30/05/2011

Finally the sun returns. Let the salad eating commence!
Breakfast: Astro Balkan plain yogurt, homemade granola, organic sunflower seeds
Snack: Huge bowl of raspberries and blueberries, bit of trail mix
Lunch: Falafel balls and hummus, plaintain chips and big green salad
Dinner: Quesadillas with diced chicken and Greek salad

29/05/2011

Breakfast: Granola, corn flakes and almond milk
Snack: Blueberries and orange
Lunch: Leftover salmon and homemade cauliflower and kale soup
Snack: peanut butter and honey on oatcake
Dinner: Chicken burger and green salad

26/05/2011

Breakfast: Yogurt and granola with trail mix
Snack: Cheese popcorn with blueberries
Lunch: Chicken boulette from Eastern European deli (chicken and onions nothing else) and spinach dip with seed crackers
Dinner: BBQ pork with zucchini and butternut squash

25/05/2011

Breakfast: Homemade granola in unsweetened Blue Diamond's Almond Breeze almond milk with blueberries
Lunch: Leftover cold sausage in a chopped salad, with Mary's Seed crackers and cream cheese on side
Snack: Berry protein shake with almond milk and vegan protein powder
Dinner: Lebanese food: Shish ta-woo, falafel ball, hummus and plenty of salad

24/05/2011

Breakfast: Warm squash porridge (added milk, honey, butter, raisins and cinnamon to last night's squash)
Lunch: Leftover chicken in an omelette with fresh veggies and hummus on the side
Snack: Homemade macaroons and raspberries
Dinner: Rest of family had pasta, I had gluten-free sausage, chick peas, a few pieces of rice pasta and boiled kale in tomato sauce topped with parmesan cheese

22/05/2011

Breakfast almond milk, berries and homemade granola
Snack: Watermelon
Lunch: leftover free-range chicken pot pie (pastry-less) and green salad
Dinner: Baked salmon, quinoa, asparagus and avocado

20/05/2011

Breakfast: Plain yogurt with protein powder and homemade granola
Snack: Berry smoothie with vegan protein powder
Lunch: Quesadilla with chicken cheese and salsa, Greek salad on the side
Dinner: chicken and rice pilau (with green peas) and green salad

19/05/2011

Breakfast: Plain yogurt with berries and homemade granola
Snack: Corn tortillas, salsa and cheddar cheese
Lunch: Duck pâté on rice toast and homemade leek pea soup
Dinner: Garlic fried chicken breast, Greek salad, 2 little Brazilian cheese buns

17/05/2011

Breakfast: Soy milk and chunky granola
Snack: Berry smoothie with vegan protein
Lunch: Gluten-free bread with ham and cheese and super salty brocco-flower soup
Dinner:  Quesadillas! Using Food For Life Rice wrap with leftover pork, cheese and salsa, sour cream and avocado on the side and fresh sliced veggies (tomatoes and peppers).

Salty Soups

Are you a label reader? You ought to be. Prepared food is made to be tasty so that you will become a repeat customer. But often "tasty" can mean "unhealthy". And so is the case with salt which makes everything taste better. The Canadian government has talked and talked about enforcing a reduction in salt additives in manufactured foods but in the meantime, you need to watch out for your own health.

The boullion cubes pictured above are a good choice for folks wanting to avoid adding gluten or sugar when they make a soup. Unfortunately they are heavily laden with salt. Note the second photo which upon close inspection shows that a mere half a cube contains 1100 mg of sodium. A good number to stay below with regards to sodium is 1600 mg a day.

In making my soup for lunch today, I tried this new bouillon flavour and threw in an entire cube. although my soup was a small one containing 5 garlic cloves, a small head of broccoli-flower and 8 mini carrots, plus 1 and 1/2 cups of liquid. The finished product tasted salty; horribly salty. That's when I finally read the label.  Following the directions on the box, you would throw in one cube for every 2 cups of water. Someone making a larger soup might use two! After a small bowl of soup, I've consumed 2/3 of my total sodium intake for the day and now I'm gulping down glasses of water to flush it out of my system. From now on, I'll only ever use half a cube.

