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Butter on Crackers?!

You read that right, I have been eating butter on crackers recently….but let me back up.  When I knew I had to start incorporating more fats into my diet, I thought ”YES!  I can eat brownies and cookies all day long- this will be fabulous!”  Of course, I knew that wasn’t the case and I struggled to find foods with fat in them that also had SOME sort of nutritional benefit…..of course, I knew the usual go-to healthy fats like avocados, peanut butter, nuts, olive oil….but I knew I couldn’t live on those alone:)  And, after eating guacamole (which I have always LOVED On occasion) almost every day for weeks, I could barely gag it down anymore.  But I also knew I didn’t want to get ALL saturated fats, so there had to be a compromise.  So, for this post, I thought I’d go through some of the things I’ve been eating a lot of recently and compare my meals NOW to what my meals WERE just a few months ago, before adding more fat to my diet.

I’ll start by sharing a few things that I have substituted as part of my “staples:”

1. I drink/use 2% milk instead of skim milk.  So, I use 2% milk in things like hot chocolate, steamed milk and oats;

2. I eat 2% Greek yogurt (Fage) instead of 0% greek yogurt;

3. I eat regular cheese instead of reduced fat or fat free;

4. I eat olive oil, olive oil butter spread, cream cheese or Brummel and Brown strawberry yogurt spread (which has 4 grams of fat per tablespoon) on toast or english muffins instead of jam or pumpkin butter;

5.  I have always LOVED peanut butter, but now I just use more of it….instead of half a tablespoon, I’ll use 1 tablespoon in my oats or 2 tbsp on a sandwich or toast; and

6. I eat the WHOLE egg when I have an egg, not just the white.

So, let’s get into some examples, shall we?:)  I guess I should explain the title of this post:) I always loved butter, but would NEVER eat it (or rarely)…but life without SOME butter is not life:)  So, I eat regular butter in moderation (and would NEVER substitute for it in a cookie recipe:), but because I wanted to add it to more things (and olive oil just wasn’t tasting too good on toast), I found a butter spread made with olive oil….so there’s still a hefty serving of fat, but not as MUCH saturated fat as in regular butter.  I tried to think of what I used to eat butter on besides just toast or pancakes when I was younger, and I remembered it was GOOD on crackers:)  So, as a snack, I’ve been having crackers with butter/olive oil spread….so YUM..I do, however, spy a dirty plate:)I also remember my mom making me peanut butter/butter/jelly sandwiches as a kid, so I thought the PB/butter combo would taste good on a tortilla….and I was right:)  One of the only reasons I pay attention at ALL to saturated fats at this level of fat (which is NOT a high fat diet, remember), is because high cholesterol runs in my family so a little attention to using more olive oil instead of butter is probably a good thing:)  Here’s the tortilla before being folded up:Of course, I haven’t ONLY been eating tons of butter!  Let’s go through a typical breakfast for me now:Here we have steamed 2% milk, which is hard to see because of the white mug!  I flavor it with a little vanilla just to amp up the flavor a bit:)  In one cup 2%, you don’t get that many more calories than skim, but you get 5 grams of fat.  We also have one egg with italian seasoning (in patty form since I have a microwaveable dish made specifically for cooking eggs!)  By eating the entire egg, you get 4.5 grams of fat.  Along with some toast…half with butter/olive oil spread for 6 grams of fat and the other half with cinnamon cream cheese for 6 grams of fat.  A few months ago, I would have had fat free milk, 2 egg whites and toast with pumpkin butter….for a total of maybe 1 gram of fat.  So, it’s relatively easy to make substitutions work.

