My snack-over

When I first started calorie counting, I promised myself that I wouldn't "quit" any foods. I knew that if I did that, I would never keep it up. By allowing myself whatever foods I want, I have learned how to move things around so that I can eat what I want, when I really want it. If I'm wanting ice cream for dessert, I find a light version and load up on veggies at dinner. If I want french fries, I bake them at home and eat them with lower proteins like fish or boneless, skinless chicken. Throughout my weight-loss, I have decreased my calories gradually, which has helped to weed out snacks. Because of this, I have naturally cut back on many snack-type foods...and especially eating more than one in a meal.
Yesterday was the Super Bowl, and my husband and I had decided to have a party. What do we all know comes with Super Bowl parties? Snack food. Lots and lots of snack food...and we were no exception. In preparation, I made sure in advance to plan my maintenance day for the Big Game, and I ate a lighter breakfast and lunch than usual that day. When the time came, I had plenty of calorie wiggle room, and I really let myself enjoy what would have never been a second thought for me food-wise before. Even though I know I had indulged a little more than I *needed* to, I had no idea of the residual effects I would feel today.
When I woke up this morning, I felt okay...but my breakfast ended up consisting of about 400 calories worth of cereal and Doritos. Not okay. Shortly after breakfast I started feeling awful. It's really hard to explain how I was feeling, exactly, but the closest I can attribute is to somewhat of a food-hangover (hence, My Snack-Over). My mom and brother are both hypoglycemic, and a part of me wonders if that is what they feel like when they are having their issues? A slight headache and a little bit nauseous...but different? So I took a page from their book when they're not feeling well, and made myself a much healthier lunch. After doing so, I felt much better.

Here's what I had:
Homemade pizza:
1 English muffin (total)
30g. homemade tomato sauce (per pizza)
7g. shredded colby jack cheese (per pizza)
1 slice shredded deli turkey (total)
bake!
@124 calories/pizza= 248 kcal
Sliced veggies:
40g. celery- 6
30g. cucumber- 5
30g. carrot- 9
20g. green pepper- 4
=24 kcal (I love veggies!)
(light ranch for dipping, probably could have done without, but I like it)
=41 kcal
Water
(it's important to stay hydrated-that post will come later)
total meal= 313 kcal! +totally filling, colorful, AND delish

This morning really drove home for me how much of a favor I am doing to my body by eating the way I am now, opposed to the way I was before. Just the thought of something as basic as food giving you such a physical reaction...it makes me really sad for how unhealthy old Jamie was...how clueless old Jamie was. I recognize that, health-wise, my eating still has a lot of improvements that could be made, but to see the improvements thus far-it makes me proud, to be honest. This is more than just a losing weight thing-- I'm finally treating my body in a way that shows me that truely, I-love-me. I am worth taking care of.

And that feels good.

Pumpkin...custard?

So, I got a little cocky tonight. I had found myself down somewhat of a rabbit hole of "healthy snacks". I'm a bit of a smoothie nut, and found this interesting idea for a pumpkin smoothie. I had remembered that my husband and I found a can of pumpkin filling in our local black market store (we live in South Korea, btw. Things like pumpkin filling are a rarity for us), and decided to pounce. This was, of course, back in November when we had Thanksgiving fever. Cut to present day, and it's still sitting in our cabinet...of course.
Anyway, after I read the ingredients I thought: I CAN IMPROVE ON THIS RECIPE! (meaning I thought I could make it lighter and still delish)

this is what I did:
170g Sweet Potato yogurt- 160kcal (I grabbed this without paying much attention...I thought it was peach. Who would have EVER imagined it would actually be Sweet Potato, right? The flavor is subtle, but I just can't bring myself to eat it plain. I thought this was a nice occasion for it.)
2c Pumpkin Filling- 160kcal
100ml skim milk- 30 kcal
15g Honey Graham Crackers- 70 kcal (and it's amazing we even had that)
and what ended up being about:
3 tsp ground cinnamon- 18 kcal
5 packets generic sweetener- 0 kcal
lots of ice- 0kcal

Blennnnnnnnnnd, and- VOILA! We had some mildly decent tasting custard.
It certainly wasn't the best, but for 11okcal/pop (around 200g/serving [4])...I don't know that you could do much better? I think the original recipe probably beats the pants off of what I came up with, though.

What I would do different:
Use vanilla yogurt
Use a *little* more yogurt and a *little* less filling
Use more milk? The above change might do the trick for that, though.
Freeze the filling like the recipe called for (but who has time for that, right?!)
Read the recipe a little closer and sprinkle the graham crackers on top of the finished product instead of blending with the rest of the ingredients...oy, Jamie.


Here's a smoothie I make that doesn't suck:
170g plain yogurt- 120kcal
200ml skim milk- 60kcal
*160g (1c-ish) frozen strawberries- 57kcal
*100g (a little less than 1c?) frozen mango- 64kcal
*70g (1/2c?) frozen pineapple chunks- 50kcal

blennnnnnnnnd, and- VOILA! Probably my favorite smoothie. At 176kcal/serving (about 2 320g servings), it's a great breakfast item or snack!

*The gram figures there might not be exact...I kind of guessed. This is pretty darn close, though.


I know this entry is not a great one for introducing my new blog, but I will do that next (cause this was more fun)...I'm breaking the mold.