Back in the (proverbial) saddle...

To be more accurate... back in my running shoes. I had a very successful exercise week! From Sunday - Saturday last week, I ran 5 times. It is a rare occassion that I am really looking forward to running, but 9 times out of 10, when I get out there I am really happy I did. I also tend to run more than I planned when I have low expectations for myself. For example, I'll get out the door and tell myself I'll just run for a few minutes and then walk... all of a sudden I've run 30 minutes. I must say that I'm pleased with how quickly it seems to come back when I'm consistent and push myself a little.

It's sad, really, how far I've regressed - the picture above was at my second half marathon, in September 2009 (18 months ago) with Richard in Chicago. Only 14 months ago I ran a stinkin' full marathon. We were in such great cardiovascular shape! A little time off after the marathon was followed up by house shopping, contract signing, getting engaged, house closing, wedding planning, settling into marriage... the running (and exercise in general) fell to the wayside. I am always aware that I should be exercising... I love how I feel when I am and hate how sluggish I feel when I'm not... so I've still exercised intermittently but often half-heartedly.

I had a Lifetime Fitness membership from September 2010 through February of this year which I ended up utilizing only for the treadmill. That is a really expensive membership if that's all I'm going to do, thus prompting my cancellation. The plan is to join the new 24 Hour Fitness that opens April 23rd really close to our house and significantly less expensive... plus its supposed to be really nice. I do like the option of a treadmill when the weather is not pleasant (6+ months a year in Houston!) and I like certain classes when they work with my schedule.

Not only do I want to undo some of the weight gain (I completely blame it on being so happy and content with Richard, so I guess my life could be worse!), I really want to re-establish the good, consistent exercise habits I've had in the past and just be healthier overall. I know my life will only get more hectic as our family grows (one day) and my responsibilities increase so I really need to get this under control and manage all my "excuses". Historically, my weight has fluctuated in a 15-20# range. That is a BIG fluctuation! Friends and family would never comment on my weight, but work is another story. For whatever reason, the staff (nurses, nurses aides, dietary aides) think they have free reign to comment on my weight! A friend of mine at work is in a similar situation... they do the same thing to her. I think it's cultural, they don't realize its hurtful - I don't hesitate to tell them "you don't say that to a white girl!" but it doesn't help. It is especially annoying when your profession should make you an expert on weight loss and of course automatically thin! Or at least I feel like that's the expectation - it is not a requirement for my license, however. I've always said that I think people go into the nutrition profession more often than not because they have at least a history of a food issue, either under or over eating or a body image issue/obsession. I do think that my view of eating is much healthier than it has been in the past, and for the most part I eat well. Unfortunately, I apparently have been eating more calories than my body needs, leading to weight gain. I am not one of those girls who eats a few bites of a meal and then puts down the fork! I'm trying, I'm trying, but I hate wasting good food! Also, I think, I'm just going to be hungry later if I don't eat this now! At home its not so bad because I'm pretty good at portioning and am aware of everything in the food I cook... eating out is something else. When I am exercising regularly, this balances out and I can even be successful in losing weight over time. I have never been successful in calorie cutting only (without exercise) to lose weight. Another thing that has contributed to gaining weight has been more frequent alcohol intake - I don't abuse it, but it slows down your metabolism and provides extra calories. Something else I frequently say is I'd rather eat my calories than drink them - so I rarely drink juices or sodas with sugar... but I've yet to find a calorie-free wine. Did you know that alcohol "provides" 7 calories/gram? It does. Carbohydrates provide 4 calories/gm, fat provides 9 calories/gm and protein 4 cal/gm but all three of those provide nutritients as well. I was also getting in a habit of having a glass of wine at the end of a stressful day instead of going for a run, so that was really counterproductive for managing my weight. I'm hoping the scaling back on alcohol for Lent will also help in re-establishing healthy habits. I have no intention of stopping alcohol all together, but think for me it is better in a special occassion setting.

