Moved Over to Wordpress

So I've gone with the flow and moved over to wordpress. I wanted more control of layout and posts and such so I made the move. Please head over to:


www.feeedingbrainandbody.wordpress.com

to read my post on Dill Pickle Roasted Edamame

Nutritional Yeast Experiment

Don't you love when you try a new cooking experiment, and it actually works?

Well I just finished enjoying my very first nutritional yeast experiment, and I would definitely re-do this lunch another day!

They use my favorite Suzie's grain products. I used the corn thins, but you can pretty much use any cracker or flatbread you have in the pantry.

'Pizza' Thins

Pre-heat oven to 400 F

So I put four suzie's thincakes crackers down in a baking dish

Topped with Medium Salsa

Sprinkled with 1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast flakes, garlic, cilantro

Drizzled a little Italian dressing on top

Put in Oven for about 8-10 minutes

Before Going in oven

After going in Oven

Enjoyed with my half eaten Salad

I got a little impatient waiting for them in the oven, so my salad is half eaten in the picture. Either way, they were WORTH THE WAIT!

Is it too early to have these again tomorrow? I must be having a good day, because I also managed to finally get a good picture of the protein pumpkin eggwhites I introduced in my first post.

Here's the recipe again - incase you missed it!

PROTEIN PUMPKIN PUDDING

-1/2 cup canned pumpkin

-1/4 cup egg white

-2 tbsp Almond Breeze

-1 tbsp of your favorite protein powder 

-Stevia and cinnamon to taste (I use ALOT of cinnamon)

Mix it all up, and microwave for about 4-5 minutes (depending on your microwave strength

In the above picture, I have smothered my protein powdered WF peanut spread. I can not get enough of these. Literally I still haven't gotten tired of them!

Have you ever tried nutritional yeast? What are your favorite things to make with it?

How a Final Exam Day is like a Race Day

So, I've been reading a lot about people's pre-race day and race-day schedules. Today, being my first final exam of the semester I noticed that there are quite a few parrallels between exam days and race days:

• You have to make sure you don't forget anything important

There is a lot to remember to pack! Especially if it's open book or aid sheet. When you cram on as much as possible on an aid sheet you got to take extra care of it. Especially to make sure nothing spills!

 Just to give you an idea of how tiny I actually write on these aid sheets, look at the comparison of it beside my original notes:

You also can't forget the essentials: pens, pencils, student identification, and public transit money!!

• You can't drink a litre of water right before the event

I learned this one the hard way. There is nothing worse then sitting through a 3 hour exam with a bladder thats about to burst. 

You can however have a nice caffeine boost. Here is my favorite pre-exam caffeine boost: Coffee-CokeZero. Just don't have too much - because the bladder thing still holds 

For some reason this combination has some amazing froth action going on, and it's not the type of bubbles that disappear like plain soda - they're the kind that stick around right till the end :)

• You have to eat properly beforehand

Just like on race day this means no strange new foods. Perhaps there is something worse then having a full bladder: that would be having a bowel thats about to explode. 

Sitting a three hour exam also means that you must eat enough to tie you over! Especially when you have to tack on an hour to the beginning and end for transportation. 

Today this meant a filling early lunch with lots of veggies and sheritaki noodles, and pistachios mixed in.

And a big bowl of puffed kamut, puffed millet, hemp hearts, protein powder, almond breeze, and strawberries.

As well as all the other things such as almonds, and an apple I grabbed going out the door!

• You got to get in the mindset

Especially if it's the type of exam, where they are testing whether or not you have your thinking cap on. I always go for a run in the morning if my exam is in the afternoon. Here is how todays turned out:

I think I have to calibrate my Nike+ sportband, because according to mapmyrun it sensed it wrong. Also the sensor seemed to do something really strange on the big downhill part of my run, but I'm going to do another post on this run later so stay tuned!

Do you have any 'day of exam' advice?

Tomato Tofu Chile with Cottage Cheese and Cauliflower

The name of this meal says it all, and I love the way it just rolls off the tongue, it's so fun to say. Really say it out loud. It must be all the alliteration: T.T.C.C.C.C

For all you math geeks out there:

Mathematical Dinner Recipe Name = (T^2)*(C^4) = TTCCCC=YUM

I had this for dinner the other day, and thought I absolutely must share since it was quite tasty and was quite easy and fast to make.

Tomato Tofu Chile with Cottage Cheese and Cauliflower

I knew I was going to be hungry when I got home because my lecture doesn't finish until 5:00 and then by the time I get home (approx hour commute on public transit) it would be six!

So before I left I got everything ready:

1) In a pot on the stove: a big can of diced tomatoes, extra firm tofu cut into cubes, chile powder, garlic, basil leaves, celery, broccoli slaw, and the few left over beans I had in the fridge. 

2)In another pot on the stove: cauliflower (I know how complicated, right?)

Then when I got home, all I had to do was turn the stove top on and wait while I dished out some cottage cheese and unpacked my school bag.

