That was me all afternoon. I had no intention of being in there for 2 hours, but I didn’t sit down once!
First I made a pumpkin loaf. I figured, I’m one of the biggest lovers of pumpkin out there and I have YET to make a pumpkin quick bread!! After reviewing a few recipes, I decided I wanted to try this one that Emma made on Easter. Her photos made it look soooo doughy and I thought the yogurt/milk combo would help with that. I halved the recipe, so my loaf is rather flat. I also used only half the brown sugar and used plain yogurt instead of sour cream. No raisins or cloves either.
It’s good, but it’s not wet + doughy like I had hoped. It’s actually pretty bread-like! I wonder if it’s because Emma made hers with a bit of oat flour and mine was all whole wheat…
My slice, which I didn’t get to eat until 5:00 because I was too busy working on making my lunch and the soup for dinner. I actually probably should have skipped it because dinner was just around the corner, but I just wanted to try it so badly that I couldn’t say no.
And this pretty good sized slice was ~120 kcal, 3 grams fiber and 4 grams protein
Pea Soup
I got the soup simmering around 4:30 and it turned out great. We used our Easter ham bone for that “fall off the bone” flavor. We used this recipe but this time added half veggie broth instead of all water, half a giant sweet potato, and left out the half and half (lots of halves!). I topped my bowl with a dollop of yogurt!
On the side – a cracker mixture! Kashi and homemade (I have to say, I prefer Kashi….)
From above –
This dinner was about 500 kcal, 24 grams fiber (!!!) and 25 grams protein. (The bowl of soup was 350 kcal).
Exciting Package!!
I got a package of FigAMajigs from BethT today!! She loves these and recommended them but I can’t get them here in NC stores 🙁
Of course I had to try the chocolate covered guys out ASAP – they were so good! Kind of like an M&M but then it turned into LaraBar flavor! I can’t wait to try the chocolaty bars – perhaps for dessert soon.
Thanks BethT – you rock!
Annie says
Hey Kath! You should definitly try this Pumpkin Bread recipe if your looking for spongy and doughy! I made it for my family for Christmas, and everyone loved it. Im sure you could leave out the choc. chips, but the pudding (weird huh) makes it super moist. Hope you like it
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipes/gallery/0,28548,1684341_1486577,00.html
BethT says
Glad you liked ’em! Personally I like the bars even better so I will be interested to hear your take. At least now you are no longer a fig virgin… 😀
Romina says
Wow that pumpkin loaf looks great, and it sounds like it has a good nutritional profile too (120 cals / 4 g. protein). This would probably make great muffins.
Emma says
wow mine was super moist and doughy…maybe it was the loaf pan? sorry yours didn’t turn out better!! I hope you can still enjoy it!
nancy says
these remind me of plum bites–little bits of plum covered in dark chocolate. i forget who manufactures them (i found it in wal-mart), but they are delicious.
Jennachica says
Oddest coincidence, I made the recipe Annie mentioned above yesterday, except that it turned out EXACTLY like Kaths! I exchanged the chocolate chips for dates though and used whole wheat flour and halved the recipe as well. I did not rise at all like I hoped, oh well, it still made a nice addition to Easter brunch!
Kelly L. says
I posted this on Jenna’s blog too!
Attention brown baggers (or tupperware container takers)….
So, I have literally eaten a turkey sandwich with cheese on whole wheat for lunch practically EVERY day for the past 3 years. I’m not kidding. I usually have that, some rice crisps, soy chips, or crackers and cheese. I’m not sick of this necessarily but I’m getting a little tired of having to assemble a sandwich EVERY night before work. I’m looking for some new ideas. I’m not a salad eater so that’s out. I love to stretch out my lunches and eat lots of things. What do you all take for lunch? Some things I was thinking were:
-bag of grapes
-sliced apple
-crackers and laughing cow cheese
-yogurt
Would you say this is a good lunch to pack? Yes, I know I’m lacking the veggies but I don’t eat raw veggies. I like them cooked but not raw and I prefer not to microwave things at work because the microwave gives the the heebie geebies. You should see some of the things people put in there. YICK. Anywho, please share your favorite lunch combos! Thanks ladies (and gents)!
Annie says
Jennachica , thats so weird thatyour bread didnt come out well, I used whole wheat flour also, but I doubled the recipe. Oh well…
Amandamoo says
Kelly L
I like Fage yogurt for lunch as a side. I sometimes mix up some pumpkin yogurt and bring a ziploc with fiberone cereal to mix together at work. I sometimes make toast at work (I don’t know if you have a toaster or not) and spread laughing cow on the toast… sometimes I add smoked salmon to that and then it’s a sandwich.
