Late Night Grocery Store Adventures of...Me.

It all started when my sister and I discovered that the McDonald's near my house closes at 10pm. Unfortunately, it was well past that hour and we had a severe inkling for some processed additives....and ketchup! So, we did what any normal gals would do in this situation: hit up the 24 hour K-Rogers.

After this amazing photo was taken at McDonald's in protest of their early closing time, we went on a grocery store adventure. You know how much I LOVE the grocery store, so I wanted to document the whole thing!

Disclaimer: I really had cute boots on, but as most cute shoes do, they were KILLING my feet. So, I dug a nice pair of socks and tennis shoes out from the back of Kristin's car as we completed our adventurous evening.

Most definitely a framer.

 Struttin'.

I love corn.

Where all the great thinkers do their work.

-"Ma'am, what are you doing?"
- "Just getting some bran flakes. Mind your business."

Sale on diabetes on aisle 10.

Finally! The frozen goodness we were looking for! No, wait, those are the vegetables. Damn it!

With Father's Day coming up soon, we decided to stop and get Tom's card. Man, Hallmark relaxes me.

Dear Friday 3rd shift Kroger Manager,
Please don't take my Kroger Plus Member Card.
I heart K-Rogers:)
-Erin

Planking ...Defending Veggies Style

The Lying Down Game, or Planking, as some call it, has become a cultural phenomenon. One man in Australia actually died in an unfortunate balcony planking accident forever verifying the stunt as pretty much bad ass.

For the purpose of this somewhat nutrition oriented blog, I thought I would challenge those closest to me to a Defending Veggies Planking Extravaganza!!

Here's what they came up with;)

Work have you stressed? Take a break in the cafeteria. - Sherri



A true dog lover. - Jenny

Protesting her mother's cooking. - Katie

At the Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn! - Matt and Jessica

Managers Special?

Wow.

Oh, just the cause of childhood obesity. - Jason

Taking a lunch break on the anaesthesia machine. - Kristin

I gained 10 lbs just pulling into the parking lot. -Me

Even animals love planking! - Mallary's Tacoma

Everything IS better with bacon. - Chris

Hogging the pizza rolls...again. - Betsy

Sir, is this meat on sale? - Mallary

Late night planking. (So many things going on here. I can't choose what to comment on.) - Tracy

Even the UofK gnome knows how to plank. Who knew he was a wino? - Mark



:) - Jenny



I've never seen anyone love peanut butter that much! - Lauren

All the way from Arizona!!! - Andrea

Thank you to everyone who participated. Happy Friday!!!

It's All About Presentation

It's well known that what food looks like highly determines whether or not a kid is going to eat it. Put a cartoon on the box, and they want it. Cut it into shapes, and they want it. Give it a cute name, and they want it.

Well, adults are no different.

I saw my friend, Tracy, putting her dinner together the other night and I said "Oh, god. That looks awful." And it did. She had chosen all the right elements: chicken cooked on her George Foreman and a simple green salad with low-fat dressing. All good items, but when put together in an unappetising way, it was just all wrong!

When you are trying to eat a little healthier and DEFINITELY when you are trying to eat smaller portions, you have to be careful! Presentation is everything. You have to learn to somewhat....trick your mind.

Check out the following example (compliments of Tracy:)

Here is what she started out with.

Not looking so good. First of all, she had put the chicken on a HUGE plate, making it look like a measly amount of food. The salad looks ok, but very plain. But, with just a switch of a dish....

Ta-da!! If you want to enjoy a sensible dinner, you have to make it look sensibly delicious!

Last night, I was craving cook-out food.  (I think because of the warm weather!) So, I decided on a Boca Veggie Burger on a whole wheat bun and baked beans! Now, I could have just thrown a burger and some beans on a plate, but, again, it's all about presentation! So, I used a smaller plate and added some lettuce and sliced onion to the mix and......bam! Delicious!

