This post goes through a day in the life of proper sodium and potassium consumption. It was a day that both Zach and I had off, so we got to eat all of our healthy meals together.
Not pictured: the banana I had before Zach woke up, the green tea latte of which I had half in the morning and half in the afternoon, the tea with milk I had before lunch, the nutella-orange bostock we got after our walk to Pistacia Vera, the 14 walnut halves and 1 Tbsp. of raisins I had after we got back from the gym, or the snacks we had at a farewell open house for Zach's brother and his wife....but those were indeed counted toward my potassium/sodium (and fruit, and dairy, and total Calorie....) goals.
We started out the day with coffee on the porch.
It was a sunny but chilly day, but blankets helped. I didn't realize how cold it was until, after eating, I took a sip of my coffee and it was so cold it hurt my teeth.
This is what we ate:
It was a hash of caramelized onion and garlic, white potatoes, white beans, and lightly-sauteed spinach With parsley. Fried egg(s) on top and yogurt on the side.
Another view:
We should eat all of our meals outside; the pictures turn out much better.
After breakfast was when we took our walk to Pistacia Vera (two-ish miles away). It was very crowded, so we walked quite a few blocks to an espresso bar/chocolatier. When we were about a block away, we decided to go back to Pistacia Vera again, where we had espresso and our bostock, which was, to be honest, my least-favorite thing we have had from there.
I guess bostocks are pictured after all, just so that you know what they are. I sure didn't know what a bostock was. The one we had was brioche (possibly soaked in something alcoholic) with a layer of nutella on top, covered with what seemed to be an eggy-sugary-almondy goop, then baked/broiled. Apparently there is also a soccer player somewhere named Bostock, because when I google-imaged the word, most of the pictures were soccer related.
We walked home, and eventually had lunch. We had the acorn squash pictured first at the beginning of this post, and now a few more times:
It was baked, then stuffed with a mix of quinoa, white beans, fresh dill, diced green onions and red peppers, caramelized onions, golden raisins, and lemon juice
On the side was a salad of sliced mushrooms (the last of my huge mushroom haul...sad), red peppers, onion, dill, toasted walnuts, and lemon juice.
Lemon juice (and vinegar) goes a long was in adding flavor while not adding sodium. Chefs have been known to say that if you avoid processed foods, you can salt your food liberally and your sodium intake will be fine. This is not true. The recommended 2300 mg sodium/day is about one teaspoon. The average shake of a salt-shaker is 1/16th of a teaspoon.
Our afternoon was spent on about and hour or so at the open house and two or so hours at the gym. At home, we (I) cooked up supper:
Sauteed asparagus, mushrooms, and diced chicken with garlic, green onions, and more dill. Served over more quinoa (for Zach. I wasn't very hungry and I didn't want to waste stomach space on the less-potassiumy foods).
Avocado and lemon on the side, along with apple slices.
And that was our food for the day! Stay tuned for more potassium goodness.
