a seasonal dinner
Andrea
Good evening, lovelies! Have you all hopped over to Meghann's blog to check out the Blogger Bake Sale? There are some amazing-looking baked treats up for sale, and all proceeds go to a wonderful cause, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Bidding ends at midnight for Day 1 so be sure to get over there and place your bids before your favorite items get snatched up! I've got two items up for sale, chocolate chip cookies and my own banana apple bread.
This morning I woke up feeling really yucky. I was nauseous and light-headed, and would have put-off work for a few hours had I not had so much to do at the office. I dragged myself up, took a shower, made my breakfast then went straight back to bed. After about 30 minutes I felt a little bit better and got moving again, and my hubb brought me a glass of OJ to get something in my stomach. I wound up packing up my breakfast and taking it to the office with me, eating it once my stomach felt not-so-flippy.
Breakfast: 8oz of OJ, a toasted ezekiel muffin with TJ's crunchy peanut butter and sliced apples.
[446 cal]
My hubb was such a sweetie and made me this gorgeous salad for lunch, complete with homemade vinaigrette! He even took pictures...can you believe him?!? I also was craving some soup, so I ran across the street to Revolutionary Soup for their Spicy Senegalese Peanut Tofu soup...YUM. I must learn how to make this.
Lunch: fresh salad and spicy peanut tofu soup, along with a small whole wheat roll.
[salad = 200 cal, soup = ???, whole wheat roll = ???]
My salad had:
When we got home I knew I wanted something warm and comforting. Luckily I had some soup on the menu... This weekend I managed to fit in 2 long hot baths, complete with bubbles, vino and the latest Bon Appetit magazine. I also had the February 2008 issue of BA, which I hadn't had a chance to read last year because I was deeply entrenched in my graduate studies. I held on to all of my neglected foodie magazines so that I could read them this year, during their intended month to take advantage of the seasonal recipes always featured. I read about yukon gold potatoes, kale, meyer lemons and leeks. My reading left me craving a hearty winter soup...and a lemon drop martini. I fulfilled the first craving tonight, the second will probably wait until the weekend. :)
Tonight's dinner isn't a recipe from BA, unfortunately...it probably would have turned out a bit better if it had been. It was good, the flavors were spot-on, but the texture of the soup was a bit, well, gluey. For lack of a better descriptor. I believe the reason for the extra thick creaminess was my use of yukon golds, which in hindsight I think would be better suited to a chunky soup than a pureed soup. Lesson learned. I will definitely try this recipe again, just with a different type of potato.
Dinner: potato leek soup with kale and hearty oat biscuits.
[437 cal]
Potato Leek Soup with Kale
226 calories, 7.4g fat, 1g sat fat, 37.5 carbs, 4.9g fiber, 9.2g protein
makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
I also made some hearty oat biscuits with the addition of sharp white cheddar cheese and scallions. Again, flavors were great, but the texture was off. The dough was wetter than normal...I'm thinking that in my slightly hazy/ill state I mis-measured something. I'm going to hold off on sharing the recipe this time because I really want to work on perfecting it and I don't want to mis-lead you.
Dessert: more beautiful grapes.
[110 cal]
Alrighty, I'm feeling much better now but am ready for bed. I really want to get up in the morning for my run so that I can keep my evening free for yoga, although that means I'll only be getting about 5.5 hours of sleep. :( There are not enough hours in a day!!! How many hours of sleep do you get a night? I feel really lucky if I get 7, but I'm usually closer to 6. Not good...
G'night!
Read More
My hubb was such a sweetie and made me this gorgeous salad for lunch, complete with homemade vinaigrette! He even took pictures...can you believe him?!? I also was craving some soup, so I ran across the street to Revolutionary Soup for their Spicy Senegalese Peanut Tofu soup...YUM. I must learn how to make this.
Lunch: fresh salad and spicy peanut tofu soup, along with a small whole wheat roll.
[salad = 200 cal, soup = ???, whole wheat roll = ???]
My salad had:
- baby greens
- spinach
- cucumber
- yellow bell pepper
- dried cranberries
- slivered almonds
- 3 tbsp roasted garlic hummus
- homemade balsamic vinaigrette
When we got home I knew I wanted something warm and comforting. Luckily I had some soup on the menu... This weekend I managed to fit in 2 long hot baths, complete with bubbles, vino and the latest Bon Appetit magazine. I also had the February 2008 issue of BA, which I hadn't had a chance to read last year because I was deeply entrenched in my graduate studies. I held on to all of my neglected foodie magazines so that I could read them this year, during their intended month to take advantage of the seasonal recipes always featured. I read about yukon gold potatoes, kale, meyer lemons and leeks. My reading left me craving a hearty winter soup...and a lemon drop martini. I fulfilled the first craving tonight, the second will probably wait until the weekend. :)
Tonight's dinner isn't a recipe from BA, unfortunately...it probably would have turned out a bit better if it had been. It was good, the flavors were spot-on, but the texture of the soup was a bit, well, gluey. For lack of a better descriptor. I believe the reason for the extra thick creaminess was my use of yukon golds, which in hindsight I think would be better suited to a chunky soup than a pureed soup. Lesson learned. I will definitely try this recipe again, just with a different type of potato.
