Hi Everyone!

Med School starts tomorrow and I’ve been planning how to eat healthy and efficiently. Here are some tips from me and Dr. Barbara Rolls’s The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet book (Facebook & Amazon). For lunch salads, I buy mostly pre-cut and washed items to quickly throw together. For dinners, I use whole vegetables and prepare them quickly, mostly by boiling. I’m not a fan of frozen vegetables because mine always end up soggy…I also prepare big batches of grains and refrigerate them for the week. However, I did see some frozen cubed butternut squash and frozen cooked lentils that looked promising. I absolutely hate frozen zucchini…bleghhh soggy tasteless mess.

What’s more important for you? Saving time or saving money?

Hope everything is going well! I miss everyone =)

~Geraldine

Hi Everyone,

These are my favorite sources of plant protein! As you can see, you can get a lot of protein from plants. Not only that, vegetable sources also provide fiber which animal protein sources do not.

This past month, I’ve been breaking out worse than usual, in different areas, and during different times of the month. Therefore, I’ve decided to cut out dairy, which has been shown in many reliable studies to positively correlate to acne. That means, no Greek yogurt and its powerful punch of 20g of protein per cup. I’ve relied more on vegetable protein, especially from these sources! For dinner today, I had brown rice, lentils, and spinach.

For some light reading on the relationship between acne and dairy see:

Acne: Are Milk and Sugar the Causes?

For a more rigorous review: Diet and Acne

Hope this helps!

-Geraldine

P.S. My skin’s clearing after 2 weeks.

Ever feel like eating some peanut butter but then realize that you can eat two bananas instead of 2 tablespoons? Yes, monosaturated fats are good for you, but we don’t really need 18 g of it that often. That’s why PB2 is such a great way to get the taste of peanut butter and still have room for more food! I like to mix it in my oatmeal and use it as a dip for carrots & celery. Having 1 serving of PB2 instead of regular peanut butter gives you 150 extra calories to fill up on 3 cups of strawberries, a Greek yogurt parfait, or bowl of soup…the possibilities are endless (so exciting ^-^! yay more food! ).

Links:

Hope everyone is doing well!

~Geraldine

The benefits of dark chocolate include better skin, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels, lots of potent antioxidants, and natural release of endorphins. However, it’s hard to budget in chocolate when you’re trying to lose weight or to eat less sweets (like me). I’m young, so I’m not too concerned about my blood pressure & cholesterol stuff, but I am always trying to improve my skin! However, chocolate is really high in calories, saturated fat, and can be addicting. We only need 1 ounce of chocolate (not sure how much that is…but I think about 100 calorie worth?!). It’s hard for me to eat just a part of a chocolate bar especially since I’m OCD and uneven things bother me (a chocolate bar that looks like a Tetris T piece would drive me crazy).

So this is what I do…

Running: When I’m training, I hate the feeling of heavy, fatty foods in my stomach so I naturally avoid chocolate without cravings. However when i’m injured and NOT running…
Eat only >80% Dark Chocolate for less sugar (about 5g per sugar or just over 1 teaspoon)
Use one tasting square (~80 calories) in my warm bowl of oats. LOVE IT. So satisfying! Having chocolate as a topping makes the cocoa flavor go a long way and helps you portion your chocolate.
I’m an avid chocolate taster. Chocolate tasting is a great mental exercise as it challenges to use all 5 of your senses to describe chocolate. It takes time and effort. I’ve made it a rule that if I’m going to eat my fine chocolates, then I’m going to have to sit down and take notes. Sometimes I get too lazy to even eat chocolate Ha! Also, it’s crazy how difficult it can be to focus on the aroma and evolution of flavors in dark chocolates. Right now I have a Bonnat Bar to taste!
Signed up for Godiva Rewards Club for a free truffle once a month! It’s fun to get a free chocolate =)

Hope this helps! Or maybe I just have problems with chocolate…

Geri <3

100 Cal of Salad Dressing vs. Greek Yogurt

Enjoy and experience the taste of fresh vegetables without masking it in oily and sugary salad dressing.

Fage 0% Greek Yogurt : 19g protein, 20% Daily Value of Calcium, 0g Fat, 8g Carbs (lactose sugar)

Salad Dressing: 10 g fat, 3 g Carbs, virtually no vitamins or minerals

Balanced Dinner Plate

1/4 Lean Protein (white fish and shrimp)

1/4 Whole Grains (wheatberries)

1/2 Vegetables (green beans, black beans, soy beans, green salad, lemon juice as dressing)

I was traveling last week, so I mainly ate dinner at Whole Foods where I could choose my own proportions. I loved the new Whole Foods in the Foggy Bottom district of Washington D.C.! The one souvenir I got from DC was a Whole Foods reusable bag that says “Foggy Bottom” on it lol. That and 300+ pictures! Although the self-serve food at Whole Foods is expensive, it saved me from unhealthy restaurant food without any nutrition facts.

What UCSD Dining Sells (And they actually sell!)

Hoagie Sandwich: 955 Calories and 45 g of Fat, 90 g Carbs and only 4g of Fiber!!!

