Maya recorded for me on Facebook. It made my entire day! That girl is so sweet and I love her to bits, so I made her a silly little video in response.

When snack time jumped out at me from around the corner, I prepared a petite peanut butter sandwich on cinnamon raison Ezekiel Bread with blueberries and a glass of soy milk.

Ballet/Nutcracker rehearsal was psychotic. We did class until 7, and I’d planned on staying for the Waltz of the Snowflakes rehearsal until 8:15. All of a sudden, my stressed out instructor told us Snowflakes was cancelled tonight but that we would be working on Act I Angels instead after the party scene.

….

OKAY, so I took a seat and watched children, dolls, and mice parade around the studio as though they were at a party or something (:p). Then, I find out I have to stay until 9 P.M. and literally run to the supermarket across the street to pick up a Clif Builders Bar because clearly, I would not be eating dinner at an appropriate time.

Once I returned to the studio and gobbled up my chocolate Builders Bar, my instructor nonchalantly informed me that I could go home because we would not be rehearsing Angels anymore. Argh. This always seems to happen!

Regardless of how nettlesome the situation was, I am very proud of myself for the flexibility I demonstrated tonight. It just goes to show that ED can’t control me! And the dinner that I prepared when I got home was fantastic:

3/4 c. couscous, butternut squash, green beans, almond butter, and maple syrup seasoned with nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt.

UTTER HEAVEN.

*******

I just finished skyping with mother, who happens to be upstairs, and am now consuming a ginger snap Larabar with milk in order to meet my calorie goals. ED tried to pull the “you had a late dinner and aren’t hungry” card on me, but I showed him who’s boss: ME.

Before I express my goodnight wishes, I’d like to share today’s truth to celebrate Maggie’s Truth Week: I really do believe that I have it in me to rebel against this disorder and am shocked that I have found it difficult in the past because I, Karina Pinzon, was kicked out of preschool due to unruly behavior. Back in the day, when I first began preschool, there was this little curly-haired redhead boy hair I would always pull. Hard. When the teacher put me in time out and took my toy away, I told her off. Bad.

Well, off to bed I go, beautiful people. Goodnight!

Prepare yourself for shocking news.  My little recipe experiment is heading straight for the toilet.  Do not pass, go, do not collect $200–head straight for the toilet.  On the double.

Episode 1

Tuesday night I made mushroom-Swiss burgers with sweet potato fries [+ Asian dipping sauce.]  The burgers were great; pretty hard to mess up a burger though–especially one smothered in sauteed mushrooms, fresh garlic, and Swiss cheese. The sweet potato fries were OK, but the Asian dipping sauce was too different to appeal to our youngsters.  With a base of peanut butter, chopped red peppers and toasted sesame oil, it sounded fantastic in theory, but just didn’t turn into the crowd pleaser I was hoping for.  At least the paper plates were festive.

One little detail I neglected to share with you is that the sweet potatoes called for sesame seeds.  Normally, I would not bat an eye at this, but for some reason that night, I was thinking about that old Ryan Phillipe movie “Antitrust” in which he’s an up-and-coming computer processor guy who is hired by Tim Robbins into something like Microsoft.  Anyway, it’s a great thriller if you’ve never seen it.  One of the details that turns into an important piece of information is that Ryan’s character is allergic to sesame seeds.  So, as I’m sprinkling them on to the potatoes to roast, I’m thinking of this movie.

And then, LOOK what happened to my daughter [after I FORCE her to eat it, whether she likes it or NOT!]:

Can you see the redness under her eye?  Can you see the raised white dots and rashy-patch spreading out like eye-black on a Major Leager?

Great.  I’ve poisoned my kid.

I’ve tried a new recipe, which they didn’t even like, and to boot, I’ve given my daughter a rash.   And did I mention it was under both eyes?

Episode 2:

Wednesday nights are always a bit hurried around here.  We have a weekly commitment and have to leave the house at 6:05, so you can imagine what it’s like at about 5 pm.  Craaaaziness! Being the superior home manager that I am [*cough], I try to plan something easy for dinner.  Thus, as I looked through my new cookbook, my sweet little piece of supposed salvation, I selected page 30 for tonight: fried fresh mozzarella and tomato sandwiches.  I grilled them instead, but followed the directions to soak them in egg first, a ‘la French toast.  Another twist that I thought would be a nice change.  A few notes of a different, yet lovely tune.

No.

Note to self:  easy at our house = PB & J from now on, forever and ever AMEN.

Remind me of this should I ever fall down and suffer some sort of memory-altering injury.   Or if I decide to beat myself in the head with a frying pan out of anger that I just cannot BUY a good home-cooked meal.

So here’s what it looked like around 5:40 in the land of bliss:

Image 1:

Fresh mozzarella melted on grilled Ezekiel bread with fresh Romas sliced lengthwise.

Image 2:

“Eeew!  I don’t like this kind of cheese!” ~  “Are you sure this isn’t a fried egg?!” To which I reply, kindly and gently:  “Fine, DOGGONE IT!!  Peel it off, but eat the sandwich!  [then graciously add...] How ’bout we add some ham to it?” They reply:  “OK, but can we take off the tomato, too?”

Image 3:

…And it meets its sad, inevitable end with our dog, who sniffs it over and eats only part of it. I QUIT!!

The BEST PIZZA ever created is located in the south (within the fine state of Louisiana). What is the name of this fabulous venue?

JOHNNY’S PIZZA!

One of their famous creations is:  SWEEP THE KITCHEN. However, this entry is not about pizza at all! It’s actually for my fabulous chicken salad recipe! The one I like to call:

‘Carissa’s Kitchen Sweep Chicken Salad!’

Over the years, I’ve added more & more ingredients, because I love to experiment w/different combination’s. I never plan to make it… it’s usually just a spur of the moment idea. So, I basically use whatever I have in my fridge. So, as long as you have a couple key ingredients (chicken, mayo, apples, celery, seeds/nuts), the rest is up to you!

Carissa’s Kitchen Sweep Chicken Salad

* Makes approximately 4 – 1 cup servings.*

• (6) Frozen Chicken Breast Tenderloins (shredded after baking)
• (1 cup) Mayonnaise (your favorite – I use one w/ EVOO)
• (2 stalks) Diced Organic Celery
• (1) Diced Organic Apple (I use Gala or Granny Smith)
• (1/2 cup) Chopped Organic Red Seedless Grapes
• (2 tbsp) EVOO
• (1/4 cup) Lemon Juice
• (a couple dashes) Powdered Garlic (& your favorite herbs)
• (handful) Raw *unshelled* Pumpkin seeds
• (handful) Raw *unshelled* Sunflower Seeds
• & other favorite ingredients (fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, etc.)
  