Let’s see, what else… fruits are great since they pretty much have their own wrapper. Kashi crackers are a great side to some soup. Kath has some great tuna salad combinations that I love to have some days.
Oh! Another thought. Kath used to work in an office and she brought her lunch every day so look through the archives to see some of her lunch ideas for an office!
Annie says
Kelly L, I dot know if you like cottage cheese, but thats an awsome source of protein, and mixed with grapes, apples, strawberries, any kind of fruit really is good with it. ALso, you could bring some crackers along with you to scoop up the cottage cheese.
I dont know if you like vegi burgers, but sometimes I defrost one in the Micro before work, and put it in a wheat wrap with some ketchup or a laughing cow or hummus, and bring that as a different kind of sandwhich.
Kath made a pasta salad a few weeks ago that would be easy to make a big batch of and have a few times a week or somthing. HOpe that helps, Im getting pretty sick of the same old lunches too..so I no how it feels.
Kelly T says
Your soup looks so good. Very Food network.
never had a fig. i bet i would like them if they are covered in chocolate
VeggieGirl says
I do hope that another pumpkin loaf recipe will work out better!
mmm, what a comforting bowl of soup – looks delish!
enjoy the rest of your Monday evening :0)
Kiala says
I love figs.
You know that saying, “I don’t give two figs”?
Where did that come from?
I mean, I would give two figs to someone. Maybe.
Ok, probably not. I’d totally hoarde my figs.
Tina says
Kath! I was going to make pea soup this week too! I ripped out the recipe from a magazine this weekend, and it’s waiting on the kitchen counter. So random!
kay says
I missed the makeup talk from this morning 🙁 I only wear make up because I need to be “presentable” for work otherwise I would just wear some sunscreen/chapstick only like I do on weekends. It kind of sucks for us ladies because if we don’t wear makeup in an office setting, it almost seems like we are not professional… kind of like wearing flip-flops. Society is brain washing us!! ;P They (whoever) even have makeup for men nowadays… I have seen a couple of guys with mascara lately and I find it quite interesting!!?
Kath, that’s cute that you actually like the Kashi crackers better… does the husband like his own crackers better??
Betsy says
i LOVE figs. sooo tasty.
KellyT…never had figs?!?! get your little butt to the supermarket asap and hoard all the figs and gorge on them. you will be a happier person.
Katers says
Hey Kath,
I tried your fried okra tonight, and to my intense disappointment, they were a complete disaster! Could you post your recipe? – they look so good and I was so excited about them! Boohoo.
sarah says
kath I have a question about changing to eating real food. I do well for about 12 days then end up bingeing on cake, cookies etc. how did you make the switch? I would like to loose about 25 lbs to get to my ‘happy weight’ but end up frustrated after a few weeks and eat everything i’ve been avoiding the last week or so. thanks for any advice
Ruby Red Vegan says
Well, you have certainly been treating yourself well. Figamajigs and pumpkin bread sound wonderful!
Ally says
Wow, that pumpkin bread looks so good!
Figamajigs? Those certainly look unique!
beachbum_ says
I was just wondering if you or ‘the husband’ could help me out? I just found out I’m gluten intolerant and was wondering if you knew a good gluten free flour I could use in just a simple cookie recipe like chocolate chip or something? I’ve been dying to make some lately but I’m not sure how rice or potato flour would work in a cookie? Thanks!
Jill says
Kath, I often bake a nut bread (an amazing recipe if you ever want to try it, it was my grandma’s and is super healthy!) Anyway, the times I make it with all whole wheat flour it is always flatter and less doughy than when not. Perhaps that was the case.
Kath says
Annie,
The photo makes it looks very bread-like – I’m looking for something WET it’s so doughy! Almost like the bread didn’t come out well. I know, I’m weird. Maybe I just need to undercook it!?
Kelly L.,
That would definitely not be enough food for me. Why do you try on the weekends to make one kind of bowl item – a quinoa salad, pasta salad, tuna (I know you said you don’t like salad, but I assume you meant lettuce-based salads?). There are SO many great recipes out there for chilled/room temp salads with all kinds of grains and they’d be easy to prepare on the weekends and portion for lunches. Trail mix is a good addition for some more fats, as is dried cereal and a container of milk for instant cereal! Could you also try different sandwich flavors? PB&Banana, tuna, ham+cheese, hummus and veggies? Maybe just a new kind of bread!?