Dinner: potato leek soup with kale and hearty oat biscuits.
[437 cal]
Potato Leek Soup with Kale
226 calories, 7.4g fat, 1g sat fat, 37.5 carbs, 4.9g fiber, 9.2g protein
makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 medium leeks, chopped finely
- 1/2 large onion, about 1 cup chopped
- 2 ribs of celery, chopped
- 3 potatoes (next time, I'll use russet)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups of veggie broth
- 4 cups chopped kale, loosely packed
- salt + pepper
- Heat oil on medium. Add leeks, onion, celery and potatoes, stir to coat with oil. When veggies start sizzling, lower heat and cover pot. Let the veggies sweat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally , until veggies are tender.
- Add veggie broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat back down to simmer and cover. Let simmer for about 20 minutes until potatoes are starting to fall apart.
- Puree' soup in a blender until smooth and creamy. Pour back in soup pot and keep warm on low heat. Season with salt + pepper.
- Place chopped kale in large saucepan and cover with water. Boil for 5 minutes, until kale is bright green and tender. Drain kale and add to soup.
I also made some hearty oat biscuits with the addition of sharp white cheddar cheese and scallions. Again, flavors were great, but the texture was off. The dough was wetter than normal...I'm thinking that in my slightly hazy/ill state I mis-measured something. I'm going to hold off on sharing the recipe this time because I really want to work on perfecting it and I don't want to mis-lead you.
Dessert: more beautiful grapes.
[110 cal]
Alrighty, I'm feeling much better now but am ready for bed. I really want to get up in the morning for my run so that I can keep my evening free for yoga, although that means I'll only be getting about 5.5 hours of sleep. :( There are not enough hours in a day!!! How many hours of sleep do you get a night? I feel really lucky if I get 7, but I'm usually closer to 6. Not good...
G'night!
This yummy bowl contained:
I took clothes with me to the office so that I could run home after my haircut. It was such a gorgeous afternoon that I decided to push myself and take the long way home, about 4-1/2 miles. It was tough, I was dragging because I hadn't run more than 3-1/2 miles in the last couple of weeks with my foot injury. And, my foot was pretty sore when I was finished. :( It did feel great to be outside though, stretching my legs and soaking in the sun.
Saturday Exercise: 4-1/2 mile run, 10 min/mile pace
[-475 cal]
Saturday Afternoon Snack: the other 1/2 of my Clif Iced Gingerbread bar and my blood orange, perfect re-fuel after my run.
[193 cal]
I was wiped out when I got home, so the grocery trip my hubb and I had planned got bumped to Sunday. It also led to a very lazy evening during which cooking didn't really seem like an option, so we ordered in. If you've been reading my blog for long you know that Thai is our take-out of choice, and last night was no exception. :)
Saturday Dinner: take-out pad thai and veggie spring rolls with pineapple spice dipping sauce.
[about 525 cal]
We watched 
Sunday Exercise: YOGA!!! At my normal studio. I've realized that the new studio that I bought an unlimited month pass to doesn't have many classes that work with my schedule, so I'll be continuing to join my normal Sunday class that I love love love so much. Today was no disappointment. I was a sweaty, leg-shaky pile of goo afterwards.
[about -250 cal]
Sunday Afternoon Snack #1: a Clif Nectar bar, consumed immediately after yoga. Thank goodness I had it in my purse.
[160 cal]
My eating schedule always gets off on Sundays because I typically sleep later than normal then have yoga from 12:30-1:30, aka lunchtime. Today I had to go back to the office for another hour then went grocery shopping, so lunch slipped right by me. Needless to say I was famished while grocery shopping (bad, bad idea) and gave in to these Mi-Del Lemon Snaps.
I of course ripped into them as soon as I got in the car. They are SO GOOD! Just a hint of lemon with the same crunch as a classic ginger snap. They are dangerous... When I realized that I could easily finish the whole bag on my way home, I quickly reached behind me for the bag of grapes and noshed on them instead.
Sunday Afternoon Snack #2: 5 Mi-Del Lemon Snaps and a handful of red grapes (recreated for your viewing pleasure...).
[250 cal]
I had big plans to make dinner tonight, but when I opened the fridge I realized that we still had some leftovers to use up. So...another repeat.
Sunday Dinner: leftover Pad Thai and a big ol' salad. Also, a glass of cab (which was actually started while sitting on the back deck with my hubb and our pupps, enjoying our amazing weather).