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a small square pan, pour 2 tbsp EVOO in the bottom to coat. Arrange frozen chicken tenderloins. Pour lemon juice over the tenderloins to coat sprinkling with powdered garlic & herbs. Cover with aluminum foil – 2 sides wrapped tight, 2 sides left loose. Bake 10 mins, then flip chicken & bake for additional 10 mins. *Cooking times will vary. Cook until the “pink” is gone within the chicken.

While your chicken is baking, prepare other ingredients. After chopping & dicing your fruits & veggies – combine in a medium bowl with mayonnaise. Mix thoroughly with a spoon for consistency. After allowing chicken to cool for approximately 10 mins., shred chicken while in pan (allowing to soak up the ‘juices’) and add entire contents of the pan into the bowl. Again, mix thoroughly. Refrigerate one hour.

SERVE ON:

• Kashi TLC Crackers (my favorite ‘Toasted Asiago’) for a snack.
• Ezekiel 4:9 Prophet’s Pocket Bread for a wrap.
• Ezekiel 4:9 Sesame Sprouted Grain Bread for a sandwich.
• or your favorite organic bread/crackers!

We’re all in agreement — the blogging community is a positive way to support one another, meet new friends, get some support after a bad day, learn about new and healthy foods and recipes and find inspiration! Thanks for sharing all your comments — I’m so glad you enjoyed my last post.

I woke up to an exciting breakfast of mealy canned stuff and crunchy kibble.

Ha ha! Totally kidding! That’s Kai’s (my dog’s) breakfast. Can you imagine, though, if we blogged about our pets’ food and recipes? “Now, I will enjoy my favorite snack: tuna fish juice and baby carrots.” LOL. How exciting would THAT be?

Kai, in fact, DID get to enjoy some tuna fish juice this morning, as did Roxy (my cat). They love it when I make tuna fish sandwiches almost as much as I do! I made this great tuna sandwich that I think you all will love: I simply combined canned tuna, light mayo, shredded carrots, chopped cucumber and black pepper, and put it all on bread.

Today, I tried Ezekiel sesame bread — very good, and VERY impressive ingredients and nutritional stats! Ingredients: organic sprouted 100% whole wheat, filtered water, organic sprouted barley, organic sprouted millet, organic malted barley, organic sprouted lentils, organic sprouted soybeans, organic sprouted spelt, fresh yeast, organic wheat gluten, sea salt, organic sesame seeds. Love all those sprouted live grains! Each slice of bread also has 4 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, no sugar and only 80 calories. Sweet! Nice grainy taste and texture, too.

I packed the sandwich in my Tinkerbell tupperware. I’m a Disney fanatic, by the way! For my next job, I’d love to move to Orlando and play the part of Tinkerbell . . . or Cinderella . . . or Alice in Wonderland . . . or Aurora . . . or any other blonde princess with no responsibilities.

Since all of the tuna veggie crunch mixture didn’t fit on the bread, I decided to add some halved green grapes to the rest of it and eat it on the side. Oh my gosh! Tuna and green grapes are a food fantasy! Try out this terrific combo sometime. Next time, I think I might just skip the bread altogether and enjoy more grapes in my tuna.

Though my lunch was a nice treat, today was a tough and emotionally draining day: my last day on the job. As many of you know, I was a tobacco control health educator, and I was very passionate about my career. I was just hired in December, so it’s sad that I only got 10 months under my belt. I did so much in those 10 months, and there was so much more to be accomplished!

Today, I went through feelings of loss, inadequacy, frustration and trepidation about having to start my job search again. At the same time, I felt a sense of camaraderie in the tobacco control community, as I received e-mail after e-mail from colleagues also in their last days on the job, some after having been in the field for 25 years. Suddenly, my loss wasn’t such a big deal anymore — it’s hard to imagine putting your life’s work into something only to have it all taken from you at a moment’s notice. I am lucky that I am young and have my entire career ahead of me, and I feel terribly for the people who have to start all over again in their 50s and 60s. But you know what? I also feel hope and excitement for them, because nowadays, people are starting over again at all ages, sometimes finding their life’s passion and true calling well into the “retirement years.” And hey, they’ve got experience and wisdom to draw from to make their new beginnings all that much better.

So though today was a difficult one, and though I’m sure that in the days ahead there will be moments of anxiety, rather than coming home and crawling under the bed covers like I was tempted to do, I laced on my walking shoes and took my dog for a brisk fall walk. I noticed the beautiful crispness in the air, not the chilliness; I gazed upon the sunlight pouring through the trees, not the clouds in the sky; I took inventory of the hope that will always be in my heart, not the doubt that tries to linger there at times.

Tomorrow when I wake up, I begin day one of an exciting new chapter in my life. Let’s see where it shall lead. It starts with a hair cut — appropriate for a new beginning, don’t you think? Ok, I’m just getting a trim . . . but still . . . Now I’m off to some bed and to some Edward Cullen! Reading, that is!

Not always does a good night sleep and a hearty breakfast help you get your shit together and get on with your day.

OK, ok! Easy. I’ll just speak for myself then.

In my defense, it doesn’t help that my TASK BOARD still says it’s Saturday, while at the same time, I’ve  been convinced since last night that today is Friday (the day I’m taking Jason on a date to a secret location). Meanwhile, a strange man with a nice, deep voice says to me on the radio that today is Wednesday, September 30, 2009. Hmmm.

My reality today is convoluted to such an extent that I bounce from one place to another with a heavy chip on my shoulder. I know I should be writing now, but the very thought of it makes me spin 180 degrees on my bare heels and go sweep the neighbor’s stoop. Next, I focus on my hands as they scream for attention, and suddenly I find myself performing a home manicure – a task I normally dread like the chicken pox. Once the bright red polish is splashed all over my nails, it’s the silence in the room that gets me at last.