On the exercise front, I have been very inspired by a few friends! My beautiful friend Courtney, mom of 3 who are aged 3 and under - has recently been really successful in getting down to her goal weight through eating better and exercising very faithfully (she is one of the few people who appreciate a good step aerobcis class like I do). She looks amazing! If anyone could say they didn't have time to exercise, it would be her - in additon to being mom and wife, she works a "part-time" job that is probably more full-time since she's in church ministry. Then there is Amanda J, who is the master of routine and exercises I believe 6 times a week - every morning except Sunday! She gets up in the 5s to make sure she gets it in. Amazing. I can't even get up in the 6s to accomplish that. Finally, my sweet friend Janet, who probably could be classified as addicted to exercise. She's always been an athlete, but even now she will go to classes on her lunch break and is often on multiple intramural sports leagues at a time in addition to running and biking. She is going to go into withdrawal from the adrenaline high of getting her heart rate elevated now that she is going to have a baby! I know it will be worth it, but expect she won't waste much time after the baby is born to start running again.

I've rambled enough for now... cooking this week was pretty mundane, so I'll spare you the details... or save it for another day :)

Is it really already the end of the weekend????

Love, B

Catching up...

Meal planning has continued to be fun and successful.

Last Sunday I made Steph's Roasted Lemon Rosemary Chicken that is delicious! I made the gravy per her recipe (I added 1/2c of leftover chicken broth to make the gravy go a little further) and served it on the chicken and over some WHITE rice... With pasta, I can't tell the difference between regular and whole grain, but with rice I can... and its not that I dislike the whole grain, but sometimes the plain old white kind is a welcome change, especially if I know I got a good serving or two of whole grains already that day. To up the nutrients, and make my plate more colorful, I made this yummy veggie medley that I saw Giada make (yes, we're on a first name basis) - "Asparagus, Artichoke, and Mushroom Saute with Tarragon Vinaigrette".

Look at those veggies!
Garlic & shallots... so aromatic and they add such great flavor.

I know Grandmother would have raved about how beautiful the veggies were! No one appreciates great produce like she did :)

This time I seasoned the whole bird... huge improvement!

Ta-da!

On Monday, I had good intentions of making spaghetti for dinner but Richard encouraged me to order pizza so I wouldn't have to cook and even though I actually enjoy the cooking... I gave in and accepted the offer. We enjoyed pizza and the Bachelor :)

Tuesday night was the last night of an 8-week Bible study on James that Beth Moore was teaching and Mom and I had been attending so we went to Zoe's before hand. I really wish there was a Zoe's closer to home! If you are ever in the Washington/Heights, SanFelipe/Galleria, or Shepherd/59 area, you should definitely check it out!

Wednesday night I made the spaghetti... this is one of my staple meals that is relatively inexpensive and easy to keep the ingredients on hand in the pantry or freezer. I started with a jar of sauce, 1/2 # ground turkey and threw in leftover onion, mushrooms, and bell pepper to increase the veggie content without really noticing a difference! The extra veggies also serve to stretch the sauce. Genius! Served it over whole grain thin spaghetti. Per Richard's request and to keep us from overeating the pasta, we had a side salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper and feta.

Thursday night I did a repeat of the Italian Chicken in the crock pot that I posted the recipe for in a previous post. It was just as good the second time around! We repeated our salad from the night before.

The leftovers for the week provided great lunches and dinner for Friday night.

This Sunday I had planned to make charro beans again and Jiffy cornbread muffins (so cheap, so delicious!) for dinner which worked out well because they do take a while to cook so I was able to leave them cooking while we worked in the yard and just come in to stir periodically. I did use a little olive oil in place of the bacon. Richard said he preferred it, it was closer to his mom's (she doesn't put anything besides beans, water, and salt in the pot) and I liked it too, but it was understandably not as tasty as the batch with bacon! This coming from someone who doesn't really care for bacon.