Tina,
I think we all share brain waves. I wanted to make pumpkin bread yesterday and look what you made for breakfast!!
kay ,
I didn’t ask him, but I bet he’d prefer his crackers 🙂
Katers ,
This is the original recipe we used and they turned out great. Not as smooth as CL’s but still delicious:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1197165
Here’s the first time we made it (with the recipe) and it turned out great:
https://www.katheats.com/?p=41
And here’s the second, when the husband forgot the egg/buttermilk step and it was a bit of a disaster too:
https://www.katheats.com/?p=2453
Try again!
sarah ,
It took me almost 2 years to get where I am today. Be patient. 12 days running is a good healthy streak. Maybe you should plan a treat at 10 days to help keep your brain/tongue happy along with your body? Visualize how you want to feel the next day when a binge craving starts. See if you can spot triggers like alcohol, PMS, etc. Just keep working at it and learning from your mistakes.
beachbum,
We really don’t have much experience with gluten-free cooking, but VeggieGirl does. She bakes all the time and has a ton of good recipes:
http://veggiegirlvegan.blogspot.com/
Kath
Kelly T says
Are they sweet or sour?
Lindsay says
Yum!!! Your pumpkin bread still looks good and the nutritionals are awesome! You have me hooked on all things pumpkin 😉 The Figamajigs look good, what are they? Chocolate covered figs?
Kath says
Is what sweet or sour??
K
Kath says
Lindsey,
Yup, chocolate covered figs. And the bars are like chocolate fig candy bars. Can’t wait to try them!
K
Ash says
Wow I made Pumpkin-Ginger-Date muffins over the weekend too! They are super delicious!…Here is the recipe….
• Ginger-Pumpkin-Date Muffins
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp of baking soda
¾ tsp pumpkin pie spice
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
1 ¼ tsp ground ginger
1 cup bran flakes crushed (I actually used Total)
2/3 cup chopped dates
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 ¼ cups canned pumpkin
¾ cup skim milk
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 TBS canola or olive oil
1 TBS melted butter
1 large egg
Mix all dry ingredients in medium mixing bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a large bowl. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and stir until just combined, do not over mix.
Place in muffin pan lightly coated w/ trans-fat free margarine. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes at 400. Makes 18 muffins, a little over 100 calories each.
Cait says
I made the vegan pumpkin muffins from “Carrots and Cake”, but ended up adding 1 egg (beaten) at the last minute. I also used regular chocolate chips. They turned out SO doughy. They tasted as though I had put tons of butter in them when really the only ingredient that wasn’t so great was 1/3 cup of oil. I am a huge pumpkin lover and have probably tried out 10 different pumpkin muffin recipes and this so far has been the best. And they are all whole wheat! Definitely give it a try.
Megan says
You would think I’d know this since I’m reading through all your old posts, and I’m sure you’ve been asked a lot, so forgive me, but what kind of Kashi crackers do you eat? Aren’t there a few different varieties??
Thanks!!
Melissa says
Kath – I was just curious, when you wear your Heart Rate monitor to the gym or on a run, how many calories do you normally burn. Or how many when you were losing weight? I’m the same height with about 10 pounds to lose and just wondering how many I should shoot to burn in an hour long workout.
Also, when you cook beans (like chick peas, navy beans, etc) what do you need to do? I hear they’re MUCH better than canned and want to start trying them…
Kelly L. says
Annie- Do you eat the veggie burger cold or hot? That sounds like a good idea!
Kath- I agree, it is not enough food for me either. Those were just a few ideas I had. Like you, I’m a volume eater. I love to drag my meals out and enjoy them with lots of things. I need to add some protein sources to that list. Thank you for your suggestions!
Kath says
Ash,
That recipe looks great! I’m going to have to try all of these and find the one that fits what I’m looking for…
Cait ,
Anything described as “soooo doughy” is going in my file!! Thanks! (I use Google Notebooks to save recipes – it’s SO convenient!).
Megan ,
I usually eat the 7 Grain but I think I prefer the Honey Sesame, so I’ll be stocking up on those next time I’m out. I don’t care for the flavored ones like veggie and ranch.
Melissa ,
My workouts are usually between 350-450. When I was losing, I also walked for 30-40 minutes on my lunch break, so I’d be around 500-600 for the day. I never wanted to go hungry so I kept myself pretty active.
For the beans, you need to cover them with water and soak overnight (or longer). When you’re ready to cook, change the water, and then bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1-2 hours until the beans are tender (just however tender you want them – there’s no specific time).
Kath