Nutritional Knits

How does your garden grow?

How does your garden grow?, originally uploaded by Jess McDougall.

Mine grows in an Aerogarden.

I always thought I was a tad bit screwy.

Daily Intake.

recycled photo from previous posts

If you don't know me then you may see my 'protein' posts and automatically assume I'm eating all protien and very little veggies.  And you would be very wrong.  Over the past few years I've tried so many different ways of eating to see how my body responds and what makes my body function on a higher level.  I am a typically low-energy person so increasing my energy is a high priority for me. 

I tried eating raw foods at 80-90% of my daily intake for a couple of months and while I greatly enjoyed the meals I had to eat a LOT to get enough calories to fulfill me.  Which ended up with bloating and always feeling too full.  I hated the way my body felt then but loved the energy and all those veggies.  Since then I've tried the protein overload (in my opinion) as well.  I certainly don't think my body needs as much protein was recommended to me at that time and have since greatly reduced it.

recycled photo from previous posts  

I now find that protein does give me more energy and when I increased my protein intake there was a noticeable difference in my strength gains.  Also, having a high protein breakfast satisfies me and keeps me full.  So the semi-high protein will stay.  Raw veggies and greens are essential for a highly alkalized body - so they stay too, although not at such a large ratio.  Fruit (poor fruit gets such a bad rap!) will stay - but only 1-2 pieces per day.  Dense starchy carbs? GONE.  I have no self-control when it comes to these.  I could eat a 1/2 box of Prince Ziti in one sitting.  Easy.  Whole grains are optimal though so I try to find some way to add them in limited quantities to my diet.  For example, I cook a huge batch of brown rice and then freeze it in serving sizes to that I don't overdue it.

This is a typical day for me (although more on the 'hungry' side)

• Huge Omelet (1 egg, 3/4C egg whites, mushrooms, shallot, broccoli or greens)  cooked in evoo/coconut oil or eggs scrambled with veggies on the side.  Sometimes you just want some fluffy egg white instead of a dense omelet.
• Apple w/nut butter or enriched hemp milk w/ginger, banana, ground flax seeds.
• Huge bowl of greens with chopped raw veggies or a cup of roasted veggies w/ dressing along side ~5oz protein -either a turkey burger or a can of tuna or a chicken breast or left over beef cooked at last night's supper.
• high-protein snack - either a smaller serving of the proteins listed above or some Bionic Edge whey in a shake or taffy.
• protein (usually something that I cook on Sunday and eat all week: roast beef, pot roast, chicken, etc.) and two cups of cooked veggies and/or a salad of greens with Galeos Dressing.

That is a lot of food.  Look at those two photos - the first representing my supper and the bottom representing my breakfast (although I don't eat the toast with my breakfast anymore -dense carbs are consumed after dinner; which is after my workout).  Add a lunch (usually more salad too) and a few snacks of fruit and you've got my daily intake.

Here is a thread of more meals similar to what I'm eating now.  My formula now is dens carbs after a workout and fat before the workout.  If it seems complicated then you'll understand why I decided to join PN's Lean Eating program.  My coach says, "do this" and I do.  And it's working.

My Bionic Edge Taffy

With my new work out and eating plan I'm trying to get a bit more protein in my diet so I'm back to having Bionic Edge added to my day.  Like before, I still have dairy sensitivities so I'm not having it every day.  More like four or five time per week.  I've been mixing this up and packing it to take with me to class on Saturday mornings for a snack.  I have this and a banana during my 10-min break.

Bionic Edge Whey is great shaken with water (and easy!) but I like it the most when I blend it with ice, mellow greens (like baby bok choi or romaine) and a banana.  Unfortunately, I don't have a blender in my office and was looking for new ways to have my Bionic Edge and came up with Bionic Edge Taffy.

Bionic Edge Taffy

Put a scoop of Bionic Edge Whey powder in a cup and add 1 heaping T of your choice of nut butter*

This is a mix of vanilla and chocolate whey and a Brazil/macadamia nut butter:

Mix these two together with a spoon until you have a cup of grainy powder, like this:

Then add teaspoon of hot water and mix it all together.  It won't come together easy but it will come together.  Add a touch more water if necessary.  If you add too much then you end up with a slurry - which is fine, but not taffy.  Mix, mix, mix and it will start to come together and look like a ball of taffy, especially as it cools.

