Potatoes, Parsnips and Probiotics
Okay, still stuck on cottage cheese as my morning protein because its so easy, on sale, cheap, and delicious! However, I mixed it up today with another PB&J Sweet potato … only it was a locally grown PURPLE potato!
Did anyone say EW?!? Okay I realize it might not be my best photography.
Man, it was delicious though! I microwaved the potato, topped it with peanut butter, some apricot preserves, banana slices, and cottage cheese as a dipper too.
Lunchtime was a mess! I worked all morning for job #1 ( yes its from home) and then also had to finish assignments for Lab AND prepare for assisting with the Metabolism class. I finally took a break for this guy:
A plum for a snack. A little fructose for my workout! Time flies when you are having fun, right? I headed back to my apartment about 40 minutes before I had to leave for lab. I showered as fast I could and put together lunch as fast I could.
As I scrambled 2 egg whites, and 1 yolk in the skillet, I put together organic greens, mushrooms, parsnip sticks and Wildwood Probiotic Hummus. Do you see the Parsnip sticks? They look yellow next to the corn cake. I just love the sweetness of parsnips, worlds better than carrots! I hate carrots. That just goes to show you, (future) Dietitians do not necessarily eat carrots AND just because you do not like one vegetable, does NOT mean you will dislike others!
Check out the Mind Section below for more on probiotics!
I doused on some hot sauce and had another new snag: Corn Cakes with Flax and Soy
These taste just like rice cakes but they were on sale and tasty! You will see these again on here!
Dustin at Wilwood Foods had sent me a sample package of their Pasta Slim noodles and their Probiotic Hummus… I am waiting to try the other hummus before I post a formal review but the low-fat flavor I tried today at lunch was really tasty, making it a good competitor with an additional benefit of probiotics.
I decided to utilize my products again for dinner! I tried the regular “spaghetti” noodles with some of the tomatoes from last nights’ pasta and paired them with a salad.
These had a little funny smell again. If you can get past the smell, which is not that bad but definitely something worth noting to those who haven’t tried these before, these are a pretty good trick for your pasta-brains.
Again, these noodles (shirataki) are made from Tofu, Water, Konjac Flour and some calcium additives. They are Gluten Free, only 20 kcal per serving and super quick to make. I disobeyed the package directions and heated them in the microwave. Meh… I’m a rebellious food blogger. They were still just as tasty if not better than last nights’ when I used hot water per the package.
They had the texture more similar to spaghetti squash, if you have ever tried that. I love how many “alternatives to pasta” exist! You can somewhat trick your brain into thinking this is a plate o noodles made from flour and they are filling for the little energy they provide. That is great for weight loss. However, if you truly want a plate of pasta- I say go for it! Enjoy what you eat thoroughly because its your journey in life.
Here’s My Journey
Body:
Just a quick and fun workout to get me going for my day. I know I have more time friday, saturday and sunday to get a longer workout in should I want to so today was Strength and Elliptical. Chest, Shoulders, Triceps and Hamstrings today with 30 minutes on the ellipticizer.
Mind:
I mentioned yesterday that I turned in a draft of a 10 pg Research Paper for Medical Nutrition Therapy on Necrotizing Enterocolitis. Did anyone watch Private Practice last night? !?! It had a mom who gave birth to a premature infant with… Necrotizing Enterocolitis! Before I get into that, I talked with my microbiology professor and I might change my thesis to researching breast milk and the probiotic effects for infants that get this!
Apoptosis is cell death, Necrosis is tissue death. Entero- is the pre-fix for the small intestine. Colon- um- it is the colon, which is the large intestine. Itis- When you have sinusitis… or appendicitis… itis implies inflammation. So… Necrotizing Enterocolitis is a condition of an inflammed small intestine due to tissue death in the gastrointestinal tract/digestive system. The tissue dies mostly from a lack of oxygen and is specific to premature infants due to their lack of development pre-birth ( that is the most accepted theory of cause right now).
What you do not see in the Episode of Private Practice is the Registered Dietitians in the NICU, this has been one of the careers I am most interested in pursuing, RD for NICU. On the show, Dr. Montgomery ( celebrity Kate Walsh) knows it all apparently- and discusses the problem and suggests a bowel resection without showing the RD’s role in this. Ah well.
Resections are common for the most severe cases, just as in Chron’s or Ulcerative Colitis, removed part of the colon which has the dead tissue could possibly restore better functioning than before the resection. When premies are born so early they are usually tube fed. Tube feedings can come with a whole other set of complications, especially in premies that have tiny tiny systems that are not fully developed. They need an intact intestine to digest the food that is put in them… One of the ways we increase function of our intestine is with… probiotics!
My research paper is all about how current investigations (seriously current, like Jan 2010) on probiotics and prebiotics administered to these infants can reduce the inflammation in the GI of these babies and hopefully extend life/prevent death/ increase the chance of survival.
Soul:
I thought I’d share one my favorite new phrases is “Just because you Can, does not mean you SHOULD” . I feel like I should also say “Just because you CAN or SHOULD, does not mean you are READY”.
We are all on our own journey. While the setbacks might seem daunting at times or the triumphs infrequent and small, the journey- YOUR journey, is ongoing. You have another day to try something different, go back to something you missed, or continue on the path how you see fit.
You CAN do many things, you SHOULD do many things, so when you are ready, you will.