[salad = 225 cal, thai = about 350 cal]
My salad contained:
Sunday Dessert: 2 lemon snaps and another bunch of grapes...they just looked so good when I was taking their picture for the snack re-creation.
[155 cal]
This post has taken forever for me to write because I'm watching the Grammy's at the same time. :) And now, its just about bed time. But first, a big reminder that tomorrow starts the 
Not nearly as pretty as when freshly made, but still just as tasty! PS: you'll be seeing this again.... :)
Afternoon Snack: 1/2 a Clif Iced Gingerbread bar...I only have 1-1/2 left and will be so sad when they are gone!
[125 cal]
When I got home from work last night, totally brain dead, I decided to go for a run. I went to campus and did a 3-1/4 mile loop at about a 10 min/mile pace. I REALLY enjoy my 3-4 mile runs. I've been thinking a lot about long distance running lately, and my training, and have lots to share with you. But not this morning. Soon, I promise. :)
When I got home I did 25 minutes of vinyasa flows...lots of down dogs, chathurangas, warriors, twisted triangles and pigeon. Perfect way to stretch out my hamstrings and hips. :)
Exercise: 3-1/4 mile run, 25 minutes of vinyasa yoga
[about -400 calories]
Dinner: leftover 
Dessert: snackie bowl with 6oz 0% Fage, 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries, small handful of Annie's Bunnies
[223 cal]
It is such a BEAUTIFUL day here! The high is supposed to be 60*!!! Woohoo!!! I planned to go for a run this morning when I woke up but it was still only 23*, I decided to wait until later when it will be MUCH more enjoyable. :)
What are your plans for today? Unfortunately, I have to work. Boo. I'm getting ready to go to the office, but I have a hair appointment at 2pm so will have to stop working then. After that I'm going for a run, then to the grocery store with my hubb to stock up for the week, and maybe a movie tonight?We'll see. Busy day!
I hope you all have a great Saturday!
The lasagna was excellent reheated for lunch, just like it should be. :) My salad contained:
Dinner: the best split pea soup I've ever had! And a slice of homemade honey wheat bread that I pulled out of the freezer.
[502 cal]
I've never made split pea soup before, but it was so easy and so deliciously warming on this very cold winter night. The hot italian sausage added the perfect amount of heat, just at the back of the throat. It was the perfect complement to the sweetness of the peas and carrots. And the rosemary? Divine. Just the right touch of earthiness. This soup has made its way solidly to our list of regulars, I feel certain.
Split Pea + Sausage Soup [inspired by
Lunch: a salmon spinach salad. I had about 2.5oz of salmon leftover from last night, 1/2 cup of TJ's Harvest Blends and 2 cups of fresh spinach. I also crumbled 4 walnut halves on top and squeezed blood orange juice all over it. SO TASTY!!! I'm usually a little weary of leftover fish, but I actually really loved the salmon icy cold on top of a salad. Also, a blood orange.
[340 cal]
Snacks: I forgot to take pictures! :( I had a single-serve Oikos, blueberry flavor, at 3:30 and a Quaker True Delights granola bar at 5:00. Both were delicious and kept me fueled for yoga.
[250 cal]
Exercise: YOGA!!! Oh how I love going to classes. Tonight I tried out a new studio that several friends have recommended numerous times. They are running a special right now that all new students can sign up for unlimited classes for one month for only $50!!! I jumped on that, so you'll be seeing lots of yoga workouts popping up on the blog for the next 4 weeks. WooHoo! :) I'm excited to improve my balancing and upper body strength...I am majorly lacking in that area of yoga. Tonight's class was a 90 minute Intro to Ashtanga. I've always gone to Vinyasa classes, which are very similar to Ashtanga, but I think Ashtanga has the potential to be more strenuous. Both are considered to be power yoga, and both leave me dripping with sweat. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to trying out more classes at the studio! :)
I wasn't sure how to count my calories...myfooddiary isn't too specific. They just break up yoga into "power" and "stretching". So I counted 60 minutes of "power" and 30 minutes of "stretching", figuring I was REALLY working for at least 2/3's the class, and the other 1/3 was warm-up and cool-down. Anybody have any other suggestions?
[-400 calories]
My hubb and I cooked dinner together tonight. I love that! We made a healthier version of lasagna, inspired by the Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites Cookbook, one of my faves.
Dinner: "healthified" veggie lasagna and a small glass of cabernet
[about 550 cal]
This lasagna was SO good, and while we couldn't eat it every night, it is so much healthier than my old meaty, cheesy, creamy versions from the past.
Healthified Veggie Lasagna [inspired by the 
Must. Go. To. Bed. G'night! :)
Edited to Add
Daily Total:
Sadly, most of it has now melted. I think they've predicted more for tomorrow though. I don't mind the cold as much when we have snow to look forward to!
