Comparison: Bran Flakes

Despite my mediocre success thus far at Nutrisystem (due completely to my own weak, emotional eating), I want to be prepared for WHEN (not if) I lose the weight.  They offer "maintenance" plans including ordering foods a la carte.  So I've decided to start doing a comparision between Nutrisystem foods, homemade foods, and store bought foods to decide which items, if any, I will continue buying a la carte.

Comparison: Bran Flakes

 The contenders:

• NutriFlakes Cereal
• Safeway Bran Flakes

I was not about to spend time making my own cereal so there is no homemade contender for this comparison.

Nutrition

The most important comparison for me is nutrition.  In my brief review of all my Nutrisystem foods, the primary difference compared to "regular" food is the increased protein and fiber, and lower fat and sugar. 

*I increased the Bran Flakes serving size from 3/4 cup to 1 cup to make them more comparable.

Volume/Appearance

No big difference in volume between the two cereals.  Bran Flakes filled the bowl slightly more, but it also has 10 more calories.  Bran Flakes had larger flake sizes.

Left: NutriFlakes.  Right: Bran Flakes

Taste

NutriFlakes had a slightly sweeter taste, but it also absorbed the milk very quickly and was a bit soggy after only a couple minutes.  Bran Flakes was crunchy and slightly less sweet.  They both had a bit of a gritty texture and were basically what you would expect from a bran cereal.  I personally like bran, but to each their own.

Cost

Buying one serving of NutriFlakes a la carte costs $1.79.  The Bran Flakes cost $3.00 per box with approximately 12 servings or $0.25 per serving.

Other Considerations

NutriFlakes comes in it's handy, pre-measured serving bowl which is recyclable.  Bran Flakes on the other hand comes in a cardboard box and plastic bag like most cereals.  Environmentally Bran Flakes makes less waste, but you will need to deal with the minor inconvenience of measuring out your serving size, which could easily become too large of a serving size if, like me, you have a bad habit of pouring without measuring.

Left: NutriFlakes.  Right: Bran Flakes.

 Conclusion

Overall, Bran Flakes is a decent replacement for NutriFlakes with the cost alone making it well worth it.  This is one item I would not buy a la carte.

Product Review: Tofurkey Vegan Pizza

This blog seems to have turned into a long discussion of my attempts to lose weight by overcoming my obsessive eating habits.  That wasn't my original intention, but I once read a post about how people tend to only present the best of themselves on the internet, giving people an unrealistic impression of their lives.  That struck a chord with me, so I've been trying to keep it real by documenting my attempts and failures.  They've mostly been failures.  In fact, here is another partial failure for you.  I recently started Nutrisystem.  The first week went great, second week had some cheating, third week was a disaster.  I'm not so good with that "will power" thing.  Oh, well.  Fourth week will be awesome, right?  I've lost 7 pounds so far and gained 2 back.  Still in the negative! 

So, back to my original intention for this blog: discussing food!

Tofurkey Vegan Pizza

I was strolling through the frozen food section of the grocery store, looking for something for dinner.  My requirements:

• Healthy
• Child Approved
• No Cooking (I'd been doing too much lately.)

What did my eyes behold, but a frozen pizza from Tofurky!  I love their deli meats, especially the hickory smoked variety, so I immediately snatched it up. 

• Pizza - definitely child approved. 
• Whole wheat and soy protein - healthy approved.  

I opted for the Italian Sausage variety since it came with "fire roasted veggies."  I'm all about finding ways to get my child to eat more veggies and pizza is a good way. 

http://www.tofurky.com/tofurkyproducts/pizza.html

My first impression was that I either didn't cook it long enough or the crust was too thin.  I ended up eating it with a fork and knife because the crust couldn't support all the toppings.  Second impression - spicy!  I didn't end up feeding it to my child for this reason.  I can stand a little heat so long as it doesn't take away from the flavor, but this was a bit much for me.  Third impression - cardboard aftertaste.  Maybe it needs the heat to cover up the not-so-great taste.  Overall: not impressed.  I'd be interested to see if the other varieties are any better.  The price was decent, but I didn't enjoy it enough to finish the whole pizza the first time so I'd rather not waste food by trying another.

