2012 is Marching On

Can you believe its March already?!  That just blows my mind.

This morning oatmeal was back on the menu.  It's been a little while (ok really, it's been exactly one week) since I made a good old bowl of oatmeal so I decided to end the streak with a cinnamony bowl.  I had a couple of slightly-overripe bananas so I went with my favorite, quick and simple no-sugar-added method to caramelize them for topping the oatmeal.  They add such delightful sweetness that I go light on the sugar that I add to my oatmeal.

I topped the whole glorious mess with Trader Joe's Legendary Nut and Berry Mix which contains almonds, cranberries, raisins, cashews, blueberries walnuts and raspberries.

It was heaven in a bowl.

Cinnamon Spiced Oatmeal with Caramelized Bananas
serves 1

1/2 ripe banana, sliced into approximately 1/2'' thick slices

non-stick cooking spray

1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal (make sure to use gluten-free oatmeal, if desired)
1 cup water
pinch salt
3 tablespoons egg whites (or the white from 1 large egg, this is completely optional and doesn't really affect the flavor in my opinion, I add it for extra protein)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
drizzle of maple syrup (about 1 teaspoon but really, to taste) or sweetener of your choice:  agave, honey, brown sugar or stevia)
splash of vanilla extract

trail mix, nuts/fruit, milk, non-dairy milk, granola, etc. - optional, for garnish

First, make the caramelized bananas:  Heat a spritz of non-stick cooking oil spray in a skillet over medium-high heat and add the sliced bananas.  Cook 1-2 minutes, checking that they are not burning and adjust heat as necessary to allow the bananas to turn golden but not burn.  Flip banana slices once using tongs and caramelize on the other side for 1-2 minutes.

Bring the oatmeal, water and salt to a boil in a small pot over high heat.  Reduce heat, add egg whites (if using) and simmer 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened.  Stir in cinnamon, maple syrup (or sweetener of your choice) and vanilla extract.  Remove from heat and serve, topped with the caramelized bananas and additional toppings as desired.

Do you have a favorite Trail Mix?  

I am currently loving the Trader Joe's Legendary Nut and Berry Mix but really my favorites are anything that has a blend of dried fruit and nuts and nothing else.  That's not to say I don't enjoy trail mix with chocolate or  a trail mix that is more salty/savory but I usually go with a pure and simple nut/fruit blend.  No added sugar.

Short Stack

After seeing Kath and Cait build lovely stacks of waffles for breakfast lately, and realizing that I too, had a box of Kashi waffles in my very own freezer, well there was nothing anybody could have done to stop me.

Two Kashi 7-grain waffles are a serving size (!) so I toasted them up and stacked them with some plain Fage 2% greek yogurt and sliced strawberries in between the waffles and on top.  And added a small dollop of TJ's unsweetened almond butter.

My breakfast short stack was not very sweet (two waffles only have 3 grams of sugar), which was perfect for me but others with a sweeter palate may like a drizzle of honey or maple syrup on top too.  It has been a long time since I've eaten frozen waffles (or any waffles for that matter) but these tasted delicious and smelled heavenly while they toasted, which really increased the anticipation and overall experience.

Here's another fun idea for how to dress your waffles:  top them with a fried egg!  Inspired by Dana's (gorgeous) pancakes of yesterday.

After breakfast I hurried off to a doctor's appointment.  I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about the reason for my doctor's visit on the blog just yet, it's personal and I need to wrap my head around it first.

I hit the gym after my stressful morning at the clinic, which was perfect because it helped me blow off some steam.  I started off with a 1 mile run around the track @ 8 min/mile pace.  It felt good but honestly, it's already starting to get too hot outside to do any running after 9 or 10 am.  It was already 80 degrees outside at 11 am!

Today's workout in the gym was Day 23 Back & Biceps which you can see here.  After 4 days off from lifting weights today's workout was really good.  I felt strong and I was able to increase my weights on a couple of the exercises.  Progress!  I finished up with a fast 1.5 mile run on the treadmill at 7:30 min/mile pace.

