Healthy Movie Theater Snacks

May 21st, 2013 | Posted by Nicole in Food Review - (1 Comments)

Mysterious movie theater popcorn. Even though many theaters have made changes to cook with canola oil and get rid of the partially hydrogenated oils (unhealthy trans fats), movie theater popcorn can not possibly be healthy. Right?

First, I like to know exactly what I am eating. The fact that the information is scarce is a red flag. If they are not willing to display the ingredients, it makes me think the popcorn is still unhealthy. You have to call or write to your local theater to find out the ingredients, and then, if you state you have an allergy or food intolerance, they will tell you what you need to know.

Seriously? They tell you the calories (as if that is supposed to help you figure out if it is “healthy”), but not the ingredients.

movie popcorn calories

Anyway, all that I know is some movie popcorn might still have trans fat, and if it doesn’t, then it probably still contains plenty of byproducts: likely MSG and/or diacetyl. You may remember when diacetyl was in the news for possibly causing lung disease and/or Alzheimer’s. However, this study was done on the workers in the popcorn factory.

Conclusion: I still do not eat movie theater popcorn because I don’t trust it, and there are plenty of other healthy options.

The AMC theater that I went to sold all kinds of healthier alternatives including hummus, fruit chips, pop chips, and Odwalla bars:

movie hummus

healthy movie snacks

My sister got this teeny tiny pack of chocolate raisins (yes, a slightly healthier choice). Good for portion control, but bad for the wallet ;-)

movie candy

I still did not purchase any of these “healthier” choices. I snuck in my own popcorn. Sorry, but I don’t like the movie theater choices ;-)

I brought in this white cheddar popcorn:

healthy cheese popcorn

The ingredients are very simple: popcorn, canola oil, whey, maltodextrin, cheeses, salt.

Mr. Cyclist thought I was ridiculous sneaking this in, but then he did enjoy it as well.

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Eats this Week: Best Salad Ever and The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

March 4th, 2013 | Posted by Nicole in Eats of the Week - (0 Comments)

We had a lot of tasty eats this week! Mr. Cyclist and I discovered that if you roast little mini peppers they become even more sweet and delicious.

We ate them with a turkey burger (I left off the bun because I was saving room for chips hah):

turkey burger with roasted peppers

All you need to do is get the big bag of mini peppers from Costco or your local grocery store (if you can find them there) and then roast them on a baking sheet in the oven under the broiler until they brown. We add some olive oil and a few spices.

Next, we added those same peppers to what I am calling the best salad ever (for the moment anyway).

shrimp avocado salad

Lemon shrimp, avocado, Romano cheese, roasted mini peppers, spinach, onion, sun-dried tomatoes and a few olives. So tasty!

For another dinner, we took more avocados and put them on top of a vegetable omelet.

omelet with avocado

Served with a side of spiced black beans for a complete meal.

Last night, Psycho Holiday Baker made a batch of some of the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. Even my Dad couldn’t stop eating them! And he doesn’t usually care much about cookies. The recipe was from Savory Sweet Life.

best chocolate chip cookies

For today, we went to one of those make-your-own stir-fry restaurants.

At first, I was horrible at putting together ingredients, but now I am a pro. Haha. Anyway, first I made a vegetable and tilapia curry mix:

tilapia vegetable red curry

And then, a second small vegetable mix with vodka sauce! It was amazing:

vodka sauce stir fry

Look at all of those veggies!

make your own stir fry

I don’t think he really liked getting his picture taken.

Now, it’s time to make some gumbo and relax. I already did my exercise by wandering around on a trail in the woods with Mr. Cyclist! Hah. Typical for a day off.

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Tasty Atlanta

October 7th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Eats of the Week | Food Review - (1 Comments)

I was unable to go to FNCE this year with my fellow Dietitians. Definitely going to try to go to the Texas FNCE next year.

So, the least I could do was go to a food festival–Taste of Atlanta!

One of the first things I spotted was this sign:

Reese’s peanut butter cup doughnut… let me just look. And what happens?

