turn Up the Volume
Posted: March 29, 2011 at 6:50 pmWhile I do tend to listen to my music rather loudly, I don’t mean turn up the music volume. I mean turn up the FOOD volume! While I certainly don’t consider myself a foodie in the sense of salivating at the thought of cooking or wetting myself over a new gourmet food or cool kitchen gadget, I’m still a “foodie”. I love to eat!
In order to make my love of eating fit into a healthy lifestyle, and still manage to drop those baby pounds, I do what I can to make my food stretch as far as possible. I turn up the volume! In every way I possibly can. And while I never shy away from eating or focus much on calories, I do have a voracious appetite to keep in check for my progress.
Take today’s breakfast round two for example. (It’s round two because I always eat a little something before the gym as well). After my morning’s full body weight workout, I opted for my traditional oats. Why? Well, it fills me up like nothing else can. I stretch my oats far. I prepare them in the microwave (you caught me!) and always add extra liquid. I can do this by extending the cooking time using 50% power. This allows the oats to soak up more liquid and “puff up” more. Then, I always add extra almond milk before all my toppings to really get things nice and voluminous.
That ain’t no hold in the palm of your hand measly bowl there! <—Good grammar, eh?
For lunch, I said “no thank you” to the sandwich thins and made a sandwich with some of my favorite hearty bread. I love sandwich thins for certain things (like burgers), but for a sandwich with lighter innards, I want the full on bread! Pump up that volume even more with extra fruit and veggies. Stack that sandwich high with extra thick slices of tomato and a handful of spinach. Take some time chomping on two large carrots. Eat an entire mound of grapes and strawberries and make that tummy happy.
Veggies are my best friend at dinner. Boy, do they know how to bulk up a meal! My pasta bowls should really be called veggie bowls with some pasta thrown in. Tonight’s dinner was no exception. I sat down with a bowl of Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili. Full of fiber, protein, and veggies, I can eat a couple bowls full and feel 100% satisfied without breaking the food intake bank. My kind of meal!
Obviously, I enjoy things that give me the most bang for my calorie buck. So, I had to stop myself in my tracks today when I opened up my pre-run snack.
It’s been awhile since I have had a Larabar. I now remember why. The taste, nutrition, ingredients all live up to my standards. But…where’s the volume?! My stomach would make loud cries of anger to me if that is all I fed it! I made it work by halving the Larabar ( Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip flavor)and making half an English muffin with peanut butter and banana on the side.
This satisfied my need for a bit more volume and my need to get my taste on with one of the new flavors (finally!). Plus it’s more fun to have a variety of flavors. And you know what? My little need for volume helped me discover a BANGING pre-run snack.
Ding ding ding! We have a winner!!! I felt supercalifragilisticexpialidocious with this combo. I decided to do a 5K distance and see how quickly I could comfortably run. The first mile I couldn’t keep my pace down to a 9:00 like I anticipated. Then, I decided to just go with it. I surprised myself with an average 8:32 pace!
Side note: surprised that “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” is in the spell checker AND that I spelled it correctly on the 1st try…both times. End side note. Because now – ding ding ding! We have another winner!!!
SARENA! Your liking of FFF on Facebook won you a knit workout skort from 4all by jofit! Congratulations! I will email you soon with information on how to claim your prize. 🙂 And remember – if you didn’t win, you can still use the coupon code SPRING11 to get 20% off your own knit skort order on the 4all website.
Question of the Day – What foods do you add extra volume to? How?
Great time/pace on your run!
My third grade teacher taught us how to spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious when we had moments of free time! I never forgot it! 🙂
Wow I can’t believe you can eat like that before a run. I would barf. Literally. :-0 Your lunch looks tasty–I love the whole carrots!
It was about 1.5 – 2 hours before…but yes, I can eat a good bit before workouts. I get light headed easily otherwise. 🙂
Ooooh I was thinking you eat that and then go running right away. I can do 1.5-2 hours before hand! 🙂
Yeah, the numbers were good for me today! Thanks Tina, that just made my day. I am such a volume girl! I add more water to my oats too. I like bigger salads too than your average person would eat. Sounds like you had a great number day too! Great job on the run!
Congrats Sarena!
I add volume to most dishes by adding extra veggies — like pasta, pizza, sandwiches, etc.
I’m with you on the larabars — I just love them but they are too tiny 🙁
Love love adding veggies to my meals to bulk up the volume and fill me up!
Question, how exactly do you cook your oats? Are they instant? I have to eat breakfast at work and I cook instant oatmeal in the microwave and I hate how puny they come out!! I’d love to know the exact measurements of liquids and cooking time in the microwave you do to create those fluffy oats!! I’d love to create that at work and have more volume in my oats too! 🙂
I use quick cooking original rolled oats. I do 1/3 – 1/2 cup oats. I’m not sure how much liquid I add because I just cover my oats. Then I microwave for 3:30 – 4:00 minutes at 50% power. They soak up all the liquid and then I add more almond milk to get them all creamy again. I wish I had more specific measurements!
