The Fit Post

I admit it… I’m what you would call a textbook yuppie.  I like making money. I send my dog to daycare…with other yuppie puppies.  I like the idea of ‘living green’ minus the inconvenience.  I overspend and undersave.  My wardrobe is my life.  I love Wholefoods.

Wholefoods, considered by my brother as the ultimate “yuppie playground,” is my favorite one stop shop for groceries and easy to make meals.  I know last week I mentioned my bootleg burrito dinner…thankfully pay day hit Monday so last night I popped into the oven two salmon filets ($18 total), topped with mango, orange slices and onion for flavor plus wrapped in smoky cedar.  This may sound/look impressive but honestly, the most I did was pick them out from the Wholefoods fresh fish case, take them home and cook at 350 for 17 minutes.  Add a side of whole grain rice with asparagus and you have a nutritious well balanced meal.

God bless you little mom and pop’s out there, but until you get a debit card machine and forget the ‘cash only’ sign…you’ll find me in Aisle Ten.

Anticipating a marathon weekend of Christmas eating and cheer (as if this isn’t what I have been doing for the past month), I decided to take today’s lunch as an opportunity to put something semi healthy and nourishing back into my system.  evol (I don’t know how to type the “e” backwards) offers amazing, super cheap, frozen burritos filled with natural ingredients.  Best of all, the cooking involves: 1.5 min microwave…flip…1.5 min microwave…eat.

The Shredded Beef Burrito ($2.99) rolls together tender shredded antibiotic-free spiced beef (watch Food Inc. and you’ll know why this is important), pinto beans, rice, Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses plus some house-made tomato and roasted corn salsa all in an enriched wheat flour tortilla.  26 grams of protein plus 11 grams of fiber, this all natural burrito was “discovered” by Bear Naked Granola’s CFO.  Created by Phil Anson, this one man burrito biz started in Colorado with Phil selling his homemade wraps to climbers in the Eldorado Canyon via personal cooler.  evol has grown (or you could say “evolved”) to include a list of burritos with varying ingredients such as tofu, free range chicken or house-made chorizo.

Boy do I love rice pilaf – so buttery and loaded with carbs…however, it just doesn’t sit on my body like it used to (i.e. turns into uncomfortable pockets of fat).  Thankfully, Kashi (of course, always to the rescue) has made a 7 Whole Grain and Sesame Pilaf to help curb rice cravings.  Unlike the old school recipe, these individually sealed pouches of rice have zero cholesterol, sodium or sugar.

1/2 cup cooked pilaf contains: 170 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 160 mg of potassium, 33 grams of carbs, 6 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein.  With about 12 servings per box, Kashi uses minimally processed raw whole oats, brown rice, rye hard red winter wheat, triticale, buckwheat, barley and sesame seeds.  Even better, one serving provides a recommended day’s worth of whole grains.

Now, if Kashi could just turn my love for raw cookie dough into something healthy…

I live in the land of pizza – every corner is the ORIGNAL Famous Ray’s (how is that even possible…haven’t these people heard of a Trademark?) or my personal favorite, Pizza 33.  As much as I love that amazingly thin greasy slice that lets you origami fold it into about twelve sections, my cholesterol and pear shape body can’t manage eating the greasy stuff every week. 

Living Right (sounds like the name of Oprah’s next book club reading) offers a great frozen alternative – available at Whole Foods among other places.  A 7 whole grain organic crust, wheat flour, oats, rye, barley, spelt and flax make up these mini cheese pizzas with organic tomatoes and spices.  Each pizza contains 240 calories, 3 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar and 11 grams of protein.  The best part is that you can make these in just a few minutes using the microwave – no cooking and no cleanup!

Manhattan apartment + Manhattan schedule = NO COOKING

Tasty Bite is an ideal way for me to “make” an easy and inexpensive meal either in my studio kitchen or at the office.  Available in a variety of flavors and cuisines, the packages require no cooking (magical phrase) plus can be stored at room temperature outside of a refrigerator until opening.  My favorite is the Sprouts Curry & Basmati Rice ($3.69 at Whole Foods), pre packaged vegetarian, kosher, gluten-free pouch of curry plus rice with no preservatives or MSG added.  One box contains 363 calories, 1g of  fat, 12g fiber, 14g of protein and only 4g of sugar.  Fresh health food and whole meals definitely shouldn’t be passed over for this 2 minute microwave dish but for those times when you’re a) on a budget, b) have limited space to cook, c) wanting a healthy instant option or d) all of the above (in my case) then Tasty Bite will certainly make it happen.  I often skip the rice and add extra firm plain tofu to increase the protein content (if you heat it all together, the tofu takes on the taste of the curry and blends together as one cohesive meal).   Depending on your appetite, heat the entire box up and save half in a Tupperware for later in the week.

My absolute go-to snack of the month is Mestemacher Fitness Bread toasted with all natural crunchy peanut butter… (and here’s the key part) topped off with fresh apple slices.  Conveniently pre-sliced and vacuum packaged, the all natural/whole grain bread packs a slew of healthy (and filling) ingredients including rye and oat kernels plus wheat germ.  Wheat germ, for those of you that aren’t familiar with its benefits, is very high in protein and contains more potassium and iron than any other food source.  Great for maintaining energy levels, it is also a source for vitamins A, B1 and B3.  With the additional protein of the peanut butter plus locking in a serving of fruit with the apple, this snack is ideal for the  mid morning to stave off lunchtime hunger or even in the afternoon to prevent that desire to stuff your face when you get home from work.

Mestemacher has managed to create a delicious tasting bread without forfeiting the health benefits in each slice: 120 calories/1g fat/24g carb/6g fiber/1g sugar/4g protein.