Sweet solutions

My halted effort to get a bag of Peanut M&Ms left me jonesing. I wanted chocolate, and I wanted it now.

I found myself practically running to the most likely stash: my co-worker's desk drawer. There's usually a community hat (yes, hat) filled with mini Twix and bite-size Snickers. I opened it up quickly only to find a lone peppermint candy. My eyes darted around the office, my brain whirring as to who else might have candy. I thought of the reporter who usually has dark chocolate Kisses but I hate raiding her jar too often. I thought of the table where people put unwanted food but all that was there was an old phone charger. (Don't ask.) Finally, my work husband offered me a small piece of a Milky Way and I retreated back to my desk like a feral animal with a bone to chew on.

Obviously, I had a problem. It was a problem that I decided could only be solved by meeting it head on.

I needed my own supply of chocolates. While some people might not be able to have a bag of candy in their desks, I thought that having a bit around would help avoid those runs to the vending machine and the guilt that comes with pillaging my office mates' supply of sugar.

I picked up a bag of dark chocolate minis (and a Cherry Coke Zero for the win) at CVS on my way to work. After looking at the nutrition stats at a traffic stop, I decided that I could have two pieces of chocolate each day after my lunch. 

Two pieces have 80 calories, and I like to keep my sugar fixes to 100 calories in the afternoon.  A third piece wouldn't kill me either but I find that dark chocolate is rich enough that I don't need to continually go back to the bag. 

I enjoyed my Hershey's with a mug of hot water spiked with True Orange - my latest obsession as I try to limit coffee but still crave a warm drink in the cold newsroom.

And that there is one of my tips for maintaining portion control: make the dessert something you sit down to eat and enjoy rather than grabbing it from a bowl and eating it mindlessly. I literally take a 5-minute break for candy, turning away from the computer, so that I can taste the candy.

Other tips hiding in here:

*Select rich foods that don't leave you wanting more. I could eat jelly beans till the cows come home but make them black jelly beans (my favorite), and I only need a few.

*Buy individual/mini-sized treats. It's hard to know just how many M&Ms you're eating if you buy a family-size bag and stick your hand in several times. The fun-size bags, like the ones you give to trick-or-treaters, are a better bet. Even if you eat five bags, you know that you ate five bags and can track it.

*Speaking of tracking, I entered the two mini bars into MyFitnessPal before I even made my hot water. I hate having to go in to adjust my diary because I binged.

*Like everyone is so fond of saying, have a drink - preferably the non-alcoholic kind as I'm writing about afternoon snacking and you might be at work. It's hard to eat 10 pieces of candy if you have 10 ounces of water floating in there.

*Finish it off with a peppermint. Sugar free peppermints have about 10 calories and make pretty much everything else taste disgusting. Also, your co-workers will thank you as you decided to bring raw red onions to dip in hummus.

*The most obvious: Don't buy anything that you can't control yourself around. I'm pretty good around candy but if I were to take Ruffles and French onion dip to work, all bets would be off.

What are your portion control tips? Do you have a candy stash?

Tried and True: A product review

There are three things that people say to me when they tell me they saw me on the "Today Show."

1. How nice of Joy Bauer to say you looked like a model.

2. I wished they would have talked to you more.

3. Kathie Lee and Hoda sure didn't give your drink a try.

Sing it, sistas.

When I go back and watch the video, the reaction of the fourth-hour hosts to the True Lemon-spiked water is the one thing that mars the experience. Sure, it looked slightly discolored and it was warm but they had decided it would be off and it was.

To them.

For me? Well, I have come to not only enjoy but rely on True Citrus products.

About True Citrus:

At True Citrus, our goal is to meet the needs of today's consumer by creating innovative, high quality food products that offer taste and convenience while complimenting a healthy diet and providing value for consumer's money.

Add a burst of citrus taste to your recipes and beverages with 100% all-natural True Lemon®, and True Lime™ and True Orange™. Deliver authentic, fresh-squeezed taste in an easy, consistent and shelf-stable format with no labor, waste, or mess! Each serving contains: 0 calories, 0 carbohydrates,  0 grams sugar, 0 grams fat, no preservatives, no artificial colors, no sodium, gluten-free and 25 percent of RDA of Vitamin C. 

