Last week I admitted the SHOCKING SECRET that I don't like the taste of most animal proteins--clear exceptions: bacon & ham. Then the Protein Mafia (Andrea, Diana, Keri, Rejo, Emily) weighed in with helpful suggestions. I'm starting to think that they are also secretly the Greek Yogurt Lobby and I'M ON TO YOU, LADIES. But seriously, thank you for your recommendations. Here's what they suggested:
- Eat Greek Yogurt or Greek Yogurt equivalent! (Did it!)
- Combine Greek Yogurt with protein powder for a dessert-like snack! (Bought the protein powder to try it)
- Pour some Greek Yogurt in your coffee! Wait, no, that was pour some protein shake in your coffee! (Bought 2 premiere vanilla shakes to try it this week)
- Try this Egg Roll in a Bowl recipe! (Got the ingredients to make it this week.)
- Give Beth Feraco Fitness a listen! (OMG I love her. She is very cussy, though, so if that's a deal-breaker for you, you've been warned.)
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| AI's hot take on the amount of Greek yogurt I should eat. Also I told AI that I would never have bangs again, but it didn't believe me. |
What I'm Eating
Well, Greek Yogurt, duh. I got some Greek yogurt (which fits the bill for both "more protein" and "more fermented foods") but I like it with granola. So I made my own! I've combined a number of recipes over the years, and here's what works for me:
Alyssa's Homemade Granola (12 servings of about 1/4 cup each)
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds, or seeds of your choice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey (I used almond honey that I get from the Bee Folks at the Maryland Renn Fest--honestly, someone should call the police about how much honey I buy from them)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup craisins...or more, let the spirit move you
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan, stir the oil, sugar, honey, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla together for 2-3 minutes over medium heat until it's melty. Next, combine the oats & seeds and pour the oil/sugar/seasoning mix on it, stir to combine. Spread the mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir in the craisins. Let it cool and then store it in a jar or container of your choosing. If stored properly, it will last for 4 weeks!
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| So easy, even a woman who hates baking can do it! |
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| Yum. |
Then for football watching, I made one of my favorite Pampered Chef recipes: Touchdown Taco Dip! I lightened this up/added some protein by using fat free refried beans, plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, light cream cheese, 2% shredded cheese, and I doubled the veggies (tomatoes, green onions, cilantro).
And finally, I made this Navy Bean & Bacon Soup and it's super tasty! I didn't use the spinach because I just don't like spinach in soups. I promise to eat it with some veggies though.
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| Photo by Skinnytaste. |
Here's what the week in food looked like. I definitely ate more protein and less Toblerone, so that was a win!
Monday
- Breakfast - Greek yogurt (gotta keep the Yogurt Mafia happy), berries, wheat toast
- Lunch - Potato soup that was made with cauliflower and Greek yogurt (please don't murder me, Protein Mafia), wheat crackers, fresh veggies and just 1 triangle of Toblerone because I HID THE TOBLERONE Y'ALL
- Dinner - Hello Fresh Oven baked "fried" chicken, green beans, roasted potatoes
- Snack - Green tea, thin mints, chips & salsa
Tuesday
- Breakfast - Greek yogurt (hiiiiiiiiii Protein Mafia), an apple, whole grain toast, coffee with vanilla soy milk
- Lunch - Potato soup, whole grain crackers, blueberries, grape tomatoes, baby carrots
- Snack - Buffalo chicken dip made with, you guessed it--Greek yogurt, celery sticks, Fritos
- Dinner - A Hello Fresh dish that had fried chicken pieces, rice, a vinegar based slaw, radishes, and lettuce. Pluuuuuuus some Toblerone.
Wednesday
- Breakfast - Sleeping? Then, coffee with vanilla soy milk.
- Lunch - Potato soup, whole grain crackers, grape tomatoes, blueberries
- Dinner - Hello Fresh Asian inspired meatballs, white rice, cucumber & carrot salad
- Snack - Laughing Cow cheese wedge, crackers, apple, Thin Mints
Thursday
- Breakfast - Whole grain toast (sorry Protein Mafia, I ran out of Greek yogurt today!), raspberries, coffee with vanilla soy milk
- Lunch - Working?
