ugh!

[mamajoan]

The whole "eating (almost) nothing but veggies" thing is not working out so well. Today I took a cut-up red pepper to work, and at lunchtime I went to the supermarket and got a "sushi snack pack" of cucumber maki rolls -- bits of cucumber, wrapped in rice, and then wrapped in seaweed. Yum.

But after eating the maki rolls and the pepper, I still got ravenously hungry just now (mid-afternoon munchies will do it every time). And instead of finding anything healthy to eat, I just scarfed almost an entire bag of microwave popcorn. Ick!! I *never* eat microwave popcorn (because it's too buttery and salty)! I can't believe I almost ate the whole thing (thank goodness for coworker who took a small bowlful away from me). I feel all icky and bloated.

This is definitely PMS-related somehow. I always get cravings for salty things during PMS. Still, I gotta come up with some mid-afternoon snacky things that I can bring to work, ones that aren't unbelievably disgusting empty calories. Sigh.

Comments

[azurelunatic]

Rice cakes?

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Hmm, could work. Still fairly empty calories, but at least without all the fat.

[azurelunatic]

Not to mention the sugar.

[debchan.livejournal.com]

Is fruit a no no? Because I have been very happy lately bringing just fruit to work. A banana in the morning, a huge bowl of fruit salad for lunch and another banana or a nectarine or peach for an afternoon snack. I am always satisfied and never bloated or tired afterward.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Fruit's a great idea, and I *should* eat a lot more fruit -- it's just never what I crave when the afternoon munchies hit. I might be able to convince my body that's what it wanted, though. (Grapes are good; portable, and easy to select your portion size. Peaches aren't in season yet *snif*.) Thanks for the suggestion, or, uh, kick in the pants. :)

Do you have a fruit salad recipe to share, or is it just "cut up a bunch of fruit and throw 'em in a bowl"?

[debchan.livejournal.com]

Well, my fruit salad tends to be made of what looks good at the local market, but a basic recipe would be:

seedless watermelon
grapes
fresh pineapple
strawberries
blueberries
mangos
peaches or nectarines (not supposed to be in season, but I've good luck with the ones I've found lately)

I just chop everything up that needs chopping, squeeze a fresh lemon over everything for a little kick, then stir and let sit for a couple hours in the fridge. (Bear in mind this makes a lot--however, both my kids and I live on it, especially when it's hot.)

As far as the afternoon munchies and craving for salt...that hit me too for the first couple of days after I cut breads and pasta out of my diet. It does go away. If it doesn't, you might want to buy some olives--I am fond of the giant garlic stuffed ones. *g

[tiggrrl.livejournal.com]

Peaches are in season here. In fact, so are blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries and plums. Just another not-so-subtle attempt to convince you of the coolness of California :)

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

You don't have to convince me of the coolness of California! You just have to accept that I'm never going to move there. ;) Well, unless Drew Barrymore asks very nicely. Or Gillian Anderson. ;)

[lovessong.livejournal.com]

If you really want salt, and you can have salt, and you're as weird as I am, you could try salt on ice cubes. I am not quite the one only who does this, but most people find it really gross. It has downsides (lots of salt, not great for your teeth), but hey -- no calories. (also, damn near free.)

On another note, aren't salty foods bad for women when we're PMS-ing? Why do we always want them then? This makes no sense. (although I could be wrong on the "bad for" thing.)

[tiggrrl.livejournal.com]

Well, it's only bad in that it helps you retain water (on the other hand, that's also why it's good) which can make you look/feel bloated, but from a physical perspective, it's not bad for you. Now me, I always crave salty and sweet things (chocolate covered pretzels are your friends).

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

DROOL! I *love* chocolate-covered pretzels. But they're so damn expensive.

As for salt on ice: ew! ;) But really, when I crave salty things, they have to be crunchy and dry too. Like chips, pumpkin seeds, certain crackers. That's why I think the rice cake idea might work.