Link to Survey: https://bgsu.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_1SQFshNBRMsKqAl
Introduction: Hello. My name is Candace Hornsby and I am working with my advisor, Dr. Younghee Kim, for my Masters degree in Food and Nutrition from Bowling Green State University (School of Family and Consumer Sciences). My research topic is evaluating in the impact of packed versus purchased lunch of fruit and vegetable consumption. You are being asked to participate in this research project because you work outside of the home and are 25-64 years of age.
Purpose: The purpose of this research is to evaluate the impact of packing lunch on both fruit and vegetable consumption and confidence in performing other positive health-related behaviors in order to determine if this may be an effective strategy for overweight and obese individuals striving to lose weight. It is understood that weight loss is difficult to achieve and the information collected here will be used to enhance understanding of the most effective techniques to aid individuals in this process. There will be no monetary award for participating in the project.
Procedure: You will be required to complete one survey. The survey will be accessed online and will be 20 questions in length. It will take approximately 5-10 minutes to complete. Data collected in the survey will be utilized by the researcher to determine the impact of the project. In order to access the survey, you will be required to have Internet access.
Voluntary nature: Your participation in this project is completely voluntary. You are free to withdraw at any time. You may decide to skip questions or discontinue participation at any time without penalty. Deciding to participate or not will not affect your relationship with Bowling Green State University or any institution involved in the research.
Anonymity Protection: The data from your surveys will be kept anonymous and will be stored in a password-protected computer. Only the primary researcher will have access to the collected data. The data will be kept until the final project is presented. Your name will not be associated with the project. Instead, your information will be associated with a code. Because this project will be conducted through the Internet, you are encouraged to clear your browser cache after participation and not leave the survey open while using a public computer to protect anonymity.
Risks: There are no risks associated with participation in the project.
Contact information: In the case of questions about the research or your participation in the project, please contact me, Candace Hornsby, at cmhorns@bgsu.edu, or my advisor, Younghee Kim, at ykim@bgsu.edu. You may also contact the Chair, Human Subjects Review Board at 419-372-7716 or hsrb@bgsu.edu, if you have any questions about your rights as a participant in this research. Thank you for your time.
I have been informed of the purposes, procedures, risks and benefits of this study. I have had the opportunity to have all my questions answered and I have been informed that my participation is completely voluntary. By clicking the following link, I am indicating my consent to participate in this study: https://bgsu.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_1SQFshNBRMsKqAl
Yes. I am here to tell you that it is possible for you to be turning on your oven in the middle of August (especially if you live in central Ohio where it was a cool 58 degrees this morning!) and this recipe is the perfect reason to do it.
First, I recently received a question asking me what healthy snacks I like to eat. So here are my top five picks in no particular order:
1. Dry Roasted Almonds (I usually eat a handful (about 15) for a quick 100 calorie pick me up)
2. Carrots plus a couple tablespoons of hummus
3. Roasted Kabocha Squash (Love this squash! It is so sweet and pairs well with peanut butter or a laughing cow)
4. A light Laughing Cow cheese spread in a tortilla (you can add veggies but sometimes I just like the taste of carbs and cheese)
5. A smoothie like this one
I like my snacks to contain a little nutrition and staying power and all these options are great for meeting both of these requirements.
Back to business. . .
The following recipe was so delicious that I am making it again tonight for dinner since I haven’t stopped thinking about the last one I made.
It is a quick and healthy “stromboli.” I got the idea from here and adapted the recipe to use what I had on hand.
Simple Stromboli
Serves 1
4 oz of ground turkey breast
a handful of sliced mixed bell peppers
1/2 of a small onion thinly sliced
2-3 sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 flatout flatbread
1 light laughing cow cheese
tomato sauce (for dipping)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown the ground turkey in a nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray for 2 minutes before adding the bell peppers, onion and mushrooms (if using). Continue cooking until the veggies are softened (you can add some italian seasoning and garlic at this point for a more prounounced “pizza” flavor). Lay the flatout on a cookie sheet. Spread the laughing cow over the entire flatout. Spoon the turkey and veggie mixture down the center of the flatout and roll up like a burrito. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before cutting in half and serving with tomato sauce for dipping. Enjoy (I sure did 😉 )!
