Meat, Please!

No, I'm not changing my eating habits, but I did have some delicious vegetarian turkey as a snack this afternoon!

Made with texturized vegetable protein, carrots, kale, onion, tamari, sea salt, sesame oil and spices, and packing 45 grams of protein in this little container. Pretty impressive, wouldn't you say?

In addition to the better-known faux-meat brands on the market (Boca burgers, Gardein chik'n breasts, Quorn patties, etc), there's also four big general meat substitutes:

 - Texturized vegetable protein is made from defatted soy flour extracted from soybeans. It's a fairly processed product that is sometimes mixed with low-quality meats, but in moderation it's rather delicious on its own. It has a chewy, fibrous texture, actually rather similar to freshly carved poultry.

 - Seitan is made from wheat gluten. It's a good alternative for those sensitive to or careful with soy products, and in my opinion has the "meatiest" texture of all the faux meats. It's chewy but tender, and easily takes the flavor of whatever it's cooked in.

 - Tempeh is a cake of fermented soy beans. Eaten alone, it has a grainy texture, almost like a cake of densely packed rice, and a slightly bitter taste. Cooked, however, it's much milder and offers a slight nutty flavor. It can also be easily crumbled to add to sauces and the like.

 - Tofu, of course is the most well-known. It's made by coagulating soy milk and pressing the resulting curds into blocks, which can yield a variety of textures depending on the firmness one chooses. I'm convinced that the reason 'fu gets a bad rep is because people just don't prepare it correctly- pressing out the excess water is essential to get rid of the mushiness!

See? Not so scary :) If you've never experimented with vegetarian proteins, I absolutely encourage you to try them out sometime- you'll like them more than you'd expect!

* * *

In addition to my veggie turkey this afternoon, I also snacked on a chocolate chip cookie dough flavored Larabar.

And though I wasn't ravenous for dinner, I still had a PB&Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams sandwich, frozen from my stash.

DCD peanut butter, cherry preserves and shredded coconut. 

And as if my sandwich wasn't desserty enough, I also had an apple with a Nutritious Creations chocolate chip cookie.

They're available at delis around the city, and I haven't had one in ages. I feel like random Asian or Indian delis are some of the best places to discover new health foods!

Have you ever tried any of the above meat substitutes? Which is your favorite or least favorite? Any go-to recipes for them?

March Goals

Though I didn't set any February goals, I'm ready to come back full force for March. I've noticed that when I set too many goals, I'm less likely to completely accomplish them, so this month I'm focusing on just three:

1. Learn to use my camera better. This has been on the list forever, and I've decided that in order to accomplish it I need a plan of action! I'd like to try to spend 15 minutes a day with my guidebook and camera.

2. Experiment with more forms of exercise, especially strength training. Since I'm cutting back on running, I want to replace it with activities that I enjoy just as much, but that are better for my current fitness goals. I want to aim to take at least 3 classes per week- yoga, weights, boot camp, cycling, etc.

3. Try four new savory recipes. One per week. The only way to become a better cook is by cooking. I have a whole folder of bookmarked recipes- it's time to try a few!

That's it! I tried to break the goals down into smaller chunks so that they're easier to track and achieve. We'll see how they go!

* * *

For lunch today, I threw together a simple snack plate with all my favorites.

Two whole-wheat tortillas, plus carrots and a sliced tomato sprinkled with black pepper:

With half a container of hummus for dipping.

Scraping the bottom of the container is just so satisfying to me :)

I also had an apple with sunflower seed butter, dipped straight into the jar.

* * * 

And before I go, the 'fit du jour.

 - black yoga pants- Champion from Target

 - black longsleeved tee- Gap

 - Pale pink sequin cardigan- J.Crew outlet

 - black flats- Tory Burch

 - patent headband- Goody from CVS

I love yoga pants, but if I wear them too often I have a tendency to look sloppy. I feel both comfy and put-together in today's ensemble.

Time for an afternoon of classes. Talk to you later!

Do you have any March goals? If so, what are they? And what's your favorite way to dress up a comfy outfit?

Strength and Smoothies

Good morning everyone! Happy March!

My day started bright and early with a strength training class called 30/60/90. It was a mixture of strength moves, cardio bursts and plyometrics that required serious concentration on my part, so I never got bored. The only downside was that a lot of the moves involved jumps and fast squats, which I'm paranoid about doing due to my knee. I kept it to my own pace and still got in a good workout, though- I tried to really really hone in on the upper body moves.

After class, I hopped on the elliptical for 15 minutes at level 5/resistance 5, to make up for all those jumps I missed. One of the TVs was playing the MTV video station, and the old TLC video "Unpretty" came on.

You can buy your hair if it won't grow/ you can fix your nose if he says so,

You can buy all the makeup/ that MAC can make

But if you can't look inside you/ find out who am I to

Be in the position to make me feel/ so damn unpretty

They were on the Operation Beautiful bandwagon a few years ahead of time, weren't they?

* * *

Before hitting the gym I had two dry pieces of Ezekiel toast, and when I got home I made myself a green monstah.

 - 1 c almond milk
 - 1 banana, broken into chunks
 - 1 scoop vanilla Sun Warrior
 - 1 scoop (3T) chia seeds
 - big handful of spinach
 - drizzle of agave

The green color is very apropos for March, no? St. Patty's is just around the corner!

Generally I never really crave smoothies, but lately they've just sounded so good to me! This combination was definitely a winner, too. Simple and delicious.

Feels good to have a good workout under my belt by 9. Off to enjoy my morning before this afternoon's classes!