Have you tried one of their pizzas?  Thoughts?

Perfect Meal Plan Week 3 and Beyond

The most amazing thing happened during what should have been week 3 of my healthy eating plan.  I was upstairs giving the kiddo a bath when my husband comes in and says there is someone selling cookbooks at the door and he thought I might be interested.  We rarely buy things from door-to-door sales people and I was surprised that my husband didn't say "no thanks."  So I left the kiddo with him and went to investigate.  The young woman at the door was raising money for college by selling cookbooks.  I flipped through the first one expecting to find a bunch of meat recipes and was surprised to find that it was vegetarian.  I commented on this and the woman turned out to be a vegetarian too.  I would normally expect a salesperson to point out that the cookbook was vegetarian but she barely said a word.  I also noticed that all the cookbooks in her hands were different, but she only offered me this one.  Strange.  But mostly I noticed that the recipes looked tasty and healthy.  So I bought it.

Upon further reading, the cookbook was not only vegetarian, but it focused on cutting out oil, cheese, and butter exactly like my perfect meal plan.  The cookbook turned out to be vegan with the exception of honey.  It was also very religious, which I found odd.  Most Christians that I've met use the Bible to support eating meat, but this cookbook used the Bible to support being vegetarian.  I'm not very religious, but to find a cookbook that met my exact meal plan specifications right when I was complaining about the lack of appealing vegan cuisine seemed pretty miraculous to me. 

I've made about a dozen recipes from the book so far and all of them have been delicious.  I even relented and tried a recipe containing my arch nemesis: nutritional yeast.  The book explained that the yeast has a cheese-like taste, which is why it is so commonly used in vegan recipes.  As long as I think of it as just another seasoning, it doesn't bother me as much. 

The cookbook?  Seven Secrets Cookbook, by Neva and Jim Brackett

The recipes?  I don't think it is right to publish the actual recipes on the internet, but I'll tell you about the ones I love and you can check it out yourself.  That, however, is a future post.

I haven't lost any weight yet. In fact I've gained weight, but I've still been stress eating and not strictly following the cookbook so don't blame that.  I'm attempting to cut all sugar except honey out of my diet for the month of August as a detox program.  As my friend's bumper sticker says, "Sugar - the Gateway Drug."  I'm feeling slightly less stressed of late so hopefully I won't fall off the wagon again.

This post just reminded me of an article I read about how we only present our ideal self when posting information on the internet.  Well, let me come right out and say I'm a big fat failure when it comes to eating right and I think many people can relate so I won't hide from it.  But like a lot of people, I'm always striving to do better and be better.  Stories of failure can be just as motivating as stories of success.  

Perfect Meal Plan Week 2

I know I'm very delinquent in following up on this.  Here is my excuse.  About halfway through week 2 a decision was made that stressed me out so much I was driven to my go-to depression fixer: sugar.  I don't want to talk about the details in blog format, but let's just say that I've been very busy trying to remedy the situation and am therefore quite behind on blogging and too busy to come up with another perfect meal plan.  Here, however, is a list of what I had planned for week 2.

Breakfast:
Almond-Raisin Oatmeal (Modified from week 1 oatmeal recipe)

Baked Eggs (See week 1 for recipe)

Lunch:
Black Bean Soup with Avocado Salsa

Snack:
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 Banana
10 pecan halves

Dinner:
Smokey Quinoa with Mushroom

I found this week's meals much more suited to my personal tastes.  The soup was a bit on the bland side, but overall no complaints. 

Perfect Meal Plan Followup

Last weekend I whipped up what I'm referring to as the "Perfect Meal Plan", which refers to its lack of cheese (excepting cottage), sugar, butter and egg yolks plus a healthy variety of nutrients and food types.  I mostly followed this meal plan for six days.  (Sometimes you need to eat your child's cheddar bunny crackers.)

