Keeping up with the times

People love trends.

#ThatHanselIsSoHotRightNow

Fifty billion high fives if you get that reference.

I can't judge though.  Sometimes at the car dealer or the dentist's office, I hang out after the appointment's over just so I can peruse a few issues of US Weekly.  I happen to enjoy learning what kind of nail polish Jennifer Aniston was recently spotted wearing. I mean would a girl who wears these shoes...

 ..be afraid of being viewed as a follower?  Nope.  #MetallicIsTheNewBlack

I've noticed that in the past few years, Greek yogurt has really become the trendy thing.  Greek yogurt is made with 4x the milk as regular yogurt, hence the extra thickness and protein.  At a recent trip to Target, I decided to buy five different brands to taste and compare nutrition stats.  All yogurts are blueberry flavored and all are 0% fat.

 I feel like Chobani was the first Greek yogurt to hit the shelves back in the day.  At 140 calories, 20 g sugar, and 14 g protein, it's very middle of the pack, nutritionally speaking.

Fage- pronounced "FAH-yeh".  Not impressed.  140 calories, 20 g sugar, and 14 g protein- same as the Chobani, but to me it tasted way too sweet.  I pitched it after a few bites.

Regular Fage blueberry.  Not sure how I feel about the add-your-own-fruit concept.  Nobody feels like a cool kid when they're sitting there trying to bend their plasticky yogurt container in half without spilling blueberry gunk all over.  Plus it was stingy with the berries- more like blueberry syrup than actual berries.  However, at 120 calories, 16 g sugar, 13 g protein, it was one of the better choices nutritionally.

Noosa Australian yoghurt.  Yes, they put an "h" in there.  How pretentious.  Nobody likes a silent "h."  Maybe I should start calling it yahg-hurt and tell everyone that it's the authentic way to pronounce it.  Talk about starting trends.  I have no idea what Australian yogurt- I mean yahg-hurt- is anyway but I chose to try it.  My major beef with this stuff is that it comes in a fairly small container, yet the nutrition label commands you to divide this into two servings.  Not practical.  150 calories (per serving), 20 g sugar, and only 5 g protein.  Maybe Australia is just known for their low protein yogurts.  Snark snark.

Liberte-plus-accent-over-the-e.  I don't know how to type that symbol.  So this MUST be French Greek yogurt, no?  This was actually my favorite tasting.  Not overly sweet with enough whole berries at the bottom.  130 calories, 16 g sugar, 11 g protein.

The bottom line is that most of the nonfat Greeks (and Australian) are fairly similar in nutrition, but sugar content varies.  When in doubt, always pick plain or vanilla and add your own actual fruit.  All of the fruit in these flavored varieties is essentially sugary syrup.

While I am now sick of blueberry yogurts, you can bet that I'll never be sick of my US Weekly.  Gotta go- heard that Kourtney Kardashian got bangs!

Bacon for branches

With hot humid summers come thunderstorms.  On Friday night we had a monster storm pass through.  Here is an eyewitness photo of our backyard:

Or maybe that's a scene from "The Day After Tomorrow."

As a result we lost a few large tree branches, but no power loss or basement flooding, so we were fortunate in that respect.

Sunday was our designated clean up day.  And it turned out that our yard needed a lot more work than I'd thought...

  Old school saw.  Tim Taylor approves.

What is this??  Apparently in the backyard landscape, an epic battle between roses and giant weeds is taking place.  Who shall be King of the Thorns? 

TGF gloves.  I give Mother Nature credit- if you're going to be a weed, making yourself sharp and pokey is a good idea. 

A car full of branches to haul to the compost dump. 

A sea of branches.

But one benefit of having storms and rain is that my vegetable garden is starting to sprout.  Here are my beans popping up. 

After a day of manual labor in the hot sun, the last thing I felt like doing was stand over a stove to cook dinner.  Sandwiches it was!  BLT's...sort of...

BLATs
8 strips uncooked bacon
4 pieces iceberg lettuce
1 tomato, sliced into 4 cross-section slices
1 avocado, cut into thin slices
8 pieces whole grain bread
4 slices cheese (optional)
4 eggs (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Place strips of bacon on foil and bake for 15 minutes.  Using a paper towel, soak up any grease, flip bacon, and bake for another 5-10 minutes, or until done.  Soak with more paper towels.

