Parisian Lunch

Well, my plans changed a little bit when I arrived at my family’s house in Tampa this morning…it was 72 degrees outside and not a cloud in the sky so I decided to go for a run instead outside! It was wonderful! Before I went I ate the snack that I had brought with me in the car…a cut up kiwi and 1/4 cup of the flax granola I have been telling you guys about. It tasted really good 🙂 I did a slow 40 minute run because my leg has been injured and I was testing it out today…it still hurts a little bit but not as bad as it did before. For the first time in my life I ran without my ipod (i forgot it in orlando) and it really made the run a lot more satisfying. One of the central points of yoga is the breath and I think that’s what connects yoga and running but so often we drown out listening to our breath by blasting music. Today as I ran I concentrated on my breath and just the world around me and that brought my run to a whole new level.

When I got back I made one of my favorite light meals that I enjoyed in Paris so many times: an omelet. Now, I know what you are thinking….”but aren’t eggs bad??” NO. I don’t think so at all and when I eat eggs I always eat 2 whole eggs, yolk and all. People differ in their beliefs about this but from what I have read and researched, the yolk of the egg contains minerals and vitamins that our body needs. Here is some info from the Harvard Medicine Nutrition Source that I frequently go to for nutrition advice:

“Long vilified by well-meaning doctors and scientists for their high cholesterol content, eggs are now making a bit of a comeback. Recent research by Harvard investigators has shown that moderate egg consumption–up to one a day–does not increase heart disease risk in healthy individuals.(5) While it’s true that egg yolks have a lot of cholesterol–and, therefore may slightly affect blood cholesterol levels–eggs also contain nutrients that may help lower the risk for heart disease, including protein, vitamins B12 and D, riboflavin, and folate.

So, when eaten in moderation, eggs can be part of a healthy diet. People with diabetes, though, should probably limit themselves to no more than two or three eggs a week, as the Nurses’ Health Study found that for such individuals, an egg a day might increase the risk for heart disease. Similarly, people who have difficulty controlling their blood cholesterol may also want to be cautious about eating egg yolks and choose foods made with egg whites instead.” http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fats.html

So, of course don’t go and eat 5 eggs a day, but I think that 2-4 eggs a week is totally fine and can benefit your body! When you just eat the egg white you are missing out on a valuable source of vitamins from the yolk!  Anyways, I cooked my omelet in 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil for some good monounsaturated fats and sprinkled it with sea salt and pepper. I used to always had to have gooey cheese in my omelet, but then when I moved to France I started eating omelets the way the French do: with nothing in them except for the eggs themselves. I learned how to make a classical French omelet and now it is one of my favorite lunch or dinners. An omelet with a salad and a glass of red wine is a simple dinner I prepared many many times in my little Paris apartment last summer.

With my omelet I also had a cut up pear, 4 ounces of plain nonfat yogurt with a teaspoon of jam, a slice of sprouted grain toast and a small spinach salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar. This lunch was light (only about 414 calories) but that is just fine with me because this afternoon I plan to bake christmas cookies (gingerbread, my favorite!!!) and of course there will be licking of spoons, bowls, everything….haha 🙂 And then tonight I’m going out to dinner again! I will def. be having a snack later because dinner is not until around 8 probably.

I bought a new cookbook!!! Nigella Lawson’s “How To Eat”. I have been staring at it for awhile now and finally splurged and got it…..I’m so excited to read it cover to cover–I love her ideas and recipes and am so excited to try some out!