Don’t freak out. Yes, I ate a baby doughnut. I am only human. The sad thing is that it wasn’t amazing. This one I would rate as not worth it.

Next, Mr. Cyclist got some tasty bites:

Delicious chips and cheese dip from Lime restaurant that just came to Atlanta. It was one restaurant that we discovered and decided we would frequent in the future.

Mr. Cyclist got some shrimp jambalaya while I ate some baklava.

This baklava was my favorite part of Taste of Atlanta. I have always loved baklava. The texture is moist, yet crunchy. The honey and walnuts are warm and delicious. And I love phyllo dough (insert guilty face here).

More tasty bites. Beet salad with some type of cheese and truffle oil (I think):

Creamy shrimp and grits with hint of sausage:

After feeling a little full, we decided to walk around Atlanta for a little while. And we stumbled across this crazy thing:

It’s a massive mushroom!! Kinda gross.

Walked back to Taste of Atlanta for a few more bites, and this guy:

Great flavor from the grill. But, the artichoke was a little inedible except for the inner most leaves.

We got loads of free chickpea chips and popcorn from Smart Food.

Beautiful sunny day!

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Airline Food

September 19th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Food Review - (1 Comments)

I forgot to tell you all about the airplane food I had on my trip! I flew SAS (Scandinavian Air) and I got a lucky free upgrade to economy extra which just means that you get a foot rest, free wine, and food that is a little better.

Mixed greens salad with little bits of crab, piece of cheese, crackers, some kind of caramel dessert, and a seafood/corn/bean/ravioli dish. I was pretty impressed with this. I enjoyed the salad that seemed pretty fresh, and the main meal nice because it did have some veggies and beans!

Then, we got a breakfast meal that was a Greek yogurt with honey, little packet of granola, hard boiled egg, slice of some kind of meat that I didn’t eat, slice of swiss cheese (do not like), and some melon. They always offer you bread, coffee, and tea with all meals as well. I was impressed that their breads were high quality dark whole grain/rye blends. This seemed to be a trend in the Baltic countries.

Anyway, I got the feeling that most above-par airplane meal was the luck of flying SAS. I think they just have slightly better meals. Everyone else I talk to complains of their airplane food, and I have seen pictures to go with the stories!

One thing I learned is that when in doubt, call ahead and request a vegetarian meal. I didn’t do this and I was OK, but would suggest it for others. Another important tip is to bring your own snacks or at the very least, do not plan on eating a good meal on board.

Do you have any tips?

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Flax Crackers & Crab Cake Dinner

June 5th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Eats of the Week - (0 Comments)

Met up with my friend, Valerie, to get a healthy dinner in Atlanta at R. Thomas’ Grill. It is a funky place catering to vegetarians and the more health conscious. We ordered some flax crackers and guacamole for an appetizer.  Sorry for all the camera pictures in advance…

These “crackers” were completely made from flax seeds. No flour or anything. They had good flavor–some kind of chipotle/garlic/spice flavor. Then, ordered some fish tacos:
Packed with veggies, and some salmon. This place even had stevia on the table! First time I have seen this. Our favorite part was talking to the birds that live at this restaurant. No joke–there are birds just hanging out outside that you can say “hello” and “goodbye” to.

Went to my parent’s house the next day to have some fresh crab and grouper that Psycho Holiday Baker brought back from her trip to the beach.
OK, this is not health food, but these were some of the best crab cakes I have had. Probably due to the quality of the crab meat. It was a very simple recipe (breadcrumbs, spices, 1 egg, a little mayo, lemon). And they were cooked in olive oil. So, not too bad (for you), but tasty!
I was in charge of making a salad:
My Mom has this cute turtle bowl. So funny, and appropriate for the summer months!

