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This Whole Life

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Taste of Raleigh: Neomonde's Bakery and Deli

I left behind TWO great falafel places in Louisville. It was sad. Grape Leaf and Shiraz were delicious and relatively inexpensive, Shiraz being the cheaper of the two. Before 2007, when I lived in RDU - I didn't really care that much about Persian/Mediterranean food (not like I do now).

Friday I was introduced to a place out by NCSU and Meredith called Neomonde. For those of you in Louisville - a Mediterranean Lotsa Pasta. Market, deli, refillable drinks, samples. Neomonde's is cheaper than Lotsa Pasta. There are so many wonderful things to choose from.

On Friday when I went we shared the Large Kabaob platter. 1 chicken kabob, 1 beef kabob, 2 salads (veggie salad and hummus). They give you tons of pita when you check out. And we got 4 falafels - good (although green inside) and topped with sesame seeds (could have done without the sesame seeds. I personally like the pitas better in the ville, but these are good.

Saturday when I went I got a 1/2 falafel wrap and hummus/pita - 4 kalamata olives, evoo, hummus, 3 whole wheat pitas) = all for 6.50. I call that a pretty good deal.

So - this will definitely be a favorite. Anyone wanna go with? More pictures will come later.

Menu Week: May 10

This week will be slightly normal - I guess. We shall see.

My main meals at home will be: lentil chicken chard soup, salad, pbjs, yogurt, oats. Why - that's what I have right now.
My magazine recipe of the week: no clue. Have to look through them again. Running out of desserts to cook - so might have to start cooking main meals out of the stack too!
Places I'm eating out this week:
Moes
Champas Sushi Thai
Douglas house
Bux or Bou
Fosters in Chapel Hill
Hot Point Cafe
? for lunch on Friday (haven't decided yet)
Capitol Hill Baptist Church
Troupe house
Hickman house for birthday celebration

This weekend I'll be in DC so I can't wait. It will be busy but good.

Whole Month - Day 9

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there. My mom is pretty special - so thank you Mom!

I'm going to do this a bit different from now on. Something I do at the end of my day is tell back (on facebook) what I am thankful for and how God has graciously blessed me that day. Something I want to do on here to finish out this challenge - is instead of focusing on whole foods - focus on the good things I did for my body. I hope this acts as a reminder to me and a challenge to you - in some way, shape, or form!

1. Took a nap. It was necessary on a comfy couch!
2. Walked to buy groceries instead of driving (almost 2 total RT).
3. Ate raw veggies: romaine, carrots, celery.
4. Had many sources of protein: all natural pb, hummus (chickpeas and tahini), ff yogurt, egg white.
5. Did weight training and cardio with Jillian.
6. Drank plenty of water - and will drink some more tonight.

What have you done good for your body today?

Whole Month - Day 8

Started off well. Really well. Then dinner on - it wasn't a good sight.

Breakfast: 1/3 orange, OIAJ (pb, agave nectar, 1 tsp frozen banana, cinnamon chips, ground flax), unsweet rooibos tea from Bux.

Lunch: Half Sonny's Lunch: 2 oz pulled chicken, 1 piece garlic bread, 1/2 sweet potato, 1 T baked beans on top, salad (spinach, tomatoes, red onion, cuks), grapes, melon

Snack: Ikea ff fro yo (so yummy since it was so hot)

Dinner: 1/2 falafel sandwich from Neomonde's, celery, carrots, pita and hummus

Snack during movie: Whole Foods Ice cream bar, TR Kettle Corn.

I wasn't going to write this out. This is what I wanted to write: When will I ever stop struggling with this? Will I have one day when it is not a struggle and I can live like this isn't a SIN area for me - a place and area of transition? I can't stop eating? I can't not live life with other people? Lord...
Rom 6-8 is my only hope. Rom 6 and 7 because it tells me of the hopelessness (mainly) of this indwelling sin in my life. Rom 8 because I know the answer. God is my HOPE. Not how perfectly I live this out.

Whole Month - Day 7

Well, today was not as good as some, but better than yesterday. Here we go:

Breakfast: oats, banana, agave nectar, flax. It was again - good and filling.

Snack: peanut butter caramel brownie Angie made. perfect for an after meeting treat!

Lunch: 1 mixed meat kabob (2 chicken, 2 beef chunks), tahani sauce, hummus, 1 whole wheat pita, 3 falafel. All very yummy!

Afternoon: 15 m&ms, 2 york peppermint patties, 15 york pieces later (ok, too much chocolate)

Dinner: cuban salad, 15 small sweet potato fries, 1 med piece of bread. Mango vinaigrette.

