You are browsing the Blog for Food - Lindsay's List.

← Previous Entries

wiaw…all the dang thangs

May 8, 2013 in Blog, Body, Breakfast, Coffee, Dessert, Dinner, Food, WIAW

Oh Lordy….today we talk FOOD. And how amazingly delicious it is!!  (how on Earth did I go all of those years restricting myself?!!?  Food is so stinkin’ good!)

I’m on fire about food right now because for the past month, I haven’t really liked it.  Like. At. All.  Extreme nausea and some vomiting will do that to you.  I wanted so badly to share what I was going through with you guys, but I didn’t want to pull you into the pregnancy until I knew I wouldn’t miscarry (and well, we know how that ended).  As with my previous pregnancies, the morning sickness makes me lose about 10 pounds.  I lose my sweet tooth.  I can barely stomach water.  No veggies.  Salty carbs are my friend.  Lots of saltines – I’d be happy if I never saw a saltine again.

But NOW….now that I’m no longer dealing with those pregnancy hormones, I feel back to normal (and yes, I’d much rather be pregnant and sick).  I want eat ALL THE FOODS.  Sweet.  Vegetables.  Lots of water.  My daily green drink.  My protein pancakes.  I love it all.  You don’t understand how much JOY and HAPPINESS food brings you until you can’t stand it anymore.

The joy is back.  And here’s what I’ve been eating:

008

Egg McMuffin, courtesy of a 6am McDonald’s run.

026

Swanson’s Super Green Max powder with Bragg’s ACV

060

Chocolate Chip Clif Bar

059

Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter, courtesy of my best pal.  No spoon required – a finger will do.

054

Banana…don’t mind the chipped nail polish.

031

KIWI!!  My favorite fruit! 

(Makes me want to buy the ingredients for a Fruit Pizza – do you guys like those?)

062061

THE best cookies ever!  And almost gone.

064

Butter Lettuce (yum), Cucumbers, Carrots, Feta, & Hummus Dressing (mix hummus with water)

007

Hillbilly Roasted Marshmallows

013

A bacon quiche, courtesy of Susanna.  Thank you, friend!

043

Plant Fusion Protein Pancake + COOOFFFEEEEE!!

037

A “blessing meal”, courtesy of Heather.  Thank you, friend!

021

Eggs + Quinoa + Mushrooms + Black Beans

033

Had to save the BEST for last.  Ghirardelli brownies + Reese’s PB chips (+ fuzzy slippers)

—————–

What a wonderful thing.  FOOD.  I dare say I’m in love.

QUESTION:  What’s the BEST THING you’ve eaten lately?  (and do you like fruit pizza? if not, leave and never come back.)

splendid…lindsay

34 Comments »

risotto makes us feel better.

April 14, 2013 in Blog, Dinner, Food

It seems like we’re FINALLY on the upswing over here.  All linens have been washed on super hot, the entire house has been disinfected (with heavy duty Lysol – I don’t mess around!) and all of us have our cheery (overly talkative) demeanors back.

Another thing that is back?  OUR APPETITES!  My kids were STARVING come yesterday.  All I could think to serve was something comforting.  Comfort food for me comes in the form of mashed potatoes and gravy, chicken pot pie or a creamy risotto.  RISOTTO was something I had all the ingredients – arborio rice, cheese and a few vegetables on hand.  When I was in Vegas for IHRSA, a bunch of my co-trainers went out to Tom Colicchio’s Craftsteak restaurant at the MGM, one of the best chef restaurants in Vegas, and I remember one of the girls saying that the risotto there was top notch.  I tried to find Tom’s recipe, but to no avail.  Instead, I found this Spring Green Risotto recipe from Food Network and I thought I’d share it with you guys.  We had this for dinner last night and it was absolutely perfect – warm and creamy.  No extras needed – this was the main course.  The perfect comfort food!

