WIAW # 3–Upping My Protein.

October 3, 2012 by betterwithsprinklesblog 21 Comments

Good morning loves!

It’s the first Wednesday of a new month – that means a new WIAW theme!

I think I’m going to have a lot of fun with this one…I thinking some candy corn is in order.  (Thanks to Jenn, as always!)

 

With my new workout program, I’m really hoping to be able to build some more muscle. I gained a good amount on Livefit, but it wasn’t the level I’d hoped it would be. I realized I was missing an important piece of the puzzle – the nutrition.

It wasn’t that I wasn’t eating clean enough or eating too much, I think the issue was that I wasn’t eating enough. I wanted to GAIN muscle – how do you gain by eating less? Seems pretty obvious now that I think about it.

So, for the duration of my program, I’m going to spend a little more time thinking about my nutrition. Basically, I want to get my calories and especially my protein levels up!

While I don’t feel like I undereat, I probably toe the line between what my body needs and not quite enough. I’ll address this more in tomorrow’s post, but this is on my mind right now and hopefully WIAW will keep me accountable with these goals. I’ve been enjoying watching my muscles slowly grow, I want to see the process continue.

 

Breakfast

A new twist on an old favourite.

I took my Microwave Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Muffin and subbed the peanut butter chocolate protein powder for Whey Gourmet’s Cookies and Cream version.

While the peanut butter chocolate will always have my heart, this was a fun way to change it up.

Topped with a big scoop of almond butter, of course.

Still going with my ACV cocktail! I had a question as to how well it’s working for me – I’ve only been on it for a week and a half, so I don’t think that’s long enough to notice any significant changes. Once I’ve been on it for a month or so, I’ll evaluate how much of a difference it seems to make.

 

Lunch

Making an entire batch of tofu at once = a time-starved student’s best friend.

I pressed and marinated a block of extra firm tofu in BBQ buffalo marinade, and then cooked it up on the stove.

Tofu is one of those foods I’m a tad iffy about – I like it, but I don’t love it. And if you don’t make it properly, it’s awful. I tend to get lazy and skip the pressing step, which is my problem most of the time. Moist, squishy tofu = no bueno.

Fortunately, this batch turned out just fine.

1/4 of the block with quinoa and steamed green beans. I feel healthy just typing that.

Quinoa is definitely a fantastic grain choice if you’re a vegetarian or otherwise trying to keep your protein intake high. One serving (1/4 cup dry) has 5-6 grams of protein. Not bad for a grain! (although, it’s technically a seed).

 

Snack

Post-class snack:

1/2 cup cottage cheese with about an ounce of cashews.

There are few dairy choices better than cottage cheese for protein content. 1/2 cup = 15 grams. Combined with the cashews, that’s 20 grams right there.

Post class yoga session was also needed. I just did a 20 minute Yoga Download session and it felt fantastic (Yes, I do yoga in the archway between my kitchen and living room. Small apartment).

 

Dinner

I had a public lecture tonight, so dinner wasn’t eaten until close to 9 pm.

(And, exactly the same dinner as last WIAW. Oops.)

Tuna melts, you have stolen my heart.

Canned tuna, sliced celery, olive oil mayo, pepper, chile powder, and paprika on thin sandwich buns with melted marble cheese. Delicious.

Eric requested an extra portion (so another 2 halves) but he couldn’t quite manage – I took 1/2 of one of the sandwich halves off his hands.

Considering that dinner was so late and I was planning on heading to bed early (gotta sleep off that cold!), a late night snack did not feel necessary.

A Werther’s however, was. I’m thinking I need to keep these in the house at all times – so tasty!

(I painted my nails Sunday. And they’re chipped. Nail polish fail).

 

My total protein intake for the day: 117 grams. I’ll definitely take it.

Have a good Wednesday!

 

<—Do you pay attention to macronutrients in your diet?

<—Are you good at making tofu? Teach me.