A typical lunch for me still includes my beloved turkey wrap….but instead of just using turkey, lettuce and salsa, I add one or 2 slices of cheese (for 5-10 grams of fat) and a side serving of Food Should Taste Good Chips for 6 grams of fat).  Add some calcium and protein in the form of 2% Fage yogurt with strawberries and Kashi H2H cereal, and you get another 5 grams of fat, for a well-rounded meal:)  Oh, can’t forget the vitamin lurking in the background either:)

Another fun lunch to make is a chopped salad.  When I visited my sister in NYC, I had a couple chopped salads from one of the many chopped salad places…those don’t exist here in Milwaukee, but I have a mezzaluna, so I’ve been making it work for me!  I’ve been eating a LOT of chopped salads….there’s just something so yummy about the texture of a good chopped salad.  One of my favorite combinations is romaine lettuce, corn, chicken sausage (I like Amylu’s for 5 grams of fat or Applegate Farms for 7 grams of fat per link), tomato, salsa, balsamic vinegar and OF COURSE, olive oil (with about 14 grams of fat per serving)! A couple months ago, I would have had lettuce, some grilled chicken and light or fat free salad dressing…..or a total of about 2 grams of fat…and mind you, this is a HUGE bowl….somehow most of the chicken sausage always drowns to the bottom of the bowl:)Add a sandwich thin with some brummel and brown strawberry yogurt (with 4 grams of fat per serving) on the side and you’ve gotten a VERY FILLING meal:)As for dinner, it depends on what mood I’m in.  I still love my Flatout pizzas, but I brush the crust with olive oil before adding sauce…so simple! And although I haven’t really had a hamburger in years, sometimes dinner calls for a burger and fries!  Enter Five Guys…a Little Hamburger with tomato and pickles and shared fries with Jason:Now I am almost never not hungry, so rather than ignore the hunger, I snack.  I will always be a snacker at heart, so something I’ve been getting a lot of are chips and dip.  This may sound “unhealthy” but with Food Should Taste Good chips or Popchips, it’s a good combo and you can get about 11 grams of fat per serving…here we have Popchips with Dean’s french onion dip :

I also have been LOVING pizza-eatzas from Market Day.  If you have access to Market Day, these are SO GOOD!While many people feel “guilty” about eating pizza, I do not.  In fact, last week, Jason and I went out for pizza and I ate more than he did…go figure;)  The “grease” on a cheese pizza comes from the cheese….so, of you would eat cheese unmelted, then why wouldn’t you eat the same cheese melted?!  When you think about it pizza really is a well rounded food….you get fat, calcium and protein from the cheese, carbohydrates from the crust and veggies from the sauce and toppings.  Of course, it’s probably not an every day staple item, but it is SO good in all its full fat deliciousness!  I digress.

Also, a good source of fats are NUTS of course:)  Most people already know this:)  I have had MANY handfuls of Blue Diamond jalapeno almonds!  Not too spicy, but they have a kick…delish!  Do I say delish too much?  Probably…oh wells:)For drinks, I’ve been staying AWAY from the artificial sweeteners and have been LOVING Izze’s.  You get 2 servings of fruit from each bottle!  However, the Izze people do recommend on the bottle to keep getting most of your fruit intake from whole fruit;)

Like I said, I’d love to sit around all day eating brownies and cookies, but that’s just as an unhealthy outlook as a low fat, low calorie diet is!  But you didn’t think I could give those things up all together, did you?!  This weekend, I definitely had this FABULOUS cream cheese and caramel brownie….If i had two of these brownies, I definitely would have eaten two:-P

And also may have had a chocolate milkshake from McDonalds last night:)  I forgot how good these were and have been craving them like CRAZY lately!  This kick started on my birthday (January 10th) when I was sooo sick and just wanted something to soothe my throat…as Jason was headed to McDonald’s, I asked for a shake….and so the cycle began!  If I knew I WASN’T pregnant, I’d swear I was with this craving coming from nowhere!And if, at the end of the day, you find that you jst haven’t had enough fats, it’s perfectly acceptable to dig into a jar of Might Maple peanut butter and have a couple several spoonfuls right out of the jar:)That’s all for now!  Happy Super Bowl Sunday!  I don’t really care about the game much, but I can’t wait to see the new super bowl shuffle commercial that’s supposed to air!  I have a VHS of the original Bears super bowl shuffle, so it’ should be fantastic!  Do you care who wins the Super Bowl, or do you just like to spend time with family/friends eating good food and watching the commercials?!:)

