Back to Macro and Feeling Good

I admit it.  I've been a bit off track with my eating lately.  Yes, there has been a lot of eating out...there have been some sweets...even...coffee (gasp).  I know, I know!  So for the last three days I've been focusing mostly on macro again, and it feels so good!  My cheeks are rosy, my energy is up, and I'm just feeling more balanced overall.  Here's a sample menu, to give you an idea of how I kept my meals mostly macro:

Monday:

• Breakfast - Oatmeal with a small teaspoon of maple syrup
• Lunch - half a sweet potato (I had a late breakfast that day...I made up for it with dinner though)
• Dinner - brown rice, arame with carrots & onions, sauteed shredded cabbage drizzled with flax seed oil, ume vinegar and gomashio, and seasoned mixed beets (recipe below)

Tuesday:

• Breakfast - brown rice with leftover the arame/carrot/onion thingy
• Lunch - polenta cake and half a sweet potato
• Snack - brown rice cake (the crispy kind) with peanut butter and brown rice syrup
• Dinner - rice pilaf with Caramelized Onions and adzuki beans with kabocha squash

Wednesday:

• Breakfast - miso soup with bok choy and dark greens, leftover rice pilaf (added some sauteed cabbage to freshen it up), natto and toasted nori
• Lunch - stir-fried soba noodles with veggies

• Dinner - I'm planning veggie soup with a side of whole grain bread

I was so tempted to make coffee this morning, but instead I brewed some kukicha tea and tried to forget about the taste of rich, creamy espresso...(single teardrop)...

After finishing dinner on Monday, The Boy told me he was so glad to have me as his wife because I cook healthy meals that he likes, and needs, to eat.  Awwwww :)

Seasoned Mixed Beets:

Serves 4 as a small side dish

12 small golden and chioggia beets, peeled and quartered

1 Tbs brown rice syrup

4 Tbs apple cider vinegar

In a large pot with a lid, steam beets in 1/2 cup of water until tender, about 20 minutes.  Strain and toss gently with brown rice syrup and vinegar.  Serve warm or chilled.

It has begun. Again.

I have so many things on my mind right now that I'm trying to make sense of.  But right now I only want to talk about something that always makes sense to me - FOOD.  The other stuff, I'm sure, will trickle out in weeks to come.

I feel like I have so many thoughts and ideas about food to share, though, that I don't even know where to begin.  Seriously.  I started making a list.  Some of you have been asking specifically for recipes.  To you I say:  I'm back and ready to start posting some vegan/macro goodness!  I've had a few months to read up more on eating a macro and vegan diet (the reason I'm mentioning both is because I'm doing kind of an 80%-20% thing right now...I'll explain in following posts), and I've been experimenting with recipes as well.  So they're coming, I promise.  And they are gooood.

Some of you have been asking how to use certain ingredients, for instance, the sea vegetables.  And some of you are just wanting to know what a day's menu would be like on the macro diet.  My plan (which may include mini detours along the way...) is to take one ingredient per post, explain it's benefits, and then share a recipe using that ingredient.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I'm back and that good things are coming!  For waiting so patiently...here's a recipe for some vegan Thumbprint Cookies I made recently.  I like that they're not sweetened with sugar, and yet are very delicious, and super cute!

P.S. For iPhone users, my new favorite App: Whole Foods Market Recipes or you can check their website.  That's where I found this recipe...


Thumbprint Cookies

Makes about 30 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup almonds or pecans 
1 cup rolled oats 
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 
1/2 cup safflower or canola oil 
1/2 cup maple syrup or brown rice syrup 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
Fruit juice sweetened jam (St. Dalfour has a good one)

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Put almonds and oats into a food processor and pulse until coarsley ground. Transfer to a large bowl and add flour, oil, syrup and salt. Stir to combine well. Roll walnut-sized balls of the dough in the palm of your hand to form each cookie, then arrange on 2 large baking sheets, spacing cookies 2 inches apart. Press your thumb gently down into the center of each cookie to make an indentation. Spoon a scant teaspoon of jam into each indentation. 

Bake cookies until golden brown and just firm around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to let cool completely, then serve immediately or store between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container.

Nutrition

Per serving (2 cookies/46g-wt.): 210 calories (110 from fat), 13g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 40mg sodium, 21g total carbohydrate (3g dietary fiber, 9g sugar), 4g protein