 |
| This is what about 600 calories looks like |
I do, however, keep track of my food and exercise in an app from Loseit.com. (I used to use sparkpeople.com, but find I like the simplicity of Lose It more.) I've tracked my food on and off for the last five years. I'm shocked how little food a body requires to survive, but at the same time find it incredibly difficult to feel satisfied on a 1500 calorie diet. I find that if I aim for 1500 calories, I keep my weight steady. When I start eating closer to 2000 calories a day, even when exercising regularly, I gain weight.
Today's lunch was so delicious that I'm sharing it with you:
Arnold 8-grain pocket with chicken salad and mixed greens
Mama Pea's Black Eyed Pea Salad with Corn and Peppers
Clementines (for morning and afternoon snacks)
Red grapes
Farmhouse white cheddar (not the bulk processed crap, but a cheese that tells you the name of the farm and how long it's aged. And it's white so it doesn't have that fake yellow color in it.)
I find it really hard to consume the recommended amount of fruits (2-4 servings) and vegetables (3-5 servings) each day, so I have to sneak them into other dishes. Tracking my food opened my eyes to the amount of calories that come from meat. Meat is a very calorie dense food. Example: 4 oz. of lean ground beef has about 170 calories, or you could eat 4.5 bell peppers for about 170 calories.
Chicken Salad (4 servings)
12.5 oz can chicken, drained
1 stalk celery, diced
1 apple, cored and diced
1 Tbsp parsley (I only used this because I had it on hand)
2 Tbsp Miracle Whip (I know, unhealthy, but I can't stand jarred mayo!)
I made a few modifications to Mama Pea's dressing for the veggie salad. I didn't have rice vinegar on hand (I thought I did and then got home and realized it was sesame oil. Not the same!) Follow her recipe except:
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (reduced the amount)
4 Tbsp white vinegar (instead of rice vinegar)
2 tsp sugar (added because vinegar is a little too tart for me!)
and I used an entire can of drained corn instead of just 1 cup.
Enjoy!
3 comments:
Ooooh - chicken salad! That is some good looking 600 calories! Nom nom...
I've had a chicken salad very similar to that one, with the apples, but it also had a few dried cranberries and pecans thrown in. Added some different texture, and was pretty good!
You girls crack me up!
I almost put almonds in the chicken salad, but the ones I had were whole and I was afraid of chopping them and sending bits of almonds flying across the kitchen.
Post a Comment