A New Day:)

No food pics today, as I think it will take awhile for me to get back into “blog” mode:)  I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who read my post yesterday….I know there are a lot of you out there.  And I especially want to thank those of you who left such positive comments!  Your comments really made my day and I am glad that I had the guts to hit “publish” on that post!  By no means am I perfect….and I KNOW I’ll have days where I might think that “healthy” is eating less…..but as those days become few and far between, I am happier and happier…I think we’re all works in progress every day of our life, but I’m working toward becoming what is truly “healthy.”  I don’t want anyone reading to think that I just woke up one day with these revelations either…..I have thought about it a lot and have used every avenue I have available to me to come to the conclusions that I did.  And I by no means am saying that it is wrong to EVER have fat free yogurt or drink skim milk….I grew up drinking skim milk, but I also got more than enough fat from other things…..it’s when so MANY of the things we eat on a daily basis (our “staples”) become light, low fat, low calorie that it becomes problematic.

So, will I ever eat 0% greek yogurt again?  Probably…I actually like how 0% tastes….and do I think it’s ok to every once in awhile drink a diet soda or have sugar free syrup? Yes…unfortunately, the people who eat these products usually do eat them as their staples, rather than every once in awhile.  And it’s not likely that someone eating fat free cheese is ONLY eating fat free cheese (which tastes like plastic if you ask me)….it’s likely that they’re also eating sugar free jell-o and only egg whites and low calorie bread, etc etc. This is where I see the problem…it’s not only the physical deficiency of not getting enough fat that’s the problem-it’s also the mindset that a person typically has when they choose to eat mostly fat free or light products….it boils down to this: if you are at a normal weight (i.e. not significantly overweight) and you exercise moderately (or even very little)……don’t EAT like you’re trying to be on a “diet.”  I would argue that even people trying to lose weight should not eat only low calorie, light products, but that’s for another day:)  Thank you again for all of your positive comments!  As I said before, I won’t be posting ALL my food, but hope to post some of my meals and hope to use this blog to show people that a “higher fat” diet can be really healthy and you don’t have to sit around eating “junk” food all day (although sometimes our bodies crave “junk” food too:)  And just as a reminder, check back for a giveaway soon….I just have to work out a few details:)!  Happy Friday!

Does anyone have exciting plans for the weekend?  for the Super Bowl perhaps?!

This is Me

Before I get into why I have taken some time off, I have decided that I will let you all in on who I am a bit more:)  My name is Megan and my husband’s name is Jason:)  Here’s a picture of us last Christmas:

And one from our October 2007 wedding:

And on our honeymoon:

And more recently (a little less tan:) Which brings me to what I said yesterday, I have taken the last couple months off to focus on some things in my life that needed to be focused on.  First, I have been looking for a new job.  As I posted previously, I am no longer working as an attorney, but I am looking for a job that I will feel good about.  Secondly, I have spent more time with my family….my parents, my husband and I even got in a 5 day trip to visit my beautiful sister in New York City.  On top of all that, my older sister, who lives in Boston, found out she was pregnant a few months ago, so our family has basking in her glow lately:)  At the same time, my sister’s pregnancy put more focus on another issue in my life that needed to be dealt with…..my OWN desire to have children.  As I posted before my hiatus, my nutritionist put me on what I considered a “high fat” diet.  The reason was that I had been off birth control for over 3 months at the time (5 months now) and I was still not getting my period (TMI?)…well, the more I have talked to my nutritionist (whom I realllly like and respect) and the more I have done my own background research on the topic, the more I understand the direct correlation between body fat percentage/fat in one’s diet and ovulation.  Ovulation simply CANNOT happen unless you have enough fat in your diet because fat causes the production of estrogen.  Of course, every person is different…some women CAN get pregnant with only 15% body fat but what most reputable doctors consider “ideal” is around 22%.  I honestly didn’t know this before a few months ago.  Of course, I was on birth control, which will mask any underlying problems that could exist with ovulation, so I was clueless because I was working like clockwork.  In fact, women can still get their periods every month, but those without enough fat in their diets likely don’t ovulate every month…..that FREAKED me out….to think that so many women could be damaging their chances at becoming pregnant one day without even knowing there’s a problem. When suddenly I was off birth control and my body wasn’t working at ALL, it was as if my body was punishing me for the last 5+ years of what I THOUGHT was a “healthy” diet.  So, even though I have gained weight over the last year, I MAYBE was consuming 40-50 grams of fat per day….MAYBE…..I thought that the days where I had brownies or cookies made up for the low fat diet that I had on most days…..but consistency proves to be key in this arena…..so the last couple months have been both a struggle (try eating A LOT of Christmas cookies and pizza on one day and then STILL getting 80 grams of fat the next day) and a complete eye opener.  I won’t get into numbers, but let’s just say that in about 8 weeks of this new diet, I have gained a significant amount of weight….but I KNOW that this is what my body needs to get back on track and that this is how I SHOULD be living.  In fact, most moderately active women NEED about 65-70 grams of fat every single day…..and not 200 grams one day and 20 grams the next.  Since I was very young, I KNEW that I wanted kids…and I want them so badly that I cannot even comprehend that I have hurt my chances….and I pray every day that I am able to turn this around and get back to “normal.”  I think that one of the main problems is that the society that we live in has promoted the exact opposite of what a healthy diet is and a healthy body is.  And sadly enough, I think that some of the bigger blogs that purport to be “healthy living” blogs out there promote the same thing.  Without using names, I recently read a blog post that described a meal as having “healthy fats” in it…..when the only thing with fat in it was the ONE TEASPOON of peanut butter that was added to some fat free yogurt…that 2 grams of fat isn’t going to help your body in ANY WAY….similarly, I saw a blog post where someone claimed to have a “high fat” diet, yet they were getting 45-50 grams of fat per day…and SO many bloggers eat “egg whites”…JUST the whites…why not the whole egg?!  Why one egg and 2 whites?  If you’re an active young woman, there’s no reason to restrict yourself to JUST the whites (unless you’re eating 10 eggs a day maybe)…..and sooo many people eat one “too many” brownies or a cookie and feel like “they shouldn’t have had that” or “they ate too much”…or they only allow themselves treats on certain days…that just makes me sad…if they DO eat that whole egg then they somehow feel they need to APOLOGIZE to someone for it!!?!?!  And just to be clear, I don’t blame these people for thinking this is “healthy” because I THOUGHT THE SAME THING FOR SOOOOO LONG.  Everywhere we look, super skinny women are called “healthy and toned.”  Everywhere we look, there are promotions for low fat, fat free, low calorie products…..the 20-30 year old generations of women today have been bombarded by this….and then we wonder why so many people have trouble getting pregnant these days.  Obviously, I can’t make a categorical statement about EVERYone, but this is a real problem.  We are told everywhere that low fat ,low calorie is equal to healthy and it’s simply untrue….and while many people eat nuts and peanut butter for “healthy fats,” they just don’t eat enough of them to really do their bodies good. This is especially true for women who exercise….many women running 5+miles a day and “refueling” with oatmeal and fat free yogurt.  My eyes have been opened and so I’m glad that I took the time to focus on this and learn about it because I don’t know if I would have ever changed otherwise……I would have continued to eat sugar free things and fat free yogurt and skim milk.  Not to say that eating SOME of these products can be part of a healthy diet, but I really don’t think that most women my age that I know get anywhere near how much fat they should.  I’d be interested to see what numbers people came up with if they counted the grams of fat they were getting on a typical day at home.  I know SO MANY women my age that live on lean cuisines, salads with light dressing, fat free yogurt and hit the gym every day…..I was one of them…..but I wasn’t ALWAYS like that.  I remember being in college and eating a truly well-rounded diet…..did I have the abdominal muscles that I have had in recent years? NO Did my hip bones stick out and have no meat on them?  NO…..but I was active and happy and healthy and I didn’t have to think about it.  Now I am trying to get back to a point where I can eat 80 grams of fat without having to think about it.  Do I have meat on my hips now?  YES….do I have a little bit of “dough” in my stomach area?  HECK YES I DO…….do I look fat?  NOT even CLOSE!    So, that’s my rant……some people may not agree with it….I think that I wouldn’t have a year ago either….I think that I had myself convinced that as long as I was eating enough CALORIES then I’d be fine.  NOT SO.  And it did take wanting to get pregnant to convince me to focus on this and make the change in my life….I just wish I could light the bulb in so many other women’s brains…..because science and research and thousands of years of reproduction don’t lie….and while I thought my 80 grams of fat was a “high fat” diet, my nutritionist (who is highly respected in Chicago and also an RN who used to work at Northwestern) and other doctors have assured me that it’s a normal diet and that 50 grams of fat per day for an active woman is simply an unhealthy way to live……my body has proven this to me…..as I said, though, is this to say that someone who is really skinny won’t get pregnant?  NO….but for most women, it would be more difficult, if not impossible.  I point to Guiliana Rancic on “Guiliana and Bill”….she might have some other problems, but her doctor on the show told her that since they were having problems getting pregnant, she should gain some weight.  Rightly so.  And I think that most of us secretly WANT to be really thin and “toned” but women are supposed to have some curves….it’s only in the last 15+ years that we’ve lost complete sight of that…..probably because so many women are OVERWEIGHT in America…..but it’s sad that women who are at normal weights think that they could “lose a few pounds” because so many people around them are so thin.   I read countless blogs where people show “his and her” versions of all their meals and while this may be necessary for people who have very different outlooks on diet (like a vegetarian and non-vegetarian), it seems that most of the time it’s because the woman is trying to eat lighter foods than the man, rather than just smaller portions.  I am lucky to be married to a man who does not eat ANY light or fat free foods….we both drink 2% milk and eat full fat cheese now..and while I think he has some areas to work on in his diet (eg eating less fast food), I think that I have learned a lot from him in that I should be eating a little bit more like him.  All I can say is that my “healthy” diet made me look like this:

ANDSICK. I looked SICK.  Every bone in my body stuck out, my clothes were hanging off me and yes, I had rock hard abs and “toned” legs but that is just WRONG. (Excuse the mess in the background of the first photo…we were getting things together to donate to Goodwill:) Anywho, I will leave you on a happier note of me enjoying a more well-rounded diet.  When I visited my younger sister (and one of the best friends I could ask for) in NYC a few weeks back, we took a food and cultural tour of the West Village……here’s us enjoying some of the fabulous eats!…..with a truly healthier body:)  I hope that I can use this blog from now on to show everyone some of my new eats and obsessions, with a much healthier outlook and if I can convince one person to stop eating fat free, light foods (or only whole foods that don’t have any fat in them), then I’ll be happy:)

That’s me on the right in the following 3 pics:

Arancini from Faicco’s…To.DIE.FOR:

Cauliflower, currants, olive oil and pine nuts at Palma:Risotto at Centro Vinoteca:Enjoying desserts at Serendipity III:

I guess we HATED it:

And one more of me and my sista at DBGB in NYC, just for good measure (and since I miss her sooo much!)

As for other things I’ve gotten into lately, I made my first loaf of homemade bread!

And used my “panwaffle” pan to make lots of pancake/waffles with stewed blueberries!

That’s all for now:)  Welcome to my life:)

Back! and a giveaway…

I’m back:)  Some of you may have notived that I’ve taken an extended time off from blogging….sorry to keep anyone hanging!! For some personal reasons, I had decided to take some time off from the blog, but I am going to try to do posts as they may become relevant (not every day).  With that said, I do have a great giveaway to get back on track:)  Once I have all the details, I’ll be sure to let you all know!  So check back soon for a great giveaway!!  Thanks to all of you who have continued to read while I’ve been away:)

IDEAS???

