density

So since discovering, thanks to food blogs, what a “volume eater” is, I decided I pretty much am one. I like long, drawn out, leisurely meals with lots of variety of colors/flavors/textures, and in order to accomplish that, I use lower calorie density foods (lots of plants!)

However, on our zoo field trip at camp on Thursday, I ate what the kids ate: a turkey and cheese (agh, those plastic wrap singles that I hadn’t had since I was like 8!) sandwich and a juice box (again, hadn’t had since I was 8- thought they were grossish then, still do). The calories were definitely the same as my typical lunch, but it took me like 5 minutes to eat (which is about the time I have when I’m with the kids).

Not an open faced sandwich, so no visual appeal. All the ingredients packed in, fatty cheese, juice which is liquid calories. And yet it totally satisfied me! And it gave me time to get done what I needed to get done! I like having the long-drawn out experience, but there is definitely something to be said for the jet-packed rocket fuel type lunches.

To that end, I got a fun new product for free in the mail (it takes so long to ship these free samples I’ve always forgotten that I ordered them by the time I get them. Such fun surprises!) 

Sunflower seed butter! Along with a coupon, I got a nice lil 200 calorie pack of the butter:

 

Nutritionally, I was SUPER impressed. I put it head to head with my TJ’s peanut butter. Calories were the same- 200 for 2 tablespoons- as was protein- 7 grams. However, in terms of fat, sunbutter had one fewer gram, AND one fewer gram of the saturated kind. In terms of ingredients, TJ’s peanut butter did have the edge, as peanuts are the only ingredient, whereas the sun butter listed sunflower seeds, dehydrated cane juice, salt and natural mixed tocopherols to preserve freshness (I should note that this sample was sunbutter NATURAL, which meant all natural ingredients and thus it is likely more expensive in the store. Original sunbutter has a few more ingredients). However, still all natural ingredients!

Plus, no peanuts and no trace thereof!

Now for the flavah. To be honest, I had my first taste of it straight on my finger :D But I had most of it on this sammich.

SO DELICIOUS!  I looooooove sunflower seeds but tend not to buy them because they make my mouth so dry. However, turning them into butter is kind of perfect!  The flavor of the sunflower seeds is almost smoky- and there’s some sweetness from the cane sugar, which is nice but not overwhelming. It’s a tangier alternative to peanut butter, and one that I really enjoyed!

This was another example of me picking the calorie dense- usually I use smaller quantities of nut butter so I can have a bigger meal with yogurt or something, but this time I used the full 2 tablespoons (minus the taste I had when I was packing lunch :D). That on bread plus some of the kids’ carrots was my full lunch (again, I had about five minutes to eat). And it was perfect! It’s nice to know that I can mix it up and still be satisfied.

Speaking of nut butter, I explained the concept of a “peanut butter spoon” for oats to my mom, and she was quite intrigued.

Hers and hers:

Hahaha, aww! That is just banana stovetop oats, made with 1/2 milk and 1/2 water. The bananas are PERFECT for oats right now- super ripe!

I also had a SUPER RIPE peach, so I made a fun colorful fruit salad of just peach, kiwi (nice color, right?!) and the last coupla pieces of cantaloupe. I split this with my mom, although I ended up eating most of it.

Then I had what I consider to be the perfect summer Saturday morning- a nice long workout (50 minutes elliptical on cross training, then a bit of arm weights) followed by a refreshing dip at our pool! Ahhh.

To use up the last of our buttermilk, I made a recipe I’ve had my eye on for awhile now:

 

Homemade ranch dressing! I used it to make a biiiiiiiiig salad:

Going clockwise, that’s carrots, my uncle’s homegrown green beans which were AWESOME! just lightly blanched, the last of the roast chicken, celery, and a wee bit of avocado. On a top of greens, drizzled with the ranch dressing.

Since I started my internship, I haven’t gotten to have lunch on the deck. I was delighted to get to today!

Volume eater’s delight. The salad, H2O to rehydrate myself after my workout, yogurt (can I just say how impressed with Safeway brand fat free yogurt I am? It tastes really good- this exotic flavor was Bartlett pear mangosteen- and has no high fructose corn syrup and a very reasonable sugar content), and the last (*sob*) biscuit. God those biscuits were good.