A Tale of Three Meals

Along with looking for a new job, I've been very focused on getting in quality workouts and eating well this week. My theory is that if I don't take care of myself I'll feel less confident when going to a job interview and then I won't perform as well as I would otherwise. Also, I got a bit of a wake up call when I stepped on the scale at the gym last Saturday morning. A decrease in physical activity due to my injuries + holiday treats = unflattering results. Truthfully though, more than the scale, I just wasn't feeling good. So, I've stepped it up quite a bit this week and have been making sure that I'm eating healthy, well rounded meals with limited snacking (and at that, only healthy snacks - veggies, fruit).

So, here we go. The Thursday Food Run Down:

I start each morning before a workout with an akmak cracker. If you haven't tried these, you really should. They're high in fiber and protein, relatively low in calories and fat (no saturated). They are hearty and very tasty. Great for eating with a bit of peanut butter (which I do before more intense workouts), honey, any good spread probably.

After yoga, I came back and had the standard breakfast I've had almost every morning this week and often have during the summer. About plain ff yogurt (or low fat), a banana, a bit of flax pumpkin granola, cinnamon, ground flax seeds, and a few sliced almonds. Doesn't look very exciting because of the lack of colors, but it is very tasty and satisfying!

Next was lunch. I've been having vegan burgers but yesterday I did a little cooking and grilled up a few slices of eggplant (low in sat. fat and cholesterol, good source of Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Thiamin, Folate, Potassium, and dietary Fiber. BUT, I've just learned that it is very high in sodium and a good amt of the calories come from sugar.) and some onion. Then I put these on a sandwich thin with avocado on one side, hummus on the other and some great leafy greens. On the side, I had carrots, zucchini, and an apple. DELICIOUS!!

For dinner I was able to check off one of my 'healthy to do' list items! I've never cooked lentils before but have had them a few times. The legumes are very high in fiber and folate. I used green but other colors (red, black and orange) are also high in antioxidants. I found a recipe on 101Cookbooks, and with a few alterations made a hearty but healthy lentil soup for dinner. Very few ingredients (lentils, tomatoes, onion, kale, olive oil, water, and salt), which is great, but it also made plenty to have for a few more meals! Oh, and we topped ours with a little bit of avocado rather than the sauce the recipe calls for. Woody approved, so it may show up in our kitchen again! The one downfall of this meal is that while I had a pear on the side, we also had quite a few saltines with the soup. I would have preferred a whole wheat roll or something not so processed, but we had these on hand. Still, it was a pretty healthy meal.

We're still working our way through the awesome shipment of Florida oranges and grapefruits Woody's mom sent us, so I had an orange later for dessert!

Question of the Day: What's your favorite healthy meal?