Here is another day gone, I’ve been tired lately so I’m happy that I am home and can relax. Food today was delicious as always. I love being able to make my own food. Here’s today’s Whats for lunch!
I started breakfast my usual way with a smoothie. This one was a Strawberry banana smoothie
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
2 bananas
1 cup fresh strawberries
2 cups chocolate almond milk(I was supposed to use white but the store where I do groceries keep running out)
1 tbsp maple syrup of agave nectar(Don’t use if you used the chocolate milk like I did only if you used white)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
pinch of sea salt
1 cup of ice cubes(I didn’t use this)
Nutritional info can be found here: http://caloriecount.about.com/strawberry-banana-chocolate-smoothie-recipe-r744682
I then divide the smoothie into 3, One for my breakfast, once that I drink half of per snack at work and Al gets the other one.
Here is my lunch all packed. Just need to put it in a plastic bag and stuff it into my purse and run out the door! 🙂
First snack of the day was grapes and a portion of almonds and half my smoothie. I was so full that I only ate about half my grapes and ate the rest of them with my lunch. I love platting my snacks. I always get someone commenting in the lunch room.
Lunch was flat-breads but my husband made them for me as I was in a rush this morning and running to get ready and he made them a tad big. I’m going to have to teach my poor husband about portion control!. I don’t have any photos of my lunch fully plated as It didn’t save onto my phone. I think its time to replace my beat up old INQ chat.
Here is the recipe for the flatbread
Ingredients(Makes 12 servings)
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tbsp honey or brown sugar
Directions
Place in bread machine and set to dough setting. then flatten and roll into pizza dough or cut into smaller peaces roll and fry in pan with a small amount of olive oil for flat-breads
And a photo of the sauce the day I made it. I usually make a double batch and then freeze them in small individual size portions.
Ingredients(Makes 8 servings)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 pound extra lean ground turkey
1 cup zucchini (Shredded)
7 cups canned Tomatoes Diced
2 (28 oz)cans tomato paste
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
Directions
brown meat and cook onions and garlic and celery and carrots then all rest of ingredients and simmer 1 hour and 30 minutes
Next snack was a kiwi cut into slices, another portion of almonds and the rest of the smoothie.
For Dinner i made some quinoa and black-bean burgers. They are delicious and a great way to add beans to your diet(Which I’m trying to do since their so good for you.
Ingredients(Makes 8 servings)
1 small onion , finely chopped(1 cup)
6 sun dried tomatoes drained and finely chopped(1/4 cup)
2 cloves garlic minced(2 tsp)
2 tsp dried steak seasoning
15 oz black beans rinsed and drained
Directions
1.
stir together quinoa and 1 1/4 cups water in small saucepan, and season with salt,if desired. Bring to a boil, cover reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes , or until all liquid is absorbed.(You should have 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa.)
2.
Meanwhile, place onion and sun-dried tomatoes in medium nonstick skillet, and cook over medium heat. (The oil left on the tomatoes should be enough to saute the onion.) Cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until onion has softened. Stir in 3/4 cup black beans, garlic, steak seasoning, and 11/2 cups water. Simmer 3 to 5 minutes, or until most of liquid has evaporated.
3.
Transfer bean-onion mixture to food processor, add 3/4 cup cooked quinoa, and process until smooth. Transfer to bowl, and stir in remaining 3/4 cup quinoa and remaining 3/4 cup black beans. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and cool.
4.
Preheat oven to 350°F, and generously coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Shape bean mixture into 8 patties (1/2 cup each), and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, or until patties are crisp on top. Flip patties with spatula, and bake 10 minutes more, or until both sides are crisp and brown. Serve on buns.
Just in case someone might be curious. I am not vegetarian. I have cut out A LOT of meat out of my diet for easier digestion but still eat it.
I served it on half a flat bread with a sprinkling of part skim cheese, a slice of red onion, tomato, spinach, pickle and a dab of mustard and ketchup.
To end my day I will most likely have about half an apple with 1-2 tbsp of almond butter.
At the end of it I finished the day with 2,096 calories(I try to keep it between 2000 and 2600)
my fat intake was 93 grams. I try to keep my fat intake to 20-35% of my caloric intake and try to keep it to healthy fats(Like nuts, olive oil, hemp seeds, avocado etc) Today It was at 32%
My carb intake was 288 g(I try to keep that between 45-65% of my intake but was at 44 so close!)
My protein was at 53 g and I try to keep that between 10% and 35%. It was only at 8% today so I will have to watch that.
My Sodium was at 2,039 mg which is a tad high, I usually try to keep it more towards 1500.
44 grams of fiber which is great, my goal is more than 25 grams!
My Calcium was at 1,251 mg which is great since my goal is to get around 1000 per day. This is amazing since I never drank milk before since It made me slightly sick(Found out I’m slightly lactose intolerant) So with my smoothies and thanks to almond milk, I’m able to get my calcium!
My Iron was 46 mg. Your supposed to get between 18 to maximum 45. I got 46 but I’m not worried as My doctor said I was slightly anemic last time I saw him and to up my Iron intake, So I’m trying to keep it around the high maximum.
I did pretty good 🙂 Just gotta work on getting my sodium down. I don’t salt anything unless its in a recipe and usually a lot less than it asks.
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Life and Kitchen 