Breakfast
Today is my last day off before school starts. I know the title is a little dramatic, but it always feels that way when I go from break back to the "reality" that I have come to know as school. You'd think I'd be used to this, as I've been doing it for, oh, about 8 years now. I won't ask you to join in my pity party...just humor me as I go through this ritual twice every year until I deem myself "finshed" with school (when will that be again??). Either way, I wanted this to be a nice, fun and relaxing day. I wanted to start it off by making something "special" for breakfast. I woke up with images of pancakes and french toast dancing in my head, and sleepily went to CookingLight.com to find some ideas, which is not advisable when you are tired AND hungry. I found lots of fancy sounding recipes with tons of ingredients...such as banana pancakes with pomegranate syrup, and stuffed french toast sandwiches. The whole thing was really quite overwhelming. I decided to go with my instincts...I made regular french toast (using Better n'eggs to dip the bread in) and added sliced bananas on top. I sprinkled with cinnamon and a little powdered sugar and, voila, I had my "fancier than normal" breakfast. I had two pieces of the toast topped with a teaspoon of Smart Balance Light and a whole sliced banana, added a glass of orange juice on the side, and was satisfied with my creation. No need for a recipe here! Although, I was intrigued by the pancakes with pomegranate syrup...perhaps another time.
After breakfast, Matt and I decided to go to the art museum. It's been awhile since we've gone there, and there is always something new to look at. On the way, I stopped by Starbucks and got a tall skinny vanilla latte (that balance on my gift card is getting dangerously low!). I really liked the vanilla flavor for a change-it didn't taste as sweet as I expected a sugar free vanilla syrup to be. I highly reccomend!
All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 2 oz whole (bread)
Fruits: 1 3/4 cup (medium banana and orange juice)
Vegetables: 0
Milk: 3/4 cup (latte)
Meats & beans: 0
Oils: 1 teaspoon (Smart Balance)
The cost of this meal was approximately: $2.06
Lunch
The art museum was awesome, as always. I actually took some time on the first floor and looked at the Asian art, which was very interesting because I find eastern religions fascinating. There were also some new installations on the top floor which were pretty cool. After the museum, we went and got Chinese food for lunch. Chinese Express is one of those places with surprisingly good food. I'm sure you've had this experience before...someone tells you about a really good restaurant that "doesn't look like much from the outside." As I understand it, this place had a fire a short while back and was closed, but has now reopened better than ever. I never even knew it existed...it's kind of tucked away over by the big Amoco sign near McCausland and what WAS the entrance to highway 40, now under construction. Anyway, it's typical Chinese fare but I was very impressed by the un-saltiness of the dish I got. First, the egg drop soup was delicious. It has a good flavor that is not overpowering, or watered down like some that I have tried. My usual choice at any Chinese restaurant is chicken & broccoli, with brown rice if available and if not, steamed white rice. Here, I settled for the steamed white rice as brown was not offered. The portion was also very large for a lunch special, and there was about as much chicken as there was broccoli. Many places seem to skimp on the meat-a money saving tactic, no doubt. I was very impressed with the quality and portion that $4.79 buys here. I ate about 1/2 cup of the rice, all of the broccoli (about 1 1/2 cups), and about 4 ounces of the chicken. I also had nearly all the soup (about 1 cup) and 1 of the crab rangoon. It was a nice treat, and not too terrible of a deviation from my budget!
All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 1 1/2 oz (rice and wonton wrapper)
Fruits: 0
Vegetables: 1 1/2 cups (broccoli)
Milk: 0
Meats & beans: 4 1/2 oz (chicken and egg drop soup)
Oils: 2 teaspoons (I am assuming the crab rangoon and chicken & broccoli were prepared by frying and sauteing in oil)
The cost of this meal was approximately: $4.79
Afternoon snack
I had a 6 oz. cup of Schnucks fat free cherry yogurt as a snack. This counted as 3/4 cup of milk.
The cost of this meal was approximately: $0.45
Dinner
After the day of running around, I was craving simplicity for dinner. I decided to make a vegetable masala burger (from Trader Joes), along with some leftover mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach. I had my veggie patty on a whole wheat bun with a slice (from my large block) of mozzarella cheese. I had about 3/4 cup of the mashed potatoes (reheated in the microwave) and 1/2 cup of spinach (sauteed fresh, with a teaspoon of Smart Balance Light). It was a very good meal that took only a short time to make-plus I got to use some of my leftovers. I hate to waste food, so I try to only make enough for the meal-unless I have a plan for the leftovers (like lunch the next day). In this case, I didn't have a specific plan-I just made too much-so I was happy to make them work with another meal. Every time I have to throw food away, I get that phrase that everyone's mother always said to them resounding in my head: "you know, there are starving people in...(insert underdeveloped country here)..." Well, it's true, not to mention the starving people we have right here in the U.S., and even in St. Louis for that matter...so I want to do my best to only take what I need. Okay, there's my two cents on world hunger...but you get the point. Time for bed...I have to put my brain to use tomorrow.
All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 2 oz whole (whole wheat bun)
Fruits: 0
Vegetables: 1 1/4 cups (veggie patty, mashed potatoes, and spinach)
Milk: 3/4 cup (mozzarella cheese)
Meats & beans: 0
Oils: 1 teaspoon (Smart Balance)
The cost of this meal was approximately: $1.89
How did I do today?
