Take-Out Lunch Ideas

We've all been there.  You didn't plan ahead to pack your lunch the night before.  You wake up late.   You're still adjusting to Daylight Savings. You open the fridge and find that you have nothing but condiments and beverages.  You have absolutely nothing to bring for lunch.  So you have to eat out for your mid-day meal.  Which is not a necessarily a bad thing for me because I enjoy the chance to escape the office. But it's not always great health-wise.  Here are some strategies and tips I use to get a health(ier)* lunch outside out of the office.

Usually when I know I will be eating out for lunch, I try to scope out the menus of the restaurant that I am going to eat at on the internet, and if available, review the nutritional information.  Around my office, there a lot of chain restaurants, and while it may not be the most interesting of meals, the nutritional information is readily available on the internet.  This way I already know what I want to order when I get there, and I am less likely to be tempted by the higher calorie options.

Cosi

 Cosi has a bit of a nostalgia factor for me because there was one on my college , campus, and it was our go-to place to eat, drink fancy lattes, and toast s'mores among my friends.  I also love their flatbread sandwiches.  So it was much to my dismay the first time I pulled up the Cosi menu to find out how many calories were in the Chicken t.b.m. (I won't say how many for the people who don't want to know, but for those who do, click here).  Cosi does have a few options that are a bit more figure-friendly like the Fire-Roasted Veggie Sandwich pictured here.  Veggies are always a tasty option, and the feta cheese spread on this sandwich is nice.  Order it warm with a side of baby carrots instead of chips.  My other favorites are the Turkey Light, which uses a spicy mustard, and the Chicken Tandoori Light (with fat-free vinaigrette  on their "Lighter Side" menu.  I also like that Cosi offers the option of multigrain bread instead of their original signature bread.

Au Bon Pain

ABP sandwiches were once a college staple for me, but nowadays I stick with their soups with a breadstick on the side.  ABP features different soups each day, you can find a list of their soups of the day and their nutritional information on their website. Usually what I do before I go to ABP is check out the soups of the day on their website, choose one in which a medium soup is around 200 calories, and another alternative soup, in case the particular location I go to doesn't have the one I picked.  When I get there, I know exactly what I want to order, and plus a breadstick.  Generally, the lower calorie soups are the broth-based soups, as opposed to the cream-based ones.  Pictured here is the roasted eggplant soup with an asiago breadstick. A few of my other favorites are the Vegetable and Beef Barley,  Portuguese Kale, and Turkey Chili.

Taco Bell

Believe it or not, there are healthier options at Taco Bell! I get the bean burrito which you see here.  (Sorry for the atrocious picture, but Taco Bell is unfortunately very unphotogenic.) It's also the cheapest option you see in this post.

Salad Bar Lunch

Got a company cafeteria or a local deli with a salad bar?  With some careful selection of salad bar toppings, you can put together a healthy salad that is both satisfying and tasty.  Just go easy on the meat, cheese, sauces, and dressing.  I usually go with a few small pieces of chicken, a tablespoon of shredded cheese and a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar, on top of lots of veggies

Don't have any of these options near your work? Going out to lunch with co-workers that doesn't have these options available.  I just try to eat a normal-sized meal, and then eat a lighter dinner.  Balance is key in eating healthier.

* I say "health(ier)" because these options are healthier then say, ordering a big mac and fries, but not necessarily healthier than bringing your own lunch, where you can control the amount of fat and sodium.  Also, since restaurant food tends to be higher in sodium, I try to limit eating out for lunch to about once or twice a week.

Note: I was not compensated to mention any of the products or businesses named above.  They have no idea who I am.  I am not a registered dietitian or medical professional.  These are simply strategies and tips that I use that have worked for me.  You should consult with a registered dietician or medical professional before making any changes in your routine.

First JC Food Co-op Book Club

[Image source]

Yesterday, I attended the first meeting of the JC Food Co-op Book Club at Tachair Bookshoppe.  This month's book was Mark Bittman's Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating.  I had downloaded the book on to my kindle a few months ago, so it was a happy coincidence when I found out that it was the first book for discussion.

I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about meeting and talking about a topic as sensitive as personal eating habits with strangers (though I do recognize the irony in that statement since I blog about my eating habits all the time!). But it actually turned out to be worthwhile experience.  It was refreshing to meet and speak with people who are as interested in food as I am.  I also learned more about the Jersey City food community and the food co-op, who organized the event.  And all while sipping Good Earth "Sweet and Spicy" tea, which they serve at the book shop, and has now become my new favorite tea!