Eat with a spoon and then have a glass of water :))  [see below] 

This recipe can be doubled easily.

I didn't add a picture of the finished product because as yummy as the taffy is, it's not the most appealing looking thing.  :))

*to make your own nut butter: add 1 container of nuts (or a mix of your favorite nuts) into a food processor and give it a whir.  Scrape down the sides as necessary.  Feel free to add a touch of agave nectar or honey and a pinch of salt if so desired.  Refrigerate and enjoy!

IMPORTANT NOTE: There have been questions regarding if too much of a certain kind of protein is taxing on your liver and/or kidneys so it's important that you consume at least 12oz of water with/after the protein intake to help your body digest it.

Busy

originally uploaded by Jess McDougall.

I'm lacking on blog posts and food photos but it's been super busy lately!! I also have to tell you how I've been doing with my Lean Eating program (so far so good!) but I've been too busy to sit and write a proper post. What have I been doing? Lets see - I started the PN Lean Eating program, my winter/spring session class started (yay), my physical therapy sessions have been reduced down to once per week and I've been really busy at work with interesting projects.

Oh, and I had a knitting parteh!! ;)  See that pile of yarn in the middle there?  That was yarn that we were trading each other but it really turned into a de-stash pile and most of it was left behind to be donated to a charity (probably the Knitting Connection).

It was fun and a great group of ladies showed up!  There were old friends -some who haven't seen each other in 15 years! - and some who were just meeting each other for the first time.  Expert knitters and beginning knitters too.  I even got to meet a friend who I've only communicated with for the last five years over the internet.  It was a nice reminder that I need to get together with my friends more often. 

It's funny how times have changed because at this party there were two babies and one friend who was 5 months pregnant!  And NO tequila! Oh, and there was a lot of food.  I'm still full and the party was three days ago, ha ha.  It really was great to get this lovely mix of personalities together in one space. 

No Regrets.

originally uploaded by Jess McDougall.

Another of my 2010 goals is to not regret doing the little things in life.

For example, enjoying this beautiful sky the whole way home but never pulling over to take a photo of it. I have these little regrets all the time. They sneak by but then really seem to gnaw at me. "I wish I took that photo." "I should have told them that story about the bear." "I really should have..."

So there I went. I pulled over and snapped a few delicious photos of the amazing sky, eliminating what would have definitely been another one of life's little regrets.

My Precious.

originally uploaded by Jess McDougall.

Recently I decided to try and streamline all my social medias with my email account into one place.  I originally purchased a Blackberry because I wanted to focus on making my electronic life easier and all those fun app's were just going to distract me from doing that.  Soon enough I realized my mistake and before my 30 days were up I returned the Blackberry and purchased my iPhone.  It was inevitable, I think.  I gave into the "fun" of the application world. 

Since I've returned the Blackberry and purchased My Precious I've compiled a list of Pro's and Con's of both devices.  These are my biggies:

Blackberry

Pro's

• Insurance plan is available, if I break or drop the BB it can be replaced.
• When you got a new message (text, mail, mms, etc.) the red light at the top would blink -notifying you of a new message.
• All emails and messages when into one folder (and could be separated, if desired) and were marked as whay type of message they were.
• Camera had an actual button instead of on-screen image button - it also had a white balance and flash option.
• Keypad is easy to use (I personally find an actual keypad easier and faster to type on).

Con's

• Lack of Applications, especially there not being any camera App's. AT ALL.
• Web/internet isn't user friendly or interactive. 
• Static - it seems very one-dimensional.

iPhone

Pro's

• Applications - there are so many available!! Especially the camera apps!!!
• Web/internet is easy to use!! You could easily use this as your internet connection at home/on the road if you didn't have a computer available to you.
• Vertical or horizontal screen/keypad/web and easy to use zoom.
• Echofon (pro version) - ya'll know I love my Twitter

Con's

• No insurance plan!! If you lose it then you pay full retail value for a replacement ($500+), which ain't gonna happen. 
• Required to sign up for a 2-year data plan.
• The camera.  There is no flash (that I've found yet) and no wb like the BB had.  For indoor photography the camera on it's own takes the same exact photos as the BB (re: not great) but within an app it works pretty well.
• No notification of new emails until I open the email program at which point it checks the server.  This may just be because I haven't figured it out yet, though.

