Today has been a complete washout. There were even times I considered pulling off to the side of the road on my way home from work. We are in desperate need of rain though!
Pouring rain + 5.5 hours of sleep last night = no workout for Meg
When I got home from work I wanted nothing to do but put on sweats and take a twenty minute power nap. So that’s what I did! I listened to my body and took a little snooze.
There was no point in doing a half ass workout when I have the rest of the week to exercise.
When in doubt, listen to your body!
After my power nap I hit up the grocery store to make use of a few coupons.
I’ll admit that I am not one to accumulate coupons. And if I ever happen to they usually expire by the time I remember to use them. But I keep seeing these woman featured on talk shows and whatnot that save hundreds of dollars in coupons. So I figured I would start to save them!
What about you, do you use coupons regularly?
I do, however, make it a point to view the weekly specials and make my grocery list based on them.
One of my coupons this evening was for $1 off Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix.
Of course I notice that there were two options:
- Original
- Whole Wheat Blend
Because I am pretty familiar with nutrition labels, I decided to compare them.
Original 
Whole Wheat Blend
The top four things I look at when reading the label are:
- Protein
- Fiber
- Sugar
- Sodium
In this case, the Whole Wheat Blend has less sodium and sugar, and more fiber. Which puts the WW blend in the lead.
Additionally, if I am trying to decide which may be healthier, I read the list of ingredients.
Original 
Whole Wheat Blend
Notice how the first ingredient in the Original mix is enriched bleach flour, and the first ingredient in the WW blend mix is whole wheat flour?
Whole wheat flour uses all three parts; the bran (outer layer), germ (inner layer), and endosperm (starchy part in between), which means none of the nutrients have been removed.
Based on the nutrition label and the ingredient list, it’s pretty clear which one is healthier, right?
Maybe not.
Do notice that after enriched bleach flour, in parentheses it says – bleached wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron…yada yada yada.
HUH?
What is bleached wheat flour?
It’s the same thing as bleached white flour!
Chemical agents are used to whiten flour, and this process causes some nutrients to be lost. As a result, the flour is “enriched” with the nutrients that are lost. So they’re added back in. Which requires another process.
Do you also notice that the second ingredient WW blend? Enriched bleach flour!
Ok now, who is confused?
Yes, the first ingredient of the WW blend is whole wheat flour, but it doesn’t say what percent is whole wheat flour! Perhaps it’s only a little higher than the enriched bleach flour?
It’s no wonder people are fooled by marketing and don’t take the time to read nutrition labels and ingredients lists. It can be confusing!
In the end, I bought the Whole Wheat blend.
Why?
Because it had less sugar and sodium, and more fiber.
But is there really enough difference between both labels and ingredient lists to warrant choosing the whole wheat blend?
Which one would you choose? Why?
Well now, that went on a little longer than I anticipated :)
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Onto my eats!
Lunch was left over steak strips on flat breads with feta.
And sriracha.
This was an excellent way to enjoy leftover steak and I highly recommend it!
I also carrots and hummus to incorporate veggies.
Vegetable hummus to be exact.
My afternoon snack consisted of a pear with almond butter, which I enjoyed around 3 p.m.
And dinner was Buitoni Riserva Wild Mushroom Agnolitti.
I received a coupon from Foodbuzz to try this.
To boost the nutritional value, I added broccoli and yellow squash.
The sauce I used was given to us by our friends who just moved and were cleaning out their refrigerator.
And for flavor I added the usual suspects.
As well as a dash of S & P.
And I topped my plate off with fresh parmesan cheese.
Chris and I really enjoyed the Wild Mushroom Agnolitti and it was the perfect amount of food to split between the two of us.
Had I not added the broccoli and yellow squash I would have accompanied the pasta with a side salad to balance out the dish.
Dessert was the last few spoonfuls of cookies and cream ice cream
Ok now….bed is calling my name!
G’ night!
