Men Vs. Women – Food Choices

So this is not the blog post I was planning on writing but after a conversation with the husband last night I decided that this topic is what needs to be discussed.

First, I won’t forget to tell you all about my first teacher experience here in Calgary. I subbed at a private school today and it was great.

When I woke up this morning I wasn’t feeling the teaching vibe. Maybe it was the fact that I’ve been able to sleep in for the past 4 months or maybe it was that I’m use to doing things on my own schedule but I just didn’t want to get out of bed.

But after an hour or so in the classroom I got my groove back and was loving it. It was so nice to be back out there interacting with children, other teachers and staff. Anyways, I only had that one day booked but I can’t wait to get another teacher call soon.

Ok, back to the topic of discussion today: Men Vs. Women – Food Choices.

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This probably isn’t completely fair because I know this isn’t really an men/women issue but unfortunately in my household it is.

Although I haven’t come out to say it on the blog yet I’ve been eating a lot of vegetarian meals lately. I haven’t completely gone veg but I’d say 90% of my meals have been and it has been a conscious decision on my part. Unfortunately it is causing some disagreements with the husband.

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These are the two main issues we’ve been discussing:

1. The husband doesn’t necessarily feel that vegetarians are healthier then meat-eaters. I agree (being a vegetarian doesn’t necessarily mean you are healthier then a meat-eater – one is not better then the other – I feel that since I started eating more veg meals I’ve been eating better and feel just feel better overall) with him on this point I think that he feels that I am not getting enough protein and other vitamins that meat provides. I know he is just worried about me but I’m just not sure how to convince him that I’m watching what I eat and definitely getting enough of all the vitamins and protein that I need.
2. We are having issues with two different meals. They are actually not two different meals but I usually will add chicken to his meal (although sometimes he will eat some of the vegetarian meals that I cook but he likes to eat meat at least 4-5 times a week for dinner). I guess the problem is that it’s getting more and more difficult to find meals that will please both of us. In his words yesterday, “you can’t just add chicken to meal and make it ok. It doesn’t necessarily taste good”. 

So here is where I’m asking for your help. How do you and your significant other deal with different eating habits? Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

~ Katie :)

Cookbook Help

This will be a short and sweet post.

Sorry for the lack of food blogging lately. I think the best meal I had this week was super simple. It was roasted veggies (sweet potatoes, butternut squash and broccoli) served on a 1/2 cup of quinoa topped with some roasted cranberries (I promise if you stick cranberries in the oven with your roasted veggies for the last five mins or so they turn out delicious) and a little feta. Absolutely wonderful dinner. Unfortunately I was so excited about eating it I forgot to take a picture.

Yesterday I also got creative with lunch. I was craving parsnip fries but I had no idea what to have with them. After thinking and thinking I came up with a simple and easy idea.

Two pieces of whole wheat Italian bread topped with a thin layer of pizza sauce, tons of spinach and a little mozza and feta (another obsession of mine right now).

Served with parsnip fries of course.

And I even remembered to take pictures this time :)

These were the only three pictures on my camera when I plugged it in :(

Help Needed:

Ok so here’s what I need help with right now. I’m heading to the store later to pick up a vegetarian cookbook and I need your ideas on your favourite one. If I don’t get any suggestions I’ll have to grab whichever one I feel looks the best but I’d love some input if you have a favourite.

My other plans for today include:

• Yoga in a hour
• Lunch at Wok Box
• Picking up the Hubby’s Birthday Present (his birthday is on Monday)
• Spending some Quality Time on the Couch with a Book

Happy Friday Everyone and Enjoy Your Weekend!

And don’t forget to leave a comment with your favourite vegetarian recipe book.

~ Katie :)

Traveling and Calgary Restaurant Advice

So tomorrow is the big trip. I say big but really we’re just going for 3 days. We leave tomorrow but not until late so we don’t really get any time in the city tomorrow but it’s the first time I’ve been on a plane in about 8 years so I’m pretty excited about it.

I don’t have too many plans for the trip in regards to eating. We have to be at the airport relatively early tomorrow so the plan is to grab dinner there. It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Halifax airport so I’m hoping there’s a Subway or or a place to grab a salad before getting on the plane. I’m also planning on throwing in a couple of snacks into my bag to have on the plane in case we get hungry.

I also picked up this book the other day to read on the plane.

It’s had lots of good reviews so I’m looking forward to getting into it.

Thursday and Friday night we are staying at the hotel so Friday night we are going to go out for dinner.

For any Calgary readers out there do you have a restaurant you can recommend for us to try. We might only get one dinner at a restaurant so I’m looking for suggestions.

Saturday our plans are to bum around downtown Calgary for the day. We might end up out for dinner that night or at my step-brother’s for dinner – we’re not sure yet.