I'm not a fan of running on the treadmill AT ALL but now that its starting to get so hot and humid outside it looks like if I want to continue running I might have to take it indoors :-/  Either that or start waking up before dawn, and I am NOT a morning person.

Lunch was A-MAZ-ING.  No lie.  A-freaking-mazing.

Small whole wheat tortilla (actually it's one of these Mission Ancient Grains tortillas*) with a schmear of Trader Joe's Edamame Hummus (I've posted about it before, here), organic baby romaine lettuce, sliced tomato, cucumber and orange bell pepper with one piece of CRISPY bacon.  

*FYI I'm not recommending the Mission Ancient Grains tortillas.  I picked them out when I was in a hurry and didn't really look at the ingredients (my mistake).  It contains a LOT of preservatives and un-prounouncable words which for me is a total NO-NO :-/

On the side:  a Fuji apple and some of my Cinnamon Almond Butter Dip.  And a can of La Croix COCONUT sparkling water.  Love this stuff (Zero sugar, Zero artificial sweeteners, just water and the taste of coconuts!)

I just have to take a moment to tell you how much I love bacon.  Real bacon, that is.  Yes, I know everyone loves bacon but I just wanted to tell you that I love it and I think real, high-quality bacon does have a place in a healthy diet.  Shocked?!  My rational goes like this:  ONE slice of delicious bacon has SO MUCH flavor that it's all you really need to eat.  I'd have to eat 3 or 4 slices of turkey bacon or faux-bacon to get even half as much flavor and satisfying salty, smokey crunch as one piece of the real thing.  And why would I want to eat 3 or 4 slices of those faux foods anyway?!  [Steps down off soap-box]

To eat the bacon veggie wrap I folded up the tortilla around it and shoved it in my mouth.  It's just laying there flat for the photos.

Later on, I'll have a recipe to share for Sneaky-Healthy Blondies that I made yesterday.  I was prepared for them to turn out gross but they were actually really good so I'm willing to share the recipe with you.  Check back later today for the recipe!

What are you loving at lunch time these days?  I'm usually a big salad person but today I needed something with a little more staying power.  This bacon and veggie wrap nailed it!

Early Monday Morning Wakeup

You'll have to forgive me for today's scatter-brained post.  I was up waaaay before the sunrise this morning.

Last week I told my sister-in-law I would drive her to the airport this morning for an early morning flight to Boston.  Waking up at 5 am didn't sound so bad until last night when I was up watching the Oscars until 11:30. Meh...

As I've mentioned before, I'm usually more inclined to eat a HOT breakfast than a cold bowl of cereal in the morning.  For some reason the cereal never does the job at keeping me full until lunch time.

I'm sure that has more to do with the particular cereal (i.e. fiber content, protein content, whole grains vs. processed, etc.) than the fact that it's cold.

This morning I decided to try a new cereal I bought at Trader Joe's the other weekend:  Nature's Path Optimum Power Blueberry Cinnamon Flax.

I loved its subtle blueberry flavor, and all of the different textures from its crunchy flakes and puffy Kamut grains to the fiber "twigs".  Not too sweet but just sweet enough.  I loved it.

Loaded the bowl up with 3/4 cup cereal, Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla almond milk, a pile of strawberries and a tiny dollop of natural peanut butter.

I had two hard boiled eggs on the side (not pictured), water and coffee.

It kept me full all morning long!

Give the Blueberry Cinnamon Flax cereal a try next time you're in the cereal aisle looking for something different.  I really loved the taste and it's the first cereal to keep me full for longer than an hour or two.  Sweet!

P.S.  This is not a sponsored post (Ha! As if companies send me free products to review!)  I paid for the cereal and just so happen to like Nature's Path cereal and granola so I wanted to share that with you.


Today was supposed to be a legs workout but since my race is in LESS than a week (yikes!) I want to make sure not to overdo it in the gym.  I'm going to take it easy with a 3 mile run and take Hudson for a good 3 mile walk.  Tomorrow I'll be back in the gym with some upper-body stuff (back and biceps).

