Office Terrors

Deep within the shadows of your cubicle, hunched over your desk, staring at your computer screen, you relish in the stark silence that surrounds you. But, then, the calm is pierced by chatter, and, soon, you smell something delicious that makes you stop in your tracks. Your hands come off of the keyboard, your head spins around, you feel your body lift out of that office chair as your feet carry you to the conference room. Five minutes until that eminent meeting is suppose to start, and, it looks like the boss bought several pizzas to share. You wince. You started out the day so well with a balanced breakfast. But, now, the aroma of the pizza is weakening your self-control as your stomach grumbles for food. One hour into the meeting, you hang our head as you realize you ate three huge slices of meat lovers pizza. That healthy breakfast is a distant memory now.

How can situations like Pizza Meeting Wednesdays, Doughnut Fridays, or Cookie Mondays be remedied? Dip heavily into your healthy snack drawer before attempting to muster up the self-control necessary to resist such temptations. What exactly can you put in this "Holy Grail" of a snack drawer? Simple:
- individual ziplock bags of nuts or seeds (about 1/4c in each bag) or purchase snack packs of nuts, then the portioning is done for you
- fruits that can handle hanging out in a drawer, such as citrus like oranges, clementines, and grapefruit, or other fruits like apples and pears
- bags of mini carrots or celery sticks
- individual ziplock bags of dried fruit, or purchase those single wrapped prunes or small boxes of raisins
- small cans of olives or jalapeño rings
- Kashi cereal cups
- low sugar protein bars like the Think Thin or Power Crunch brand
- individual ziplock bags of five grain hot cereal or quick oats
- single servings of whole grain crackers
- reduced-fat string cheese (although this will only last one day, not all week)

Don't forget to always have some type of protein with your snack, especially when eating higher sugar snacks like fruit. Also, I recommend restocking your drawer every week, since those fruits and veggies won't last longer than that.

If there is space in your company fridge, there are a few other items you can consider bringing (just make sure to put your name on it so Howard knows he can't eat your stuff):
- hard boiled eggs
- more string cheese sticks
- frozen vegetable cups, like the kind made by Green Giant

Having your arsenal of snacks stocked and ready to go, you should be able to valiantly fight food temptations in the workplace since your stomach should always be satisfied.

Body Smart Muffin Burgers

Usually, my other half works the grill. But, he was too busy watching sports and I felt like a burger sounded amazing. Feel like having a burger but hate the heat of the grill burning the hair off your face? Muffin burgers are the answer! Lean meat, cooked In a good 'ol muffin tin makes juicy, juicy mini burgers.

Exercise and Caffeine Can Save Us All

It seems that the answer to life's problems might be to work out more and consume more caffeine. That is definitely a solution I can learn to embrace since caffeine and I are best buds (thanks, college, for the introduction, by the way). 



In an interesting article, there is mention that "[i]t is not just pounds you stand to lose when you hit the gym — your DNA also loses chemical modifications in the form of methyl groups... a similar effect is seen in cells given a high dose of caffeine." The aforementioned article goes on to quote a doctor as explaining that "[c]affeine releases calcium... and it sort of mimics a contracting muscle." While the article does mention that this finding "does not imply that drinking coffee could be a replacement for exercise," it does seem to me that my road to weight loss might be a bit quicker by working out and uping my dose of morning tea.



Source

The Quick Lunch Dilema

As all know, Joan deeply frowns upon eating fast food. But, today I needed something quick, healthy, and preferably cheap. So, I ventured to Subway and I was quite pleased with what I got.

While Subway touts being healthy (thanks Jared), it can be extremely easy to go wrong (it is, after all, a fast food joint). So, I came up with some helpful guidelines to keep me in check:
1. Get a salad. Avoid the bread since it all seems to be made with enriched flour.
2. Keep in mind that Subway will turn just about any sandwich into a salad (be weary of calories, fat and sodium), which is extremely nice if a new sandwich comes out you are dying to have, which might have happened to me today
3. Have those sandwich artists cram as many veggies as possible into that dang salad, try to get more spinach than iceberg
4. Need cheese? Try to stick with provolone or swiss as they have a little more protein and a little less sodium
5. For more flavor, don't forget you can add dried oregano or salt and paper
6. If I feel the salad is too dry, I'll ask for avocado slices and stay far away from the salad dressings
7. I usually want a soda, which means I usually just make my salad a meal, but I get diet soda (or, better yet, unsweetened iced tea) and a bag of apples instead of the white potato-based chips

Body Smart Mexican Lettuce Wraps

A great entree for cinco de mayo!

Body Smart Crock Pot Spicy Sausage and Spinach

Cooking in the crock pot is so easy and satisfying with this dish. A mouthwatering treat for lunch that satisfies the soul.