I was thinking the whole time that I was going to have a cuban sandwich, but I sat there and knew I would feel horrible after eating it. I knew I needed to make a better choice - so I did. And I felt great afterwards.
And I know I've gained weight and I feel horrible and think I look horrible in pictures - so it is back on it with a vengeance!
Did a whole segment 2 of Jillian tonight - it was tough and warm in the apt - but I did the whole thing and didn't stop at the second section. Here we go.

Whole Month - Day 6

Better today - much, and my tummy thanks me! There are mercies new every day! Just for all you food blog readers: it is Sarah's birthday today. She is such an inspiration to me. Go over to her blog and wish her a happy birthday!
Ok - on to today:

Breakfast: oats, maranatha pb, apple, agave nectar, ground flax

Snack: 2 crisps with bean dip on sample at TJ while I was shopping

Lunch: Greek salad from Hot Point Cafe. I also had two bites of the sun dried tomato focaccia - but that was for blog purposes. All whole foods on that!

Snack: celery and pb, 2 bites of cake I made (and about 6 chocolate chips)

Dinner: 1/2 cup lentil soup over small organic sweet potato, roasted asparagus with lemon zest

Much better. Water and unsweet tea to drink. Going for a run now.

Siggi's Yogurt Giveaway

I have always heard much about Siggi's Yogurt on food blogs and I wanted to try it. It is a little ore expensive than regular yogurts, so I emailed the good people at Siggi's and they listened and graciously sent me 8 coupons!

I used one of them to buy some regular plain yogurt to use in a recipe - as a dressing. It was thick and yogurt-y. The good thing about it is that it doesn't contain many sugars. Even the vanilla and fruit kinds, don't have many excess sugars in it.

So...I am passing the wealth on to you, my readers. I have 4 coupons and want to give the chance to try it, too. Two winners will get 2 coupons each!

So, in order to enter - tell me your favorite flavor or yogurt. I'll pick 2 winners on Sunday night.

Lentil, Swiss Chard, and Chicken Soup

Most people know that I love soup. It was probably in the 90s today and I made soup. I had my first bowl of this over a small organic sweet potato (Sarah Frankel bday girl style, just for you babe)! It was very yummy. Quality of pictures is poor because my batteries were going dear - and I think this directly effects the quality of zoom, lighting timing, and macro shooting.

Here you go: (and it is part of whole food month)

1 cup lentils, rinsed

4 cups water

4 cups homemade chicken broth (I cooked a whole chicken and used this)

pinch of sea salt

1 onion, chopped

4 large cloves garlic, chopped

evoo

1 bunch of swiss chard, stems removed, chopped

large pinch red pepper flakes

1/2 lemon (juice)

pepper

3 cups chopped chicken (from a whole raw chicken)

Cook lentils in broth, water, and salt until done but not mushy.

Saute onion in evoo for about 5 minutes, then add garlic and red pepper flakes. Add chard and cook for about 3 minutes. Add to lentils and cook for about 10 minutes. Add chicken, lemon, and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake (2010.18)

Semi-homemade dessert/brunch/breakfast. This is good - but to me it tastes just like a normal cake - in a different shape. It should be good with the amount of eggs in it. The chocolate isn't overwhelming (I didn't put the glaze on it - it probably would be too sweet). Even though it didn't come out the best, I'm still taking it to the office tomorrow because I can't see throwing money completely down the drain. I hope some of it gets eaten at least.

It does annoy me when magazines don't put their name on the top or bottom of pages. I don't know where this came from, but here you go:

1 butter cake mix

1 8oz container (light) sour cream

3/4 c canola oil

2/3 cup sugar

4 eggs

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Mix all but the last two. Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan - half the batter. Combine brown sugar and chips - sprinkle in (see picture). Top with remaining batter. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until done. Let cool, remove, cut.

The sugar and the chocolate helps the chocolate chips from sinking. I would maybe even put a little more - but I doubt this will make it into a rotation. Although good for a quick yummy eating because most of the stuff will be handy or cheap.

Taste of Raleigh: Hot Point Cafe

If you want a nice change from Panera - go here. (Picture taken with my phone - sorry for the quality.)

I really wasn't planning on eating out today for lunch, but I wanted a quiet(er) place for lunch and didn't want to sit in my apt by myself. So, I had looked at this place online and went hunting in North Hills. Found it.