Richard had requested fish so I made salmon, sauteed spinach, and couscous for dinner Monday. It was simple, quick and delicious. For the salmon, I seasoned the 1# filet with salt and pepper and dotted it with 1 Tbsp butter. Baked it at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Awesome. The couscous I made according to the directions but used chicken broth in place of 1/2 the water. You bring the liquid up to a boil and then stir in the couscous, remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. So easy. For the spinach, I sauteed about 5 cloves of minced garlic in 1-2 Tbsp olive oil and then added 3/4 of a 10oz container of baby spinach and stir until it wilts down.

This isn't the prettiest plate... the salmon flaked apart so it's a little hard to distinguish, but it tasted great! If you need perspective, the picture above and two pictures below is a lunch sized plate (you know, not the dinner plate and not the saucer...)

Tuesday night I made Shrimp Scampi with Artichokes from Ellie Krieger's cookbook The Food You Crave. She is another Food Network "star" - her show is Healthy Appetites - but I don't think she has new episodes. She is fairly dry but is a dietitian so I like her take on cooking healthfully. I had a small dilemna in preparing this meal. It called for 1/3 c of white wine. This is usually NO problem, I love the excuse to sip some wine while I cook and have a glass with dinner... alas, Richard and I decided to give up alcohol for Lent. The sacrifice is completely worth it... its nothing compared to the sacrifice Jesus made for me... but I have realized just how much we enjoy having a glass of wine. I had begun to notice how wine once a week with dinner had turned into an almost daily occurrence. I don't think there is anything sinful about alcohol in moderation... and 1 drink per day for women and 2 per day for men is actually shown to have health benefits, not that it is a reason to start or increase alcohol consumption in my opinion... but it does add extra cost to the grocery bill and add extra unnecessary calories. Plus I would never want to develop any dependence on an initially innocuous habit. Anyway, that was a tangent but that has been my thought process... I'm not legalistic enough about Lent to think I shouldn't add a little cooking wine, but I hate waste! To open a bottle of wine would be really hard to resist sneaking a glass and if we didn't drink any it would feel like a terrible waste of money. I could have substituted chicken broth but it just doesn't have the same flavor. I had a brilliant brainstorm and thought it might be helpful for other people who don't drink at all or just don't want to spend the money at that particular meal on wine: A few winemakers make 4-packs of "single-serve" (6 oz) bottles... I went this route and the 4 packs was only $4.50. I used one and now have 3 on standby.

Shrimp scampi goes well with pasta so I used the leftover whole grain spaghetti from last week's spaghetti dinner. Rather than serving it on top, I decided to mix it in together so the pasta would really soak up the sauce. We had side salads to accompany our meal. And water :)

That gets us to tonight... Wednesday. I made another "staple" meal: tacos. I used ground turkey, a packet of reduced sodium taco seasoning, corn tortillas, cut up tomatoes, lettuce, and avocado and some light sour cream and reduced fat shredded mexican cheese blend. We had leftover beans on the side. Very easy and filling!

Tomorrow night I'm planning to make roast and veggies in the crockpot! Hoping it turns out well.

Ooh! Ooh! One discovery I made this week: Special K cracker chips... Have you seen the commercials? I tried the sea salt variety and they were YUMMY! The best part is you get like 30 crackers for 110 calories... It is a great calorie bargain, but unfortunately there are only like 3.5 servings/box.

Hope you're having a great week... have you had any great discoveries lately?

Love, B

This week's Cooking Highlights

Well, this week was pretty successful!

As I wrote last week, my charro beans were much more successful than previous attempts. I googled "how to make charro beans" and came up with this article. It called for 8 pieces of bacon, I used 6 and still thought that was too much and so did Richard. Next time, I think I'll try just using olive oil to cook the onions, cilantro, and garlic. Also, it took longer than it said. I soaked the beans for more than 12 hours overnight, but instead of only having to cook for 1 1/2 hrs on low, I had to turn up the heat to get the beans to finish. Richard chided me, telling me "you have to cook beans all day!" I was just going with the instructions. After eating the beans a couple times for leftovers his comments actually got more complimentary and he requested than I keep the beans on hand at all times.

