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Simple Lunch Stirfry Recipe and Siggi’s Probiotic Breakfast Review

i made this stir-fry for lunch yesterday (Tuesday, 1/24):

I decided to bring my lunch to work this week. We do have a cafeteria at the office, but it’s not that healthy. This stirfry is made up of:

  • broccoli + broccoli stalk (you don’t have to throw that part out – it’s great sauteed)
  • red pepper
  • can of tuna
  • frozen corn
  • fresh cilantro
  • garlic + chili powder
  • cooked in bacon fat (I save this each time I make bacon)

I had a sesame bagel alongside the stirfry.

I also vowed to bring breakfast. I normally shy away from drinking my calories, but I have found several drinks to be quite delicious as of late, in particular:

This is Siggi’s probiotic drinkable non-fat yogurt in plain (it also comes in strawberry). I don’t like siggi’s greek yogurt (too thick) but I did find this drinkable yogurt to have a good consistency (not too thick, not too thin — just right!) and flavor. I added some cinnamon to mine before drinking up. Only 45 calories in this small bottle which leaves plenty of room for other breakfast goodies like no-sugar scones.

What do you put in stirfrys? Do you drink your calories or save them for chewing?

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A Girly Breakfast – Yogurt and Fruit

You know, I really enjoy my manly breakfasts, but sometimes all a girl wants is some sweet cherries, creamy yogurt, and peanut butter. Loooots of peanut butter.

In this case, loooots of PB2. Yep, I still order PB2 – I try not to use it too often as it’s expensive, but I pull it out at least a few times a week. I’m still plugging away at the shipment I got over a year ago (16 jars, I think).

This breakfast bowl consists of:

  • Fage 2% Greek yogurt (almost a cup?)
  • ~1/2 cup of chopped cherries (I keep typing “cheeries“)
  • 2 tablespoons of PB2, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
  • a few drops of vanilla stevia

I’ve had it every morning this week for breakfast! I wonder when I will get tired of it.

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In other news, I have slooooowly been going back through my old posts and editing them. I have found some great old recipes if you want to check them out! It’s really interesting to me to see how my taste has evolved (but in some cases not evolved at all) over the years.

Blueberry Muffins (no picture – first post)

Tofu Apple Butter Dip

Vegan Tofu Fruit Dip (great with apples)

Apples and Brussels Sprouts

Apples and Brussels Sprouts

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread Picture

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread

These were all baked in a very old, decrepit kitchen in Collegetown in Ithaca, NY. They were tried by roommates and friends. I think I remember the oatmeal bread being a favorite – I’m pretty sure I made it several times.

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What is your favorite thing to make for people? What is your favorite breakfast? Do you like fruit and yogurt as much as I do?

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Strawberries and Cream – All That’s Missing Is the Blue!

Last week I picked up these beautiful local strawberries from Whole Foods in Columbus Circle. They were perfectly ripe. They were small and sweet and I think if they had been left out another day they would have gone bad – which means that they were at their absolute peak.

I can’t have fresh, local strawberries without whipped cream and this time was no exception. A while back I gave up processed food and that includes whipped cream from a spray can. So I got heavy whipping cream instead, and made it in my food processor.

Strawberries & Cream

Ingredients

  • Fresh strawberries
  • Heavy whipping cream
  • A few teaspoons of sugar or the equivalent of stevia (stevia is optimal – I try not to eat much sugar at all; note if you use liquid stevia it is probably best to add it at the end or else it will interfere with the cream’s ability to whip up right)

Method

  1. Whip the cream and add some sugar (or stevia), to taste.
  2. Slice the strawberries.
  3. Mix together.
  4. Eat 🙂

This is a sweet treat that I learned from my mom. It’s perfect for breakfast or dessert. Or a snack. Or for dinner.

***

Happy Fourth! Enjoy this Red and White treat with something BLUE. Like BLUEberries or BLUEs music.

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More Tips for Beating IBS: Soothe Your Tummy

I had no idea my “help your tummy tips” would be so well received. I got so much wonderful feedback that I want to go on about this a little more.

Go Dairy Free book

(My review of Alisa’s book here.)

Many people suggested that I might be allergic to something – and you are probably right. I spent most of last year dairy-free (my macrobiotic experiment), and during the dairy-free times my symptoms were much less severe. I also tried food combining last year, which helped as well, but for various reasons I stopped doing that.

So I’m going to try something yet again. One commenter (hi Kim!) has a great website about how she deals with her IBS. When I was diagnosed (back in 2004, when the cafeteria food at college made my stomach a writhing mess) I kind of ignored it. My doctor didn’t tell me there was anything I could do; he just suggested that I stop eating the cafeteria food.

The longest respite I had from the syndrome was from 2005-2007. To solve my problems I just didn’t eat much. Great for my digestion, but not that healthy in general – I was too thin.

Now… I’m going to buy a book Kim mentioned on her site called Eating for IBS. From what I can tell, it’s about food combining (but not in the raw sense), trigger foods, and having a happy stomach. I will come up with a plan and post it – if you have IBS too maybe you can try it out as well.

And here are more tips that you all had for calming IBS and pissy stomachs:

  • Don’t overdo the fiber
  • Drink tea (peppermint is particularly helpful)
  • Get checked for food allergies (dairy, gluten, etc…)
  • Stress is a trigger… so chill out
  • Small snacks can help, but don’t snack too much
  • Don’t eat past the point of fullness
  • Careful with whipped cream
  • Avoid alcohol
  • Rubbing your belly in clockwise circles
  • Get some exercise each day – get moving to get moving one might say 🙂
  • Cat/cow yoga stretches
  • Don’t forget about probiotics (supplements)

I am going to try to follow them!

Tonight I have a date with Bobby (I have hardly seen him all week) and tomorrow I’m going to New Jersey to do some wedding tasting with my 2 best girlfriends, my sister (my MOH), and my mom (my wedding savior). Bobby and I are going to Miami next week (oops – think I forgot to mention this) so I need to get lots of stuff done this weekend (work and otherwise).

What are your weekend plans?

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Moving in Manhattan – Kinda Rough!

I had a horrible couch-moving experience (bad bad Craigslist), but I do want to say thank you to Rob the Mover as well as the lifesaving New York Couch Doctor for making my horrible awful day not quite so bad after all.

I was pretty stressed all day because of the couch drama, but I did make this yummy dish for Bobby because he was actually the one who had to deal with most of the awfulness.

  • rice
  • coconut oil, garlic powder, teriyaki sauce
  • shrimp, red peppers, scallions

So simple. He loved it. While he ate this I ate chocolate. Kinda wish I’d just made more of this because the bite I did have was delicious.

Today I got a smoothie for lunch at Jamba Juice. My tum has been really bloaty lately. I got the Berry Fulfilling, which does have Splenda, so I may get something else next time. It was yummy. It has a dairy base and then raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries (I think).

I thought it would help my stomach since smoothies should be easy to digest, but it didn’t do much – I was still bloated. And now I’m really hungry. I did have an apple with the smoothie so maybe that’s what did my tummy in.

I did manage to get in my exercise by walking home (2 miles) and walking at lunchtime to meet Bobby (<1 mile). I try to get in 2 miles of walking every day but it doesn’t always happen.

Do you ever feel like you should act a certain way or eat a certain thing because of other blogs? I know I used to, but now I pretty much do my own thing. I think it’s better this way.