Spring Green Risotto

From Food Network

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
  • 1 cup chopped fennel
  • 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
  • 2/3 cup dry white wine
  • 4 to 5 cups simmering chicken stock, preferably homemade
  • 1 pound thin asparagus
  • 10 ounces frozen peas, defrosted, or 1 1/2 cups shelled fresh peas
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese, preferably Italian
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh chives, plus extra for serving

Directions

Heat the olive oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and fennel and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, until tender. Add the rice and stir for a minute to coat with the vegetables, oil, and butter. Add the white wine and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until most of the wine has been absorbed. Add the chicken stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring almost constantly and waiting for the stock to be absorbed before adding more. This process should take 25 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the asparagus diagonally in 1 1/2-inch lengths and discard the tough ends. Blanch in boiling salted water for 4 to 5 minutes, until al dente. Drain and cool immediately in ice water. (If using fresh peas, blanch them in boiling water for a few minutes until the starchiness is gone.)

When the risotto has been cooking for 15 minutes, drain the asparagus and add it to the risotto with the peas, lemon zest, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Continue cooking and adding stock, stirring almost constantly, until the rice is tender but still firm.

Whisk the lemon juice and mascarpone together in a small bowl. When the risotto is done, turn off the heat and stir in the mascarpone mixture plus the Parmesan cheese and chives. Set aside, off the heat, for a few minutes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve hot with a sprinkling of chives and more Parmesan cheese.

**Thanks goes to the Food Network for providing the recipe for this perfect comfort food!

———-

QUESTION:  Have you ever made risotto?  What is your perfect comfort food?

splendid…lindsay

7 Comments »

wiaw…come grocery shopping with me!

April 3, 2013 in Blog, Diet, Food, Lists, WIAW

After a week of every day rehearsals and then a trip to Vegas, our fridge and pantry looked like something out of The Walking Dead last week.  Bone barren. And unlike the Walking Dead, my family actually likes to eat real food.  So a trip to the store was made and I thought I’d share what I bought.

Friends and clients often ask me to show them how to grocery shop.  I’ve even “trained” a few clients IN the grocery store – instead of working out, we meet at the grocery store and we walk up and down the aisles.  Most people just don’t KNOW what to buy when it comes to healthy eating.  In fact, I recently ran into a newer client at the store and she was quite proud of her shopping cart – it was full of “healthy, low fat” items <-her words, not mine.  When I looked inside, I saw nutrition bars, “low-fat” white bread, “low-fat” snack mix, yogurt covered raisins, etc.  No veggies.  No fruits.  No lean meat.  I told her I’d bring her shopping with me next time. :)

Anyway, here’s what I bought:

004

Shopping List (if marked through, that means it either wasn’t on sale or I had to go to a different store.)

  • Apples
  • Bananas
  • Clementines
  • Grapefruit
  • Berries (if on sale)
  • Spinach
  • Beets
  • Broccoli
  • Spaghetti Squash
  • Carrots
  • Avocado (x3)
  • Naked Juice for Kombucha
  • Prunes
  • Figs
  • Dates
  • Lean Ground Turkey
  • Lean Ground Beef
  • Chicken Breast
  • Eggs (x2)
  • Egg Whites
  • Roasted Almonds
  • Natural Peanut Butter
  • Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
  • Soy Crisps
  • Bragg’s ACV
  • Nature’s Path Cereal
  • Brown Sugar

For H & C

  • Mac N Cheese
  • Baby Carrots
  • Cereal
  • String Cheese

The Haul:

029

032

Clockwise from the top: Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, Organic Whole Milk, Free Range Eggs, Cage Free Liquid Egg Whites, 99% Lean Ground Turkey, Golden Delicious Apples, Beets, Lemon, Carrots, Bananas, Strawberries, String Cheese, Baby Carrots.

034

Clockwise from the top:  Figs, Dates, Shampoo, Natural Peanut Butter, Soy Crisps, Green Pepper, Avocado, Grapefruit, Wasabi Edamame Hummus (yum!), Luna Bars, Albacore Tuna, Low Sodium Almonds.

