Cooking – Relatable Roni

Sugar is definitely an addiction. I love dessert but I was getting into the habit of eating it daily, and that at 10pm at night. Now, I’m trying to limit my carbs as much as I can. If my meals earlier in the day were heavier in carbs, I’ll make sure I won’t consume many carbs during dinner. But I think once you start kicking those carby items to the curb, it gets easier.

I am a big fan of the myfitnesspal app. It allows you to track your calorie intake, exercise and water intake. It really keeps me in line. I definitely like that you can plug in Indian foods and get an idea of how many calories are in that. Also, you can go out to eat, search the chain restaurant and food in the app and input your calories. It’s basically an eye-opening app to help build better eating habits. After awhile, you’ll learn to make better food choices and will no longer need to track calories.

I’m only on Day 1 million of my diet and I’m down 0 pounds. I’m teetering a lot. I do utilize my elliptical almost daily but without adjusting my diet more, my weight will just stay the same. I may have to resort to eating a plate of veggies for a meal or juicing again.

On a good day, I will try my best to stick to eating/drinking these items but I’ll also limit portions:

Drinks:

Water
Tea (1-2 cups)
Coconut water
Wine (but I consider it a dessert because it’s a treat essentially)

Breakfast:

English muffin with butter or peanut butter & fruit
Veggie omelette (2 eggs)
Acai bowl (but they can be high in sugar from fruits so I haven’t been having these lately)
Avocado toast
Kodiak protein packed dark chocolate pancakes (nutrition facts below)

Lunch: I like to keep it simple because I don’t want to spend half my day cooking.

Tofu & veggies with a pre-made sauce
Salad consisted of spinach leaves, Trader Joe’s chicken strips, goat cheese, nuts, carrots, cherry tomatoes and dressing
Bean salad: olives, cucumber, chickpeas, black beans, cheese, salt, pepper & lime juice
Soup
Usually anything leftover from the previous night’s dinner

Snacks:

Almonds or peanuts
Carrots & Dip
Honey wheat pretzels
Bean salad
Carrot juice
Cabot unflavored whey protein with cold coconut water (this is delicious)

Dinner: Dinner tends to be heavier because I have it with my husband. It’s often his first meal of the day after a busy day at work so I reserve most of my calories for this meal. I admit it’s not the best for dinner to be our heaviest meal of the day. Portion control here would be key.

entrée:
- Paneer in a gravy
- Fried tofu with veggies
- Salmon
- Turkey meatballs
- Chicken wrap
- Chicken or turkey tacos
- Zucchini noodles (Zoodles)
- Bean, veggie & cheese quesadilla
Sides:
- Steamed or stir-fried vegetables
- White rice or farro
- Raita (yogurt-based)
- Salad
- Jalapeno poppers (these aren’t too healthy)

No, I don’t use the eyes. I do tweak this recipe and add spices and less cheese.

Dessert:

Fruit
Popsicle
1-2 Girlscout cookies
A serving of chocolate
Wine & cheese!

By the end of a good day, I would’ve consumed a net of 1200-1400 calories. Obviously, not every day is a good day -.-

I know I sometimes have trouble coming up with new meals to add to my rotation so I hope this at least helps.

– Relatable Roni

I don’t think I ever wanted many kitchen gadgets. I thought they might be a pain to clean or they’d take up too much space in our home. But slowly, we’ve accumulated what I think are the essentials for us. My husband loves his technology so he initiated all this I would say. My mom-in-law provided some of the items to us like the rice cooker and electric kettle so thank you to her for introducing these items into my life. Of course I knew they existed, but I didn’t believe I needed them. Now I need them.

Most of the links are for the actual models we own. They may not be the latest models but they’re what we have and we’re happy with them.

10. Juicer

So I was a juicing fiend in 2014 after I watched the documentary “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead.” I’m actually considering rewatching it as I type this. If you haven’t seen it, I definitely recommend it. I wanted to juice to help me lose weight back then. I lost 10 lbs in about 2 months just by juicing once a day and eating healthy. I really got into a good momentum but then I broke my foot doing the running man at a bar (I then continued dancing the night away because I thought there was no way I just broke my foot wearing flats. I only rolled my foot but that was enough). Resting my foot, I slowly went back to my old eating habits.

But, the juicing made my skin look amazing, I was told. I couldn’t see it but people told me my skin was glowing. I would juice carrots, apples and spinach together. It’s really delicious. Try to keep the fruits to a minimum or you’re just going to end up making yourself a sugary drink. The main problem with juicing is the prep work with fruits & veggies and the cleaning of the machine and any splatter. But if you’re committed, you can do it. Also, juicing makes you go #2 more often.

9. Slow Cooker

I haven’t used our slow cooker much yet but I imagine I’ll be using it more once I start working (*crosses fingers* by the way, my older brother cracked a joke about me being unemployed the other day. He’s like “you’re unemployed when the unemployment rate is at the lowest it’s been in 17 years.” Thanks, bro, I love you too). I’ve always been hesitant to use a slow cooker because it’s on for hours while you’re (usually) not home. And after the Crock Pot This is Us episode, I’m even more hesitant. But hubs made some delicious jerk chicken in it the other day so I’m a fan.

8. Hand Blender Set

This is something every kitchen probably needs. I know my mom and MIL (mother-in-law) both have one and it seems pretty essential in Indian cooking where you cook tomatoes and onions and then you need to blend it. It’s better than throwing the mixture in a blender which leads to a larger cleanup process. This comes with a whisk attachment as well which is good for whisking egg whites into foam, among other things.

7. Dash Deluxe Egg Cooker

This is great for poached and boiled eggs. More on that here: Restaurant Quality Food Made Right At Home

6. Pizza Stone

If you like making pizza at home with a great crust, this is a must (ha, that rhymed!). More on that here: Restaurant Quality Food Made Right At Home

5. Spiralizer

I make zoodles (zucchini noodles) about every 2 weeks so this is a handy tool. This specific one is a slight pain to clean and takes up a lot room but I imagine it’s better than the handheld spiralizers which you have to twist and grind yourself. The handheld ones probably take longer to spiralize as well.

4. Toaster Oven

I don’t know why some people don’t own one. I feel a toaster is useless. You need a TOASTER OVEN. It’s perfect for all those naan pizzas. I absolutely hate using a huge oven for something I can cook just the same in a toaster oven. This is essentially a mini oven.

3. Electric Water Kettle

I’m a tea junkie so I use this on the daily. This is a lot faster than making tea on the stove. Stovetop tea is a 10 out of 10 in my books for taste. The kettle version is a 7/10 but it gets the job done.

2. Rice Cooker

I cannot for the life of me make a pot of rice on the stove. I always overcook it. I’d rather make farro than white rice on the stove. For white rice, I use my rice cooker although I’m sure it can cook other grains too. Before this rice cooker, I would buy microwavable rice – but I didn’t like to because I knew it contains tons of preservatives.

1. Vitamix

My husband purchased this for us and I didn’t understand the hype at all until I started using it. This is the number one item that has enabled me to eat healthier. I use it to make my smoothies and acai bowls. It can of course be expensive but the warranty on them is good. I also probably use it a ton to help justify the cost in my head.