Notice the plate sizes on both the salad and the burger. Small, right. Using smaller plates tricks your mind into thinking your getting more food than you are. Look at the plates you use at home. Could you go smaller?

Alright, go make yourself a beautiful dinner! Hope it tastes as good as it looks!!

Best Sports Drink for Your Buck and Your Body

It doesn't take an expensive protein drink to help you recover from your workouts. You can find the perfect concoction in your grocery's refrigerator for a little under $2 a gallon! What am I talking about? Milk! More specifically....chocolate milk.



Yum.

 Let's think about it. Compared to Gatorade's formula of carbs and electrolytes, natural chocolate milk takes it a step further and adds protein, calcium and fat-soluble vitamin D! Another important part of that equation is chocolate milk's carb to protein ratio. It's ideal for recovery from endurance activities.

This theory is backed by research, with studies suggesting that low-fat chocolate milk trumps Gatorade and also more high-tech drinks like Endurox R4 that also includes added protein.
Now, I know that I have bad mouthed flavored milk, but just like Gatorade is not suggested for sedentary individuals, neither is flavored milk. It does include a high amount of sugar, but this amount is appropriate for those who participate in endurance activities.

Gatorade (8oz)

50 Calories

0g Fat

110mg Sodium

14g Carbohydrate

0g Protein

30mg Potassium

0mg Calcium

Low-Fat Chocolate Milk (8oz)
150 Calories
2.5g Fat
153mg Sodium
26g Carbohydrate
8.1g Protein
425mg Potassium
287.5mg Calcium

Thank you, Mike, for today's topic!

There's 66 making moves back in the day. I wonder if he recovered with low-fat chocolate milk!!

:) Guess he's moved on to new sports!!

Added fiber? For what price?

Product marketing is at an all time ridiculous at the grocery store these days. Claims placed on product packaging, as promising as they seem, are a joke! Added fiber! Contains Omega 3's! A full day's vitamin C!

The not-so-funny side to this is that people are paying an arm and a leg for products that they think are going to improve their health. But in reality, they are overpaying for unnatural high fructose corn syrup and dyes. Take for example this cranberry juice with added fiber.

In your mind, when you see this, you might think "Oh! I like juice. I need fiber. This is a great situation! Could today get any better?" But, in actuality, what are you putting in your body in order to get that extra fiber? I'll give you a clue....a whole bunch of crap.

If you just add an extra fruit or vegetable in your day, you will get even more fiber, and NO added crap. AND, it's cheaper!!

Fiber for a deal, right?!!!!!!

Next time you feel yourself falling for a claim, think about what you are buying. Is there a more natural way to get that nurient in your diet?

Fried Chicken? WTF?

What is it with fried chicken? People can't get enough! I maybe eat it once a year at a party, but other than that, when the h3ll would I eat fried chicken?

I don't know how to make it. (You have to have a deep fryer, and if you own a deep fryer, you really need to re-think your goals in life). I would never order it at a restaurant. (If you are in a restaurant serving fried chicken, I'm going to assume that you are screwed no matter what you order.) And I would never go to KFC or any of it's knock-offs. (If I am eating fast food, I'm usually at McDonald's, Taco Bell, or Arbys.....like normal people.)

I just don't understand the attraction. It's greasy, you can see the chicken's bloody veins, it's messy, and just overall........not good. At Derby this year, they were selling deep fried chicken or turkey or human legs. I couldn't tell. All I could see was the carnage and remaining fragments of skin on people's faces as they walked by. It gives me chills just thinking about it. People have no shame. Not to mention the amount of calories, fat and cholesterol involved!

Ugh. But, I'm not a judger:) If you are h3ll bent on eating fried chicken, here is a healthy recipe for you to try in lieu of anything involving a redneck heart attack cooker. (aka - a deep fryer).