Black Forest Ham & Swiss: 810 Calories, 43 g of Fat, 69g of Carbs and only 4g of Fiber!!

I can’t believe these sandwiches sell and in the School of Medicine area too! Even grown men are not trying to lose weight should have the common sense to not eat 65-86 g of refined carbs and 40+ g of fat…or should they (maybe us fitblr peeps are more nutritionally aware then the average American). I’m glad my college prints the nutritional information, but man is it scary! I would not have thought they were over 800 calories each.

However, UCSD has lots of other healthy options too! (steel cut oatmeal for breakfast, bangin’ salad bar, and always something grilled for dinner).

~GT

One of my biggest turn-offs is seeing a guy eating McDonald’s (Burger King, Panda Express, Jack-in-the-Box, etc.)…Then it occurred to me:

Why does a greasy, fatty Big Mac gross me out, but the thought of a buttery, sugar-laden cheesecake slice makes me salivate? Nutritionally, they are similar…the Big Mac may even be better because it has more protein! This has influenced me to look at cupcakes like burgers, cookies like French fries, and ice cream and frozen yogurts like artificially flavored and fried chips. Instead of treating myself to processed snacks, I am leaning more towards satisfying fruits like bananas and frozen berries. Therefore, I do not feel deprived at all because I’m eating the foods I want (which happen to be healthy!) and rejecting sweets because I don’t find them appealing.

This is a way for me to honestly evaluate what I’m eating. I’m not trying to never eat frozen yogurt again. But when I do, I won’t fool myself and think I’m choosing something healthier than a dough-nut or bag of chips. I grew up with rice-krispie treats, fruit roll-ups, Halloween candy, and Haagen-Daz ice cream bars always in stock…(yes, I would eat my Halloween candy months later when stale), so I am definitely still working to resist urges to over-indulge in sweets which I prefer over savory or salty items.

Ideas that Help:

Being more nutritionally aware!
Small goals: One planned dessert with added sugar a week (If you guys are hardcore, you can aim to eliminate ALL ADDED SUGARS MUAHAHA)
Define the food items you actually like and find items which are healthier and satisfy the same craving. For example, I find that bananas satisfy my craving for cake and frozen berries + applesauce feel similar to ice cream.
Take a picture of every “treat” you eat so you can remember that you have already had that before and don’t need to try it again. Overtime, you can see how much unhealthy food you’ve consumed and may be motivated to cut down!

Let’s see how my favorite desserts compare to fast foods that I find gross…To me burgers and chips look so disgusting, I wouldn’t ever go near one. But that’s just me! You may go “blehhhh” whenever you see cheesecakes and ice cream.

Medium banana: 100 calories

1 mochi: 120 calories

I was going to eat another Bubbies Mochi but then realized this! So ridiculous!! Make your desserts worth it. Bubbies was featured as one of the 10 Best Ice Cream places in America and mochi is their specialty. I believe that food is part of culture, so don’t be afraid to try something people are talking about.

What I do: eat the most popular flavor, take a picture (because it definitely lasts longer), and then share it with someone!

Keep Calm and…Sip on water while cooking dinner!

What’s the number 1 reason college students (and people in general) get take out for dinner? Because they are so hungry at night and cooking/waiting/cleaning takes so much effort! After classes, research, studying, I just want to come home and vegg’ out, but cooking is one of my creative outlets. I don’t want to to ruin my appetite and eat extra snacks before my dinner, so I sip on water almost the entire time I’m cooking! Warning: food may burn while you run to the restroom! Drink with a straw so it’s easier to multi-task.

HONEY = NATURAL (and yummy <3)

Agave nectar= PROCESSED FRAUD

Agave is not as healthy as the hype. It is highly processed and from what I’ve read, can have the same effect on the body as high-fructose corn syrup.

To make agave nectar, juice from the agave plant has to be heated to break down long-chain sugars into mostly fructose units. This is the same method that converts corn starch into High-fructose corn syrup using genetically modified enzymes, caustic acids, clarifiers, filtration chemicals, etc.

Concentrated fructose can have many unhealthy side effects and cause weight gain.

Fructose is digested in the liver which makes fats rather than releasing sugar into your bloodstream.
Inhibits leptin, a hormone which tells your body you are full
promotes visceral fat gain

I know the sources are just other blogs, but they seem pretty reliable and quote more professional sources.

http://www.foodrenegade.com/agave-nectar-good-or-bad/

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/is-agave-nectar-safe/

xGeri

Favorite Seasonings

Prepared sauces add extra calories, artificial ingredients, and high fructose corn syrup. However, if you do not have time to prepare your own homemade toppings, try adding seasonings to make your dishes more savory. They add virtually no extra calories and are plenty flavorful! Stock up when the spices are on sale at your local grocery store!

Ideas:

Lemon Pepper Seasoning: Spread on baked salmon or halibut
BBQ Seasoning: Great on steamed vegetables
Curry Powder: Used for curry tofu
Citrus a’ apeel: grown on top of quinoa

Jamba Juice lady, “would you like some baked goods?” Me: looks at the calories uhh No thanks.

400 calorie baked goods….deathhhh

On the Run: fitness made simple

Acne: Are Milk and Sugar the Causes?