Once again, the moral here is: Always Read Labels. Never assume that pretty packaging, pictures of trees, or the words "natural", "nutritious", etc means that a product will be good for your health. Stay informed by reading the labels, and know that ingredients lists can change without warning or a change in the packaging.

15/05/2011

If these pics look a bit carby, it's because they are! Note the BEFORE and AFTER. Although potatoes made up most of this dish, I simply vowed to eat no more than 10 tiny potato chunks. The "after" pic shows that I ate all the protein, veggies and fruit and left most of the potatoes.

Breakfast: plain yogurt with granola
Snack: blueberries and raspberries
Lunch: (as pictured above)  I had breakfast for lunch and it was delicious. Pictured is the Cassoulette at Cafe Mariani: eggs over peppers, bacon and potatoes smothered in cheese, fruit on the side.
Dinner: homemade nachos with extra veggies on the side

14/05/2011

Breakfast: corn flakes and granola with soy milk
Snack: strawberries
Lunch: big salad with avocado, hard boiled egg, sunflower seeds, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers and spinach. Gluten-free bread toasted and slice of old cheddar on side.
Dinner: Roast chicken and delicious homemade roasted butternut squash soup (cooked on the BBQ, pureed with pinch of ginger, curry, cardamom and clove)

13/05/2011

Breakfast: Plain yogurt with granola and blueberries
Snack: Jennie's macaroon cookie
Lunch: Chicken salad on gluten-free rice bread, fresh veggies with hummus
Dinner: BBQ Burgers and a big salad

12/05/2011

Breakfast: corn flakes and granola with soy milk
Snack: strawberries
Lunch: big salad with avocado, hard boiled egg, sunflower seeds, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers and spinach. Gluten-free bread toasted and slice of old cheddar on side.
Dinner: BBQ Chicken (marinade of garlic powder, honey, wheat-free tamari, olive oil) and big salad on the side

10/05/2011

Breakfast: Plain yogurt with granola and chopped bananas
Snack: Blueberries and gluten-free bread with peanut butter and honey
Lunch: Hamburger patty with old cheddar cheese and broccoli cauliflower soup
Dinner: Smoked salmon and creamed cheese on gluten-free toast with green salad

08/05/2011

Mother's day breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, rice toast with sugar-free jam
Lunch: salmon salad with corn thins and side salad
Snack: almond butter on banana, berry smoothie
Dinner: lobster, asparagus and small amount of baked potato with sour cream

07/05/2011

Breakfast: corn flakes with soy milk, almonds and raisins
Snack: fresh strawberries and blueberries
Lunch: salmon salad on rice crackers, Greek salad
Dinner: chicken brochettes on the BBQ and green salad

05/05/2011

Breakfast: Plain yogurt with stevia and homemade granola with almonds and goji berries
Lunch: Curried chickpeas and chopped hard-boiled egg in a Food For Life rice bread wrap, homemade pea soup
Snack: Lundberg rice chips
Dinner: angus beef stew with Greek salad

04/05/2011

Breakfast: Cold rainy morning = oatmeal with raisins, crushed pecans, dab of butter and drizzle of honey
Snack: fresh pineapple and fibre bars
Lunch: Melted Brie cheese with seed crackers, carrots and hummous, homemade cauliflower and broccoli soup
Dinner: Sugar-free, gluten-free italian sausages from Viandes Rheintal and rapini with parmesan

03/04/2011

Breakfast: Half of my breakfast yogurt and granola
Snack: Other half of my breakfast and fresh pineapple
Lunch: Chicken salad on seed crackers, sliced peppers with hummous and black bean soup
Dinner: Baked salmon with mayonnaise and herbed salt, quinoa and broccoli

02/05/2011

Breakfast: Soy milk, corn flakes, raisins and almonds
Snack: Organic Active Greens food bar
Lunch: Tuna salad on rice bread, Smart Ones Southwestern soup
Dinner: Chopped chicken salad: spinach leaves, green olives, avocado, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, and rice crackers with hummus

01/05/2011

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs bacon
Snack: fresh blueberries and yogurt
Lunch: pineapple and leftover lamb and corn puffs
Dinner: Roast chicken, corn cake and cheddar cheese, green salad