How I use True Citrus:

We all know that I love Diet Coke. More than love Diet Coke. I'd probably drink it with breakfast, during  a run and before I went to bed if I didn't let common sense and nutrition prevail.

However, common sense and knowing that I should drink water doesn't make it easier. I've become quite fond of the True Lime and True Grapefruit packets, which are crystallized fruit that is just like squeezing a wedge of fruit in your water. The grapefruit is fresh and the lime reminds me of margaritas. I don't really like margaritas so it's odd that I like it but I'm a complex woman. Deal.

Some of you may always have citrus fruits (or strawberry - do try this in water) in your refrigerator to add flavor to your water and thus negating the need for True Citrus. But I don't. Why? I forget about it, for one; two, I don't want to run up the grocery bill that won't get used entirely; and three ... who carries a grapefruit in their purse for office use?

I usually have a box with a variety of flavors in my desk drawer so that if I know I need water but the vending machine is calling that I can fight off the urge for at least 10 minutes while I chug my water. Chugging water = good, especially in this heat and marathon training.

I also like the more Crystal Light-like packets that are Raspberry Lemonade flavored. I get the sugary sweet taste I want under the delusion that I'm being healthful and without the caffeine. The lemonade also has Stevia as opposed to artificial sweeteners - a fact that I appreciate.

True Citrus also has products that are more cooking specific, and I've used True Lemon and True Orange in my dishes. I used True Lemon in my Healthier Chicken Parmesan on Sunday to brighten the flavor, and I used True Orange in the carrot zucchini muffins that I made for Miles. I think you could easily sub True products when a recipe calls for citrus zest and your lemon is shriveled in the back of the crisper.

In sum:

I like True Citrus. It makes me drink water. Eff you Kathie Lee and Hoda - not all of us can drink wine for a living.

Want to try it?

The 500-count boxes of True Lemon, True Lime and True Grapefruit are 50 percent off this month. Originally $32.99, you can now snag 'em for $16.50 each. (What a deal!) Ten-count, 32-count, 2-quart, and 2.85-ounce shaker products are also 50 percent off + $2.95 shipping too! Just use promo TRUEJULY at checkout on www.truelemonstore.com.

Disclaimer: I received True Citrus products for free in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are my own and y'all know I have no problem sharing things I don't like.

Sunday night dinner

It's Sunday night. Six o'clock to be precise. Mark and Miles are seated at the dining room table, and I am carrying a serving platter with a beautiful pot roast. My boys smile at me as I slice the meat and pile their plates high with root vegetables. We have a nice, healthful family meal as soft music plays in the background. We talk and laugh at each other's wit.

Wit is making us laugh. Wit and charm. We are not amused because one of us decides to take video of Miles pooping in his high chair. I did mention that this scenario was a fantasy, right?

Our normal Sunday night dinner is far from the big family meal I would like to be. I tend to cook a more involved meal on Saturday, leaving Sunday to be something quick and simple. Our weekends have been go, go, go this summer and whatever meal I have prepared, we can barely get ourselves to TV trays in front of the couch much less a table.

Tonight, though, was different. Tonight was a Sunday dinner. We enjoyed a healthful meal and each other's company though one of us may or may not have taken a video of Miles doing, well ...

We'll save that for another time. We're at the table.

Lighter Chicken Parmesan

16 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 1.5-2 breasts)
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup whole-wheat bread crumbs
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning*
1 teaspoon True Lemon*
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt*
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese*
8 ounces whole wheat rotini or pasta of choice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 slices mozzarella cheese
4 ounces baby spinach
1 jar marinara sauce or 3 cups homemade

*I just sprinkled and dumped these herbs and seasonings. Exact measurements not required.

Place chicken in glass baking dish and cover with buttermilk. Allow to marinate for several hours in the refrigerator, turning every hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack on top of the baking sheet.

In a large, shallow dish, combine bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, True Lemon, salt and cheese. Mix well with a fork. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and coat evenly with bread crumbs; place on wire rack. The wire rack allows heat to circulate around the chicken for even baking and no soggy bottom. Bake for about 30 minutes or until juices run clear.