Sunday night I made Thai Curry Shrimp with Basil Lime Couscous from a Rachael Ray recipe that I found. Thankfully, it was just as yummy as the first time I made it! In case you can't make out the ingredients, there are shitake mushrooms and roasted red peppers in there with the shrimp. Light coconut milk makes it creamy and the curry gives it a little heat (depending on how hot you get the curry paste). Its a little annoying to get the ingredients, but it was worth it. I didn't bother with the peanuts garnish (just one more thing to buy and I'm not crazy about peanuts). The leftovers were super delicious!



Monday I used the crock pot to make the pork carnitas. I got home around 5 and Richard and I were able to go for a run, come back and shred up the meat and eat! We did stop by HEB to pick up some more Roma tomatoes and avocado to dress up the tacos, which I hadn't planned for (oops). I put a little sour cream and mozzarella cheese on mine, Richard added onions. The leftover beans were a great side. Oh, and I insisted on getting a vegetable to go with our meal, but I was the only one who ended up eating the asparagus. Luckily, we were able to eat the leftover veggies with our Santa Fe Chicken on Wednesday.

The Santa Fe Chicken a la Amanda was Wednesday night, and also muy bien! I forgot to take a picture, but it shredded up beautifully and was great with some rice. I think I would add more tomatoes (or an extra can of Rotel) next time and the cayenne pepper that I left out because I didn't have any (oops!) It also didn't take the 10 hours that it said it would.

Thursday night I was planning to eat leftovers because Richard doesn't get home until later, but he called me when I was on my way home from running to say he was on his way. So I decided to go ahead and make the TexMex Calzones also from Amanda. For the black bean salad, I usually add some thawed frozen corn (I don't really like canned) and didn't use celery because I didn't have it. This was another winner, and Richard asked if I could also keep these on hand to take for lunch.

Now to plan for this coming week!
Love, B

Adventures in Grocery Shopping and This Week's Menu

Well... "Adventures" is probably a strong word, but I spend alot of time at HEB, it seems, and have a few observations/pet peeves.

First of all... at peak times, say Sunday afternoons and immediately after work... why do people bring the WHOLE family and allow their children to push an ADDITIONAL, unnecessary cart? Just clogs up the aisles and leads to me taking a lot of deep breaths. Honestly, taking everybody along to the store seems painful to begin with, but having a kid who can't see over the top of the cart lingering behind - would create a whole lot of anxiety for me! I can see wanting to entertain the kids, and of course sometimes you can't avoid having tag alongs. My poor mom had tag alongs probably 99% of the time she went to the store and she almost always refused to go at peak times (it was an option for her since she was home during the week, obviously not an option for everyone). We usually got to ride in the buggy - once we were too big to sit up front, we got to sit under the cart, back in the day when the carts had more room underneath, which was a big treat. When we got too big for that, she would patiently let us push the cart (or for a "big" shop, push the additional overflowing cart) until Andy and I were fighting over who got to do it and ran the cart into her heels, tearing her very delicate skin. I take my own 30-something tagalong sometimes, who people probably think I should leave at home because he's usually hanging on the cart with his head bent over his phone, looking at game scores or updating his fantasy football team... I usually park him in one spot with the cart and run down the aisle which is pretty handy. Nothing worse than traffic jams on the cereal aisle. We have spent many an hour together in HEB, and I really love his company but sometimes its easier to just do it alone without having to make any explanations :) Shhh!

I get such satisfaction about saving money at the grocery store, especially when I get free items with HEB's in store deals! Even more so if it was something already on my list. It pains me to buy the name brand item. Richard is a bit of a snob and hates it when I buy store brand cereal, cookies, or crackers. When I was younger, it really embarassed me that we shopped at PriceLo and Budget Chopper as opposed to the classier Randall's or Kroger stores. I bet I would feel differently now. I spent $90 this week on an extensive list including, but not limited to, 6# boneless skinless chicken breast, 2# pork tenderloin, 1# lean ground turkey, 2# large shrimp, beer, tons of fresh produce... I'm usually pretty good at guessing what my bill would be but I was thinking $120+ so that was a pleasant surprise.

