Lighter Portions

Word on the street says that there are a lot of grazers out there.

I am a grazer. Through and through.

I knew today was going to be quiet and uneventful – The perfect recipe for a grazing day. So I decided to give myself a challenge: Try to photograph everything I ate for the day.

I wasn’t aiming to capture perfect portions or every bite since I grab chunks, spoonfuls and nibbles rather than measuring or plating out 3/4 of what I eat. I just wanted to see if I could capture a glimpse of each food thing that entered my mouth today.

Verdict: Almost successful.

This was tough! I’m impressed with people who can actually capture every.single.thing they eat (even more impressed with those that can actually plate their snacks and bites before eating them. I do not have enough patience for that). I definitely forgot a few things along the way but I think I got the majority.

SO here’s a sample of A Day in the Kitchen of a Grazer (This is a sample of my habits, not necessarily of my regular daily food choices. Though most days are similar enough, my food choices do have quite the day-to-day variability)

Warning: the quality and appeal of today’s food is rough. Avert your eyes or scroll past quickly as needed.

Breakfast

As I’ve been mentioning lately, smoothies are the name of the game in the mornings. This morning was no different on that front. Before said smoothie is made, a pre-smoothie snack always seems to happen. Don’t ask me why, weird habit.

Today’s contenders: leftover grocery store sushi …

…and a chunk ripped off a slice of bread.

Which was then dipped in roasted red pepper hummus.

Then finally the smoothie got made. A coffee cocoa spinach strawberry smoothie to be exact.

Vanilla soy protein powder + chilled coffee + almond milk + cocoa powder + spinach + a handful of large frozen strawberries + ice + stevia + the gums

This one actually turned out perfectly. Best smoothie I’ve had in a long time. No idea what I did differently but I’ll likely be making this exact combo again tomorrow with crossed fingers.

Perfection smoothie was paired with hot green tea.

Followed by a splash of coffee with vanilla creamer.

Enjoy my ten course breakfast?

Mid-Morning

After a little digestion time I was in the mood for baking. I’ve been meaning to make cornbread for a while now and it was finally time.

Except…this cornbread was awful. AWFUL. I was half following a couple recipes, half winging it, full out failing miserably.

I tried sampling some with butter and jam but it was still pretty inedible. I wrapped the rest up and threw it in the freezer since I prefer to Waste Not…but I’m really not sure how I’m going to be able to revive that mess.

For sweet redemption (since my first baking attempt definitely didn’t satisfy any baking urgers), I decided to use up the last of my peanut flour in the best way possible since I can’t buy it around here and it will be a while until I see some in my pantry again.

In an Inside Out Peanut Butter Cup Cake! I’ve made it before with amazing results and today was no different. I saved this baby for later though.

First it was time for …

Lunch

Since the oven was already hot and ready from my baking attempts, I decided to throw in an acorn squash for lunch. I ate some of this mashed beauty with a pat of light margarine alongside a kale salad, a hard boiled egg and another chunk of this morning’s bread slice with plain hummus.

Then it was time for…

Workout

I did a duo sesh – long treadmill session followed by Jillian Michaels Shred. The in-between required a breather… and a grazing session.

The rest of this morning’s bread slice was dipped straight into this jar of salsa. And here’s where a picture fail happens – I missed getting a shot of the rice crackers and triscuits that also got drowned in the salsa.

I didn’t forget to grab a shot of the acorn squash I ate with a spoonful of peanut butter though. Well… I almost did.

There were a few spoonfuls into here today… and into my other natural (aka not-so-fake) peanut butter jar. And I was going to take a break from peanut butter this week… maybe tomorrow. Or never. Whatever.

Dinner

When dinner finally rolled in I was in the mood to mess around with my panini press. Pizza quesadillas were born – aka jarred pasta sauce and cheddar squished into a wrap. Culinary expertise right here.

I didn’t actually eat these. I just made them for kicks, chopped them up and threw them in the fridge. I eventually had a quarter or two though. Half the cheese ran right out so they were a tad on the bland side.

What I did eat for dinner: more kale salad topped with chopped cheddar and hard boiled egg. With a side of rice crackers topped with pasta sauce and cheese. I guess I was in a pizza mood tonight. Okay so more of a cheese mood than anything. Sometimes there’s just nothing better than cheddar.

Evening

The time when grazing can really go haywire. This must be why they say you’re not supposed to eat after a certain hour. I don’t agree with the rule but I do understand it… It’s not because your body can’t metabolize it but it’s because all caution goes to the wind at night. I could easily take in a day’s worth of food post dinner on a lonely, boring night of snacking!

This evening started out with a nice chunk of my earlier made peanut butter cup cake (which is actually more like a thick, creamy peanut butter pudding and I’m a-okay with that!) served with peach yogurt.

I don’t like “Fruit Bottom” yogurts because that “fruit” is just weird jelly. I scoop it out and trash it. The yogurt is already sweet and flavoured without having to stir the gunk in anyway.

I also had one last tiny Tbsp of peanut flour that I was saving specifically for THIS:

Peanut butter “ice cream”- aka frozen almond milk cubes blended with sweetener, peanut flour and a splash of liquid almond milk. Not the most successful ice creamy texture when trying to do this with my little Magic Bullet but the taste was darn fine.

I also dipped a couple dried prunes into my “ice cream”.

I let a little time go by before digging into an apple.

And then some apple and orange slices. With peanut butter.

I then scrapped picture-taking because I already downloaded the pictures to my computer and didn’t feel like doing another download session to prove that I just finished off: A bunch of cold acorn squash; a mug of peppermint tea with cocoa; and a container of silken tofu blended with cocoa, stevia and frozen raspberries that had instant oats stirred into it and was topped with peanut flour drizzle.

And I’m spent. Time for the grazing monster to go to bed.

[With all this recent talk about portions, people not eating enough when showing their daily meals etc etc, please remember: What you see on the plate or in the bowl is what I ate but not necessarily the amount I ate. In many cases I had quite a bit more than what is shown. I just ate it before it made it onto the plate ;).]

Are you a grazer or a mainly meals eater?
I think the fact that I’m not on much of a schedule right now definitely contributes to my grazing habits. Some days I probably eat ten times a day. On a schedule I do a little better… either way I’m a snacker at heart though :)