MOVING OUT!

Hey everyone/anyone who might have this on their rss feed.

I am moving house and changing the focus of my blog.

visit.... www.rebeltarian.com for my new blog that is all about healthy eating/living.

Rebekah

UNNATURAL CAUSES | 10 Things to Know About Health | CALIFORNIA NEWSREEL

UNNATURAL CAUSES 10 Things to Know About Health CALIFORNIA NEWSREEL

Riblets

In case you read this blog, here is why it is mostly about healthy eating...

I follow Weight Watchers. Religiously actually. I was hesitant at first because the name is a little weird. I mean I don’t want to “watch” my weight, I would prefer to lose it. However, after getting past the simple dislike of their syntax I jumped right in.

I was encouraged to start Weight Watcher last year when living in Philly. I lived in a house with six girls. Because we were a part of the mission year program, we had to remain single all year. I love fellowshipping with other females, but most often, when girls get together with no men and usually nowhere to go, (which was the case often last year) they eat. Or, at least we ate. There was often brownie batter that was eaten like pudding. I think that is what did it for me. I think I ate a spoonful of that and decided that I was going to change a couple, or more habits in my life.

I started officially in June 2009. I had lost weight prior to starting because my lifestyle naturally shifted when moving to Philly. On a day-to-day basis I would walk 2 miles and often more at least once a week. Not having a car comes with some advantages. From my highest weight that I remember ever seeing on a scale I have lost 80 pounds. Since started Weight Watchers officially I have lost around 50 pounds. It has been a crazy year and sometimes my mind has a hard time keeping up with the changes my body has made.

I just wanted to preface with this information in case anyone who reads my blog hasn’t seen me and a year or so and wonder why I talk about healthy eating so much. The above is why. I am now a little obsessed with healthy eating.

I try to plan my meals at the beginning of the week, so I will be more likely to eat healthy. This takes some thought, planning, and weekly trips to the grocery store. Last night I was wondering the aisles of Tom Thumb looking for unsulfured molasses (I don’t know why it was important that I had unsulfured Molasses, but the recipe called for it. I honestly don’t know the difference but I am pretty sure I don’t want to ingest sulfur if I don’t have to). Most of the time that I grocery shop I kind of faze in and out of consciousness and turn into a robot. I have my list, and I always intend to make a quick run in and out, but I have this weird compulsion about going up and down every aisle. While I go up and down every aisle and slowly get fixated on some new cool product like “Morningstar farms soy based bar-b-que riblets”. I have a weird fascination with soy based imitation meat products right now. Yes, I have tried fake ribs and they aren’t too bad. It does start to worry me though how much they look like meat. I am eating it and questioning how they make it so realistic. Thank goodness, there are not fake bones in the riblets, that would gross me out even more than real bones do. My menu for this week consists of:

Mango-Serrano Bar-B-Que chicken: I was supposed to grill the chicken after it marinated, but I own no grill. Instead, I thought it would be ok to put the chicken in the Crockpot overnight to slow cook. I did that right before I went to bed last night but was extremely paranoid that all the sauce would cook off and that it would burn. Therefore, at 2:45 I woke up in a panic and went and poured a cup of water in the Crockpot. This morning I woke up to find a weird bar-b-que chicken soup. No worries the chicken still tastes good. I just fished it out to be used later for salads and what not.

Lemon/Cilantro Baked Tofu: I am fascinated with tofu and have always been a flex-i-tarian. This meaning I almost never eat meat, not because I am morally opposed, just because I don’t really care for it. The flex part comes in when someone cooks meat on my behalf or when I feel like I should get some of the healthy lean protein into my diet. This Tofu turned out really good. I ate it today with my lunch of mixed vegetables and covered it with Siracha sauce.

Enough of that nonsense. Life is good. I just spent a weekend in Austin with some wonderful ladies. The highlight? Fist pumping while watching wheel of fortune.

I am gearing up for another semester of grad school and it looks like my classes are going to be enjoyable. I have joined a home group through the village church in Dallas, and I have started to get to know some pretty cool ladies there (it is a group for single women). Life is pretty good, no really good. God is good.

I will try and get a recipe together to post soon.

My top ten healthy affordable foods

My top ten healthy affordable foods

10. Simply More Peanut Butter-
This is my favorite new peanut butter that is sold only at wal-mart in my area unfortunately. I hate going there. It has added fiber and protein from flax seed and it has a great consistency.

9. La Tortilla Factory Tortillas
These are awesome tortillas that are high in fiber and taste really good. They are HUGE as well. I made amazing burritos last week with these.

8. Laughing Cow Cheese
This low-fat cheese is my crack. Not really but I put it on everything from baked potatoes to wheat thins. It is creamy and delicious. I recommend the garlic and herb flavor.


7. CLIF Kids Z Bars
These have the great taste and energy giving properties of a cliff bar for a fraction of the calories and about half the size. They are perfect when I wake up before working out or after work when I am hungry during my commute. P.S. They are cheaper in bulk at Sam’s Club.

6. Eggs
Yes as simple as it is eggs. I really love them and would eat one everyday if it was healthy. I often eat an egg and a half (1 full egg with an additional egg white). For breakfast I put it on an English muffin or alone. I have dabbled in egg substitute (mostly in baking) but still feel strongly about eating the real thing.