The no-insurance issue was a big one for me.  Basically if I lose it then I have to pay full price for a new one.  Apple makes you agree to keep the data plan for 2-years so I would have to purchase a new BB or iPhone (at full price) or use a cheaper non-3G phone will still paying for the 3G data plan.  I do love apple but this is a little reminder that they are out to get the dollars just like any company.  For this reason I can see why a lot of companies use the BB instead of the iPhone.  Also, the BB is quite obviously more business orientated at the time of purchase (it has on-the-go Word and Excel software).

All this said, I definitely am glad that I traded in my all-business for my all-fun and some business iPhone.  It's fuuuuuuun.

And look! Even Matt Noyes loves his iPhone!  :)))

Birthday Dinner, in celebration of year No. 35

In my family three of us are born in early January.  Having a birthday so close to Christmas meant that instead of a big party and gifts we would get a small gift and my mother would cook us our favorite meal - whatever that was.  Every year I would ask for my mother's baked macaroni & cheese and cauliflower with cheese sauce.  It was cheese overload! 

In the years past my tastes have changed as well as our birthday traditions.  Some years we all go to brunch to cover the three birthdays all in one delicious sitting and some years my mother takes ous out to our choice restaurant to celebrate.  This year was that kind of year. 

Knowing that this 35th birthday of mine felt like a huge milestone my mother suggested we go somewhere really delicious to celebrate.  After tossing around a few ideas we decided to dine at  Craigie on Main in Cambridge.

If you check out their site you will see that Chef Tony Maws puts a lot of emphasis on using local and fresh ingredients into his food.  As a matter of fact, the last page on the menu is dedicated to listing the local business where the chef gets his ingredients.  One aspect that attracted me to this restaurant was the chef's use of the whole animal through the menu.  [Apparently this is called "nose to tail" cooking?]  Not only was braised pork belly available but so were the pigs tails and I believe at some point last night I heard use of the head. 

Trying to chose from this menu was made difficult by not only the delicious offerings but by the three different ways you can order: prix fixe, a la carte or the chef's tasting in six or ten (!) plates.  We opted for the six-course chef's tasting.  What better way to experience a restaurant than to have the chef choose what you will be having?

Please forgive my horrible memory!! I should take notes next time. I was planning on snapping some pics without my flash but then didn't feel comfortable enough to do so once we were actually seated. 

The first dish we were served was an amuse bouche consisting of three bites: monkfish liver with a housemade rice cracker,  squid noodles with nuoc cham sauce and crispy garlic, and crispy salt cod fritter in squid ink.  I keep trying it but I'm still not a fan of organ meat so the monkfish liver was lost on me.  My mother's favorite of these three were the squid noodles, which were fresh tasting and the sauce was bright, but my personal favorite of the three was the salt cod in the squid ink.  What a pretty little dish that was with that black ink! [Here is an image of the same dish but with lobster]

The next plate was sashimi with shiso and harissa, over thinly sliced avocado -and while I don't remember what fish it was I do remember the server saying that it was part of the Jack family (I catch a lot of jack in Florida).  Very delicious and clean.  It had a nice kick to it too.

The raw fish was followed by some delicious monkfish cheeks with sea urchin.  I've been told that some people don't like monkfish (poorman's lobster) because of the texture but I rather like it.  I never have texture issues with food. I wasn't crazy about the sauce that came with it but that is a matter of personal taste.  Any 'asian' flavored sauce doesn't excited me -too many years here in Chinatown, I guess.

Next up was a rustic take on lasagna that featured rabbit and fresh mozerella.  I'm pretty sure it used thinly sliced potato instead of noodles but I could be wrong.  I was in a happy food coma by this time and absolutely drunk on the yumminess of this dish.  Rich, earthy and a bit sweet this dish was my favorite of them all (until later).

The second to last savory was a braised pork belly with an apple puree and pomegranate seeds.  Ya'll know I love my pomegranate!  Had I ordered off the a la carte menu I probably would have gone the pork route so I was happy to see this dish as part of our tasting.  It was delicious - although very rich for my taste.  My tummy was happy to take a quick break  once this dish was finished.  The braised meat was sweet and rich and contrasted perfectly with the puree and tart pomegranate.