The Results

I lost 4 pounds in 5 days.  (I forgot to weigh myself day one.)  I wouldn't say I felt like a million bucks, but I definitely felt more even keel and it was easier to get up in the morning.  Overall I'd call it a success.  I'm definitely going to try it again with a new meal plan next week.  My new goal is to do this 6 days per week for 6 weeks and see where it gets me.  I'm going to spend a little less time focusing on getting every nutrient as high as possible as it just takes too much time.  I'll have to rely on variety from week to week to balance that out.

Meal Plan Review

See original blog post for recipes.  Note that I'm usually a very repetitive eater as meat-eater husband won't eat anything I eat.  I'm used it having the full 4 to 6 serving recipe all to myself, so if I don't mind eating a recipe many days in a row it passes the test for me.


Sunflower-Raisin Oatmeal - The raisins were delicious and I ended up doubling them the last couple days.  I added a lot more sunflower seeds than the original recipe to up the niacin, but it was a bit of an overload.  Overall a tasty meal and very filling.  I did not mind eating it 6 days in a row. 

Janelle's Baked Eggs - I've made this many times before, but never actually measured things so the recipe I posted guessed on ingredients.  It was not nearly as good this week, but I think that is due to two problems.  One, I was using my 9x13 pan for something else so I made this in an 8x8 pan for thicker eggs.  Thinner is definitely better for whatever reason.  Two, I grabbed an Egg Beaters brand egg white carton since I was already at Fred Meyer and they don't carry my normal Lucerine brand.  I new this was a mistake the minute I saw a yellow substance some out instead of the clear egg whites.  Bleh.  I made a second batch halfway through the week following my own instructions and using my normal brand to much better results.


Black Bean and Corn Salad - Yum.  That's all I need to say.

Olive Oil and Herb Biscuits - Good flavor but very dry.  I'd have to find a way to add moisture if I ever made these again.  They did not expand at all and the baked picture below looks almost exactly like the dough.

Zucchini with Quinoa Stuffing - Pretty.  Tasty the first day, but BORING by day 6.  I was so tired of zucchini I kept eating less and less until I wasn't eating any of it at all.  The almonds and sun-dried tomatoes were a great addition, but if your bite didn't have a lot of them it was just...boring.  Not sure I'll make this again.

Roasted Veggies - This was definitely my favorite recipe of the week.  The sweet potatoes were delicious.  I used it as motivation to make it through the boring quinoa. 

Strawberry Peach Popsicle - I couldn't find sugar free coconut in my grocery store so I ended up using light coconut milk instead of regular milk.  They were very tasty, but only the tip of the popsicle was creamy.  The rest was icey.  If I make these again I would probably use full fat coconut milk.  They certainly passed my toddler's taste test as she stole most of them for herself.

Confessions of a Vegetarian Tempeh Hater

Have you looked at vegan websites?  They are full of recipes like "egg-less tofu scramble" and "mock meatloaf."  No wonder people are so turned off by the idea of eating a vegan meal.  If they miss animal products that much, why don't they eat it and stop trying to reproduce it with weird ingredients?  Don't even get me started on tempeh.  What is that creepy looking, disgusting tasting thing?

Wait, aren't you a vegetarian?

Oh, yes, I've been a vegetarian for 17 years now. Lacto-ovo vegetarian with no lard, gelatin or leather if you want to be specific about it.

So you don't eat tofu?

I eat tofu.  I've had my fair share of meatless meat reproductions and some are quite tasty.  I've also had a great deal of disgusting reproductions.  Mostly I'm tired of processed, meatless meat products being the go to protein source.  They seem like food for vegans/vegetarians that don't really want to be vegan/vegetarian.  They are seeking to fill a void caused by lack of meat.  And, frankly, most of them just aren't that appealing.  Just because I'm a vegetarian doesn't mean I want to eat bean curds.

I want more recipes with simple, wholesome ingredients.  Admittedly, there are a lot of vegetarians recipes that don't rely on processed soy products.  I'm trying, however, to cut down on cholesterol and saturated fats in my diet, which means I've been turning more to vegan recipes to cut out cheese, butter, and egg yolks.  The lack of appealing vegan recipes has been very disappointing.  And no, I would like not some soy cheese substitute thank you very much. 