Hey!  I’m going to New York CIty next week to visit my sister there and since we’ve been to so many places there already, we want to try a new place for brunch…..anyone have any good ideas for places you’ve been and have liked?!  Any help would be great!

I’m Beginning to Fit in, in Wisconsin

With all the dairy I’ve been consuming, I’m beginning to think perhaps I might fit in here in Wisconsin after all. Hehe.  Yesterday started with some 2% steamed milk….I mixed in a serving of Coffee Mate gingerbread creamer to give it a heavenly taste!  It worked wonderfully and I didn’t have to go out in the cold to pick up Starbucks:)  Alongside, I had some strawberries and a banana topped with Mighty Maple (and a little extra dollop to eat by itself at the end).Honestly, I’m surprised I haven’t turned into maple peanut butter yet:)  It’s just SOOO good….and with a good portion of my first jar gone, I must try to make it last!  This breakfast filled me up quite well…I think because of the liquid and a little extra fat…it goes a long way I guess!  When my stomach started to grumble for lunch, I made something that I haven’t had in awhile….a pizza bagel, er, pizza muffin?  Haha….I used to LOVE going to the pool in the summer because the concession stand had pizza bagels….LOVED them.  I haven’t had one in awhile, so I thought it would be the perfect day since I had pizza sauce and of course, cheese.  I don’t have any bagels, but english muffins work, right?!This was glorious…..nothing better than real cheese under the broiler…..divine.  On the side, I had some 2% Fage yogurt with vanilla bean almonds on top and a California Cutie (clementine).  Does anyone think that 2% greek yogurt has a DISTINCTLY different taste than the 0%????  It’s grrreat, just different.

For a snack, I had another thing I haven’t had in a LONG time….FRITOS!  With taco dip….gotta get that fat;)  It was delish and fueled me to play Mario Brothers;)  I’m officially obsessed.  For dinner, the husband picked up sushi for himself and I’m not a sushi fan, so I made breakfast for dinner!  Here we have an egg/italian seasoning concoction, Maple Apple chicken sausage and an english muffin half.  Per Kailey’s suggestion, I wanted to try to add olive oil to dinner….even though I wasn’t roasting veggies, I added some to my english muffin….I love the taste of olive oil, so I didn’t mind a bit;)  I also baked up some sweet potato half moons on the side for good measure:)After dinner, the husband and I played a movie trivia game and I was feeling snacky, so I had some TJ’s Kettlecorn:And the other half of my english muffin with Einstein’s pumpkin cream cheese.  I had frozen this a couple months ago and defrosted yesterday….it was SOOOO good.  I am NOT a cream cheese lover, but apparently I love pumpkin cream cheese! And because I’m in Wisconsin, I had to have some more cheese:)Right before bed, I knew I wanted something sweet….I am definitely more ravenous at night than in the morning!  Here’s what’s left of my peanut butter pretzel Mojo:)  HATED it. heheIt’s snowing in Milwaukee today so hopefully I’ll get to go out and play in it……doubtful, but we’ll see!  Can’t wait for tomorrow….I can’t believe it’s New Year’s Eve again…..aye, I’m getting old;)  What are your plans for New Year’s Eve? Do you like to dress up and go out or have a relaxing time at home?  We’ve done both and this year I think it will be a casual night at a friend’s house.

Christmas a few days late

Hello!  After I posted yesterday, I heard a knock on my door…..there’s nothing better than getting packages! This one was a holiday sample package from Popchips! It was perfect because I had been wanting to try the Sour Cream and Onion flavor.  I tried a bag for a snack yesterday and it was GOOD!  Not as overpowering as I felt the salt and vinegar had been….they may in fact give the BBQ flavor a run for its money! haha.  But to get back on track, I made a lovely lunch yesterday….I knew I wanted a turkey wrap (big surprise), but I also knew I had to get some fat in there so I made a wrap with Applegate Farms turkey, lettuce, tomato and swiss cheese……here’s pre-wrapping and melting of the cheese:Ever since seeing the Buffalo Food Should Taste Good Chips on shelves and especially after seeing them on Shelley’s blog, I have been dying to try them.  I had some with lunch and a side of Dean’s taco dip.  The taco dip was YUM….not too strong and the perfect balance to the slight spice of the Buffalo chips. As for the chips, I really liked them!  I’m not sure if I like them better than the jalapeno flavor yet…..the buffalo flavor has a tamer spice to it than the jalapeno, which can be good if I want to eat more than a handful!