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I just got back from a trip to Allentown, PA to visit my grandparents for a week. It takes a solid 8 hours to travel from Columbus to Allentown. During one of our many rest stop breaks we happened upon a woman selling peaches from her farms that she had picked that day. Peaches in my opinion are one of the tastiest fruits there is but you have to get them at their utter peak or they are mealy and require a lot of sweetening in order to palatable. Well, these peaches were neither.
They were so juicy and not mushy at all–meeting all the qualifications of the perfect peach. Since, I don’t get to work with perfect peaches very often I thought I would make a meal that would highlight them.
This isn’t really a recipe though–more of a this is what I threw together from what I had in my fridge type thing.
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Sweet Peach, Chicken and Goat Cheese Salad (Serves 1)
3 cups of arugula
Shredded Chicken Breast (about 4 oz)
1 oz of crumbled goat cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped (or sliced) fresh peach
basalmic vinigarette dressing (I made my own using this recipe)
Directions
Layer arugula, chicken, goat cheese and fresh peach. Drizzle with dressing. Enjoy with a slice of thick multi-grain bread for a simple summer supper.
Well, it would be vegetarian if you didn’t add ground turkey like I did. . .
This salad is highly modifiable though so you can feel free to change up the veggies based on your personal taste (especially this time of year when you probably have an abundance of veggies on hand needing to be used up).
I call it a vegetarian cobb salad because of the variety and colors of the veggies on top as well as the smoky sweet taste that is contributed by roasted bbq cauliflower that replaces the usual bacon. It is so satisfying and hearty. Filling enough for dinner yet not so sturdy that you can’t fill in cracks with a little fro yo later like I did :).
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Vegetarian Cobb Salad (adapted from here)
INGREDIENTS
•1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
•1/2 c. BBQ sauce
•1 can of black beans (rinsed and drained)
•1 avocado, sliced
•2 ears of corn, cooked and sliced
•1/2 of a red onion, diced
•2 medium shredded carrots
•6 c. lettuce
•crushed torilla chips
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat over to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Place cauliflower florets on the sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
Brush the BBQ sauce onto the cauliflower. Bake another 5-10 minutes. Arrange lettuce on four plates. Top with a “strip” each of black beans, sliced avocado, corn, red onion, shredded carrots and tortilla chips. Serve with you favorite creamy dressing (we used a light ranch). Enjoy! Serves 4
Hey everyone! I know it has been a while but I wanted to share an amazing product that I am currently enjoying immensely: Nothin’ But Granola Cookies and Oat Bars
They are oat-based bars and granola cookies produced by a company called Nothin’ But. They have no artificial anything in them and use really good quality ingredients. The oat bars come in four flavors: cherry cranberry almond, chocolate coconut almond, ginger lemon cashew and peanut butter banana chocolate.
Check out the ingredient list for my favorite the peanut butter banana chocolate:
roasted unsalted peanuts, oats, sunflower seeds, banana chips (organic sugar, sunflower oil), organic cane sugar, honey, olive oil, semi-sweet chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, milkfat, soy lecithin an emulsifier, vanilla, and natural flavoring), 72% chocolate (unsweetened chocolate, sugar, cocoa, soy lecithin added as an emulsifier) organic oat flour, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and sea salt
and compare to the ingredients list of a nutrigrain blueberry bar:
CRUST: WHOLE GRAIN OATS, ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, VITAMIN B1 [THIAMIN MONONITRATE], VITAMIN B2 [RIBOFLAVIN], FOLIC ACID), WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, SOYBEAN AND/OR CANOLA OIL, SOLUBLE CORN FIBER, SUGAR, DEXTROSE, FRUCTOSE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, WHEY, WHEAT BRAN, SALT, CELLULOSE, POTASSIUM BICARBONATE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, MONO-AND DIGLYCERIDES, SOY LECITHIN, WHEAT GLUTEN, NIACINAMIDE, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, CARRAGEENAN, ZINC OXIDE, REDUCED IRON, GUAR GUM, VITAMIN B6 (PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE), VITAMIN B1 (THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE), VITAMIN B2 (RIBOFLAVIN), FILLING: INVERT SUGAR, CORN SYRUP, BLUEBERRY PUREE CONCENTRATE, GLYCERIN, SUGAR, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, SODIUM ALGINATE, CITRIC ACID, METHYLCELLULOSE, DICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, MALIC ACID, BLUEBERRY JUICE CONCENTRATE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, RED 40, BLUE 1.
