writergeek313 Member

I'm not a vegan, but I LOVE this recipe! http://www.theppk.com/2011/12/hottie-black-eyed-peas-with-ginger-sweet-potatoes-apples/ I usually have it with brown rice or polenta with a little cheese in it. It reheats really well. I made it one time with bacon, but honestly I felt like the smoked paprika did just as good of a…

I tried to make Jello instant sugar-free pudding with Silk Light vanilla almond milk last night and it didn't set. I'll stick to dairy milk for that, I guess. I also don't really like it in coffee. I feel like it overwhelms the taste of the coffee. I do really like almond milk on cereal, in smoothies, and for oatmeal. I…

The recipe above sounds good, but even if you use a higher protein almond milk (like So Delicious brand), that's maybe 10g of protein. I wouldn't call it a protein shake. OP, you could buy pre-made shakes. I get the Premiere Protein ones from Costco. 160 calories, 30g of protein, and they taste decent. A box of 30 is $23.…

There are lots of inaccuracies in what you're logging. Thursday and Friday your Weight Watchers chicken fajitas were over 200 calories; Saturday they were only 80. There's also macronutrient information missing from a lot of your entries. If you can't find an entry that has accurate information, add it yourself or edit one…

The Post Punk Kitchen was my first exposure to vegan cooking. I have a few of her cookbooks, but Appetite for Reduction is my favorite. I've found so many delicious dishes in there. I'm not vegan (or even a vegetarian, for that matter), but this is my favorite cookbook. A few of my favorite recipes from it are on the PPK…

I just quit Graze. I didn't feel like it was a very good value. Each snack works out to $1.50, and too many of them I wouldn't pay $1.50 for again. They also kept sending me the same things over and over, even though I had over 40 new things marked to try.

Homemade pizza-like foods don't satisfy my pizza cravings. DiGiorno has thin crust pizzas that are about the size of a dinner plate. I really like the pepperoni and pepper one. Half of one of those is 370 calories, and I have it with a salad and it's a good sized meal for me. I used to get take-out from my local pizza shop…

If you're following her plan, you're netting 100-300 calories per day. No wonder you're hungry! I'd say ditch the trainer, join a gym where you feel comfortable, and keep up a cardio and strength training regimen you can stick with. There's no need to work out every day unless you really want to. Use a calorie calculator…

There are no good or bad foods--it's all about making choices that fit in your calories and macros. You're making chicken thighs sound like a "bad" food, and they're not. That's all I'm getting at.

I really wanted to try the mocha flavor, but the Vitamin Shoppe didn't have it the other day. They have it online, though, so I think that and the toffee caramel flavor will be the ones I try next. I signed up for their free rewards program and have been getting some pretty good coupons in the mail. I stocked up on Quest…

About Time whey protein is lactose free, and they do sample packs. I got four single-serve packs for less than $8 with a coupon code I found online. It's sweetened with stevia and was a little too sweet for my taste, but I could live with it if I had to. Designer Whey gave me some of the worst stomach pain I've ever had,…

You're complaining because you didn't take the responsibility to know what you were eating before you ate it. That doesn't mean other people should avoid chicken thighs.

There's no need to avoid them. Just like anything else, you need to make sure they fit in your calories and macros for the day. If you don't check nutritional information ahead of time, you're bound to run into unpleasant surprises like these. If there's a cut of meat on sale that I'm not familiar with, I don't buy it…

I need to eat before I work out in the morning or I struggle to get through my usual workout. I usually aim for something around 200-300 calories that's heavy on carbs, like a waffle with peanut butter and a banana or a Clif bar. And coffee--I probably wouldn't be able to find my way out of the parking lot without coffee!

