What's on your plate?

[lylysa]

Hello there, ladies and gents!

Keeping in line with all the fun and interactive threads asking about your most recent halls, items you have your eyes on, what you're currently wearing, what's your hair routine, and more, I've decide to branch out and ask:

"What's on your plate?"

The beauty world doesn't just stop at skin care and cosmetics, it also goes hand in hand with your overall health and well-being, so with that, I'm curious to see what we're all chowing down and snacking on be it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, or inbetween!

For those with apps that help count calories or to those who just want to keep a log, here's a place to share, possibly find and share some recipes, and even tips on maintaining a balanced diet.

Don't just share food items, but even drinks! I'm a huge fan of tea and at least have a cup of green tea a day (anti-oxidants) and drink plenty of water.

For lunch today, I had:

-Brown rice

-Steamed egg

-Steamed red snapper with green onion, sesame oil, and black pepper

-Gai lan (it's a type of Chinese vegetable/greens)

Now, tell me, Beauty Talk world, what do you have? 😄

[ChicDabbler]

Lotus moon cake, the kind with layered floury shell. Personally my favorite are the egg yolk ones with a yellow cake-ish shell, but those only comes out around Moon Festival.

[lylysa]

Right!!! That's when the Asian markets get flooded with boxes upon boxes of moon cakes! 

[lylysa]

Goodness, seems I missed out on some posting here over the weekend!

BeeBeeJ, thank you for the personal message, I wasn't able to catch your original post, but I do appreciate the time you took to apologize. Everyone has bad days, I feel you weren't intentionally trying to cause any issues here. Yes, most of us who have posted share some pretty healthy meals, but we do post things like sweets or even super indulgent foods from time to time.

I know we all appreciate doing good for our bodies (be it with beauty regimens and products or for the insides with good, nutritious food), but splurging on something here or there translates from the plate to even our beauty purchases. 😛 I mean c'mon, do we REALLY need a new palette or one more scoop of ice cream? Obviously we're not here to just buy buy buy nor are we here to just gorge ourselves, so to keep things going, here's my meals for the day!

Breakfast:

-Bolthouse Farm Mocha Cappuccino (saving half for later in the afternoon, it's got 7 grams of protein and I have a work out later so it'll give my stomach something to work with so I'm not exercising on an empty one)

-Breakfast taco (potato, egg, and cheese)

Lunch:

-Tacos (left over from last night)

My bf seasoned lean ground beef (80/20, I was super amazed because it's the first time I haven't had to strain out excess oil or fat being cooked out from the meat) with tomato paste, salt, fresh ground black pepper, onion powder, and cumin. Pair that with corn tortillas, fresh diced Roma tomatos, lettuce, fat free sour cream, and a Mexican cheese blend

Dinner: (or at least, plans for tonight)

-Grilled or baked chicken of some sort

-Loaded potato wedges (baked, top with crumbled applewood smoked bacon, green onion, mild cheddar, and fat free sour cream

[Anonymous]

@starletta8- I agree indulgence in food once is a while is fine. I'm a very weight conscious small person but even I indulge I spilled the beans on that when I did the "I Love oooey gooey cheese pizza and the strawberry shortcake remark because I love both you don't have to be "Iron" in being healthy never indulging leads to binging and everyone knows that's not good. I stand strong with you on that.:)

[Anonymous]

editing this because i have no fight left in me right now. sorry. no offense intended. 

[starletta8]

I'm not going to shun you, but I can't help but notice that it was my sandwich that made you speak out.  So, I'm going to say something.

Respectfully, I'd ask if you've read the whole thread.  Just a few posts down, there's a discussion about grilling techniques, vegetables, etc.  I agree that respecting your body is important.  Many of us do (for the most part), but IMO it's ok to indulge every now and then.

Also- I respect that you may disagree with my comfort food, but I stand behind it.  I usually consider sparkling water an indulgence.  If you're able to eat only 100% healthy food 24/7/365, good job and I admire the willpower.  For me, it's all about enjoying life. 95% healthy, 5% fun.

And enjoying food every now and then is respecting your body.

[starletta8]

I have to share my guilty pleasure.

Disclaimer: not with child, I've been eating this combo since I was a child.