Before I get to far ahead of myself, I wanted to share the last of yesterday's eats with you. I decided to discard the cabernet that I wasn't enjoying and made a snackie dessert bowl instead (are you proud, 
Back to Tuesday...
My days are going by SO fast because I am SO busy at work! I've got a big deadline next Friday and I'm working really hard during the days to try and keep the late nights next week to a minimum. Its stressful, but I'd much rather be busy at work than bored like I was for the last few weeks. I had planned to get up early for some morning yoga, but forgot to turn my phone volume on after work yesterday so slept through my alarm for over an hour! Yikes. Needless to say I was in a bit of a rush, so I packed my breakfast to take with me to the office.
Breakfast: 6oz Fage 0%, 1/4 cup TJ's pumpkin spice granola, 1 banana, 1 medjool date.
[355 calories]
SO good! And it stayed with me for a full 4 hours.
I had a bit of a fish theme going on today...lots of protein and Omega 3's! :)
Lunch: tuna salad wrap on 8" whole wheat tortilla with yellow bell pepper and spinach, the rest of the tuna salad with peppers and carrots and two Back to Nature multigrain flax crackers.
[about 400 calories]
The tuna salad contained:
Snacks: a pink lady apple at 3:30 and a Clif ZBar at 5:30, to fuel me for a run.
[211 calories]
I decided to skip tonight's yoga class and go for a run. The weather was decent (30* and clear), and it got warm enough today to melt the ice on the sidewalks. They are predicting snow again tomorrow so I decided I should run while I had the chance, and go to a yoga class tomorrow night instead. It was great! I think my feet have gotten used to my new inserts because I didn't have much pain at all. I'm still planning to see a podiatrist because I don't think I should have to deal with any pain while running, right?!?
Exercise: 3-mile run, 10 min/mile pace. 20 minutes of vinyasa flows to stretch out afterwards. I'm feelin' good! :)
[- 400 calories]
Dinner tonight was inspired by 
The asparagus was super-easy, and SO good! I heated olive oil in a non-coated skillet, then added 1 clove of garlic to saute' for about a minute. Then the asparagus went in, with some salt and ground pepper. After it had been cooking for 3-4 minutes, the garlic was really starting to brown and trying to stick to the pan. I splashed in about 1/2 cup of orange juice to de-glaze, gave everything a stir and covered the pan. The heat was lowered to simmer and the asparagus cooked for another 3-4 minutes until tender. YUM.
This TJ's blend was really good too...israeli couscous, baby garbonzo beans, orzo and red quinoa. We cooked ours in chicken broth for a little extra flavor.
Thank you all for the sweet comments about my new table! I know it will take some getting used to, but I'm glad you're open to it. I'll get a picture of the whole thing soon, but I'm waiting until our new dining room light gets here so you get the whole picture. :)
Daily Recap:
This yummy bowl contained:
Morning Snack: 3 dried apricots and 3 walnut halves (leftover from my road food snack this weekend). My breakfast only hung with me for about 3 hours, I was really glad that I had these in my bag.
[104 calories]
Lunch: salad! Oh how I missed thee... And a pink lady apple.
[358 calories]
Afternoon Snack: 5 dried apricots and 3 walnut halves. Again, a light lunch today, so I was glad I had these.
[137 calories]
Dinner: two tiny slivers of carmelized onion, blue cheese + bacon pizza ( I didn't eat the crust...just not a fan of the dough!), a spinach salad and a glass of cabernet. It was a salad kind of day! The cabernet isn't very good, I really doubt I'll finish it but I've counted its calories just in case. If I decide to ditch it I've already got a snackie dessert bowl forming in my head... :)
[570 calories]
My salad consisted of:
I'm really kicking myself for not getting out of bed this morning for a run. The weather was lovely, its getting light earlier, but I got to bed so late last night that I just couldn't get up. And now? Rain. And later tonight? Snow. I'm really starting to dislike Virginia in the winter. How we could go from a high of 62* yesterday, high of 59* today, and snow by midnight tonight is beyond me!!! Argh. Oh well, I am planning on going to yoga tomorrow night at my favorite studio with my favorite instructor...nothing beats 90 minutes of yoga. Nothing. And rain and snow can't stop me! :)
I hope you all have a great night!
The above picture is of the onions within the first 5 minutes of caramelization. The whole process took about 20 minutes, but I forgot to get a picture of the finished onions. :( We used pre-made TJ's whole wheat pizza dough that I had frozen. I'm not crazy about the TJ's dough...I think I'll pass on buying it again.
The contraption my hubb is using to get the pizza in and out of the oven is called a 
This was my first time using the 
I had a little less than 1/4 of the pizza on my plate, but only ate about 2/3's of that. It was SO RICH. I think next time I'll use less blue cheese...