For snacks whilst doing laundry and prepping dinner, I had a California cutie:Love these little guys! I also made myself a peanutty mini plate:)  Because you can never have too much Mighty Maple in your life;)  Here we have a spoonful of Mighty Maple and some honey roasted peanuts:Dinner featured Nasoya wonton wraps once again!  I filled them with mozzarella cheese (regular, none of that light or fat free nonsense) cubes and baked for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.  Once nicely browned, I topped with salsa, balsamic vinegar, a whole LOT of corn and a chicken sausage.Here’s what the inside looked like:I really liked the cheese/wonton wrap combo!  It will be repeated:)  This filled me up quite nicely, but then, while anxiously watching the Bears/Vikings game, I needed a snack…..those Bears will give you anxiety I tell ya!  I had a quick grilled cheese/tomato sandwich:For dessert, I knew I wanted to try one of Penny’s Lowfat Desserts that they kindly sent me to sample!  I tried the chocolate chip cookie:I liked this!  The texture is hard to describe….it’s not really like a regular cookie texture (think Chips Ahoy or Pepperidge Farm)…it was more cake-like:To me, it tasted more like a muffin than a cookie, but with 7 grams of fiber, it definitely was a satisfying snack!!  The cookie was sweet without being overly so and the ingredient list is much more impressive than other store bought brands!  There are no preservatives used and no artificial sweeteners, which is KEY TO ME since I’ve removed those from my life!  The cookie reminded me a bit of a Z-bar, but with more of a “real cookie” taste than a Z-bar.  These are definitely worth a try if you’re looking for something new!!

Here’s a question for y’all:  Since I’m trying to add more fats to my diet without ONLY eating french fries and chocolate:), do you have any recommendations for things you like that have 4 or more grams of fat per serving?  So far, I’ve changed to 2% yogurt and milk, have been eating whole eggs instead of just the whites, have been eating more cheese, peanut butter, guacamole and chicken sausage….and have been making my oats with milk.  Any other good ideas?!  I’d love to hear your recommendations!  And P.S., I tried several hummus brands and am just not a huge fan of store bought….and I’m too lazy to make my own every day, so that’s out of the question:)  Thanks in advance for any thoughts!!

I Heart The Crispery: Part One Million….

In other posts, I have made my LOVE for the Crispery’s rice treats well known:)  I had tried to stop my addiction by not placing another online order (since I can’t get them at any retail outlets in Wisconsin).  I was seriously craving one, but thought I would have to do without…..until I saw that the top of my Christmas present from my sister (yes, the same AMAZING one that got me Mighty Maple!), was none other than a Crispery treat!  Because I was living on xmas cookies until yesterday, I didn’t really have a chance to fully enjoy this beast until last night!  My sister is so lucky to live very close to Dylan’s Candy Bar in NYC, so she has an endless supply of this heaven:I mean, just look at the ooey gooeyness of it!  I think after that and my other endeavors yesterday, I sufficiently filled my fat quota for the day….albeit mostly unhealthy fats:)

I spent some time bonding with my Mario Brothers game yesterday afternoon, so to fuel my game playing, I finally caved and broke open Christmas Cap’n Crunch….it’s like crunch berries with little green stars and red trees….I’m a 5 year old, I know…..remember when I picked up this box?!  So I think I’ve done pretty well making it until now to cave:)  I had this bowl times about 10, with 2% milk of course:):It did the trick and I was ready to play video games:) When the husband got hungry for dinner, we ventured out into the cold for dinner.  I didn’t feel up to cooking and the husband really wanted wings.  Because of my bad experience with Hooters’ chicken sandwich last time, though, I didn’t really feel like going there (since my I had already consumed an amazing grilled cheese and fries the day before and that’s my Hooters standby meal:)  I obliged anyway and tried out the chicken sandwich again.This time it wasn’t as bad as oily as last time….but still buttery enough:)  Topped with some ketchup (which makes everything better) and lettuce, it was pretty good.  The curly fries made the meal, though:)

