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A heavy trend I’ve noticed within the healthy living blogging community is relying on energy and granola bars as snacks, and even sometimes meals. These products can be very convenient when you’re in a pinch and just want something to eat fast, but they shouldn’t be a staple or something eaten daily. If you often find yourself grabbing these as a quick snack, I’d encourage you to think outside the bar and look to real food instead.

The quality of ingredients and variety of bars (organic, vegan, all-natural, etc.) available to consumers have certainly increased in the last few years. Companies have made the decision to give customers what they want: something that can be eaten quickly, without preparation, and is portable, yet still healthy. It makes me smile when I look at the ingredients list on a bar and not only can I recognize and pronounce all of its contents, but there’s no high fructose corn syrup to be found. A definite improvement over the long ingredient lists some products still tote.

However, better ingredients does not make it real food, and certainly not a meal. Instead of grabbing a bar, why not do a few minutes of prep-work at the beginning of the week and you’ll have healthy snacks ready whenever hunger pangs begin.

- Slice some vegetables you like (think carrots, cucumbers, peppers) and stuff them into portable containers. Divide out your choice of dip (ranch, peanut butter, hummus—get creative!) into smaller containers that fit inside your veggie container. Stack the containers in your fridge and take them to work or school.

- Greek (or regular) yogurt with granola and fruit is always a great snack. It’s easy to throw together quickly when you want to eat.

- Raw nuts are one of the most easy and portable snacks I can think of. As a bonus they contain a good mixture of fat and protein, nutrients your body needs.

These are just three of the dozens of healthy snack combinations that are not only easy to create, but can be taken with you. Check out a few more snack combinations here.

If you insist on supplementing with bars, here’s what you should consider:

1. Calories: The amount of energy contained in a single bar can vary greatly, so it’s important to take a minute and check out the nutrition label. I’ve seen bars with 300 calories and I’ve seen others with as little as 100. Think about when you’ll be eating them and how much energy you will really need. Many bars aren’t large in size, so it’s easy to forget how caloric they might be.

2. Protein: If your goal is to buy something that will fill you up, look for bars with higher protein counts. A good mixture of fat and protein will help keep you full and feeling satisfied. Some companies make special protein bars, but actually read the label because you might find that even though they are labeled and marketed as a “protein bar” they only contain one or two more grams of protein than a regular bar.

3. Price: Using bars as a snack isn’t cheap! A single bar can run anywhere from $1 to $2, whereas buying real food and pre-portioning it into containers yourself is often cheaper. Remember the prices at the stores you regularly shop and stock up on your favorites where they are cheapest.

Remember, “energy” does not mean it will help you shake off the after-lunch slump or get you moving for a workout. Energy means “this bar contains calories.” Unless you’re working out for hours or really in a pinch, why not ditch the bars most of the time and upgrade to real food. It might require more thought and preparation, but you deserve it.

—

Breakfast

I wanted something different for breakfast. I wasn’t sure what, but I knew two things before making my choice: Oatmeal was out and it needed to be something I could make quick!

Out of nowhere breakfast rice popped into my mind. It’s a meal I definitely ate a lot of as a kid because it was cheap to make and we didn’t have a lot of money. It tasted good, too!

My bowl this morning was a little bit healthier than what my parents used to make (think lots of butter and sugar).

• about 1 cup cooked rice (preferably brown, but mine was white)
• 1 Tbsp real butter
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• sprinkle of flaxseed
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• about 1/2 cup of milk

You can alter the recipe to make it sweeter, if that’s what you like. I kept mine slightly sweet, but didn’t want to go overboard with the sugar first thing in the morning. It was tasty, but also a little comforting. I’ve been missing home since we returned to Japan.

Activity

Mid-morning, I tried the Turbo Jam video I bought a second time. It was more enjoyable this time, but I still don’t love it. I think the instructor is just a wee-bit too happy for my taste in exercise. Do you ever feel that way when you do an exercise DVD… like the workout isn’t bad, but you would enjoy punching the instructor in the face?

Either way, it was a good workout and I wore my heart rate monitor this time to see how many calories this 45-minute DVD would burn. The answer is about 370 for my height and weight.

Lunch

My stomach was making all kinds of funny noises by the time I sat down to eat the salad I made for lunch. I waited a little too long to stop working, didn’t have a morning snack, and realized I still needed to clean some spinach in order to make a salad—none of those are good when you are hungry.

