Beans and Greens

Catching Up

2011-07-03T13:53:00.001-07:00

I’ve had a few days off from the blog, so I thought I might do a catch up today with a few highlights.

On Friday I tried Justin’s Peanut butter for the first time!

Along with raisins, and chia seeds, on Milton’s multigrain toast. Nice! I prefer bananas+pb+chia seeds, but I was out of bananas.

On Fridays, I often eat out with coworkers, but I actually brought my lunch to save some money. It was whole wheat wrap with organic spinach, sharp cheddar, mushrooms, and a splash of hot sauce.

I borrowed the hot sauce from a coworker after I took this picture. The wrap needed it. I think I might need to get a bottle of hot sauce for work.

On Saturday morning I did a nice “intuitive run” which is what I’m calling my days where I run and walk without a plan. I ended up walking for about 45 minutes, and jogging for 16 minutes. I know I’ll build up time running, eventually. Even though it sounds paltry now I am still proud of it!

After I got home, I had a green smoothie, then the boyfriend and I went to the local farmer’s market. We bought heirloom tomatoes, okra, and small bell peppers.

He ate breakfast, and I waited in line forever to buy us coffee. I changed my mind in the wait, and got myself an iced tea and a banh mi sandwich which was terrific. The place also had good looking smoothies, which I am storing in my memory, and they also served pho (I was tempted).

The sandwich had sweet pickled carrot relish, radish, jalapenos, a liver pate (maybe headcheese?) another meat, and a salty herbed spread. The tastes and textures together were lovely, just what my tastebuds like.

The bread was awesome! Crispy and soft, but firm in the right places. Really good for a little sandwich/coffee kind of kiosk in the farmer’s market.

The boyfriend said his cappuccino was also very good. If you know him, you would know that was high praise. He is tough to please with espresso. I also had a small bag of ruffles that came with this sandwich. (I love salt, and can’t resist.)

Sunday: This morning we split a veggie omelet. It contained heirloom tomatoes, broccoli, bell peppers, and feta. Delish.

Also had a grapefruit LaCroix.

El boyfriend made a white bread today, kind of farmhouse style. The smell in the house was heavenly!

We immediately made plans to eat tomato sandwiches, although the man of the house rued the fact that we had no bacon.

He made some hummus, and I chopped a few veggies for dipping.

Here’s my lovely slice of bread before topping (if only there was scatch ‘n’ sniff):

After mayo, tomato, salt and pepper:

Also:

Tonight we have plans to eat fish tacos and drink beers. On the fourth there is talk of going to my parents to meet up with my cousins and maybe grill?? We’ll see.

Easy Breezy June Day

2011-06-30T19:58:00.001-07:00

Ok, short post today. Well, that’s usual for me!

Breakfast was a green smoothie comprised of unsweetened almond milk, frozen banana, spinach, and flax seed.

The spinach is the grown up kind, not the baby, and I have noticed a difference. The first time I used it, my smoothie was more watery, but I also used a non-frozen banana, and added ice, so that might be it. Also the big spinach I have to wash more thoroughly because it’s gritty.

Lunch was a simple affair: leftovers! I used the leftover canned salmon, half an avocado, and 3/4 cup of black beans.

Now queue up the Beatles “All Together (Now)”….

It looks like a hot mess, but it’s pretty darn good. And simple!

When I got home, my boyfriend and I went on a nice bike ride down the levee with a destination in mind. I had a groupon for the Pita Pit on the LSU campus, so we decided on that for dinner. I got a wheat pita with garlic hummus, feta cheese, black beans, red onions, spinach, tomatoes, and sprouts.

We only stopped once on our bike ride, so I barely got any pictures. Where we live the river levee is pretty nice for bicycling, although I wish they would pave it all the way from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.

Going toward LSU/New Orleans

Going toward the State Capitol/Baton Rouge

The swampy area on the Mississippi River side:

Like I said, we only stopped once, so there’s not a lot of difference in the pictures, but the river can be really interesting. Lots of stuff to see.

After the ride, we watched a show (Blood of Thrones?) and I drank a beer, and ate some Backyard BBQ Kettle chips.

All Together Now!

No Breakfast=Bad News

2011-06-29T19:15:00.001-07:00

I didn’t eat breakfast today! This morning was all a rush, starting with me waking up late, and pounding coffee when I got to work, then just jumping into the workload. For a right before lunch I started eating an apple that wasn’t really good any more, so I abandoned it.

Lunch was leftover delicious chili! Very hearty and fulfilling. I love beer chilis, but my must-have ingredient in chili is BEANS! Don’t tell the die-hard chili cooks that insist “real” chili doesn’t have beans.

Around 5:00 I had a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Clif Bar. Not my favorite flavor, but I bought in bulk to save money! (My favorite flavors are Chocolate Mint and Carrot Cake.)

On Saturday I bought a HUGE box at Sam’s Club. I went with my dad, and we bought wine, strawberries and sweet peppers too.

When I got home from work I went on a short run. Have you ever seen someone “fake run”, like slowly jog next to someone walking? That was my running today. I felt so sloooooow. This is not a race, I am not doing speed work, but I still feel down when my legs don’t move. (Is it because I didn’t eat breakfast?) All I can think of is how proud I will be in the future of my past self (current self) for plodding through and setting the ground work for all those muscles.

Once home I had a hodge podge kind of dinner: canned salmon and half an avocado mashed together,

a cabbage slaw of sorts, with shredded cabbage, carrots, sweet peppers, olive oil, vinegar, sesame seeds, and sesame oil. I didn’t measure anything.

Also: black beans on the side.

It was tasty, although the cabbage could’ve used some salt!

Now I’m off to drink a beer and catch up on some internet reading.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

2011-06-22T19:58:00.001-07:00

It has been raining a lot here this week. I kind of like the rain, but it makes me sleepy, and messes with my outdoor exercise plans. In fact, this evening I came home and took a long nap when I should have been running. More on that later .

Breakfast was the always delicious Fage cherry topped greek yogurt, with a banana on the side.

I did not really snack today (unlike yesterday)!

Lunch was what I was supposed to eat for dinner last night: roasted brussels sprouts and macaroni and cheese. It was delightfully stinky. One of my coworkers told me that it was disgusting smelling.

I also had a club soda, which was kind of a nice treat from my usual water. We drink these like crazy at my house, especially the boyfriend.

A couple of years ago when I was trying to give up coke products, I tried drinking club soda mixed with cranberry juice, which is pretty darn tasty. Eventually I gave up the juice component all together, and we still buy club soda frequently. It’s just nice to have something different from water every now and then. To other coke fiends I would also recommend unsweetened iced tea. Also delicious, and it has caffeine!

Around 4:30 I had a clif bar in anticipation of my workout later this evening.

When I got home I had a glorious 2-3 hour nap, but woke up feeling panicked. I quickly changed and did my run outside. It was fun to run in the rain, although I was a little nervous to run down hill. You might not call them hills if you’re from any where else, but it’s a “hill” to me.

For a moment I thought I saw an alligator in the lake, but it was a nutria. He was huge!

When I got home I ate an omelet fit for a farmer or an Olympic gymnast, not an office worker. It was delicious, and not too calorie dense. Ingredients:

2 medium eggs (these felt tiny in my hand, I am used to large or jumbo!)
1 egg white
canola oil spray
2 tbsp diced onion
1/4 cup black beans
1 cup broccoli, steamed
1 medium tomato, diced
1/4 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
salt and pepper, to taste

The onions were cooked down in the oil until softened, then I added the whisked eggs. After cooking for a few minutes on low heat, I added the beans and broccoli, and covered the pan. I added the mess to a plate and sprinkled with cheese, pepper, and tomatoes. You shouldn’t take instruction from me, because I am the worse omelet maker (as far as aesthetics, but they are tasty).

You can see on the plate where half the omelet stayed together, and the other half has become an egg mess. I am okay with that, because it all tastes the same in my mouth: delicious.

Three Fruits a Day

2011-06-21T18:52:00.001-07:00

This morning I had…wait for it…a green smoothie!

It was the usual almond milk, spinach, frozen banana, flax seed concoction. Today however, I added chia seeds.

Verdict is still out on this one. They kind of became gelatinous which was an interesting texture to suck up through a straw. Very flan like. I see why chia is used as vegan pudding.

Morning snack was a golden nugget clementine. Sweet.

Lunch was leftover pasta with pesto and spinach. Today I added a little tuna from a can and a couple of walnut halves.

I spy a fish in the above picture. (Hint: not the tuna)

Snacks followed a couple of hours later. A small banana and a few mini chocolate covered pretzels.

When I got home I prepared dinner and then took a walk. When I got home, I didn’t want to eat the hot food, so I am eating an apple, and crackers and cheese, sipping chardonnay. Not too shabby.

Back in the Saddle Again

2011-06-20T18:12:00.001-07:00

Blech, Mondays…

Breakfast was a green monster. Ingredients:

2.5 cups of spinach
1 frozen banana
1+ cup soy milk
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1/2 cup plain frozen yogurt

I went to work for half a day, then went to the produce stand and got more bananas, apples, and citrus fruit. The store I went to had an ugli fruit, which I have never seen before! I was tempted, but passed.

On the way home I stopped and got a Sonic coke. Sometimes I just want a coke. Especially when it’s boiling hot outside. For those reading from a state that doesn’t have Sonic – they are overrated.

When I got home I had 2 pieces of peanut butter toast with banana and chia seeds.

Why my interest in chia seeds? I’ve read they are a good source of fiber, and omega 3 fatty acids, among other things. Anything that will improve my hair, skin, and nails I am keen on trying.

We’ll see if I notice any good effects from eating them.

On Sunday my parents gave us four tomatoes from their garden, which are delicious!

The boyfriend and I ate BLTs on Sunday night, and I didn’t take a picture - I was too busy eating. Tonight I decided to take advantage of the fresh tomatoes again. Dinner was whole wheat pasta, pesto, spinach, and tomatoes.

The pesto is from Whole Foods, and it is okay. I want to make my own!

Side note: This afternoon I went running. I don’t know how many other people try and fail, try and fail many times, but I definitely have a hard time getting back on the horse. Commitment to exercise or really most things in my life are more mentally hard for me than physically. Once I have failed at something, I often don’t want to try again, and get depressed about my lack of success. Maybe I am just stubborn. Or a sloppy perfectionist? Whatever it is, it’s a terrible mental block. The more time that passes the worse it gets too. I definitely need to work on the time that it takes me to Deal With It.

Did anyone else watch Better Off Ted? That show had it’s moments. Namely, Portia deRossi and the two scientists. “That’s what we do now…we deal with things. DEAL WITH IT!”

Now I’m going to watch a movie (“Closer” with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen) and ~~deal with~~ drink some cabernet sauvignon.

Shopping Saturday

2011-06-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

Today I woke up and had a green smoothie. Oh man, those are good. I’ve been making them “classic” style, with soy milk, spinach, flax seed, and frozen banana. Oh, also adding a little frozen plain yogurt. Hits the spot every time.

This afternoon I went to Whole Foods, but on the way there (not at all on the way from my house) I went to World Market for the fun of it. Turned out to be a retail therapy trip I guess, because I got a lot of loot.

The olive oil and peppercorns were needed, the rest not so much.

They had a good price on PB&Co Peanut Butter, so I snagged some Smooth Operator, and I got a jar of Marmite for fun. I also got some Columbian Supremo coffee and a lentil soup packet that I saw last Christmas but passed up.

After that bounty, I went to Whole Foods which was insanely crowded. Ugh. I got some random stuff, namely chia seeds (wow, they are expensive), falafel mix, a large container of spinach, Shiner 102 beer, almond milk, and salmon sashimi for tomorrow’s lunch.

Then I tried some marmite on toast. The bread was made by my boyfriend (a wheat) and I slathered it with butter, and tried to thinly scrape the marmite on top, like I’ve read to do. It didn’t want to cooperate. However, the Marmite was excellent. I knew I would like it though, because I love salty and umami foods. Mmmm….

I also dipped into the Peanut Butter. Oh man. World Market also had the chocolate PB, which I’m glad I didn’t buy, because that would’ve been GONE.

Time to meet Anne for coffee!