I fan my  froggy fingers out over the keyboard of my computer, open iTunes and break out the jams. It’s not until The Last Shadow Puppets begin to play that I decide it’s time to turn the volume UP,  prepare my stage,  move the chair out of the range of my high-kick, place Cosmo on the balcony of our bed and GET MY GROOVE ON. While the music blasts from the speakers, I jump and throw my hands in the air, stretch in all directions, bounce my shoulders, bend to the sides, thrash my hips back and forth, and give the “dance” MY ESSENCE. Gasping for air, I look at Cosmo, and a bright smile wraps it’s way around my glossy face like a red bow on a Christmas gift. He just yawns at me with mere disapproval: “Mother, REALLY??!”

After being scolded by my very own dog, I curl my tail under my own bottom, shut down the music box, and shuffle my feet to the kitchen hoping to get some LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING from an oozing, chocolate mini-cupcake. One thing leads to another, and within minutes, I’m prepping lunch. On the menu today… an Avocado Turkey Sandwich with a side of a Quinoa Salad. I’m confident after this meal I’ll have a work out that would make Michael Phelps crawl out of his pool humiliated and in tears.

Speaking of Sammies, they play an important role in our household, especially since Jason returned to work and I took on the temporary role of “little wifey”, which nota bene suits me shockingly well. The part I play entails my rising at dawn along with my beau and tending to his feeding needs. While Jason assures me he’s perfectly capable of getting a bowl of cereal in the morning, I won’t have such nonsense and proceed to fill his bowl with a cherry picked mix of breakfast grains topped with a rainbow of sliced fruit, all soaked in an ocean of almond milk.

While the boy crunches away, I move on to the next task at hand which consists of assembling his lunch and dexterously fitting the mountain of food into the 2 compartments of his teeny-weeny lunchbox.

If there are no leftovers from the previous night’s dinner (which is the case 3 out of 4 times), I grab from the refrigerator whatever I can hold in my arms and build a Mothership of all Sandwiches. I start with two slices of HEALTHY bread, which unfortunately in many cases tend to taste like old tennis shoes. Particularly the low sodium Ezekiel Bread which is as exciting as a chess match!

Let me pause here for a second. If it wasn’t for a pile of SPARKLING NEW jeans that are an entire two (2) sizes smaller than the last pants I bought, I would be slathering both sides of ciabatta bread with mayonnaise and topping it with 1-inch thick chunks of chicken, beefy slices of mozzarella, tomato and a basil leaf. I have wet dreams about  Italian breads, rustic French baguettes and country rolls. In fact, I’m drooling a little bit right now with nothing more than the mere image of them!

How do I turn that ugly ducking of Ezekiel Bread into Cinderella? I have a trick (or two) that (lucky for you) I’ve decided to no longer keep to myself.

My secret is to make the sandwich relatively MOIST, but not soggy. Second, you want to keep it versatile and exciting. The sky is the limit when it comes to building a sandwich! Think outside the box. Instead of always going for the good ‘ol mayo, use a low-fat version mixed into a coherent cream with a teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Or forget about mayo altogether and spread a little hummus on your bread topped with slices of heirloom tomato and pickles under an umbrella of a few spinach leaves. You can buy a flavored one, or just make your own Hummus. The EDAMAME DIP you just tried this week for the first time will go swimmingly with a few thin slices of low sodium turkey, maybe a little of Monterey Jack and a slice of Tomato, all sprinkled with finely chopped chives and packed between the slices of bread.

Being Polish, I bring my Polish twist to the table, and when the sandwich is for here and not to go I like to keep it open. It’s an ideal surface for a tablespoon of cottage cheese, green onions and crunchy Persian cucumbers. That’s today. Tomorrow, get yourself a ripe avocado, slice the meat and spread it generously over your bread. Cover with turkey/chicken/ham, and top with thick slices of hard-boiled egg – don’t forget to sprinkle it with a dust of salt and pepper. The next day, make a Tuna Salad and use it as filling in your sammy. And if you grew up convinced radishes taste like dirt, here’s your chance to bring back the magic and believe in Santa  all over again – slice one radish and hide it between the layers of your tuna sandwich. Not only will you have that extra crunch, but also vitamins and minerals you’ve deprived yourself all your life.

Have you ever tried Mascarpone cheese? It’s good not only in a Tomato Sauce for your pasta, or in cakes, but can also serve as a foundation for your – exactly! – next day sandwich. You can cover it with slices of meat, cheese, roasted peppers, onion, cucumber, pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, and fresh herbs (basil, dill, mint, tarragon, etc.) Same thing goes for Pesto. You can have an exciting, delicious sandwich every day at work, and it will never taste the same. Bring a smile back to your SAMMY.

One last thing to keep in mind - do NOT overcrowd the guy. Don’t pile up everything under the sun onto your slice of bread.   After all, you want to be able to wrap your mouth around that bad boy, don’t you?

I could go on, and I’m positive there will be more opportunities to talk sandwiches. Hell, I’ll make sure of it. Today’s article will at least get you started. It’s like opening Pandora’s Box of Sandwiches. From now on the ideas will never stop coming. They will flood your mind, your lunchbox, and your kitchen. You’ll feel overwhelmed with the creative powers that will suddenly take over and you’ll start feeding your coworkers, your neighbors, and even your dog. Each Sammy will be a Gourmet Concert of Wild and Exotic Flavors clasped within the crunchy arms of two slices of toasted bread waiting to be domesticated in your mouth.

Now go and unleash your inner Sandwich Snob. Then tame the beast with your creations. Have fun with it!

• 1.25 mile run. ran and sprinted.
• ate deliciously healthy. sweet potatoes, bananas, carrots, celery, leeks, dill, basil, broccoli, mushrooms, cucumbers, grilled chicken breast….all of these things were in my meals today..including Ezekiel Bread(which is AMAZING).  I could’ve gone nuts on the stuff, but i limited myself to 2 slices.  Funny how wheat is so appealing when you are STARVING.
• when you eat healthy..you sleep beautifully. 
• when you sleep beautifully, you live joyfully.
• today was GREAT. and i kid you not, i walked out to my car and found $235 blowing across the ground today.
• god is good.

<3

Let them eat…..Sandwiches!

My favorite food for most of my life was a sandwich, on two beautiful slices of homemade bread, slathered with sauce, piled high with thin slices of meat and cheese, thin slices of juicy tomatoes, cold, crisp cucumbers, crisp lettuce or spinach and crunchy sprouts.  In fact, when I was in the fourth grade and spending the night at my favorite teachers home, she took me to the grocery store and I could pick out anything I wanted.  I picked the little packages of skinny meat (you know the chemical, hormone no nutrition kind) and bread (“wonder” of course because I liked to roll the bread into little gummy balls – which, by the way is really what happens in your colon) and cheese so I could have a sandwich.  I was THRILLED when I got to put the whole package of skinny meat on my sandwich because at home I only got 2 skinny slices!

