Valentine's Day Breakfast

LQ was sooo excited about Valentine's day.  This kid is just so full of love and I love it!!!  She ran into our room this morning showering us with hugs, kisses and I love yous.  It was beautiful!  So I thought I'd reciprocate with a LOVEly breakfast.  So I made heart shaped whole wheat pancakes, strawberries, vanilla Greek yogurt and white chocolate stuffed raspberries.  She said "Mommy, this is the best breakfast EVER!"  How about that?

Turkey Avocado Hummus and Cheese Stuffed Pita

Morning snack - pumpkin pancakes and a tad of syrup

Lunch - 1/2 pita stuffed with hummus, avocado, turkey and shredded cheese, pretzel sticks and apples

Afternoon snack - clementines and pistachios

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I recently read an article that I found really interesting.  It's an article about preschool obesity and how we can change how much a child eats by feeding him/her carbohydrates that have a slow digestion rate.  Hypothetically this advice doesn't just apply to those who are obese, but it would likely be most useful in weight management for those children.  (Citation: Alviña, M., & Araya, H. (2003). Rapid carbohydrate digestion rate produced lesser short-term satiety in obese preschool children. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 637-642.)

So I thought, what the heck is a slow digestion rate carbohydrate?  (I'm sure you're wondering too ;-p)  Well surely you've all heard of the glycemic index.  Foods that have a slow digestion rate are those that have a low glycemic number.  This basically means that the sugars found in the food will be absorbed and digested more slowly. To find and compare foods check out this website.  If you just want examples then check out this website.

Nut Butters

Morning snack: whole wheat pumpkin pancakes, Cortland apples and a bit of syrup

Lunch: whole grain bowtie pasta with homemade sauce which included peas and spinach, ground beef vegetarian crumble and topped with Parmesan cheese, almonds and pumpkin almond butter oat bar (shaped like a cookie)

Afternoon snack: Cortland apples, Triscuits and almond butter

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As a vegetarian I'm constantly asked how I get my protein and I say two things...  

First, people don't need as much protein as they think they do.  A person who is consuming 2000 calories a day needs about a serving and a half of protein daily (a serving is 3 ounces or about the size of a deck of cards).  When you go to a restaurant they offer 16 ounce steaks.  And people order and eat it!!  That's enough for over 3 days of protein!!  The only people that need high protein intake are people who are trying to build a significant amount of muscle or professional athletes who cause a lot of wear on their muscles.  So if you're not a body builder or professional athlete, it's more than likely you'll get enough protein my eating a well balanced meal.  

Second, I explain to people that there are plant based proteins that provide sufficient amounts of protein.  For example, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds and vegetables all provide protein.  Not to mention there are meat replacement products such as soy protein and a variety of soy products.  Nut butters (peanut butter, almond butter and sunbutter) all generally provide 7g of protein per 2 tablespoons, depending on the brand, of course.  And, nut butters are great for on the go!

As a side note...

I constantly hear people saying that they need to decrease their carbohydrates and increase their protein so that they can lose weight.  Please don't.  Your brain is fueled by carbohydrates which is why you get a headache when you skip meals or reduce your carbohydrates.

Quinoa Peanut Butter Flax Seed Bar

Morning snack - whole wheat cinnamon pancakes with clementines

Lunch - turkey avocado and cheese roll up, pretzel sticks and baby carrots

Afternoon snack - quinoa peanut butter flax seed bar and apple

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Quinoa Peanut Better Flax Seed Bar

Ingredients

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter (though crunchy may have been better)

2/3 cup honey

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

4 cups cooked quinoa **

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup flax seed

Method

Cook peanut butter, honey, salt, cinnamon and vanilla over medium to low heat and stir constantly.  Once it has all melted down pour the entire contents over the quinoa, raisins and flax seeds.  Stir until it is completely combined.  Transfer onto a cookie sheet that has either been pregreased or use parchment paper (my preference).  Press down to flatten out the mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, this should solidify the bar a bit more.

WARNING: I haven't gotten the recipe quite right so the bar isn't as firm as I'd like for it to be, but it is still super tasty.  So enjoy!

**If you want something that you don't have to bake try using 6 cups brown rice cereal (very hard to find) instead of quinoa.  Set it in the fridge for half hour or so then cut up and enjoy.