Tag out.  Speaking of substitutes, can I rant for a minute about sugar substitutes?  I want a sugar free recipes, not a recipe with Splenda or Agave or Equal or whatever new thing is on the market.  I don't really trust that fake, chemical, or modified stuff.  Sugar free on a label simply sends up a red flag that they put something weird in my food.  Honey is a nice substitute for processed cane sugar, but it is still sugar.  Ok, tag in.

What is really in those soy substitute products anyway?  Picking a products at random (one that I really enjoy, actually), here are the ingredients for MorningStar Farms "Crumbles."

TEXTURED VEGETABLE PROTEIN (SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, WHEAT GLUTEN, WATER FOR HYDRATION), WATER, CORN OIL, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF CHICORY ROOT FIBER (INULIN), YEAST EXTRACT, NATURAL FLAVORS, BLACK MALT POWDER, SALT, SOY SAUCE (WATER, SOYBEANS, SALT, WHEAT), EVAPORATED CANE JUICE CRYSTALS, GARLIC POWDER, ONION POWDER, ONION JUICE CONCENTRATE, SPICES, TOMATO POWDER, CITRIC ACID, NIACINAMIDE, IRON (FERROUS SULFATE), SKIM MILK, EGG WHITES, THIAMIN MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), VITAMIN B12.

Not bad for a processed food, actually.  At least I have heard of most of the ingredients, but alas it contains sugar.

Finding a cheese-free, meat-free, sugar-free recipe is difficult.  I don't have a specific ingredient or recipe in mind and most recipe sites don't give you a "search without" option.  I want a plethora of recipes at my fingertips, which leads me full circle back to my desperate search of vegan websites.  I will deal with my fair share of soy "quoted meats" and tofu.  But if one more website recommends a BBQ seitan or tempeh, I might have to go eat some cheese.

Perfect Meal Plan

I don't want much out of my meal plan.  I just want it to be:

• Vegetarian
• No Sugar Added
• Balanced (50% carbs, 30% fat, 20% protein) 
• Nutritious (variety of vitamins and minerals)
• Quick and Easy to Make
• Low in Saturated Fat (<20g)
• Low in Cholesterol (<300mg)
• Low Calorie (<1600)
• Filling
• Delicious!

You know, perfect.  I can certainly think of a few recipes that I make which fit the bill, but a whole day's meal plan?  That's a tough one.  No added sugar means all sugar and sugar substitutes including agave, honey, splenda, etc.  Low in saturated fat and cholesterol would mean cutting out butter, cheese, and peanut butter for me, but keeping the healthier fats olive oil, coconut, and raw nuts.  I decided cottage cheese is so high in protein that it could get a pass. 

First let me say that finding a recipe that does not include meat, sugar, products with sugar (sneaks into balsamic vinegar for example), butter, or cheese is difficult.  The ones I did find were pretty high in salt and oil.

Second, finding foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol while simultaneously being high in vitamin D and B12 is difficult.  The most common vegetarian sources are egg yolks, cheese, and peanuts.  I eventually gave up on finding the perfect source and concluded that I will need supplements for those items in order to cut down on my cholesterol.

But I eventually did it!  I found a <nearly> perfect meal plan.  I played around with my meal plan using nutritiondata.com.  For fun, here are the statistics. 

4.75 stars for optimum health!  Woohoo!  I'm in optimal range for glycemic index and inflammation factor, and my protein quality is off the charts.  I've never been able to get a nutrient balance score higher than 78, so I'm going to count that as good as it will get for me.  As mentioned before, Vitamin D and B12 were low enough to warrant a supplements.  Niacin was lower than I would like (66% of daily value). The rest were 80% or above, which is right on track considering those percentages are based on a 2,000 calorie diet and I'm aiming for 1,600.

And now that I've bored you with my nerdy numbers, onto the actual recipes!

