I had to eat a really early dinner tonight because I have to be at work. I made turkey cheese burgers with 1 ounce of cheddar cheese on a 4 ounce turkey burger and had a baked sweet potato and steamed broccoli with it. It was especially good because I used one of those amazingly soft rolls I baked last week in school and froze. Exactly why I always tell you to freeze your bread! You won’t regret it! Today I went on a half hour run outside….you guys are going to hate me…but it was SO hot out! I was dripping with sweat and got a little headache after. Sometimes I wish us Floridians had a change of seasons like the rest of the country! After my run I ate 2 more clementines…I’m going to turn into one soon!
I’m also bringing some graham sticks (14) with me to work tonight to snack on later 🙂
About 576 calories.
Off to work!
nicole
January 23, 2008 at 10:39 pmugh…I hate trying to figure out the calories in a sweet potato without using a scale =/ any suggestions??
jenna
January 23, 2008 at 10:41 pmHmmm…….if you don’t have a scale, I would just choose a smallish potato at the store and count it as 115 calories. yes, that might be way off, but its a general amount. Thats what this sweet potato shown was and it was a rather small one. I always choose the small ones when I buy them because the large ones can seriously be about 300 calories!
Courtney
January 23, 2008 at 10:47 pmI feel the same way, I love, love, love sweet potatoes! I weighed mine the other night before microwaving it and it was 9 oz which is I don’t even know how many calories! I can never find any smaller ones 🙁 , and the 9 oz one seriously did not seem like that much at all, and I don’t eat the skin. Ahh!
Gen
January 23, 2008 at 10:51 pmHi Jenna,
One of my favorite granola bars is Nature’s Path FlaxPlus Pumpkin bars–I think this is the same pumpkin granola cereal maker that you have talked about in other posts–the first ingredient listed is “organic tapioca syrup”–is this the organic version of HFCS? Other ingredients also include “organic soy oil” and “organic acacia gum”–are these just junk food imposters hiding behind an organic label? I was just wondering if I should be avoiding products, even organic products, that include these kinds of ingredients. I haven’t tried NP’s pumpkin granola cereal and do not know whether the cereal contains different ingredients.
Thank you so much for being such an amazing and positive person and for letting us into your world!
Joanne
January 23, 2008 at 10:58 pmJenna, if you don’t mind me asking why do you like steel cut better? Hope you get lots tips tonight!
Shelly
January 23, 2008 at 11:07 pmHi Jenna!
I love your blog!! I try to stop by and read every day… I have a question for you. I work at a grocery store after school, and when I work 4-9 I have to eat dinner there. I’m a vegetarian, and the only “fresh” things I can buy there are from a salad bar, or making a veggie sandwich in the bakery, which I don’t really enjoy because I’m picky and they don’t have my “preferred” ingredients (I like melty tomato sandwiches.) My question is, what can I take with me that I can make using only a microwave (or no appliances), and consume in 15 minutes? This has me stumped. I eat pb&j w/ carrots and an apple for lunch at school, help! Since you also deal with work/eating schedule issues, I thought you might have a suggestion or two.
Thank you!!!
Shelly
Joanne
January 23, 2008 at 11:13 pmthat is versus the scottish
Amy
January 23, 2008 at 11:24 pmJenna that looks so good! Your rolls look like kieser rolls (sp?).
Could you post your turkey burger recipe-it looks like a ground beef burger! Don’t worry if you don’t have time until after your exam.
Sara F
January 23, 2008 at 11:40 pmAlison-
I got the falafel pita at Kaldi’s coffee house (the original) over off clayton rd at Dumun. I love their food, coffee, and desserts, and would highly recommend giving it a try. However, it is not an authentic greek restaurant or anything. My favorite greek place is downtown. Its a little hole in the wall/bar-type place called Olympia Kebob House and Taverna. It’s located at 1543 Mccausland Ave St Louis, MO 63117. I love their hummus appetizer, their traditional gyro, and also their stuffed peppers. I really don’t like red meat and under any other circumstances will not eat lamb, but I eat it there! Its nothing fancy but I hope you enjoy!
Katie
January 24, 2008 at 12:40 amNicole,
Does your grocery store have scales in the produce section? You could try to get them all around the same size and just weigh them there!
Katie
Ashley
January 24, 2008 at 1:39 amI know exactly how you feel I live in southern california and we are complaining because it is raining and 50 degrees outside! But we have to go to the mountains to see any real temp changes.
Cameron
January 24, 2008 at 1:42 amHi Jenna, I’m really enjoying your blog. You do such a great job and are so dedicated to both the blog and your health. I have a question and I think you are the best person to ask — I am about 10 pounds underweight, I went through a tough time this past 6 months with school and just life in general, and I really want to gain the weight I lost back, being underweight is definitely not healthy. I was just wondering if you had any suggestions? I know I need to increase my calorie intake, but I’m not sure how much more I need to eat without going overboard? I’m 5’9 and 117 pounds. I have a small frame and I engage in light activity, currently eating around 1200 calories a day. Is this enough? Do you know of any websites that have calorie calculators for gaining weight because I cannot find any. Thanks for your time, you’re such an inspiration!
