Trying new things in my diet

This week on my nutritional journey, I decided to try a few new things.  The first item that I tried were Cinnamon Apple Muffins from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour cookbook.  I didn't know that baked items from almond flour could be so tasty.  I think this book and I are going to become great friends.

Cinnamon Apple Muffins using Almond Flour

Next I decided to "up my greens" and found this wonderful site through La Saloperie called Healthful Pursuit where I made the most delicious green salad called, Pumpkin Seed and Herb Salad.  My version is slightly different as I substituted olive oil for the pumpkin oil in the salad dressing and I omitted the hemp seed as I didn't have any.  I also made the Vegan Shaved Parmesan Cheese.  This mixture of seeds, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, flax seed and salt was an amazingly tasty salad topper.  I'd say that these crispy flakes didn't quite taste like Parmesan, but they added a nice cheesy flavor and I loved the crunch.  I would totally make vegan "cheese" again and it's a great alternative if you're avoiding dairy.

I also made sure I had some salmon this weekend.  My husband and I were at the desert house, where the weather was a warm 87 F / 30 C and the internet was troublesome, hence no post this weekend.  Anyway, it was so lovely out that we barbequed salmon and vegetable skewers.  This made a fabulous dinner and Taylor (the dog) enjoyed it too.  As you know, salmon has good omega 3 fats which are wonderful oils for your dogs skin and coat.  So let your best friend have some salmon too.

Salmon with grilled vegetable skewer and potato salad

And my last splurge happened at Trader Joe's where I felt the need for some very flavorful jelly beans. 

Delicious flavors: mango, tangerine, pomegranate, pink grapefruit, blueberry, apple and more.

The jelly beans satisfied my sweet tooth and I probably wouldn't have purchased them if I was tracking my food.  My assignment this week from my nutritional coach, Tanya at Root Wellness was to not weigh myself, no food tracking, and no TV with dinner.  I'm doing well with all but the no TV at dinner.  There was an occasion or two when the TV went on and the intention was to turn it off, but I simply decided to sit and watch the TV while eating dinner.  Oh, well.

I am back in San Diego where the weather is not so balmy and getting back to the grind of the work week.

How was your weekend?

Cheers,
Monica

Post 1: Nutritional Counseling introduction
Post 2: Mastering Mindful Eating
Post 3: How awareness while eating aids in digestion