All’s Well That Ends Well

2011-06-17T13:49:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday I ended up going to the hospital for a pain in my side that wasn’t going away. Long story short nothing was really wrong with me (like gallbladder, kidney stones, or cysts) so I went home. It is never fun to go to the emergency room, and so the next day I treated myself to some of my favorite comfort foods. Like shorbat adass, the lentil soup that I cannot for the life of me duplicate. It is creamy, smooth and so tasty. I have looked up recipes that only list lentils, broth, garlic, and onions as ingredients, but this has a flavor that I cannot put my finger on.

I also had some Food Should Taste Good Olive chips.

And of course chocolate. I love salty and sweet together, like chocolate covered pretzels, so this Sea Salt and almond dark chocolate was perfect.

Earlier this week I had made the perfect salad for lunch. Hopefully I can make more great salad lunches. Unfortunately I left a bunch of fixings at work and now it is the weekend. Maybe they will still be fresh?

The salad was comprised of spinach, tomatoes, walnuts, avocado, romano cheese, and sea salt and pepper croutons. The cheese could actually go (I can’t believe I am saying that). I bought the romano in anticipation of making caesar salad but it hasn’t happened yet. The creaminess of the avocado didn’t mix well with the sharp cheese.

I am resting this weekend. Hopefully by Monday I will be a-ok and ready to do all the things I’ve planned to do.

Mom’s Enchiladas:Redux

2011-06-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

My mother was famous for her creamy chicken enchiladas when I was growing up. Reading around a bit (like chowhound) a lot of people had a similar dish in the 70’s and 80’s- loaded with cheese, sour cream, and Campbell’s cream of chicken soup- and it doesn’t surprise me that many people remember this fondly. These days I like to make them a little bit healthier than the original, and they taste fabulous.

Mom’s Enchiladas (Redux):

Ingredients:

1-2 chicken breasts
1 large bell pepper, diced
half an onion, or small onion, diced
small container of sour cream
can cream of chicken/whatever soup
can black beans
can of chilies
jalapenos
mushrooms, or whatever veggies you want to add
20 corn tortillas

Cook the chicken however you prefer, I like to boil chicken. I also like to fork-shred the chicken while it’s hot and scald my fingers.

Chop the veggies. I chopped half a green bell pepper, half a red pepper, half a large onion, and let them sit in a warm skillet for a few minutes so they wouldn’t be too crunchy.

I also diced some jalapenos and mild chilies.Mix together the cream of mushroom or chicken soup, the beans, the sour cream, cheese, chilies, and the veggies.

When it is all ready, heat the tortillas by microwave method or stovetop. Microwave is a little faster (30 seconds with a damp paper towel covering the lot.)

Spoon the mixture into the tortillas, and place them into a pan. The pan should have a little bit of the filling or salsa on the bottom so that the tortillas don’t stick while cooking.

Roll each tortilla with a little bit of the filling and chicken inside, and place in the pan. Repeat until you are out of tortillas or running low on mix. Optional: top the enchiladas with the creamy sauce. This time I topped with a little bit of sauce, and a little bit of salsa. Salsa is a great way to reduce the calories.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, covered in tin foil. If desired you can also top with a cup of shredded cheese.

The lower calorie version is just as rich and good. My next mission might be to replace the Cream of Chicken soup with something healthier, so I’ll be on the lookout.

Enjoy!

Lunch: Tabouli and Spinach Salad

2011-06-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

Breakfast was a hastily eaten fage and coffee. The cherry fage is like eating cheesecake. Yum!

Lunch was a slowly eaten treat! I begged my mother to make tabouli on Sunday so that I could bring some home (I brought her some homemade hummus as a trade). Her tabouli is very tasty and fresh, as she grows her own parsley (among other herbs), and the tomatoes were homegrown too.

On the side I had a spinach salad with grape tomatoes, walnuts, romano cheese, and chicken salad (shredded chicken, celery, and mayo). I had made an Italian style dressing, but ended up not using it because of the creaminess of the chicken salad.

Later in the day I had part of an apple and a little PB for a snack. The apple was disappointing though. I like the really crispy ones, like honeycrisp and pink lady. This was rather mushy.

The boyfriend was preparing dinner when I got home. It was a delicious meal of jambalaya, stewed okra, and navy beans. The navy beans were Blue Runner Creole Cream Style, every thing else was made by him. He makes very good from scratch jambalaya.

Tomorrow I will probably be having more of the spinach salad. It was delicious!

Dinner: Butter Beans and Sardines with Roasted Brussels Sprouts

2011-06-09T17:51:00.001-07:00

Breakfast was thought up the night before. Two eggs, black beans, and cheddar cheese. Admittedly it was a failed omelet, reincarnated as a sloppy scramble. Also, I was going to have salsa, but passed. Very unlike me. Salsa is probably my favorite condiment.

The eggs and beans quieted my stomach until lunch, and that hardly ever happens to me. The only other breakfast that keeps me full is greek yogurt.

Lunch was chicken salad made with chopped celery, walnuts, mayo, and coarse mustard. This was rolled up in a whole wheat tortilla along with some shredded cabbage, and eaten with pretzels and green peppers. I need to remember this one!

The outer wrap was kind of odd tasting, so I discarded it after eating about half of the first one. The rest was eaten like a cabbage slaw which was good with the chicken and walnuts!

I didn’t snack at all today, probably because I ate filling meals.

Dinner was supposed to be roasted brussels sprouts and seafood stuffed potatoes, but we didn’t have shrimp like I expected.

Plan B: The boyfriend had something else while the brussels roasted steadily, and I made a nice mash of butter beans and sardines. Good to remember for hurricane season, because of the cans, and also just tasty and pretty healthy. I love the Season brand skinless, boneless sardines, and recommend them highly to the uninitiated sardine eater. A few months ago I thought I had spotted a great deal on amazon for a flat of the lovelies, but once the delivery arrived I saw that they were still all bones and skin. The skin isn’t bad, but I take the bones out. Crunchy.

My roasted Brussels sprouts:

preheat oven to 400
rinse brussels sprouts and cut in half
massage lightly in olive oil
place in glass pan with minced garlic (one or two cloves)
bake at 400 for 20 min
flip at 20 minutes (optional: add 1/2 tbsp pine nuts at halfway point)
cook another 20 minutes or until desired color

We prefer them almost burnt, and very garlicky. I usually roughly chop 2-3 cloves of garlic. Tonight I didn’t add pine nuts, it depends on what we are eating them with. I have heard that bacon is good, and lemon zest.

Now I am having an adult beverage.

We Love Fish Tacos

2011-06-08T17:38:00.001-07:00

Last night I actually got some sleep! It was hard to wake up this morning in fact, because I was so deeply asleep. Nice.

For breakfast I had the usual yogurt, coffee, and apple.

Lunch was eaten a little early. I had the chili I made the other day from allrecipes., and a serving of Kashi crackers.

Behind the crackers is a picture of my father! I like having a picture of him at his desk (circa 1970?) on my desk at work. Sometimes I am sentimental.

On my lunch break I went to the library and checked out a bunch of cookbooks and a few nutrition books. One so far looks awesome! The Healthiest Diet in the World is the title, and I might have to buy it. Cookbooks and healthy living books are fun, but I try to check them out of the library first and give them a test run. Interestingly enough, when I googled this book in order to get a picture or a link, The World's Healthiest Foods came up first, both on google image search, and in Amazon. Of course this could be because I own the book already, but I would like to say I heartily recommend it as well!

Snacks this afternoon were sweet. I ate a pudding cup, and then an hour later a granola thin.

Dinner was fish tacos! Fish tacos are simple, light and tasty, thus perfect for summer in the south.

Today we had a perfectly ripe avocado to eat. This along with shredded cabbage and salsa, is really all you need. We used swai as the fish (any firm white fish, or even salmon will do). On the side was some largely ignored yellow rice and black beans. The rice was from a packet and was kind of gross, but the black beans will be reincarnated (hopefully) for breakfast.

All this was eaten outside on the slightly rained on front porch with a tall beer.

Melon-Choly

2011-06-07T18:16:00.001-07:00

Breakfast this morning was half a cantaloupe and coffee. Totally meant to eat some greek yogurt, but time slept through my fingers.

I have not been able to sleep at all lately! Last night I had maybe 4 hours of sleep, and the night before around 2 or 3. (I stopped looking at the clock.) In the middle of the night I got up and looked for a book that I have apparently lost, about running, which has been on my mind. In my quest I came across 2 good reads for insomnia and anxiety. On the left is Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love by Lara Vapnyar, on the right is The Elephant Vanishes (stories) by Haruki Murakami. Both authors my mother and I discovered in The New Yorker.

Murakami is good for what ails you, and the story “Sleep” is perfect for nights such as the last two. Most of his work is moody, and evocative. I think of Murakami when I make spaghetti or float in a pool…

Soon I snacked on carrots and bell pepper with a little hummus.

Lunch was tuna seasoned with hot sauce found in a drawer, and Kashi crackers.

Dessert was a little chocolate covered granola snack that caught my eye in the store.

My boyfriend was studying and didn’t really want anything to eat for dinner. I decided to leisurely cook for myself while cleaning out some cabinets, but it didn’t turn out so well. I used some old pilaf that we had gotten in a bulk bin, an Indian inspired sauce from Target, broccoli, chicken, and an old sweet potato that needed to be eaten.

The bottom of dish was shredded chicken and the pilaf

topped with a little sauce, steamed broccoli, and medallions of sweet potato.

I ate about 1/3 of it with a Sam Adams Light.

Just for fun: My Drunk Kitchen

Wine and Roses, or Carnations

2011-06-05T15:31:00.001-07:00

Maybe it was the red wine talking last night, but I have started to miss the ol’ blog. It has never been a very good blog, but I had fun doing it. The wine in question was Newman’s Own cabernet sauvignon, and not too shabby.

My boyfriend is sick, and I have been feeling down in the dumps. I bought some lovely flowers to cheer myself up.

Later I am going to try to fix the chili I started making yesterday. Does anyone else start making a recipe, and then realize you don’t have all the ingredients? I usually plow ahead and make substitutions, but I have never really made a good chili, so I wanted to follow the recipe exactly the first time. It’s seasoned with dark beer, chocolate, and coffee, which I am intrigued by. The best chili I have ever had was an Abita beer chili which I’m pretty sure was flavored with cocoa or coffee, or both. The recipe is Chili I from all recipes. Hopefully I will be back to show off a success.

What have I been up to in the past year?

In late May of last year I had a burst appendix! That was terrible, which is putting it mildly. The recovery and subsequent problems I had put a damper on working out. I still haven’t gotten back into the swing of things, and I feel sad about it.

I am still in school, and planning on continuing. That might be the biggest reason I stopped blogging, gardening, reading, and everything else in life. Seriously though, going to school and working full time is hard, and when I have time off I don’t feel motivated to do much.

I don’t know if I would go back to posting every meal every day, but I wouldn’t mind taking pictures of the cool summer meals we make. We’ll see .

Three Beans A Day

2010-05-06T20:06:00.001-07:00

While scanning the internet for helpful information today I stumbled upon an article on Health.com called 7 Frosty Treats Under 75 Calories. This list gave me pause, because some of the items listed were half of a diet ice cream sandwich, and 3 spoonfuls of ice cream. Really? Also, sugared frozen grapes! How about no sugar on the grapes, but more grapes please! Does anyone else find this odd?

Breakfast was eaten in the car, I am ashamed to say. A breakfast burrito prepared by Mr. Greens. We shared. This monster had eggs, sharp white cheddar, and pinto beans.

Last night I didn’t prepare very well for today, so I didn’t make a lunch. (I never have enough time in the mornings, thus eating in the car.) Luckily I have an emergency burrito for these kinds of situations. Also I found out that my work cafeteria was serving shrimp stuffed baked potatoes for lunch today, and they looked glorious, but I’m glad I went to the gym and had my second burrito of the day.

After this treat I had 2 kiwis.

At some point in the day I had almonds and a Clif bar.

Dinner was a simple affair. I was craving red sauce, broccoli, and garbanzo beans or lentils, so I whipped up a casserole of sorts. My creation turned out pretty well.

