"Eat Up, Slim Down" Experiment: Day 5

Happy National Running Day!! I'm proud to say I celebrated this fantastic holiday by getting up at 5:15 a.m. to get my 8 miles in before the heat settled in upon the day. I am so NOT a morning  person, but I will get up before the sun to run. It's amazing what a positive influence an accomplishment like that can have on the entire day! Just sayin'... (That was me, not mounting my soapbox.)

Breakfast

Lemon-Raspberry Fruit Salad (5 ppv): Combine 1/4 c part-skim ricotta and 1 tsp. raspberry jam. Mix together 1 c fresh raspberries, 1 T fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp. lemon zest and 2 tsp. honey. Top ricotta mixture with raspberry mixture and sprinkle with 2 T toasted sliced almonds.

I was out of raspberries, so I substituted strawberries and strawberry jam. Other than that, and ignoring the lemon zest because I think it's generally overrated, I followed the recipe. The result got mixed reviews. It's a texture thing. DH said he'd be "all over this" if it were yogurt instead of ricotta. I initially felt the same way, but the ricotta kinda grew on me with each spoonful. The almonds on top: perfect (although I didn't have time to toast them).

This was surprisingly filling and did a decent job of sustaining me through the morning, though I would have preferred something more substantial after my run.

Lunch

Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Tuna (11 ppv): Cook 1 1/2 oz. whole grain angel hair pasta. Combine 3 oz. water packed tuna, drained, with 1/2 c halved grape tomatoes; 1/2 c canned artichokes, drained and quartered; 3 T sliced pitted black olives; 1 T lemon juice; and 2 tsp. olive oil with pasta. Add S&P.

Although the dish was fine and it was a nice mix of flavors, it was not nearly as filling as I expected. I was still hungry after eating it and had 3 remaining ppv's on my day. I had planned to save them for a mini ice cream cone after dinner, but decided to have it after lunch instead. I also ate two servings of cantaloupe which were daily fruit servings #4 and #5 (my limit). And still, I was really hungry an hour later. DH said he was hungry too, but unlike me, he wasn't ready to gnaw off his arm. I wondered if the combination of my long morning run and perhaps inadequate breakfast resulted in how I was feeling after lunch.

 Although all of my daily ppv's were accounted for, by mid-afternoon, I was rapidly approaching that place where I was going to eat anything I could get my hands on. I decided to dip into my Weekly Points Allowance a bit with a 1 ppv string cheese (yes, they're out there!) and a 4 ppv Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix Fruit & Nut bar (almond, raisin, peanut & cranberry). I also revisited the English muffin/Better 'n' PB and pear from Day 2. That brought my lunch and afternoon snacks to 18 ppv's which got me through to dinner, but barely. That's not good math.

Dinner

Double Sesame Chicken Stir-Fry (10 ppv): Cut 3 oz. skinless chicken breast into thin strips. Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a lg. skillet over medium heat. Add chicken; 2 tsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce; 2 tsp. honey; 1 garlic clove, minced; and 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger and saute 6 mins. Add 2 c fresh vegetable stir fry mix and 1/2 c cooked brown rice; saute 10 mins. Top with 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds and 1 tsp. dark sesame oil.

This was a very yummy stir-fry that I will definitely make again. The sauce was one of the best I've ever made and was almost restaurant-quality. Ironic then, that half-way through dinner I realized that I had completely forgotten the last step: the sesame seeds and the sesame oil! So, our dinner was only 9 ppv's and it was delicious and sustained us through the evening.