Breakfast:
Sunflower-Raisin Oatmeal
Follow recipe linked above, but replace cranberries for raisins and use 1 ounce of sunflower seeds.

Janelle's Baked Eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray 9"x13" baking pan with non-stick spray.  Combine 4 cups shredded mushrooms, 1 large carton of liquid egg whites (~20 egg whites), 1 tablespoon minced garlic (~3 cloves), and 1 tablespoon onion powder.  Pour in pan.  Bake for 30-45 minutes or until center is set.  Makes four servings.


Lunch:

Black Bean and Corn Salad 
Follow recipe linked above, but exclude oil.  Add 1 cup cottage cheese as "dressing" and use half the onion.  I'm not a huge raw onion fan.


Olive Oil and Herb Biscuits
Follow recipe linked above, but add 2 cups chopped raw spinach.  Replace white flour with wheat flour.

Dinner:
Zucchini with Quinoa Stuffing
Follow recipe linked above, but replace cannellini beans with soybeans and tomatoes/olive oil with sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil.  Do not use Parmesan.

Roasted Veggies
Toss 1/2 cup chopped broccoli, 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms, and 1/2 diced sweet potato with 1 tsp olive oil and 1/4 tsp paprika.  Roast at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or until golden on the edge.

Dessert:
Strawberry Peach Popsicle
Follow recipe linked above, but replace coconut milk with 2% milk.

There you have it.  I'm going to make this for next week's meals.  I'll let you know if eating the "perfect" meal plan fulfills the delicious requirement, has me feeling like a million bucks, or has me craving that excluded sugar.

Cauliflower Crusted Pizza

I found this recipe via one of my new favorite sources: Pinterest. The idea of replacing bread with veggies, while still eating something as indulgent as pizza, immediately caught my eye.

The original recipe calls for cauliflower, egg, and cheese to form the crust. I didn’t like the idea of putting cheese in the crust, however. Then all I’m doing is replacing bread with fat, albeit fat with protein. I decided to go for the middle ground. I added two eggs instead of one and threw in some grated potato, thinking fondly of a potato crusted quiche I made a while back. I left of the cheese entirely.

I pre-baked the crust until starting to brown. My little one is still allergic to tomatoes so I used a store bought Alfredo sauce instead. (I know, I know. There is the fat added back in. This is why I have to cut back in other places!) For toppings I chose grated mushrooms, zucchini, soy ground, and cheese.

Original Recipe:

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Serves 2; Adapted from Your Lighter Side.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt
olive oil (optional)

pizza sauce, shredded cheese and your choice of toppings*

Directions:

To "Rice" the Cauliflower:
Take 1 large head of fresh cauliflower, remove stems and leaves, and chop the florets into chunks. Add to food processor and pulse until it looks like grain. Do not over-do pulse or you will puree it. (If you don't have a food processor, you can grate the whole head with a cheese grater). Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes. There is no need to add water, as the natural moisture in the cauliflower is enough to cook itself.

One large head should produce approximately 3 cups of riced cauliflower. The remainder can be used to make additional pizza crusts immediately, or can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

To Make the Pizza Crust:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and using your hands, pat out into a 9" round. Optional: Brush olive oil over top of mixture to help with browning.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven. To the crust, add sauce, toppings and cheese. Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted (approximately 3-4 minutes).

Enjoy!

*Note that toppings need to be precooked since you are only broiling for a few minutes.

Source: http://www.eat-drink-smile.com/2011/04/cauliflower-crust-pizza.html

The result: delicious! And when I say delicious, I mean stuff your face until your pants don’t fit delicious. Trust me, it is easy to be an over-weight vegetarian. ;) Yum!

My toddler wasn’t as enthusiastic, unfortunately. She ate half and then asked for a banana. It takes her a while to warm up to anything other than fruit and crackers, so I’m going to give it another shot. If not, more for me!

Friends Not Food

This blog is for discussing delicious vegetarian food and for reveling in the amazing animals we are blessed to share this planet with. But you don't need to be a vegetarian to enjoy these topics. Welcome!