One thing I gave up when I began the detox lifestyle was sandwiches, and really without looking back.  That meal just did not help me to fulfill my wellness goals.  A thing of the past, don’t look back.

Then I discovered sprouted grain bread. This bread actually has true nutrition, lots of fiber, vitamins and minerals and is tasty!  There are several types of sprouted bread, the best, of course, is the one I make myself!  However, I don’t make it for you so that isn’t helpful.  I would you know but it would cost you about $225.00 for 18 sandwich rolls, if you are willing to pay that, let me know and I’ll be happy to oblige.

You CAN have great sprouted grain bread at much less than $225.00 for 18 sandwich rolls.  For around $5 bucks you can pick up either Ezekiel bread, Alvarado Street Bakery bread or Berlin Bakery Sprouted Spelt bread.

If you want to make it yourself, you can buy sprouted flour from Shiloh farms and make your own sprouted grain bread.  Hey, you can even have my $225 bread recipe for free, it’s on my website.  The recipe is at this link http://www.recipes.wellnessworkshopcoolsprings.com/sproutedgrains.html

So NOW I  enjoy a wonderful sandwich with lots of fresh flavors.  Here is my current fav:

Savory Spinach Sandwich

• 2 slices sprouted grain bread (see names of breads above)
• Green Goddess Dressing (recipe below) on each slice
• Layer with: 2 inches of fresh baby spinach, sliced avocado, thinly sliced veggies – mine are fresh tomato, cucumber, avocado and red onion.  Top with any kind of green sprouts (like broccoli or alfalfa).

Slice at a diagonal and serve with a crisp green salad and/or some veggie soup.

TRUST ME you won’t miss the meat or the cheese.  This is a very satisfying sandwich, come on, just give it a try!  Even kids like it.  I received the best email about this sandwich after one of my classes:  This mom of a 10 year old and 13 year old wrote this:

Green Goddess Dressing:

This dressing is to-die-for if you like savory things.  It is a fav in my classes.

Layer the ingredients below, as listed, in your magic bullet (what you don’t have one?  this is a must-have) or food processor or blender:

• 1 cup grapeseed veganaise
• 2 Tbs raw apple cider vinegar
• 1 lg clove fresh garlic (or 1 tsp minced)
• 3 green onions, white and green part cut in chunks (remove root end)
• 1 good pinch of fresh dill (fill the palm of your hand)
• 5-6 fresh basil leaves

Whir in bullet and stir as needed until well blended.  For a thinner dressing add more of the raw apple cider vinegar, for thicker sandwich spread, add less.

Use as a sandwich spread, dipping sauce for veggies or as a salad dressing.

This recipe makes about 2 cups, it will keep for at least a week, if it lasts that long.  You might want to note before hand that while it is healthy, it is not low calorie so you shouldn’t eat the whole thing at one sitting!  Just a touch!

How often is it reasonable to have a sandwich like this? Once or twice a week, provided you are eating 50-75% raw fruits and veggies the rest of the day!

Happy Sandwich!

Celeste

For more information on healthy eating and more great recipes go to:

The Wellness Workshop

Not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, although I’m quite certain I have, but the peanut butter and jelly sandwich is one of my most favorite foods. I even wrote a paper in my college English class on why I loved peanut butter so much and how it all stemmed from having PBJs every day for lunch when I was a wee little girl. Now that I’m all grown up I still have a strong love for PBJ, however my creations are a tad bit more sophisticated (and healthier) now.

• Sunbeam white bread is now replaced with toasted Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain.

• TJ’s raw & unsalted almond butter instead of Jiff.

• Crofter’s Organic Superfruit spread with black currants and pomegranate in place of Welch’s strawberry jelly.

But it’s still cut in half, just the way my mom would have done it!

There so many different ways to make a PBJ. I like them simply done as shown above, but I also like almond butter, jam, and banana slices on toasted bread. There is such a variety of nut butters out there these days you can make so many different combinations. I love the unique variety of nut butters that Artisana offers, as well as, PB & Co. (Cinnamon Raisin Swirl anyone?)

Speaking of Ezekiel 4:9- I have come to really love their bread. It’s organic, healthy, only 80 calories a slice and it keeps well in the freezer or fridge. I like to keep mine in the freezer. I take a couple slices out of the freezer and stick them right into the toaster. The one catch is that if I want non-toasted bread I have to take about it beforehand and take the bread out a few hours earlier to defrost. The best part is that I just realized that Trader Joe’s now carries Ezekiel 4:9 bread. It’s a bit tricky because it’s in their regular bread section and not in the freezer where most grocers store it. But it’s definitely the cheapest place to buy it (at least in Richmond)!

So take it from me, if you thought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were a thing of your childhood, think again. Grab some new ingredients and get to work.

Along with the sandwich I had a POM Pomegranate Peach Passion White Tea while on my way for a quick Target run during my lunch break.  

Yes I was driving. No worries though- I was stopped at a stop light.

The flavor of the POM tea was sweet and delicious, but I have to admit I didn’t realize when I accepted the samples that they had so much sugar per serving. I know the sugar is coming from the pomegranate and peach juice but it’s still has 34 grams of sugar and 160 calories for the bottle. I drank about half of it (one serving) with my lunch and it was definitely tasty. I’m just more of a water or hot tea drinker. One because I love water – it’s so thirst quenching and two because I don’t like drinking my calories. I don’t drink much juice because I would rather eat the fresh fruit. It’s more filling and I’m definitely a volume eater. With that said, there are some great health benefits of drinking POM juice and this drink could be a good choice for endurance athletes or others in need of the extra sugar and calories.

After perusing the POM website I realized that they do have POM Tea light, that has about 70 calories per bottle and way less sugar (about 14g) per bottle which would be more up my alley. I also found some POM Tea cocktail recipes, which also might be up my alley.

I’m in Norfolk, VA celebrating Isaac’s grandmother’s 80th birthday today. I’ll be staying the night and then heading back home for some Labor Day shindigs tomorrow.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Anyone have any exciting plans for the holiday?