Hmm what other random tid-bits did I want to mention?  Oh!  I've been listening to the Joy the Baker Podcasts on my iPhone when I walk Hudson.  Hi-lar-ious!  Like, I find myself LOLing all the time listening to Joy and Tracey from Shutterbean just ramble on about random things (often not cooking-related).  It's a fun change of pace from my usual Pandora streaming.  Check them out if you want to laugh :-)

For dinner the other night I made BLTs.  But not just any BLTs, these had grilled chicken, avocado and homemade creamy basil pesto on it.  Whoa momma it was good.  I love BLTs because you can legit get away with eating a BLT any time of the day without it being wrong.  Don't worry, I'll share the recipe with you.  Because, well, that's what I do.  

Oh AND some roasted vegetable pasta salad.  Patience, my friends.  It'll be worth it. 

Hope your week is off to a great start!

Hot (Pita) Pocket

This morning I woke up sore, like hit-by-a-mack-truck sore.  I am feeling muscles on the outsides of my hips that I had forgotten existed (Gluteus Medius for you physical therapy peeps out there!).  Probably due to the single-leg dead-lifts from yesterday's Leg Workout.  That exercise showed me just how bad my balance is - I was wobbling all over the place!  I am going to start to incorporate exercises that work specifically on my balance and core control in upright single-limb stance a couple of times a week in the gym, probably using the Bosu available there.

Breakfast this morning was a Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Pita that I split in half and toasted.  I was feeling a little indecisive about what I wanted on it so I topped half with Trader Joe's Unsalted Almond Butter + sliced banana and the other half Almond Butter + Strawberry Jam.  For a little texture I added a sprinkling of my Nature's Path Pumpkin Flax granola and for protein had two hardboiled eggs with S+P.  Coffee x2 and water (as usual).

I know you're supposed to put the stuff on the inside of the pita bread (that's what the pocket is there for) but I think you can taste it better when it's on top!  

I picked up these Pitas from Trader Joe's because of the short and easily-pronounced ingredient list.  Plus they have 4 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber for one pita and 0 grams of sugar - and just 100 calories. I'd say that's a pretty good nutritional bargain ;-)  They tasted great too!

I've mentioned before how I'm a huge fan of Trader Joe's Almond Butter.  It's 100% almonds, no salt, no sugar, no artificial ingredients or oils.  And I'm a fan of it's price tag compared to the same thing at Whole Foods!

I'm off to start my day, make sure to check back later this afternoon for a really delicious Quinoa-Oatmeal Cookie recipe!  It will not disappoint!

Product Review: ThinkThin High Protein Bar

Whoa there, hold on.  Let's pump the brakes here for a minute.

Now I know you're thinking "But Julia, didn't you already review thinkThin bars?"

Aha!  As a matter of fact, I did already review thinkThin bars - the crunch bars (read my review here).

This time I am reviewing their 'High Protein Bar' - big difference, let me assure you.

After picking up one of each (crunch bar and high protein bar) the other day I finally had the chance to try their Chunky Peanut Butter flavor High Protein Bar.  The weather was so gorgeous here this weekend that after running errands around town on Sunday, Brian and I decided to grab Hudson, some reading material and a couple of beach chairs and spend a few hours just relaxing in the sun.  We headed on base and set up our chairs in the grass right overlooking the Tampa Bay.  I can't think of a better way to enjoy a lazy sunday with the two guys I love best....

I'd had a light lunch earlier in the day but knew I would be hungry again before dinner time so I packed my ThinkThin Chunky Peanut Butter High Protein Bar in my purse along with Marion Nestle's What to Eat (I didn't say it was light reading material) and a water bottle.  (Finally finished that clunker of a book by the way - whoohoo!).  Since my lunch had been a little light on protein I decided the thinkThin bar would help bring me back into balance and give me a couple of hours of satiety until we got home and had time to prepare dinner (Blackened Wild Alaskan Salmon with Kale and Brown Rice Pilaf - soo good!)