Ingredients:

one can of tomato sauce
one head of broccoli
one can of chickpeas
a stalk of green onion, chopped
1/4 cup of mozzarella

It was pretty tasty for something that didn’t have a lot of planning.

I’m going to go think about renaming my blog, “BEANS, that’s all I ever eat.”

Cinco de Mayo

2010-05-05T19:37:00.001-07:00

Happy Hump day!

Yesterday I was absent from bloggy land, mostly due to feeling sickly. Darn sinuses! I will tell you that most of the day consisted of me sitting around eating hummus and carrots, drinking fizzy drinks, and I might’ve had chinese takeout for dinner. By that I mean I did.

Flash forward to this morning, I had a tupperware full of greek yogurt topped with honey. Not super attractive, but portable and off the chain!

The honey is a local brand that we buy because it tastes good and it’s cheap.

Lunch was (predictable) leftovers from the night before. Sesame chicken and fried rice.

Not so healthy, but tasty.

When I came home I celebrated ~~Wednesday~~ Cinco de Mayo with mi novio. We split a Killian’s.

For dinner I had a salad wrap, although I also made a chicken and corn chowder. I just wasn’t feeling a cream-based soup.

My wrap had hummus, a little jack cheese, tomatoes, cucumuber, baby lettuce mix, and the worst croutons ever. (They were really old and mushy.)

Note: I am the greediest salad wrap eater. Usually I stuff half a container of lettuce, half a tomato, and a ton of other ingredients, and then ask my boyfriend to roll it when I can’t cram all the ingredients together. He is a much better wrapper than I am. I need to learn my lesson, because I rarely eat the whole thing. I ate about half of this beast, but moved on to chocolate. More Brix was consumed. Mmmm….

Another Brix in the Road

2010-05-04T05:43:00.001-07:00

Today started off pretty well and then quickly crumbled into a mess of overeating and self-pity. Isn’t that always the case? I woke up with a headache for the 2nd day in a row, thanks Michelob (and pollen)!

Breakfast was enjoyed at my desk – the standard oats with walnuts, almonds, and shredded coconut.

This was enjoyed with coffee and water.

Followed by carrot and cucumber munchies-

you might notice the Annie’s Green Goddess in the background. I was suckered into trying this stuff because it is ubiquitous in blogland. Blech! I read tahini and vinegar and was expecting a different flavor. Maybe I should post this stuff for free on Craigslist. It wasn’t cheap, y’know, and some poor grad student might need a bottle of Annie’s. I digress.

After working out during my lunch hour I had a hard boiled egg. Yes, I’m the person that stinks up the office with eggs, broccoli, tuna, sardines, and other lovelies.

People in my office have been known to fry fish…in the office…with a deep fryer. (You might be a redneck…) Ugh. So I feel like I have free reign.

For lunch I had a quesadilla, made by my handy dandy sandwich press. Insides included sharp white cheddar and pinto beans. Keeping it simple.

Afternoon snack you ask? I had chai tea, a plum, and unpictured Luna Bars plural. They were purchased in box form (first mistake) at Target on sale (oooh, sale), for afternoon snack treats. Well, I’ve realized sometimes it’s hard to eat just one. They’re light and tasty. Clif bars are much much heavier.

Dinner was toast with pb, and toast with Laughing Cow swiss and blackberry jam. The cheese+jam was the best.

We also dug into my birthday chocolate that my mother gave me. It is called Brix, and was heavy as its name. 60% dark chocolate, melts in your mouth. It was supposed to be paired with wine, but we paired it with milk. I had almond and the boy had cow.

It says, “Suggested Wine Pairing: Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot, Shiraz. Tasting Notes: The smooth cocao pairs perfectly with lighter, fruit-forward wines, enhancing their aroma.” I’m so there!

We will definitely try it will wine next time, and I have just the bottle! (Thanks, mom!)

Back from the Dead

2010-05-02T19:34:00.001-07:00

It’s been nearly a month since I’ve written a blog post. Mostly because of school and computer issues. I think I’m ready to start it up again.

This morning I had a veggie omelet/scramble. Two eggs, broccoli, tomato, green onions, and sharp white cheddar.

It was very tasty, although messy.

For lunch I had a hummus sandwich with tomato, cucumber and lettuce.

On the side: carrots and edamame.

This didn’t hold me over too long. In the afternoon I had yogurt with honey and a small orange.

For dinner we went to Duang Tawan, our favorite Thai restaurant. I got the Tom Yum soup for an appetizer, and red curry with fish for the main course.

It may not look appetizing, but it was delicious, Sweet and spicy with a ton of veggies and fish.

I’m excited about spring, although no plans for a garden this year. I do have a beautiful orchid that has around13 flowers right now.

Maybe I’ll feel more inspired for a creative post tomorrow. Until then, here’s a picture of my blogging partner, Hedwig. So chubby!

Retail Therapy

2010-03-27T22:09:00.001-07:00

Friday was just one of them days. I was down in the dumps, and had some problems which I won’t address here. I decided to take an early day and my mom suggested retail therapy. It definitely hit the spot.

For breakfast I had a burrito, with a scrambled egg, sharp cheddar cheese, spinach, and a baked potato chopped inside.

It was pretty darn good. I had made too many baked potatoes the other night, so using one in this way was a good idea. I didn’t even miss that they weren’t hashbrowns.

Mom and I went shopping at TJ Maxx, one of our favorite stores, and a gardening store called Naylor’s. At TJM I got measuring spoons at a bargain price

and a cast iron skillet I got a few other things, but the most fun was a book:

I like to think it’s about Hedwig, my cat. She’s also black and hates baths.

After our shopping we were famished and split some leftover sushi in their fridge. It was spicy tuna.

I also had Grillers Prime burger on an Orowheat Thin, with lots of mustard, ketchup, and lettuce.

Also consumed a beer. It might’ve been from my brother’s stash. The Amber Bock was tasty. It was a dark beer, with a full taste.

My mom and I had fun, and I even got to see my dad and brother. I should leave work more often!

For dinner my boyfriend had been slaving away all day to make Greek Feast happen. He even made pita bread.

Here’s what I ate, a boneless pork chop, mujadarrah (rice, lentils, and fried onions), hummus and pita, and a square of feta cheese.

Today, Saturday, we had pretty much the same breakfast before school.

After school the boyfriend and I did our usual shop, and hit up several stores. I am still holding off on buying tomatoes, cantaloupe, and a few other “summer” crops because they just don’t look/smell right yet. I am looking forward to melon though.

Pre-lunch we each had our own Green Monster. For my green monsters, I use 2+ cups of spinach, a tablespoon of flaxseed, a cup of Almond milk, and a banana. Yum.

A late lunch was something different. We had tuna mixed with hummus and barbeque sauce. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that I (of course) got the idea for this from a blogger. Eating Bird Food’s blog featured the “humbecue” sandwich, and she got the idea from another blogger, Eating Bender, who I will definitely have to check out. That was a good idea! It was surprisingly tasty, tangy, and sweet. I used homemade hummus and Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce.

Also a cut carrot and pickles.

For dinner a simple sandwich on homemade wheat bread with ham, mustard, Laughing Cow French Onion, and spinach.

After this we had Sauvignon Blanc and watched TV. Which is why I can barely stay awake to type this.

Spite and Malice

2010-03-25T20:26:00.001-07:00

This morning I had a very flat egg, cheese, and ham sandwich.

Have I mentioned already that we’ve bought TWO containers of Quick Oats accidentally? One we bought at Target, and didn’t open. Yes, I am cheap enough to return them. I know from past experience that I will never use them. The other we bought at Albertson’s this week. Ugh! The only selection at the store was Quaker Quick Oats or store brand Old Fashioned. We went with store brand. This morning we discovered that they’re basically Quick Oats. Why am I so down about it? QOs are mushy and bland in comparison. Enough about that….

You’ll never guess what I had for a snack. Oh wait, it was the same thing I have every day – NUTS!

The blend contained roasted almonds and cashew pieces.

Lunch was a small baked potato and a turkey burger.

Plain:

And enrobed in cheese and salsa (how I like everything, apparently):

The turkey burger was a little off. Maybe it was just dry from overcooking??? Like any good Louisianian, I doused it in Tony Chachere’s and kept eating.

Also I had carrots on the side.

Afternoon snack was mostly mint green tea and dips into the peanut butter jar.

I didn’t really have a dinner, per se. When I came home I did some homework and we played cards. We mostly play a game called “Spite and Malice”, just in case you’re wondering. It’s a good time-filler. I’ll always remember the time we waited for my car to be fixed for ten hours, and played Spite and Malice most of the time.

So….I drank wine and had roasted chickpeas as a substitute for dinner. I guess I’m looking forward to the weekend a day early, eh?

We started watching “Modern Family”, and I have to admit, it’s not half bad. Gotta love Ed O’Neill!

I’m Back From My Lasagna Holiday

2010-03-24T20:03:00.001-07:00

This should be a quick post. Mr. Greens has a few big papers to write for school, and since we share a computer, schoolwork takes precedence. Sorry I missed posting the past few days. Believe me, it was nothing huge.

Mostly a heavenly lasagna that I ate too much of. For two days it was lunch and dinner. I ain’t ashamed! The core ingredients were andouille sausage and chicken (representin’ cajun flavor -kinda) and broccoli and spinach (dark green love) and TOO MUCH CHEESE :

The boyfriend is the lasagna maker. I made the following horrible granola bars.

They were so bad that I condemned them to life in the prison of my stomach. I ate them all and wanted to make more, but am holding back. One shouldn’t make more than one tray of granola bars per week. Plus I’m up three pounds (temporary cheese fat, I’m sure).

Moving on to today. I had a hastily eaten egg and ham sandwich in the car on the way to work. Don’t let the plate fool you.

When I got to work, my boss asked me to eat something out of a bag. Sure, why not?

Turns out, it was a smoked piece of Gar that he had caught. The picture below is not my boss, but someone holding a Gar.

[source]

For a snack I had almonds.

Lunch was a burrito. Inside was a sloppy mess of black beans, white rice, cheese, salsa, and a couple of ounces of chicken. It sure tasted good though.

Afternoon snack was one I’ve been enjoying almost every day lately: peanut butter banana sandwich.

Today I went with bites. That looks like a huge amount of peanut butter, but it wasn’t really, I think it just smushes out the sides from the weight of the banana.

Dinner was a roasted vegetable mix. (Bad pic)

I roasted one carrot, two small potatoes, a head of broccoli, and several brussels sprouts. The result was very good.

Saturday in the Park

2010-03-20T22:03:00.001-07:00

“Saturday in the park, I think it was the fourth of July…” ok I have had that song in my head all day.

For breakfast I had a failure egg. I thought my omelet was cooked, but it wasn’t, so I took it out of the pan too soon. It actually had to be returned to the pan for another minute, and became a giant blob.

The egg had a little sharp white cheese on it. It was accompanied by two slices of homemade white bread. I do prefer wheat bread usually, but Mr. Green’s white bread turned out a little better than his wheat. He’s still a much better baker than me. I’ve only made doorstops and bookends.

I also had a glass of fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice.

At school today there was an Easter Egg hunt, and lots of little children and doggies running around campus. While I waited for class I watched the children pick eggs.

We came home and ate a pear, and I got started on our lunch. The mister has been feeling sick, although I think it’s allergies and not a virus.

For lunch I had a carrot, and a black bean, cheese, and onion quesadilla. Not the healthiest, but that’s what I was digging.

This grand slam was slathered with green salsa, one of my favorites.

I met my friend Anne and her brother for coffee. At Highland Coffees I had a granola bar and a iced mocha. For some reason I rarely think of taking pictures when I’m out with Anne or I’m out to eat. I think I’m to into the conversation and not thinking of the blog.

I wasn’t really hungry for dinner since I had a hefty granola bar. When I got home, Mr. Greens had already made himself dinner (pitiful chicken soup from a can). So I had an apple and a glass of wine. What a dinner!

I don’t think anyone needs closeups of my gourmet dinner. The wine was inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon, and the apple was a gala. Yum.

Friday Free Day

2010-03-19T21:38:00.001-07:00

Today I had a day off from work! It was great. I had to do homework, and run errands, but it was nice.