Awesome! Thanks so much for you response and directions Tina! No worries on the liquid measurements, I tend do the same with my mine and make sure they’re all covered. I’m going to try the way you microwaved it, never thought to do that! Thanks again! 🙂
I DO THAT WITH MY OATMEAL TOO!! And my mom thinks I’m nuts! I wisk the heck of it to fluff it up and then reheat! Ah, score.
GREAT run, you should feel proud!
Great pace on your run! 🙂
ohh I am ALL about volume…esp these days! i try to stretch the food I can eat in whatever way I can! I alway cook my oats on the stove top the low and slow method…I cook them, then when they are almost done, I shut the heat off and let them sit there with the cover on for hours. It really lets them soak up all of the water and make 1/4 C look like WAY more!
I am So with you on those silly bars…what the heck happened to them?!? they shrunk! I would so much rather eat real fruit and nut btuter to hold me over!
I love volume meals too! My morning meal for a WHILE now has been oats with apples and raisins. So filling! Of course with nursing, breakfast #2 comes not long after :>
Veggies are SO great at bulking things up.
Awesome 5K run/time! I bet you’ll do even better at the actual race because of the race energy & adrenaline!
Oh boo, I wanted to win! 😀
Volume, interesting. I do things like add tons of veggies to everything, to fill me up. Like when I have a boca burger, it’s overflowing with spinach, avocado, and peppers. Makes it so much more filling!
A boca with avocado sounds scrumptious!
I add extra volume to many things! Spinach or other veggies to soups and pasta dishes, almond butter to smoothies, a number of things to oatmeal, avocado on top of everything. Those healthy fats keep my belly full and happy til the next meal/snack.
I do the same thing with oatmeal. I use 1/3 cup rolled oats (100 cals worth) and 2/3 cup water, and then add more water as it cooks and thickens. It will absorb more when it’s cooling too. *Warning* to people microwaving oats for the first time — they will “explode” so you have to keep a constant eye on them after the first 60 – 90 seconds.
Last week I was in a meeting and had a granola bar instead of my oatmea, and it was so less satisfying!
For cereal, I mix in FiberOne with other cereals to add more volume/fiber.
I add veggies to almost everything – including putting leftover broccoli or raw baby spinach in my eggbeaters.
Yum!
Love spinach in eggs. And funnily enough, I have never had my oats explode in the microwave. I guess I have mastered it over the years. 😉
Congrats to Sarena! 🙂
I add spinach to my smoothies and berries and ice…bulks it up. I also eat whole carrots!! 🙂
yea for sarena!! She will be so pumped! and as a foodie, I want your breakfast. It just might make me giddy. hehe!
I’m all about the volume too. I love eating a lot, so I try to get my bang for my buck! Although I’ll eat larabars even though I want them to be doubled in size!!!
I do my oats in the microwave, too… at 70% power! 🙂 Not only does it help them “puff” more, but you don’t have to worry about the overflow!
Way to pump it up! That is a KILLER run. I’m so impressed – it took me soooo long to get to that pace. You are a machine, Lady!
MMMM LOVE sweet potato or butternut squash and black bean chili (or that combo for anything). Congrats to Sarena!!!! Love that she won!
I feel ya on the volume thing – I add fruit to my oats and cereal for breakfast to bulk things up. I do the same with Greek yogurt for lunch. And I’m with you on ‘veggie bowls with pasta’ – one of my favorites is simple broccoli with bowties, marinara and parmesan cheese!
I add veggies especially spinach to almost everything! I like to use a mixture of spaghetti squash with pasta.
Congrats on the awesome run!
I do not like Larabars or really any bars. I can eat an apple plus 1 T of PB for less calories that fills me up and keeps me satisfied!
I pretty much add extra volume to all of my foods 🙂 I like to eat and I eat until I’m good and full! I’m not a snacker though, so I need my meals to last for hours (and they do!).
Woo-hoo on your run! Impressive! When is your 5K again?
5K is 2 weeks from Saturday. I’m pumped for it! Can’t believe its so close. I need to do a post for race-day tip recommendations soon!
oh here’s my answer! awesome!
Great run!
I add water or almond/coconut milk to al my smoothies to bulk the crap out of it!
Volume is great. I use extra liquids in my oats to add volume, and my go to pre run meal is toast with pb and banana 🙂
I’ve heard of adding extra water to your oats and then cooking them for longer to add volume, but I’ve never tried cooking them on 50% power!! I am so trying this tomorrow!!!!
It works wonders on my oatmeal!
i love adding things like chia seeds or flax to oats (when i eat them) or making breakfast cookies with protein powder and egg whites. yum!
YAY to Sarena!! 🙂
I top my larabars with almond butter!! (well, not the fruit ones…) and lately I’ve been craving salads and I’ve been adding bulk with an egg – the runny yolk is the dressing – YUM!