What a difference! These bars meet the clean ingredients check but do they taste good?
Yes.
These are amazing.
The peanut butter banana chocolate sounds like such a simple and common combination but this bar has a really nice mellow peanut taste backed by the crispy oats, rich dark chocolate and these amazing sweet-salty banana chip chunks scattered throughout the bar. So good 🙂
There are also three granola cookie flavors: peanut butter banana chocolate, chocolate coconut almond and cherry cranberry almond. All three taste very similar to their bar counterparts but with a lower ratio of oats which leaves room for more the good stuff–dark chocolate chunks, coconut, banana chips, almonds etc.
They are also only 100 calories each so they are the perfect little afternoon coffee break snack or guilt free topping crumbled over greek yogurt.
Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Granola Cookie
Cherry Cranberry Almond Granola Cookie
You can purchase the cookies/bars online or at select specialty stores (I hear they are trying to get them into Whole Foods!).
I really can’t say enough good things about these bars. I rarely eat oat-based granola products because I am not a huge fan of them. Now, I think it was because I had never had these products done right. Nothin’ But has introduced me to a world of deliciousness that comes from combining attention to detail and highly flavorful quality ingredients.
Now if you excuse me I must go eat a chocolate almond granola cookie right now before I drool all over my laptop keyboard.
It is getting into that time of year when you put away the steaming bowls of oatmeal and hot tea and replace them with the cooling goodness of smoothies, yogurt and cereal.
I came up with this recipe for two reasons. First, we finally obtained the much talked about vita-mix. Second, I had just gone for a hot run in 85 degree temps and I was super sweaty and craving something cool and light.
Enter the 100 calorie ginormous strawberry lime freeze.
Not only do you get a huge helping of fruit you also get a good bit of hydration.
This freeze is so versatile. You can drink it as a snack or add protein powder for a full meal. Maybe you could eat it with toast and peanut butter like I did for a balanced breakfast with some staying power. Endless possibilities. Perfect metaphor for the long lazy summer days.
Healthy Strawberry Lime Freeze (serves 1)
1/2 banana (frozen)
1/2 cup frozen unsweetened strawberries
1/2 cup ice
1/4 cup almond milk
1 packet of sweetener (or 1 tbsp of agave or honey)
2 tsp of lime juice
Water (to taste)
Blend all ingredients in a high-powered blender, adding in water until your freeze is at it’s desired consistency (for me it was a little over 1 cup). Serve in a very tall glass and enjoy!
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I really enjoyed WIAW last week and I have made it a goal to try to incorporate more of them over the summer. It’s really hard though because I am not used to taking a picture of every meal I eat throughout my day (especially snacks) and I keep missing them! Oh well. . at least you can get the gist of yesterday’s meals 🙂
Not pictured: Coffee and a handful of Kashi Go Lean Honey Almond Crunch earlier in the morning before going to the gym
I woke up craving pancakes. They just sounded so good and warm and fluffy. Since I had some leftover canned pumpkin in the fridge from making the cookie pie again for dessert last Friday night, I decided to incorporate it into my pancakes. So I followed Kath Younger’s recipe for pumpkin oatmeal pancakes. They were delicious. Soft and fluffy! I topped mine with a little greek yogurt, chopped apple and a drizzle of peanut butter.
The pancakes kept me full until around 2 pm! Even then I wasn’t very hungry so I threw together my usual greek salad with a boca burger. It was the same lunch I had last week so I didn’t bother taking a new picture
A few hours later I snacked on some of the leftover roasted red pepper feta dip and a few honey whole-wheat pretzels
Dinner was thrown together from ingredients we had on hand because we hadn’t gone grocery shopping yet. I made salads with shredded carrot, red bell pepper and a homemade carrot ginger dressing. Then I topped them with thai frozen salmon burgers that I threw under the broiler until they got crispy and brown. On the side we had mixed brown rice (not pictured).