Meanwhile, boil a pot of water and cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium high heat.

Remove chicken from oven. Using tongs, move the breasts to the saute pan, cooking about 2 minutes. Flip. Add mozzarella cheese to top of breast and cook 2 minutes more. Place chicken on plate and set aside. Add spinach to saute pan and cook until just beginning to wilt. Pour in marinara, stirring in spinach, and cooking until sauce is hot. Add pasta to the pan, tossing to coat, and re-warm the pasta.

Serve 1 cup of pasta mixture with 3 ounces of chicken. Makes 4 servings.

Enjoy heartily. At the table, of course.

Love it or Leave it: April edition

Love it: A good deal. I had a bit of birthday money left so Miles and I did a little pre-work shopping at Marshall's. I was hoping to get a pair of capris for Body Pump but instead I got the cutest pair of Nike Tempo shorts ... for $14.99.

Aren't they cute?

I've been wanting another pair but couldn't decide among the 50 million I liked at Dick's this weekend. These fit the bill - and the budget. Now for a top to match ...

Leave it: nuun. I picked up a tube of strawberry lemonade nuun for the trip to Dearborn with much excitement. With so much buzz on Twitter and in the blogosphere, it just had to be good. Right? Right ... or not. Maybe it was the flavor I picked or maybe it's me but I just did not like it. I tried it once the night before the Martian and again this week before Wednesday's semi-long run. Both times, I had to choke it down - and that's only because I didn't want to waste it.

Source

Love it: Try Chips. I discovered these at the Martian Invasion expo and, at first, I was a bit skeptical. It was being touted as a recovery alternative for endurance athletes but it seemed like nothing more than dried fruit - and I can get dried fruit anywhere. I also tend to be a bit hesitant when something is labeled as super charged or all natural energy, especially in terms of recovery. After all, I am a chocolate milk gal. Jackie, the Try Chips rep at the expo, said the snack is also good for pre- and mid-race fueling. It's like a triple threat.

With one bite of the Aspire, though, I was surprisingly delighted. The fruit is freeze-dried and it almost has an airy, fluffy quality. It was naturally sweet, had a great mix of flavors with the banana, apricot, sweet potato and matcha green tea and there's just 100 calories per package. I immediately bought a bag and ended up gobbling it up on the car ride home. I can't say that it helped me recover but it did help with the long run hunger!

I don't think they meant for me to wash it down with a Diet Coke but who do you think I am?

The best part, though? The note on the back of the bag. I don't remember what it said but it was pretty bad ass. Like they got people who think it's fun to run for hours.

Leave it: Green smoothies. I tried. I really tried but I just couldn't do it.

I made a mix of strawberries, pineapple, almond milk and spinach. At first, it was OK but after a few sips, I was done. Thankfully, someone else wasn't. Miles, who always wants what I have, loved it. I started feeding him with a spoon and as soon as he swallowed, he had his little mouth open like a baby bird. So cute.

I ended up freezing the rest of it in an ice cube tray, and I've been mixing it in Miles' morning cereal.

Love it: After "Surprise! It's summer!", we've been greeted with typical spring temps. I am a fan of anything in the 50s but the mornings are still chilly, and I have to spend 15 minutes bundling up Miles. This morning, it was near 60 and all I had to do was throw him in the stroller with a blanket (he had on a sleeper). I look forward to many more spring runs like this!

Leave it: People who don't claim prizes from giveaways. Folks, we have a new winner (in addition to ye11owbrickrd) in the True Citrus giveaway.

Joy, email me at hlthystrides at gmail dot com with your address and other contact info, and I'll get you hooked up.

What are you loving?

Truth ... I'm late

I know what you're thinking and it's not that. Oh, Lord, it is not that.

It's more that I'm late picking winners for the True Citrus giveaway. I do hope you forgive me. And by you, I mean ...

Commenter No. 1 Joy and No. 18 ye11owbrickrd.

Email your contact information, including mailing address, to hlthystrides at gmail dot com.

Thanks for playing!