This week, read about healthy eater Amanda B. Steal her idea for “sweet sushi” (Orange in Chicago also makes it, called fruishi!), and find out why she’ll never drink a green monster at work again. Are you a healthy eater? Want to share your profile with fellow Nutritionista readers? Send me YOUR answers to the 10 questions below, and I’ll feature them on an upcoming Monday!
1. What’s the best thing about healthy eating?
My energy skyrockets, which inspires me to fit in adequate exercise and be more productive at work, which in turn stabilizes my mood, making me friendlier and less likely to stress out. And I admit: because my skin glows and I *feel* strong and sleek, I’m just a happier and more productive human being.
2. Do you give your eating a label (e.g., vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, high raw, etc.)?
Haphazard Omnivore. Most of the meals I cook for myself are vegetarian, though sometimes include chicken, turkey, or shrimp. I love sushi and won’t pass up a plump steak on special occasions. And since my job forces me to sample different cuisines, I try many types of seafood, plus pork, lamb, and other meats—but all in moderation and with concern for quality ingredients.
3. Favorite method of cooking and why?
Grilling, for its efficiency and easy clean-up. I have a Weber Baby-Q on my fire escape, right outside my kitchen window, onto which I’ll throw kebabs or a homemade turkey patty (or sometimes I use a special perforated grill wok). Dump ingredients over salad fixings with fresh lemon, evoo, and pepper and dinner is served.
4. Favorite versatile herb/spice?
Garlic. I go to a festival each year and stock up on garlic bulbs and real garlic powder, which I put on everything. I also like cumin for Mexican dishes and winter stews, and cinnamon for it’s blood-sugar-stabilizing properties.
5. Best healthy sweet treat?
What I call Sweet Sushi: TJ’s dried flattened banana (I’m hooked!) spread with crunchy natural peanut butter and granola or Kashi, all rolled up!
6. Your go-to five-minute meal?
1 egg + 2 egg whites scrambled with spices and folded up with sliced green/red pepper plus baby spinach/arugula inside a whole wheat pita lined with a slice of Cabot lowfat (50%) cheddar. Portable, too!
7. “Healthy” food you avoid like the plague?
I can’t stomach salmon. I *know* that it’s one of the healthiest sources of omega-3s, but I. just. cant. It’s fishy.
8. Who’s the person in your life that is the most baffled by how you eat? Probably my boss. Note to self: don’t drink favorite green(ish) smoothie (spinach, grapefruit, lemon, with fresh-pressed apple-celery-carrot juice and ground flaxseed and cayenne) from a clear container at your desk ever again…
9. What’s your healthy power/comfort food (the one food you know will get you through the day)?
Hot 5-grain cereal with two big pinches of ground flaxseed, a half-handful each of golden raisins and chopped almonds, a few shakes of cinnamon and nutmeg, and a generous pour of skim milk.(I’ve found that if I forget the milk at home, the 1% milk available at the shop next-door helps keep me satisfied even longer. It really makes a difference, but yet I can’t bring myself to buy a carton of it to drink at home.)
10. If you could change anything about your diet, what would it be?
I tend to overeat, often because I want to incorporate many different tastes and textures into a single meal, which in turn makes the meal larger than a portion reasonable or necessary. I’m addicted to nuts, too. I need to constantly remind myself that healthy foods can be unhealthy when eaten in excess!