Later in the evening I had a small glass of wine with some snap pea crisps (from TJ’s, not pictured) and a handful of Belly Flops (did you know that you can be malformed jelly beans at Big Lots?). I love Belly Flops because usually they are stuck together so if most of the “beans” are actually three or four jelly beans stuck together.
If I had to pick a favorite meal of the day it would have to be the pancakes. I was pleasantly surprised at how good and filling they were (though an argument could be made for the Belly Flops as well 🙂 ).
While browsing the hummus selection at Whole Foods a few weeks ago, I stumbled across a line of feta dips produced by Uniquely Greek. I love anything feta based and the tub was in my cart about a second later when I realized that one of the flavors offered was Creamy Buffalo.
Best decision ever.
This dip was amazing. It was creamy and salty with a spicy note from the addition of jalapenos. I drizzled it over lettuce, cherry tomatoes and chopped cucumber for a quick and easy greek salad (and other salads as well).
Then my dip ran out and I wanted to cry. I made a special trip to Whole Foods just to replace my beloved dip. I decided to try the Red Pepper flavor and I like it just as much. It didn’t have the spice of the creamy buffalo. Instead there was a sweet mellow flavor imparted by the roasted red peppers.
When I finished all the dip in about 3 days, instead of rushing to the store in a panic, I realized that I probably should try to save a little money and make my own at home.
After searching the web I found a similiar looking recipe on The Lean Green Bean.
Roasted Red Pepper Feta Dip (adapted from the Lean Green Bean)
Ingredients
1 red bell pepper
1 heaping tbsp of chopped garlic
1/2-3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 can of cannellini beans (rinsed and drained)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup crumbled feta
Instructions
Chop the bell pepper into large pieces and broil until the edges are blackened.
Place bell pepper in a food processor and add all other ingredients (except feta).
Process to desired consistency.
Add the crumbled feta and pulse several times until mixed well.
Note: This dip starts out with a thin texture but once it chills in the fridge it takes on the texture of a thick hummus.
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It was delicious. Not exactly like the dip I bought from Whole Foods because it is a lot healthier (the cream cheese is replaced with greek yogurt and white beans). That's fine with me though because it means I don't have to feel as guilty when I polish off the container in 3 days 😉
I follow too many healthy living/cooking/fitness blogs to count and one thing I have noticed is a lot of them blog about what workouts they are doing or what they are eating for breakfast/lunch/dinner at the moment etc…
I have also noticed a trend of “What I Ate Wednesdays(informally known as WIAW)” a day on which the blogger will post a picture of every meal they ate that day. I was thinking about it and I thought it would be fun to post something a little different and show you all a “typical Tuesday” in my life (note: I say “typical” because my meals are always changing based on what foods I have on hand or am loving at the moment). So. . .
To begin my day I always have the world’ largest cup of coffee with soy milk and a handful of Kashi’s Go Lean Honey Almond Flax cereal (not pictured). I never eat this cereal for breakfast because it is way to crunchy! My family always says it sounds like I am eating bones :(. Often I will sit and read for an hour or so before going for a jog or to the gym. When I return home I am always hungry for breakfast (possibly my favorite meal of the day).
Today it was greek yogurt topped with frozen blueberries (defrosted) and slice of ezekiel bread toast spread with natural peanut butter and sprinkled with a little kosher salt
I enjoyed this breakfast but I missed my oatmeal. It keeps me full so much longer! My stomach started growling around 1:00 pm so I threw together my new favorite lunch salad. It is sort of a rift on a greek salad with cherry tomatoes, spinach, cucumber, a boca burger for protein and greek yogurt, hummus and pita on the side for dipping.
Yum! I like this lunch so much that I have eaten it for three days straight.
I spent the afternoon working on internship stuff, listing my textbooks on Amazon and going for a walk with my sister.
Normally, around 6 pm I will make dinner for the fam. Accept I was all alone tonight (a very rare occasion). So I made another salad (I think they are the perfect meal for one because you can throw a bunch of leftovers on lettuce and call it a meal).
In the mix was tilapia, leftover sweet potato, red onions, romaine, red bell pepper and this awesome buffalo feta greek spread I picked up at Whole Foods. I love it so much that I have been putting it on everything! It makes the best salad dressing ever.