Endometriosis can cause heavy periods, and heavy bleeding on a regular basis can cause an iron deficiency. Being anemic will make you extremely tired. Until you can afford to get to a doctor to get blood work done, take a multivitamin that contains 100% of your daily recommendation of iron and eat iron-rich foods. Don't…

You should be aiming for 1g of protein per pound of lean body mass. 1g per pound of your total weight would be too much. I recently lowered my carbs by 10% and upped my protein and fat by 5% each. I haven't seen results on the scale yet, but I did notice that after a 20-mile bike ride I did at the gym on Friday night that…

I prefer working out alone. I usually go in the morning before work or in the evening after work, and I'm learning to really enjoy the mental clarity that my workout time brings. I don't have the kind of job I get to just leave at the office, so especially during cardio I can think about things I might have been too busy…

I'm not a vegetarian, but I like to eat a variety of foods. I made a batch of these burritos a few months ago, and they were delicious and were really easy to make: http://www.thegardengrazer.com/2012/06/quinoa-fajita-burritos.html I kept a few in the fridge after I made them and froze the rest. I was sad when I ate my…

I still make pasta salads a lot, since they're quick to take for lunches or to have for dinner when it's too hot to cook. Now I use wheat pasta, a low fat Italian dressing of some sort, and make sure I load it with lots of vegetables (peppers, carrots, tomatoes, cucumber). Where I used to make a salad of mostly pasta with…

It's probably not realistic to try to lose two pounds of week when you have less than 75 pounds to lose. I just entered your stats into this calculator and chose that you do 1-3 hours of exercise a week: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ It says your BMR is 1501 calories. That's the number of calories you'd…

I ride the Expresso bikes at my gym as one of my forms of cardio. They run monthly challenges, but I've never been able to get anywhere close to placing in the top 100. This month's challenge was to ride at least 100 miles. Last night, I rode 20 miles (the most I had ever done in one session before that was 12 miles) and I…

College is a time when you're getting ready for your future in more ways than one. You'll be preparing for your career, but you'll also be preparing to be independent and learn to live on your own and take care of yourself. It's important to learn how to make healthy food choices for yourself and to figure out how to work…

My favorite combination these days is garlic, black pepper, Dijon mustard, and worcestershire sauce. I've tried it with beef, chicken, and turkey, and it's great with all of them!

A protein shake doesn't sound like it's enough to hold you over until dinner after several hours of strenuous exercise, unless you've had a large breakfast before working out. Yes, the goal is to eat a deficit to lose weight, but not eating enough will make it difficult for you to perform at your best and have enough…

I stock up on Fage when it's on sale or when I can get the variety pack from Costco. The other kind I really like is the vanilla bean Cabot. It's "Greek style," but it's still high in protein and tastes great. I try other kinds of yogurt when they're on sale, but I haven't found any others I like as much. I feel like the…

The closest TJ's is over an hour from me, but I still go every few months to stock up. I can get a lot of staples there for much cheaper than I can anywhere else around here (99 cents for a can of light coconut milk vs. almost $3 locally). The things I like and look forward to the most are their full-fat Greek yogurts…

The primavera has vegetables in it, where the pomodoro is just tomato sauce. Here's a copycat recipe I found for the primavera sauce to give you an idea of what's in it: http://www.copykat.com/2009/05/14/olive-gardens-capellini-primavera/ There's some cheese, but no milk or cream. I was there a few weeks ago and had a…

Also, there are no "good" or "bad" foods. It's all about understanding portion sizes and what portions fit into your calorie and nutritional needs for a day. Going over your calories in Quest bars or broccoli or anything else "healthy" will prevent weight loss as much as going over with junk food. Likewise, you can still…

Two Quest bars are fewer calories than a big piece of cake or half a container of Ben and Jerry's, and they have way more fiber and protein. Everybody falls off the wagon at one point or another, but I wouldn't even call it that. If you went over your calories for today, eat a little more mindfully for the next few days to…

I made this one last night: http://freeingimperfections.com/chocolate-pb-mug-cake/ Earlier this week I decided to raise my protein and fat by 5% each and lower my carbs by 10%, so I've been scrambling to find ways to get enough protein. I had about 25g of protein left last night, and figured a mug cake was worth a try. I…