- Brittany

My favorite venue to shop for organic & all natural snacks, fruits & veggies, bread, cheese & yogurt, nuts & seeds, et cetera is: Clover’s Natural Market in Columbia, Missouri. If you’ve never been to an organic store, it’s something you must experience. I love waking up on Saturday mornings & visiting Clover’s after they’ve been to buy produce from the local farmers.

Tonight I’m sharing two of my favorites:
#1 * SUNBUTTER All Natural Sunflower Seed Spread. It is Peanut, Tree Nut, & Gluten-Free. It has 4 ingredients total w/ an amazing % of Vitamin E, fiber, protein, & iron. The Total Fat content is 16 grams per 2 tbsp (& no trans fat), which is average of peanut & almond butter. I use it sparingly on my sliced organic apples & celery; also great to eat on a slice of Ezekiel 4:9 Organic Sprouted Whole Grain Sesame Bread. Made in the USA. Price is $3.99-6.49, depending on where you buy – so shop around! I do have to warn you, the first time you eat it… your mouth will think you’re playing tricks on it due to the fact that you usually crunch sunflower seeds… but after you get used to the fact that you’re eating sunflower seed butter (instead of peanut butter), you’ll fall in love with it! Mmmm…

#2 * NEWMAN’S OWN ORGANICS Chocolate Alphabet Cookies. You would have guessed Paul Newman, right? I did! While it was Paul Newman who created “Newman’s Own,” it was his daughter, Nell, who created “Newman’s Own ORGANICS.”  Their slogan is ’Great tasting products that happen to be organic’ - and great tasting is RIGHT!  There are 2 things Nell & I have in common – our love for organic and CHOCOLATE! So I will go ahead & warn you about these chocolate alphabet cookies, too. They are so seriously addictive… BUT they are all natural & made with Organic Palm Fruit Oil. So you can go ahead & treat yourself! You can eat 10 cookies (one serving) and it only contains 3 grams of total fat (no trans fat) AND only 9 grams of sugar! Wow! There are only 9 total ingredients - including organic unbleached wheat flour, organic cocoa, organic sugar, salt, & organic unsweetened chocolate. No hydrogenated oils! Made in the USA. The Alphabet Cookies come in 4 different flavors (just in case you’re not a fan of chocolate…if that’s possible?!): Arrowroot, Cinnamon Graham, Chocolate, & Wheat-Free/Dairy-Free. ENJOY!

*Peace, Love, & Organic Chocolate.*
- the wildflower.

I did not want to get up this morning, but I dragged my bum out of bed and went to the gym. Once home I had a nice slice of Ezekiel toast with Crofter’s SuperFruit Spread. I tried a new one this morning. The Europe flavor with currants.

It took me down memory lane to when I stayed in England for a summer during college with my room mate. We had our fair share of currants, jacket potatoes, and beans on toast.

Yup, that is baked beans served on top of toast for breakfast. I promise it was actually good, white bread and all. Turns out the baked beans in England aren’t sweet like the typical American version, however I would have probably still enjoyed it if they were sweet because I like grains with baked beans. One of my favorite ways to eat baked beans is to scoop them up with tortilla chips. It might sound odd, but it’s really good. Seriously, try it!

After day dreaming of all things European, I ran out the door to work with what was suppose to be a leopard smoothie, turns out it was a diluted leopard. See.

I used a little less mango and it was a lot less yellow, but still 100% tasty so it’s cool. I also added 2 strawberries for some flava flav.

Lunch was leftover veggies from last night straight from the fridge and stuffed in a pita.

With a wasa cracker, cinnamon raisin swirl pb, and extra raisins because I didn’t get any when I was spreading the PB. What’s up with that PB & Co?

And after a successful shopping trip. I found shoes to match my dress.. woo-hoo! I came home for a massaged kale salad topped with pan cooked shrimp. Easy peasy.

Sorry this post is short and non descriptive, but I have to get into bed. Girl needs her beauty rest. See you all tomorrow!!

It’s the holiday weekend and I am trying to declare my independence from myself.

 I am declaring independence from stressing about having no plans and too much time. I will be grateful that I’m not stuck at work and have the time to do as I please.

 I am declaring my independence from thinking that I have to keep exercising to feel like I’m “doing something.” If I want to be lazy, I will be lazy. The world will not end if I don’t go for a walk (unless that walk was the only thing that would save the world, then it might be an issue).

 I am declaring my independence from feeling like food has more power than it does. If only for a day, I would like to just eat and move on. If  I am satisfied, then good. If I’m left unsatisfied with my decision, it won’t be the last thing I ever eat.

 I am declaring my independence from thinking I have to fight both my body and mind. Instead, I will try to listen to my body and rationalize the racing thoughts. I am not my thoughts (unless they’re really cool thoughts.)

 With that out of the way, there are a couple other things on my mind and

 ON MY RADAR.

First, if I ever have kids or pets of my own and something should happen to me, I would like everyone to know that I, too, would like them to be raised by Diana Ross. Nobody screams “selfless maternal-type” quite like Diana Ross.

Second, I like sprouts a lot, but I would like them a lot more if they didn’t remind me so much of little sperm or tadpoles. However, the health benefits are immense, so I take one for the team and heap them in sandwiches and salads when the urge hits.

Use-up-random-crap salad with spinach, romaine, cottage cheese, broccoli, asparagus, red pepper and of course, avocado and sprouts.

Last night was a “me-vening” with a couple movie rentals—Run, Fatboy, Run and Rachel Getting Married. Both were good for different reasons– I like funny, I like independents I can relate to, I like movies that are shorter than two hours (given my attention span of a gnat on crack.) I recommend them both.

Next, I confess that I don’t have a food processor. However, after seeing Sarah and Gena’s banana soft serve via the food processor, I am seriously considering selling a kidney and getting one. However, aside from the banana stuff, what else are they handy for? Are there other (easy) veggie recipes that require a food processor or should I just save my money, go to TCBY to get some frozen yogurt and call it good?

It's a lot to process...

And finally, I just had to add this picture in here because it’s too cute (and I don’t usually do cute). My friend is in his mid-30s and does this to his guinea pigs (Mason is the Tiger fan and Briggs is in the sombraro–may he RIP).

ON THAT NOTE

“I thrive under lack of accountability.”

-Michael Scott (The Office)

I’m a swinger.