- Snack - Nachos, half an apple, a clementine
- Dinner - Spicy tuna and avocado sushi, miso soup with tofu
Friday
- Breakfast - FEAR NOT, I HAVE PROCURED MORE GREEK YOGURT. So I had that, whole grain toast, raspberries & blueberries, coffee with vanilla soy milk.
- Lunch - Chris picked up lunch for us from Odd BBQ which is delicious but certainly not health food. So I practiced portion control and only ate half of my pulled pork platter.
- Dinner - Costco thin crust pepperoni and more sliced veggies (tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers) than you could shake a stick at.
Saturday
- Brunch - Mediterranean frittata with field greens & an apple cider mocktail from Burtons. (They just started doing brunch and it was tasty!)
- Snack #1 - Greek yogurt with homemade granola and berries
- Dinner - Penne with marinara and salad
- Snack #2 - Slice of leftover thin crust pepperoni pizza and some dates
How I'm Exercising
I'm excited to tell y'all about this. There's an app called Step Bet where you place a $40 bet that you'll walk a certain number of steps 6 days a week for 6 weeks. Your steps are based on historic activity, and honestly, mine is pretty damn low because I work from home and get sucked into my laptop. Which is really bad for you. Whoever said "sitting is the new smoking" was totally right. And look, I love not commuting, being able to make lunch in my own kitchen each day, being able to wear jeans & a sweater and NO SHOES, saving money on gas and car maintenance, etc. So lots of benefits, but you have to be intentional about getting up and moving.
ANYWAY, back to Step Bet. If you win, you get your $40 back PLUS the money that anyone who lost the bet forfeited. (Step Bet also takes a 15% cut from the pot if you're a not a member, or charges a $60 annual fee for members, but you always get your $40 back if you are successful.) I did this in November/December and earned $5.74! Which look, you're not gonna get rich doing this, but it's good motivation and a 15% return on my investment. Here's how I did this week:
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| I'm still in it! |
I also did more Yoga with Kassandra - Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | And look, I just keep doing Day 3 because I love it so much.
Several of you have chatted me to say how approachable you're finding yin yoga which yay! I actually started out with yin yoga, which is slow paced, meditative yoga that helps increase circulation in the joints and improving flexibility. The first time I went to a "regular" yoga class I was so lost. I thought "why are these people moving so fast and using their core muscles so much?"
I'm clearly not a yoga teacher, but a few tips if you want to give yin yoga a try:
- This is not a stretching contest - First, it doesn't matter how flexible you are, there are no prizes for stretching the furthest. Some poses I can do the most challenging version of and hold for a long time. Some poses (looking at you, seated forward fold!) I can still only bend forward a few inches from a seated position while everyone else has their forehead on the floor and that's totally fine. Stretch to an intensity level of 5 or 6 and back off right away if you ever feel pain. You can also come out of the pose and go back into it.
- You're in control - If there's all or part of a pose you don't want to do, then don't! In Day 4, there's a couple of seconds where she extends each leg towards the sky. I don't. I stay in downward dog (which is challenging enough for me because I have tight hamstrings) and I "walk the dog," meaning that I alternate dropping my heels closer to the floor, one at a time.
- You don't need to buy equipment - She's doing this without props (blocks, bolster, strap, blanket), but for some of the poses, props would be helpful. You don't need to buy anything though. Need a block? Roll up a bath towel or two, or use a firm pillow or couch cushion. Need a strap? Use a scarf, bathrobe belt, even a pair of tights or leggings!
- There's an "easy mode" - If you like the slow, stretching aspect of yin but need something more entry-level, look for yoga videos that are either "chair yoga" or "restorative yoga." This is also a great thing to do when you are under the weather or really just need your central nervous system to chill.
How I'm Being Sustainable - Financially, Composting, Owning a Reasonable Amount of Things
I did two minor things in this arena this week, but still, it's progress!
- The Foreign Currency Hunt Continued - I found another $76 in the house from a long ago trip to Canada and deposited it in the bank.
- Remembered to Return Something! For Christmas, I was looking for a stocking stuffer for Chris when I ordered a few things from Wal-Mart. I ended up buying this hot sauce set and then not giving it to him because the #2 result on Google for it is a blog post about just how terrible it is. At any rate, when I went to return it, Wal-Mart was like "here's your money back, you can just keep that." So now I have $19.54 and some really bad hot sauce.
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| The worst hot sauce some guy on the internet has ever tasted. |
