Goosebumps and Tears of Joy

The title of this post sums up my feelings on today’s inauguration. President Barack Obama. It has a nice ring, doesn’t it?

I wasn’t able to watch on TV, but I did manage to get my radio tuned in to the coverage. I was deeply moved and filled with an amazing sense of hope. There were many quotes that immediately hit home with me. Here’s my favorite:

“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works.”

Okay. Back to food.

I totally restructured my routine today. I am hypoglycemic and have a lot of trouble keeping my blood sugar stable throughout the day. I get weak, shaky, nauseous and have passed out on more than one occasion.

The best fix I’ve found to remedy the problem is to eat a “mini-meal” about every 2 hours while I’m at work. Since I eat so often, I tend to stick with low-cal options and/or very small portions. I never really feel satisfied which leads to getting hungry in between “mini meals.” These are the times when I find myself gravitating toward the unhealthy snacks in the work kitchen like cookies, chips & candy.

Today I decided to try eating less often, but eating foods that pack more of a punch. I’m very happy to report that the experiment was a huge success!

I’m backtracking a bit to my last post, but this is what I ate today at work:

• 8:00AM: 1/2 cup steel cut oats w/ 2 Tablespoons unsweetened coconut, 1/2 cup blueberries & 1 stick organic agave nectar
• 12:30PM: 1 serving of Quick Quinoa Turkey Taco Stew from GreenLiteBites.
• 3:30PM: 1 container Fage greek yogurt with 1 stick organic agave nectar & 1/4 cup Amish peanut butter almond granola

The only things I had between those times were plain water and unsweetened hot tea. Overall I took in less calories than an average day because I never felt hungry and didn’t graze between meals. Normally I’m starving after my hour commute and have to have a snack as soon as I walk in the door. Not today. It was almost 8:00PM when we sat down to eat dinner and I was just starting to get a little hungry.

For dinner I made Creamy Pasta Primavera from KraftFoods. I tweaked the recipe quite a bit. I used broccoli instead of asparagus because it was on sale. I added red pepper flakes to the chicken & veggies because we like a little heat. I also used whole wheat pasta and light cream cheese. I didn’t think it was an A+ recipe, but my husband loved it.

Several of my food and product choices today were made based on things I’ve seen and read since discovering the food blog community. You’re all so amazing, inspiring, fun, kind and extremely welcoming. THANK YOU ALL! (((((virtual hugs)))))

Speaking of great bloggies, Angela over at Oh She Glows is having a fabulous giveaway. Up for grabs are some yummy-looking products from Neal Brothers (for Canadian readers) or Honest Foods Country Squares (for US readers). Check it out!