naturally friday

September 11, 2009

enjoying endo
i haven’t said much about work these past 2 weeks. i’ve been on the endocrine team, getting a little taste of what life will be like as a fellow. among other things, we’ve dealt with new diabetics in DKA, a very interesting patient with calcium issues, and a number of consults on adrenally-insufficient preemies. i’ve gone to clinic a handful of times, but mostly have been focusing on the inpatient side, handling consults, follow ups, and the like.

the verdict? no surprises here — I LOVE IT! it’s interesting and fun, and the faculty i have gotten to work with have been as awesome as i expected. i am happy to say that i know this field is the best fit for me, and i am really looking forward to starting fellowship. yesterday i even took a dip back in the waters of basic science (went to investigate a lab i may end up woring in . . .), and i think i will enjoy that part of my fellowship as well.

so for anyone who read all of the angst behind some of my career choices in the last post — i am thrilled to say that IT ALL WORKED OUT. thank god.

naturally more
i LOVE peanut butter. it is my comfort food, my running fuel, and part of my daily routine. i would estimate that a good 10% of my caloric intake comes from this stuff on any given day, since i do not measure it out and i am sure that i regularly exceed the 2 tablespoon ‘serving size’ listed on the label. i don’t worry about this because i have been consuming it in the same quantities for years without ill effects.

thanks to my mother who raised me on the stuff, i only like the natural kind — smucker’s, whole foods store brand, and trader joe’s are all acceptable, but the ingredient list must be short, and if i don’t need to stir it, it’s a no-go. when i saw that ali scored a sample from the naturally more company, i knew i had to try it! so i emailed them, and before i knew it, 2 full-sized jars were at my doorstep to sample: one of peanut butter, and one of almond.


aren’t they beautiful?

peanut-fanatic that i am, i dove into that jar first! but before the pb-showcase begins, let’s take a brief look at the nutritionals:


since i eat it so often, it is important to me that my peanut butter is relatively non-toxic. to me, this means no trans fats, no scary additives, and no high fructose corn syrup. as you can see, naturally more contains: roasted peanuts, wheat germ, flax seed, cane sugar, egg whites, honey, and flaxseed oil.

i can deal with that ingredient list, especially since the ground flaxseed provides a nice omega-3 boost and the egg whites contribute some extra protein. i would prefer a product without sugar, but if you look at the nutrition facts above, you can see that the cane sugar and honey only amount to 2 grams per 2 tablespoon (ha) serving. to put that into perspective, that’s just 8 measly calories from sugar, or 4.7% of the caloric value of the product. i can deal with that.

i will note that this peanut butter does not save any saturated fat over plain old natural PB — i just checked my whole foods 365 jar, and it contains 1.5 grams while this one has 2. neither amount is terrible, though. most of the fat in either jar is the healthy plant-derived kind. and while it’s a decent chunk (11 grams total in this jar per serving), personally i am fully okay with the amount of fat in peanut butter. that’s what makes it so magically satiating AND tasty!

the perfect food. right? so now we move onto the most important part: TASTE.

i taste tested a bit of this stuff plain on a spoon, and had the rest on an english muffin in my typical breakfast fashion. i even went so far as to forgo raisins on one of the halves as to get the full flavor experience — oh the sacrifices i make for this blog! just kidding.

the verdict? yum! i love the texture, which is smooth in a slightly grainy way, reminding me a bit of natural almond butter rather than peanut which can get a bit stickier. the flax adds a mild toasted flavor, and the sweetness is subtle enough to just bring the flavors together a little. finally — and most importantly — the peanut taste is fresh and true, shining through naturally in all of its peanutty glory.

i do have one bone to pick, however — and that is where is the salt? i missed the salty kick that i am used to savoring in natural peanut butter. i may even try stirring some into the jar!

overall, though i rate this stuff highly on all fronts: nutrition, ingredients, AND flavor. i will look for it in the stores after my supply has run out as a fun change to the plain old peanut & salt varieties. thank you, naturally more!

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9.10.09

workout: i had a great run yesterday! i almost talked myself out of doing it altogether, but the 70 degree overcast conditions were just too perfect. i headed out on my scheduled tempo run and really worked on leg turnover and form. this seemed to pay off with some great times (for me!):

overall: 6 mile at average 8:10/mi

splits
0.52 mi warmup at 8:58/mi
2.52 mi @ 7:56/mi (contains downhill)
0.98 mi @ 7:57/mi
1.51 mi @ 8:14/mi (mostly uphill)
0.47 mi cooldown @ 8:52/mi

there was no rest between any of these segments – i just pressed the lab button so i could see differences between uphill and downhill paces! total tempo segments: average 8:02/mi pace. pretty decent for a workout i didn’t even want to do!

doin’ time: getting to the end of a chapter sometimes means some odd combinations, and this meal fit that description: pasta with prosciutto and peas accompanied by a grilled peach salad. i still greatly enjoyed the mishmash of flavors!


only 2 more recipes in the summer section! AHH!

reading: i finished the congenital adrenal hyperplasia article. so interesting!

6 Comments

  • Reply Anonymous March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    so glad you love endo! the dr i worked with this summer was endo and it seems like such a hard specialty. you rock for doing it!

    and is that pb crunchy? i can&#39t stand smooth pb and am sticking to skippy extra crunch until i can find something else to try…

  • Reply Chelsea March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    I may have to try Naturally More AB because I want to like almond butter but all the kinds I&#39ve tried so far have been too salty for my taste.

  • Reply Claire March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    We had a baby who we thought might have CAH but it looks like she doesn&#39t…recovering on her own after some NS infusions tapering to 1/4NS. Anyway, glad you&#39re enjoying your rotation. I was glad to finally have a successful intubation…still haven&#39t done any lines. My babies always need them when I&#39m post call and they won&#39t let us do procedures then.c

  • Reply Jenny March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    Sarah,
    Nerdy med student question… do all peds residents do a stint in endocrine, or are you because its your fellowship field?

  • Reply Allie (Live Laugh Eat) March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    I&#39ve wanted to try Naturally More for soooo long now but I&#39ve only seen it in peanut butter form (allergic). I need to get my hands on some stat!

  • Reply Susan March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    I had a patient last week who came in about a month ago with a blood glucose of over 1500…he was in a coma, but now he was walking around and getting ready for discharge. 1500?? That&#39s insane.

    Naturally More peanut butter is tasty! I&#39m jealous that you got a sample of the Almond Butter…maybe I&#39ll have to send them an email as well…

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