Then I sat down to my yummy (T^2)(C^4) = TTCCCC dinner:

That would be cilantro sprinkled on my cauliflower - incase you were wondering

Afterwords I enjoyed a nice big bowl of fruit as usual. I almost ALWAYS finish off dinner with a cut up apple, frozen strawberries, and frozen cranberries all in a bowl sprinkled with cinnamon.

You should know, I am a fruit monster - it is a big part of my daily consumption AND apples are my favorite (I have 4 a day!)

Yes FROZEN strawberries and cranberries. I actually prefer how refreshing and cooling they feel over the fresh ones!

Does anyone else eat frozen fruit?

Review of the Nike+Sportband

This post is going to be short (and hopefully sweet) due to life craziness right now.

I ended up getting the Nike+sportband I was writing about the other day and I got a chance to use it today on my 45 minute run.

Set-Up:
Easy! I was a little worried about this as I leave my shoes at the gym so didn't have a chance to put the sensor in my shoe at home. But it all turned out really good - as the steps are really simple and explained well

Convenience while running:
I guess it depends on what your used to, but I ABSOLUTELY loved having my pace, stopwatch, kcal and distance all on my wrist!

Convenience accessing information:
It's really easy to transfer your run information onto your online account. You have to first download a little program (works on mac and pc) then when you plug it in to your computer your information automatically gets sent to your Nike account where you can display your data

You can hover over the white circles and see what your average pace was for each km.

Accuracy:
I was running on a track which is approximately 200m. According to my estimation it was pretty accurate, but it is hard to compare with such a short track distance. It will be easier to test accuracy when I can run a known distance (such as my 10k route).

There is even a feature to 'calibrate' your sensor, which is supposed to improve accuracy. But I was quite impressed with it's out of box accuracy.

I haven't had a chance to explore all the features, but I really like it and am really glad I bought it.

Do you have a Nike+sportband? what you think of it?

Nike+sportband?? Should I get one?

First of all: NEVER TRUST the weather forecast. I left to walk to my local Running Room store without an umbrella - and got SOAKED!

I love going to the sports stores to just browse- but today I had a specific goal:

TO FIND THE BEST RUN TRACKER/WATCH

And I think I found the perfect one: The Nike+sportband

It comes with the sensor and the watch. You put the sensor in the running shoe (nike running shoe) and wear the watch (duh).

Then when you get home you plug it into your computer - and your run information is loaded!

Over the winter I have just been estimating laps since I've been running inside - but now that the weather is getting a bit nicer, I'm hoping to be able to get outdoors. Because really those hour long runs around get a bit boring.

So since I am HOPING to run my first half marathon mid-May I'm thinking that this run tracking device is essential to training.

I would love to hear any advice on training for my first half!!! Have you ever heard of the Nike+sportband?

Eggwhite Dill Puffs

So I've been a bit obsessed with Dill recently. I bought some fresh - and I've been putting it on a lot of things. Hense the dill topped on cottage cheese as a cracker topping a few days ago.

Eggwhite Dill Puff

Welcome eggwhite Dill puffs, I think I will be enjoying their company a lot more often! They were yummy

Literally all I had to do was mix up: eggwhites, dill, garlic then microwave for about 1:30 min

Afterwords back to the books. But I had an unwanted visitor: A MILLIPEDE

I wish it was on the floor cause then Holly (my dog) would have hunted it down and ate it.
Yes- It is gross that my dog eats insects...but it's also convenient

Busy exam time = (Messy Desk) + 2(Yummy Study Snack)

Do you remember those hemp hearts I told you about earlier?

Well they turned out to find a new favorite home in my breakfast bowl with my Winnie the Pooh spoon!

 millet puffs, almond milk, protein powder, cranberries, strawberries

Then the usual on the side plate: an apple and 1/2 grapefruit!

Can you tell exams are coming up? Look at that messy desk!

It never looks like that - I'm actually a surprisingly organized person. And my office is my favorite place to organize

And yes - that is a study snack you see on the middle of my desk. What is it you ask?

Like yesterday - I JUST COULDN"T MAKE UP MY MIND. But this time instead of being indecisive about toppings - I couldn't decide on the base

So I decided to go with a ryvita crackers (crunch) and bread (moist). Both with WF peanut spread, cottage cheese, and cinnamon

The other day I made a delicious dinner and I thought I would share:

Ginger Garlic Tofu with dried cilantro sprinkled on top with bok choy, and carrots. 

Yum Yum Yum...but all that garlic really left me craving a piece of gum. SO I HAD MY FIRST PIECE OF GUM IN 30 DAYS.

You see I've been a bit addicted to gum, and 'a bit' may be an understatement.
No joke, I was going through about 2 packs a day! I decided it was a getting excessive and perhaps promoting bloating - so I quit COLD TURKEY.

But last night I had my first piece again! In order to not become re addicted to gum - I'm only allowing my self one piece a day. We we'll see how this goes

What flavor did I go for?

