Her March Featured Foodie Fridge: Caitlin the Newlywed

Bobbi: Hello Mrs.. Caitlin! I am so glad that you agreed to let us peek into your “Newly Wed” Fridge. I love your blog, you always have some of the most positive and uplifting posts I always walk away feeling refreshed. I also love your energy and athleticism, while balancing work and even planning a wedding! I love all your eats; now let’s see what’s really in that fridge of yours.

Bobbi:So Caitlin have you always been a healthy eater?

Caitlin: Good question! I was a pretty big party girl in college, which meant that I drank a lot of calories in the form of beer. It also meant I was too hungover to exercise consistently. So, although I ate lots of veggies, complex carbs, and lean proteins and rarely ate at fast food places, my partying habits meant I was about 10 pounds overweight and really out of shape. I also had a very unhealthy approach to eating overall because I knew I was consuming too many calories on the weekends (which for a college student is Wednesday to Saturday night!) so I would restrict for breakfast and lunch, which of course led to binges later in the evenings when my inhabitation was decreased. In general, I just didn’t lead a very balanced lifestyle. I’m really glad I managed to turn it around, because now I understand you can have fun without drinking a six pack.

Bobbi: Wow great story! As I look through your fridge I notice a lot of eggs on the top shelf of your fridge, do you eat eggs for breakfast a lot?

Caitlin: Hahah! Well, we do a lot of shopping at Costco, which means we buy the basic things in bulk. Eggs at Costco are significantly cheaper than they are at the grocery store, and they don’t really spoil as long as you keep them in the fridge. I don’t eat eggs for breakfast usually, but we do make a lot of meals that have eggs in them, like pancakes, waffles, quiches, and casseroles.

Bobbi: We shop at Costco too, I never thought about buying bulk eggs maybe I need to get on that! I also see a lot of fruit and veggies in your fridge I wasn’t surprised. Do you eat fruit and veggies with every meal? What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?

Caitlin: I do try to eat fruits and veggies with every meal and as snacks. I am the type of person who loves to eat a lot of voluminous foods, so snacking on low-calorie, high fiber foods like fruits and veggies really satisfies me mentally.

My favorite lunch is sandwiches! I love “sammies”. Here are links to my favorite sandwiches: Whole Wheat Toast with bread and butter pickles, turkey, and cheddar (http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/2009/01/if-i-can-pronounce-it-i-probably.html), grilled cheese with cucumber (http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/2008/12/just-call-me-dasher.html), and BBQ chicken, sweet potato, and corn wrap (http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/2008/09/bbq-on-brain-and-more-wedding-details.html). I also really like scrambled egg sammies.

Bobbi: Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipes!!! I don’t see too many meat products in your fridge are you a vegetarian, is your Hubby a vegetarian? Do you two eat a lot of the same things?

Caitlin: No. We both tried to be vegetarian a few years ago and it was a disaster. I love chicken, seafood, and steak. I don’t think I’d be able to maintain my weight without meat, because it is likely I would rely too much on carbs. I admire people who can go vegetarian because I recognize it is better for the environment and the animals, of course.

We do eat a lot of the same meals. The Husband is studying to be an acupuncturist, works in a holistic clinic, and runs our holistic supplement website (www.theholisticdoctorisin.com), so he is very health-oriented as well. He will eat whatever I cook for him, although he doesn’t like to eat too many soy products because of the contradicting research on how good it is for you.

Bobbi:I That is so great that you cook for the Hubby and he is health concise as well!!  I also love that you included your pantry. It actually looks a lot like ours ,what do you use those beans for, salads, hummus, burritos?

Caitlin: I think beans are a great meat alternative in many meals, plus – they are so cheap! I buy canned beans and rinse them off to remove a lot of the salt. We use them in hummus (my purple hummus recipe: http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/2009/02/purple-hummus.html), casseroles (my mini santa fe casserole recipe: http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/2009/02/mini-santa-fe-casseroles.html), and as a topping to rice, lentils, or quinoa. I like to make my own bean burgers (my sweet potato and black bean burger recipe: http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/2008/12/sweet-potato-burgers-and-very-very-bad.html) or “bean balls” (my bean ball recipes: http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/2008/08/bean-balls.html). I don’t really put beans in salads very often, but maybe I should!

Bobbi:  I am so trying those sweet potato and black bean burgers! I see that you have granola in your fridge as well as pasta noodles; I never knew that people stored it in the fridge what is the reasoning behind that?

Caitlin: It’s so humid in Florida that we store a LOT of stuff in the fridge to keep it from molding. I keep pasta, cereal, bread, and granola in the fridge once we’ve opened it.

Bobbi: I remember humidity in the South, humidity and I are not friends! I see two things in your fridge that caught my eye, the wine bottle and Hammer Gel! I know that you and your Hubby went to Napa on your honeymoon, so you must love wine. How do you balance a healthy lifestyle that includes alcohol?

Caitlin: Now that I’m all “grown up”, I learned to integrate alcohol into my healthy lifestyle in moderation. I would say I drink a glass or two about twice a week (max, usually once), so I don’t worry too much about the calories in my drink or whatnot. Wine is for us to savor, not feel guilty about!

We usually drink wine at home, but sometimes we go to wine bars or I enjoy a class with dinner in fancy restaurants. We have a 12-bottle wine fridge that we keep pretty well-stocked, and we actually “rate” every wine we try in an Excel spreadsheets. It’s our fun little hobby! We’ve taken wine classes at the local wine shop, too. I think wine is so interesting and unique. My favorites include Riesling and Pinot Noir (I like red AND white!).

Bobbi: An excel spreadsheet what a great idea, the Hubby and I love wine tasting as well! Alright girl thanks so much for sharing with all of us. Okay, last question, if you could have any celebrity over to cook for whom would it be and why?

Caitlin: If you read my blog, you know that I have a small obsession with the Princess of Pop… so, I’d want to cook for Britney Spears, of course! I’d make her a classic Southern meal with a healthy twist.

Fun Quiz

1. What is Caitlin’s favorite thing to have for lunch?

a. Salad
b. Sammy’s
C. Soup

2. What does Caitlin and her Hubby do as a hobby together?

a. Collect coins
b. Play scrabble
c. Rate Wine

3. If Caitlin could have any celebrity over for dinner who would it be?

a. Prince
b. Madonna
c. Brittney Spears

Hope you enjoyed learning something new about our “Foodie” Friend Caitlin!