For the past weeks Supper Club we had breakfast for dinner! It was full of eggs, sausage, pancakes and coffeecake. Thus- I was recruited to make something healthy-ish.
I tried a new recipe I heard of for broiled grapefruit. At first it sounded very odd, as I had only ever had grapefruit raw- either cut in half and eaten with a spoon or peeled and eaten like an orange. But I heard rave reviews and decided to try it. The results were excellent! Super sweet and juicy.
Served with yogurt topping.
Grapefruit Recipe:
Set oven to broil
Slice Grapefruit in half, or quarters. Place on Baking sheet.
Sprinkle with Cinnamon
Pop in oven: broil ~7-10 minutes, until they looks slightly puffy and the skin is peeling away from fruit a tad.
Yogurt Dip/ Topping:
Mix ~ 1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt (Greek or European) with a bit of fresh or ground and a tsp of honey or agave nectar.
Oats are wonderful for so many reasons: they are a whole grain, low fat, a good source of fiber, full of nutrients, and are a delicious and filling.
Considering the amazingness of oats on a whole, it isn't surprising that they are also a good source of antioxidants! Oats contain an antioxidant called avenanthramides (avns for short).
Avns are part of a group of antioxidants called phytoalexins. They are important to oats as plants because they help make them resistant to diseases. In humans, avns act as antioxidants to help protect our cells from oxidation. Oats and avns are associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease (related to prevention of over fed macrophages!) Avns, even isolated from oats, help to reduce cytokines (inflammatory markers) in the body, and help reduce cholesterol.
As with all antioxidants, more research is needed, but overall, oats have everything going for them… but just in case you needed one more reason to eat some- there you have it: avns :)
Jordan had slept over and had trouble sleeping, and then woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and as the saying goes "misery loves company" so he took me along for a grumpy morning.
Once he was gone, I was faced with a mountain of dishes in the sink, and dishes I had previously washed piled up in the drying rack. Some of these were mine of course, but being in a grumpy mood, I washed them all while bantering madly to myself of how I always get stuck doing everything around the house, when I am the one that has the most to do! Geez I just took the trash and recycling out last night too, and cleaned the bathroom which looks like crap again because Sookie likes to throw litter!
I then took the feminist approach and assumed the boys were leaving all of the house work for me to do because I am the only girl and clearly they must think I am only good for domestic purposes.
After settling down from my pity-party, I comforted myself with a nice breakfast of left over home-made cottage potatoes (aka homefries :P ) and my last egg, over-easy, with some ketchup and a cup or 3 of Pumpkin Spice coffee. I think its the cold, but I have been craving really "breakfasty" breakfasts lately.
After breakfast I headed out to Framingham to get some school work done and go to class. I brought an apple and nutrigrain bar as some brain food.
Despite my snacking I was definitely in need of some more substantial lunch when I got home. I mixed up some more left over Spaghetti + mixture of frozen veggies + Vegan Chili, and some extra spaghetti sauce, and then added some 50% reduced fat Cabot Cheddar Cheese (currently on sale at Shaws.)
+ In the mix: Broccoli, Asparagus, Green Peppers, and carrots... I wish I had a few other colors in there, but the chili livened up the mix. +
+ Vegan Chili (Its always frozen come photo-op time!)
= Nomnomnom. It was very good.
I may have snacked on a mini bag of popcorn with chocolate chips and raisins while watching "Charlie Bartlett" and cleaning the apartment (SEE!! AGAIN!)
Tonight I am heading to Gloucester so it I wait that long to eat I'll just go get to steal J.'s food, a rare and exciting treat :)
And just to confirm, I am no longer bitter, and am in a much better mood, and now off to take my Sports Nutrition Quiz!
Generally for I try to start off my day on a healthy note, with fruit and nonfat yogurt, or with some oatmeal with nutbutters or my favorite, pumpkin.
That being said, I do love classic breakfast foods: pancakes, french toast, eggs, omelets, toast, homefries. All delicious. Furthermore, being born and raised in good old Worcester, MA, I have spent absurd amounts of time, especially at odd hours of the night at a variety of diners.
If I have learned nothing else in life from my hometown, I have learned, there is no bad time for breakfast! And today was a day I felt the need to utilize that life lesson.
After work I cooked up some home fried potatoes with a bit of paprika, ground black pepper and a garlic and onion seasoning. I also made 2 eggs over easy, sprinkled with a little bit of cheddar cheese, and a slice of whole wheat toast with some margarine.
I recently purchased some Frank's Buffalo Sauce, so I used that on my potatoes and eggs along with a nice serving of ketchup.
I give the RedHot wings sauce an A+ review. Very tasty, a nice kick but not so spicy that you cannot enjoy the taste.
now don't forget the most important meal of the day, no matter what time you eat it :)
Here was another freebie from ANCE: two vitatop muffins, I had a Banana Nut Muffin and a Fudgy Peanut Butter Chip Muffin.
http://www.vitalicious.com/store-vitatops.html
The Fudgey Peanut Butter Chip Muffin Top is 100 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 3 grams protein, and 6 grams of fiber, and contains a lot of vitamins and minerals.It tastes great! Very rich and chocolatey, and peanut buttery.It reminds me more of a fluffy brownie than a muffin. Its definitely delicious, but I can’t image eating it for breakfast, more of a delightful chocolatey snack.
The Banana Nut muffin was very good as well, also 100 calories, with 2 grams fat, 5 grams fiber, and 5 grams protein. This one was much more muffiny, and had a good bread like consistency. Again, tasty a treat. I could picture myself eating this one for breakfast. It was a little glooey on top, like a prepackage muffin, which I suppose makes sense since that’s what it is.
I would not eat these for the entirety of my breakfast. I am a volume person, so this little 2 oz vitamuffin won’t cut it for me. I would at least have to pair it with a fruit to tide me over.The whole marketing strategy of these muffins if to ‘bring your own breakfast’ and eat one of these little muffins, instead of buying a big 400 calorie muffin, but its just so little! I feel this would just lead to binge eating later.
Also, the price is $1.33 per a muffin top.
My solution: if you want a muffin, buy a huge 400 calorie muffin, (probably costs less than $1.33), cut it in four pieces, eat one piece for breakfast, and take a multivitamin= you now have 4 vitamuffins J
Don’t get me wrong- again they were delicious, and maybe they would be a good alternative for some people, but in my opinion, the benefits do not out weigh the cost.
