I got intro’d to a new food today, Z at work brought me 1/2 cup cooked buckwheat to try. Ain’t that so nice? lol She has been eating it for ages an ages apparently and we were talking food yesterday and I guess this inspired her to share some with me, yah! I have been trying to not experiment exactly but go out of my comfort zone when it comes to food. I had it in my head eating healthy consisted of boring vegetables and, well…hmm, that’s about it. lol. So I look around a bit more at the grocery store and I talk food with people I know to get ideas for things to try.
the trickster!
Today I tried the buckwheat (which is also called kasha). I do not know how it was cooked since Z cooked it but I know she said she put a bit of fish sauce on it cause that is how she eats it. 🙂 It was good – one of those grains that doesn’t really have flavour, like rice, so it picks up the flavour of whatever you put it with. I had it as a side with my fish and veggies at dinner time and tried to eat most forkfuls of it “uncontaminated” by the other foods on my plate so I could fully appreciate the kasha on its own.
I did something I never do though – I didn’t check the points before I ate it! Shocking I know! lol. 😛 I got home late and was hungry so I decided to make dinner and risk the points of the kasha, figuring it couldn’t be all that bad points wise since it’s only a half cup – I was wrong, oh so wrong!
Here is the Nutritional Info:
Serving Size: 1 cup (170 grams)
Amount Per Serving – % Daily Value*
Calories: 583
Total Fat 6g 8%
Saturated Fat 1g 6%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 2mg 0%
Total Carbohydrates 122g 40%
Dietary Fiber 17g
Sugars 0g
Protein 23g 45%
Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0%
Iron 20% Calcium 3%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs
Now look at that protein and fiber, it’s frickin amazing, practically a miracle food! BUT! Look at the evil calories!! That is a lot! ugh. Luckily I only had a 1/2 cup but that is still 4.5 points, sigh. I would never eat a cup of kasha cause hello? who wants to waste 9 points on a side dish?
Z says she eats it with milk, like a porridge, and that it is super yummy and fills her up till lunch time but I think I will stick with my cereal and fruit thanks very much – that is only 4 points and fills me up just fine. 🙂
So, as a new food yah! it tasted decently good and was a pleasant side dish but will I buy and make it on my own? Nope! Too many calories for moi!
Today I ate:
29 grams honey nut cheerios = 2 points
1/2 cup 1% milk = 1 point
1/2 cup diced peaches = 1 point
1/2 cup mixed fresh fruit = 1 point
1/2 cup Maple Baked Beans = 2 points
1 piece toast = 1 point
1 Activia yogurt = 2 points
Green Giant Essentials Fibre = 2 points
2 triangles light laughing cow = 1 point
1 corn on the cob = 1 point
1 tsp margarine = 1 point
1/2 cup buckwheat = 4.5 points
grilled veggies = 0 points
1 dill sauce salmon steak = 3 points
1 thinsations oreo cakesters = 2 points
Grand total of 24.5 points, shoot! 😀 I forgot I had eaten the green giant veggies at lunch so when I was tallying up at the end of the day I thought I had done ok but then I remembered those stupid veggies. Grr! I mean sure they are tasty but they come already in a sauce so it adds points – I don’t normally use sauces on my veggies thereby saving me points. Ah well, using 2.5 of my flex points isn’t gonna kill me – I just hate using them by accident, I prefer knowing I am about to use them and being prepared for the final number of points at the end of the day, ya know?
At work today there were two big temptations, sigh. First off a catered breakfast with nice yummy looking breakfast sandwiches and wraps…I had the 1/2 cup mixed fresh fruit, double sigh. lol. The sandwiches and wraps were all full of crazed bad stuff, bacon, greasy eggs, cheese…I figured it was safer to avoid it all. 😛 Then at lunch there was a meeting where we were fed which awesome right? Well, no. Cause imagine being trapped in a room that has the door closed and being surrounded by people eating pizza. Oh man, the smell almost killed me! When that meeting was over I bolted so fast to go grab my lunch from the kitchen. lol. Normally when there is a meeting over lunch I take my own lunch with me but this meeting was early, at 11:30am so I thought I’d be ok waiting till after to eat – I didn’t anticipate how the smell and visuals would affect me. Oh! And LL literally holding a piece in front of my face and offering me a bite *groan* that is some cruel torture man. *shakes head*
The Amazing Shrinking Woman 
Oh that is torture. Not fair. I was thinking of you the other day because I was reading an article on sleep and fat loss. Apparently the more sleep you get the quicker you will be able to lose fat. Or the better you will lose fat? I am not totally sure on that.
But they compared people who got 5.5 hours vs. 8 hours. The people who got 8 hours were able to lose more fat. They said it had to do with the fact that if you get more sleep you won’t eat as much throughout the day. It was very interesting. I will try to find you the link.
Sweet! Thanks. 🙂 I did some research on sleep and weight loss – it’s true that if you don’t get enough sleep your body doesn’t lose weight as quickly but the reverse is true also. If you over sleep you slow the weight loss process. It has to do with the chemicals that get released in your brain…I actually wrote about it in a post long ago and I would put a link to that post here but I don’t know how, sigh. lol. I’d still like the link tho if you can find it, I am always up for more research! 🙂
Kasha vs regular cereal, though… yes, it’s got higher points value, but when I eat kasha at 8am I don’t have to touch another particle of food until between 12:30 and 1pm. Buckwheat kasha is incredibly filling and high energy so perhaps if you work at a desk it isn’t really going to benefit you too awfully much, but if you have an active job (I groom dogs- it’s more active than you think!) or say, are out camping and doing a lot of activities, it is one of the best breakfasts you can eat without breaking out greasy bacon or high cholesterol eggs.
I am a WW2 reenactor as a Soviet rifleman and that is how I was introduced to kasha- it is a very common food in eastern Europe and Russia because it is a good ‘working man’s dish’. I like to make it in place of rice since there is so much more nutritional value (remember, calories and fat aren’t the only factors you want to account for. Rice may only be 2 points and kasha 4.5 but the kasha is actually healthier by far with all of the fiber, iron and protein. What’s rice got besides carbs? Not much…)
As far as serving size, typically I can’t stuff more than 1/2 cup of kasha anyway! It is that satisfying and filling for me… add some chunks of apples and cinnamon, or pretty much whatever you like to spice it up and spike the nutrition. It’s also good with a sprinkling of cheese for lunch, and I’m making it in place of rice with teriyaki pork stir fry tonight.
I think Kasha might be something that would be good for me to eat on Fridays before my dragon boating but on a regular work day it’s too much, yes it’s way healthy, but I sit at a desk all day (ugh) so the energy it would give me would be wasted. A friend of mine grooms dogs, she burns an insane amount of calories thanks to her job! lol Makes me think I should do it if only for the added weight loss benefit lol 🙂 Maybe I will give it another try but in smaller portions…it would be nice to replace the rice in my stir fry with something that has nutritional value…altho one shouldn’t discount carbs – I have a mild addiction to carbs and couldn’t get through a day without them lol. 😉
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