Wheat bread

Kosher Dill pickle

Pepperoni

Gouda cheese

Longhorn cheese

[lylysa]

Baked chicken

Edamame

Cucumber salad (topped with crab meat and sesame seeds)

Green Tea

[DTalksAll]

@starletta8 I'm so close to purchasing the Skinny Grill Pan to use instead of our old electric caphlon grill & thought of you. I love that it's cast iron. We went chemical free a few years back, so no tephlon, plastic storage, non-stick... It's expensive, but since I do most of the cooking it seems easier to use & clean up than the caphlon grill. & it's safe for glass tops... YAY! 

[starletta8]

I have a glass top, and it's worked wonderfully. I have the Sur la Table exclusive one because it's the smallest one that Le Creuset makes and I'm only ever cooking for 2, max.

Not to enable, but it's the best cooking-related purchase I've made in a long time.  I use it almost daily, and twice a day on the weekend!  You just need to make sure to keep it oiled with olive oil- yum!

[starletta8]

As an update- I still use that grill 1-2 times a day, and it's just getting better with use.  And keeping it oiled is just habit by now.

[Anonymous]

@starletta8 I LOVE asparagus I usually squirt a little lemon juice on mine. Yum yum.

[starletta8]

Yes!  I love fresh asparagus!

I just love summertime cooking in general- it's just better and almost more fun to cook with all fresh ingredients.

[lylysa]

Oooo, I'm going to totally have to add some lemon onto mine! Don't know why I never did!

It's such an easy thing to make and takes no time at all!

[starletta8]

Breakfast:

small cinnamon roll (oops, this is my bad food for the day)

mega-sized coffee with soy milk

Lunch:

4oz grilled skirt steak

small side salad

Dinner:

2 lemon pepper chicken drumsticks (baked)

Grilled asparagus with olive oil

fruit salad

[lylysa]

Haha, I like how you have a "small" cinnamon roll balanced with a "mega" sized coffee! 😄

[lylysa]

Made bacon hamburger casserole last night since my bf and I bought bacon in bulk! Haha!

Recipe:

-1 lb lean ground beef

-1 small onion (of about 1/4 or 1/3 of a larger onion), diced up

-Half a bag of egg noodles (egg-free egg noodles can also be used, or other types of pasta)

-8 or 9 strips of bacon (or turkey bacon if you don't eat pork)

-Salt

-Pepper

-Chili powder/flake (optional, but adds a touch more flavor)

-Cheddar cheese (sharp is best since mild versions just get lost with the flavors)

-1 10 ounce can of condensed tomato soup

1. Cook pasta, strain, set aside

2. Cook bacon (oven, stove, griddle, microwave), crumble, set aside

3. Cook up ground beef with onion, season with salt and pepper, strain out any released fat, set aside

I like doing all three steps above all together so you save time, if prep/cook time won't allow for your bacon to cool down enough before you have to add it to the mix, use kitchen/cooking shears to snip them into chunks/pieces. I also like cooking up 1/3 of the diced onions up first in the pan so they're flavor is released a bit more before adding the beef. Don't be afraid to be generous with the salt and pepper since there's not a lot of spices in this recipe, you're going to want to be sure the beef isn't bland.

4. Take bacon and add it to the beef/onion mix, add in the can of soup and let it simmer for about 5 minutes, stir to distribute the soup well into the meat

5. Add in noodles and mix, letting simmer for another 5 minutes

6. Turn off heat and sprinkle cheddar cheese over dish and let sit so cheese melts down

7. Let it cool slightly, then serve up and enjoy!

[starletta8]

Tonight's dinner:

Grilled lamb chops

Steamed Snap Peas

Small scoop of Mac n Cheese

Currently snacking on some apples and peanut butter.

[dianabt]

I haven't really contributed to this post but I've been on a recent health kick the last week while I figured out what was causing stomachahes! (lactose intolerance and gluten anyone?)

SO I thought I'd share my dinner I just ate! 🙂

Turkey burgers

homemade guacamole on a corn tortilla

sauteed zucchini in garlic and butter

SMARTWATER

Once I started paying attention to my food intake.. I really realized how many chemicals and processed things are in our foods we buy 😞 I just hate that it can be really pricey to eat TRUE fresh foods! San Francisco is full of them at our farmers markets around the city but the prices are not easy to deal with sometimes!

[lylysa]

I've found that proper food storage will help preserve quite a bit and really stretch the food and money you spend on it. 

Also, steering clear of the middle aisles in grocery stores helps a lot, all the fresh food is always on the sides (veggies/fruits). 

[Anonymous]

Ooh I know I love mixing strawberries with glaze and having strawberry shortcake like that. YUM!