After the saltiness, I needed something sweet to cleanse my pallet….I went for an apple gummy tree from my Christmas stocking:)and a Reese’s xmas tree from my stocking….these are AWESOME because the peanut butter to chocolate ratio is so much higher than in regular Reese’s!There may have also been a few several spoonfuls that looked like this:Yes, Mighty Maple struck again!  And then, whilst watching the Hangover for the second time last night, I found the Mighty Maple jar staring me down once again…I can’t seem to get enough:)…I spent a lot of time like this last night:I cannot say enough how good this peanut butter is…..I am already almost half way through the jar and I just opened it yesterday….oh well, at least peanut butter has healthy fats in it;)

This morning, after sleeping in for WAY too long, I needed something to fuel me through grocery shopping and laundry (barf)…so I started with, what else, Mighty Maple:)  I stuck a dollop in my oats:)  YUM-O…..there are no words.On the side, I had another altered form of what I used to eat……yogurt with REAL sugar and Kashi H2H….but this was Fage 2% yogurt rather than 0%…..Greek yogurt really is amazing….if you eat the 2%, you get good fat, protein AND dairy all in one little cup:)

I have yet to even LOOK at unpacking my suitcase from the last week so that may be on the agenda for this afternoon…..since the TV schedules seem to still be all messed up because of the holidays, I might HAVE to play Mario Brothers to keep myself occupied;)

Happy Monday!

Back to reality…

SO, I know I’ve been MIA!  I was down in Chicago enjoying family/holiday time for the last week or so, so I’ve been neglecting blogworld:(  It’s good to be back!  While I also took a break from photographing my food -although I would have been taking pics constantly because I really didn’t stop eating for more than 30 minutes the whole week0I am currently enjoying this:That is a 2% gingerbread creme from Starbucks…..thanks to my sistaaa for the giftcard:)  Why 2% you may ask?  It’s actually the first 2% drink I think I’ve had from there……I met with my nutritionist whilst down in Chicago and due to several factors and the fact that I can’t WAIT to have kids, I need to seriously add some F.A.T. to my diet (we’re talking a MINIMUM of 78-80 grams of fat per day). What WHAT?!  When living on xmas cookies all week, it hasn’t been difficult, but to get some HEALTHY fats in, every bit counts….so I have made the switch from skim milk to 2%….I can’t drink it plain (yuck) but when mixed with cereal or gingerbread syrup and heat, it’s like candy!  Seriously, try it:)  I am also a TAD excited that my sister gave me something I’ve been waiting FOREVER for!  I know many of you have had this already, but they don’t sell this flavor anywhere near me so I almost DIED when she brought back 2 jars of this DELICIOUSNESS from NYC:I can’t WAIT to crack open the jar-but it might not last long in my presence……I suppose it’ll add some good fat toward that 80 gram minimum haha.  My baby sister (she’s only a year younger than me haha) gave me this as part of my early birthday gift…..I’m one of those lucky ones (or not) that has a birthday very soon after xmas….January 10th to be exact……so the bday gifts start comin’ at xmas time:)  That’s all I’ve got for now….the Packers are on and the hubby got me Super Mario Brothers for our Wii for Christmas so I need to pay it a LOT of attention.  When I was younger, I got my Nintendo taken away from me because of my addiction to Mario Brothers 1……I spent so much time trying to find all the tricks and win the game that I refused to eat dinner or do anything else…I was committed:)  I did end up perfecting how to win the game in one life….but I digress:)  Did anyone else play Mario Brothers 1 on the old school Nintendo?! I. DIE.  Toodles for now.  I hope you all had a fabulous holiday season!!!!  Can’t wait for New Years now!!