Portion Control and a Protein Power Bowl

Well, I’ve got a problem.

It’s a little something I like to call ‘portion control’.  I have gained 5lbs, and I haven’t even been to any Christmas parties, yet! Yikes.

I’m pretty good at portioning out and staying in control while at work… but after I get home, it’s a different story. I have a snack. I have a handful of almonds. I have a bite of leftovers.. I’m basically eating dinner while I’m making dinner. Then I eat dinner! 

It’s got to stop. At the very least, I need to track it.

I started trying to be more conscious of when I eat and what I’m eating. I tracked my snack, and was not able to take bites and nibbles of dinner, because all the silverware was dirty. HA! Whatever works, right? When I noticed this, I decided not to wash any silverware until we were right about to eat.

Probably can’t do that every night.

It’s a constant battle, no doubt about it!

I had a great lunch weights workout, and I made Angela Liddon’s Protein Power Bowl for dinner. When I first saw it, I thought it was a cold salad but it’s actually a hot salad. 

Here’s the link: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/05/12/lightened-up-protein-power-goddess-bowl/

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked green lentils (yield 2 & 3/4 cups cooked)
• 1 cup uncooked speltberries (yield 2 cups cooked) OR grain of choice, like brown rice
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil, for sautéing
• 1/2 red onion (~1 & 1/3 cups), chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 3 cups spinach or kale, roughly chopped (I used Lacinato kale)
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced
• 1 batch of Lightened Up Tahini-Lemon Dressing (recipe below)
• Kosher salt & black pepper, to taste
• Lemon Wedges & lemon zest, to garnish

Directions:

1. Cook lentils and speltberries (or grain of choice) according to package directions. I did this the night before to save time. Drain and set aside.

2. Prepare the Lightened Up tahini-Lemon dressing in food processor (see below for recipe).

3. In a large skillet over low-medium heat, add your olive oil and sauté the chopped onion and minced garlic for a few minutes, being careful not to burn. Now add in the chopped red pepper and tomato and sauté for another 7-8 minutes.

4. Stir in the chopped kale or spinach and sauté for another few minutes, just until tender. Stir in the full batch of tahini-Lemon dressing, the cooked & drained grains and lentils, and simmer on low for another few minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the minced parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with lemon wedges and zest. Makes 6 cups.

Lightened Up Tahini-Lemon Dressing

Adapted from Tahini-Lemon Dressing.
Yield: Just under 1 cup of dressing
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Tahini
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 1/4 cup Nutritional yeast or a bit more, to taste
• 2-4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
• 1 tsp kosher salt + freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 3 tbsp water, or as needed

Directions:
1. In a food processor, add all ingredients and process until smooth. Makes just under 1 cup.

I think I might like it as a cold salad better, but it was definitely good! I used quinoa as my grain, and spinach instead of kale. I also didn’t have any red bell peppers left, but I did use some leftover mushrooms. I can’t say enough good things about this tahini dressing. I could probably drink it by itself. BUT I WON’T. Because that wouldn’t be very good portion control.

This is Angela's photo off her site, too, because I think my computer got corrupted somehow and I keep getting USB errors. UGH! Must fix!