Friday again! It’s not really the end of the week for me though because I have to work tomorrow night before I can go home. Almost the weekend though. So, last night in school we made bagels and Amish-style soft pretzels. Both products were super fun to make but I was a little disappointed with the bagels because in my mind I was expecting some Panera-Bread HUGE dense bagels popping out of the oven, and what really came out were little, light bagels….not really conducive for my breakfast so I’m saving one for lunch. Now that I have the main formula for how to make them though I’m going to play around with it and come up with my own. I have honey-whole wheat visions in my mind! That might be a spring break project for sure.
My partner in class is this really sweet woman that was actually born in Trinidad and lived most her life in Jamaica before moving over here and doing a career change (along with a divorce). I just love her gently lilting accent and listening to her talk about home. I’ve been to Jamaica once before with my best friend for a college spring break and have to say I didn’t really like it, but I think that’s just because I didn’t go to the nicest part….it was more touristy. I’d love to go back and explore and I know that is one of Ryan’s dreams, too! Anyways, Catherine has this huge peppermint bush outside of her house here and after me telling her how much I love tea, she brought me in some peppermint she had dried herself! Oh my goodness, you have never smelled anything so sweet and good. My morning cup of tea was def. the highlight of my morning so far and I know that now I must plant my own peppermint bush soon! Its so much better than the storebought stuff.
For breakfast this morning I was going to have a bagel and pb but the bagels weren’t as big and dense as I thought and I didn’t think one would fill me up! haha! So, I resorted to my trusty multigrain cereal instead. I made it just like the other morning with 1 cup lite soy milk, some pb, lots of cinnamon, a banana and a little bit of maple syrup. Delicious!
I’m going to take a relaxing morning—reading my favorite blogs, catching up on emails and working on the blog and then I’m going to the library before coming home for lunch, the gym and studying for my practical tonight!
melissa-little runner
March 7, 2008 at 1:47 pmGood Morning Jenna,
Before I forget, good luck on your practical tonight!
Today is national cereal day, so I thought I would ask a question I was wondering about. I love love love cereal, but even the versions that are filled with fiber and protein–and not too much sugar, like fiber one or kashi go lean, don’t fill me up for more than an hour. You said that 1/2 cup of the Ezekiel fills you up. Do you have any thoughts on how I can make cereal more filling or do you have any favorite filling brands? Maybe it’s just me.
Thanks!
Romina
March 7, 2008 at 1:48 pmYour pretzels and bagels are fantastic! They must have been so fun to make and shape.
That’s so sweet of your partner to give you those leaves. I can’t imagine how amazing it must have tasted. Truly authentic. =)
Lindsay
March 7, 2008 at 1:50 pmWow – now I want to plant a peppermint bush 🙂 Enjoy your day! Can’t wait to see those bagels for lunch!
caitlin (in FL)
March 7, 2008 at 1:50 pmOMG HOW DO YOU NOT JUST STUFF THOSE BREADS IN YOUR FACE??? lol
hey jenna, ive been having trouble finding a good ‘health” supermarket. my publix (on semoran ave & east michigan area) is pretty lame, but i dont think the whole foods on colonial is that great either– i know they are opening a second whole foods south of orlando soon, but i dont think thats for a while! where do you go?
thanks!
jenna
March 7, 2008 at 1:54 pmCaitlin,
I shop either at the publix on sandlake (which has a great health food section and produce!) or at whole foods. The new whole foods on turkey lake isnt opening up til June apparently. I’ve tried a bunch of publix’s in the area and none come close to the one on sandlake in terms of great products and fresh produce. If its not too far away from where you live, I would suggest going there!
jenna
March 7, 2008 at 1:59 pmmelissa,
I never eat cold cereal unless i find a great one because usually it doesn’t fill me up at all and I’m starving in an hour. HOWEVER, Ezekiel cereal is wonderful because it keeps me full til lunch on just the single serving size! I think its because all the protein and amino acids it has in it. I would def. give that a try. Other cold cereals I have tried and liked but don’t eat all the time are swiss muesli, quaker oatmeal squares, great grains with pecans and cracklin’ oat bran. With all of those though you just have to watch your servings size because, for me at least, its easy to eat wayyy more than I should.