Extra Dessert Delights - Mint chocolate chip flavor! I can't find it in Canada anywhere - so this was is a special USA gum. Can't wait until I can buy more when I drive down to florida in 8 DAYS

Is anyone else an excessive gum chewer? Do you find it can sometimes give you bad symptoms like bloating?

For when you just can't decide

Just over three weeks until the royal wedding. I love all the little news segments that are popping up on local stations. The other day my favorite breakfast television show pointed out all the crazy memorabilia that can be bought. Take a look at this book: Knit your own Royal Wedding!

You know those times when you just can't decide between two options? Well I couldn't decide between savoury vs. sweet so I decided on both:

Savoury toppings: cottage cheese, salsa, fresh dill

Sweet Toppings: thin spread of PB, cottage cheese, nutmeg

Today's class schedule is kind of strange in the sense that I end up having two lunches. I have my first lunch at noon between lunches, which consists of things that will tie me over (like nuts, yogurt, apple) but don't take up too much room in my bag.

When I get home I have my second lunch around 3:30pm. Which contains a little something to tie me over until dinner (cottage cheese/crackers), and I'll my fresh veggies I've been craving all day.

That will hold me over until dinner because I generally eat dinner earlier then most (5:30pm) - Since I'm very efficient at school work in the evenings (if I do say so myself)

Do you ever find your meal schedule a little out of sorts? Do you think there really is a 'normal meal' schedule, or that everyone eats at different times?

Microwaving Tupperware - OOPS

Cilantro is one of my favorite flavors, and apparently today was a big cilantro day because I used it in my lunch sandwich and my dinner pasta dish.

You know those times when you get really excited about what your making and then you step back and realize what a mess you have made?

Well my sandwich making turned out to be one of those times

I can never decide if I want my bread to be toasted or soft. So I almost always end up having one soft and one toasted!

Your top teeth get to bite into something soft and moist, and your bottom teeth get to bite into something crunchy! It's a win-win situation.

I found a perfect new study spot on campus. Nice and quiet, there was actually no one there! It was like my own personal living room.

I will have to remember this spot for next year, as there was even a microwave. This is where I enjoyed my shrimp-cilantro-shrataki noodle stir-fry.

I took these pictures when it was freshly cooked in the morning - but as it was a long day, by the  time I got to eat it was in a boring old plastic container.

I really wanted to have it warmed up a bit in the microwave...so I did. I know microwaving plastic containers is a big NO NO.. but will one time actually hurt? I hope not :)

Have you ever used the microwave on food in a plastic container?

Apple Love (not the computer...The Fruit!)

Good morning everyone - I hope you all had as much fun with your breakfast as I did with mine!

I picked up a bag of Millit Cereal and was excited to see what I could come up with for breakfast today, after yesterday's burnt toast.

It turned out to be not very original but still tasty none the less. 

 What's inside?

-1 cup of puffed millit

-1 tbsp of Progressive Chocolate flavored Protein Powder

-Unsweetened Almond Breeze

-Strawberries and frozen cranberries

-Stevia

-My fat free protein PB and some real PB for fuel

And don't you just love when you find the large apples at the supermarket? This massive one made my morning

I absolutely love apples - and all the different types they come in! If you ever want a great source listing a bunch of apple sites check out Orange Pippin. 

I am an Apple fan when it comes to my electronics to - my Macbook is so reliant. 

It's a 'Sonya' apple and ia a great sweet crunchy apple. I will definitely be buying more Sonya apples the next time I see them at the store.

Does any one have any favorite apple types?

Weekend Recap and Yogurt flavors

When I said on my last post "It was just one of those days" it turns out what I really meant was "it's just one of those weeks".

I won't bore you with the details but:

Weekend Recap:
So weekends can get pretty busy as I work on Saturdays, and have church on Sundays. Which explains the  no weekend post.

It was pretty uneventful to say the least:
Saturday was a long day at work - followed by a beautiful quite pajama party BY MYSELF - oh wait Holly was there - but she was a quite sleepy dog.

She didn't get off the couch all night!

Sunday consisted of a great morning church service - followed by a productive afternoon of catching up with school problem sets and lab reports!

But now it is Monday and I burnt my toast this morning - Since I like my toast to be Re-toasted!

I put the toast on the toaster as pictured above, and pull down the lever - and it warms up the toast and makes it super crispy on the bottom! But sometimes - it gets burnt :(

It's official - ONLY one more week of classes!

Then there are still exams...but I'm going to be going on a road trip to Florida in between my exams! So I'll be studying in the sun :) AND I'll be able to try all the USA food brands I keep reading about on my favorite blogs!

I'm curious to see the selection of yogurt flavors in grocery stores in the states. In the past I have always found them to be so different then the Canadian ones!

My Favorite Yogurt brand is Yoplait Source. They have so many flavors, but my favorite are:

• Lemon Meringue Parfait
• Cherry Delight
• Creme Caramel
• Cafe latte
• Melon Trio 

What are your favorite yogurt flavors?