The upside of grocery shopping at peak times: SAMPLES! It is so hard for me to pass up a sample, even if it's not something I particularly like or am apt to buy. Especially the sushi. I'll probably never buy a tempura roll or dumpling, but that's all they ever sample and I almost always take one. I LOVE the Cooking Connection at HEB, where they make "easy" meals (read: meals where you add their expensive gourmet-ish products). Its fun for ideas, and if you're hungry the little samples take the edge off, but I don't very often buy what they're making (because I'm cheap and/or don't want to use some high fat/calorie ingredient thats in it... but a bite sure doesn't hurt!)

Just call me Suzy Homemaker... I have finally realized how much easier it is to do one shopping trip on the weekend than stop by most days after work to pick up a few things. So I've been planning meals ahead of time. I'm trying to do at least 1 crock pot meal, 1 go-to meal with ingredients I can easily keep on hand (spaghetti, stirfry, tacos, turkey burgers), 1 new or special meal, and then 1 more simple meal. I try to let Richard have at least 1 request per week, and I also love going through my cookbooks to find new things to try. I also started organizing my grocery list... why haven't I done this before? It took 3 drafts, but I organized myself to sections of the store in the order I reach them as I go through (produce, meat, bread, canned goods, cold, frozen... etc) to keep me from having to navigate back across the store. It worked so well!! Maybe one day I'll try the art of couponing like several of my friends have. For now I'm trying to stock up on things I use regularly when its on sale so my pantry isn't completely depleted at the end of the week.

Update on my weekly attempt at the crockpot: Pork chops and rice, from the little booklet that came with the crockpot. I was a little disappointed, but I don't particularly like pork chops to begin with. Also, the extended cooking time of the rice plus the seasonings made it taste a little too Thanksgiving-ish, and that's not my favorite. Last week I also made Steph's (http://www.blogahon.blogspot.com/) recipe for roasted chicken, which was delicious! Richard requested enchiladas, but I couldn't bear to make them the traditional way (with all that oil... I'll eat it if someone else makes it, but I can't SEE it), so I made a "healthy"version which was good... but I thinking I'll stop attempting Mexican food because I just can't do it like his mom!

This week:

Last night I made charro beans and guacamole for a "fiesta" dinner party. The beans were a huge improvement from my previous attemps and tasted much more like what you'd get in a restaurant. Next time I'll use less bacon.

Tonight I'll be making Thai Curry Coconut Shrimp with Basil Lime Couscous for an Oscar night dinner. I've made it before, and it was really good. Hopefully it won't be a let down, which sometimes happens when I really liked something the first time.

Tomorrow night I'll be using the crockpot to make pork carnitas. Basically, I'll be slow cooking the meat all day, and then shred it and eat it in tortillas like tacos. We'll eat leftover beans with it. I don't think I've ever had that, but Richard sounded excited so I'll cross my fingers for a success!

Tuesday night Mom and I have been going to dinner and then Bible study and Richard works late so he can have leftovers.

Wednesday I'm going to make Amanda's (www.bjandaj.blogspot.com) crockpot recipe for Santa Fe Chicken with rice.

I have ground turkey to make turkey burgers and Tex-Mex Calzones (also courtesy of Amanda) on whatever other nights I need to cook. I think I'm set for the week! Hopefully having a plan will decrease spending for eating out (cooking also creates leftovers for lunch for both of us!) and help me eat healthier meals all week long rather than ordering pizza or some other temptation.

What tips do you have to make your life easier?

Gotta go find my apron!
Love, B

Crock pot adventures!

First of all... I'm back!

Bridezilla did rear her ugly head just a little bit... but hopefully not too many people were scarred in the process. The HEB bagger who announced that he liked to put people's groceries in as many bags as possible (really? and did you just say that out loud?) got a little taste of my wrath... more of the evil eye and re-education of why that was not a good thing. Then my brother made the mistake of drinking the last of (MY) milk and I woke up to eat my daily oatmeal with milk and splenda two days before the wedding... it wasn't pretty. He definitely thought I was a wee bit bridezilla-ish, but handled it pretty much in stride. Surprisingly, I think I handled R's lack of timeliness (an hour late to our rehearsal and only arrived 30 minutes before the wedding started... could have strangled him!) in a relatively calm manner. I have yet to let him forget about it, though!

