8:00 am - Coffee + AB Oat Bran Toast - First Signs of Feeling Full (6)
This morning was another tough morning for me...nothing dramatic, I just went to bed too late tonight and waking up was haaaaaaaard this AM! I started out with a brew of 1/2 Breakfast Blend and 1/2 Hazelnut coffee with sugar and milk.
For eats, I had some Great Harvest Oat Bran bread toasted with some Barney Butter.
12:15 pm - Rainbow Salad + Walk + Chocolate Ice Cream - First Signs of Feeling Full (6)
After my less-than healthy day of eats yesterday, I really wanted something refreshing and LOTS of fresh veggies. I hit up a salad bar and got started loading up. As I was beginning to add veggies, I remembered that one of this week's changes for SCBR is to "Eat plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables." I decided to try to pick out veggies as I went over the colors of the rainbow.
- Red: cherry tomatoes, red pepper
- Orange: orange pepper, baby carrots
- Yellow: didn't find any yellow veggies on the salad bar
- Green: lettuce, spinach, broccoli, celery, edamame, green pepper, cucumber
- Blue: no blue either!
- Purple: purple cabbage, radicchio, a slice of pickled beet (though maybe the last 2 are really "red"?)
- White: beans
- Black: beans
I guess white and black aren't part of the rainbow, but they were on my salad!
I had a great time picking out all the colorful veggies - it was fun and healthy! I also added some chicken, sunflower seeds, and sun-dried tomato salad dressing. I was shocked at how low the calorie count was for this salad...veggies are SO low in calories...no wonder people eat salads when they're trying to lose weight. I never thought they were filling before, but I think the beans, chicken, and seeds really helped fill me up. I think the key with today's low-calorie salad was that I picked a light-ish dressing and didn't add any of the "heavy" ingredients: bacon bits, cheese, croutons, etc.
I had water with my meal.
After lunch, I went with a co-worker to take a quick walk-break. We were gone about 20 minutes and even ended up stopping at a local chocolate shop to scope out their goodies. It was pretty hot today so we ended up getting ice cream! We both got kid's sized chocolate-flavored ice cream on cones. The ice cream was delish and helped keep us cool on our walk back to the office. I didn't feel the least bit guilty for my indulgent treat, it was soooo good!
By the time we got back to the office, I only had this wee bit of cone left, which I photographed and then promptly gobbled up...yum!
3:00 pm - Clementine - Content (5)
In the afternoon, my boss offered me a clementine, which I happily accepted. The fruit was so juicy and just delicious. I actually got some fruit at the store when I got my salad, but didn't end up eating the mixed fruit. The clementine was enough and so good. I forgot to take a photo.
4:30 pm - String Cheese - Content (5)
I spent the rest of the afternoon continuing my snacky afternoon habits. I had a string cheese and then some 2% milk on my way out of the office. I drank it from the mini-milk I have in the office fridge for my oats. I only had it because when I totaled my calories up, they were pretty low and I didn't have much dairy by then either.
8:00 pm - Egg Scramble Wrap + Sweet Potato - First Signs of Feeling Full (6)
We finally had the egg scramble wrap that I've been trying to make all week. I started with a colorful array of peppers (still working on that "colored fruits and veggies" change for SCBR this week). I got all 3 of these from TJ's for a mere $3.69...Can you believe that!
I hardly even needed any for the scramble. I chopped up some pieces from the tops of the peppers and some onion I had leftover from a previous meal.
I started by sauteing the onions and peppers in a wee bit of olive oil, seasoned with some salt and pepper.
Then, I added the eggs and scrambled them up. Once the eggs were almost done, I added some baby spinach (about 1/2 cup) and wilted the leaves.
Then, I topped everything with some Mexican blend cheese leftover from our quesadilla dinner the other night.
I lightly stirred the eggs till the cheese melted and got all gooey and then I spread some in the middle of a TJ's whole grain tortilla.
Yummy egg scramble wrap - close-up.
I did a micro-waved sweet potato for my side. I added 1/2 tbsp of real butter, 1 tsp of brown sugar, and 1 tbsp of chopped pecans on top.
Yummy dinner. I really need to try doing one of these scramble-wraps for breakfast some time!
Water with dinner.
Hubby noticed one of my fave Mediterranean places near the smoothie place he stopped by after his workout today and picked up a baklava (well, 2) for me since he knows I love them. Lucky for me, my calorie count was pretty low today even after all the snacking, probably because of the salad lunch. Although, to be honest, I think I would have eaten the baklava even if I was already over my target count...hehe. It's so hard to resist a delicious dessert and thoughtful gesture, no?
Hubby actually got me 2 baklava and I had every intention of eating both, but I felt pretty darn full after the first one. I remembered that I need to continue to try to eat as intuitively as possible, so I waited a minute to listen to my body. I really wanted to eat that second baklava, but I could tell I was too full to eat it (and be comfortable), so I forced myself to wrap that second piece up for tomorrow. It was tough putting that second piece up when I wanted so badly to eat it and it was sitting right there in front of me, but I felt better after the baklava was put up and I didn't overstuff myself.
I did enjoy a nice mini-portion of 2% milk with dessert. They go so well together!
Summary
Calories Eaten: 1552
Calories Burned: 94
Net Calories: 1458
Did I mention I did some brief weight-lifting for my arms yesterday? I cannot believe how bad a shape I've let myself get. I used to be so strong! My arms, shoulders, and back muscles are achy today! I'm so glad I'm starting to do strength training again because I want to be fit like I used to be again and this will help me cross train.
Anywho, good thing I went for that walk with my co-worker today. I also went for a quick walk with hubby to visit an open-house near our apartments and we hit up quite a few stairs checking out the rooms! I was just over my target calorie amount of 1437. :)
Great day!! I've been craving ice cream and I have a coupon for a free scoop(for my birthday) at Baskin Robbins so I think that is going to be on tomorrow's agenda!!
Way to go for eating intuitively and saving the 2nd baklava. I know how hard it is to resist something you really want(cause so often I fail!).
Posted by: Melissa | March 11, 2009 at 11:51 PM
your dinner looks fan.tas.tic. looove sweet potatoes, and what a great idea to add nuts!
I love how colorful your meals are! and that you listed your salad out by colors...yum!
Posted by: Sophia | March 12, 2009 at 11:11 AM
Your veggie lunch looks fab.
Posted by: Janice | March 12, 2009 at 04:20 PM
Wow! Your meals today look so yummy, nutritious and colorful! Love all the veggies :)
-Kristen
Posted by: eatingRD | March 12, 2009 at 10:01 PM