This was a weird eating day for me. Breakfast was so late that I skipped lunch, but did have a peanut butter date blondie after they were photographed. Of course. Then I promptly packed them up to take with me to the office tomorrow. Definitely can't risk having those tasty little treats hanging out in my kitchen!
Snack: peanut butter date blondie
[250 calories]
Dessert: 1/2 cup of Ciao Bella blood orange sorbetto...so good.
[120 calories]
Exercise: I took my dog Lucy for a 3 mile walk/run around the neighborhood. We both needed the exercise, and I wanted to test out my foot. It did ok, but I'm still taking it easy. I think I'm going to make an appointment with a podiatrist to get it checked out... I walked/ran more for Lucy than for me...she's not used to running that far all at once. She had surgery last summer on both of her knees and didn't fully recover until December, so we're still working on getting her strength back. She did really well though, I'm a proud momma! :)
[-260 calories]
Daily Review:
This was lighter in calories than a normal breakfast for me, but it stuck with me for about 3-1/2 hours! I was impressed. I need to keep this combo in mind for future mornings. I knew that I had a later than normal lunch planned for today, so I packed a morning snack to keep me going. This was perfect, it helped to bridge the gap so I wasn't ravenous at lunch time.
Morning Snack: 6 walnut halves, 2 tbsp dried cherries
[178 calories]
Lunch: at one of my favorite C'ville spots, 
I had to work late tonight, then had errands to run before heading home. I didn't walk in the door until after 9pm, at which point I was STARVING! My hubb ordered us Chinese once he knew I was en route (he hung some shelves in our laundry room tonight! yay!). I went a little overboard... My standard healthy take-out order is steamed veggies and tofu with steamed rice, sauce on the side. Tonight I substituted the steamed rice for some leftover whole wheat pasta we had in the fridge. At the last second I requested egg drop soup because it sounded so good, and I couldn't resist when my hubb offered me 1/2 his veggie egg roll. And, of course, the fortune cookie. :) The calorie count is an estimate from what I could find on myfooddiary...
Dinner: take-out steamed veggies + tofu on 1 cup whole wheat pasta, 2 tbsp garlic sauce, 1-1/2 cups egg drop soup, 1/2 a veggie egg roll, 1 fortune cookie
[about 600 calories - eek! I let my hunger take over... note to self, pack an emergency bar in purse in case of late nights in the office!]
Sadly, I missed all exercise today. I've been getting to bed so late that I have a hard time yanking myself out of bed in the morning. And with as late as I got home tonight, there was no running. :( Its probably a good thing though because my foot has been bothering me today. Argh!!! So frustrating.
Tomorrow I'm heading to Charlotte for my friend Christine's baby shower!!! I'm super-excited. We're staying overnight so I probably won't be posting again until Sunday. I hope you all have a great Friday and weekend!
This DELICIOUS bowl contained:
Afternoon Snack: 1/2 cup plain Fage 0% and one tangelo.
[132 cal]
Extras: 3 Dove dark chocolate hearts [126 cal - I should try to skip these tomorrow], 10 Annie's Honey Bunnies [54 cal]
Dinner: saffron tomato fennel soup [
This oat bowl contained the usual:
Snack: 1/2 cup plain Fage 0% and 5 strawberries...the yogurt helps pick me up and keep me going through the rest of the afternoon, and makes me think I'm eating dessert. :)
Snackie Treats: I had a serious sweet tooth today! I ran to the CVS across the street for some Dove dark chocolate hearts and ate 3 throughout the day. I also had a date while fixing dinner.
Dinner: tofu veggie stir fry on jasmine rice...a quick, easy vegetarian favorite! We try to add bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, but forgot again tonight as usual. We never remember until we've finished the meal!
This was a collaborative effort between my hubb and I tonight. He took care of the veggies, I took care of the rice, wheatberries and tofu. Our delectable meal contained:
This glaze consisted of (measurements are estimates...):
The tofu turns out just crispy on the outside, firmly silky on the inside. We LOVE it this way, and haven't been able to stray in years.
My hubb sauteed the veggies in a bit of olive oil and soysauce, then added the Trader Joe's soyaki sauce and tofu once the veggies were tender. This sauce is really great. We usually buy Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce from Soy Vay, but I picked this up last time I was at TJ's and it is almost as good, for much less $$$!
My bowl contained 1/2 cup jasmine rice, 1/2 cup wheatberries (boiled tonight to keep for the week) and about 1-1/2 cups of veggies + tofu. Yum!
Dessert: a Quaker True Delights toasted coconut banana macadamia nut granola bar, split with my hubb. YUM!!!!!! These bars are brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. When I opened the package I almost passed out from the unbelievably good scent that met my nose. And the flavor was perfect...not artificial tasting at all. I could eat one for dessert every night, and they are only 140 calories!