But, I was very glad I took the time to make a salad instead of grabbing something easy and less work.

Have you ever noticed that salad dressing can totally make or break a salad? I mean, when you think about it, what sets one restaurant’s side salad apart from another? It’s the dressing!

I’ve been avoiding salad for about a week because I am not loving the pre-made, store bought dressing in our fridge. Actually, thinking about the taste of them makes me cringe a little. I think my taste buds are either off or have changed because I liked them when we bought them.

I bought a seasoning mix to make your own dressing while I was in The States and brought a few of them back to Japan with me. Let me just go ahead and say this: IT IS GOOD. It’s a wonderful Italian flavor and you can taste it’s not full of junk and tons of preservatives.

There’s two ways to prepare it: one uses more oil and less water, the other uses more water and less oil. I went with the second to save some unnecessary calories and I still think it tasted great. I’m storing mine in an old salsa jar (it will keep covered for up to 4 weeks in the refrigerator) to use again in the future, but the company sells a special dressing container, too.

I just wrote today’s date on it, and if there’s any left in 4 weeks (which is doubtful), I‘ll toss it then.

I only used about half an ounce of cheese on the salad, by the way:

Snacks

My more-laid back approach to food has been working out better. I’m noticing certain times of the day when I am hungrier than others (usually just before I go to work and then again just after my hour-long class ends) and snacking during those times, rather than worrying about eating certain amounts and at specific points in the day.

Because I’m eating right after work, which is also right before dinner, my evening meal has been smaller. At first I thought, “I’m ruining my appetite for dinner!” but then I realized, who cares… a snack and smaller dinner or a regular-sized dinner—it balances out. If I’m hungry, I think it’s better to eat something small and healthy and not be ravenous when dinner time rolls around.

So my snacks this afternoon looked like this:

A handful of raw almonds and I met J for soft serve ice cream before work.

Some Nashi wedges after work

Dinner

I have no dinner photos tonight because we invited our next-door neighbor/Jeremy’s co-worker over to eat. He doesn’t know about the blog and I’m keeping it that way because I have no desire for it to interfere with J’s work. Our neighbor was wonderful while we were on vacation and allowed us to leave our fish tank in his apartment and fed them.

The menu included sloppy joes—something I don’t think he’s ever ate—oven fries, and some of the American food we brought back.

Please tell me:

Do you plan your snacks, or just eat something when you get hungry?

1. Going back to school
2. New episodes of my favorite television shows

Since my school days are over, for now at least, I’ve been focusing all of my cool-weather-season excitement on the return of the television shows my husband and I bond over weekly.

One of those shows used to be NBC’s The Biggest Loser. Every week I’d watch as obese Americans became healthier and slimmer, and by the end of the season I had my husband tuning into the finale with me to see who was the ultimate winner.

It’s a real-life American Cinderella story—two trainers take someone who’s obese and given up on life and give them the tools and hope to drop the weight and start living again. Sounds amazing! There’s no doubt The Biggest Loser has opened many people’s eyes to the weight epidemic and even kick started some into getting off the couch and into the gym.

Part of the show’s success lies in the trainers. Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper are both good at what they do—just take a look at some of the transformations contestants have gone through. I’ve always found Jillian to be incredibly motivating. She’s a hard ass, no doubt, and she doesn’t sugar coat the truth;  Here are your choices, now pick and live with the consequences. She kept me tuning into BL week after week because she inspired me to keep going, even when I had no weight left to lose.

Truthfully, I’ve always had a bit of a girl-crush on Jillian and used to listen to podcasts of her old radio show while running.

While the show has it’s good points, I’ve made the decision that it’s time for me to tune out. I’ve grown more and more frustrated with BL during the last two seasons and my desire to continue watching is gone. Here’s why:

1. Obviously it’s a contest, only one person will walk away the winner of the prize money. But, it pisses me off when someone drops 4 or 5 pounds in a week and is disappointed they didn’t lose more. If I had lost four pounds in a week I’d have been doing the happy-dance for hours. The focus is all wrong, instead of celebrating small successes, the contestants are constantly looking for the next big loss.

2. Product placement. It’s a show about weight loss, folks, not an advertisement for water filters, chewing gum, or energy bars—except, oh wait, that’s exactly what it’s become. The constant advertising and convenient product placement is contrite and almost makes me angry. It sends the average viewer the idea that, “You can’t lose weight unless you spend money on certain products.” Totally untrue and selling out the show.