Oven-Fried Chicken

Ingredients
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tbls Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced (or from the jar)
1 tsp hot sauce (like Tabasco)
2 1/2-3 pounds chicken legs, skin removed, trimmed and cut into thighs and drumsticks
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
2 tbls sesame seeds
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
ground pepper to taste
Olive oil or fat-free cooking spray

Directions
1. Whisk buttermilk, mustard, garlic and hot sauce in a shallow glass dish until well blended. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 min or up to 8 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat with cooking spray.
3. Whisk flour, sesame seeds, paprika, thyme, baking powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Place the flour mixture in a paper bag or large sealable plastic bag. Shaking of excess marinade, place one or two pieces of chicken at a time in the bag and shake to coat. Shake off excess flour and place the chicken on the prepared rack. Spray the chicken with cooking spray.
4. Bake the chicken until golden brown and no longer pink int he center, 40-50 minutes!

Enjoy!

Vegetables in your noodles!

This is a dream come true. My sister, Sherri, discovered these noodles, and is now serving them to her family of 4.

Ronzoni Garden Delight is a noodle product that contains a full serving of vegetables in every 4oz portion! Try them out for your next pasta night!

Check out their website for other products and tons of great recipes!!!

Enjoy!

And, thank you, Sherri, for the great find!!!

Race Day Nutrition!

My sister, Kristin, has been training for an Ironman coming up in August of this year. She frequently does other races including this past weekend's Rev3 triathlon in Knoxville, TN. It was a 4th of the distance of an actual Ironman, but still further than I have ever, or ever plan to, travel without a vehicle of some sort. (She's sort of a bad ass.)

Anyway, she did awesome! So, I asked her to write out what she ate and drank throughout the process. Here is what she said!!

Few days before: Drank extra water

Night before: Pasta meal

Morning of race:

5:30am: oatmeal, coffee (2 bathroom breaks before race started! Yay!)

7:30am: GU packet with water

8:00am: Start race!

Swim: 30 min.

Bike: Took in an average of 100 calories every 30 mins, alternating between GU and CarbPro 1200 (concentrated liquid you dilute in a water bottle)
Run: Alternated between Gatorade and water at each stop

Immediately After: Water and protein drink:)

Later: A few beers and some deliciously unhealthy food.... Why do u think I do all of this?? Hehe

- K

Kristin made some really great decisions. 1. Only carbohydrates before the race. 2. Kept up her carbohydrate intake and hydration status throughout, and 3. Recovered with carbohydrate and protein! Perfect!

Kristin and her husband, Chris, having their "few beers.":)

Iced, Iced, Baby

I’m sure you’ve heard of the term “Icing” someone. In case you haven’t (get a clue), but…. Icing is a clever little game that some super ultra rad bros from some frat made up in which they would surprise attack their frat bros with bottles of Smirnoff Ice. Once bombarded, the brother had to drop to his knee and chug the entire thing. Pretty dro, right?


It’s actually pretty funny. I saw a friend give someone a beautifully wrapped gift. He thought it was a housewarming present, but then BAM! ICED! Hilarious.

But of course, America (and the booze industry) had to go and make it a little more difficult on everyone. The original Smirnoff Ice is 12 oz. It has about 230 calories and about 9 Starbursts worth of sugar. However, now you can buy single big gulps of Smirnoff Ice. 22 oz bottles of Smirnoff have a little over 420 calories in them. That is more than a medium McDonald’s French fry (380 calories). WTF?

#1: I would much rather eat the fries and just take shots. #2: Why must this country supersize EVERYTHING? #3: Please quit Icing people. You are giving them diabetes.

7 Worst Supermarket Breakfasts

You all know that the fact that millions of Americans are feeding their children Poptarts for breakfast makes me cringe. However, I haven't brought up all the other issues with the pre-packaged breakfast foods out there.

Well, someone beat me to the punch - so I'll just let you read his list. (Yes, Poptarts are mentioned:)

7 Worst Supermarket Breakfasts!!

How much money are you wasting?

Juice. Sports drinks. Soda.