First off, this bar is very different from the thinkThin Crunch product I reviewed the other day.  Even though both had Chocolate and Peanut in the title, the Crunch bar was very much a nut bar with some protein - basically think a bunch of nuts glued together, then dipped in chocolate, while the Chunky Peanut Butter High Protein Bar is a soft-textured, peanut butter flavored protein bar, dipped in chocolate.  The differences between the two go well beyond texture though, to flavor and nutrition content.

I will say right up front that if you are very sensitive to the taste of artificial sweeteners (as in, you avoid artificially-sweetened foods that taste artificial) you will not like this product.  It reminded me of an artificially-sweetened Reece's peanut butter cup (albeit with a higher protein content) - a soft, peanut butter flavored center with a few very small chunks of peanut throughout - dipped in chocolate.  Don't think chunky peanut butter-texture, it's not nearly that full of peanuts.  In fact, I counted maybe 10 small pieces in the whole bar, so I think calling it Chunky Peanut Butter flavor is a bit misleading.  But even though I'm comparing it to a Reece's peanut butter cup, this definitely tastes like a protein bar.  Not bad, just don't eat it thinking it'll be a healthier substitute for your favorite candy (sorry!).

The texture was, as I already mentioned, soft and chewy.  Maybe that's why the artificial flavor dominated here more than with the thinkThin Crunch product - no crunching to distract you from the flavor (?).  Plus, it's crammed with twice the amount of protein than the thinkThin crunch (20 grams in the High Protein bar compared to 10 in the thinkThin Crunch) so all that protein has to taste like something, and in this case it just tastes like "protein blend" (Casein, Whey and Soy proteins - you know what this tastes like if you eat a lot of protein bars).

As with the thinkThin Crunch, with the High Protein Bar I was hoping for a satisfying snack that would hold me at least 2 hours until my next meal.  The thinkThin High Protein Bar delivered on that point while the thinkThin Crunch left me unsatisfied and looking for something else to eat.  I definitely felt like I had just eaten a substantial snack with this bar and there was no need to keep snacking once I had finished it.  I guess that's what 20 grams of protein will do for you!

The other good points:  the nutrition label.  With 240 calories, 8 grams of fat, 20 grams of protein and 0 grams of sugar this is a great choice for someone looking to supplement their diet with a lot of protein on the go, without spiking their blood sugar.  That being said, this product contains 11 grams of sugar alcohols which, while they don't impact blood sugar level like sugar, they can give some people digestive issues when consumed in a large quantity (I also mentioned this in my previous product review of the thinkThin Crunch).

My overall impression of the thinkThin High Protein Bar is that while it is a great source of protein and quite filling, some people will not be able to get past the artificial taste of the Malitol used to sweeten it combined with the taste of the protein blend used.  That being said, I would probably give it another shot if I needed a filling, high-protein snack, but I would definitely try one of their other flavors before I'd go back to the Chunky Peanut Butter flavor (the High Protein bar also comes in 11 other flavors including Brownie Crunch, White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Lemon Cream Pie and Chocolate Espresso to name a few).  At $1.67 each (at my local grocery store), the price is on-par with other protein bars offered and kept the hunger-sharks away for about 2 hours.  I'd give it a B-.

Product Review: thinkThin crunch

I've decided to start doing Product Reviews here on the blog.  As part of my New Year's Resolutions I am trying to get past my inner fear that people don't care what I have to say.  I am my harshest critic and frequently play the same inner monologue that goes a little something like this:

Me:  "I'd like to share advice on X,Y, or Z"

Me:  "Um, but WHY would anyone care what you have to say.  You're not an expert at anything."

Me:  "Well, but I have a valid opinion and have done a lot of reading and personal research on the subject"

Me:  "Right, well you certainly don't know nearly enough about it to offer anyone practical advice on anything.  And not only that but what if someone reads your review and disagrees, then what?  Then you're going to feel shot-down.  Just don't do it, it's safer if you just keep your opinions to yourself."

