Up and at’em! (+ 5-Hour Energy Confession)

The drive in last night was long and sleepy. It was quite the week, even if only 4 days. There was a full week and then some crammed into Monday through Thursday and I found myself having trouble staying away one hour into my 5 1/2-hour drive back to Chicago. Of course, Mr. Prevention’s suggestion was 5-Hour Energy.

Well, friends, desperate times call for desperate measures. I stopped at some scary gas station in Indiana and picked up a 5-Hour Energy (pomegranate flavor…which was tolerable, by the way). I’ll tell you, the stuff really did the trick. It PAINS me to admit that, but it really did. I still don’t advocate for he MEGADOSE of B-vitamins (or 8333% the daily value of anything!), but my sleepiness was to the point I was going to have to pull over and grab a hotel room if something didn’t wake me up. And 6 hours later, I conked out the second I hit the pillow and slept through the night a full 8 hours. Hmmm?

I had told my parents last night that I wanted to sleep in. What a joke. I was up well before anyone else. I can attribute some of that to being on EST in a CST zone, but this is just another sign that I’m getting old(er). A sign I am totally okay with, so long as I get my 8 hours of beauty rest! 😀

When I got into town last night, my mom showed me a few recipes she had printed off that Taste of Home had sent this week. Of course, I had saved the very same recipes to try. Great minds think alike 😀 Sign up for Taste of Home email recipes if you haven’t already — they have healthy options, quick options, budget-friendly…it’s great!

Plans today include visiting family & friends, working out, and going out to eat at the restaurant my little brother works at 🙂

I won’t leave you guys recipe-less, however. I made this recipe before teaching on Monday night. It took all of 15 minutes and was absolutely wonderful. I turned my co-worker onto one of my favorite blogs, My Bizzy Kitchen, and she raved about this soup. So of course, I had to make it, too. Tomato soup takes me back to the days of living in my sorority house: everyone was always at lunch when tomato soup and grilled cheese were on the menu! 😉

Simple Tomato Soup slightly adapted from My Bizzy Kitchen

2-28 oz canned no-salt added tomatoes (one can diced, one can fire roasted)
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp Italian parsley, freshly chopped
1 serving Hot Sauce, Tabasco
1 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

Gently heat the olive oil over medium heat and add garlic, taking care not to brown the garlic.

Stir in the canned tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a boil.

Remove from stove, let cool slightly. Using a (stick) blender puree soup. Add in cream. Serves 4 (2 cups each).

Nutrition Information (per serving): 196 calories; 10 g. fat; 27 mg. cholesterol; 130 mg. sodium; 18.5 g. carbohydrate; 3.5 g. fiber; 5 g. protein

Result: This was delicious! Don’t freak out about the heavy cream…a little bit goes a long way! I used no-salt added tomatoes to knock the sodium content down and the recipe didn’t need any salt added…the cream, garlic, and oil season it beautifully. The portion is BIG and pairs so well with some homemade bread. The soup reheated great for lunches, and can be stretched to 6 servings or more as a side dish. Enjoy!

I think it’s time to get out of bed and get some coffee. I heard my mom pitter-patter down the stairs not too long ago. 😉

Question: Do you like tomato soup? Do you pair it with grilled cheese?

TGIF!!

Food & Diet Myths

Hungry Girl is a fun email subscription. However, most of the emails I barely skim, if that. However, one recent email caught my eye. Here are Hungry Girl’s Diet Rumors:

Myth: Carbs make you fat.
Truth: Carbs are not the culprit for your weight gain, excess calories are.

Myth: Large water intake yields instant weight loss.
Truth: Not likely unless you’re replacing calorie-dense beverages such as sodas, juices, and alcohol with water.

Myth: Adopting a vegetarian diet will help shed unwanted pounds.
Truth: Wrong! Vegetarians can eat too much, too. There’s some research that says going vegetarian can actually stimulate weight gain as the carbohydrate-protein-fat proportions become skewed too heavily in the directions of carbohydrate.