Exercise: YOGA!!!! Mmmmmmmm. We've been having an ice storm for most of the day so the sidewalks were far to treacherous for a run this evening. I didn't even want to go back out to the yoga studio and drive on the slick roads. So, instead, I popped my favorite Power Yoga dvd into my computer and stretched out my unused muscles for 55 minutes. It felt SO good, but made me realize how much my week off from exercise has affected my strength, flexibility and endurance! Good news though, my foot felt GREAT! I'm READY for a run, as soon as the weather cooperates! :)
Question, What's your favorite yoga pose? Least favorite? I think my favorites are pigeon and twisted triangle, my least favorite is currently twisted prayer lunge (I think that's what its called...).
G'night!
Last week I decided that maybe it was time to give chard another chance, in the name of trying new things and expanding my veggie-loving horizons. I bought 2 bunches and planned to try preparing them using 
We had a couple of ingredients in the fridge leftover from this weekend, bacon and heavy cream, two items I don't get to cook with very often in my quest to eat healthfully. So, in the name of not wanting to waste more ingredients in my fridge, this recipe was born.
Swiss Chard + Bacon Linguine with Butternut Squash Cream Sauce
makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
This was really delicious. Swiss chard and I are now good friends, and I think we have quite the future ahead of us... What vegetable have you tried in the past but written off because of an unpleasant first experience?
Ahh routine. I LOVED spending so much time with friends this weekend and having an excuse to eat several meals out and drink lots of wine, but my body is thanking me for getting back on track. I was starting to feel a little blah what with all the unhealthy eats, vino and lack of exercise due to a sore foot, so today was definitely a welcome change. Granted, my dinner included a small amount of bacon and cream, but at least it was whole and homemade. :)
I started the morning off inspired by the custard oats I've seen pop up on both 
To make the custard oats I combined 1/2 cup soymilk, 1/2 cup water, 2 egg whites and 1 tsp vanilla in a small pot on the stovetop. I set the heat way too high and walked away from the stove, resulting in a very smelly mess of boiled over milk and eggs. Thank goodness for glass cooktops! Yuck. I didn't want to give up, so I quickly jumped back on Heather's blog to read that I was supposed to keep the heat on medium and whisk the ingredients constantly until they thicken a bit. MUCH better. At this point I added 1/2 cup of rolled oats and kept the heat on medium, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes. After the oats had thickened quite a bit more, but were still a little runny, I removed the pot from the heat and covered it to allow for additional thickening while cooling.
I topped my bowl with:
This beauty contained:
Snack: a peanut butter cookie larabar. After witnessing several of my fellow bloggers ignore the salmonella scare and refuse to waste their favorite bars, I decided to do the same. Its my favorite flavor, and I can't find them ANYWHERE (or at least can't remember where I found this one) so I decided to risk it. Probably stupid, huh? It was tasty though! :)
Ok, this post has been really long. I'll quickly tell you that I didn't get a run in tonight because I had to work late, but my foot is feeling much better! There is still slight pain, so its probably best that I gave it another day before pounding the pavement. I do have plans for some yoga tomorrow morning though, and I can't wait!
Oh, and I almost forgot! Look what was waiting for me when I got home tonight...Quaker True Delights bars from Foodbuzz!!!
I've been dying to try these new bars from Quaker since seeing them on 
I really enjoyed this dish. The flavors all went so well together. And most of all, I enjoyed being in the kitchen again! :)
A quick recap of my other eats yesterday...
Breakfast: toasted Ezekiel cinnamon raisin muffin with 2 tbsp natural peanut butter and a sliced banana.
Lunch: 1 cup of Amy's Curried Lentil Soup and another lovely salad.
The soup was really good, but way more calories than I normally look for in a soup. There are 230 cal/1 cup serving, and I typically look for that many calories total in the can.
This salad contained:
Morning Snack: oikos - blueberry flavor, leftover from the snack I never ate on Monday.
Lunch: a big ol' salad.
This delight contained:
Afternoon Snack: a perfect tangelo and a Clif Nectar Cacao, dark chocolate raspberry flavor. I enjoyed the bar before my evening run and the tangelo after.
Exercise: a 3-1/2 mile run with my dear friend Kelly. This was a much more enjoyable run than last night's because (1) I had company to chit chat with and (2) we went at 5pm and still had daylight!!! Yay for longer days!!! :) Thank you all for your supportive comments on last night's post, you have no idea how much it helps to know that I have a whole community of people cheering me on! I really think that I could learn to love running in the right conditions. A little daylight, a slightly warmer temperature and good company make all the difference!!! :)
However, I need a little injury help/advice. I'm starting to feel my tendonitis flare up again. I'm embarrassed to show you what my feet look like in the winter time, but I wanted to show all you runners out there where it hurts and see if you have any advice for me.