Sometimes I wonder why I don’t have a lot of friends, and then I realize that it’s because I do things like swing on a public swing set by myself early on a Friday morning.  But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself…

I’m frantically using up my remaining vacation time before it expires, so I had Friday off. I woke up to singing birds, a delicious breakfast/tea and a reminder that although listening to Mike & Mike on ESPN radio at work is a pleasure, watching them on TV at home on my couch is reason enough for me to get up in the morning.

Because the sun was already out with no clouds in the sky, I laced up my shoes and set off for one of my walks—this was not a day when one should hole herself up in a gym, stuck to a bicycle going nowhere. Deciding to switch it up a bit, I turned left instead of right, went straight instead of turning and explored a bit of new terrain.

Seems I could apply this metaphor to the rest of my life, but one step at a time.

I walked past a couple garage sales, the Dairy Queen (good thing it was too early for them to be open) and narrowly avoided getting hit in the head by a kamikaze bird  before realizing that I was heading straight towards an empty public playground kind of dropped in the middle of the neighborhood.

After working through traumatic memories of elementary school days stuck to a sizzling metal slider or being forced to ride the merry-go-round pushed by a sadistic upperclassman with no concept of the nausea it could bring, I had the urge to swing. I looked around a bit to see if anyone was around, and came to the conclusion that I was alone and one with the playground.

So I dropped my bag on the woodchips, plopped down and began pumping my legs like a madwoman. Now this will sound a bit nuts, but it was the most refreshing fun I’ve had in quite some time. Being the adult that I am, I forgot how much fun—and how freeing—it could be to simply swing like a child. I wasn’t thinking about work, I wasn’t thinking about money, I wasn’t thinking that I should walk farther or longer or harder. I was swinging.

Feeling confident, I put my head back a bit and almost lost my balance—nausea quickly reminding me why I never put my head back upside down on a swing—but quickly regained form and pumped on. Although it seemed like an hour, I’m pretty sure my experience lasted around five minutes.

Remembering that I bruised my tailbone terribly when I was younger after jumping off the swings and pretending to be “Super Grover” of Sesame Street fame (and landing on my ass), I put down my feet and less than gracefully came to a stop. Gathering up my purse and eyeing the monkey bars, I instead continued on my walk.

There are only so many challenges one can accept in one day.

And for those here for the food, I came home and prepared this incredible sandwich that I’m not sick of yet but should be–Ezekiel bread, munster cheese, hummus, avocado and spinach with a side of asparagus and an apple (not pictured).

See…..

Since I’m the type of person who, more often than not , is ready to eat breakfast as soon as my feet hit the ground in the morning, I typically devour my chia oats moments after stirring in the chia seeds, without giving them a chance to really thicken up as much they could.

I was curious to see how the whole gel process worked (considering it’s probably happening in my body after I eat them) so last night I put 1 tablespoon of chia seeds in with 1 cup (8 oz) of water. Within about 5 minutes a liquid gel had formed. Isaac and I both tasted it plain. Hmm… not so great. Chia seeds have a very mild flavor and the gel that had formed around each seed create quite an interesting texture. I would compare it to the consistency of After about 30 minutes, I put the chia gel mixture in the fridge overnight. It was pretty much the same consistency when I woke up this morning, not any thicker than when I put it in the fridge last night. the picture above was from this morning.

I used the chia gel to make myself an Gellin’ Smoothie.

Gellin’ Smoothie

• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 Tbsp. Better n Pb
• Chia gel (1 Tbsp. chia seeds with 1 cup of water)

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

It wasn’t as thick as my normal smoothies due to the 1 cup of water mixed in with the chia seeds, however I could have easily used less water to make my gel, it really just depends on the consistency you want to make. I may try another smoothie sometime and use less water to test it out. Overall, I really liked the flavor of the smoothie, but who doesn’t like blueberries, bananas, and PB? The texture of the chia seed gel was apparent at all when sipping the smoothie, and as I mentioned before, the chia seeds don’t have much flavor so that wasn’t really a factor. And, as added proof that the smoothie was good, Isaac had a taste and liked it too!

I had a slice of ezekiel bread with Crofter’s Superfruit spread. Whenever I eat toast (which actually isn’t that often), I always just use jam/jelly/preserves or a nut butter, but I pretty much always forego the regular butter. I’m all about the sweet stuff.

Speaking of sweet, the lovely people at Crofter’s sent me their new line of Organic Superfruit Spreads to try. Today’s taste test was of the South America Macqui and Passionfruit blended with Morello Cherries and Red Grapes. It was delish- I loved the chunks of fruit within the spread. And it’s interesting to the see the base of every spread has red grapes – I don’t think I’ve ever had grapes in jelly/jam better. Pretty awesome!

And, check out all the flavors, each with a different superfruit from a different part of the world. I haven’t had a chance to try them all yet, but you better believe I will be soon…can’t wait! It was really hard to choose this morning, because they all sound so good.

South America- Macqui and Passionfruit blended with Morello Cherries and Red Grapes

Asia- Raspberries and Yumberries blended with Morello Cherries and Red Grapes

Europe- Black Currants and Pomegranates blended with Morello Cherries and Red Grapes

North America- Wild Blueberries and Cranberries blended with Morello Cherries and Red Grapes

These superfruit spreads are making their way to natural food stores around the country so be on the lookout. But guess what else? Crofter’s is awesome and has offered to share the Superfruit love by giving 3 readers (US residents) a chance to try all 4 flavors as well.

To win:

* Leave a comment on this post telling me which Superfruit spread you would like to try most

For a second/third chance to win:

* If you don’t have a blog (or even if you do) Subscribe to Eating Bird Food through google reader or other reader send me an email (eatingbirdfood at gmail dot com) letting me know you have done so

* If you do have a blog, link back to this post and send me an email (eatingbirdfood at gmail dot com) letting me know you have done so

You have until Saturday (June 13) evening/Monday (June 14) Morning at 12AM EST to enter. I’ll pick 3 winners via a random number generator and post the winners soon after. Good luck!

I want to share my eats from yesterday with you first, but if all you really care about is who one the giveaway… just scroll down. I came home for lunch yesterday and made a quick Ezekiel sandwich with 1/4 of an avocado, 2 slices of tomato, edamame hummus, spinach leaves, and english cucumbers.

I also had some fresh pineapple on the side…. perfect lunch, except the toasted bread and pineapple combined kind of cut my mouth up a little bit. Hate that!!!