3. The constant working out and obsession with food and calorie counting the contestants exhibit is triggering for me. This is a personal reason for tuning out and doesn’t apply to the majority of people. But, when something isn’t good for you, it’s important to recognize it and walk away. Alcoholics shouldn’t hang out in bars and I’m not sure if people with food or past over-exercising issues should tune into The Biggest Loser, either.

It’s been fun, Biggest Loser, but it’s time to walk away. I’m not really sad because truthfully I have a lot of other really good shows (Modern Family, The Marriage Ref, The Office) to keep me occupied and I’d rather spend those 90 minutes doing something more significant.

Setting goals for myself at the beginning of every month is my thing. I love, love, love the feeling of a fresh start and all the possibilities that entails. This summer has been a busy one, though, and I haven’t set goals for myself in quite a while, which is unusual for me.

You can look back at some of my previous goals here:

• April 2010
• New Year resolutions
• December 2009
• November 2009

My plans for this month are simple. Nothing fancy, dancy here.

1. Commit 100% to strength training twice a week. Want to join in? Check out my Fall in Love With Strength Training challenge. I am working on making a page for this. Hopefully I’ll get it up tomorrow!

2. Eat more vegetables. Fruit are so easy for me to eat because I love fruit. But vegetables require some work and forethought on my part. I’d like to start adding more veggies into my meals this month, and that’s totally do-able.
3. Be more patient. This is a pretty personal goal, but something I NEED to work out. Having patience with myself, my husband, and those around me. Showing someone patience=showing them you care and respect them, if you ask me. If that’s the case, I’ve not been too respectful lately.

Please tell me:

Do you have any goals for September?

As you might have guessed, today involved a lot of chores, and none of them were particularly entertaining. I’m just glad they are finished.

Let’s get down to business because I want to play some videogames with my husband before bed—Yes, we are THAT couple.

Breakfast

One interesting thing about running in the morning: it always revs up my appetite.

So, even though I ate this before my two mile run:

My body was more than ready for this after a shower:

Overnight oats (my best friend on running mornings!):

• 1/2 cup of rolled (not instant) oatmeal
• enough milk to generously cover the oatmeal in bowl
• ground cinnamon
• ground flaxseed
• 1 medium-sized banana, sliced
• about 1 Tbsp peanut butter

With a cup of way too strong coffee on the side. I guess I got a little overzealous putting grounds in the coffee pot. I still drank about half.

Mid-morning snack

One morning class dominated, I was ravenous and ready to rip into anything I could find as soon as I returned home.

I tried to keep it sane and healthy by sticking to fruit and nuts because I wasn’t craving anything in particular.

Only about a half an hour later my body said, “More, more, more…!”

Last night at Ramen, Ciaran, an Irish friend, gave everyone some omiyage (souvenirs) from a trip he took. He brought back a banana dessert to share. I was already full by the time this was handed out, so I stuck it in my bag to save for later (which is how it ended up crushed—it was shaped like a banana when I received it).

This really hit the spot and made me feel good inside. It tasted similar to a banana cookie with a light buttery flavor. I’ve never eaten anything quite like it, but I wouldn’t mind having more of these in the future. (I have no idea what this dessert is called, by the way.)

Lunch

The goal for lunch was to make something tasty AND use up leftovers, if I could. I hate trashing food because it was made and not eaten. It irritates me and even makes me feel sad on a deep level.

I found a container of mashed potatoes from Saturday night’s dinner and threw those in the microwave to warm them up. I didn’t eat them all, but at least most of them were not wasted. And let’s be real: mashed potatoes are good, so this wasn’t much of a sacrifice on my part.

Afternoon snack

The temperature was high and the sun was hot this afternoon. Even with the air conditioner on and fans running on high our apartment was warm.

I was craving something cold and sweet. Basically, I had two choices: 1. ignore my craving and have something “healthier” or 2. listen to my craving and eat what my body is wanting.

I’ve ignored enough cravings in my life to know that it almost always bites me in the butt and I end up eating something different AND coming back for what I originally wanted, which is more food than I would have eaten if I’d just ate what I wanted to begin with. Take home knowledge: eat what you crave!

I grabbed the two choco-coffee popsickles I stuck in the freezer after grocery shopping on Sunday and I enjoyed every bite of them.