I had peanut butter and banana toast this morning, with raisins on top.

We did our grocery shopping early this morning, which was nice to get out of the way. (We usually do it on Saturday at some point, and the crowds are awful.)

For lunch I had a chicken salad sandwich and pickle, with a cranberry fizzy drink.

I love club soda and cranberry juice. There was a pear shared for dessert.

Dinner was from a jar. Target’s Tikka Masala sauce, to be exact. We’ve had most of their Indian-inspired sauces, and they’re pretty good.

I made rice, and to the jarred sauce I added a shredded chicken breast, a baked potato (sliced), and stirred. When it was done I topped it with raisins and crushed peanuts. I also highly recommend chickpeas and broccoli (with rice) in almost any of the curry sauces. I was in love with the Green Coconut Curry Sauce a few months ago.

My bowl with a side of pita and roasted asparagus: The boyfriend’s plate (below), looks very orderly compared to my hodge podge.

My boyfriend made two loaves of bread today: one white, the other whole wheat. The house smelled really good. I had one piece of the white.

He’s thinking about making pita bread this week. Yay! At least one of us is a baker…

Tomorrow’s a school day and also a run day.

Typical Thursday

2010-03-18T07:32:00.000-07:00

In my continuing series of eating something different for breakfast, I ate an apple and a homemade energy bar.

Pre-workout I had a few almonds.

For lunch I had a turkey burger and a potato with cheese and salsa. Not the most glamorous picture, but it was tasty!

In case you are wondering, I cut the turkey burger in half to check its doneness, then I cut a little piece to taste while microwaving it at work.

For an afternoon snack I had banana with peanut butter.

Also: sweet coconut thai chai tea.

When I got home we jogged for 30 minutes. Afterward I had a shamrock shake -

I mean a green monster. I always have to share them with my boyfriend. We both love them now. They’ve become a special treat after running.

For dinner we had pesto pasta with chicken. I’ve been really wanting tomatoes, but have been holding out for summer. This would’ve been good with tomatoes thrown in.

We were going to drink wine and watch The Office and 30 Rock, but I fell asleep. Booooo!

I was really tired.

Pantry Staples

2010-03-17T19:51:00.001-07:00

Above is an interactive magnet on my fridge at work. Today I wanted to try a slightly different breakfast since I’ve been having problems eating breakfast lately. I had an apple and cottage cheese, although I didn’t eat much cottage cheese.

For lunch I had more tacos. I can’t help it. I should let you know that I work in an office and do harbor a lot of staples like peanut butter, salsa, mustard, and tea in my cupboards. Salsa is one of those things that make any meal better. Well, maybe not crepes.

Take black beans and rice, add salsa

Plus cheese

and spinach AND taco shells

It equals a very good taco. Or three.

*I know noone needs a tutorial on tacos, but I was running out of material. Afternoon snacks consisted of almonds, and peanut butter in a banana. What a delicious treat.

I tried a new (to me) peanut butter: 365 Organic peanut butter, crunchy with salt. Very good and inexpensive. It does require stirring, but after being refrigerated it should stiffen up.

For dinner I had a pita pizza. The toppings were simply cheese, black olives, and broccoli.

Broccoli pizza is the best. I wish I had goat cheese to add though.

‘Til next time!

Spinach Days

2010-03-16T19:35:00.001-07:00

Well I skipped Monday’s post because we had a night of studying, and there was not much energy left at the end of the night. And today I forgot my camera at home so I didn’t photograph most of my meals. Hi, welcome to the “Irresponsible Blogger.”

Let me recap Monday:

I had steel cut oatmeal, dates, walnuts, and flax.

For a mid-morning snack I had a banana.

After working out, I had lunch. I usually eat a beans and rice bowl for lunch once a week. They’re tasty and inexpensive. Today I had black beans, white rice (half a cup of each), a serving of sharp cheddar, and salsa. I decided to add the mixture to a few tacos and top with spinach.

The taco shells I use are these small, fragile things, but they’re really tasty and don’t taste stale. Also, they don’t need to be heated to taste good. I am a convert.

You would think that would hold me over, but no. I had almonds and a homemade oatmeal chocolate chip energy bar later in the day. I don’t know why I kept this in the package to take the picture. It looks unappealing, sorry.

For dinner we had GREEK FEAST as it’s come to be known. Lessee, mujuddarah, hummus, pita, feta cheese, and garlicky broccoli.

So that was Monday.

Today (Tuesday), I had almost the same thing, with Greek leftovers for lunch, similar snacks, and a Green Monster after our run.

For dinner tonight I had a ham, cheese, and spinach wrap.

Sunday Baking

2010-03-14T20:23:00.001-07:00

Today was a blissfully lazy day. Sure, there were plenty of things I could be doing, but nothing pressing. Regular readers of the blog might remember that I go to my parents’ house every Sunday for lunch. Today my mother is sick, so I didn’t go over. Poor mom.

For breakfast we had pancakes made from scratch. They were tasty, although the batter was a little thin.

I had three of these beauties, with half of a pear and walnuts. While pancakes were being made I had several handfuls of dry roasted peanuts too. I’ve been a fiend lately for almonds and peanuts.

The boyfriend made two loaves of bread. The house smelled wonderful!

I had two slices fresh out of the oven. Mmmm! The bread was crusty, chewy, and airy. He followed the Beginner's Bread recipe from this site.

For lunch I had half of a ham sandwich and a shared veggie plate.

We went for a run about an hour later. It was not my best run, mostly because I started to feel sick. It was a nice day outside though, and in our area you really have to cherish those days.

After the run I had a Green Monster with added frozen mixed berries.

I also made some energy bars that were a little disappointing. They were mostly oatmeal, peanut butter, and chocolate chips. Too bad they were crumbly and dry.

Still, after sampling a bar, I didn’t have room for dinner.

Hard Boiled Wonderland

2010-03-14T10:54:00.001-07:00

Sorry I went MIA for so long. School got really busy. Fortunately, I am now done with my accelerated class, and ready to move forward (it was a beast). Yesterday for breakfast I had toast with peanut butter and raisins with coffee.

After school in the afternoon I had half of an unpictured Clif bar (I was driving). We went grocery shopping and came home to a nice lunch. I had a hard boiled egg, carrots, and a wrap. The wrap was ham, sharp white cheddar, spinach, and stone ground mustard.

We had coffee at Highland.

And then jambalaya for dinner, accompanied by Sauvignon Blanc.

Sorry for the short post, we’re making bread and homemade energy bars. We’ll see how they turn out.

The Sun Also Rises even if you have no Breakfast

2010-02-02T21:04:00.001-08:00

The sky was so beautiful this morning! I have officially turned into the most boring person in the room, I know. Always talking about sunsets. It was purple and pink with spots of fire red and orange! I wish I could have taken an unobstructed picture.

Breakfast: I accidentally skipped breakfast. I made oatmeal with dates, flax, and walnuts, and completely forgot to eat. By the time I looked at the clock it was 10:30 and almost lunch. I went ahead with lunch at this point. My salad was romaine lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms, bell pepper, and croutons. In this package are mostly the Pepperidge Farm whole wheat ones which I like ‘cause they're sweet. I topped my salad with a little spicy ranch, which was a bit much for my palate today.

I moved on to split pea soup, which I added water to. Before it had the consistency of mashed potatoes (like yesterday). It was super tasty. I know we always make the same soups. I'm working on that. I want to make cuban black bean soup. You know if it has beans in it, I'm there! Split pea soup is my boyfriend's favorite non cream based soup (that I know of), so we make it a lot. His favorite is something called southwest chicken chowder, which I've never had. I would love to make a low fat version, if anyone has any ideas. I've made a chowder once, and he wasn't super impressed. My favorite soup is probably gumbo.

For a snack I had a Pay Day, I mean a Big Nut bar. I like them, but it's not worth 250 calories. Also, it wasn't as filling as a Clif.

I also had multiple cups of hot tea. Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride to be exact.

Around 4:00 I wanted something to snack on, and decided on a 100 calorie popcorn bag. Well, I burned it in the microwave. After some mental debate, I went to the snack machine to see if there were any full sized bags of popcorn there. Nope. I did score a bag of Cheezits which were more than twice the calories of my original goal. Sigh. I did enjoy them though.

When I got home from work I went straight to weight lifting. Today I did bench press, front squats, situps, and rows. I’ve been mixing up my squats instead of always doing squats with weights on my back. I hate overhead squats, but front squats aren’t too bad.

Pre-run I had part of a carrot and a tablespoon of peanut butter.

We started week 3 of couch to 5k. It was not bad. My ankle and back hurt a little bit.

When I got home I fixed some chicken salad into a rather disappointing wrap.

The wrap consisted of chicken salad, tomatoes, romaine, and sprouts. The chicken was mixed with mayo, coarse ground mustard, celery, and walnuts.

The chicken salad was good, but the tomatoes were off, and the sprouts were weird with the rest of this. I cannot tell a lie, I mostly ate the chicken.

I retired with a heating pad and a very full glass of shiraz. In fact when my boyfriend saw my glass he started laughing. I told him I was being realistic. I knew I would have two glasses of wine, and I didn’t want to get up from my heating pad and lounging.

Should I be embarrassed to post that? I don’t think so.

Breakfast Burritos & extra exercise

2010-02-01T20:31:00.000-08:00

I was off on Monday and did not have to go into the office for Overtime -wahoo! We split a large breakfast burrito for breakfast. It consisted of 3 eggs, an ounce of sharp cheddar, mushrooms, bell pepper, and onions. Divide that in half and you get what I ate for breakfast. Divide a shamwow in half and you get two of 'em!

*Ahem*

There was lots of studying from inside warm blankets. The cat likes to help with this. She also likes yoga. I know a lot of cats do. She bonks your head at very inappropriate times though.

At lunch we had split pea soup and a half turkey sprout pita sandwich. Yes, that is soup below. I added some water to thin it out. Mmm mmm, tasty! That’s not trademarked, right? I always count the whole pita loaf as one sandwich, although I know some people don't.So in my book this would be half a sandwich.

Around 2:00 we went for a jog, even though it was an off day from Couch to 5k. We both felt like exercising. Also, I usually work out at my gym every day that I’m not running at home, but today I was off from work as well. Does that make sense?

I was proud of us for running in the cold drizzle. We ran in a park we don't usually run in, because it's too hard to see at night. There are lakes and nice trees, and if you're lucky some Louisiana wildlife. [source]

Also, if you're not so lucky, some Louisiana wildlife. [source]

For dinner I had Duang Tawan leftovers, and the boyfriend had Vindaloo. I also had a bite out of curiosity. And another bite for quality assurance.I also had most of a store brand Granola bar. If you’re curious the store was Winn Dixie. As my old high school friend would say, “Get over it, the south lost the Civil War.” There was also a cranberry mocktail.

I went to my night class which was luckily short, and brought my coffee with me. We’ve been cutting back on the more expensive coffee, but have realized that we can scrape pennies elsewhere. Coffee is too important.

After class I came home and had a couple of glasses of shiraz and watched reruns of The Office to unwind.

Sunday

2010-01-31T11:47:00.000-08:00

Today I woke up to ham and eggs and toast. The ham was underneath the eggs, and was from the same steak that we used for the split pea soup. Yum.

It was a special lunch today- My mother’s birthday! For appetizers we had a nice Flora Springs Cabernet Sauvignon and cheese and crackers.

Birthday wine charms – Ihad the bottle!

For lunch we went to Duang Tawan, and promptly ordered fresh summer rolls.

As well as a sushi roll – the Volcano roll. It was tasty!

For my main course I got garlic stirfried vegetables and tofu. I think it’s oyster sauce that I like so much.

There was also a nice cake from Ambrosia. It’s made with real strawberries and whipped cream. Light and tasty.

I didn’t eat any dinner. I kept thinking I was going to eat my lunch leftovers, but I didn’t.

We ended up running and weight lifting, which was nice. I didn’t want to get out of bed and into the cold air, but it turned into one of our best runs ever.

Start of Mardi Gras

2010-01-30T19:40:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh! Too much to do!

