Good morning! I’m feeling pretty good. I haven’t bled in a couple of days, and last night I did some stretches and physical therapy exercises.
I’m weak.
The exercises were difficult, so I know I have some SERIOUS “catch-up” to do. But we expected that. However, I will say that it felt SO GOOD to get moving again. As I was stretching, I could feel the oxygen getting into my muscles, and my mind felt brighter. It sounds weird, although I’m sure some of you know exactly what I’m talking about.
I’m doing better with water consumption, and I’m trying to decide what to do about breakfasts in the mornings. Most mornings, if I’m even hungry, food sounds nauseating. Sometimes I make myself eat anyway. Sometimes I don’t eat at all, which I know is very unhealthy. And sometimes, I just snack on junk, a bite here and there, instead of eating something nutritious.
All of those scenarios suck.
Sooooooo, I’ve been thinking about trying to do breakfast shakes. I know my brother-in-law does them a lot. I think he does fruit, yogurt, and dry oatmeal. I’m not sure what else. I don’t like the idea of commercially processed “meal replacement” shakes. Mainly because I don’t trust them and can’t imagine they’re healthier than something I could make with real food. But I’m not opposed to supplementing a homemade shake with a vitamin or a protein powder to make it more balanced.
Anyone have any thoughts or experience with this? What do I put in a breakfast shake? How valid is the salmonella hype as it pertains to adding a raw egg?
I know that when I start my day out right nutritionally, I’m much more likely to exercise, drink my water, and continue eating well. When I start it out with junk and empty calories, or none at all, I spend the rest of the day trying to climb out of a pit.
Tell me about your week? How’d it go?
April 29th, 2006 at 6:20 am
Yeah!! So glad to know you are not bleeding anymore!
April 29th, 2006 at 6:53 am
The last time I can really say that I was healthy, I had a shake for breakfast almost every day. Since my husband does a lot of lifting and drinks protein shakes, I have refined my shake making skills 😉
For me, it started from making shakes for him and then my desire to have more soy in my diet. I made up my own personal shake. I used soymilk (you can do this with milk or juice alternatively) and then added frozen fruit, fresh pinaples, one banana, peanut butter, wheat germ, and honey. I never felt that it was a meal replacement because it had plenty of nutrition. I mean with milk it would have hit several food groups: dairy, fruit, grains, and protein. That is a fine meal in my mind. I never needed to add protein powder to mine or anything additional (besides taking a multivitamin) because I was getting lots of nutrients from my ingredients. Apart from fresh, frozen is the best fruit form (that is second to fresh) for preserving the nutrients. Plus, frozen fruit means you do not have to use ice and your shakes do not end up soggy.
I totally am for the shakes. From reading your blog, I have seen that you love your juicer. Why not add those in a shake to certain things? You could develop a shake that contains fruit, dairy, protein, grains, AND your wheatgrass juice.
April 29th, 2006 at 7:08 am
salmonella is on the outside of the shell, if it’s there at all. wash the egg & make sure the eggy goodness doesn’t touch the shell & you’ll be fine.
I like fruit, yogurt, silken tofu, ice cream, & peanut butter…not necessarily all 3 together, but various combos of those. the cafe where my s&b group meets makes a “pb&j” smoothie that I love: organic PB, strawberries, vanilla ice cream, & apple juice. mmmmmmmmmmm
April 29th, 2006 at 7:25 am
Hi,
try freezing some banannas to make smoothies with, you need less ice and it makes is yummy, frozen fruit is good too blended with soy milk or apple juice!
April 29th, 2006 at 9:18 am
Watch out for those “smoothies”. It’s easy to rack up a lot of calories in them. A banana 70 cals, yogurt 180 cals, oj 45 cals, milk, berries etc… When you think about EATING that much food, it helps put it in perpsective.
I did lousy this week although I did do some gardening. I’m off to do my push ups and sit ups now….
Thanks for the update on the house. It’s nice to know the girls didn’t have to change schools and churches. It makes getting settled so much easier.
April 29th, 2006 at 10:56 am
I love smoothies! When I get sick, they are one of two or three things that I can eat. I make mine with all fruit and fruit juice. Sometimes I add yogurt or protein powder (I get mine at a local healthy grocery store). I also stock up on frozen whole berries — cheaper than fresh, and just as healthy. I also like frozen peaches … the frozen stuff gives it some extra body and keeps it cool. Try different combos and see what is best for your appetite.
April 30th, 2006 at 2:32 am
I have to beg to differ; salmonella can penetrate an unbroken egg shell. However, the chances that you get one of these eggs is pretty low. Here’s one page with some info, but it’s not much. Do a google search and then decide if raw eggs are right for you.
http://www.oznet.k-state.edu/humannutrition/_timely/EGGS.htm
If you’re strong and healthy, there should be no problem dropping a raw egg in your shake, but there is the alternative of pasteurized eggs that come in a carton, totally safe, that you could use instead.