Meanwhile, toast the slices of bread.  Fill with avocado, cheese, fried egg (I had to add this since this is what my husband did, and it looked weirdly tasty), tomato, bacon, and lettuce.

Ahh, finally relaxation time...until the next hurricane storm. 

Makes 4 sandwiches.  Per sandwich: 300 calories, 19 g fat (most of it heart-healthy from the avocado), 16 g protein

"I went to that tanning place your wife suggested."

"Was that place THE SUN?"

Ok so Ross on "Friends" had some issues, and I too was afraid when last week I decided to get a spray tan.

I wanted to go from my normal self...

which is something similar to this shade of translucent blue...

...to somewhere well before Tan Mom:

Do I want a clear coat or a bronzer?

Do I want a level one or a level two?

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THE ANSWERS, TANNING PLACE LADY?

Fortunately she steered me right, and I ended up looking...well...normal.

After the wedding on Saturday, my whole family went to the Twins game, where my dad had reserved a suite.

Awe. some.  All the hot dogs, burgers (and beer) we could possibly want.

Then mid-way through the game, this ridiculous cart showed up:

Nothing says "baseball" quite like cheesecake and tiramisu, AMIRIGHT?

So needless to say, after the things I ate (and drank) this weekend, last night it was time to get back on track.  By that I mean- allllll aboard the fiber traaaaaaain!

Couscous with Roasted Veggies
-2 boxes garlic flavored couscous, uncooked (or swap out quinoa)
-1 pint grape tomatoes
-1 head of cauliflower, roughly chopped into florets
-2 large zucchini, chopped into smallish chunks
-1/2 cup shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-1 can white beans (drained and rinsed)
-1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
-1/8 teaspoon Italian seasoning
-Salt and pepper to taste

Preface- in hindsight I could've just used one large pan instead of the separate one for the tomatoes.  All the veggies cook in about the same time anyway.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Toss cauliflower and zucchini together in a large bowl.  Stir in olive oil 'til well coated.  Spread out on a large rimmed baking sheet.  Add tomatoes as well. Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. While veggies are roasting, prepare couscous according to package directions.  Add to the large bowl you just used for your veggies.
4.  Add cooked vegetables and stir in the beans and seasoning.  Add cheese.  Serve hot or cold.

Makes 5 servings.  Per serving: 325 calories, 42 g carbs, 13 g fat, 13 g protein, 4 g fiber

Maybe I'm better off with pale & cauliflower after all. 

Booze Cruise

One of my brothers got married on Saturday.  Woo!  It was a perfect ceremony and fun reception.  They chose to have the reception on a boat on a nearby lake (thanks to Uncle John for sharing his pictures!).

Fortunately nobody pulled a Michael Scott on the boat. 

 
As with most weddings, there was an open bar.  Champs for everyone boarding?  Yes please!

It did get me thinking though- I haven't ever posted about the nutrition of alcohol...er...the lack of nutrition in alcohol.  While I am generally a total party pooper in all aspects of life, it's not like I practice what I preach allll the time.  I'll have a drink or two every now and then.  So here's the scoop on what to drink and what to skip as you party through the summer.

Worst

Mudslides
These contain anywhere from 500-800 calories.  It's nothing but booze, cream, and chocolate.  Not exactly the foundations of the food pyramid

Margaritas
Frozen (blended) ones can pack anywhere from 290-900 calories.  On the rocks is a better option, but even those can have up to 500.  Any menu that lists "fish bowl margaritas" should be avoided.

Long Island Iced Teas
Hmm...these have booze, booze, and a little more booze, plus sweet and sour mix.  For most drinks, it's the sweet and sour mix that really jack up the sugar level and overall calorie content.  These have up to 400 calories in just a single drink.

Pina Coladas
What?  But there's fruit in these!  And a whole lot of coconut cream, which makes them super high in fat.  Expect anywhere from 300-700 calories.

Light Beer
Hear me out on this one.  How many times do people have just one light beer?  It tastes watered down, so a person's more likely to have a few.  At 120 calories per beer, you could fairly easily consume up to 300-400 calories in an afternoon.

