Dang hump day! Get out of the way please so we can be closer to Friday. I’m ready for the weekend and a semblance of a break around here. How about you?

You know what? You all bring lots of insight to calorie counting and why or why not it works for you. I agree with the many of you who decided to forego counting and focus on other things in your eating habits. But on the other hand I completely understand the need some of you have to count, such as needing to be more diligent for health purposes, to break past a plateau and using it as a temporary tool, or to be certain of eating enough food. I certainly agree with what a few of you mentioned about being aware of calories in the sense of watching portions or choosing how to ‘spend’ your food wisely, but without needing to count every single one. When I thought about it, I discovered that I eat similarly to that approach.

After years of counting and measuring things to the gram, my brain is a wellspring of useless calorie knowledge. So even though I don’t tally up what I’ve eaten through the day I am still aware of what a proper portion is and how to be sure I have a balanced meal that leaves me satisfied for an appropriate length of time and isn’t more than my body needs. For example, if I serve up a small breakfast and recognize it probably isn’t more than the 300 cal range, I will know I need to add more or be prepared for an extra snack. Or another example would be how during that rough 6-8 weeks of early pregnancy (when I only wanted to eat bland, carby, heavy, greasy foods) didn’t end with me gaining an exorbitant amount of weight because I was still aware of portions and keeping things reasonable. I don’t count, but it’s still there to help me gauge how I set up my meals if that makes sense. Obviously this can be a hot topic for me which I can discuss without end. So I will end with saying if you haven’t weighed in on the topic yet and have something to add, please do so.

Yesterday was a rough day for me. Sweet little M turned into a terrorizing M for the majority of the day. My buttons were in a tailspin from all the pushing she did to them. I like to consider myself a fairly calm and patient mother…not person because I can easily get wound up on other things…but being loving and doting to Ms. Sweetcheeks I can do. Not yesterday! By 1 pm I was calling my sister in tears begging her to come over asap for our weekly get together. Yes, I cried. No, M does not comprehend sympathy yet. So, yes, I cried some more. Hormones, fatigue, and no naps are a recipe for disaster. I’m telling you so you don’t have to learn the hard way.

My sisterly knight in shining armor arrived armed with laughter and great ideas to calm me down. One would be a couple rounds of Friends Scene It! play and the other would be an hour of hilarity watching people join a competition that can only end in needing your jaw reset. <— ABC’s Wipeout

Another knight in shining armor, by the name of Frontier Soups, saved the day. More precisely, dinner. I did NOT want to take the time to cook. Luckily I had on hand an easy to prep soup mix courtesy of the kind people at Frontier Soups. I pulled out the Tortilla Soup Mix for a healthy dinner in 30 minutes.

Very few ingredients, very little prep work, and fast cooking sound perfect to me. Here’s just how easy it was.

Ingredients

• 1 package Frontier Soups Tortilla soup mix
• 2 cups shredded COOKED chicken
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup salsa

How-To

1. Pour chicken broth and water into a 4-6 quart pot and boil.

2. Once boiling, add the shredded chicken and the soup mix to the pot. Stir well. Lower temperature and simmer for 20 minutes.

3.  Add the salsa and stir until evenly combined. Simmer another 10 minutes. Then, you’re done!

Perfect for this Mexican food/taste craving preggo! Filling and healthy. The soup mix even contains all natural ingredients! Who can argue with that?

• What convenience food do you find yourself choosing when necessary? I love having options like these on hand or will do a quick cook all veggie meal if we have good options available, but frozen items will make their appearance as well. Check out my post for quickie meal ideas.
• I’ve been offered a $60 credit to review a CSN Stores product as a thank you for the giveaway I did awhile ago. I have no clue what I want to use it for. What are your favorite kitchen gadgets or other useful household item that you think would be great for me to have? What would you choose? I need ideas!

First off, I loved all of your “if only” comments! There were so many good ones that I can certainly relate to. To live a carefree life like that…sigh. Unfortunately, life isn’t always rainbows and sunshine but it still is good and the little things certainly count.

Like the little rounds of joy that adorned my dinner plate last night. We had feta meatballs with baked potato and green beans. Exactly the type of balanced meal I enjoy.

Feta Meatballs (recipe originally from my friend Mandy)

Ingredients

• 1 lb package of 96% lean ground beef or turkey
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1/3 c bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1/2 package crumbled feta cheese

Play by Play

1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine the meat, onion, breadcrumbs, and egg in a bowl.

2. Get dirty like Christina Aguilera and mix everything with your hands.

3. Roll the meat into 8 (for larger) – 16 (for smaller) even sized meatballs and then flatten out the center. Place a sprinkling of feta into the center of each.

4. Roll back into a meatball and bake in the 350 oven for 25 minutes until done. Easy peasy!

Some adjustments

• Use another form of cheese instead of feta. I love these with blue cheese and was so sad we were out!
• Add some extra diced veggies. My store greatly disappointed me this week by not having mushrooms. I was planning on using diced baby bellas in there. Grrr!
• Sprinkle some of your favorite seasonings for extra flavor.

Nothing fancy, but they are a staple recipe in our house and typically make an appearance once a month.  If you’re a meat eater, give ‘em a try!

Warning! This recipe may cause the sudden onset of contemplation, pondering, and thoughts which are the last things you want to be worried about when attempting to get lost in the mind numbing world of Ali Fedotowsky and the hearts she is about to break. By the way…thank you Google search for enlightening me with the useless information of Ali’s last name.

Moving on. I suddenly started to consider how often we hear talk about calories. You know I’m not big on tallying up those pesky numbers, but there is still much to understand about the “C” word. Are all calories created equal?

Well, yes. A calorie IS a calorie. Whether it comes from spinach or a Luther Burger (GA’s fattiest food based on Health.com’s fatty foods of the states article) it’s all the same. For weight loss, maintenance, or gain it really does boil down to calories in versus calories out. Now before you get your panties in a bunch, do NOT think I’m saying that it doesn’t matter if we eat our daily calorie needs in the likes of fresh fruits or Runts fruits.

Because it does. And that, my friends, is why calories mean crapola in my book. There are so many more important things to consider over calories. Any of you out there stuck in the calorie game, if you instead choose to focus on nutrition I promise good things to come. A few -

• Feel more satisfied. Choose wholesome foods and you will reap the benefits of feeling fuller longer. Things like protein, fiber, healthy fats, and water volume all increase satiety and are common in foods like produce, dairy, nuts, whole grains, etc.
• Have more energy. Drink a green monster instead of a diet coke and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
• Don’t feel guilty for eating something higher calorie. When you don’t worry about the calories and choose to concentrate on a healthy balance, it is easier to recognize one piece of cake won’t deter your goals or ruin your health.
• Be more in tune with your body. When your eating habits aren’t determined by what is listed on a label you can pay attention more closely to hunger cues and what sounds appealing.

So while all calories are equal, not all foods are equal. Big difference in my book.

Now you tell me…do you count calories? What are benefits of doing so or why do you choose not to?