Lunch Date Newsletter #29

Hi friends! It’s lunch date time! A day set aside for a review of last week’s health news & recipes, plus a little bit about me.

In this post, you’ll learn…

• Whether it’s bad to go to bed hungry
• About changes to the cholesterol recommendations
• How many calories people typically eat at Chipotle
• If meditation can help insomnia
• How to make healthier comfort food recipes
• 10 ways to use shredded chicken to make a quick weeknight meal

And much more!

But First…What I’ve Been Up To:

 My friend hosted a beautiful dinner party on Oscar night, and presented creative dishes like truffle salt + fresh rosemary popcorn, zucchini noodles with pistachio arugula pesto, roast chicken, and roasted butternut squash and red onion with tahini and za’atar. Isn’t her popcorn maker ADORABLE? I love.

The Jasmine rice in my pantry was calling for me, so I decided to use whatever I had in my refrigerator to make a grain bowl for dinner. I typically make whole grain rice, but there’s nothing like Jasmine when you’re craving some comfort food. This turned out to be…outstanding. Seriously. I cannot wait to make it again! Here’s the recipe: Stir thin slices of celery into warm Jasmine rice, and top with 1-2 poached eggs, and roasted butternut squash**. Sprinkle on nori fumi (seaweed) furikake rice seasoning* and drizzle with a little soy sauce and a swirl of sriracha.

*I got the rice seasoning at Gelson’s, and it looks like it’s also available at Walmart, most Asian supermarkets, World Market and Wegmans.

**Basic roasted butternut squash will be great, but I actually threw in the leftovers of the pomegranate molasses butternut squash I made earlier in the week – wowsah.

What I’m Reading:

Food, Nutrition & Health:

• Nutrition Panel Calls for Less Sugar and Eases Cholesterol Restrictions – The New York Times
• Coconut Oil: Is It as Healthy As You’ve Heard? – Be Truly Nourished
• 5 Foods for a Healthy Heart – Holley Grainger
• Nestle USA to Remove Artificial Ingredients from Candy – The Wall Street Journal
• Egg Yolks: Love ‘Em or Leave ‘Em? – The Nutty Nutritionist
• Food Spotlight: Snap Peas – Be Truly Nourished
• Nutrition Panel: Egg With Coffee Is A-OK, But Skip The Side of Bacon – NPR
• Is It Bad to Go to Bed Hungry? – POPSUGAR featuring advice by C&J Nutrition
• Frozen Fruit is..Hot! The stunning rise of frozen fruit – Food Navigator
• 7 R.D. Approved Ways to Reduce Sugar Intake – Run to the Finish (guest post by The Lean Green Bean)
• At Chipotle, How Many Calories Do People Really Eat? – The New York Times
• Consumers Prefer Homemade Breakfast to Ready-to-Eat Packaged Goods, Dataessential Found – Food Navigator (If that’s true for you, I’ve got loads of breakfast recipes for you to browse!)

Living / Home: 

• 6 Ways to Decorate Your Rental Without Losing Your Deposit – Oprah (and if you like that, check out my post: Simple Ways to Reorganize Your Rental Kitchen)
• Will Hand-Washing Dishes Help Your Child Avoid Allergies? – Health Day
• How to Build a Bathtub Caddy – My Crafty Spot

Motivation:

• Five Tips For Making The Impossible Possible – Functional Girl

Sleep:

• Mindfulness, Meditation Helps Fight Insomnia, Improves Sleep – Harvard Health Publications
• Meditation Helps Sleep Disturbance, Cuts Fatigue, Depression – Medscape

Parenting:

• 10 Tips for Making a Move Easier with Children – Functional Girl
• Healthy Feeding Tips for Happy Toddlers – Enjoy Every Bite

Business & Blogging:

• 9 Rules for Emailing from Google CEO Eric Schmidt – Time

What I’m Salivating Over: 

Breakfasts:

• Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats – Free People
• Healthy Breakfast Porridge Recipes to Start the Day – Huffington Post
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Smoothie – Kara Lydon, The Foodie Dietitian
• Vanilla Almond Overnight Quinoa – Simply Quinoa
• Chai Chocolate Oatmeal – Well Plated by Erin

Breads & Muffins:

• Bake Fresh Sourdough Bread at Home – Food & Nutrition
• Greek Yogurt Blueberry Banana Bread – Nosh and Nourish

Snacks:

• No-Bake Energy Bites – The Fountain Avenue Kitchen

Main Courses:

• Cheddar & Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini Recipe – Jenna Braddock RDN
• Cozy Comfort Food Roundup – The Foodie Physician
• Maple Dijon Baked Salmon – Cookin’ Canuck
• 21 Lightened Up! Comfort Food Recipes – Gimme Some Oven
• Skinny Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Noodles – Just a Taste
• 10 Ways to Use Shredded Chicken for an Easy Weeknight Meal – Love & Zest

Apps/Sides:

• Cauliflower Tots – Skinnytaste
• Panko Crusted Cauliflower Bites – Chocolate Slopes
• Grilled Zucchini and Mushrooms – Natasha’s Kitchen

Dessert:

• Chocolate Cranberry Bark – Meal Makeover Moms (for more dark chocolate bark recipes, see my guest post over at The Lean Green Bean!)
• Candied Orange Peels – Saveur
• Almond Butter Chocolate Brown Rice Chow – NourishRDs
• Strawberry Dessert Bruschetta with Toasted Coconut – BHG Delish Dish
• Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies – Add a Pinch
• Peanut Butter & Banana Chocolate Pudding Cups – Teaspoon of Spice

I Asked, You Answered!

On Instagram and Facebook this week, I asked you guys to fill in the blank:

The first thing I drink in the morning is…

• “Water, technically. Then coffee.” – @SweetheartsSts
• “Water, always. There was one morning recently in a new mummy haze, I had tea before water, oops.” – @KateBearse
• “Usually a glass of water and later a Starbucks coffee on the weekends.” – @Badd_Adam
• “Blended iced coffee with SF caramel syrup. Fail proof way to get me out of bed.” – @KaileyP_RD2BE
• “Water” – Sandy Headtke on Facebook (winner of the heart bowl giveaway!)
• “Coffee – honey sweetened” – Oscar Rodriguez Gonzalez on Facebook
• “2 cups of Nespresso” – Jim Meisel on Facebook

Lots of water drinkers out there! I have an Americano with low-fat milk first. I love everything about it. The sound of the coffee maker, the smell of the espresso and the warm mug in my hand. When I’m feeling fancy, I add cinnamon.

What do you drink first thing in the morning?

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