Thoroughly Thursday

I'm discovering there are added benefits for this blog. I'm having to spend more time with my food before eating it. Growing up in a house with 7 children, one can get into the habit of devouring a meal quickly for a fighting chance at any seconds. That speed has woven its way into how I have approached food.

With this project, there's not a lot of grab 'n' eat. I think about my meals ahead of time, I serve everything on a plate and I sit down to enjoy it, rather than scarfing it over the kitchen sink (I'm in NYC, remember-- tiiiny kitchen with no table). I think I might be on to something.

Breakfast:
3-egg white omelet (I use Egg Beaters or the store brand) with spinach, tomato and fat-free feta cheese. This cheese is my one exception to fat free cheeses being gross. It's dryer, but not rubbery, and retains its taste; whole wheat toast (I use high fiber, low cal bread @ 40 cals a slice. If I had regular ww bread, I'd have had a single slice) with sugarless jam. If your body has no objection to sugar, I'd go with one of the all-fruit preserves, but this stuff is sweetened with Splenda, so still pretty tasty.

By using olive oil spray instead of butter, no egg yolks, fat free feta, and low cal UNbuttered toast, I had breakfast for a mere 239 calories. The same meal, unmodified would have netted a whopping 578 calories. It sure adds up!


Lunch:
A meatloaf sandwich with leftover turkey meatloaf on whole wheat bread. I packed up the rest of the loaf for the freezer to be eaten down the line. Also on the sandwich was romaine lettuce, sliced tomato, light mayonnaise and ketchup. I ate lunch later than usual, so tacked on a bosc pear, cut in wedges, to make up for the lack of snacking. After all, under eating can be just as bad as over eating. I have to watch it with my blood sugar, though.

Dinner:

Having gone pretty heavy for lunch, I was in the mood for a light evening meal. I was going for warm, sunflower seed-encrusted goat cheese over salad. Well, I got the salad part right! Actually the goat cheese tasted great! But it got a bit too melty in the oven and fell apart on the salad. I'd never done it using a baking method, so sometimes we crawl before we can walk. I think next time I'll do a quick seer before putting it in the oven so that the crust holds on a bit more.

So, we have goat cheese and crushed sunflower seeds (I did this with the back of a big spoon and a bowl- no need to even get out the mini food processor) on a bed of romaine, tomato, yellow pepper, and snow peas that had all been tossed in balsamic vinaigrette. You could use nuts, but I'm horrifically allergic, so use sunflower or pumpkin seeds in their place.

I should have taken the photo of my mouth devouring this salad, dotted with warm, gooey, yummy goat cheese. Pretty? Not so much. Devour-worthy? Aaaabsolutely.

Definitely no dessert tonight. I want nothing more to pass across my palate until I seconds before bedtime when I'll have to eventually brush my teeth.