035

Clockwise from the top:  Nature’s Path Millet Rice cereal (my favorite!), Mom’s Best Toasty O’s, Triscuits, Quinoa, Broccoli, Ginger Aid tea.

Check out how much I saved with coupons and my bonuscard! $41.09!  Go here for my couponing tips!

030

Let me be frank here – I’m not always a saint in the grocery store, but it isn’t because I’m “nutrition-ignorant.” Sometimes I simply choose to look the other way and grab the yogurt covered raisins. There’s an important difference there.  I think that we can EDUCATE people about how to eat healthier, but then it’s up to THEM whether or not they choose to put that education into PRACTICE.  Same goes for fitness – I can meet with a client 2 times a week, but what really makes the difference in their body composition is how they PRACTICE the education that they receive from me.

I suppose practice really does make perfect.

QUESTION:  How often do you grocery shop?  Do you coupon?

splendid…lindsay

34 Comments »

one of the best decisions i ever made…

March 18, 2013 in Best Decisions, Blog, Blogging, Body, Diet, ED, Food, Inspiration

Remember when I put the call out for guest posts a week or so ago??  I got SO many responses that I’ll probably be featuring one a week for the next 6 months (THANK YOU!!!!)  I thought I’d kick off the, “Best Decisions,” series by writing one myself.  I have one to share with you this week and if you’re in a place where I was just 5 years ago, you might NEED to read this.

purple_box-008

One of the best decisions I ever made was purposely DITCHING THE MATH.

Let me elaborate…

I’ve talked about my ED numerous times before, but for new readers (HI!), you might not be aware of my history (go here for the full series).  Basically, from my Junior year in High School until my Sophomore year in college (so 4 years), I had an eating disorder (anorexia & bulimia).  It started out as most ED’s do – with a DIET.  I remember wanting to get skinnier for Cross Country season and to do so, for the first time in my (albeit short) life, I started paying attention to food.  I turned every package over and read the label.  Not only did I read those numbers, but I MEMORIZED the fat grams, calories and sugar content of probably 20 different foods.  20 food items doesn’t sound like a lot – because it isn’t.  When you have disordered eating habits, you stick with the same boring foods, over and over and over again.  Because they’re safe.

Because you’ve done the math on them.

For four years (and honestly, for four more after that), I did my math.  I counted every calorie that I put into my starving/angry/despondent body.  Going out to eat or to parties were not in my comfort zone.  I hadn’t done the math for those foods.  How could I really KNOW?!!?  How could I be in control?!?

Looking back, I wouldn’t say those years were lifeless or horrible – I had friendships and love and laughter.  Instead, I would say that I was ignorant.  And very lost.

When I turned a corner on my ED and started to recover, I had to ditch the math.  Counting calories just wasn’t conducive to my recovery.  It was hard at first and even now, my tendency is to be intrigued by apps like MyFitnessPal (downloaded it, had to delete it) and other numbers-based programs.  If I’m doing my math, I’m easily hyperfocused on those numbers.  This is the exact opposite approach that I would give to any weight loss client – we track food, we write everything down.  Tracking can be a great and valuable tool in the right hands.

391

I know enough about myself to KNOW that those aren’t my hands.  In my hands, I turn these types of things into IDOLS.

These days, I eat intuitively.  My focus is on whole foods, but I’m flexible in my approach.  I’ve ditched the math – I go to functions and don’t have to bring my “safe” foods with me.  It has taken YEARS to get to this place.  I just want to encourage anyone who might be reading – if you’re stuck in a place where DOING THE MATH is controlling your life and your food choices….STOP!  Delete the apps, throw out the journal and start TRUSTING your body to know when it’s full and what it craves.

The math might steer you in a completely wrong direction….but I promise you, that your body will not.

QUESTION:  Do you count calories?  Can you do this safely and without addiction??  <-email me please if you need any further suggestions!

splendid…lindsay

35 Comments »

← Previous Entries