Danielle
January 24, 2008 at 2:12 amJenna,
I responded to your previous post but I also wanted to tell you not to feel bad too. You have not only created a healthy, supportive, and inspiring blog community here but have a ton of delicious recipes. This is my favorite place to go (on the web that is, haha) because I always learn something new. And I’ve definitely tried my share of new, as well. More than you know actually because as human tendency you don’t always here about the news until things go slightly wrong. Anyway, just thought you should know that I still have faith in everything you do, and make! I cannot thank you enough 🙂
jenna
January 24, 2008 at 11:37 amGen,
I really like NP’s products and I wouldn’t stop eating them because of the tapioca syrup. These days EVERYTHING we eat contains sugar…all sugar is really the same in that it spikes our insulin levels….honey, brown sugar, hfcs….its all the same really in terms of the effects on our insides. This sugar is a much more natural form of sugar, which some would argue is better for you than white sugar. It’s like honey…people believe honey to be better for you than just adding a tsp of white sugar to their tea. I eat these products all the time—LOVE the granola and found it to be one of the best. Its up to you–but just know you are eating sugar all the time anyway so if you want to cut it out, you need to cut it ALL out of your diet. I wouldn’t start with this though. I would start with more refined products. these have the benefit of whole grains and omega 3’s. I love those granola bars, too! Esp. the peanut butter ones 🙂
jenna
January 24, 2008 at 11:38 amJoanne,
its a texture thing…I just like the grainy, chewy texture of steel cut. I think it has a better mouth feel and satisfies me more. Steel cut also has the benefit of coming from the WHOLE oat, including the groat, whereas regular old fashioned oats don’t contain the groat and therefore often have less fiber. Its a personal choice because both kinds of oats are great from you and whatever you choose, you will still reap the health benefits!
jenna
January 24, 2008 at 11:39 amAmy,
I gotcha! I’ll post it when I get back from school today….so simple…yes, they did look like beef burgers. Publix (my store) was out of lean ground turkey so I got regular and I think it was mostly dark meat…I prefer lean white meat but these were tasty for a change.
jenna
January 24, 2008 at 11:39 amDanielle,
You are so sweet! Thank you so much for all your kind words, they mean the world to me 🙂 Have a great day!
jenna
January 24, 2008 at 11:40 amCameron and Shelly,
I gotta get to school—I’ll answer your questions in detail this afternoon when I’m home. Thanks!! 🙂
Anou
January 24, 2008 at 11:47 amHey there, I love the blog and I love your energy Jenna. I read it everyday !
I usually never post but I thought about something since I read about pasta in some of the other comments of the other posts. I read in Self magazine that you could measure a portion of spaghetti by comparing it to the size of a quarter in diameter when you take them out of the pack. Its pretty useful since I measure my dry pasta in a measuring cups but you cant really do that for spaghetti.
Anyways, I just remembered that!
linds
January 24, 2008 at 12:43 pmI wish I could go running outside!! So much better than the gym. Unfortunatly, I’m trapped in an ice world- it’s -30 C (not sure what that is in Farenheit for you Americans). It’s freezing outside!!! Oh and dinner looks delicious tonight Jenna lol 🙂
Shelley
January 24, 2008 at 5:30 pmHey Shelly, here are a couple suggestions of stuff you can bring with you: soup, gardenburgers, hummus on pita/tortilla with raw veggies, leftovers…and I know Jenna will have some more suggestions when she gets back from school 🙂
jenna
January 24, 2008 at 6:06 pmCameron,
First of all, I don’t think eating 1200 calories a day is healthy for anyone. I also don’t think you need to be worried about “going overboard”…..even if you increased your calories by 600 a day, that would still be in a normal range. That’s like a meal and a half! Even THAT would not be considered going overboard. It does sound like you are a but underweight and I would advise about a 5-10 pound weight gain. To do this the healthy way, increase the size s f your snacks or eat more often. Think combos like nuts and yogurt or smoothies made with peanut butter, skim milk and banana (yum, that sounds really good!). It sounds like you already count your calories, and while that alone is not necessarily a bad thing, I think you should just give yourself some more slack. If you are hungry, make a satisfying snack that will last you a while. I was in your shoes last year about this time. I dropped about 10 pounds for no real reason and everyone (including myself) thought I looked too thin. I actually started to cry in the dressing room one day because a size 0 didn’t even fit me. I’ve never had an eating disorder so it wasn’t that…I was just stressed with my senior year of college and always on the run…I wasn’t giving my body the nutrients it needed! So…I increased my snacks, added more healthy fats (think olive oil, almonds, salmon) to my diet and soon gained some of the weight back to where I was more comfortable. You know you are too thin, so don’t restrict yourself! If you want that ice cream cone, eat it! You can def. eat three meals a day plus three snacks (which is what I do now, still) and be totally fine. NO NEED to worry about going overboard when you are looking to gain a healthy 5-10 pounds! Sorry this is so long, but I feel your pain here because I was in the exact same position. Trust me, when you gain some weight you will feel better, have more energy and your clothes will fit better!!!
jenna
January 24, 2008 at 6:09 pmShelly,
I would bring a variety of little things with you (in an insulated lunchbox) such as cottage cheese, crackers, fruit, raw veggies and nuts. If you combine all these, you have a nutritionally balanced meal. You could also pack a veggie/cheese sandwich or a bagel and peanut butter or low fat cream cheese. I love the gardenburger veggie burgers and those can be heated up in 30 seconds in the microwave…add some cheese and a bun with some fruit and you have yourself a quick, healthy lunch. The morningstar farm brand foods are great too and you can make those in a microwave as well. In a pinch, you could eat almonds, yogurt, crackers and fruit for a lunch and also pack a substantial snack. Hope that helps a bit!
jenna
January 24, 2008 at 6:31 pmAnou,
that’s very interesting! I will see how that really sizes up to a serving size next time I make spaghetti!
Cameron
January 24, 2008 at 9:03 pmthank you so much for your advice Jenna! I really, really appreciate it. I’m glad someone else can relate to how I feel! thank you again, and you have definitely helped me out. you’re the best!