The final savory dish was presented by the Chef himself which was a really nice touch.  Organic squab stuffed with Chinese sausage, served with parsnip puree and the most delicious sauce I've ever tasted.  I have no idea what the sauce was because I forgot (I'm a total ass, I know) but again....TOTAL FOOD COMA.  The bold flavor of the squab with the sweetness of the sauce was in-sane and this dish quickly rose to the top of my favorites. In addition, the squab was presented beautifully.

After that delectable parade of savory dishes were were presented with a duo of panna cottas (jasmine and rooibus tea infused) which was then followed by a beautiful desert of peanut butter parfait with house-made cookie, cocoa nibs and banana foam, and a very delicious gingerbread pain perdu with poached  cranberries, and young ginger ice cream.  Neither my mother or I are big on desserts but that gingerbread with ginger ice cream was right down my alley.

Over all the meal was fantastic - with the squab just barely beating out the rabbit dish as my favorite. By choosing the Tasting Menu and a nice bottle of wine it does become a pricey evening but also an very memorable one.  Today my mother and I keep emailing each other back and forth about the meal, and I've pretty much gushed about it to anyone in my office who will listen to me.  If you are looking for a wonderful experience to share with a loved one - I highly recommend you take a trip over to Craigie on Main!

[also - they have a bar menu if you want a scaled down adventure.  Go try the piggy tails!]

[in my search for a photo to use I came across this great blog which featured their tasting menu experience - with photos! It's not the same exact menu but you can still get an idea of the food.]

[Definitely go view the Craige on Main photoset via Flickr]

My Arch Nemisis

originally uploaded by Jess McDougall.

Another reason why I love Sundays

originally uploaded by Jess McDougall.

Like most people who are either trying to lose weight or just eat healthy and manage their time well I like to dedicate one day to food prep for the week.  I generally roast a bunch of veggies (to have on my salads), make up a bunch of turkey/mushroom/apple burgers to freeze for the week and wash up my lettuces to use for the next few days.  Then I put together three tupperware containers in the fridge full of roasted veggies & lettuce.  I also cook one large batch of quinoa or brown rice that I can have with my lunch protein.  For supper, I typically make a roast or some large one-pot meat meal that I can have 3-4 times during the week.  All that is left for me to do the night before is make my breakfast and get my protein ready for the next day's lunch (turkey burger, tuna, quinoa).

I have to admit... I love food prep.  Always have.  I think it comes back to the days when my dad would teach me proper food prep techniques - how to use a knife, the best way to slice certain vegetables and (most importantly) how to enjoy creating the food you are about to eat.  All good memories and tips that I still use to this day.  So... thanks, Pops for making this 'chore' enjoyable.  :)

Review: Vega Vibrancy Bars

At the end of last year I was contacted by Kelly from Sequel Naturals who wanted to know if I would be interested in reviewing some of Vega's new Vibrancy Bars.  Since I'm a fan of all thing Brendan Brazier I decided to give them a try. 

In case you don't know, Brendan Brazier is a Ironman triathlete.  And he's a vegan.  His book, The Thrive Diet, was one of the first nutrition books I read.  It really hooked me into reading more about the acidity and alkalinity in our bodies.  I was intrigued to learn how drastically we can improve our bodies by what we eat.  If you haven't read it and you are interested in nutrition then I highly recommend you pick it up.

If you are familiar with Vega's products then you will not be surprised by my review.  Their products are the real deal - whole foods sweetened by natural ingredients with the focus first and foremost on packing a nutritional punch.  Their bars do not taste like candy bars - they taste like health food bars.

The bar comes in three flavors: Wholesome Original, Chocolate Decadence and Green Synergy.  All three flavors seem to have the same base, with a few ingredients added to the particular flavors/focus of the bar.  The Green Synergy bar has Vega Green Food Blend added to it, while the Chocolate flavor lists 70% cocoa dark chocolate. 

The Green Synergy bar tastes the way you would think it tastes: green.  It's not a bad taste, but I never would have guessed that dates would be listed as the second ingredient.  The Chocolate Decadence doesn't really taste like chocolate but like the Original flavor with a hint of cocoa added.  All three of the flavors have the Vega Antioxidant EFA Oil added to them and that is the underlying flavor of all three bars.   Again, if you are familiar with Vega then you won't be surprised by that.  What did surprise me was how disappointed I was when I realized I ate all my samples.  That is when I realized how much I liked them.  I like their healthy flavor, the size of the bar and the fat content per bar.  I love reading the list of ingredients, knowing how healthy the bars are and that I'm eating sprouted foods and healthy oils.