We survived the wedding and actually enjoyed it and had a blast on our honeymoon. I STILL haven't ordered my wedding album, so I also don't have the images yet to post, but one day I will. Can't believe we've already been married for 3 1/2 months. Between my two grandmothers passing away within 6 days of each other in early December, going to 4 weddings (2 of which one or both of us were in), and his school/work schedule, it has been chaotic but things have begun to slow down (for me at least).

Valentine's Day was a success... R redeemed himself from last year by sending me beautiful tulips to work and surprising me at home with a card, wine and best of all... hired someone to clean our bathrooms and kitchen! My efforts seemed pale in comparison, but I got a card, made him a cd and made steak for dinner with orzo and green beans.

On to cooking...

I have been trying to cook more and finally busted out the crockpot to actually use (besides to make queso!) I went out on a limb and made pot roast.... huge success! So easy and so good. I really expected to come home to it all dried/burnt up. Instead I came home after work to my house smelling amazing and a delicious dinner already made! I was wanting to use it to make something a little healthier (but still simple and yummy) so I found a recipe for "Italian Chicken" which sounded strange (chicken, italian salad dressing, and potatoes?) but was also a big success! Richard raved about it and said he couldn't stop thinking about it and had to have leftovers the next day. My goal is to try one new crockpot recipe a week so I have a good repertoire to rotate through and make my life easier. Sorry I don't have pictures, but here are the recipes:

Marie's Easy Slow Cooker Pot Roast (http://www.allrecipes.com/)

4# chuck roast

salt and pepper to taste

1 packet dry onion soup mix (like Lipton's)

1 cup water

3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced (I used unpeeled baby potatoes)

3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

(Note: I used at least 2x the amt of carrots/celery called for... I like veggies)

Season roast with salt and pepper and brown in large skillet on high heat on all sides

Place roast and remaining ingredients in slow cooker.

Cook on low 8-10 hours

Zesty Italian Chicken (http://www.southernfood.com/)

4 chicken breasts (I used 1.5# chicken breast tenderloins... same thing just already cut)
1/2 cup Zesty Italian salad dressing (I did not use the "lite" version, maybe you could)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
4-6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (I used 4 unpeeled, but still cubed, gold potatoes)
(I also added 2 handfuls of baby carrots and 1/2 onion pulled apart and 1 cup of chicken broth because I knew I would be gone for at least 9 hours)

Layer the chicken breasts, 1/2 of the next 3 ingredients, the vegetables, and then remaining 3 previous ingredients in the crock pot.

Cook on low 7 hours.

Do you have a good crockpot recipe? Please share in the comments!

(I just recalled what else I've tried to make in the crock pot: beans. R loves beans and really wanted me to make some. When he was a bachelor he lived on beans, eggs, and corn tortillas. The first time, I put too many beans in the pot and wasn't able to put enough liquid so they were REALLY dry. The next time was better but R admitted on our honeymoon that he didn't really like them! I hate to even attempt "mexican" food because I know it won't be like his mom's!)

Love, B

Will Bridezilla rear her ugly head?

So, seeing as how today is the last day of September and the last time I posted was the first day of August... I've been a wee bit negligent on the blog. So much has been going on, but it hasn't really seemed blog-worthy and I've been un-inspired on the nutrition front. I haven't been cooking much, but I did cook 2 yummy, healthy, easy Rachael Ray dishes in the last week... Bel Aria Chicken and Pasta and this yummy balsamic chicken with spinach and cannellini beans. As Rach would say, DELISH!