As for the book itself, Bittman advocates "sane eating," that is a diet of that focuses on mostly plants, but with some meats as an accent or flavor, and minimizing processed foods.  This is similar to the diet I have already been following since I began to lose weight last year, so it hasn't changed the way I eat.  But one thing I did learn from the book was how political the way we are taught to eat is.  For example, take the "4 Basic Food Groups" that many of us learned as children, which later evolved to the "Food Pyramid" and now to "Choose My Plate." Perhaps it was my own naivete, but I was somehow under the impression that some learned health professionals or dietitians were developing these models as the way we are supposed to eat.  But rather, as Bittman highlights, these models were largely driven by the agricultural industries.  Learning about this aspect of food education has made me question what we know about food and nutrition and how many common misconceptions there are about food.

Question: 

Have you read Food Matters?  Is there something from the book that changed how you thought about food?

Special thanks to the Jersey City Food Co-op and Tachair Bookshoppe for making the book club meeting possible! I highly recommend anyone in the Jersey City area to check them out!

Note:  I have not been compensated to make this review of any of the products or businesses discussed here. I just really like them.

Healthy Portable Lunch Ideas

I really like to bring my lunch to work when ever I can.  Not only does it save money, but it also ensures that I eat a healthy and nutritious lunch.  (Not that eating out has to be unhealthy - more on that next week!)

Most frequently, I bring leftovers from dinner the night before. What I love about doing this is that it gives me something to look forward to in the middle of the day since I still have the memory of the tasty meal I had the night before. So when I am making dinner, I often will cook an extra serving so that I will have lunch to bring the next day.  For example...

This basil pesto salmon with quinoa pilaf, with an apple on the side.  I usually supplement my lunch some fresh fruit to help fill me up (without adding a lot of calories).  Plus, I enjoy having something sweet at the end of a meal. 

Slow cookers are great for cooking large batches of food to bring to lunch.  In the past, I have brought a tupperware of these yummy recipes to work with me....

Spicy Enchilada Chili

Albondigas Soup

Minestrone Soup

Tortilla Soup

Or other times, I will have a small piece of chicken or fish that I put on top of salad, like this chicken breast on top of this spinach salad with avocado and carrots.  (Pretty sure there are grape tomatoes in there somewhere too...)

But when I don't have leftovers available, I bring a lot of sandwiches...

Like this Tomato, Cheese, and Hummus on Whole Wheat Pita, with tomato slices on the side.  When I first saw this sandwich in The Supermarket Cookbook, I thought it was so weird.  But now it's one of my favorite sandwiches to bring to work! (By the way, you are also treated with a glimpse of my work keyboard  and mouse in the background there).

Smoked Salmon and cream cheese on whole wheat bread, with steamed broccoli on the side.  Okay, I cheated a little on this one - I made this for dinner one night when J. was in out of town for work.  But this could easily be packed into lunch. (Just bring some breath mints or chewing gum, if you don't want fishy breath for the rest of the afternoon).

So there you have it, my Healthy "Bring to Work" lunches.  Stay tuned for next week when I will show you my strategies for healthier take-out lunch options.

Healthy Breakfast Ideas

After the positive feedback I've been receiving on my journey to a healthier lifestyle, I've started a "Healthy Living" series, which I will endeavor to post tips and strategies that I use to live healthier every Monday. (For those of you reading this for recipes, or just not interested in this topic, rest assured, I will still post the occasional sweet treat or otherwise indulgence food when it meets my fancy.  Variety is the spice of life!)

This week's topic - Breakfast!

Your mother was right, breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. There are countless reasons why eating a healthy breakfast is good for you; it jump starts your metabolism, it provides you with energy for the day... I won't bore you with a lecture on the specifics as there is plenty of literature out there on the topic, such as here and here.  Fortunately for me, as a kid, my mom never let me leave the house in the morning to go to school without eating breakfast first, which in turn developed a very good habit for me into adulthood.  On weekdays, I usually eat breakfast after a workout at the gym, so that doesn't leave me with much time to prepare an elaborate breakfast.  But being pressed for time doesn't mean that you can't eat healthy.  Here are some of my favorite weekday breakfast ideas:

Whole-wheat toast with peanut butter, banana, and a drizzle of honey

Elvis had the right idea with combining peanut and bananas.  I use a tablespoon of reduced fat peanut butter to "save" on calories (I'm partial to Skippy, but J. prefers Jiff, so I buy which ever one is on sale).

Whole grain cereal with berries and nuts

My favorite brand of cereal to use for this is Kashi Heart to Heart - either the warm cinnamon or toasted oat flavor.  The toasted oat flavor reminds me of a more grown-up Honey Nut Cheerios.  I also sometimes change up the fruit, such as a banana or apple.  

Low-fat (or nonfat) yogurt with fruit preserves, berries and nuts

I find mixing plain yogurt with a quality fruit preserve actually tastes better than the packaged "fruit at the bottom yogurt."  And also depending on the brand of preserves, you can avoid some of the scary chemicals and artificial flavoring.  