Dinner

The weekly menu informed me quesadillas were on the menu for tonight. That sounded great, but there was a catch: we are totally out of the salsa we order and love from The Flying Pig and there were only two flour tortillas left, which will not make enough quesadillas for two hungry adults—especially my husband.

Obviously it’s time to put in another order soon!

To remedy the situation I dropped into the supermarket near my evening classes and grabbed the best I could for tonight, plus a few fresh fruits and veggies:

The pretzels were shoved in my mouth on the train home. My afternoon snack had ZERO staying power and I felt shaky and hungry during my 5:00 class. Dinner would take about half an hour to prepare, so I knew I needed to grab something in the store. The only problem was my train was pulling into the station very soon and I had to make a quick exit from the grocery store. These were sitting near the cashiers and, lucky for me, tasted pretty good.

The tortillas and salsa from Kimisawa did the trick, but wasn’t quite as good as the staples we typically use. Either way, it filled me up.

Dinner kind of reminded me eating grilled cheese as a kid. That’s all I put in my quesadillas tonight. My stomach felt a little off, and I didn’t want to throw chicken into the mix incase things went bad.

Please tell me:

What was your favorite food as a kid?

After returning to Japan I waited an entire week to weigh in. I have a love/hate relationship with the scale—like most women I love it when it tells me what I want to hear and hate it when it doesn’t—but I’m realizing more and more that the number it shows doesn’t mean a damn thing. A number can’t tell if I stuffed myself full of whole grains, healthy fats, and lean protein last night or five candy bars. But my body sure can!

(Just a side note here: this post has nothing to do with the number the scale showed on Sunday. My weight was actually down, but I felt neutral about it.)

I go back and forth on this issue (and without apology because I reserve the right to change my mind depending on where I am in my life and what is working best for me), but my focus in the last month has been on consistency instead of weight loss. Any weight I lose at this point are all vanity pounds anyway and I know I look good as is.

It comes down to this: Is counting calories and maybe dropping a few pounds more important than feeling relaxed and doing my best to eat healthy, while enjoying some foods in moderation? I can’t answer yes to that question right now. I thought the “last five pounds” would bring me happiness, but the truth is, it won’t. Eating healthy, regularly exercising, and treating my body with good self care brings me happiness—and whatever weight I settle at on that account I can accept.

I’m still working out, still eating (mostly) clean with some fun foods, but mostly just trying to enjoy life without letting the scale dictate how I feel.

Those vermins are back! The husband woke me up this morning to let me know that, “We have an ant problem again.”

We fought a losing battle last fall against some sugar ants and it was the cold weather that finally defeated them. Our current insect residents are bigger than the ones we dealt with last fall, so I hope they are easier to kill. I cleaned the kitchen really well, wiped down all surfaces that food comes into contact with, and did a little bug-spraying before laying down a trap where J seems to think they are coming from.

Cross your fingers they are gone, okay? First, the refrigerator and now this! Our kitchen luck is running low right now. If you have any tips on getting rid of ants, pleeeeeasse share!

(Sorry to any bug lovers, but I draw the line when they enter my home…)

Snack

My appetite disappeared for a long time this morning. I normally start to feel hungry for a small snack somewhere between 10:30 and 11, but that hunger never came. At 12 I made the first Green Monster I’ve had in a while.

It was so good. I threw the following in my blender:

• 2 small, brown, frozen bananas
• big handful of spinach
• some 2% milk
• 5-6 ice cubes
• about 1 Tbsp peanut butter
• less than 1 Tbsp flaxseed

Tasted just like a peanut butter milkshake, I swear, and hands down my favorite way to “eat” my vegetables.

Lunch

Truth is, there’s been a serious lack of veggies on my plates lately. But miraculously—and I love this!—my body knows when it’s time to load up on fresh fruits and vegetables and step away from some of the processed foods. It’s magic! Or just learning how to listen to what your body is craving. Okay, maybe both!

In the bowl:

• fresh spinach
• fresh cabbage mix *bought for 30% off*
• unsalted sunflower kernels
• deli ham-chopped up
• about 1 ounce of sharp cheddar cheese
• green onions
• Caesar dressing

I can’t wait until we finish off the dressings in our fridge. They’re okay, but I am tired of them and excited to try some of the ones i brought back from the U.S. I refuse to throw the old ones out, though—there’s nothing wrong with them.