How many days to your wedding, you ask? 37, not that we're counting. Its a little surreal at times. We're both so excited about the quickly approaching date of the big day, being married, going on our honeymoon, etc... that I forget about what that really means. Like the fact that my name is going to change. Am I really going to introduce myself with a different name than the one I've used for the last 29 years? And develop a new signature? Not that the name change is the big thing about marriage, I guess its just one of the most obvious to me at the moment. Am I really going to share a home with someone, a home that will be "ours"... bills, paychecks, responsibilities?? I am really excited about seeing R on a daily basis... right now, I'm lucky to sneak in 5 minutes with him during the week as he's coming in to work and I'm leaving.

I'm positive I'm not the only bride to be who gets anxious as the wedding gets close, but man, I wish it wasn't that way! My friends before me seem to have handled it so well, I don't even remember them being anxious. Probably because I was oblivious :) I am trying not to "sweat the small stuff" but it is not easy! I know this isn't the first time in my life I've been anxious and it dawned on me that the Bible has a lot to say and a lot of comfort to give on this topic... I was reminded of one of my favorite passages yesterday:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God that transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7

I think it's normal to be anxious. I'm praying, though, that instead of anxiety, my heart can experience and display that supernatural peace that just doesn't make sense to others because it transcends our human understanding. I especially want my gentleness to be evident to others instead of Bridezilla rearing her ugly head, mouth, and attitude. I covet your prayers too!

I would also like to say that the anxiety that comes with planning a wedding has been more than matched with an incredible outpouring of love from my family, friends, and church family. I am amazed over and over again at people's generosity and willingness to demonstrate their support and love.

In other exciting news, R and I are part of a church plant that is officially launching this Sunday at 10am! Living Stones Church will be meeting at Trent InternationalE School behind First Colony Mall. Learn more about this exciting new church committed to not existing for itself: www.lscsugarland.org My good friend, Amanda, has been using her administrative and other gifts to serve alongside her husband, Brian, who is the associate pastor. We are eager to see what God has in store for us there! Join us :)

No promises on future updates. It might take a while, or you might be sick of hearing from me. We'll see!!

Love, B

Peanut, Peanut Butter... (and JELLY!)

Peanut butter is a staple in most pantries and a common part of the American diet. It is inexpensive and requires no refrigeration. For a long time, I wouldn't eat peanut butter. Like many things I wouldn't eat for several years, I claimed I didn't like it but, truth be told, I was avoiding it more because it is notoriously high in calories and fat. And I was a calorie counter. Or a fat gram counter. It depended on the day. Since then, though, I've started to look at food more from the angle of the nutritional value it provides, rather than the calorie/fat stats on their own. And also, I appreciate convenience. PB&J was my Saturday morning staple before my long runs during marathon training. The bread and jelly provided carbs and the peanut butter "stuck to my ribs" (thanks to the fat and protein) without making me feel sick. Not sure of the science behind that, but it worked for me! I also appreciate puppy chow and peanut butter m&ms, although I can't really justify the nutritional value there :) But if you need to put on some weight, that's the way to go! (Not that I have ever had the need to gain weight, sadly.)

2 tablespoons, the suggested serving size, provides on average 190 calories and 16gm of fat. To put this in perspective, the average person needs about 2000 calories in a day and the recommended dietary allowance of fat at that calorie level is about 65 grams. I would like to point out that "average" doesn't necessarily describe most people's needs. A lanky teenage boy who is active might utilize 3000 calories a day. A sedentary elderly woman might use 1200. A sedentary small-ish woman in her late 20s might use 1500. That same woman might use 1800-2000 if she exercised regularly. There are many factors: age, activity level, gender, weight, height, muscle mass, metabolism, genetic factors... blah blah blah. So it is hard to just throw out a number that covers everyone. Bottom line: if you're gaining weight, you are eating more calories than you are burning; if you're losing weight, you are eating less calories than you are burning. In addition, the number of carbs/protein/fat you need are generally proportional to the number of calories you need.

A general recommendation of where you should get your calories from is 50-60% from carbohydrates, 25-35% from fat (no more than 10% from saturated fat), and 10-20% from protein. I am not advocating figuring out exactly what you are consuming, the point here is everyone should eat a balanced diet! No fat-free or carb-free diets please. Unless you want dull skin and hair (if you had no fat in your diet) or no energy (if you had no carbs).

