Hey remember that time I said I was ADD and get bored easily; I think this explains some of my food problems. I can’t stand eating the same thing every day. I feel this is where my biggest failure lies. I also have the problem of not packing enough, or more specifically, not enough protein, resulting in hunger all day. Yesterday I brought a Reduced Fat PB & No Sugar Added Jam sandwich on Whole Wheat Bread. While this may seem decent, I feel on days when I work out in the mornings, it is not filling enough and it can be monotonous. I sadly went and got Wendy’s in addition to my sandwich. I feel that was all due to poor planning on my part.
I understand the concept of healthy eating; lean proteins to help keep you full, fruits and veggies for vitamins and whole grains for fiber and other nutrients. I really, truly try to follow a healthy food lifestyle, but I tend to fall into ruts and use the junk food ladder to climb out of the rut. I know it’s bad. I plan ahead for our dinners, which is helpful and I try to plan ahead for lunches. Even if I plan ahead I sometimes stumble, the days I don’t plan a head I flop around like a fish out of water. Some days I pack many protein snacks: a small bit of cheese, a few nuts, PB, etc, all in moderation of course, as I painstakingly count out my nuts to not exceed 100 calories depending on the nut. There are days where I fail to leave myself enough time to pack said snacks, and only a wee sandwich makes it into my lunch bag.
Tonight I am going to do two things to help ensure I have a yummy tasting, different, leanish protein for lunch for the rest of the week. I am going to make healthy-ish crab cakes (from a can, save me the lecture you foodies, this can cost me $3 which is a splurge for me, so buying fresh crab is out of the question). Crab is very low in calories, so as long as I don’t add too much crap it should be healthy. And I am going to make healthy-ish egg salad for a whole wheat sandwich. Maybe that is still boring for you but I seldom have egg salad so I find it interesting!
Crab Cakes
The crab cakes I am going with my Mom’s recipe (I don’t know where it came from, if she just made it up from a few I don’t know)
1 can of crab (70 calories for the can)
1/3 of a cup of whole wheat bread crumbs (About 65 calories)
1 large egg (70 calories)
2 tbs Chopped green onion
2 tbs Chopped red bell pepper
1 tsp Garlic Powder
½ tsp Cayenne
1 tbs of olive oil for browning. Cook on medium for 4 to 5 minutes on each side until they brown.
Can be prepared a head of time and warmed up later.
Makes about 2 to 3 medium sized crab cakes.
Total – About 250 calories, for the whole thing! Which leaves me room for my fruit and a small snack to make for a 400 calorie lunch!
Egg Salad.
Here is my beef with egg salad; I despise the texture of the white part of the egg once it has been hard-boiled. I had a friend who was mocking her husband for pureeing the whole boiled egg in the food processor, laughing at him as the rubbery egg white was completely pulverized. This seemed right up my alley! Grant it, it’s almost like mayo when you are done. However, it’s good as you don’t have to add mayo, which makes it healthier and I can enjoy the healthy benefits of the egg white without getting grossed out by the rubbery texture. I like to add a tbs of green relish to the mixture to help keep it moist (plus green relish only has 5 calories per 1 tbs) I like to season with cayenne (it’s my favourite seasoning) Yum, I wish I had made this last night for today’s lunch. (I will be doubling this recipe in order to get a wrap for tomorrow and a sandwich for Friday)
1 large egg – 70 calories
1 tbs green relish - 5 calories
Sprinkle of Cayenne – 0 calories
Medium sized Whole Wheat Wrap – 190 calories (I could use two slices of Whole Wheat bread for 65 calories a piece)
Total – About 265 calories! Which leaves me room for my fruit and a small snack to make for a 400 calorie lunch!
There, now that I planned it, I have to follow, especially since I put it out in the internet world! I suppose that is what this blog is for, to help keep me accountable!