Monday, December 22, 2008

Breakfast
Today I made blueberry pancakes for breakfast. I used the boxed mix (Bisquick Heart Smart variety) and prepared it as directed by adding skim milk and egg substitute. I added about a cup of thawed frozen blueberries (so much cheaper when they are out of season) and about ½ cup of quick cooking oats. I like to add oats because it makes the finished product a little “heartier,” and also adds some fiber since Bisquick is not a whole grain product. I had two medium sized pancakes (about 5 inches diameter) and spread about a teaspoon of Smart Balance on them, topped with 2 tablespoons of “lite”syrup. I also had a small orange on the side and my coffee, of course.

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 2 oz-about ½ whole (pancakes with added oatmeal)
Fruits: 1 cup (small orange + about ½ cup blueberries in pancakes)
Vegetables: 0
Milk: 0
Meats & beans: 0
Oils: 1 teaspoon (Smart Balance)
The cost of this meal was approximately: $1.01

Lunch
I was at home today, so I had the resources available to make a hot sandwich-my preference during the winter season. I made a grilled turkey, mozzarella cheese and tomato sandwich with pesto sauce. I used about 1 teaspoon of Smart Balance on the outside of the bread, and 1 teaspoon of pesto on the sandwich. The tomatoes were canned (left over from making the pizza last night). I heated about ¼ cup of diced tomatoes by placing them directly on the skillet, then added them to the sandwich. I used about 2 ounces of the smoked turkey I got from the deli and 1 slice of mozzarella cheese. Also in the spirit of winter, I had a small bowl (about 1 cup) of ready-to-serve canned tomato soup that I found sitting in the pantry. It was the Campbells brand, lower sodium variety. I liked the flavor of it, although these ready-to-serve soups can be a bit pricey. I could have done this a lot cheaper by using a condensed version, or preparing the soup from scratch myself. I will definitely explore these options later, but since I had this soup on hand already I did not want to let it go to waste. Work with what you’ve got, right? Along with this meal, I had ½ cup of apple juice to incorporate some fruit.

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 2 oz whole (bread)
Fruits: ½ cup (100% apple juice)
Vegetables: ¾ cup (1/4 cup diced tomatoes + 1 cup tomato soup = ½ cup vegetables)
Milk: ¾ cup (mozzarella cheese)
Meats & beans: 2 oz (turkey)
Oils: 2 teaspoons (Smart Balance and pesto sauce)
The cost of this meal was approximately: $2.66

Dinner
We had a guest for dinner tonight, so I wanted to make something appropriate. When planning a menu for someone else, I always try to consider taste along with nutrition. In other words, I want to serve them something that I feel good about but that they will also enjoy eating. I think people often have a misconception about me and the foods I eat & serve. They think that, since I am studying nutrition, I must eat nothing but tofu, raw fruits and vegetables all day long! In actuality, the message that I am getting from my studies is that every food has a place in the diet-and you can make substitutions that are healthy and still taste great.
For dinner tonight, I served cheeseburgers and fries. WHAT?! Nutrition students eat that kind of thing?! Well, it’s not like I went and picked it up at McDonalds. By purchasing and preparing these foods myself, I had complete control over how they were cooked and what went into them, therefore making them perfectly acceptable choices. First of all, I bought the leanest ground beef available. I actually wanted to get bison meat, because it is extremely lean and higher in iron that other varieties. Unfortunately, I tried two different stores to no avail, so I had to go with beef instead. The leaner types are more expensive-that it true. However, I have realized this is due to the fact that there is less fat and more final product. Think about it-when you use regular, fatty ground beef, there is way more grease left in the pan than when you use a leaner type. You are only paying less per pound because you are getting a lower yield on the product. I haven’t worked out the numbers myself, but I imagine it’s technically about the same price for regular and lean ground meats.
I made about a 4 ounce burger for myself and a little larger portion for the guys. I put the burgers on 100% whole wheat buns from Trader Joes and melted a slice of mozzarella cheese on top. I made spicy ketchup to serve on the side (recipe below), along with oven baked fried fries (I had about 1 cup) and steamed broccoli (about 1 ½ cups). Although fries are really easy to make, I went the easy route tonight and bought them frozen (Alexia brand). The broccoli was also frozen, and I added some Smart Balance, lemon juice and Mrs. Dash to spice it up and make it more attractive to those I was dining with.
The dinner went over very well. I was able to make a nutritious and “guy friendly” meal. They even ate the broccoli :)

Recipe:
Chipotle ketchup (from CookingLight.com)

1/3 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon lime juice
½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder (I used regular chili powder since it’s all I had on hand)
½ teaspoon ground cumin

Mix all ingredients together with a whisk and serve with burgers.

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 1 ½ oz whole (hamburger bun)
Fruits: 0
Vegetables: 1 ¾ cups (fries and broccoli)
Milk: ¾ cup (mozzarella cheese)
Meats & beans: 4 oz (burger)
Oils: 1 teaspoon (Smart Balance)
The cost of this meal was approximately: $2.25

Late night (early morning actually) snack
We ended up going out for a drink and didn’t get back home until after 1 am! I swear, I don’t usually drink this much…just the excitement of school being out, I suppose. When we got in, we made a frozen cheese pizza and I had 2 small slices. I forgot to take a picture...oops!

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 1 ½ oz (pizza crust)
Fruits: 0
Vegetables: ¼ cup (pizza sauce)
Milk: ½ cup (cheese on pizza)
Meats & beans: 0
Oils: 0
The cost of this meal was approximately: $0.62

How did I do today?
Grains: 7 oz out of 6 oz (4 were whole)
Fruits: 2 cups out of 2 cups
Vegetables: 2 ¾ cups out of 2 ½ cups
Milk: 1 ¾ cups out of 3 cups
Meats & beans: 6 oz out of 5 ½ oz
Oils: 3 tsp out of 6 tsp
Total cost for the day: $6.54