I didn’t have an afternoon snack and by the time I got home I was ravenous. I decided to use up some frozen veggies- sweet corn and edamame and make a super delicious spinach salad. For the dressing I searched through the Peta’s Vegan Cookbook and decided to make the “Bas-Ass” Balsamic Vinaigrette. It was super easy to make and tasted pretty darn good.

I also had a Nakey Quorn Cutlet with some ketchup.

These protein powerhouses remind me of a bird’s cuddle bone, which I’m not going to lie kind of freaks me out a little bit, but they taste delicious and have less than 100 calories so I think I’ll just get over it.

AND FINALLY, the Sparkling Essence giveaway closed last night at 12:00, I used a random number generator to choose the 3 winners.

And the winners are….

Carly, Lori, and Hope

Congrats to all three of you, please send me an email with your contact information and your case of water will be on it’s way, courtesy of R.W. KNUDSEN. I hope you enjoy the H20 as much as I have!

I had an interesting lunch yesterday with the highlight being a oldie but goodie – PB&J (well AB&P). This one is made of toasted Ezekiel bread with TJ’s almond butter, TJ’s sugar free blackberry preserves, 1/2 of a sliced banana.

I’m pretty sure this sandwich is the most comforting food ever. It and I have quite a history as I had a PB&J sandwich packed in my lunch every day through middle school. Even though I envied all the cool kids who had lunchables, I did love my PB&J. My mom would try to convince me to have other sandwiches but I distinctly remember the reason I never wanted anything else- one time there was a turkey/cheese sandwich packed without a freezer pack and it had gotten all melty and disgusting from sitting in my New Kids on the Block lunch box all morning. From that moment on I never again wanted another meat and cheese sammie. Which leads to my nostalgia with the PB&J and of course, the notes my mom would stick in the lunch box. (gotta love those!)

Everything else on the plate is pretty self explanatory except the spoonful of greek yogurt- it was just the last spoonful of the container!

After work I hit up the gym for weights and a bit of cardio. While I was there a huge storm hit. I was planning to leave but then noticed tons of people standing in the lobby waiting for the rain to stop pouring. I just decided to hop on the treadmill and get in an extra 20 minutes of cardio. Sometimes storms are a good thing.

For dinner I planned to remake the tomato sauce from yesterday and have it on the leftover zucchini. Well lets just say I should have used smaller cloves of garlic because the sauce so so spicy – in a garlicy way. It was still good and I finished the whole bowl but next time I will will remember to use 2 small cloves of garlic.

I went a little overboard on the sauce…opps, but I’m definitely still loving the raw pasta noodles.

I paired the “pasta” with a spinach salad that had avocado, feta cheese, tofurkey, green pepper, english cucumber, and TJ’s Goddess dressing.

I’m excited it’s already Thursday. This week has flown by…

Don’t forget today is the last day to enter my sparkling giveway… you have until 12 tonight.

My eating was very haphazard today… That’s what usually happens when I’m overtired. I sort of loaded up on food in the morning to keep myself awake and have gradually decreased my intake over the course of the day. I think I may have overdone it a bit on a the fruit today…

This morning I made a smoothie with frozen mixed berries, 3/4 cup of unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze, 1/4 cup of OJ, and 2 tbs of soy protein powder.

I wish this smoothie had tasted as good as it looked. I wish I had just left out the soy protein powder. Even though it is “unflavored” it really dominated the taste. I drank it anyway, though.

A little while later I was really craving an egg sandwich, so that’s exactly what I had – more egg whites between 2 toasted slices of Food for Life 7 Sprouted Grain Bread. (Side note: I know most everyone buys the Ezekiel Bread instead of the 7 Sprouted Grain. I used to buy the Ezekiel Bread, but find that the 7 Sprouted Grain Bread has a little more flavor. The hubby will actually eat this bread!)

I also had a bowl of fruit to go with it: a chopped macintosh apple, sliced kiwi, and blueberries with a splash of OJ.

In the afternoon, I had a few Mary’s Gone Crackers, some carrots, and garlic hummus (YUM!).

I also had a small banana (yes, MORE fruit!). Hopefully I don’t get a tummy ache from all this fruit. I didn’t realize how much fruit I had eaten today until I sat down to write this post. More proof that I was in total zombie mode today!

I got some exercise in this afternoon, despite the fact that I’m absolutely exhausted. I did the 20-minute ab segment of my Jackie Warner DVD and Level 1 of the Shred with Jillian Michaels. While I was Shredding, I was thinking to myself that today was one of those days that it would have been more beneficial to rest instead of workout…BUT I am committed to doing 30 days straight! I ended up feeling more energized after the Shred so, thanks to a very happy and content baby this afternoon, I was able to ride for 36 minutes on my bike in the basement.

For dinner, I marinated some shrimp in Annie’s Naturals Roasted Garlic and Balsamic Marinade and brolied it in the oven. I paired it with my favorite Wilted Baslamic Spinach and some salad.

I tried another new dressing tonight. (Annie’s dressings were buy 1, get 1 free at the supermarket this weekend!) I had the Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette. 2 tbs of this dressing has a mere 40 calories and just 3 g of fat! AND it tasted GREAT! It’s a perfect summer dressing.

I’m hoping to get a good night’s sleep tonight! Fingers crossed…

I was reading and browsing around and discovered some AWESOME and inspiring blogs such as Kasha Kiki and Julie GoLean, who actually gave me this idea for today’s post. Instead of just showing you a pic of my fridge like I did the other day, I’m gonna give you guys a tour of it so you can maybe have some stuff to add to your shopping list next time you hit the grocery store!On the top shelf of my family’s freezer, I have alot of Golden Brand products. Golden makes blintzes and latkes that are all natural and delicious! On the shelf right below, we have a lot of Amy’s products and my Ezekiel bread. Some of my favorite Amy’s products are the toaster pops and the pot pies. The next shelf holds some frozen waffles and desserts, like the GoLean blueberry waffles and So Delicious dairy free popsicles. I also have some gluten-free stuff such as the KinnikKinnick blueberry muffins.These little baskets hold the frozen veggies, some frozen homemade arepas, Applegate Farms chicken nuggets and breakfast sausages and of course, some yummy vegetarian products such as Morningstar farms breakfast sausages and more Amy’s!This is the refrigerator side of my fridge where we have our water and organic juices and milk! Right below the drinks (and whole grain breads) are our eggs and our large selection of yogurts. My mom buys about 7 yogurt containers every day. Why? Because everyone in my family is addicted to yogurt! We love Horizon, Stonyfield, Oikos, Greek Gods, Fage, Cascade Fresh, and Brown Cow. It is downright our favorite snack. Next to the yogurt, we have some hummus, and feta cheese. Below that shelf is a little drawer with deli meats, cheeses, more Ezekiel bread, some tortillas, pita bread, etc. We refridgerate our bread because it tends to get moldy in our pantry because of the humidity of Texas. Ew Here Lies our fruit and fresh veggies: lemons, pineapples, tomatoes, apples, pears, kiwis, and other yummy wonders of the natural and unprocessed persuasion.This is the door of my fridge where we put our butter (Brummel&Brown! & Smart Balance!). We also put my emergency Carnation instant breakfasts in there and our sauces and condiments. We also have some flower, applesauce, vodka? >:/, and preserves. This concludes the tour of my family’s fridge!