Like Anita, I also never felt better than the time I had a daily shake in the morning. I would put various things in it like she described, but I always added vanilla protein powder. I don’t know why I stopped doing it, I’m getting back on that wagon! I just need to get my blender from my mom’s place. 😀 Thanks for bringing it up.
April 30th, 2006 at 2:44 am
Hi Laura,
I have a shake every morning for breakfast. My ‘recipe’ is one cup of skim milk, half of a banana that was frozen, a small handful of frozen blueberries or cherries (or a tablespoon of peanut butter), and 2 scoops of a protein powder I get from Trader Joes ‘Aria’. It’s half whey protein and half soy protein, no added sugar, it dissolves completely, and I can’t recommend it enough. I usually use their vanilla version. I agree with Janell about watching what you put in the shakes, you can really rack up calories quickly. What I like about the ‘Aria’ protein powder is that it uses ‘Stevia’ a natural sweetner that elimanates the need to add any additional sweetner.
Let me know if you can’t find Aria, I’d be happy to send you a canister!
Take care,
Samantha
April 30th, 2006 at 7:43 am
I admire your commitment to your health. Your willingness to do the extra work required to make something fresh for breakfast is amazing to me. If I eat breakfast two or three times a MONTH, I’m doing well. I hate mornings so much that I don’t get up any earlier than is necessary to put my clothes on and walk out the front door. Friday I didn’t even curl my hair!
April 30th, 2006 at 9:59 am
You go, Girl. Keep seeking information and educating yourself. You’ll be happier with what you have learned and decided you apply to your life. Love your knitting blog!
April 30th, 2006 at 12:22 pm
Hi Laura, I agree with Maggie-raw eggs don’t add enough protein to make it worth the risk-salmonella is not anything to take chances with, especially since you are breastfeeding. I would increase protein in my shakes by adding powdered dry milk-much safer. Kudos on starting back with exercise!
April 30th, 2006 at 3:53 pm
Laura,
Hey- go for the smothie, but make sure you use a good source of protein powder. I use a rice based whey found at health stores. Regardles of adding calories you are breast feeding; the extra protein, could actually help with weight loss and even help with eatting less unhealthy proteins over all. I used the below recipie as a meal replacement and never realized I was supplementing one meal a day. I lost weight too.
Try this- (it is non dairy.)
1 frozen bannana,
1 cup of frozen berries,
1/3 cup soft tofu, (you could reduce this if you use the protein powder)
3/4 cups vanilla soy
1 tablespoon of pinnapple concentrate,
1 tablespoon of protein powder (2 if you don’t have the tofu)
My toddler likes it too.
BTW- you could also add some Green magma or algae and some powdered vitamin C [E-mergen-C> and really get a energy boost too. I do not think any of these products would interfere with breast feeding? I used them while breast feeding, but every baby is different)
I agree no eggs!
April 30th, 2006 at 11:16 pm
Sorry to focus on one tiny inaccuracy, but I do try to clear these things up when I find them. Deb says to be careful of eggs “especially since you are breastfeeding”. At the risk of being icky, Samonella (and other toxins like it) are spread through the oral -fecal route, and cannot be given to your baby through breastfeeding. Only if you were sick with an infection that had spread to your bloodstream would it be remotely possible, and even then you could continue to nurse while you were receiving antibiotics. Mother nature is very smart. If you were sick with salmonella, your formula fed baby would be more likely to get salmonella than your breast fed one, since there are good guys in breastmilk that enormously reduce the incidence of samonella poisoning in breastfed babies.
That said, nobody wants samonella (and I can’t imagine how much it would suck to care for a baby while you were sick, and you can pass samonella on to the people you are caring for in other ways, (wash those hands after cooking) so careful!
May 1st, 2006 at 4:38 am
Hey Laura, I would definitely stay away from the raw egg. However, try our family favorite: A yogurt (flavor of choice), a banana, some fresh strawberries or other berries, ice, and some TVP. TVP can be found on the baking aisle and we like Red Barn brand. It’s textured vegetable protein and gives your shake the protein you will need to last until lunch. If you are giving it to your kids, don’t put in too much, as they probably won’t like the added texture. If you use frozen berries, you won’t need to add ice, but if you use fresh berries, you will.
May 1st, 2006 at 10:30 pm
My breakfast shake is 8th Continent Choc. soymilk, a banana and 2-3 tbs of peanut butter. MMMMMMMMMMMMMM.
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:38 pm
I have some really good protein powders that I got to make smoothies with from my naturopath. I noticed that the pharmacy inside Evergreen Hospital sells the same exact stuff, too. If you want to try some, I’m happy to swing by to make samples. I think they can be pretty good with fruit and especially ice cream, yogurt or sherbet added.
– oh, this is health group… dang. no ice cream here!
Swimming is the one thing I am still doing and is helping. Something is going on – I’ve had a few comments from old friends that my “butt is smaller” so it is noticable, but not to you-know-who. We go on vacation in 10 days. I have no idea what I will wear, all my last year shorts are falling off. YIPPEE!!!