Snack 2

On Monday’s, by the time I finish my evening class, I am starving. I packed some oranges to enjoy on the train before ramen tonight. I hate showing up for dinner ravenous, it makes me feel out of control and I order more than I can eat.

Dinner

There’s a lot of new faces at ramen since our friends left at the beginning of this month. It’s strange to see so many new people, but I’m excited to get to know everyone.

Tonight I ordered fewer gyoza (potstickers). I’ve been filling up on them instead of my ramen the last few times we’ve been to Chukate, so it was time to reign that in a little bit.

Another amazing eating good food and hanging out with friends. Monday Night Ramen will probably be the thing I miss most when we leave Japan.

It’s bedtime. Early rising time tomorrow for a run before work:

OUCH!

One routine I’ve never been successful getting into and staying in is strength training. There’s more than one aspect of fitness: cardiovascular, flexibility, and strength. I love to run, which is great cardio, and do yoga, which pushes my flexibility, but I don’t do anything to really improve my strength and build muscle.

As a woman strength training and resistance training is important because it builds and maintains healthy bones, putting you less at risk for osteoporosis—something we should all consider.

So here’s my fall goal:

Okay, so there’s no guarantee I’ll fall in love with strength training, but I do know from my previous experiences that there’s a good chance I’ll fall in love with the way it makes me feel and look.

If you’re interested please leave a comment and feel free to join in. If there’s enough interest, maybe I’ll make a badge or something you can display on your blog and a page on CTN where we can check in and keep each other motivated. If you’re new to strength training don’t be shy!

I started off my ST challenge this morning after breakfast. I fueled up with some coffee, cereal (mix of Kashi Go Lean and raw oatmeal), and grapes.

I got a little sidetracked before working out (more on that later), but eventually made it upstairs to lift some weights. GARRRR!

Before I tell you about my routine I want to share a little bit about heart rate monitors. If you’re looking to lose weight and you’re tracking your calories in, it’s sometimes useful to also track your calories out. A heart rate monitor is a great way to do this, especially when doing cardiovascular exercise.

There are A LOT of different heart rate monitors on the market and they all have different features and range from very basic to crazy expensive with all the bells and whistles. I’ve had the same one from Wal-Mart for over two years now and it still works great. I don’t remember exactly how much I paid for it, but it was less than $50. The brand is Sportline

I compared many brands before deciding to purchase this HRM, mostly because I was adamant about buying one without the chest strap, at first. After reading online that chest straps weren’t as uncomfortable or in-the-way as they look, and that HRMs with chest straps are more effective, I changed my mind. I’m so glad I went with this one because it’s been a great fitness tool and it’s pretty accurate!

And yes, I promise you learn to just ignore that you are even wearing the chest strap, which if you are a girl you can just tuck underneath your sports bra anyway. Bonus if you are a sweaty girl because the sensors on the back of the strap usually need a little bit of water to detect your heart rate.

Okay! Now to the actual workout. I only used two pieces of equipment+my HRM for my workout.

An exercise ball and 5lb dumbbells

I’m no expert on fitness, and strength training is an area I’m weakest. I bought the Women’s Home Workout Bible in January, but the truth is I’ve barely cracked it open. I’ve flipped through it a few times and I think it’s a great place to start, especially if you plan on working out at home, like me.

The book is divided based on the area of the body you want to work and also the equipment needed, such as upper body/body weight, core/dumbbells, upper body/machines. It’s well organized and finding the exact exercise you need is easy. That’s handy if you need the color photos to show you proper form.

To get myself into a ST groove I’m going to dedicate two days a week to training. One day will be upper body and the other will focus on some lower body and the core. I scribbled these upper body moves down while eating breakfast:

The number in parenthesis is the page number the exercise can be found on, so I could look it over and keep my form as close to perfect as possible. Form is very important when strength training, if you aren’t doing an exercise with proper form and timing you are only cheating yourself—your results won’t be as good and you could injure yourself.

Today’s upper body strength training only took about 15 minutes; I did two sets of each exercise for 12 repetitions. First, I warmed up with two sets of 25 jumping jacks, then did a set of each move. I did another two sets of jumping jacks (to keep my heart rate up) before finishing up with another set of each move. Two more sets of jumping jacks before stretching.

I’m excited to see where strength training takes me. I know the results I’ve seen before, and I’d love to get back to feeling strong again. After my body adjusts to the exercises I’ll ramp them up to three sets and eventually change the moves.

What are you fall goals? Are you interested in my ST challenge?