Archives for July 2011

The Great Vegan Queso Standoff

Sorry for my lack of a Meatless Monday post yesterday.  Sad smile 

I’m having a hard time figuring out how to balance this class I’m taking with other stuff right now.  We have two tests a week, 2 quizzes every day, and 2 chapters to read every night. And right now I’m still working three days a week so that’s not really leaving me much extra time. (p.s. this weekend is my last weekend of work!!!)

Anyway, I thought this would be a fun post so here we go!

Before I stopped eating dairy I looooved cheese with a capital L O V E.  My cholesterol levels did not however (hello total cholesterol of 260- yikes!).  Anyway, just because I’m not eating dairy any more doesn’t mean I can’t have something cheesy and delicious tasting!

Enter vegan queso!  I introduce to you, my friends, the great vegan queso standoff of 2011!

 

In one corner we have Food For Lovers Vegan Queso!

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I’ve had this one before.  Actually I buy it all the time.  And when I say all the time I mean that I always have a jar on hand in case I run out of the open jar I have in the fridge.  Embarrassed smile

 

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It clocks in at 20 calories and zero fat per 2 Tablespoon serving.

 

 

And in the other corner we have Nacho Mom’s Ultimate Vegan Queso.

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I’ve seen this one before but I’ve never had it.  I was super excited to try it!!

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This one clocks in at 10 calories and zero fat for 1 oz.  When I weighed it 1 oz came out to about 2 Tablespoons.  So technically this one’s lower in calories, but really I don’t think that 10 calories is a deal breaker for the other one, LOL!

 

The vessel that would carry the sweet sweet cheesiness to my tastebuds…

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Aaaaaannnnnnddddd….

LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!!

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Categories are spiciness, scoopability, and overall chessy awesomeness.

Spiciness…

Food For Lovers- this will burn a hole in your tongue it is so spicy.  I’m not kidding.  I love spicy food so much that if I’m not crying and my nose isn’t running then it isn’t spicy enough for me.  And this is almost too spicy for me.  I don’t mind the crying and the nose running though, but maybe you do.  So if you don’t like really spicy stuff this might not be for you!

Nacho Mom’s- this is very mild.  Not too spicy, but not at all bland.  Perfect for people that like a little spice without overdoing it!

 

Scoopability…

Food for lovers- this is perfectly scoopable right out of the jar!  It has a nice consistency and when it heats up it gets a teeny bit thicker.  Which is fine because it does seem a bit thin when you’re spooning it out of the jar.

Nacho Mom’s-  this one is hard to scoop out of the jar.  You have to stir it a lot before you can spoon it out.  But once you do, it stays the perfect scoopable consistency for ultimate chip dippage.

 

Cheesy Awesomness…

I have to admit that it’s really hard for me to tell how cheesy the Food For Lovers is because my taste buds have been burned off from the extreme heat of it, haha!  So I’m just going to give this one to Nacho Mom’s!  It’s seriously awesomely cheesy!!!  As in tastes almost exactly like regular queso!

 

AND THE WINNER IS….

Well, there wasn’t really a clear winner/loser here.  I believe that they both have a place in my fridge.  I do, however, think that I would eat the Nacho Mom’s on a more frequent basis than the Food For Lovers because it’s not nearly as spicy!

Where to find them…

I found both of these at Whole Foods!  I’ve also seen them at a few of my local health food stores.  Or you can find them online through several online realtors.  Visit the Food For Lovers or the Nacho Mama’s website for the deets!

 

Hope you enjoyed this- hopefully I’ll have more of these in the future, it was fun!

 

Peace out peeps, I’ve got a test tomorrow I’ve got to go study for!

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Weekly Weigh In: Week 7

Last week’s weight: 172.4
This week’s weight: 172.2

Change this week: –.2
Total weight lost:  37.8 lbs!!!!

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Here are the reasons I’m ecstatic about this…

  • It’s “that time of the month” and I usually gain anywhere from 3-5 lbs but I actually LOST weight this time!  YIPEE!!!!
  • I haven’t worked out once this week cause, ya know, the whole broken phalange thing.  (I think the break is toward the top of the toe, so that would be phalange, yes?)

Oh and p.s. calorie counting was making me an insane person!  I was starting to obsess over the calories in a banana or an apple.  It was getting ridiculous and stressing me out.  And there’s no way I ‘m going to be able to lose weight if I’m freaking out and stressed about food all the time!  So I switched back to Weight Watchers(I know I may seem wishy washy but honestly I’m just trying different things right now to see what works best for me).  I’ve done weight watchers before- I’m actually a lifetime member. I know it works.