This will be short: Breakfast was an egg sandwich before class. Does it look small? It is deceptively crammed with one egg, an ounce of pepper jack, and an ounce of turkey.

For lunch we had leftover mujadarrah, which I stuffed into a roasted butternut squash half. It was a little tragic looking, so I skipped the picture. I also had one of these Planters Nut bars, which are really more like a payday.

While doing multiple errands, we put a slow cooking soup in the crock pot: split pea to be exact.

This evening was the start of the Mardi Gras parades in our neighborhood. It lasts for several weeks and culminates on Mardi Gras weekend for the Spanish Town Mardi Gras parade which is the biggest and best in Baton Rouge!

Even though it was very cold, we had to show good spirit and join the crowd. So we bundled up and met my friend Anne a few streets down for the festivities. This was the Krewe of Jupiter. I have a hard time taking pictures at night with my camera, but I kind of let it go and just had fun. The night parades are mostly marching bands, small but elaborate floats, and dance troops from local schools.

We had a lot of fun, and plan to do it again next weekend. Tomorrow is the Krewe of Mutts, which we usually miss. It’s a doggy parade, with costumed pets. One of the problems is it’s during the day, and it tends to fall on my mother’s birthday.

Hawkeye Lunch & Stuffed Squash Dinner

2010-01-28T20:26:00.001-08:00

Best sunset ever tonight! I won’t bore you with a ton of pictures, but here’s a sample: Unfortunately (?) I’ve been terribly busy lately and have neglected posting, although I have taken some nice pictures of my food lately. I also haven’t been cooking very much.

As you may or may not know, I started taking a couple of classes at night and on the weekend. I also changed positions at my job, which is mildly stressful. The worst thing is I haven’t really been able to cook or clean. Today I decided I would make time for the blog though.

This morning I had my usual oatmeal (chopped dates and walnuts) with ground flaxseed added. The flaxseed was kind of like Wheat Germ, but crunchier. I liked it. Mr. Greens picked me up for lunch, and we went to the grocery store! We both got deli wraps, orange juice, and chips to share.

I got ham and swiss, and he got an italian, and we shared. Pretty darn good. We ate in the car with the moon roof down, and I saw a huge hawk circling above. It was so close! A moment later we saw another one. They were definitely circling the parking lot, hoping to grab lunch.

Later in the day I snacked on an unsatisfying granola bar. AND a small bag of popcorn.

I was gnawing on my arm, but not hungry. Sometimes I get bored or anxious at work and I don’t really know what to do.

Directly after work I did weights, although poorly. My legs are horribly stiff from recently getting back into weight training (SQUATS!) and running. I could hardly get out of bed this morning!

Immediately after that, the boyfriend and I went running. We’ve had a few arguments about how to start running, but we’ve settled on the Couch to 5k method for now. FYI: we’re on week 2 day 2.

Dinner was a treat and a way to get rid of leftovers, all in one. That’s always a bonus. We had leftover spaghetti and meatballs two days ago. There was one meatball left, which I smashed up, added lentils, more pasta, and voila! It was good for lunch yesterday, but too much food. +

butternut squash

Also on the side: a veggie plate, which my boyfriend ate most of. Confession: I bought ranch dressing, which is in a shot glass on the side. I have been wanting a dressing like Newman’s Southwestern, but I cannot find it! Does anyone have suggestions for a tangy, creamy sauce? I don’t use salad dressing a lot, but I like it in salad wraps. I digress…

I hope my legs feel better tomorrow, although it’s kinda nice feeling something from a workout. Now I know for sure my cardio at the gym has not been enough. Nothing like pounding the pavement!

The Vampire Chronicles

2010-01-21T20:00:00.001-08:00

This is my 100th post! I should say upon viewing a few of my posts that I should’ve named my blog “The Vampire Chronicles: The Blog Which Never Sees Natural Light.” Alas, it is true, I wake up before the sun rises most mornings; my office not only has no windows, but is kept dark, and I get home after sunset. On the bright side, the risks of skin cancer should be reduced.

This morning I had a simple omelet divided into two on a toasted Orowheat thin. Open faced style! The cheese is plain gouda, which I seem to be plowing through. We bought it on sale, which explains why we had a ton of it. Some people are sweet eaters, I like salty things. Like cheese.

I had a snack at work halfway to lunchtime. My rationale was that it was vegetables, so I could go whole hog. Carrots, tomatoes, celery, and a generous dab of homemade hummus.

It was very satisfying, and good fuel for my lunchtime workout. [I did 35 minutes on the elliptical.]

For lunch I had a sandwich I’ve been wanting for quite a while: a veggie deluxe. I used to make variations of these last summer all the time. All you need:

pitaavocado: mushroom:lettuce and sprouts (of the radish variety)

Hummus:

Combine, and voila:

I would like to stress that any bread and vegetable is acceptable, in fact welcome. Other ideas: cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese slices, any lettuce or spinach, onions, bell pepper, sun dried tomato, salsa, carrots….can you tell that I love sandwiches? On the side I had the remnants of what couldn’t be stuffed into the pita, made into a salad.

When I got home, my boyfriend made me a soy iced mocha with ~~our~~ his Bialetti.

For dinner I roasted a butternut squash along with a few other vegetables. Well, I shouldn’t say along with. The butternut squash I started first, for fear that it would take a really long time. It didn’t. I wanted some other vegetables too, so I put them in the oven, and 25 minutes later went and checked on them. They were still hard. It turns out I had turned off the oven when I pulled out the butternut squash. Ha! After a while I just ate a quarter of the squash and Mr. Greens ate squash, rice, and a burrito.

I waited another 20 minutes or so, ate a few undocumented cashews, and then ate dinner. It was white rice and roasted carrots, sweet potatoes, onion, and broccoli.

Even though this post was dark and dim, we must remember to always look on the bright side of life.

I sing this all the time.

Classy Eats

2010-01-20T20:36:00.001-08:00

I’ve gotten in to two bad habits lately: not working out so much, and eating breakfast really late. I can’t really explain the last one, except to say that it started around Christmas break. Breakfast has always been bright and early to me, but lately I’ve been eating so late that it’s practically lunch time. Today’s breakfast was eaten right before I left for the gym. It was steel cut oatmeal with dates, almonds, and a sprinkle of ginger granola.

At lunch I had lentil soup from my freezer. It is the Giada de Laurentiis recipe that I make often.

It is filled with lentils, carrots, tomatoes, a small amount of pasta, and a little sausage. I recommend it highly. I’ve added corn which made it more colorful, and I’m thinking of making a vegetarian version next time.

At work I stuck with my no snacking rule, although it helped to know that I was having a treat later in the day.

The weather was horrible after work! Baton Rouge was under a tornado watch, and unfortunately I had to drive around from work to school. The lightning was really close and super loud. I stopped at Starbucks and bought a medium soy latte with one pump of toffee nut and an extra splash of rainwater.

It was nice to stand outside Starbucks and wait for the rain to let up. (There’s a covering, so I didn’t get wet.) I talked to a guy from New Jersey who seemed to really like the south, but was incredulous as to how short the winter is. He asked me if that was it, if that’s all our winter is, and I answered that we might get another cold spell or two, but yeah, get ready for 9 months of heat.

A Clif Mojo bar was enjoyed hastily in the car before class.

1st day of school! My class was short, thankfully. Nothing unusual happened at school except I have to go to class one more day a week than expected. Urgh! For some reason when I was scheduling the class it was listed as only Wednesday night, but nope, it’s Monday and Wednesday! It sounded too good to be true.

For dinner I had a salmon burger with avocado slices and lettuce, on an Orowheat Thin.

It was good, but not as orgasmic as my boyfriend’s chipotle mayo, apparently. He loves that stuff, I’m telling ya’.

On the side I had a few vegetables with Mr. Greens’ special hummus.

I’m saving the rest of my veggies and hummus for tomorrow, I anticipate a killer veggie sandwich!

*Note: Interesting Article about the health effects of too much sitting.

Pesto Pasta

2010-01-19T20:02:00.001-08:00

So… yesterday I didn’t blog, but I had a relaxing day off with not much accomplished. Here’s a quick rundown of what I ate: A waffle for breakfast, plain with honey.

For lunch, reheated homemade jambalaya. And dinner was a massive burrito, made of rice, refried beans, cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce.

We made 6 freezer burritos and cleaned the house, so there is a momentary sigh of relief feeling. The mister is the best sushi roller and burrito roller.

Moving on to today….It’s my brother’s birthday. Happy birthday, Alan!

For breakfast, I had the usual oatmeal served up in my new bowl. Usual oatmeal = steel cut oats+chopped dates+walnuts+sprinkling of gingerbread granola.

I had no snacks today. I’m trying to see how that goes for me. I might be a little hungrier, but I won’t eat as much crap that’s for sure.

For lunch I met my boyfriend at Roly Poly and had my usual fare, a California Hummer. It’s a very veggie sandwich. The boyfriend orders the same thing, just larger.He was excited about his first day back at school! Tomorrow is my first day of school after being a non-student for 10 years. I am nervous, needless to say!

After work I had a club soda with a splash of cranberry juice, and a few cashews while dinner was cooking.

Maybe I lied about the no snacking….

Dinner was pesto chicken with some mixed baby lettuce thrown in. I have not been doing well with getting my 5 fruits and vegetables in!

There was also a couple of glasses of Beaujolais.

Sushi Sunday

2010-01-17T20:37:00.000-08:00

Warning: tons of photos ahead!

For breakfast I had a nice fresh veggie omelet. The ingredients were onions, broccoli, cheese, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Plus two eggs.

For lunch we made sushi, which was a blast. I steamed some edamame for an appetizer while we cooked rice and sliced vegetables.

We also drank wine: Sauvignon Blanc, always a favorite.

Some shots of the prep work:

And rolls: Vegetarian crazy sprout roll (cream cheese, carrots, bell pepper, sprouts, and wasabi paste)

Smoked salmon, cream cheese, and green onion:

Smoked Salmon and assorted vegetables

Spicy Tuna : Tuna: Inside Out Roll: My mother cutting her creation: Crab Salad topped with Tobiko: Kitchen Sink roll:

Whew!

The family tends to make huge bunches of sushi for just 4 people. I think this time we made 9 different rolls. It’s hard to stop when you have a bunch of cut vegetables and sliced tuna, salmon, and crab salad. I couldn’t tell you what my favorite was this time, although sprouts and finely grated carrots made everything better.

For dinner much later that evening we had simple quesadillas. I had cheese, beans, and jalapenos.

Gotta Go!

Waffles and Jambalaya

2010-01-16T19:31:00.000-08:00

Nothing beats waffles for breakfast!

I had mine topped with pear slices and walnut pieces, plain and simple. We also had coffee.

I ate the rest of the pear, and most of another pear. There is a small window for pear ripeness is my excuse.

We made jambalaya for future dinner, and I had a cheese, hummus, and vegetable sampling to tide me over.

After some eating in the kitchen, I put my food on a plate and sat down.

We met my friend Anne for coffee, even though it was cold and raining. I got a soy latte. Nice foam. Too bad I didn’t take off the top for the picture.

And we had jambalaya for dinner! It was tasty. There is a future post coming with a jambalaya tutorial, whether you want it or not.

Plus I drank shiraz which went unphotographed.

Chili+corn chips+cheese=?

2010-01-15T21:26:00.000-08:00

This morning I made a batch of Old Fashioned rolled oats, which only take about 5 minutes on the stove. My oatmeal consisted of dates, walnuts, a couple of cashews, and a sprinkling of Ginger Snap granola.

It was very good, but I ate it too late, at work. Maybe around 10:00, which is not like me, but I’ve been doing this lately. I think this sets me up for failure, making me feel snacky throughout the day. Here’s an interesting article about the benefits of breakfast.

For lunch I ate homemade chili topped with cheese, and a few corn chips.

I also had a plain club soda. I’ve been having stomach issues. Yeah, maybe my lunch wasn’t the best thing to eat.

Then I committed random acts of snackiness, including Biscoff cookies and a few small Hershey’s miniatures.

For dinner I wasn’t very hungry, but I had a Grillers Prime on an Orowheat thin with a smattering of coarse mustard, melted gouda, and nice lettuce. [all you can see is the lettuce in that picture] Plus a few tomatoes.

