Have Your Milkshake and Eat it, Too

Ok, I apologize.  That was a pretty terrible title.  After all, I've always thought the expression, "Have your cake and eat it, too" was an awful one.  I mean, let's be real--what's the point of having cake if you can't eat it?  Seriously.

Moving on.

Until about a week ago, I had never tried protein powder.  To be honest, I thought it seemed a little stupid.  I'm a firm believer in the premise that it is entirely possible to get an adequate amount of protein simply by eating a balanced diet.  That is not to say, of course, that I didn't think protein powder could be useful for certain people.  Just that it didn't seem particularly useful for me.  Plus, I've always preferred to eat my calories in food form rather than, well, powder.

But then, on a whim, I decided to try it.  And I realized something kind of crazy: I really liked it.  It provided texture, substance, satiety, and--get this--it tasted delicious.  (And no, I was not paid off by any protein powder companies to write this.  But hey, if any protein powder companies out there are reading this, I'd be more than happy to sample some of your stuff! *hint*hint*)

Anyway, back to the subject at hand.  I am now completely in love with protein powder.  Or at least with SunWarrior, the (VEGAN!) protein powder that I tried.  I saw on their website that one could request samples, so I wrote to them, and, voila!  They kindly sent me a sample of each flavor: plain, vanilla, and chocolate.  I liked all of them, but I was especially enamored with the chocolate (I mean, it's chocolate.  Do I have to say anything more?).

Since chocolate milk is supposed to be the perfect post-workout snack, and since I love making smoothies, I decided to meld the two together to create what turned out to taste a whole lot like a decadent chocolate milkshake.  Only my version is actually super healthy (and way more satisfying than a tiny container of chocolate milk).  Don't believe me?  Just try it.*

Ingredients:
1/2 c plain, unsweetened almond milk (I used Silk brand)
1/2 c plain, unsweetened, organic soy milk (I used Eden Organic)
1 medium frozen banana
1-2 T chocolate protein powder, depending on desired thickness/protein content/chocolate-y-ness, etc.
1/8 c plain, lowfat (yes, lowfat.  don't you dare use nonfat for this one.) Greek yogurt.  If you're vegan, try subbing soy or coconut milk yogurt.
A couple of ice cubes--adjust depending on desired thickness

Directions:
Place all ingredients into blender and blend away!  If you have a finicky blender, it helps to put the liquid ingredients in first and the frozen ingredients in last!

*Disclaimer: In full disclosure, I must admit that I consumed this smoothie right after an 80 minute run.  Obviously, that had some effect on my taste perception.  BUT it was so orgasmically delicious (is that inappropriate for a blog?  do I care?) that I made another one AFTER eating lunch, and it was still pretty freaking delicious.  Make of that what you will.

Calorie counts on menus - yay or nay?

Today the LA Times Business Section has a front-page article about restaurants posting calories counts on their menus-- link here.  It's a great article--definitely worth a read--but in case you don't feel like reading, I'll sum up: In response to new requirements that restaurants post calorie counts on their menus, "chains are scrambling to rework consumer favorites so they have fewer calories, and they are redesigning menus so that high-calorie items are balanced out by more-healthful options."  


Sounds good to me.


Up to this point, the main argument I've heard in favor of requiring restaurants to post calorie counts centers around the idea that consumers have a right to know what they're actually putting into their bodies.  If food that sounded healthy was actually healthy, this probably wouldn't be that big of a deal.  After all, people don't eat Big Macs in the hopes of lowering their cholesterol. But what about food that appears to be healthy but actually isn't (1400 calorie salads, anyone?).  What about when consumers want to make the healthy choice, but the seemingly healthy choice actually turns out to be worse for you than, say, a hamburger?  In my opinion, this argument is justification enough.  


But this article raises another, and possibly even better, aspect to menu calorie counts: they motivate restaurants to actually make their food more healthy.  Shocking, huh? (that was sarcasm in case you didn't catch it).  For example, Panera has started to reduce the amount of mayo on their sandwiches, and IHOP developed a turkey bacon-egg white alternative (350 calories) to its popular bacon-and-eggs (1,160 calorie) breakfast.  Other changes at various chains include using lower-fat cheeses, cooking with less oil, offering fruits and vegetables as side dishes, cutting back on sodium, and even emphasizing portion control (oh yes, you read that right)!


