Hidden Camera

This morning I couldn’t find my camera so sorry its such a late post!!

Yesterday was an interesting day. I volunteered at Habitat for Humanity all morning doing Construction work!! It was SO cold but there were a bunch of athletes from Boston College on a service trip there so they were fun to talk to. I insulated pipes, cleaned out a 4 foot tall attic (my back? ow) and put up some lightbulbs. By the time I got home I was exhausted.

So I started my day off with some oats. In them went:

• 1/2 c oats, over 1 cup water
• 1/2 banana, mashed
• salt, pumpkin pie spice
• brown sugar on top
• flax seed on top
• cinnamon swirl PB

I had packed a salad for lunch, thinking I would stay at Habitat for the full day, but after a half day I was ready to get home! So I ended up taking my lunch back home. But this is what I originally packed:

An enormous salad made with : lettuce, cucumbers, red/yellow pepper, tomato, mushrooms, walnuts, grapes, chickpeas and raisins. For dressing, I took some Light Blue Cheese Dressing and had a serving of Annie’s Graham Bunnies on the side.

After I ate this salad while warming up on the couch, I still didn’t feel totally satisfied. I think my body had really worked hard at both doing the actual construction and staying warm in the 25 degree weather. I was craving a hot sandwich so made a little sandwich with Cinnamon Swirl Peanut Butter, banana slices and a little Pumpkin Butter on 6-grain bread. I felt sort of guilty after eating it because I felt like I had eaten too much. Ideally, I should have had HALF the salad I did and then had the sandwich. I am still learning how to listen to my body!

I took a nap this afternoon which I NEVER do. I tried to listen to my body which was saying it was realllly tired! While cooking dinner, I snacked on this fruit cup:

And I made a recipe out of this book, Glorious Greens. My nutritionist, Cora, gave it to me to try to incorporate more of a variety of greens in my diet. I have read a lot about Kale on the blogs so decided to make a Kale recipe. It is called “Basic No-Fat, No-Fuss, Colorful Kale”

Basic No-Fat, No-Fuss, Colorful Kale

3/4 lb kale (about 6 cups chopped)

2 cups water

3 carrots, peeled and quartered lengthwise

3 ears of corn, kernels cut from cob (**I just used about a cup and a half of frozen corn)

salt to taste

1. Wash kale and strip leaves from stalk

2. Bring water to a boil in a large skillet that has a tight-fitting lid

3. Cut the carrots in 1/2 inch pieces. Place carrots and corn in the boiling water, reduce heat, cover skillet, and simmer for 5 minutes

4. Add prepared kale to carrots and corn. Cover and cook for 4 minutes. Water should be bubbling vigorously but not boiling over.

5. Spring on salt to taste, stir to combine, and remove to a service dish with a slotted spoon. Serve hot. Drink the “pot likker!” (They said the leftover liquid is awesome because it has been sweetened by the carrots & corn!)

My mom made an Indian rice and chicken recipe out of Cooking Light so I had about a 1/2 portion of that, with tomato/cucumber/feta salad, a few pieces of roasted butternut squash and my Kale recipe which was great! It was pretty plain but I really love the “meaty” texture of Kale, as Cora described it. And the sweetness of the corn and carrots were a great addition to just plain Kale.

And that’s yesterday’s recap!