As you may have gathered, we had a lot of berries in the fridge last week.  But if you are looking for a savory breakfast, try this:

"Rocky Mountain toast" toast with avocados, cheddar cheese and grape tomatoes, and a few drops of sriracha sauce.  "Rocky Mountain toast," also known as "Man on a raft" is simply a piece of bread with a hole cut into the center.  You put the toast in the frying pan and cook the egg in the center.  (The egg is buried under all the toppings in the picture). 

What do you like to eat for a healthy breakfast? Do you eat different breakfast foods during the week and on weekends?

Note: I was not compensated by any of the products mentioned here.  I purchased all the products with my own funds. 

Shrimp and Vegetables in Sherry Sauce

I love shrimp.  Not only are they tasty, they are a low-calorie protein, and inexpensive too.  On top of that, they don't require planning ahead in that you don't have to defrost them the night before.  Just run cold water over the shrimp in a colander for five minutes. (Shake the colander around so that the shrimp defrost evenly).

Plus, adding shrimp makes any meal look fancy, when really you hardly spent any time on it, and didn't even plan ahead!  What's not to love? (That is of course, so long as you are not allergic to them)

And doesn't this dish look fancy? In reality, though, it was really simple to make, and I used ingredients I usually have on hand. I often cook shrimp with vegetables this way, but this time, I threw in a shot of sherry on a whim because I love how sherry tastes with seafood.  It turned out to really make the sauce for this dish.

Shrimp and Vegetables in Sherry Sauce

Ingredients:
1 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow squash, dished
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup (a handful) grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 Tbs fresh oregano, chopped
1 shot dry sherry
dash of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil

Method:
Heat olive oil with a dash of red pepper flakes.  When the oil is hot, beginning cooking onions.  When the onions start to soften, stir in garlic, and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).  Add zucchini, bell pepper, and yellow squash. Add a pinch of salt to taste  Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until soft. Push the vegetables to the sides of the pan, creating a "well" for the shrimp.  Add shrimp to the "well" and cook for about a minute on each side, or until pink.  Add sherry.  Let it reduce for about a minute.  Add grape tomatoes, and cook for about another two minutes, until heated through.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with quinoa, pasta, or rice.  (Earlier this week, I made a big batch of quinoa pilaf with a slightly modified version of this recipe, which is what is pictured here.)

My journey to a healthier lifestyle

I've mentioned before that I lost weight last year and now pursue a healthier and more active lifestyle.  It wasn't always an easy journey, but I want to share my story in the hope that maybe it will motivate or inspire others who enjoy food as much as I do.

As a teenager, I was lucky - I could eat whatever I wanted, I never exercised, and I didn't gain weight.  (I know, I hate the teenage version of me too).  With my hobbies being reading books and singing in my high school choir, I was prone to a sedentary lifestyle.

In college, when more and more girls were worrying about the Freshman 15, I had friends who counted calories, something I refused to do.  I was someone who loved cooking and baking cookies and brownies.  How could you possibly enjoy your food, when you are worrying about how fat it is going to make you?  In my mind, I analogized it to keeping a record of every penny you spend (something I did do for about a year); it was harder to enjoy fun activities like going to the movies, when you were preoccupied about how much it was costing you.  So I steadfastly refused to count calories, and at that my point of my life, I really had no need to.

How can you enjoy this ice cream if you know how many calories are in it!?

Finally, during my first year of law school, the over two decades of never watching what I eat and rarely exercising finally caught up with me.  I weighed the most I had ever weighed in my life and I was not happy about it.  So in January 2007, I went to Barnes and Noble, and perused the diet and healthy living display (always prominently displayed at the front of the store in January) and I chose Good Housekeeping's The Supermarket Diet Cookbook.  I chose this book because its premise, as the title suggests, was that you could lose weight and still eat normal food that you buy at the supermarket, rather than some fad diet, or other weight-loss programs that require you to buy their special meals.  Inside it had tasty, healthy recipes and helpful tips on how to read nutrition labels and exercise.  That same day, I also bought my first exercise DVD.

 New Year's Resolution 2007!

I'd like to say that this was when my life turned around, that I lost tons of weight and kept it up since then.  I did lose some weight. But the book did advocate calorie counting, which I still refused to do.  So I lost weight in little ways, switching to skim milk, eating low-fat cheese, and cutting out orange juice.  (That last one was hard for me, I loved orange juice and drank it like it was water - 3 to 4 glasses a day, but it has about 110 calories per glass!)