Myth: Cutting out dairy can help you lose weight.
Truth: No way, Jose! Put down that copy  Skinny Bitch. Low-fat dairy provides an excellent source of low-calorie protein as well as calcium and vitamin D, among other essential vitamins and minerals.

And in other news…coffee & glucose metabolism

Coffee has been touted as a beverage which can decrease risk of type 2 diabetes. Good thing, I am insulin resistant and love coffee! Right? Maybe…

According to recent research recognized by the American Diabetes Association, caffeinated coffee may impairs glucose metabolism. The study discussed below assesses the acute effect of decaffeinated coffee on glucose and insulin levels. This study design was a randomized, cross-over, placebo-controlled trial of the effects of decaffeinated coffee, caffeinated coffee, and caffeine on glucose, insulin, and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) levels by means of a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test in 11 men [source].

The study found that some types of decaffeinated coffee may impair glucose metabolism, but less than caffeine. Decaffeinated coffee acutely impaired glucose metabolism in healthy young men as both glucose and insulin were significantly higher after decaffeinated coffee than after placebo. However, decaffeinated coffee did not impair glucose metabolism as severely as caffeinated.

Hm, okay.

I’ll have my coffee with carb-free bacon and eggs.

Kidding…

Mr. Prevention and I are heading to Columbus, Ohio this evening and staying through Sunday. I’m not quite sure what the schedule brings, but I will have laptop in tow.

Question: Do you drink coffee? If so, what’s your coffee order? If not, why not? 🙂

Happy Hump Day!

manic monday

I was on the red eye back to Tulsa last night (yuck!). I have a feeling after a mere 4 hours in the office last week due to the conference in San Jose and my doctor’s appointment, this week is going to be brutal! I was silly and checked my schedule for this week and next before leaving for the weekend and I have 16 patients on my schedule every day for the next 2 weeks. As in, no open slots! ::downing coffee::

Before I left Chicago, I knew I needed a game plan. I’ve had a few days to process my “diagnosis” (to be confirmed on Friday with an ultrasound), and I’m ready to do what it takes. Home was hard…restaurants, friends, etc. I mean, do you know how hard it is to say to Ron Pope and flan for this girl? But that’s reality and I made it work with my carbohydrate-controlled diet (you won’t hear me call it “low-carb” because it’s not).

I meal planned for the week and made a grocery list so that I can head to the grocery store after work today. It has been at least a week since I’ve been in the kitchen and that makes me sad!! 😦

But home was just what I needed after having my world rocked with this health scare. My 9-miler was a breeze — I did the 8 minutes of running (5.3-6.0 mph increasing 0.1 every minute) with 2 minutes of walking at 4.0 mph. I finished in 1:42:30 (11:23 min/mi). However, my blood sugar was NOT okay after my run and after some research, running and I may have to call it quits. It appears intense exercise raises my blood sugars not only DURING exercise, but for SEVERAL hours after exercise (thanks to hormones like glucagon and epinepherine for any nerds or curious minds out there). So frustrating! Just when you think you’re doing something right… Again, I can’t help but feel like this is a bad joke considering my DO What You DON’T Challenge goals were to increase my yoga/Pilates and weight lifting! Thank goodness this month has taught me to tolerate those activities 😉

Pictures from home:

Family dinner…salad included 🙂 Mmmm!

+ Gorgonzola 😀

I poached eggs for the first time!

My brother modeling his breakfast sandwich – hash brown, egg, and turkey bacon (loco!)

Celebrating Grannie’s 87th and Dad’s 65th birthdays!

Mom and lil brother at dad’s birthday dinner

Question: Have you ever poached an egg before?

Random Questions: How often do you get to see your family? How far do you live from your parents? How many brothers and sisters do you have?

Thank you again for all of your support with this PCOS business. I have received so many emails from readers, family, family friends, and complete strangers who have made this news so much easier to bear. Thank you, thank you. 😀

Hope everyone had an excellent weekend! Have a wonderful week! 🙂

Be well,