Saturday night we’re staying at my step-brother’s so our plans for Sunday include spending some quality time with my niece and nephew. We fly out late (11:30 Calgary time) Sunday night and fly over night arriving back in Halifax at 7am (Halifax time) on Monday.

I’m going to try to stay as healthy as possible but I have two concerns: First, I don’t want to be carrying a lot of food around with me so I will just have a couple of little things for a on-the-go snack. Second, we will be eating at with my step-brother and his family at least one night if not two and I’m not sure what kind of food they make. They have 5 children so feeding them plus us I’m sure will be quite expensive. I don’t want to be too picky since they are putting us up so I’m just going to work with what I’ve got.

I’m going to leave you with two questions:

What advice can you give me for healthy staying healthy while traveling?

Anybody have any recommendations for restaurants to try in Calgary?

I won’t be back with a blog post tomorrow since we have to leave for the airport as soon as we get home tomorrow, the husband says there’s no paying for internet at the airport and by they time we get to our hotel it’s going to be about 1 in the morning our time. But I’ll try to post at least once or twice during our trip to let everyone know how it’s going.

~ Katie :)

Reader’s Advice

Once you get through all my dinner eats I’d love some advice on some products that I listed at the end of my post.

So after last night’s post I had very good intentions of having a a great dinner and then hitting the gym but unfortunately that didn’t happen.

Matt didn’t finish doing my mom’s taxes until late so by the time they were done we were starving, at my mom’s and looking for supper. We ended up at Durty Nelly’s in downtown Halifax.

Since I was already breaking one of my May Goal’s already (no eating out) I decided I might as well eat something healthy. I chose the Veggie Wrap with taters. “Grilled Vegetable Wrap of zucchini, red onion, red pepper, tomato, mozza cheddar blend”. I got it with no red onion. I will say the wrap was just ok. It was cold and I was expecting it to be warm and the veggies we a little too mushy for my liking. But it was huge and I could only eat half the wrap and about 5 of the taters.

After dinner since we didn’t make it to the gym we decided to walk around downtown for a while. It was so beautiful out yesterday we just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to enjoy the weather and at least we got a little physical activity in, right?

After missing the gym yesterday Matt and I got our butts out of bed early this morning and made our way to the gym for an interval run. Walk/Run for 20 mins.

My running started out at 6.4 and I ended at 7.5. I was so sweaty by the end. I really felt great to get out and get that workout in even if it was short. I think we are going to do our intervals at the gym from now on. It is easier to control your speed and I think I push myself more there then outside.

Tonight there was no stopping me. We were eating healthy tonight. Ironically, tonight’s menu was gilled chicken and veggie wraps as well.

I adapted this recipe from Hungry Girl’s “Hungry Girl 1-2-3: The Easiest, Most Delicious, Guilt-Free Recipes on the Planet”. I made four wraps with the following ingredients (with lots of leftovers):

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (not in her recipe)
• 1 zucchini
• 1 eggplant
• 1 red pepper
• 2 portabella mushroom caps
• 6 tbsp greek yogurt (the recipe calls for regular greek yogurt)
• 1/2 tbsp fresh basil
• 1/2 tsp of fresh grated garlic
• 4 whole wheat tortillas

First cut all the veggies and chicken up (half’s maybe) so they can be grilled. Grilled on the BBQ for about 5 mins on each side (the chicken will have to be longer).

While that is grilling mix together the greek yogurt, basil and garlic.

When the veggies are done all you have to do is cut them up into strips so they can be put in a wrap.

We had the wraps with a salad. In the ss: organic spinach, carrots, peppers (red, yellow, green), baby tomatoes, cucumber.

Served with dried cranberries and lemon juice. The salad…

Wrap…

All together…

Overall, this dinner was really good and filling. I have never had portabella mushrooms before and didn’t really like the flavour of them. I ended up not eating them but overall, I really enjoyed dinner tonight.

Other odds and ends…

First - I’ve been sent some coupons (thanks Wendy) from Silver Hill’s Bakery to try and review their bread. I’ve been to Planet Organic several times in the past two weeks and every time I’m there they are out. I definitely want to try this bread and as soon as I pick some up I’ll let you all know.

Second - While looking around Planet Organic today I realized there are a lot of items that I would really like to try but I’m just not sure if it’s worth the money. So I’m looking for your help. Of the following products which do you think is worth the money and which do you think I should just pass on. Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

I’m wondering about the following products:

• Almond butter (and if so – what brand?)
• Coconut milk
• Coconut oil
• Goji Berries
• Agave Nectar
• Ezekiel bread
• Hemp Seeds
• Protein Powder (I actually would like to get some protein powder but I have no idea what brand – does anyone have any suggestion?)

Thanks guys. If anyone has any thoughts on the above listed products or even with another product that you love I’d love to hear about it.

~ Katie :)