I watched Dancing with the Stars for a while before wanting something crunchy. My newest snack obsession is popcorn. I put a few tablespoons in a paper bag and microwave for 3 minutes. Then I will spray it with EVOO cooking spray and top with parmesan cheese mixed with spices or PB2 (powdered peanut butter). Tonight it was PB2. Popcorn+Little Penguin Cabernet=my favorite evening snack
Evening snack part two was a few slices of chipotle glazed flank steak straight from the fridge and a chocolate chip cookie (not pictured because it was eaten in like two seconds)
Like I said there is no “typical” day of meals at my house. Sometimes I eat more or less depending on how hungry/bored/active I am that day. Eating is highly personal and it really depends on what is right for each person.
I remember the first time I had tortilla soup. It was in an exhibition hall at the Texas State Fair. My family and I stopped to “watch” a vita mix demonstration (I say “watch” because really we were just waiting for the demonstration to be done so we could get a free sample). The man began by making fresh peanut butter with nothing put peanuts and salt. He then moved on to a simple tortilla soup. I seem to remember him throwing a plethora of veggies into the blender as well as some stock and taco seasoning before blending it all at such a high speed and for so long that it heated the soup up. Then he poured the resulting orange mixture into tiny paper cups and doled them out to the expectant crowd.
Reminiscing aside. . . I found myself craving that particular tortilla soup the other day. However, I don’t have a vita mix so I knew I wouldn’t be able to incorporate whole tomatoes and wedges of cabbage like the demonstrator at the fair. After searching for a while I stumbled upon a super simple tortilla soup recipe.
I chose this recipe because I like the idea of adding a smoky flavor to the soup by first charring the onions and jalapeno. I also thought the idea of thickening the soup with crumbled corn tortillas was unique and sounded delicious.
I was right. This soup is amazing. It tastes very similar to what I remember sampling at the Texas State Fair. It was also super simple to make (and there is no vita mix involved). I served our soup with quesadilla wedges that I layered with a little shredded cheddar cheese and some black beans. I highly recommend serving this soup with something to dip into it because it tastes a little like gourmet taco sauce (in a good way). A healthy way to kick a Taco Bell craving!
Creamy Tortilla Soup(Serves 2-3 large bowls or 4 small bowls)
•1 small white or yellow onion, cut into 6 wedges
•3 cloves of garlic (still in the paper)
•1 jalapeño
•olive oil
•salt & pepper
•1 can (14-oz.) fire roasted diced tomatoes
(or about 4-5 fresh roma tomatoes, roast them with the onions & peel skins)
•1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
•1/4 teaspoon dried cumin
•1/2 teaspoon ancho or chipotle chili powder
•1/2 teaspoon agave syrup (or a pinch of sugar)
•1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
•3 cups veggie or chicken broth
•3-4 corn tortillas*, chopped (plus one extra for crispy topping)
•juice of 1 lime
serve with your choice of:
•crispy tortilla strips (sliced from 1 tortilla, toss in olive oil & salt, bake 10 or so minutes)
•crumbled queso fresco (or feta)
•cilantro
•lime wedges, on the side
•more tortillas on the side (optional)
•avocado slices (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
On a large baking sheet, spread out the onion slices, the jalapeno (still whole), garlic cloves and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 20-30 minutes until the edges of the onions blacken, tossing them about halfway through. Remove the garlic after about 5 minutes, so it doesn’t burn. Remove the jalapeno when the skin is blackened and blistering.
Place the roasted jalapeno in a small glass bowl with plastic wrap over it (but not touching it). Let it cool for 15 minutes and carefully peel off the skin and remove the stem and seeds. (use utensils if you can, and don’t touch your eye afterward).
In a medium pot, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil, add the onions, garlic (remove the paper), jalapeno, tomatoes, oregano, cumin, chile powder, a splash of agave or a pinch of sugar, and some salt and pepper. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the tomatoes start to sizzle.
Add a splash of sherry vinegar and cook for 30 seconds more. Add the broth and chopped tortilla pieces and let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Transfer to a high speed blender and puree (I used an immersion blender and it worked just fine). Taste and adjust seasonings, adding in a squeeze of lime.
Serve with an extra drizzle of olive oil and the suggested toppings.
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candacecraves 