*Note: I couldn't help but notice how meat and dairy-heavy all of these dishes (including the healthy alternatives) are, but we'll leave that for another post...


Back to the subject at hand: Obviously, there are still plenty of people who will make unhealthy choices -- and do you know what?  I really do believe that that is their choice.  But for those people who want their choice to be healthy (or healthier, anyway), steps are being made so that they actually can.  And I think that's definitely a good thing.  As they say, information is power.  And we all deserve to have power over our own food choices and lives.


P.S. According to a Stanford University study (I see you Stanford!), Starbucks customers in NY reduced their consumption by about 6% after the city began requiring calorie information in 2008.  Although that might not seem like much, it's actually a signifiant change, because "averaged over the entire population, the obesity epidemic is probably explained by about 100 calories per person per day."  Interesting stuff.


Anyway, we're all entitled to an opinion.  If anyone out there is reading this, what are your thoughts on this issue?  Do you think posting calorie counts is a good thing or a bad thing?  And at the risk of making this sound like school, why or why not?

As promised, a post and a recipe!

Few things say summer like grilling.  And if you're anything like me, there's no meal like a good barbecue. Put anything on the grill and it tastes so.much.better.  So of course I knew that my dinner-duty Tuesday evening had to involve the grill, in some shape or form.

Stellar photography skills, I know.  I'm working on it, I promise!

On the menu?

• Grilled teriyaki shrimp
• Grilled bok choy
• Sesame-soy soba noodles (because clearly I like alliteration with the letter "s")

To be quite honest, the shrimp and bok choy hardly required a recipe.  That's the beauty of grilling -- you don't need to do much to make your food taste great!  But the soba noodles did require a bit more thought, so I figured that's the recipe I'll share with you all today :) 

Sesame-Soy Soba Noodles

Gluten-free, low-fat, and vegan...what more could you ask for?

For the noodles:

• 1 package of 100% buckwheat Soba Noodles (I used Eden Organics)
• 2 large carrots, peeled and grated 
• 1 large cucumber, finely diced
• 2 T sesame seeds, toasted (just heat in a heavy duty pan over low heat until seeds begin to LIGHTLY brown)
• 3/4 c shelled edamame

For the dressing:

• 1 T peeled and grated fresh ginger root
• 4 T rice vinegar
• 1.5 T Asian sesame oil
• 3 T soy sauce
• 1-2 T minced garlic (I used 2, but my family LOVES garlic)
• a pinch of sugar (helps round out the flavor)
• salt to taste

Directions:

Cook soba noodles according to package directions (Be careful not to overcook!  Soba cooks quickly).  Drain and rinse under cold running water.  Transfer to large serving bowl.

Make dressing:

Combine dressing ingredients.  Whisk with fork until evenly incorporated.

Add dressing, vegetables, and edamame to noodles.  Toss well.

Cover with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate, at least 1 hour, and up to 5 hours (this helps the noodles to absorb the flavor).

Serve and enjoy!

I promise it tastes better than it looks!  

Summer is here...

...and do you know what that means?


Well, I guess it means a lot of things -- not least of which include sun, sand, surf, and seawater (sorry, excuse my annoying usage of alliteration...I just couldn't resist).  


But in addition to all the above-mentioned joys, summer also means that I no longer have any excuse for not blogging regularly.  So here's my goal: blog at least every other day, maybe even more.  A new recipe every day is a bit much, but I figure I can also post about food in general.  Or even just life.


So on that note, I'm off to go grocery shopping! (one of my favorite activities.  no, I'm not being sarcastic.  I love grocery shopping, what can I say?)  Once I stock up on all my essentials, of which there are many, I'm off to start playing around in the kitchen.  And I've also been assigned dinner duty for my family tonight.  Which means a tasty recipe is definitely in the near future.


Stay tuned!