I ate almost all of it, and then moved on to a hefty glass of wine. It was Friday, what can I say?

We watched a movie (Total Recall), and I fell asleep toward the end. Boo! So I’ll probably have to rewatch.

Pizza is a Gateway Drug

2010-01-14T20:02:00.001-08:00

Diet-wise today started off somewhat well, went to crap, then sort of steadied. Let me explain with helpful pictures.

Breakfast: An egg sandwich comprised of one egg and two pieces of homemade sourdough bread (mom’s baking, not mine). The positive: I skipped adding cheese.

Also I had the usual cuppa joe and water.

Lunch is where things went downhill. My boss ordered pizza for the entire office, which was quite generous. I wanted to abstain, but the place smelled so deliciously cheesy I weakened. I also ate quite a bit of it before I even got back to my desk. I was hungry. One of the pieces was bacon, and one was barbequed chicken and pineapple. This pineapple’s for you, dad. (My mother is against the idea of having pineapple on pizza.)

I have mentioned before that the only pizza worth having is homemade, but I have slipped. I am human after all.

For a snack an hour later I went down the self-defeating path to chips.

Lesson of the day: Pizza is a gateway drug?

Not content with that, I had two Biscoff cookies.

These make me think of Kath.

Around 4:00 I decided to have a snack, even though I don’t think I was really hungry. So I dug into my grapefruit. The skin was a little old, so I just peeled that back a bit and ate the inside flesh. Does anyone else do that? That method is pretty messy, but works well for tough skin.

I also had a cup of tea. Williamson Christmas tea from my mother!

Needless to say for dinner I wasn’t really hungry. My plan was to roast a butternut squash, but I apparently cut into one that wasn’t ripe yet. I was bummed to throw it out (compost it, I mean), and I had been really looking forward to roasted squash. My boyfriend was heating up soup that smelled really good, and even though I’ve had it every day, I ate a cup of white bean & kale soup. We also ate a few sardines each. Sardines are a great source of omega 3 fatty acids, protein, and loads of vitamins and minerals. Plus they’re tasty.

These were not my beloved Season Skinless Boneless variety, but they did the trick.

After dinner we watched a bit of Peep Show and I ate a few squares of Dove dark chocolate.

Hedwig wants some too!

A Citrus & Chocolate Day

2010-01-13T20:11:00.001-08:00

Today was fairly typical. I woke up and dragged my butt to work. After a couple of hours of drinking coffee and feeling my stomach rumble, I had my usual oatmeal. I like to call it “Larabar Oats” because of the dates and walnuts. Simple pleasures, my friends.

For lunch I had leftover meatballs and spaghetti.

It was even better today. Homemade is where it’s at! Of course I say that, and only the meatballs are homemade. The sauce is Newman’s Own Sockarooni (why mess with perfection?) and Barilla whole wheat pasta. I’ve made pasta from scratch once in my life and that was enough for me.

After the pasta I wanted something to cleanse my palate, so I ate a whole grapefruit. It was about the size of a large navel orange.

It was slightly messy to eat it peeled, but fun. I used to never eat grapefruit, but in the past few years have really developed a taste for bitter foods.

Around 2:00 I had orange spice tea. And to continue my citrus theme, I took a photo of my new obsession: Badger Cocoa Butter Lip Balm (Sweet Orange flavor). It is so addicting!

I have a long day at work, and around 4:00 I wanted another snack, even though the end of the day was close. So I dug into my bar stash and got a Luna bar.

It was gone in about 4 seconds. What is it with me and chocolate this week?

For dinner I had white bean, kale, and andouille soup.

I think I’ll make this again. The beans are so creamy and the kale holds up really well.

After dinner I snacked on a few almonds and a third of a (somewhat) dark chocolate Dove bar. Must stop eating.

10 points if you spot the frog in this picture. Hee!

Spaghetti and Chocolate

2010-01-12T20:15:00.001-08:00

This morning I had an omelet filled with black beans, bell peppers, cheese, and onions, plus homemade hashbrowns.

I didn’t go into work because I woke up early this morning with a stomach ache and headache. I should’ve just manned up and gone in, but I didn’t. Instead I read my book and took naps. The boyfriend made all of my meals today. Isn’t that nice of him?

For lunch I basically had a carrot and hummus which I ate in bed and didn’t take a picture of. I also fully admit to eating a bag of peanut M&M’s.

For dinner we had meatballs and spaghetti, which was delicious.

Whole wheat spaghetti is the base, the meatballs are made out of pork and beef plus breadcrumbs, garlic and spices. Topped with freshly grated parmesan – terrific! There were plenty of leftovers too, so you’ll be seeing this tomorrow for sure.

I made broccoli with garlic and pine nuts on the side.

After I ate dinner I was craving chocolate, so I made peanut butter toast with baking chocolate chunks on top. You know it’s bad when I’m resorting to the baking chocolate.

I love my new appetizer sized plates which I bought on sale a few days ago.

White Bean and Kale soup

2010-01-11T21:24:00.001-08:00

Tonight was an evening of dark chocolate and shiraz.

We actually went to the store just for chocolate (and beer). It was an emergency I promise.

To rewind a bit: breakfast was oatmeal with dates and walnuts, plus an apple on the side.

I had the day off so we ran unpleasant errands all day. It was nice to get things done like inspection stickers, parking tags, and school stuff. For lunch we resisted the urge to eat out and ate leftover jambalaya.

Plus a few pita chips and homemade hummus.

For dinner I made a white bean and kale soup. I kind of winged the ingredients:

white beans (sorry I didn’t measure)
1 1/2 links of andouille
half a box of stock
half a bunch of kale
one carrot
one stalk celery
one clove garlic
water to cover
half an onion

It turned out pretty well, although it needed a little Tony Chachere’s.

If I make it again I will add more vegetables and possibly chicken, plus more chicken stock. I wrongly assumed we had a large box of chicken broth in the cupboard and we did not, so I had to improvise with water.

Sunny Egg Sandwich

2010-01-07T18:06:00.001-08:00

No oatmeal this morning – I forgot to make some the night before. So I made an egg and cheese sandwich on a toasted Orowheat thin. It was enjoyed on the bitterly cold car ride to work.

It didn’t hold me over as well as oatmeal though. Maybe a more substantial bread would do the trick? Or a piece of fruit?

Before lunch I really thought about ditching the gym and going to get gumbo and crawfish pies from the Jambalaya Shoppe, but I told myself that I had no excuse. I had already missed one gym session this week (for Monday’s Roly Poly), plus I had an umbrella and a coat. No excuses! I was practically drooling thinking about gumbo, so I scarfed a Clif bar.

That isn’t drool on my desk in the picture, it’s from my water glass. I promise.

For lunch I had leftover chili a la Greens.

Dive right in…

On the side I had a piece of Sargento sharp cheddar cheese and a few pilfered Tostito chips left over from the office Christmas party.

Not exactly the healthiest side items, but I am going with it today.

For dinner we had pasta with red sauce (Newman’s Sockarooni – the best jarred sauce) and shrimp. Mr. Greens made this dish, and kudos to him. I licked my plate. I had part of a light beer with dinner, and he had this:

I like how it says, “You’re not worthy.”

Links of Note:

Don't Worry Be Happy

The 11 Best Foods (that you may or may not be eating)

25 Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes from the Kitchn

A Very Kale-y Day

2010-01-06T20:23:00.001-08:00

This morning I was greeted with steel cut oatmeal to warm my belly. It had craisins, chopped walnuts, chopped dates, and a sprinkling of granola. Before working out I had half a Clif bar. I was really liking this White Chocolate Macadamia Nut flavor, but now I’m not so into it. WCMN is so 2009.

For lunch I had white beans, rice, and kale. Plus a carrot while I waited for the microwave to be free.

The beans I used were just a can of Blue Runner Creole Cream style navy beans. Yum. I love Blue Runner.

Dinner was salmon burgers and kale chips. We were planning on leftover risotto too, but it was a little stale for lack of a better word.

For the kale chips I used a whole head of kale torn to pieces which I drizzled with a tiny bit of olive oil, then sprinkled with salt and pepper. After some thought I added a little fresh parmesan cheese. Unfortunately I was too busy eating the crisps to take a really good photograph of the finished product. Below they look blurry and blackened. Just think of it as an action shot, with the chips sliding down the plate into my open mouth.

For the main course we tried these fish fillets, which I thought were burgers when I picked them up at the store. I’ve been really wanting a tuna or salmon burger, and this is what the store had.

They were a bit expensive in my opinion. I think we would’ve done better at the fish counter. It wasn’t bad tasting, but I would probably stick to Whole Foods salmon burgers, or something comparable.

I had my fillet on an Orowheat thin with a smear of stone ground mustard and a few onions.

**Kale is delicious, and I definitely need to use it more often, not just for chips.**

*Note* [not food related] Mr. Greens is suffering from weird symptoms lately. He has had a leg rash and today his feet started hurting. For those of you new to my anonymous boyfriend, this boy gets random illnesses all the time, and has bad luck with bug bites (like 2 separate brown recluse bites and chiggers this summer). Last year he got shingles which was horrible. Hopefully this is nothing serious. The only thing I could think of is our 20 pound cat likes to sleep on his feet which could’ve done some damage.

A Chili Day

2010-01-05T20:53:00.001-08:00

Today was so cold! I hopped out of bed and grabbed my snuggie and slippers to wear into the kitchen. Also I dressed in 3 layers which helped throughout the day.

For breakfast I had a warm and comforting bowl of steel cut oatmeal with dates, walnuts, and a sprinkling of Ginger Snap granola.

I ate breakfast rather late, around 10:00 so I didn’t need a snack before lunch. This was not done on purpose, I just haven’t gotten back into the rhythm of square meals since the holidays.

At lunch I went to the gym and had a nice workout, although my nose started bleeding. I think it was from breathing so much dry, heater air. How do people do it for so long up North? My eyes and nose are seriously dry today.

For lunch I had leftover split pea soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.

My sandwich press got put to good use with an Orowheat Thin and Amish cheddar.

Before dinner we had a couple of crackers and chicken salad. Random tastiness. For dinner we had chili! I’ve been wanting chili for awhile so I was excited for this. I saw this chili recipe from Real Simple on Carrots N Cake the first time she made it, and we decided to try it. We’ve been looking for a good recipe that meets both of our requirements, and this one seems to fit the bill. Mr. Greens likes a beefy beer chili, I love beans and texture.While I was at work today, he made the chili. He followed the recipe exactly, using Guinness for the beer, and pot roast for the meat. The results were fabulous. My serving was topped with cheese and jalapenos. Ha – you can barely see the chili! We also had cornbread. Someone mentioned eating pancake batter the other day, which I found gross, until I remembered my secret love: cornbread batter. Paula Deen would say, “It’s better than cookie dough, y’all.”

Confession of the day: I love sweet cornbread, which is apparently a no-no in the deep south. It’s sooo good. The boxed mixes sell well at stores here. Maybe the naysayers are using the grit to feed their pigs. As if! You know they secretly eat it.

Back in the Saddle

2010-01-04T20:12:00.001-08:00

This morning for breakfast I had steel cut oatmeal with walnuts and chopped dates.

I also had coffee with sugar and half and half.

For lunch I had a Roly Poly wrap, one I always get -the California Hummer.
It contains: Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Provolone Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Avocado, Carrot, Cucumber, Green Pepper, Sprouts, Creamy Caesar Dressing

With the sandwich I had a few Kettle Backyard BBQ chips. Yum!

After lunch I had a clementine.

Then snacked on a few cashews and drank a cup of gingerbread spice tea.

For dinner Mr. Greens tried his hand at making my jambalaya recipe. I must say it turned out pretty well.

Dinner was accompanied by a Sam Adams Light (and a half).

I’m about ready to conk out. My stomach feels way too full, and to think I almost went back for seconds!

Old Favorites

2010-01-03T20:23:00.001-08:00

I had over a week off and what did I do? Nothing, glorious nothing. I felt a little guilty about abandoning the blog, but we didn’t do a lot of exciting eating so not much to be missed.

This morning’s eats were a lovely egg and cheese sandwich, a glass of soy milk, a clementine, and a cup of coffee.