I know how the program works like the back of my hand.  It’s easy.  It’s familiar.  It’s not stressful!  Fruits and most veggies are free so I don’t have to freak out about eating a banana as a snack if I’m hungry and going over my calories- I can just eat it and enjoy it. It consistently works for me if I’m consistent with the program.  I’ve been back on it for two weeks and am losing weight consistently and not GAINING weight like I was counting calories!

So moral of the story is you need to find what works for YOU,  Not any one course of action works for every single person- our bodies are all different.  Calorie counting does not seem to work well for me.  It works great for some people though.  Weight Watchers works well for me, but it doesn’t work for everyone.  Some people can just focus on eating healthier and be able to easily lose weight.  That does not work for me, but if it does for you then you are a very lucky person and keep up the good work!

Happy Saturday- hope everyone has a good one!

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Fitness Friday

So as per my last post, we all know I broke my poor little toe.  I have yet to be able to get it in a shoe (which will be interesting since I have to work tonight so I will need to figure out some way to cram my foot into a shoe).  And no shoes + barely being able to walk= no workouts this week.

I’m going crazy here!

I feel like I’m losing the mileage I had built up because I haven’t been able to run!  Sad smile

But the toe is starting to feel a little better (thanks to Kenisio taping + icing!) so I’m thinking I may be able to do something next week. 

So pending the ability to put my foot into a shoe, here’s the plan Stan:

  • Walking at not too fast of a pace (if I can- if it’s painful I’ll stop obvi)
  • OR maybe the elliptical (at a slow pace)?  We’ll just have to see about that one- I think I’ll know right after I get on the machine if I’ll be able to do it or not.
  • Strength training!  I’m planning on hitting up the gym and getting my lifting on- at least my arms could get a workout even if I can’t do any cardio!

My exercise goal is to workout 3 days this week.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

 

What are your fitness goals for this week??

 

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No running in the house!

So you know how when you’re a kid and your mom says “No running in the house!”?  You know why she says that? 

Because you will break something- other than the lamp that you’ll probably knock over.

Like a toe.

 

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I’m glad I got a pedicure the day before that happened, haha!

This is day 3- the swelling has gone down a teeny bit, but it’s looking grosser and grosser!

I hope my poor little toe isn’t permanently crooked!

The only way I can stand to walk right now at all is if I buddy tape my toe up to his next door neighbor (which I believe is what you’re supposed to do with a broken toe anyway?)

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Forget about shoes- it ain’t happening without a whole lot of screaming!  I’m not sure how I’m going to go to work this weekend- we’re not allowed to wear open toe shoes!

And working out?  Not sure that’s possible.  I can’t run.  I can’t do yoga- already tried, hurts too much.  I know I could swim, but I don’t really swim.  I never learned how, all I can really do is paddle around a little, lol. 

sigh.

And this is why you don’t run in the house kids!

Meatless Monday: Grilled Veggie Lasagna

Hey there!!  It’s time for another Meatless Monday!

Before I get into the recipe I need to show off my new refrigerator!!  (First, remember the old one??)

And here’s the new one!  (p.s. I know I need to go grocery shopping)

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On with the recipe!!

Grilled Veggie Lasagna

Ingredients:
Veggies for grilling- I used an eggplant, a zucchini, and an onion, and two portabellas.
Jar of your favorite pasta sauce
Whole wheat lasagna noodles cooked according to package directions- I used 10 of them, but it really depends on the size of your pan.
Mozzarella cheese- I like Daiya

Directions:
Slice your veggies up and grill them.  (if you don’t have a grill, you can use a grill pan.  If you don’t have either you can just sauté them, but it won’t be quite as good because it won’t have that smokey flavor)

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Let your veggies cool enough to handle them, then chop them up into pieces.

Layer your lasagna starting with sauce, then noodles, more sauce, veggies, noodles, sauce, veggies, etc…

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When you get to the top layer sprinkle on the cheese.  (make sure you get a really good layer of sauce on the top so that your noodles don’t get all crunchy)

Place in a 350F oven for around 30 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melty.

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Serve it with a nice salad and THIS BREAD!  It is maybe the best bread ever!  And you can thank Laura for the tip on the bread!

I made it in my bread machine and it came out perfect!  I sprinkled a little Tuscan Seasoning on it before it went to the bake cycle in the bread machine.

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Perfection!!!

Have a great one!!