Unfortunately, I wasn't very disciplined, and after graduating from law school, my little shortcuts no longer worked. J. and I had started dating, and while relationships are wonderful, it also meant eating out frequently and drinking copious amounts of alcohol.  And even on the nights when we stayed in and cooked, I found that I was eating the same size portion as J, who weighs nearly twice as much I did.  Not to blame J. for all of it, of course. I was also having fun doing things like going to the Chocolate Show, or baking cheesecake brownies.  The unfortunate result of all this was by the end of 2011, I weighed more than I ever had before, even more than I had in law school before I began my "shortcuts."  I was unhappy with the way I looked. My clothes didn't fit me, and it was hard to buy new clothes that fit me properly. My body unfortunately gained weight mostly around my belly and not much anywhere else.  It got to the point that well-meaning strangers and distant acquaintances were asking me when I was expecting.

I finally came to the realization that if I wanted to fit in my clothes again and not have strangers asking me if I was pregnant, I had to lose weight. I will be the first to admit my primary motivation for weight loss was vanity.  So in the beginning of 2012, I made a resolution to lose thirty pounds by Labor Day.  I pulled out the Supermarket Diet Cookbook again, and this time, actually took the advice to heart. I started exercising at the gym 4-5 days per week for about 40 minutes each time.  I took up running when the weather warmed up and started training for 5K races, and eventually my first 10K race.  But the biggest challenge for me was to mentally accept the idea of calorie counting.  I downloaded the Fat Secret calorie counter app for my phone, which made it easy for me to keep track of my calories no matter where I was.  With the help of the Fat Secret app, I calculated that I had to eat no more than 1500 calories per day to gradually lose weight, but not feel hungry all the time.

Enter lots of veggies and whole grains into my diet, like this veggie and hummus on whole wheat pita

Surprisingly, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be.  Calorie counting helped me learn portion control and to think about what I ate before I ate it.  I also bought a kitchen scale so I that I have an idea of what a portion of meat, fish, or fruit should look like and more accurately calculate my calorie intake.  I learned that I really shouldn't be eating the same amount of food as J.  So I still enjoyed food, I was simply eating less of it.

All things in moderation, like these tasty sweet and sour pork ribs!

I wish I could tell you that I reached my 30 pound weight loss goal by Labor Day of last year, because it would make my story all the more inspirational.  I came pretty close, about twenty seven pounds.  But I feel much healthier and more energetic than I ever did before.  My enjoyment of food has actually increased because I learned to savor it in smaller quantities.  On top of that, I am in the best shape of my life.  Before, I could never imagine running a mile, never mind a 5K race. But in October 2012, I completed my first 10K race. My new active lifestyle has also given me confidence and a new-found appreciation for my body. When I was younger, I took my physical appearance for granted.  But now that I had to work hard to get in the shape I am now, I finally feel happy about the way I look.

Disclaimer (I am a lawyer, after all...): I was not compensated to discuss any of the products mentioned here.  They are simply products that I chose that worked for me.  I am NOT a registered dietitian or health professional, and none of the above should be construed as medical advice. If you want expert advice, you should talk to a doctor before beginning any weight loss program.

Spicy Chicken Enchilada Chili

I made this last weekend when "Winter Storm Nemo" hit the tri-state area (apparently naming winter storms is now a thing...). Cold snowy whether always makes me want to cook up a hot soup or stew in the crockpot.  I've made this chili before, but I wanted to adapt it to make it spicier.  I chose to make my own enchilada sauce because the store bought ones usually have tons of sodium in it, and it really doesn't take that much longer to make the sauce.

Spicy Chicken Enchilada Chili
Adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking

1 cup prepared enchilada sauce (recipe to follow)
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, removed from skins
1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 can low-sodium pinto beans
1 oz tomato paste (I bought a 6 oz can of tomato paste, so I used about 5 oz for the enchilada sauce, and used up the rest of the can for the chili)
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 Tbs chopped pickled jalapenos
dash of cayenne pepper
dash of crushed red pepper flakes
2 skinless boneless chicken breasts

Throw in all the ingredients except for the chicken breasts in to the crockpot. The order doesn't really matter  Mix to combine.  Place chicken breasts on top.  Cook on low for about 6-8 hours.  When done, take out chicken breasts and shred into bite size pieces with two forks and mix back into the chili.  Serve with cheddar cheese, sour cream, or more pickled jalapenos, if desired.

Enchilada Sauce
(adapted from Emeril Lagasse)

1 1/2 Tbs vegetable oil
1/2 Tbs all-purpose flour
1/8 cup (about 2 Tbs chili powder)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
About 5 oz tomato paste
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
dash of cayenne pepper (to taste)

Heat vegetable oil on medium heat and stir in flour.  Cook for about a minute, stirring constantly.  Stir in chili powder, and cook for about 30 seconds more.  Add chicken broth, tomato paste, and remaining spices.  Stir to combine and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, lower the heat to low.  Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasonings to taste.