After this large breakfast, I never had a proper lunch, although I did have a homemade iced mocha. No picture of the actual drink, but here’s the gist: brew a bit of espresso grade coffee, stir in powdered chocolate, and mix with soy milk and ice. Terrific, although my first go had a little too much soy milk.

For dinner we had an old favorite: risotto with shrimp and roasted brussels sprouts with garlic and pine nuts.

It was wonderful. I’m off to have a Sam Adams light, and not worry so much about going back to work in the morning. We’ve been watching Peep Show (again) which I absolutely love. Over the break we completely caught up on Red Dwarf. I can’t believe they’re going to make a new series!

Christmas

2009-12-26T16:20:00.001-08:00

Sorry I was MIA for Christmas, but we had a somewhat busy day followed by lots of Red Dwarf watching. I’ve never heard of anyone outside of my family watching that show except for Dori.

What follows is a picture heavy recap of the day. We woke early and I thought about making breakfast, but didn’t. After opening presents, we hightailed it to my parents’, and waited for them. They were on a walk.

[favorite candid photo of the day.]

My new scarf (thanks, Dotty!)

Mr. Greens’ scarf (that’s Callie, my parents’ cat)

We had breakfast at my parents, consisting of Starbucks Christmas blend.

homemade-by-mom breakfast cake,

and mimosas! (I was excited) [drinking when I should be working]

Appetizers: Chex mix made my moi, crudite, hummus made by my boyfriend, and warm pita wedges.

I dropped one of these tomatoes on the floor and couldn’t find it. I looked everywhere. My dad said, “Are your pants cuffed?” Sure enough there was a tomato in my pants cuff. Ha! Good thinking, dad.

My dad bought my mom the Stuff White People like Page-a-day calendar. Funny stuff. Hummus was January 1st, which we all had a laugh at. Hummus is good, what can we say. Also, we’re white.

My dad received this blended scotch, and pretended to drink it over his shoulder.

[this is a close second for my favorite photo of the day!]

My boyfriend got this interesting alcoholic beverage, a barley wine, or distilled beverage

which he also pretended to chug.

Actual lunch: We had a greek feast. You know how we are if you read this blog. We never have traditional American meals for holidays. We had spanikopita, mujadarrah, hummus, and greek salad. I was so full of mimosas, hummus and chex mix that I didn’t think I could eat any. Mom and I make the spanikopita on the actual day, everything was made in advance. Spanikopita is the greek pastry dish made with layered phyllo dough and a spinach, onion, feta cheese mixture on the inside. mmm, crispy layers….

Mr. Greens makes the best mujadarrah, one of my favorite greek dishes. It consists of rice and lentils, with fried onions and spices. If it’s done well it has a meaty consistency, like dirty rice.

And of course he makes a mean hummus.

My mom’s salad, unmixed. It is mostly several bell pepper, olives, fresh herbs, feta, tomatoes, and cucumber.

My plate:

Greek yogurt can be substituted for tzatziki sauce.

We do eat inside sometimes, usually when it’s too cold to go outside.

After eating, I took a short nap on the couch with a willing participant.

One of Mr. Green’s presents that I’m excited about is a Bialetti espresso maker. He perked me up with promises of a cup.

My mom has a cup, plate, or glass for every occasion. I probably would if I had the cabinet space. We are very similar.

I don’t know what my most exciting gift was….my boyfriend bought me a Snuggie (haha), a really nice blanket from Restoration Hardware, and two pairs of slippers. I’m an old lady, what can I say? I also got tea, candles (from Phebes!) and chocolate. Another biggie: a compost tumbler. That might seem weird to some people, but I’ve wanted to compost for a long time, and they’re really cool. Thank you mom, dad, and Mr. Greens.

The eats later on in the day included a freezer burrito, and lots of chocolate and cheese.

Plus a couple of beers while watching Red Dwarf, you smegs.

All right, this is way too long. I’m getting bored with myself….Merry(late) Christmas!

Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T18:42:00.001-08:00

This morning I woke up bright and early (well, for a day off) and had the house to myself for a couple of hours. I made coffee, read blogs, and listened to the rain. Ahhh, the little things in life. I also ate a clementine and a honeycrisp apple.

I snacked on two Milton’s Multigrain crackers. Mmmm!

Around lunchtime, I embarked on making freezer burrito batch 3. The ingredients this time were:

pinto beans
cheddar cheese
brown rice
chicken
hot chunky salsa
black olives
onion
flour tortillas

I used two large cans of pinto beans, drained and rinsed, then whirred them in the cuisinart.

One and a half chicken breasts, fork-shredded, and mixed with onion and chopped black olive. Let sit in several tablespoons of salsa, for maximum flava.

+Other ingredients

We set up a station of the bowls of chicken, beans, rice, and cheese, then Mr. Greens rolled the burritos while I warmed the tortillas. Action shot:

For lunch I had a burrito with lettuce added:

We made ten future burritos for the freezer.

A few hours later I made myself a vegetable snacking plate. The veggies at yesterday’s work party were going to be tossed out, so I took them home. I also have extra cheeseball. Ugh.

This was followed closely by chocolate. Early present from the boyfriend. I think he knows my taste.

I also have been drinking cranberry mocktails today. I’m glad we’re done with the ~~Kool-Aid~~ Cran-Grape.

Other big cooking projects today? I made old fashioned chex mix, and Mr. Greens is currently in the kitchen slaving over his famous hummus and mujadarrah. We like greek food in this family. We also like chex mix.

It’s acceptable to have once a year, or so. I make the full fledged recipe, with butter, and lots and lots of Worcestershire sauce. Sometimes I add Tabasco, and I usually add Tony Chachere’s.

There’s no surprise that I didn’t have a proper dinner, since I’m stuffed to the gills. I steamed some dumplings for the hungry boyfriend, mostly so he wouldn’t eat all the chex mix. These are from Vinh Phat, one of our local Vietnamese grocery stores. Pretty darn good.

I ate one. I am planning to have a beer or two tonight, probably Sam Adams Light. We’ll probably watch a movie, and try to get some shut-eye.

Yay for Christmas tomorrow! I hope everyone has a great day with people they love.

Wrap Wednesday

2009-12-23T19:57:00.000-08:00

I now have 11 days off of work! Yay!

Today I started the morning with plenty of time so I made a breakfast burrito. I also stood in the kitchen thinking “I just had an egg last night, should I make oatmeal? I just bought greek yogurt, should I eat the yogurt?” but I decided to hell with it. I rarely want, nay, crave eggs, so I made ‘em.

This beast contained:

two eggs, yes two
grilled onion
teaspoon of real butter
a serving of shredded cheese,
baby lettuce mix
few dollops of nonfat greek yogurt.

Lettuce+eggs=good. It doesn’t always have to be spinach.

I also went to Starbucks and got my last gingerbread soy latte of the season. Perhaps ever. They’re pretty fattening. The woman taking my order made me upset over something silly. I became even more upset at the fact that I get so upset and can’t laugh off little things. I was in tears by the time I got to the office. Ugh!

At lunch I went to the store (again). I have gone everyday this week. I suppose I just want to be prepared for Christmas. Ultra-mega prepared. I’m not this prepared for a category 3 hurricane, people.

When I was coning out of the store a nice young man approached me and asked me if I would buy him a sandwich. That is why I went to Roly Poly today and had my second wrap of the day. I suppose I could have resisted, but I didn’t. The guy’s name was Jason and he was having bad luck with his employment and transportation. He was in school and had a positive outlook though.

My sandwich was the #6 California Hummer
[Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Provolone Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Avocado, Carrot, Cucumber, Green Pepper, Sprouts, Creamy Caesar Dressing]

I ate half of my sunchips, and all of my wrap. Love sprouts and hummus and avocado!

We had a little party today at work, and I brought a zesty cheese ball. I didn’t get its picture. I did get a picture of my plate of eats though. From top left: vegetables (including sugar snap peas, yay!), 2 cookies, cream cheese and pepper roll ups, my cheese ball, and a sour cream bacon all purpose dip. I scraped the icing off of the cookie, and only ate one of the roll ups. I went back for a lot more veggies and a little more cheese. Can’t help it!

After work I went to my parents’ house to wrap Mr. Green’s presents. I had most of them shipped there so that he wouldn’t open them while I was away at work. He’s sneaky like that. Some of them I wrapped to be more “mysterious” because he’s been driving me crazy with that word. He has been holding up huge wrapped presents in front of me and begging me to shake them, crying, “It’s so mysterious! So light! What could it be?” So I made sure to give him a few mysteries.

My mom surprised me with agave nectar sticks for my coffee. Isn’t that sweet? No pun intended. The sticks are tasty, and even better when broken open like the package mentions. Note to self: read instructions, instead of guessing for five minutes.

Mom also bequeathed me several clementines and a couple of Meyer lemons from a family friend’s tree.

Meyer lemons grow really well here. I might have to make a vegetable-lemon juice.

For dinner the boyfriend and I went out to eat. We were in the mood for something new, so went to an Australian restaurant called Dingo’s. It was dark in there, so the pictures weren’t fabulous.

For an appetizer we ordered something called a shrimp bong. It was skewered, blackened shrimp stuck in a vase of melted butter.

I tasted the butter but was not a fan. Also, I tasted the bread, and passed on that. In my opinion the bread should’ve been toasted or broiled. It was just plain bread and butter, which can be good, but this wasn’t.

For my entree I got a seared tuna salad. It had grilled asparagus, artichoke hearts, olives, and a crispy cheese disc. I think it was parmesan.

The salad was pretty good, but I had a problem with the temperatures being off. The grilled asparagus was cold, and the artichoke hearts were huge and straight from the fridge. I don’t like being a negative person, so I’ll just stop there.

My boyfriend got the fish tacos, which looked a lot better to me.

We watched “The Incredibles” after dinner, which was fun. I just reactived our Netflix account, which was on hold for several months. There was just nothing we wanted to watch. I’m not sure if there’s anything I want to watch now, but I figured vacation time was a good time to start lazing on the couch. Any movie (or TV show) recommendations?

In closing, here’s a note I found in a santa mug I almost bought at Hobby Lobby a month ago.

It reads: Today I saw two old homeys give a homeless man flowers. Make it your goal to find a random act of kindness today – truly good people are always out there!

More Soup for Me!

2009-12-22T20:05:00.001-08:00

Good News everyone! [Any Futurama Fans?] I found Milton’s Crackers at my local store. No such luck on their bread though.

These crackers are so tasty, buttery and salty like a Ritz, with a more complex base of seeds and multigrain goodness. They were previously top on my list of “Food I can’t find in Baton Rouge”. I had previously eaten them in Long Island, and from care packages from my boyfriend’s mother (Hi Dotty!) Also on that can’t find list? Anything from Trader Joe’s (none here), Arnold Thins (although Orowheat Thins are good), and I’m sure a few other things. I’ll probably revisit this topic later, when I have more time.

I don’t remember breakfast, although it was probably a Clif bar, eaten over my desk. Tsk tsk.

Lunch was black bean soup and crackers. Dr. McDougall’s black bean soup and TLC roasted vegetable crackers to be exact.

The box of soup had two servings, and upon inspection I decided to eat both servings. It was a little thin, but tasty. If I were at home I would’ve added more black beans and perhaps corn or tomatoes to the soup. The only negatives to it was the strong cilantro flavor (I hate cilantro…..passionately) and the wateriness. I know it was a low calorie, “healthy”, vegan soup, but it could’ve been better.

Afternoon snack: Lemon Larabar and an unpictured gingerbread spice tea.

For dinner I made an odd assortment of food I wanted: a salad with black eyed peas, sardines, and hardboiled eggs. Baby lettuce, with carrot slices: Black eyed peas (not attractive, but tasty)

the best sardines, worth the price

Hard boiled ~~wonderland~~ egg with sprinkle of seasoning

Mix together, and it isn’t pretty, but it is satisfying:

I want to show you some funny post-it notes that my coworker friend gave me for Christmas:

Made me laugh!

‘Tis The Season for Soup

2009-12-21T18:33:00.001-08:00

Long time no write! I suppose I’ll blame the holiday season, yada yada.

