Jenn's Menu & Lifestyle Blog

Most of you probably know I’m not always a traditional breakfast foods person. Yes, I love eggs, cereal, oatmeal, pancakes–just not always for my first meal of the day. I can go for a salad with shrimp or a plate of pasta first thing in the morning, but I’m also not opposed to an old fashioned bacon, eggs, toast, and OJ breakfast. My tastes can go in a zillion different directions, which is awesome because I like variety. It’s also probably one of the reasons why I didn’t eat breakfast for most of my life: I wasn’t always attracted to breakfast foods. When I realized I could eat a salmon burger for breakfast, my whole perspective changed–for the better!

Some days I wake up and nothing sounds better than a fried egg sandwich. Mmm! With bacon? Even better! But I don’t eat much real bacon (sorry, Jessica!!), so I chose tempeh bacon for this sandwich. I picked up this box in Hannaford:

It’s made by the same company that makes Tofurky and has just 300mg sodium for 7 slices! I used just 2 on my sandwich and it was plenty.

I ate a Granny Smith apple while cooking this, so insert Granny Smith core in this image.

2 slices tempeh bacon (30 cal) and 1 large egg cooked (75 cal) cooked in EVOO. I broke the yolk, I wasn’t in the mood for a runny yolk.
1/2 oz reduced fat/sodium cheddar cheese (45 cal) on a 100% whole wheat roll

Totally satisfying and yummy! Kept me full until I got to Mother Earth’s… uh oh!

Mother Earth’s Storehouse Loot

I went crazzzzzzzzy in the cereal aisle because I found all these awesome low-sodium cereals and Bob’s Red Mill gluten free oats on sale for only $4.99 for a 32oz bag!

Organic “cinnamon toast crunch” cereal — much less sodium than the original! Sometimes I want a small cereal snack which I can have for only 160 calories, but it ends up being over 300mg sodium and not worth it. This is more reasonable, though. You guys know I’m not a purist, so if I want a sugary cereal once in awhile, I’d at least like it to not rock the sodium boat.

Low sodium raisin bran! This is awesome! All other raisin bran cereals I have seen are SUPER high in sodium, but Erewhon raisin bran brought it back to earth!! YAY

Erewhon also makes a bunch of other low-sodium cereals, like corn flakes and the no salt added crispy brown rice seen above. I’m so excited about all of these! I haven’t tried any of them yet, but I’m so happy that a cereal manufacturer “gets it”! Thanks, Erewhon! You made my day a lighter brighter.

I bought a wonderful selection of fruit + nut bars…

Cookie dough and cinnamon roll LaraBars!! The cookie dough flavor is fabulous. LOVE IT! I also love the minimal ingredients in them; fruit and nuts. *Some sugar in the ones that contain chocolate chips

Yum!

I am lovin’ all these Navita Mayan Superfoods. They’re pricey, but they go a long way. This trip I picked up some chia seeds and raw cacao powder…

They had chia seed powder, but I think the seeds are funner to eat. Although, I imagine we absorb the powder form better. I could always make powder in the Vita-Mix, though.

I can’t resist some of the pre-made foods that Mother Earth’s sells. I bought a vegan seitan burrito with a wholesome list of fresh ingredients and nothing funky. I had a piece of it when we got home last night, then ate the rest for breakfast this morning. Told ya, I can go so many different directions with breakfast, lol.

2/3 of a seitan, pepper, and onion burrito with a side of Fage Total 0% Greek strained yogurt, a diced plum tomato, and a few splashes of Tabasco
1oz reduced fat/sodium cheddar cheese (90 cal)
Olive bar olives

SO yummy! Loved the seitan-filled burrrrrrrrrito. I need to try making my own filling sometime. Oh, by the way, the burrito label said it had just 180mg sodium. I’d really love to believe that’s accurate, so we’ll go with that, LOL.

We’re going to Washington, D.C. on Saturday and I’m beyond thrilled. I’m also concerned about my stomach acting up, so for the next few days I’m going to be eating things that are gentle on my tummy so when we leave in the middle of the night on Friday I’ll feel good for Saturday. We’re attending the 8/28 rally, if you’re wondering. The problem is: I’m not sure what’s gentle on my tummy as anything and everything seems to be a trigger. I’ll just hope for the best and keep it simple. So expect to see a lot of basic stuff in my next few updates.