This is a trendier Panera. Same price (about) for what you get. I actually think you get more on the salads. The soups were smaller and not a wide variety. Sandwiches looked good, but Panera's are bigger. They also had meals for dinner - but they were definitely higher (to fit the North Hills market) and they also served a wknd brunch.

I enjoyed the quiet - slightly busy and I was there from 1130-145. Not bad at all. I just enjoyed the warmth and breeze as I sat outside.

I had the small Greek salad and a refillable unsweet tea for $7.22. As you can see from the picture, they don't skimp on the small. There was TONS of feta, black olives, artichokes, greens, roasted red peppers, cuks, and raw mashrooms. It also came with a triangle of their sun dried tomato focaccia bread (good flavor, but a little dry). I asked for the balsamic vinegar on the side - so good. It was sweeter than most.

So - if you are looking for a place that isn't as busy (maybe a place to meet with a girlfriend and sit for hours) - there you go...

Whole Month - Day 5

Ok - well, Cinco de Mayo was good till dinner...
1. Aftter not eating any white bread or processed foods for 4 days - don't go eat a bunch of white bread and pasta. I learned that that is not good for me and my blood sugar/vision. Lesson learned.

Breakfast - oats, pear, pb, ground flax, agave nectar

Lunch - romaine with onion and pear and cashews and mustard. Mango and vaniall yogurt with 1 T oats/ground flax. 1 mini york peppermint patty. Because I had onions and had no mints.

Snack - organic fuji and TJ PB

Dinner - Carino's - not as good as I remember, but it was good. Some foods, when not having eaten them in a while, loose their luster. Split a combo platter with a friend, bread, and a salad with the house vinaigrette on the side.

Snack - cool whip and Acai organic granola and organic graham crackers.

So - not a good day at all after 530pm. Lessons learned. I feel so much better when I eat right. I need to always do it.

Whole Food Month - Day 4

Today was all meals out. Wow - that is hard. Well, I think I did fairly well in sticking to whole food eating - even when eating out. It is possible.

Breakfast - banana with pb, whole grain bagel with pb at Panera. I brought my own TJ pb which I love. (But I left it in fridge at work so now I gotta figure out breakfast in the morning). I went back and forth between yogurt parfait and bagel. I chose the bagel bc even though both were processed: the bagel had less sugar, more protein and fiber, less fat, and about the same amount of calories.

Snack during staff meeting: bowl of fruit (loved it - more please)

Lunch: Japan Express. I had hibatchi vegetables and brown rice. I loved it - ate 2/3 of the rice throughout the afternoon and all the veggies. No white sauce (which is yummy by the way). What I found out about this was that it didn't fill me up. I was so hungry!

Snack: peanuts and craisins. I am finding these to be the perfect afternoon snack - but no more.

Dinner: 5 piece of sushi at Champas, green salad with ginger dressing, and 3 bites of chicken pad thai (had to try it, and it was very yummy). Still think Chai's and Simply Thai is better - but good none the less.

All the water and unsweet tea (for breakfast) I could drink. 2.4 miles today. So, I think I did pretty well but tomorrow will be easier as only 1 meal will be out and Thursday (as of now) no meals are out!

Whole Month - Day 3

Today was better. Having these "restrictions" on me for the month of May - actually by choice, so it is all about self-discipline...
1. I love cashews on salads!
2. I good snack is a pinch of raw oats. Very filling and low calories.
3. I've already seen a drop on the scale since starting this. Very encouraging!

Breakfast: oats with banana, pb, flax, and agave nectar. This kept me full until 12 - so I was happy with that.

Lunch: romaine with tomato, onion, cashews. No dressing. FF Vanilla yogurt with pear.

Snack: peanuts and craisins

Dinner: Oats with PB, pear, agave, flax.

Snack: carrots with mustard.

I went down to the staff kitchen around lunch time and they had spaghetti and salad and garlic bread. I passed that up. Last week I would have kept my lunch in the bag and grabbed what they were having. Thanks Whole Month Challenge.
The only thing I am really craving is pretzels or crackers - something crunchy. Any suggestions?

Menu Week: May 3

I did a pre-lim menu last Thursday - but then I started a new whole month challenge (no processed foods). So, it will look a little different.

I think oats will be on the menu every day for breakfast - with milk and all-natural peanut butter

Lunches: lentil/chicken soup (all natural), chickpeas and salad with veggies, yogurt and mango, orange, celery, carrots and mustard.