I put these items (for the most part) all in the same category. The "You don't need these" category. There are a few exceptions. Hangovers, bouts of dehydration due to diarrhea or other illnesses, and recovering from endurance activities. (lasting over 90 minutes) Otherwise, there is really no excuse for wasting your money or your calories on these items.

Now that I bring up money, let's see what we are spending on these unnecessary products.

Let's say that your family buys 1 2 liter a week. That's a cost of about $104.00 a year. Not that bad, but let's keep going.

Let's say that your family buys 1 2 liter and 1 gallon of juice product per week. That's a cost of about $353.00 a year.

Let's say that your family buys 1 2 liter, 1 gallon of juice product, and 1 large sports drink per week. That's a cost of $405.00 a year.

But how many families of 4 only go through one of these products a week? Not many. Let's look further. What if your family buys 2 2 liters, 2 gallons of juice product, and each member of the family drinks 1 sports drink per week. That's a total cost of $1,114.00 a year. Wow. That is a lot of money to be spending on NOTHING.

What if you are buying single servings of these items at fast food restaurants? If 2 members of your family buy sodas from fast food restaurants twice a week, you are looking at a minimum of $208.00 a year in soda for just those 2 individuals. We didn't even take into account the ball games, the movies, or the dinners eaten out. Can you start to see how much money is getting invested in these products? It's unbelievable.

Hopefully you will think twice next time you go to order a soda...not only because of health reasons, but the wasted money. Stop and think, Am I hungover? Do I have diarrhea? Am I biking across the state? No? Ok, then grab some water and call it a day. Thhhaaaannnkkkkssss.

Man vs. Food Encounter

Over the weekend at the 137th Kentucky Derby, I had a celebrity sighting that put the 'ronic' in 'ironic.' I saw Adam Richman, star of the Travel Channel's Man vs. Food. This is a man that travels the country taking on food challenges in hopes of spreading a little publicity and, fingers crossed, getting his picture on the wall. (For his sake, I hope he also makes a little money.)

In undergrad, our dietetics classes were often partnered with kids in the hospitality management program (chefs, hotel managers, etc). Talk about hilarious. In our cooking classes, all the little dietitians would be so meticulous in their measurements and attempt egg white substitutions whenever possible. Meanwhile, the hospitality management kids were whipping the pint of bourbon out of the fridge and dousing everything from a breakfast casserole to a duck meat glaze in UNMEASURED amounts of alcohol. Point of the story, we didn't work too well together.

Well, this Adam kid, seems like the king of the hospitality management kids. And, of course, his ass is famous and here I am writing about him. Another reason I should have drank more bourbon!!! (notice his mint julep:)

Just a thought, Adam:)

Anyway, Adam was in town I guess to enjoy a little horse racing history, but let's hope he's also filming an upcoming episode of his show!! It would be great to bring a little attention to a few local restaurants and to the beautiful city of Louisville, Kentucky itself!!

You know how I love a calorie count.....Adam recently attempted a burger challenge at Buba's Burgers and Ice cream in Carmel, IN in which he attempted to eat 4, 22oz burgers. Even though he only got through 2, he still managed to down 2,400 calories in beef alone. Add in at least 800 calories for the bun, and you are looking at 3,200 calories worth of burger here. Oh, and about 80g of fat. But, don't worry...He got his picture on the wall!!!

In an interview he stated that, other than his challenges, he eats a very well-balanced diet and trains with a personal trainer. He said he emptys his stomach as much as possible for his challenges in order to perform at his best! In person, he is very cute. (I would have attempted to hit on him if his bouncer hadn't of elbowed me out of the way!!) He's adorably round in the middle, but nothing like I thought he'd look after continuously downing 3,000+ calorie meals! He also stated that he goes to the doctor regularly in order to monitor his health. Thank god.

Regardless, my ironic encounter was one of the highlights of my day! He told me to be nice if I wrote about him. I hope that I accomplished that goal!!

Check out Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel, premiering on June 1st at 9pm EST. Warning: Don't watch hungry!!