I have never tried larabars but they look yummy! I am new to your blog by the way, and I love it! I too am obsessed with oatmeal! Best pre-workout fuel ever!
Thanks for reading! I cant wait to check out yours. Momma In Training sounds right up my alley. 😉
Dude you are FAST!! And I am jealous because I have been running off and on for a while and am still so slow!! That is fantastic– when’s your first race? 🙂
2 weeks from Saturday! 🙂 I guess my old running stamina from high school is coming back easier than I imagined. I don’t know HOW its happening.
I love adding volume to food! I mean, what does a scoop of peanut butter NOT fix?
I’m the same way with larabars! They are delicious but I like to EAT. I don’t like to take two bites and wonder where my 200 calories went. Haha. Definitely a yay for volume.
Congrats on your great run, Tina! I think I read on Twitter that you’re planning on running a half marathon? If so, when/where? That’s a goal of mine for this year too. 🙂
I’m probably the only person who doesn’t like lots of volume! My stomach is *super* sensitive, so I have to eat small amounts very often. I have a snack almost every hour! People always say to me, “Sara, you’re ALWAYS eating!”…because I am. If I put too much volume in my belly, it does somersaults!
But I definitely agree about Larabars…WAY too small. 🙂
I’m looking at the Savannah Rock N Roll Half Marathon in November. I have some family in Savannah and its one of my favorite cities. Plus a Rock N Roll half sounds so much more FUN. If you can call running 13.1 miles fun. LOL
Sweet potato and black bean chili is one of my favorites!!
I add veggies to my spaghetti sauce and sometimes my 9 yr doesn’t even notice! 🙂
I TOTALLY agree about the Lara bars! I love the taste but they are SO small for the amount of calories! I would much rather have a bigger snack 🙂
That’s a great run! I honestly don’t really worry about volume because I get to eat so infrequently that I eat big meals when I do. If I eat around the baby, she snatches my food from me! 🙂
I hate the food snatching. I have to admit I always hoard my meals from M. This morning she asked for a bit of my oats, I made sure to give her the one with the least amount of yummy toppings. Bad mommy. LOL
I totally agree with you about the Larabars – good but too small! I’m always craving more. I swear that they used to be bigger years ago.
Great job on the run! You are going to leave me in the dust in this 5K! You might place in your age group, seriously! Look at last year’s results.
I will not leave you in the dust! You’re going to do awesome too!
I always add extra liquid to my oats as well! And I’m with you on the Larabars -awesome nutrition and ingredients, but SO small! Another thing I do is mix my cereals (think dense ones like granola) with puffed cereal. Yes, it’s kind of weird to have the 2 textures together, but it makes them go a lot further!
I add at least a full stalk of chopped celery to tuna, and only mix it with mustard and pickles, no mayo (yes people make fun of it b/c it sounds disgusting, but I swear I love it).
We eat stir-fry’s ALL the time, which have an entire bag of frozen veggies, to about 6 oz of meat/tofu, and only about 1 Tbl of oil (plus other seasonings).
But really? I can’t eat more than a fist-sized amount of food at the moment, so it’s been awhile…
you are becoming quite the runner! great job ! and so glad you found the perfect fuel- that is so key 🙂
I do the same thing! I always load up on a huuuuuuuuuuuuge bowl of oats first thing in the morning, and I make huuuuuuuuuuge salads for lunch or dinner. A lot of times, my friends or family will ask “are you really going to eat all of that yourself?!?” Yes, in fact, I am 🙂
Veggies are my BFF at dinner too. I often just eat a big plate of roasted potatoes, asparagus, caulliflower, etc. I love your colorful bowls- very cute!
I’m with ya- veggies make the best bulkers!
You are so speedy!!!!
I love packing veggies into my meals — my trick is to pulse cauliflower in the food processor then mix it in with other stuff. Yummm….
I always forget to buy cauliflower. I love the stuff but never remember to incorporate it.
I could not agree more with you. This style of eating is largely how I lost all of my weight- by eating lots and lots of voluminous vegetables and fruits and always pairing them with the meal I’m craving. It’s a way to fill up and still enjoy all that you’re eating. Thanks for sharing, Tina 🙂
Totally healthy and lovely approach
Hi Tina, I have been reading your blog for awhile. You are so inspiring and realistic with everything, I really look forward to your posts. I have to say you are soooo fast!!! Good Luck in your upcoming race! Im so excited to see how you do! You are going to rock it!
Thank you so much! You just put a big smile on my face. 🙂 I’m excited for the race. Can’t believe its almost here!
I am also a volumizer! 🙂 I use melted (microwaved) banana to make my oats fluffier…and I cook them stovetop when I can because that seems to help too!
That’s my favorite pre-run snack too!! It’s perfect. 🙂
Girl you are getting really fast!
And I am totally a volume eater too. The longer it takes me to eat something, the happier I normally am lol 🙂
I do the same thing with oats! I cook them on the stove top with extra liquid, but I cook them a little longer. They actually get really creamy that way!
You are seriously rocking your runs!!!!