Dinner: oats, salad, brown rice and tomatoes,

Wed night heading out with one of my girls. Thursday hitting up tea with some friends in Durham. Friday lunch is lunch with a friend. Saturday is traveling to Charlotte and will probably eat at IKEA (because a friend wants to eat there). May be Sonnys as well which will definitely be easier to do whole foods...

Whole Month Eating - Day 2

Day 2 has come, happened, and is almost gone (I'm going to bed early). Today was better than yesterday because I was able to eat my meals at home and skip (or alter) the meals i ate out. Here we go:

1. This will definitely help me make choices this month - although I don't think it is sustainable for me. Tonight - I passed up on Subway whole wheat 6 inch sandwiches (just eating the lettuce and 1 triangle of cheese). These were healthy - just processed. So...while I think it is good for 31 days - I think I'll be back to normal whole grain eating with limited processed foods.
2. I was hungry today. Gotta eat some more protein for lunch.

Breakfast: oats with milk and water (I will be drinking/eating most dairy during this month because I need the nutrients). TJ unsalted crunch pb (only peanuts), ground flax seeds, banana

Church: passed on hot chocolate and Daylight Doughnuts (I would have had both if this has been 3 days ago).

Lunch: romaine with carrots, celery, tom, onion, cashews, and mustard. I really wanted something salty (like pretzels), but the cashews and mustard did the trick! I also had a few pieces of mango with 1 T of cool whip free (I know, not whole, but I don't want it to go to waste)

Graduation Party I went to: 1 cube colby cheese, grapes, canteloupe, plain almonds (no petit fors, or crackers, or punch)

Dinner: lettuce and cheese (from Subway sandwich), nuts and craisins from trail mix, oats/pb/apple.

Tons of water today. It was hot. Jillian and then bed. I'm very tired today. May have been the lack of sleep catching up to me from friday night or the heat or being around people from 745-515 - but I'm ready for bed!

Whole Month Day 1

Alright - here we go. Sorry for people whom this might bore, but this is a good way for me to talk about whole eating and how I'm doing on this challenge for the month of May. Here we go:
1. Knowing I am doing this challenge (and trying the cash envelope system for my food budget) made me shop differently in the grocery stores today. I didn't pick up snacks which would be different if I weren't doing this challenge.

Here we go:
Breakfast - at Flying Biscuit Cafe in Cameron Village (Raleigh) - shared a meal with Rachael. Biscuit with their homemade cranberry butter. 1/2 piece of french toast with vanilla creme anglaise and raspberry sauce. 1 egg, 1 piece of their chicken sausage, 3/4 piece bacon, 1/2 bowl of their homemade creamy grits.

Shopped at Fresh Market: rainbow chard for some soup and asparagus bc it was on sale

Lunch - at Watts Grocery in Durham - small bowl of local granola, local yogurt with fresh fruit. Housemade english muffin with blueberry preserves.

Shopped at TJ, Whole Foods, and Target: bananas, apples, green lentils.

Snacked on 1/4 cup trail mix (goldfish, life cereal, craisins, peanuts, m&ms) - I was making them for our teacher training tomorrow at church.

Dinner: 1 red potato and 1/2 small onion - roasted with evoo and s/p. 1/2 beefsteak tomato with some sea salt. Looking forward to that dinner.

That will be it! So, halfway decent - but better than I've done the whole month - especially with sharing the meal at Flying Biscuit. Gotta do it again tomorrow.

EAT LOCAL! EAT FRESH! It is easy!

Taste of Durham: Watts Grocery

I love LOCAL. I wish Raleigh had more eat local restaurants - but alas, will have to keep making the drive to Durham and Chapel Hill.

Watts Grocery is on Broad Street - near the 9th Street district and one of Duke's campuses. This wasn't here when I lived in Durham and worked near the spot of the restaurant. My friend Kristin recommended this place and it was a winner.

They are only open for brunch for a few hours on Saturday. We got there about 25 minutes after they opened and we had a 20 minute wait. But, the line kept building, so this place has earned quite a reputation.

All local farms provide the food for this restaurant.

I had Little Red Wagon Farms granola (from Chapel Hill) - but Louisville people - you can buy it too! Yogurt was delicious - a vanilla kind maybe from Chapel Hill Creamery, or another local farm. Topped with blueberries, raisins, and strawberries and pecans. Very good. House made english muffin with fresh butter and blueberry preserves. Good local eats.

Kristin had the huevos rancheros - made with red beans for a slight change. She said hers was great too!

Will be making another trip: the blood orange mimosa sounds good and the toasted pimiento cheese sandwich or the strawberry caramel filled french toast. How can you go wrong?