Lindsey
March 7, 2008 at 2:04 pmJenna, does couscous fluff up more than rice? I’ve never had it before. But I know rice expands to like twice the size. Those little grains look so small, is it really filling? Also, I know its hard to describe taste, but I don’t want to buy a whole box to find out I don’t like- does it taste like rice?
Thanks! Have fun baking and good luck with your exam
chandra
March 7, 2008 at 2:06 pmThose pretzels look soooo good!! Yum. Good luck with your practical and happy Friday!!
Becky
March 7, 2008 at 2:07 pmmelissa – I agree – cold cereal never fills me up and I usually only eat it if I just need a light breakfast. But, adding yogurt instead of milk (which sounds gross but is good) helps a lot. Actually, I’m right now eating Greek Yogurt, Kashi Go Lean, and blueberries all mixed together and counting on it to get me for about 3 hours or so. I just usually need to add more protein than just cereal and milk provides.
NJ
March 7, 2008 at 2:15 pmThe Publix on Apopka Vineland is great, too, Caitlin.
Meghan
March 7, 2008 at 2:28 pmI add yogurt, too! My daily breakfast consists of plain nonfat yogurt with a sliced banana and cereal on top!
Kath
March 7, 2008 at 2:28 pmBagels look great – so do those pretzels!!!!
Lisa
March 7, 2008 at 2:43 pmI have a question for either Jenna or anyone else who’s a runner…
I’ve been training for a 5k (I’m not a distance runner by any means so this is huge for me! lol) Before training and trying to increase my distance with the Galloway program I would do at least 2 days a week of an hour long strenth training class. Should I continue to go to my strength classes or just solely focus on running? I worked out more than normal this week just b/c the husband was out of town and I didn’t have to worry about making dinner at a certain time 🙂 with two strength classes and 2 days running 40 min. Yesterday my legs were telling me to take a day off which I did but I was curious to what anyone else thought about lifting weights and still running/training for a race? Is it too much to do both at this time?
THANKS!
blueberrybabe
March 7, 2008 at 2:43 pmTalking about cereal… Jenna I have a pretty specific question and I’m not sure if anyone will know the answer! I eat Kashi Go Lean very often. Sometimes I have the Kashi Go Lean CRUNCH, which is what my question is about. The box says 190 calories per cup, and that there are 8 servings in the box. However, I can usually only get about 5 cups out of the box, if that (I am assuming because of settling during shipping or something?). Anyways should I still figure 1 cup has 190 calories? Or do I divide the total number of calories in the box divided by the servings I get out of it, i.e. (190*8)/5=304 calories? I am very curious about this!!! Thanks!
Cara
March 7, 2008 at 2:45 pmI want your pretzels! What kind of salt do you use on them?
Mel H
March 7, 2008 at 2:51 pmTGIF Jenna!! You look so cute and professional in your baking gear! haha!! Enjoy you day and good luck tonight!
Elizabeth
March 7, 2008 at 2:52 pmLisa – I think it is a good idea to keep doing some strength training in conjunction with training for a race. There are actually some good articles on Runner’s World if you just do a search for weight training on this issue.
hk
March 7, 2008 at 2:59 pmBagels and pretzels look great! What a fun gift from your partner..cool!
Kristin
March 7, 2008 at 3:02 pmBlueberrybabe,
Speaking from my current nutrition knowledge, Nutrition information is derived from the product itself; the fact that you only get 5 cups or so out of the box is likely a manufacturing flaw… the number of servings in a box is basically the amount they think they could fit if every box were filled exactly the same; which I’m sure they aren’t (conveyer belts, etc…) so you don’t have to worry about the amount of servings in a big box of cereal. Count it as 190 kcals/1 cup. However, If you were to use a smaller package of something (“single serving” or small packaging) I would definately make note of how many servings are in the product… especially if you plan on eating the whole thing yourself- many times there are 2 or more servings in a package that looks like a single serving, THATS what you have to look out for!
Hope that helps!
P.S. I LOVE Kashi Go Lean… Honey Almond Flax is my fave =)
Layla
March 7, 2008 at 3:12 pmLisa,
It’s pretty important to do some strength exercise, because otherwise, you’re going to burn off the protein in your body, which will burn important tissues, like your muscles.
I’m a runner as well, and used to not do a whole lot of strength exercise, but I do it every other day now, and feel better. It’s a great way to prevent injuries as well, because if you’re core, thighs, and butt are strong, you’re less likely to do harm to your knees.