Have any of you had pain there before? It hurts the most when I've been sitting for awhile, and get up to walk. Almost like its seized up and can't stretch back out. It started bothering me on Monday, I'm sure taking last week off then going for a long run Saturday and an intense yoga class on Sunday flared it up. I took Monday off running, but went again last night. My foot hurt all day, but I really wanted to get my run in tonight. I know, naughty. I am committed to taking tomorrow and Friday off though, in preparation for my long run on Saturday. So my question is, do I ice it or heat it? I'm going to do my own research tonight on the 'net, but I was hoping some of you might have some personal, tried and true advice for me.
Back to food...
Tonight the hubb and I were called for emergency babysitting duty for friends. The change of plans has thrown our evening and my super healthy tofu and swiss chard dinner off track, as I only had time for a quick carry-out decision. I chose Chipotle because it had been awhile, and I felt that I could make a relatively healthy and quick choice.
Dinner: Chipotle burrito bowl with rice, black beans, grilled chicken, tomato salsa, lettuce and guacamole. I also had a couple of chips. :)
We're still with the kiddos...the 2-year old is fast asleep and my hubb is giving the baby a bottle after he woke up fussing. Too cute. Looks like it will be an all-nighter for us, although I'll probably leave at some point to go back to our house and take care of our pups. In the meantime, I'm watching Lost and knitting a baby sweater for a friend. :)
G'night!
This bowl contained:
The hubb and I joined some friends and co-workers for lunch today to watch inauguration festivities. There was a huge pan of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and baked beans, and it was all oh. so. good. I was a bad healthy foodie at lunchtime. :)
Lunch: two fried chicken drumsticks, some delectable baked beans and mashed potatoes. And, of course, 
Dinner: a large [much needed] salad and some Amy's Veggie Lentil soup. After my frigid run, I just wanted something warm, satisfying and low-effort. :)
And another 1/2 a cookie...
And now I think I'm off to a hot bath with my book. I may finally finish it! Its been wonderful, but my book list is a mile long and I'm ready to move on to the next read. Good night!
Typically I would take a recipe like this and try to healthify it, using natural sweeteners and substitutes for the refined sugar, oil and white flours. But it had been awhile since I'd made a full-fat, high-cal decadent cookie, and this seemed just the recipe to indulge on. And it helped to know that I would be sharing the 18 resulting cookies with 12 friends and co-workers tomorrow during the inauguration ceremony. I followed David Leite's instructions almost completely, but did have to make two substitutions. The first was to use ghirardelli chocolate bars chopped into 1/2" pieces instead of chocolate disks. The second was to replace the cake flour. I scoured the shelves on the baking aisle at Whole Foods and found no such flour. I decided to substitute the whole wheat pastry flour I had at home and hope for the best.
A warning: the dough requires 24 hours of refrigeration before baking. I made the dough last night and of course sampled it, which made me all the more excited to come home from work tonight to bake the cookies. Its kind of nice, the phasing of the recipe. You get all of the mess out of the way the first night and are left with the simple pleasure of balling dough and pulling perfectly golden cookies from the oven the second night.
These cookies are worth the 24-hour wait and the extensive blogger hype. Totally worth it. They are perfectly crisp around their golden edges, soft and chewy in their centers. The sea salt adds an unexpected depth that heightens the flavor of the chocolate while at the same time reducing its richness...a quality that makes it even easier to finish the entire 5" mammoth cookie all at once. In case you missed the link above, here is the 
Here's a recap of my other eats for the day, although who wants to read about them now that I've introduced cookies to the mix?!? Especially when its a day full of repeats...
Breakfast: the standard oat bowl. I know, I know. But I love it and its very filling and that's good enough for me.
Snacks: my Oikos is back!!!!! 1 blueberry Oikos and a tangelo. Sadly, I didn't actually eat the Oikos 'cause I just wasn't hungry enough. The tangelo was excellent though.
Dinner: leftover veggie soup with some bulgur added to it and a hearty oat biscuit. So good, and this is the last of it. :)
Dessert: a cookie. Of course. :)
And I'm off. Have a great Tuesday, everybody! Happy Inauguration!!!
I received this little crêpe pan, along with a crêpe-making lesson, from my stepfather for Christmas many years ago. Surprisingly, it hadn't been used in a few years and I decided that this was the morning to take it out of retirement.
Crêpes are really quite easy to make and can be filled with either savory or sweet combinations. We chose sweet this morning. I'm inspired now to make one of my dinner crêpe recipes soon though... I used 
After my lovely french breakfast I went to my favorite Vinyasa Yoga class at Studio 206. Class was fabulous as usual, and I left feeling all gushy and dreamy. :)
Lunch: the last of the leftover roasted squash + potatoes on bulgur, along with 3 Back to Nature Multigrain Flax flatbread crackers.