5. Silk Light Soy Milk
I have for years had an aversion to soy milk for no real reason. I decided to try it when I found out it has less calories than real milk and I was pleasantly surprised. I really like it. I sometimes buy the light vanilla and chocolate versions for an extra special treat.

4. Black Beans
I did not eat beans at all, period, until last year. Living in Philly I tried new things, beans being one of them. I LOVE black beans. Alone, in a burrito, in soup, mixed with rice, quinoa, and veggies, the possibilities are endless. Close runners up in the bean world are chick, kidney, and great northern.


3. Arnold Sandwich Thins
These one-hundred calorie wonders save my life. I use them for breakfast sandwiches, Boca burgers, and I even put cream cheese on them sometimes. They are a great sandwich making tool.

2. Greek Yogurt
I love the thick creamy ness of Greek yogurt. Some people equate the texture to sour cream, but I still like it. I get the fat-free version and mix it with fruit for a mid-morning snack. I also use it to bake with to reduce using oil. It is a great source of protein.
Quick tip regarding Greek yogurt: It is more expensive than regular yogurt, so I looked up online and found a way to make it myself, kind of. Get a big tub of regular, plain, fat-free yogurt, line a strainer or colander with paper towels and empty the entire tub into the strainer. Put the strainer in a bowl and let it sit in the fridge over night. All the extra liquid will drain off and voilia, Greek yogurt for half the price!

1. Apples.
I eat an apple every day. They are amazing, cheap, and versatile. In oatmeal, with peanut butter, baked, or all by themselves, apples really are a magical fruit.
So I am a fan of honeycrisp apples, but they are super expensive so I usually just buy a couple every few weeks. I consistently buy 7-8 gala apples a week, and at the store a few weeks ago they were selling them in cute little paper bags for 99 cents a pound. I grabbed a bag and weighed it to make sure I wasn’t buying too many. I went to check out and was surprised because my total was more than I thought it would be. I got to the car and looked at my receipt and realized that I bought $11.00 worth of honeycrisp apples! Opps. It was a happy mistake that I enjoyed, but will make sure I never do again.

can I go back to college?

Wait. I am still technically in college according to my brand new shiny Easter University college ID, (which I got to pick out the picture myself). I feel like the real world (aka a nine to five job) isn't all that it seemed to be. I am really enjoying my job (adult ESL) but it is really weird to have such a huge part of my week dedicated to one thing. It will take some adjustment.

College. Is currently eating my lunch. I went to Philly last week for ten days for my Urban Studies Graduate Program Residency (it looks more important capitalized). I spent my days in a class room for the entire day. It was good. I met lots of awesome people. Hung out with old awesome friends. I decided that I really love this program. What don't I love do you ask?

Oh maybe the 15 books I checked out at the library today to help me write my thesis proposal. I am excited about the paper and my topic (systemic racism in America). But really Dr. Corbitt do I have to have this many sources? So maybe grad school is a little harder than undergrad. OK it is. Feel sorry for me. Or hang out with me so I don't go crazy.

On a lighter note Catlin and I visited the North Texas Volunteer Center Warehouse last week. The place I work (http://www.arlingtonreads.org/) is a member of the organization which means we get shopping access to the giant warehouse with brand new donated goods. What did I buy? Oh approximately 8 decorative pillows for $2 each. Yes read it and weep. Working for practically no money rarely pays off, but in this circumstance it did.

Rebekah

Cooking in our new house!

Well I am officially a resident of the Oak Cliff area in Dallas. I worked all last week and loved it. I am working with an adult literacy program in Arlington as the Student Director. I think I am really going to learn a lot and love it. My family came to town this weekend bringing furniture and organizing our tiny apartment. I looks really great now, thanks to all the Welch's. Tonight I went grocery shopping and have planned out my meals for the week. Working for Americorps I will live on a really tight budget. Because of this I am going to be really mindful about the food I buy and eat.
Tonight Catlin and I made a big pot of soup to eat at different times this week. It is a recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook. This is a vegetarian cookbook that is my absolute favorite. All the recipes use tons of fresh vegtables and other interesting combinations. The author also hand wrote and illustrated the entire cookbook. Love it!

The recipe was really simple. I change a few things however to take the Weight Watcher point value down.

• Two medium tomatoes
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil (I changed it from 2 table spoons)
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 3 medium cloves of garlic
• 2 stalks celery
• 2 cups diced sweet potato
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. tumeric (i didn't have any, and it still tasted fine)
• 1 tsp. basil
• dash of cinnamon and cayenne
• 3 cups water
• 1 medium bell pepper
• 1 1/2 cups cooked chick peas

Catlin chopped up all the veggies except the tomato, bell pepper, and chick peas and added them to a pot with the olive oil over medium high heat.

After letting the onion get soft (about ten minutes) The water and spices were added. This was left to simmer for 15 minutes. After that the remaining vegtables were added. It is done whenever they are soft enough for you! The spices can be tweaked and the vegtables can be substitued.
The weight watcher value for 1 serving (out of 6) was 7. I tweaked a few amounts and got it down to 3 points per serving. Pretty good. It was filling too.

Next time I will try to update with pictures of the apartment!

Rebekah