Me:  "You're right.  The less controversial, the better."

That was Old Julia.  2011-Julia.  And 2012-Julia shares her opinion on this here blog.  It will always be just that, my opinion, but for some people that might be valid and interesting and give them something to consider.  And that's exactly what I hope for.

For my first product review, I wanted to comment on the thinkThin crunch - the lower sugar nut bar.  I tried the 1.41 oz Chocolate Dipped Mixed Nuts variety which I picked up from my local Publix store for $1.67 (regular price, not on sale).  I am usually pretty good about either eating right before leaving the house to run errands so I avoid hunger during shopping trips (never a good thing) or packing a portable snack to munch if I do feel famished.  Today, my errands were supposed to be quick:  run into Marshall's to make a return and then hit Publix for a chicken (tonight's dinner is chicken soup with my Grandma's kreplah!).  Well, I should have known that a "quick" trip to Marshall's is basically impossible since they always have new stuff to check out.  (Side note:  Marshall's is just like Target in that I will always go in with a clear idea in mind of exactly what I need and I always leave with at least 2 or 3 additional items that I see and simply cannot live without.)

Before I knew it, my "quick" trip turned into the better part of an hour and I was feeling some strong hunger pangs as I roamed through Publix to pick up the chicken and some cough drops (we're both a little under the weather here at the Chadwick house).  I enjoy having a stash of healthy snack bars in my purse for times like these and since I am almost out of Larabars at home I decided I could pick up a few to restock.  

I had seen the thinkThin brand of nutrition bars before had never tried it.  This time though, it caught my eye, as a friend had recently posted on Facebook about buying them by the case because she loves them so much.  A personal recommendation is usually enough to push me to try anything once, especially if I was on the fence but considering trying it anyway.  So I perused the flavors and decided on the thinkThin crunch Chocolate Dipped Mixed nuts variety for now and a thinkThin Chunky Peanut Butter High Protein Bar for later (2.1 oz size, also $1.67) , along with a Banana Bread Larabar for keeping in my purse (since I almost never see the Banana Bread flavor I couldn't resist it at $1.25 each).  

As soon as I got back to the car I unwrapped the thinkThin Crunch bar and went to town.  First impression:  it SURE is crunchy.  Not like a regular chewy nutrition bar, with this one you bite into it and it breaks off, so probably not for people who can't handle especially hard, crunchy textures but I enjoyed it since it didn't feel like I was eating a "nutrition bar".  This bar also had large nuts and nut pieces throughout it - almonds, cashews and peanuts according to the label, but I really could only pick out the almonds and peanuts.  Anytime my food looks like real food, I am happy.  Especially if it IS a processed, packaged snack food (which this is).  

The bottom of the bar was coated in a semi-sweet "chocolate" coating (I used quotations there because malitol, not sugar, is used to sweeten the chocolate).  Malitol is a sugar substitute which has fewer calories than sugar and has a lower impact on blood sugar level than sugar.  Please be aware that some people should not or may not wish to consume malitol because it can cause a laxitive effect* or produce excess gas, however it does not bother my digestive system in the least (TMI?!).    But I would think that if you were the kind of person who couldn't tolerate malitol, this might be a deal-breaker to your wanting to try one of the products offered by thinkThin, as they all seem to use this sugar substitute.  

To my palate, it tasted good, it tasted chocolatey.  Did it taste like a Godiva chocolate bar?  No.  But it didn't taste bad and didn't leave any strange or artificial aftertaste.  (Disclaimer:  I am suffering from a cold and my taste may be somewhat compromised but I don't really think this had much effect).  

Overall, I would rate the taste of this "nutrition bar" as an A.  Quite sweet, quite chocolatey and lots of nice crunchy nuts made the flavor satisfying and almost felt indulgent, like I was eating a piece of candy.