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Weekend at The Beach

April 3rd, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Eats of the Week | Healthy Living - (2 Comments)

Went to Tybee Island this weekend. It is the perfect weekend getaway for those who live in Atlanta because it is only a 4 hour drive (add an extra hour if there is traffic). I have never been there, but I have lived in Atlanta for 9 years now. So ridiculous! I was missing out on nice beach weekends. Except, do not go when it is mosquito season which is most of the year. I came back with mosquito bites all over my body. Yikes.

Anyway, we ate at a beach front restaurant, and I ordered a shrimp burger which was supposed to be their specialty.
I didn’t know it was going to be so fried. I didn’t eat the bun… It wasn’t even that great. OK, but not really worth the fried oils.

So, we made it a point to get some fresh (and as local as possible) produce at a stand on the way home from getting a toothbrush and underwear that I forgot at home. Hey, I remembered to bring my seed crackers, but not the essentials.

And made a fresh omelet the next morning!
Made a skinny margarita that night with the seed crackers that I remembered to bring.
 And had a salad with mahi for dinner!
Got to see a beautiful sunset.
And climbed the lighthouse the next morning, then went to Savannah for dinner. I ordered a peach BBQ salmon with snow peas at Boar’s Head restaurant.
It was great, but my sister had a delicious dish of alfredo/pesto pasta with chicken that we were all eating from.
 Then, we got some candy for dessert (including a giant peanut butter cup!) and walked around town for a while.
Had a super spicy shrimp quesadilla before we left town. It was loaded with jalapenos and large shrimp. When you get a quesadilla there is always the chance that your tortilla will have trans fat, but what else are you going to do? I could’ve got a salad with chicken, but I am so sick of salads with chicken.
 It was either that or this:
Not many healthy choices… your best choice would be some type of grilled or steamed seafood. But, all they had was fried foods. You can ask if they will put the shrimp on salad (which is what I did), but the server was perplexed when I asked. So, I went for the quesadilla.
Hope everyone had a good weekend! Now it’s time to work hard this week :)

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Week of Kale Continues…

March 25th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Eats of the Week - (3 Comments)

I’ve been eating lots of kale this week ever since I realized I like it as salad greens.

Found these baby kale greens at Whole Paycheck. Little baby kale–so cute! And healthy. I figured I couldn’t go wrong.

And then transformed it into this:
Buried the kale underneath a pile of natural light ranch dressing, olives, avocado, other veggies, and a pinch of feta.

I have realized many people avoid avocados because of the higher fat content and calories. Seriously? Do not worry. The avocado is loaded with plenty of heart health monounsaturated fats, and half an avocado is only 150 calories. This is not bad at all. Don’t forget, the greens are very low calorie. The only other significant calorie source is the dressing. So, when you have avocado, go lighter on the dressing.

Then there were some nutrition failures this weekend:
Sorry for the back focused picture. Terrible, but I had to hurry because we were rushing to go and ice cream was about to drip all over my hand. No time for blogging photos!

Psycho Holiday Baker (my Mom) was craving some ice cream after Costco shopping, and I really did not want any part of that massive ice cream cup. Really, it is so large–Costco style. I cringed at the thought of all that sugar. But, I rarely turn down ice cream, and my Mom was going to feel guilty if I didn’t join here.

Now, time for menu planning Monday:

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Eats of the Week: Garlic Soup & Sushi

January 27th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Eats of the Week - (0 Comments)

This week was more stressful than I would have wanted. I think I will start going to a yoga class occasionally when I feel it is a more stressful week. My number one goal recently has been to better manage stress and not worry about insignificant things. Stress management is important for overall health, and is something we often forget about.

Anyway, Mr. Cyclist made this amazing garlic soup similar to this recipe. He used about 50 cloves of garlic (or more), 3 onions, milk, 3 cheeses, stock, and thyme. You will smell like garlic for days if you eat this stuff, but it was so creamy and delicious. I ate some with some thick hearty bread.

Garlic can help to lower blood pressure, keep the heart healthy, and decrease inflammation and stress.