If time is an issue, maybe cut back from an hour to 30 min- 45 min. Everything counts!
And good luck on the 5K! You’ll do great. I actually started running more after my 5K because it felt so friggin great.
Alex VA
March 7, 2008 at 3:31 pmLisa,
For short distances such as 5Ks, you can easily do strength training at the same time. It is a good way to tone and build your muscles, which will help as you continue to run. Cross-training is obviously good, too – though running is the only exercise that will get you in shape to run.
If you ever get into long distances, like half-marathon or marathon lengths, then strength training becomes more difficult (and should be done more sparingly) because you don’t want to put too much strain on sore muscles or muscles that are soon-to-be-sore.
Hope that helps! Good luck in your race!
Lisa
March 7, 2008 at 3:41 pmThanks Alex VA and Elizabeth for your input! I’m so excited to do my first face next month!
erica
March 7, 2008 at 3:58 pmKristen, considering you seem quite knowledgeable about nutrition facts for products, how do you tell a serving for canned beans? when i drain them, the weight of all the beans doesn’t come close to the amount the can says. is the 1/2 cup (130g) serving size once the beans are rinsed or not rinsed? thanks!!
erica
March 7, 2008 at 3:58 pmsorry, i meant Kristin!
linds
March 7, 2008 at 4:24 pmIs VeggieGirl around today?? 🙂 I have a question about oatmeal cookies and I just know you are the one to ask! Have you made vegan oatmeal cookies, and if you have what recipe did you use? I am also wondering if you can halve recipes in vegan baking- I know that sometimes if you try to halve recipes for other baked goods they just won’t turn out right, so I’m wondering if it is the same for vegan baking?
melissa-little runner
March 7, 2008 at 4:39 pmThanks Jenna, I will definitely try the Ezekiel! and add lots of strawberries or blueberries for volume. I sound like kath-haha!
VeggieGirl
March 7, 2008 at 4:42 pm**linds:
yes, VeggieGirl is here :0) I use the oatmeal cookie recipe from the “Eat, Drink & Be Vegan” cookbook, as well as this one:
http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/2006/10/01/home-sweet-home/
you can definitely halve (or even fourth!) recipes in vegan baking – no worries! just pay attention to exact ingredient amounts.
Lisa
March 7, 2008 at 4:48 pmoh…and thanks layla! I just saw your comment!
Kristin
March 7, 2008 at 6:50 pmErica,
Usually the weight serving of canned food items includes the liquid, so it makes sense the beans would be less when drained. 1/2 cup of beans is an average serving (counts as 2 oz meat and beans on the USDA food pyramid), I usually use 1/2 cup serving for a salad, wrap/burrito etc and I always drain/rinse my beans! So I’d go with a measuring cup over weighing them on a food scale, canned/boxes products can definately be decieving!
jenna
March 7, 2008 at 7:42 pmBlueberrybabe-
I would still consider a cup to be 190 calories because “by law” (FDA) if it says it on the back in the nutritional info, then it has to be right. Now, you can take that for what it is…I don’t necessarily always believe the FDA on everything but it should be about 190 calories…give or take maybe 10. I wouldn’t worry too much 🙂
Megan
March 7, 2008 at 8:19 pmBlueberrybabe-
I bought a scale just for this reason. Measuring cups are not as accurate, that is why bakers tend to weigh out flour instead of measure with cups. Besides the serving in cups, they usually say by weight, and I would measure on a scale the weight of the serving to get 190 calories.
Hope this helps!!
Kristin
March 8, 2008 at 12:17 amI just wanted to mention I agree with Megan in the sense of the cereal/grains/dry foods… I definately weigh my nuts and grains for proper servings over using cups, but canned foods do tend to be different!
Still, it’s really not necessary to be PERFECT with serving sizes, all the time-of healthy foods at least. If you’re super concerned with getting an accurate calorie count, using a scale would be helpful, but when it comes to nutrient rich foods, a little more or less here or there won’t make a big difference- your body wants healthy calories!! It usally all evens out in the end, I wouldn’t stress too much. As long as you’re eating a reasonable portion for your meal/snack and not going overboard you should be golden! =)
Colette
March 8, 2008 at 12:58 pmYum! I want to bite into those yummy looking pretzels! I may have to make some soon. The bagels look good too! I know what you mean though. I love bagels because they’re so dense!