Remember how I mentioned that I was hungry before I ate the thinkThin bar?  Well, I was still hungry when I finished eating it.  Despite the 4 grams of Dietary Fiber and 10 grams of Protein, I don't think the bar did much to curb my hunger at all, so I wouldn't recommend it as a meal replacement or even a snack to eat by itself if you are more than the tiniest bit hungry.  That being said, it would probably be a great snack or meal supplement along with something that has a bit more bulk - some carrot sticks or a big leafy green salad, or maybe a couple of hardboiled egg whites or a bowl of greek yogurt.  I could also recommend the thinkThin crunch as a tasty treat, albeit one with 190 calories (not exactly low cal) and a modest 3 grams of sugar, which may be the best part about the bar since it won't spike your blood sugar and would be a good sweet choice for a diabetic.  

As I mentioned previously, the nutrition information of the thinkThin crunch looked promising:  (per bar)

190 Calories

12 grams of Fat (2.5 g saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat)

16 grams Total Carbohydrates (4 grams Dietary Fiber, 3 grams Sugar, 5 grams Sugar Alcohols)

10 grams Protein

There is a good balance of fat, fiber and protein.  Although 12 grams of fat seems high for a snack, I do tend to favor snacks with some fat content (especially nut or plant-based fat) because they help me feel satisfied and some protein because I find I don't always get enough protein from my mostly plant-based diet.  I also liked that the bar had only 3 grams of Sugar but the jury is still out on the Sugar Alcohols (Malitol), since as a general rule, I like to avoid artificial substances as much as possible.   

So, overall I would grade the thinkThin crunch as a B- for a snack bar.  Summing up, I enjoyed the taste and crunchy texture as well as the presence of big pieces of nuts.  While I found the chocolate-flavor acceptable, the bar was quite sweet and I don't really like the fact that it is sweetened with an artificial substance.  The nutritional profile looks good upon review as the bar offers a nice balance of protein, fat and fiber for less than 200 calories, and doesn't have too much sugar to spike blood sugar and insulin levels (which is good because the spike and subsequent fall would lead you to feel hungry again and go in search of another snack).  And even though the bar offers a generous amount of protein, is relatively high in fat and provides 4 grams of fiber, I did not think it did much to curb my appetite or leave me satisfied.  

All that being said, I would eat the thinkThin crunch Chocolate Dipped Mixed Nuts bar again if I were on the go and just needed a light snack to tide me over until eating a full meal in the near-future, or even to provide the sweet ending to a light lunch of mixed green salad.  I would not recommend it as a meal replacement or even as a snack if you are very hungry, as it didn't provide me with enough bulk and I had to eat a couple of hardboiled egg-whites as soon as I got home 20 minutes later.  As for value, I thought they were a little bit pricey ($1.67 each) and not a great value for the satisfaction they provided.  Something else to note, the thinkThin bars are gluten free (at least both of the varieties I picked up are) so they may be a good option for those avoiding gluten, which many bars cannot boast.     

I hope you found this review helpful!  Please let me know if you have any questions, as I would be happy to answer them as best as I can.  I am looking forward to reviewing the other two nutrition bars I picked up today, as well as some other products in the future.  For reference, I purchased the bars myself and have not been compensated in any way for providing this review.   

*According to the US FDA Malitol is considered GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) but it is recommended that a person not consume greater than 100 grams per day due to it's laxative potential.

Question of the Day

What are your favorite snack foods when you're on the go? 

 I tend to favor inexpensive, whole-foods that can be easily transported and that I buy anyway so I'm not spending extra money on "snack foods".  As a general rule, I don't like a lot of processed foods in my diet anyway and I stay away from heavily-refined carbohydrates and anything that uses all white flour.  These foods spike blood sugar and leave me hungry and unsatisfied.  I like to snack on whole apples, raw almonds, carrot sticks, Larabars (made of just dried fruit and nuts, no preservatives, no artificial anything), bananas, homemade trail mix (I just combine nuts, dried fruits and whole-grain cereal in a bag), lean beef or buffalo jerky or protein shakes in a shaker bottle (just add water).  I also try to always carry a water bottle with me from home, because I know that often when I feel hungry, it's just that I am dehydrated and need to drink more water!