Lets begin with my day, shall we?

Today is day one of my “Serious Take on Getting the Calories and Nutrition That I Need Without Over-Stuffing Myself or Feeling Guilty” plan (catchy name, huh? :p). I had Swiss Muesli in Oikos greek yogurt, topped with pineapple, blueberries, sunflower seeds, and almond butter with a dark chocolate CIS on the side and a piece whole wheat toast with lots of Brummel & Brown (not pictured, it just wasn’t pretty!)

I read more 1984 after breakfast and had to have my 2nd Carnation because my mom, who was going to bring me Jason’s Deli after her trip to the doctor, was taking forever at her appointment which resulted in a great lack of lunch. HUNGEEERRRRR :[ I am so glad that I am not afraid of feeling hunger anymore.. because I am not afraid of eating when I am hungry anymore! i should listen to my body and give it food when it wants it, not when my ED decides it is ok. Take that!

My dear mommy finally arrived with my lunch. She brought me my new obsession: The Spinach Veggie Wrap from Jason’s Deli. Thank goodness my nutritionist recommended that place! It beats Panera Bread by a landslide. Sorry, Panera! (I used to have a love affair with Panera.. It’s.. it’s.. a touchy subject) I had some berries and popchips on the side.

Ok, so the other day, I ranted about people and how insensitive they are. Well, remember how the day of the dissection I praised the kids at school for not making rude comments? They must have been waiting until the next day when I wouldnt be there because I was notified last night by a student in my bio class that the kids in there talked loads about me the day after I went I showed up. Apparently, none of it was positive. They talked about how I am faking being sick, and how I don’t actually have an ED and yada yada yada. They talked about my blog and how I am not anorexic because I eat or something. Well, I am trying to recover, smart ones, of course I am eating! It hurts to know people are talking about me like that. Am I supposed to be sorry for trying to regain my health and happiness? People don’t make sense to me at all. Hearing this, got all these thoughts going through my head like: “am I not skinny enough to have anorexia?” and my ED started screaming at me to get skinnier and it was a mess. I am glad the girl told me about this though and I thanked her. She was sweet about it.

My geometry tutor came over and I had some fruit leather and green tea once he left! Yum.

I went on a 10 minute walk and came back, rushing to get ready for the hockey game my aunt and uncle were going to take me to. Those hockey players are hot, hot, hot! You Aeros are sexy Dinner was: 4 oz. Chicken, 1 oz. blue corn chips, 3 tbsp. hummus, plantain, green beans, and 1/4 c. brown rice. My dinners always sound so action packed, don’t they? At least to me! But apparantly, this is usually my lightest meal of the day… o.O. It’s a mad world. I’m working on making dinner bigger, though!

At the game, I fell in love with some Canadian dude on the opposing team with a foreign last name. He was FiiiiNE! Hahaha. I had a Lemon Bar Larabar during the game. I loved it because it didn’t give me the acidic, overly sweet feeling I usually get in my throat with typical lemon bars. The game was fun… until it went overtime… twice. Each overtime is 45 minutes long. Ugh. I almost died and I was starving. I had an ooey gooey PB&J sandwich on Ezekiel cinnamon raisin bread with a glass of skim milk. It was delicious!!

GUESS WHAT!? I made my calorie goals today! WOOOO! PARTY!!!!!!

I am going to go celebrate my success by watching Silent Hill (my comfort film) and going to sleep. It is so late and I feel like death, but a happy death. Buenas Noches!

My dear cousin (and friend!) Rose passed this along to me, and I would love to share it with all of you in my blogging world. Thanks Rose!

This bread comes from Ezekiel 4:9. It is called a “fasting bread” because Ezekiel was commanded by God to eat a specific amount of this bread everyday. As far as we can tell from the Scriptures, this is all that he ate each day for 430 days. This is a wonderfully nutritious bread and the combination of grains and beans makes a complete protein. This mixture makes about 9 cups of flour and may be substituted for the flour called for in any yeast bread or quick bread recipe, however, more of this flour may be required than called for in a yeast bread recipe.

Combine the following whole grains:

2 1/2 cups hard red wheat
1 1/2 cups spelt or rye (Biblically spelt was used, Ezekiel 4:9)
1/2 cup barley (hulled barley)
1/2 cup millet
1/4 cup lentils (green preferred)
2 Tbs. great northern beans
2 Tbs. red kidney beans
2 Tbs. pinto beans

Stir the above ingredients very well. Grind in flour mill.

4 cups lukewarm water
1 cup honey
1/2 cup oil
2 tsp. salt
freshly milled flour from the above mixture of grains
2 Tbs. yeast

In a large bowl, combine water, honey, oil, and salt. Add all of flour and yeast. Stir or knead until well kneaded about 10 minutes. This is a batter type bread and will not form a smooth ball.

Pour dough into greased pans. You may use 2 large loaf pans (10×5x3) or 3 med. loaf pans or 2-9×13 brownie pans. Let rise is a warm place for one hour or until the dough is about 1/4 inch from the top of the pan. DO NOT OVER RISE! If it rises too much it will over flow the pan while baking. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes for loaf pans and 35-40 minutes for brownie pans.

*For fasting, divide bread into 8 equal parts weighing 1/2 pound each. Eat a 1/2 pound cake and drink a quart of water every day. For fasting I do not alter the recipe.

For variation, you may add fruits and nuts to this recipe, however, to use for fasting I do not alter the original recipe.

Courtesy of: www.breadbeckers.com The Bread Beckers, Inc. (770) 516-5000