Grains: 5 1/2 oz out of 6 oz (4 were whole)
Fruits: 1 3/4 cups out of 2 cups
Vegetables: 2 3/4 cups out of 2 1/2 cups
Milk: 2 1/4 cups out of 3 cups
Meats & Beans: 5 1/2 oz out of 5 1/2 oz
Oils: 3 teaspoons out of 6 teaspoons
Total cost for the day: $8.25
Today is my last day off before school starts. I know the title is a little dramatic, but it always feels that way when I go from break back to the "reality" that I have come to know as school. You'd think I'd be used to this, as I've been doing it for, oh, about 8 years now. I won't ask you to join in my pity party...just humor me as I go through this ritual twice every year until I deem myself "finshed" with school (when will that be again??). Either way, I wanted this to be a nice, fun and relaxing day. I wanted to start it off by making something "special" for breakfast. I woke up with images of pancakes and french toast dancing in my head, and sleepily went to CookingLight.com to find some ideas, which is not advisable when you are tired AND hungry. I found lots of fancy sounding recipes with tons of ingredients...such as banana pancakes with pomegranate syrup, and stuffed french toast sandwiches. The whole thing was really quite overwhelming. I decided to go with my instincts...I made regular french toast (using Better n'eggs to dip the bread in) and added sliced bananas on top. I sprinkled with cinnamon and a little powdered sugar and, voila, I had my "fancier than normal" breakfast. I had two pieces of the toast topped with a teaspoon of Smart Balance Light and a whole sliced banana, added a glass of orange juice on the side, and was satisfied with my creation. No need for a recipe here! Although, I was intrigued by the pancakes with pomegranate syrup...perhaps another time.After breakfast, Matt and I decided to go to the art museum. It's been awhile since we've gone there, and there is always something new to look at. On the way, I stopped by Starbucks and got a tall skinny vanilla latte (that balance on my gift card is getting dangerously low!). I really liked the vanilla flavor for a change-it didn't taste as sweet as I expected a sugar free vanilla syrup to be. I highly reccomend!
All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 2 oz whole (bread)
Fruits: 1 3/4 cup (medium banana and orange juice)
Vegetables: 0
Milk: 3/4 cup (latte)
Meats & beans: 0
Oils: 1 teaspoon (Smart Balance)
The cost of this meal was approximately: $2.06
Lunch
The art museum was awesome, as always. I actually took some time on the first floor and looked at the Asian art, which was very interesting because I find eastern religions fascinating. There were also some new installations on the top floor which were pretty cool. After the museum, we went and got Chinese food for lunch. Chinese Express is one of those places with surprisingly good food. I'm sure you've had this experience before...someone tells you about a really good restaurant that "doesn't look like much from the outside." As I understand it, this place had a fire a short while back and was closed, but has now reopened better than ever. I never even knew it existed...it's kind of tucked away over by the big Amoco sign near McCausland and what WAS the entrance to highway 40, now under construction. Anyway, it's typical Chinese fare but I was very impressed by the un-saltiness of the dish I got. First, the egg drop soup was delicious. It has a good flavor that is not overpowering, or watered down like some that I have tried. My usual choice at any Chinese restaurant is chicken & broccoli, with brown rice if available and if not, steamed white rice. Here, I settled for the steamed white rice as brown was not offered. The portion was also very large for a lunch special, and there was about as much chicken as there was broccoli. Many places seem to skimp on the meat-a money saving tactic, no doubt. I was very impressed with the quality and portion that $4.79 buys here. I ate about 1/2 cup of the rice, all of the broccoli (about 1 1/2 cups), and about 4 ounces of the chicken. I also had nearly all the soup (about 1 cup) and 1 of the crab rangoon. It was a nice treat, and not too terrible of a deviation from my budget!All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 1 1/2 oz (rice and wonton wrapper)
Fruits: 0
Vegetables: 1 1/2 cups (broccoli)
Milk: 0
Meats & beans: 4 1/2 oz (chicken and egg drop soup)
Oils: 2 teaspoons (I am assuming the crab rangoon and chicken & broccoli were prepared by frying and sauteing in oil)
The cost of this meal was approximately: $4.79
Afternoon snack
I had a 6 oz. cup of Schnucks fat free cherry yogurt as a snack. This counted as 3/4 cup of milk.The cost of this meal was approximately: $0.45
Dinner
After the day of running around, I was craving simplicity for dinner. I decided to make a vegetable masala burger (from Trader Joes), along with some leftover mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach. I had my veggie patty on a whole wheat bun with a slice (from my large block) of mozzarella cheese. I had about 3/4 cup of the mashed potatoes (reheated in the microwave) and 1/2 cup of spinach (sauteed fresh, with a teaspoon of Smart Balance Light). It was a very good meal that took only a short time to make-plus I got to use some of my leftovers. I hate to waste food, so I try to only make enough for the meal-unless I have a plan for the leftovers (like lunch the next day). In this case, I didn't have a specific plan-I just made too much-so I was happy to make them work with another meal. Every time I have to throw food away, I get that phrase that everyone's mother always said to them resounding in my head: "you know, there are starving people in...(insert underdeveloped country here)..." Well, it's true, not to mention the starving people we have right here in the U.S., and even in St. Louis for that matter...so I want to do my best to only take what I need. Okay, there's my two cents on world hunger...but you get the point. Time for bed...I have to put my brain to use tomorrow.All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 2 oz whole (whole wheat bun)
Fruits: 0
Vegetables: 1 1/4 cups (veggie patty, mashed potatoes, and spinach)
Milk: 3/4 cup (mozzarella cheese)
Meats & beans: 0
Oils: 1 teaspoon (Smart Balance)
The cost of this meal was approximately: $1.89
How did I do today?
Grains: 5 1/2 oz out of 6 oz (4 were whole)
Fruits: 1 3/4 cups out of 2 cups
Vegetables: 2 3/4 cups out of 2 1/2 cups
Milk: 2 1/4 cups out of 3 cups
Meats & Beans: 5 1/2 oz out of 5 1/2 oz
Oils: 3 teaspoons out of 6 teaspoons
Total cost for the day: $8.25
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