Foodish Pride

Hey there!! Here's the other 'do that my hair will do these days. Helmet head! ha! The good news is that I think that maybe, just maybe, my curls are making a comeback. That's all I'm sayin' though because I don't want to jinx it. Just kidding, I don't really believe in jinxing. But shhhh anyway, ok?

I wasn't really planning on posting a picture of myself today, but I'm so excited to have MY camera working again that I just couldn't resist experimenting a bit. I thought my camera was broken, but all it needed was some good quality rechargeable batteries. Hooray!! I'll be reading the manual and tapping my photography savvy friends for advice to improve the quality of my pictures over the next couple weeks.  

Onto the food (aka the GOOD) portion of the blog...

I had the pleasure of enjoying breakfast with two lovely ladies recently. Although I only ate about half of what I ordered, it still turned out to be too carb heavy. I was actually surprised by the numbers when I logged it all into SparkPeople. Yikes. My new way of eating, however, doesn't label foods as good or bad. I absolutely love this aspect, because it means I am 'allowed' to eat whatever I want as long as I stay within my carb, protein and fat percentages and get a minimum of 5 servings of fruits and veggies. I focus on lean proteins, healthy fats, and whole grains too. There's wiggle room, though. So I wiggled at this breakfast. In the past I would have allowed this to turn into a day of wiggling, but not anymore! After I logged in my breakfast foods on SparkPeople I planned my meals for the rest of the day. I'm proud to say that met all my healthy food goals for that day!! 

My lunch consisted of the salad shown below and was dressed with an absolutely divine Cabernet Vinegar and Newman's Own Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The Cab vinegar was so good that I didn't even miss croutons. That's a HUGE statement for me. Who knew oil olive and vinegar went so well with salad? 

Lunch also included this pizza grilled cheese half sandwich with lactose free Cabot cheddar, onions, black olives and touch of pizza sauce. Crunchy on the outside and beautifully creamy on the inside, exactly the way I like it!

Dinner was that Clean Eating Country-Style Beef and Green Pepper soup. Here's the recipe just in case you're not a subscriber:

Clean Eating Country-Style Beef and Green Pepper Soup

2.5T olive oil, divided

12 oz extra-lean ground beef (I used organic)

2 medium green bell peppers, diced (I used a bag of frozen since it was already in the freezer)

1 c yellow onion, chopped

1 lb fresh tomatoes (I used a can of unsalted diced tomatoes)

4 oz green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces (I used the frozen ones that were already in the freezer)

1 c frozen whole kernal corn, thawed and patted dry

2 c coarsely chopped green cabbage 

3 C low-sodium beef broth

2 tsp dried oregano

2 T balsamic vinegar

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a Dutch oven on medium-high, tilting Dutch oven to coat the bottom lights. Add beef and cook for 3 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently. Drain beef on paper towels; set aside.

2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in same Dutch oven on medium-high. Add bell peppers and onions, and cook for 6 minutes or until edges start to brown, stirring occasionally. Add beef back to Dutch oven along with tomatoes, beans, corn, cabbage, broth and oregano. Bring mixture to a boil over same heat, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until beans are tender-crisp.

3. Remove Dutch oven from heat, stir in remaining ingredients, including remaining oil, and let stand for 10 minutes before serving to allow flavors to meld.

Nutrients per 1.5 cup serving: 

Calories 182

Total Fat: 5.5 (saturated fat 1g, mono-unsaturated 3g, polyunsaturated 1g)

Carbs 17g

Fiber 3.5g

Sugars 5g

Protein 16g

Sodium 413 mg

Cholesterol 30mg

The motivation ball of improved health and smaller self continues to roll!