Back to the topic at hand: peanut butter. I take issue when peanut butter is promoted for it's protein content because I think its misleading. It would really be hard to get enough protein from just eating peanut butter. 2 tablespoons has 7gm of protein, appx the same amount in 1oz. of meat/poultry or 1 egg. I'd have to eat 14 tablespoons of peanut butter to meet the low end of my protein needs for a day. Nothing wrong with it and yes, it does contribute to your protein needs - but not the most dense source out there. I also object when peanut butter is blasted for it's high fat content because it is actually reasonable in its saturated fat content (3gm/serving or 16% of the RDA) and provides a good amount of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat (according to my Hill Country Fare jar, 7gm of the total amount of fat are from monos). Fat is higher in calories but also helps you to stay feeling full longer and may prevent you from going for a snack soon after you've already eaten. Peanut butter can definitely be incorporated in a healthy diet without fear of weight gain if you eat it in reasonable quantities and with consideration to the rest of your meals.

The question proposed to me on this blog many weeks ago was from the girl who forced me to eat massive quantities of afore mentioned peanut butter m&ms - she wanted to know about the differences in types of peanut butter and if she must continue to eat the natural kind. Generally, brand to brand, the nutritional content is very similar. Here is the breakdown on 4 types of Jif peanut butter (all for 2tbsp serving):

Regular Creamy (Regular Crunchy has the same breakdown)
Calories: 190
Fat: 16gm, 3gm saturated
Carbohydrates: 7gm (Sugars 3gm)
Protein: 7gm
Ingredients: ROASTED PEANUTS AND SUGAR. CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: MOLASSES, FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, SALT.

Reduced Fat
Calories: 190
Fat: 12gm, 2.5gm saturated
Carbohydrates: 15gm (Sugars 4gm)
Protein: 8gm
Ingredients: PEANUTS, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, SUGAR AND SOY PROTEIN, CONTAINS 2 PERCENT OR LESS OF: FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), SALT, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, MOLASSES, NIACINAMIDE, FOLIC ACID, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, MAGNESIUM OXIDE, ZINC OXIDE, FERRIC ORTHOPHOSPHATE, AND COPPER SULFATE.

Natural Jif
Calories: 190
Fat: 16gm, 3gm saturated
Carbohydrates: 7gm (Sugars 3gm)
Protein: 7gm
Ingredients: MADE FROM ROASTED PEANUTS, SUGAR, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: PALM OIL, SALT, MOLASSES.

Simply Jif
Calories: 190
Fat: 16gm, 3gm saturated
Carbohydrates: 6gm (Sugars 2gm)
Protein: 8gm
Ingredients: MADE FROM ROATED PEANUTS, CONTAINS 2 PERCENT OR LESS OF: FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, MOLASSES, SUGAR AND SALT.

With the exception of the reduced fat variety, you can see that the basic nutrition profile is essentially the same. The reduced fat kind has 25% less overall fat but only like 15% less saturated fat than the original. There is 2x the amount of carbohydrates than the original. That is because generally when you remove a essential ingredient you have to replace it with something else - in this case, it appears to be corn syrup solids (and a crapload of random stabilizers). Yum! I am not a proponent of reduced fat foods when they are altered in this way, especially because the calories are the same here. (Reduced fat dairy is different - they generally make it the same way, just skim off various amounts of fat.) The Natural Jif is unique because you probably recognize all the ingredients that fall into that 2% category. The Regular and Natural are comprised 98% of peanuts and sugar. Simply Jif is comprised of 98% peanuts, the sugar is included in that last 2%. However, there is only 1gm less sugar in the Simply Jif than the regular or natural. In my opinion, you should eat the one of those 3 that you like the most because nutritionally there is very little difference. If you are a purist and don't like not recognizing those last few ingredients, stick with the Natural.

Hope this was useful information for you. Feel free to leave your thoughts on peanut butter in the comments and any other nutrition topics you're curious about!

Love, B

PS - 97 days to the wedding!