Don't be scared to try these bars because of their green flavor.  I plan on adding them to my meal plans on the days that I am in school and only have a 10 minute break to eat.

Other reasons to try the Vega Vibrancy Bar:

• Vegan
• Gluten Free
• Dairy Free
• 95% organic ingredients
• 85% of ingredients are raw
• Highly alkaline forming
• High in those healthy Omegas!!

At approximately 9g of fat (omegas!) and 200 calories these bars are a great post-workout snack or on-the-fly treat in between meals.

The nutritional data for all three flavors can be found here. 

Please Note: I received no payment in exchange for this review.

 

Not pretty, but it's quick and lean. And yummy too.

Bison burger over romaine salad w/Galeo's Ginger Wasabi Miso dressing, and broccoli and brussel sprouts.  This is a quickie meal - it's not pretty but it's yummy, lean and full of green veggies!

Isn't it plated so nicely? Ha ha ha!  Actually know all those "nice" photos of food that I show you?  I actually only usually show you half of the dish.  Once I take the photo I then pile the rest on and make a big old mess.  Not usually as bad as the pic above ...but close.

I do want to start plating my food better - it really is more enjoyable when it looks pretty.  Well, I think so anyhow.  My husband gives me the 'raised eyebrow, yer kinda nuts' look whenever we eat out and the plates are set on the table and I exclaim "Oh! Look how preeeeeety!" and because I'm hard of hearing [and a nerd] I practically yell it.

So much to say... too tired to say it.

Looking up through the lilacs., originally uploaded by Jess McDougall.

[Please excuse the recycled photo... I have no new photos to share right now.]

Yesterday I started my 6-month LE coaching program with Precision Nutrition.  Six months seems like a long time but it's the right amount of time needed for me to establish new (good) habits and be done with old (bad) habits.  I've always like the way that PN thinks... especially the fact that they'll change their stance on something if new studies provide new data.  Their thinking is very reasonable - I highly recommend you join their site and check out their member forums/blogs.  Good stuff.

Since I'm off to physical therapy in a few I'll give you a foot update.  Foot still sucks.  Trying to be positive -especially since it's better since I started PT but honestly... this 4-6 week recovery has turned into 4-6 months and I'm pretty fed up.  I guess the lesson learned here is that if you don't know how your body will respond to broken bones then you probably shouldn't go breaking five of them at once.  Lesson learned.

I've been busy getting ready for Winter/Spring semester by signing up for a Physical Geology lab on Saturday mornings.  Fun times.  Weekends really should be for relaxing but when I take classes at night I don't get home until 10:00 and that is so much less appealing to me than waking up early on the weekend.  Please remind me I said that next Saturday.

Birthday Weekend Re-cap

originally uploaded by Jess McDougall.

So I decided to make it a birthday weekend.  Why not? You only turn 35 once.  :)  I have to admit that this birthday was stressing me out a bit.  I loved turning 30 but this year I started wondering what happened to years 31, 32, 33 and 34?? Time really does fly.  Thanks to my friends and family I got over the anticipation of turning 35 and just had a great time. 

Friday was my actual birthday and I got some beautiful cards from my girlfriends that I work with, plus a funny book and a piece of (vegan) carrot cake from Krista.  I also received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my mum.  Joe made me a delicious birthday cake (it's not a birthday unless there is cake!) and he took me to Red Rock Bistro on Saturday to celebrate.  We had a bottle of red, a delicious duck confit appetizer and I indulged in homemade pasta with garlic shrimp while Joe ordered the scallops with gnocchi and truffle sauce.  Both meals were delicious! I would have taken a picture to share with you but Joe wouldn't hand me my camera.  Afterward we came home and watched a movie (with the sub-titles turned on!), had a few more cocktails and tried to take pictures of us together. Some of us didn't make it into the photo though. We are ridiculous. It was awesome.

Sunday I rounded out my fantastic birthday weekend on the couch with Joe, knitting and watching the Pats game.  OK, so that last part wasn't so fantastic, haha, but the rest of the weekend was!

Now back to reality.  A reality with no more birthday cake :(

Special Delivery

Special Delivery, originally uploaded by Jess McDougall.

Birthday flowers, from my momma!