For Lindsey...And Food Preparation Post!
...along with anyone else who considers themselves a Dinosaur Connoisseur
In other news, I'm doing well. I've noticed my nasty habit when I get stressed is to not eat anything (I have a body image problem to begin with, but it gets really bad when I'm playing "stranger in a strange land"), which completely destroys any metabolism I might have. So...to try to fight that, I'm gonna really try to get more raw proteins in my body - if I balance that with healthy greens, I should be able to eat a lot more than I'd be able to burn off if I were eating junk. I know this sounds like common sense, but sometimes, at least with me, actually expressing and talking over these thoughts tends to help my brain chill out, and accept that eating healthy things, even in a large amount (like when I get snacky, eating carrots or a big salad without dressing) will NOT make me fat. That being said, I've been experimenting with foods as well, to try to optimize flavor without adding caloric content.
Smart Balance Omega cooking oil - it's a mix of soy, canola and olive oils, and it's also packed with Omega-3s, which is the good kind of fat, often found in salmon. They also make a butter spray, much the same as the Parkay or I Can't Believe It's Not Butter sprays, but since I blew a lot of money on the other cooking supplies, I settled for:
It was on sale for $1.77, and I was already spending a LOT more on other things at the time.
This stuff is great! I've used it in a mix of romaine lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green peppers and cucumbers with a tiny bit of the Smart Balance oil (less than a teaspoon) and mixed with a tiny bit of salsa to make an AMAZING salad! I've also cooked a chicken breast with this, fresh garlic clove bits, a tiny bit of the smart balance on the pan, a teensy bit of Kosher salt (which has FAR fewer mg of sodium than even Morton's Lite, and is cheaper too!), diced onions, green peppers and carrots.
Another thing I love about this product is the grains of salt themselves are thicker, which kind of gives the appearance of sea salt, and it has a distinct taste from normal table salt. Again, at 280mg of sodium per serving, is a LOT better for you than regular salt! The salt also comes out of the shaker end much slower than other salt containers I've had, which is a nice placebo effect, as I can shake a lot more, thinking I'm getting more, but actually getting a regular serving :) PLUS, this product has Alton Brown's seal of approval - this guy had an AMAZING show on the Food Network back in the day (it's been a while since I've watched, so not sure if he's still got his own show) but I know he's hosted the American Iron Chef (which isn't as fun as the Japanese, but still entertaining).
One final food related note: Joel showed me how to separate egg whites from regular eggs! Egg yolks aren't bad for you if you're watching your cholesterol intake (which if I'm eating the way I was back in High School when I lost most of my weight, I'm not getting from many other places) - it's just that the whites have different properties from the yolks, and when cooked with a tiny bit of butter or butter spray, mixed with some light garlic or onion additive, and a teensy bit of turkey lunchmeat (or minus one or more factors) are AMAZING. Joel's tip however is awesome, because it's a LOT cheaper to buy eggs and remove the yolks than it is to buy the prepackaged egg whites!
That's enough from me though - gonna try to get more Dianna stuff done before work!