Happy Monday! It’s been a busy few weeks for me, so my husband and I have been making some extra time to hang out, spend time with each other, and go on outdoor adventures lately. (Most recently, we tried snow shoeing!) We’ve had quite a bit of snow in the Chicago area recently, so it’s made venturing outdoors a little more fun, but also a little more hazardous when it comes to driving. Finnegan LOVES the snow, however, and I think he’ll be really sad when it all melts.
As a reminder: Today is February 15th, which means I’m sending out the newsletter later today. This month’s topic is how disordered eating affects relationships and enjoyment of holiday food. If you’re not already signed up for the mailing list, you can add yourself here.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I fall into food ruts, and no matter what I try, it seems like everything I eat is boring. When I’m not experiencing any cravings in particular, it’s hard for me to figure out which foods sound satisfying, which makes for a less than enjoyable food experience and leaves me feeling somewhat annoyed. I end up either mindlessly munching, in search of flavor, or I tend to lose the motivation to eat regular meals and snacks which always leaves me feeling awful. I try to be proactive about looking for new recipes, but I don’t always have the time. However, I find that the most inspiring/motivating things are when other people cook new food for me (who doesn’t love that?) and when I happen upon recipes on blogs when I wasn’t necessarily looking for them.
One of my favorite types of posts to read on other blogs are roundup type posts of meals and snacks. There have been many occasions that I end up finding just the inspiration I need to start enjoying food again when I’m in a rut for myself, and end up heading to the store to buy ingredients for a new and exciting recipe. Here are some of my favorites lately:
Egg tacos! I love the flavor of corn tortillas, and have been enjoying them for breakfast topped with melted cheese, sautéed peppers with green onion, scrambled eggs and green Cholula.
Before I had tortillas in the house, I was enjoying the same flavors as above scrambled together (peppers, tomato, chives, cheese, eggs) and served with Ezekiel toast.
This breakfast has been so satisfying…oatmeal cooked in milk with a banana sliced in, blueberries added at the end, topped with almond butter and milk chocolate chips. So creamy, dreamy, and delicious. It reminds me of one time when my husband and I couldn’t decide if we wanted blueberry, banana, or chocolate chip pancakes so we ended up adding all three ingredients to the batter. It was odd, but good!
I made this salad becasue I had a bunch of random leftover things in my fridge that I didn’t know what to do with: salami, pepper jack cheese, peppers, grape tomatoes, pickled beets, black olives and Italian dressing, all mixed together with a can of chickpeas. I enjoy it with pita chips or toast on the side.
Butter lettuce topped with chopped apple, chicken, goat cheese, green onions (unpictured) dried cranberries and Italian dressing. A patient told me about a salad like this and I couldn’t stop thinking about it the entire afternoon. I stopped at ALDI the same day on my way home from work to buy the ingredients…lol! I’ve been loving salads served with seasoned pretzels.
I am OBSESSED with Trader Joe’s ice creams lately. These adorable itty bitty cones are the perfect size for a quick snack. These have chocolate ice cream inside, but they’re so darn cute that I don’t want to eat them!
Another fantastic Trader Joe’s find…ice cream sandwiches made from brownies, filled with coffee ice cream. These have been so satisfying for me lately! I’m weirdly finding myself nervous that Trader Joe’s is going to discontinue them, which I think harkens back to periods of food scarcity that I’d had during my eating disorder. When we go through times when food is restricted (either due to economic reasons or to self-imposed or parentally-imposed restriction,) we can feel a sense of food insecurity, that we won’t have access to the things we need or access to satisfying food. I consoled myself with this feeling by reminding myself that coffee ice cream sandwiches aren’t the ONLY satisfying dessert in the world, and in the unfortunate event that TJ’s ends up discontinuing them, I will find another dessert that I like.
I’ve been making fruit pops! These are strawberry, lemon & ginger flavor, but my favorite that I’ve made lately (unpictured) is strawberry Greek yogurt blended with blueberries and strawberries. Yum!
There’s a McAllister’s right around the corner from my clinic which is perfect for when I either don’t want to eat the lunch or dinner I brought with me to work, or if I didn’t have the time to pack a meal. I find that the portion sizes at McAllister’s are perfect for my hunger level usually, and I end up pleasantly full and without leftovers which is ideal when I’m at work. I’ve been loving this roast beef with horseradish sandwich with the cucumber/tomato salad on the side. I do wish they gave a bigger portion of the salad because it’s tasty, but I’m not necessarily HUNGRY for more, if that makes sense.
Forgive the unglamorous dinner photos (it’s still dark at dinner time in the Midwest) but this meal was amazing. I made enchiladas from ALDI southwestern flavored chicken breast, and mixed the chopped chicken with tomato, a handful of Chihuahua cheese, and half of a (large) can of green enchilada sauce. I wrapped the filling into corn tortillas, topped with the remainder of the enchilada sauce and more cheese, then baked at 325 for about an hour. Side dishes included refried beans from a can and cauliflower rice + chopped peppers/onion/tomato, seasoned with Cholula sauce and some cumin.
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I share more about navigating a healthy relationship with food and making satisfying food choices in my new book, Fulfilled. In addition to sharing about my own experiences with restrictive diets, I explain in the book how I walk clients through the process of cultivating a sense of balance in their relationships with food, exercise, and their bodies. Fulfilled is available for pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, my publisher’s website, or any online or retail shops where you usually buy books!
alexandramackillop.com 