Yesterday, I got the chance to swing up to Whole Foods for lunch, and created this concoction:

Chimichurri tofu, a few sauteed veggies, and a light broccoli slaw all combined on top of a bed of spinach and kale. I like to make a combination of foods and put it over top of some kind of salad greens. This is a great trick to make your salad weigh less (and pay less) at Whole Paycheck. The cashier guy was impressed with my $5 or $6 salad, and told me I should hold a seminar on how to eat cheaper at Whole Foods. Little did he know he was talking to a RD. :)

Then I met Valerie to help her navigate Ikea. She had never been, and was so confused on how to actually purchase items. So we took a nice break from our efforts with sushi dinner:
 My food model.
I was a little scared to try this yellow-tail sushi appetizer. But, I was pleasantly surprised by the jalapeno, cucumber, and herbs that helped distract me from thinking about a raw piece of fish.

We also had calamari but ate it all too quickly to take a photo!

Tips for the week:

  • Don’t be afraid to ask if a restaurant offers brown rice in their sushi. You may be happily surprised.
  • Always always keep back-up snacks around. You never know when you will get stuck in traffic and be forced to eat dinner late. My go to is carrots, fruit, or nuts of any kind because it takes a while before they go bad.
  • Don’t let the short winter days keep you from achieving your goals. Just because it’s 7 pm and dark doesn’t mean you can’t exercise or keep improving your day.

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Malbec Wine Tasting

November 14th, 2011 | Posted by Nicole in Food Review - (6 Comments)

I don’t know a lot about the different types of red wines. All I know is that I like certain red wines, in particular, malbec wines. I used to like pinot noir, but now it has become a little sweet for me. Currently, I enjoy malbec wines and merlot on occasion.

Plus, we all know we can get wonderful antioxidants from red wine (as long as you don’t drink too much, then the health benefits start to dwindle).

My Dad, who is a wine connoisseur, invited me to a malbec wine tasting at the Vineyard Wine Market.  I like to think I can pick up some interesting flavors in the wines, but what I realized is that the wines start to taste like whatever you are eating on the side.

The first one was pretty bland compares to the others. The second was one of my favorites for the price. It was good, and almost as good as some of the others that we tasted later. Malbec wine is said to have originated from Cahors, France.
My favorite was the Reserve malbec. It is supposed to be the sexy one of the group. Haha. My Dad said the Kaiken was his favorite, but by that point, I had a hard time telling the difference. It was definitely good, but I preferred the other.

The main flavors that I taste in malbec wines (the flavors that malbecs are said to have) are: violet, black currant, vanilla menthol, truffle. I taste some other flavors sometimes, but those are the main recurring flavors, to me anyway. You could say whatever you want.

Maybe that is why wine tastings are fun–you can come up with wacky flavor profiles for the wine. We like to create our own idea of the flavor, and then compare it to what the tasting list says it should taste like.

I know that I enjoyed this wine tasting, and will be going to more in the future! Gotta get my resveratrol.

G

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What To Do with a Peck of Apples?

October 17th, 2011 | Posted by Nicole in Kitchen | Recipes - (0 Comments)

We went to an apple festival in Ellijay, GA this weekend in search of some tasty apples. I came home with a peck of apples which I figured out is supposed to be about 10.5 pounds for only $8. That means it was only about $0.76 per pound. Great deal. And they are tasty, local pink lady apples.
I also tried fried green tomatoes for the first time this weekend–I am from the North, so give me a break. I know this is not health food. I am not stupid. There were also a few fried green beans that we tried which were not as good.

I liked the flavor and texture of the fried green tomatoes, but you can’t eat very many because they are so heavy. If you fry one whole green tomato (sliced), it is about 500 calories for the whole thing. This was still a better choice than the fried onion everyone else was walking around with which was closer to 2000 calories.

The weather was in the 80′s (in October!) this weekend, so I got an ice cream cone to cool off before selecting my apples.
Then, we went on a nice long hike to work off our more unhealthy choices, and spotted the 2nd largest tree in Georgia.
 Anyway, here are my ideas so far for the ten pounds of apples I have:

Any more apple recipe ideas?

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