Best

Guinness
If you want a beer, go for a beer-beer.  It's thick and more filling, so you're less likely to want another one.  150 calories per 12 oz

Microbrews
Again, same thought process.  Microbrews tend to be made with richer ingredients than standard mass-produced beers.  Have one, enjoy it, and sip it slowly. 150-200 calories per 12 oz

Wine
Red wine in particular has benefits for your heart.  Research is mixed as to how much a person ought to drink, so still keep it in moderation. 120 calories per 5.5 oz.

Vodka soda
We're talking soda as in soda water- zero calories, zero sugar- just bubbly water.  Picking a potent drink allows you to sip it more slowly.  The more sugary drinks can mask the alcohol taste and before you know it, those cosmos or mojitos are tasting just like regular juice. 80 calories per 1 oz vodka


So there you go.  Of course, after this weekend I plan on returning to my sober party pooper self.  But if even for an afternoon, it can be fun to celebrate all occasions, big and small. 

Best of Both Worlds

Oof, where has this week gone?

I was able to attend a work conference this week and it was a good time.  In part because of the location- a hotel adjacent to the Mall of America.  No, not even adjacent really- directly connected.  Joy!

Plus the hotel itself was super cool and posh and had these pod-like baskets in the lobby.

I was too chicken to go hang out there.  Maybe if I were 5, or drunk.

Voila!  The walkway.  We had several breaks during the conference.  A quick lap around the mall?  Don't mind if I do.

Now even though I really only live a half hour from the MOA, I don't make it down here too often (unless you consider "monthly" to be "often").  So it was fun to walk around and see the sights and visit the holy land.

Ohh Urban Outfitters.  You make me cringe.  I used to want to belong here.  I even once bought a shirt with an owl on it that said "Give a hoot- don't pollute!"  I probably paid $40 for it too.  Looking back...what the heck?  I don't even like owls, and you know I'm pro-pollution.  Stupid youth.

There is a Peeps World.  I will not be surprised when this place dies.  They had all different colors and flavors of Peeps.  I had to be a little shady when taking the pictures 'cause the salesgirl was watching me and she had just given me a free Peep, and I didn't want to be the creepster with the camera phone.  Anyway, these are buckets of cake-flavored, lemonade-flavored, and vanilla-flavored Peeps.

You know how often I find myself wanting a nice Peep?

Yeeeeah...see you next Easter.

What is it about Cinnabon's smell?  I swear they bottle up that smell and they pay the employees to walk in a 300 yard radius.  You might be down by Old Navy, but *sniff sniff*- OMG that's right they have a Cinnabon on the other corner of the mall!  Points to me for resisting and having my high protein blueberry muffin.

Cute!  I mean, tacky! 

Ye Olde Camp Snoopy.  That is how I shall thenceforth speak in remembrance of thee.  I think it's still called Nickelodeon Universe?  Or "The Park at The MOA?"  Or "Place that I stopped caring about 19 years ago?"

Although points for having a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle ride.  Do kids nowadays know what this is??  Awesome.  I remember I spent many a sunny summer afternoon watching my brothers play "TMNT: Turtles in Time." I remember even referring to the game as "TIT!" until my mom told me what that meant.  Stupid youth.

 AHHHHHHHHHHHH!  (That is the sound of a choir of angels singing the praise of this- my most favoritest store in the land).

Nordstrom Rack has like a time vortex.  I enter, shop around, and when I leave, an hour has magically passed by.  I am on a b-*cough*-udget lately, but I scored this super cute beach towel.

Ta da!  Fun.

Okay so yes, I've had a good week so far.  And those high protein blueberry muffins I made are delish.  Perfect snack.  Way more protein than a typical muffin.  Make them.  Eat them. 

High Protein Blueberry Muffins (makes 12)
1 cup soy milk or almond milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup vanilla protein powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the milk and vinegar in a glass measuring cup, stir, and set aside.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Create a well in the middle of the bowl.  Add the wet ingredients, except for the berries, and stir until just combined.  Fold in the berries.

Line your muffin tin with paper liners.  Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full.  Bake 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Allow to cool before serving, and refrigerate for up to a week.

Per muffin: 170 calories, 7 g fat, 8 g protein, 2 g fiber

Perfect for fueling a shopping trip, er, work conference.