The
I used 
This recipe is really great and so fast to whip up. Like I mentioned above, next time I will add a bit of salt. I also think that adding rosemary or chives would be really tasty, and maybe a bit of sharp cheese.
Alrighty, I'm exhausted and have to work tomorrow. :( So sad. I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!
My hubb and I ran 5 (ridiculously hilly) miles today!!! I tell you what, I really paid for not running all week. It was tough!!! But I finished, and that's all that matters! My hubb was so sweet and stayed with me the whole way, slowing down to wait for me on several occasions. There is no way that I would have finished if he hadn't been just ahead of me encouraging me to keep going. For the first 2 miles I was miserable. I had layered myself with Under Armor Cold Gear, a fleece vest, windbreaker, gloves, ear warmers and SmartWool socks, but I was still frozen. My toes and lips were numb and my lungs burned from the 18* (felt like 7*) air. The whole time I was thinking "why am I doing this? i don't like to run! this is crazy!". But after 2 miles I got in the groove and realized I had to keep going because I would just get colder if I stopped to walk. I finally warmed up, my toes gained feeling again, but my lips stayed frozen. When we finally finished I couldn't talk right, it felt like I'd been numbed for a dental procedure or something. Quite funny. :) I don't think I could have chosen a hillier route...what was I thinking? But, it makes me even prouder to have finished because not only did we increase our distance from last week but we added a ton of hills in as well. We rock! :)
My breakfast fuel held me over really well. No tummy growling this week. But when we got back I was ready for lunch.
Lunch: leftover roasted potatoes + squash (recipe below...SO good) on top of leftover bulgur and fresh spinach. Also, a side of 1/2 cup Fage 0% and strawberries, which my hubb helped me finish.
This combo was SO tasty. The spinach wilted a bit when I microwaved the bowl to heat up the squash and 'taters, making it more flavorful and the perfect consistency with the rest of the dish.
So a quick recap of yesterday is in order. I'll try to keep it brief, but definitely hold out for the simple Roasted Squash + Potatoes at the bottom because it is a winner!
Breakfast: same as thursday, a toasted Ezekiel Cinn Raisin Muffin with 1 tbsp natural peanut butter, cranberry ketchup and apple slices. Such a good, filling breakfast. My second favorite, the first being oats. :)
Lunch: leftover stuffed acorn squash filling with roasted garlic hummus and fresh spinach wrapped up in a 8" whole wheat tortilla. A side of extra hummus, 1/2 a red bell pepper and a carrot finished it off.
Snack: My office had our weekly wine and cheese "yay its friday!" celebration, so I had more cheese, crackers, and wine than I probably should have. :)
It was "use up stuff in the fridge before we shop tomorrow" night, and it turned out SO well! We had leftover baked chicken breast, an acorn squash, some red potatoes that were growing eyes, and a lot of fresh produce to use up. I knew I wanted to make something with the squash and potatoes, and dreamed up this simple combo while at work.
Rosemary Roasted Butternut Squash + Potatoes
Ingredients:
I can't tell you enough how good this was! Please, please, please try it! :)
The rest of dinner consisted of a HUGE salad and 1/2 a chicken breast seasoned with Chef Paul's Poultry Magic.
The salad contained:
Its no wonder I passed out shortly after consuming this feast...
The blood orange is one of my favorite winter fruits. I look forward to it every winter similarly to how I look forward to 
Lunch: out with a friend at Bizou! Definitely my favorite C'ville downtown lunch spot. No pictures, but I assure you that I had a fabulous housemade peppery pasta with butternut squash purée and garlicky sautéed spinach. It was soooooo good, and something I will definitely be trying to replicate soon.
Snack: blood orange with 1/2 cup Fage 0%. I may have also had a 
Dinner: stuffed acorn squash and steamed broccoli. This was such a good dinner, and so warming on such a cold night! :)
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Ingredients:
While the lasagna was baking I worked on a new brussels sprouts recipe. Our go-to method for cooking brussels has been to roast them, and I'm getting a little tired of it. We have them weekly, so I wanted to play around with different methods of preparing them. A friend of mine told me about a recipe he and his wife cook often, where you slice the brussels into 1/8" pieces, essentially turning them into a slaw-like consistency. You then sauté them in butter, toss them with linguine and serve. I was intrigued, so we tried it.
Brussels Sprout Spaghetti
Ingredients:
This dish was delicious, although I will definitely reduce the amount of pasta used next time, and will probably substitute angel hair for the spaghetti noodles. The shaved parmesan really makes the dish, and I think it would be divine with bacon or pancetta added in.
The evening was delicious, warm and satisfying. But if I'm going to keep making dishes like this, I have to get over my fear of the cold and get back on the road for some runs! Here's hoping the weather warms soon...