Breakfast today was a Seasonal Clif bar.

Lunch was reheated lentil soup. Yes, I made Giada De Laurentiis’ lentil soup again. Again I forgot to halve the recipe. It makes a ton.

On the side I had TLC Fire Roasted Vegetable crackers and white cheddar cheese.

I also had a small juicy pear.

For a snack later I had a Coconut Larabar, along with coffee in my huge santa mug. In the near future I see myself trying to make my own Larabar.

I might’ve also had a Whisper.

There is so much chocolate in my office!

I went to Whole Foods at lunch and bought a few things, including Agave Nectar, which I just tried for the first time. It tastes good, but I’ll see if it can replace white sugar long term in my coffee. That’s what I’m mostly concerned with: the amount of sugar I drink in my coffee. I don’t know if Agave is better for the teeth and gums.

For dinner I had the last of the coconut curry, with chickpeas, white rice, and broccoli. Plus oven roasted sweet potato chips on the side, and a beer.

Highlights of the days I missed:

1.Waffles topped with pear and walnut (the top one is mine, but the boyfriend’s picture might be a little better – his is on the black plate.)

2. Wine and cheese spread at my parents’ house on Sunday. This is all we ate for lunch, although we had plans for a more substantial meal. Vegetables, cheese, hummus, artichoke dip, crackers, and wine. Lots and lots of wine. (there was more cheese than this, but my picture turned out weird…)

Yellow baby carrots, and extremely mild radishes were the highlights of the vegetables.

We had Beaujolais Nouveau and Groth Sauvignon Blanc (the one we often have so I neglected to take pictures).

3. Southwestern Grilled Chicken Salad from McDonalds.

It’s an odd thing to be excited about, I suppose, but I had been craving this. The McDonalds close to my work doesn’t make the best salads in my opinion. There were no tortilla strips, lime wedges, and I think something else was missing. I’m just grateful for the black beans and roasted corn. Yum!

4. I made a Saints themed dip for work late last week. I confess, the fleur-de-lis was actually made by Mr. Greens. I toiled over the other 7 layers though.

I was just pleased to be able to wear my gold converse shoes. FYI – we won the office Christmas decorating contest this year. Go us!

5. Wheat bagel sandwich – on Friday I stopped and got a whole wheat bagel with garden veggie cream cheese. I proceeded to doctor it up in a great way, by adding nice lettuce and carrots (I had a small leftover salad in my fridge that didn’t have dressing on it). It was crunchy and tasty.

Must remember this combination!

6. I tried a Peanut Butter and Jelly Mojo Bar. Hmmm…it’s sweet and salty, but doesn’t hold me over as much as I would like.

Okay I was originally going for 10 highlights, but I don’t think I have enough material. In parting, here’s a picture of me and my cat reading a book about sushi making. Very interesting, I assure you.

Tabasco and Wasabi

2009-12-15T20:24:00.001-08:00

This morning I had savory oats consisting of

steel cut oats
an egg
2 links of morning star farms sausage
tabasco sauce
paprika and pepper

After I prepared this I went to put my contacts in and learned a very important lesson about eyes and Tabasco sauce. Let’s just say my eye rejected the contact forcibly. Haha! I really didn’t think I had touched the Tabasco, but I’m hoping that’s the problem, since I want to wear my contacts tomorrow.

For a snack later on in the morning I had a Clif bar.

I worked out at the gym at lunch. I’m trying to keep my spirits up about exercise. I feel like I should do more, like run outside, lift weights, do yoga, and everything else, but I also haven’t figured out how to incorporate it into my life. It can happen, I just have to do it and it will become a habit.

For lunch I had leftover “mom’s vegetarian lasagna”. I don’t know why I wrote that. Unnecessary quotation marks, much? At least I didn’t say “mom” or “vegetarian”, implying that neither are the real deal.

It was very tasty. Especially on a rainy cold day like today.

In the afternoon I snacked on a satsuma, and gingerbread spice tea.

Out of the seasonal teas I’ve tried, I think gingerbread spice is the best. Sugar cookie is a little bland, but it smells good.

Toward the end of the day I ate some unpictured carrots, celery, hummus, and a few radish slices. My gums have been hurting so I thought I was going to give up the carrots today, but I started craving something around 4:30. My options were popcorn or veggies. Just in case you’re wondering, I had a filling last year between two of my back teeth that causes me problems sometimes. Most of the problems are caused by broccoli, carrots, apples (the skin), chicken, and beef. I blame the pot roast on this. My dentist said I should stop eating broccoli. I think he was joking. That was a long random story….

After work I went to the drugstore and grocery store. I found several deals, like a Buy One Get One free almond deal at the drugstore. Unfortunately my favorite flavor was out, so I tried something new. Wasabi Soy Sauce!

Let me sum up my feelings in two words: Paint Thinner! Maybe they’ll grow on me a little. I’ve already eaten a few. Now I’m off to rub my eyes. (kidding) Does anyone want the other container?

I also found some BOGO deals on MOJO bars, so I bought them, although they didn’t ring up as free at the register – don’t you hate that? I dislike having to point out pricing problems, but I hate losing money or feeling gypped.

Dinner was leftover split pea soup and crackers.

TLC Honey Sesame Crackers.

Of course right when I declare we don’t keep crackers in the house I go out and buy some. There are myriad reasons for that, but I won’t go into that. Enough blabbing for today.

Pot Roast Sandwich

2009-12-14T18:31:00.001-08:00

Breakfast this morning was premade steel cut oats, Ginger Snap granola, a couple of walnuts, couple of cashews, and raisins.

It was very hot, so I used my tray at work.

Snack was a carrot, 2 celery stalks, and most of a red bell pepper.

Mr. Greens made me some hummus to go along with my raw vegetables.

For lunch I really wanted a salad. A southwestern chicken salad from McDonalds. This craving was triggered by reading about them on someone’s blog. But I had packed my lunch and had plans to go to the gym on my lunch hour, so I abstained. My lunch was not as healthy as a salad would’ve been, but I digress. It was leftover pot roast on homemade sourdough bread. My mother made the bread, not me. It accidentally burned a little in the toaster.

I bought some pretzels to go along with my sandwich.

These were pretty good, and festive.

For an afternoon snack I had tea and a mini Larabar.

I wish there were more flavors in the mini packs. I don’t really like the cherry pie flavor, so I don’t see myself buying the pack with apple pie, cherry pie, and cashew cookie again.

For dinner I had the old standby of broccoli, shrimp, shells, and cheese. This time I used whole wheat elbows because that’s what we have.

Right now having a few almonds and cashews.

Gotta go!

Pastrangulator

2009-12-13T19:53:00.001-08:00

Saturday I took the day off from blogging. That seems to happen at least once a week, huh?

This morning I woke up and had coffee and rum cake. That’s always a good way to start the day.

Boyfriend and I went to my parents after a little while. Once there we had another cup of coffee, followed by wine.

Crackers and cheese, and guacamole. Real guacamole. See fake guacamole story if you wish.

We had a wonderful vegetarian lasagna and salad. It was mid 60’s today so we sat outside. My mother made both, by the way. I loved the walnuts, craisins, and fresh herbs from the garden in the salad.

Chianti went with our meal. Sorry for my purse in the background there.

Mom told me that her friend Molly was talking about how she couldn’t wait to be retired so she could sit around all day “Looking at boobs on the interstate.” We all laughed at this. Apparently she meant “Blogs on the internet”. Or maybe not?

Back to the Kitchen Utensil Series:

This object is called a Pastrangulator, patent pending. I can’t give away all of our secrets, but my family has renamed a lot of things.

For dinner I had a Chik patty on my mom’s homemade sourdough bread. I made it with lots of onion and a garlic and herb laughing cow cheese.

Pretty darn good.

Mom+Me

TGIF

2009-12-11T22:16:00.001-08:00

Today has been cold and rainy. Meh.

Breakfast was an excellent blend of cottage cheese and black berry preserves.

Oh wait no - Except the cottage cheese froze over, and I was a little too liberal with the preserves.

I ate half of the bowl and moved on to carrots and apples.

Can you tell I was in a hurry this morning? Not only is my carrot cut all weird, but this apple wasn’t good. It had started to go bad on one side, but I thought I could salvage it. Not so, my friend, not so.

I moved on to popcorn.

My co-workers must think I have binging problems. I was eating from 7:00-9:00 practically, then I made 3 cups of tea. Oh well, we all have our quirks.

For lunch I had a bean burrito. I was starving after working out.

I decided this picture doesn’t accurately portray how big the burrito is, so I took another.

But, do you know how large my hands are? Back to the drawing board.

Yes, that is a cordless phone. (Black on black not a good idea.) The burrito is taking a very important call apparently. At work we call it the “ghetto phone” because it is duct-taped together. Ahhh…budget cuts.

Later I had my umpteenth cuppa tea.

The boyfriend picked me up from work and informed me that we were having pot roast. Best news I’ve heard all day. We stopped at Highland Coffees, then went home for some good food.

Arial shot:

Pot roast and mushrooms in au jus

mashed potatoes, carrots, and green beans

Right now I’m enjoying a soy candle my mom gave to me called Santa’s Whiskers from Phebes. Phebes candles are the best. We are loyal customers!

I also might be enjoying a Killian’s.

Risotto and Brussels Sprouts

2009-12-10T20:01:00.001-08:00

For breakfast I had a honeycrisp apple

and full fat cottage cheese.

Kleinpeter is a local dairy, which is quite good, but I have to admit that Breakstone is my favorite. I wish I could find large curd cottage cheese around here. By the way, cottage cheese is one of the foods that I really started liking a couple of years ago. I mean, I always tolerated it, but now I love it.

Snacks in the morning:

half a cool mint chocolate clif bar, made into little squares, and stacked into a tower.

handful of cashews

Lunch was leftover Pad Thai.Around 2:00 I had coffee and a cake square. I tried my hardest, but I caved in to temptation.

Dinner was an old favorite in our house – risotto and roasted brussels sprouts. Mr. Greens makes the risotto, and I make the brussels. He uses arborio rice, garlic, onions, seafood stock, and white wine or beer. Tonight he had to use beer since we were out of wine.

It was topped with a few small shrimp which were sauteed lightly in olive oil and seasoned with Tony Chachere’s. (Best seafood spice in my book)

For the brussels sprouts, I cut them in half, lightly coat in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place in a dish. Add minced garlic (one or two cloves). Place in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. After twenty minutes I stir and add a tablespoon of pine nuts. Bake for another 15-20 minutes. They’re pretty darn good. We haven’t strayed from this method yet.

The insides are usually creamy and the outsides crispy. The pine nuts really scent the brussels.

I like to add my burnt garlic and toasted pine nuts to the risotto. Yum!

An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

2009-12-09T19:36:00.000-08:00

[Note: I wrote this on Thursday]

Wednesday I had the day off, but I had to run errands. Breakfast #1 was an apple on the way to a doctor’s appointment.

Breakfast #2: Coffee I snagged at the doctor’s office and a Clif bar in the car.

Shortly after I got home I snacked on some cashews and almonds.

Then I saw Mr. Greens eating a burrito, and got food-envy. So I heated up one for myself. It was a vegetarian one, with two types of beans.

I only ate half.

While I was eating, my cat was noisily making a nest on packing paper that happened to be on the floor.

As soon as I finished my lunch, we went out again to run more errands. This time it was school related, and took several hours. After that, we went to Duang Tawan, our favorite Thai restaurant. For an appetizer I got a summer roll.

If you’ve never had one, it’s a rice paper roll filled with carrots, radishes, sprouts, cabbage, scallion, and topped with black sesame seeds. I’ve had a couple of variations, but these are the freshest tasting summer rolls ever. I prefer the ones without meat or tofu, and minimal mint or cilantro.

Mr. Greens got a red snapper roll for his appetizer. Neither of us usually like warm or fried rolls, but this one was tasty.

In another twist, I strayed from curry and got pad thai. It was tasty, but not remarkable.

I felt like the kid who goes to an ethnic restaurant and orders a cheeseburger. Pad Thai? pffft.

Curry is where it’s at.

Chickpea Curry + Sweet Potato Fries

2009-12-08T20:01:00.001-08:00

This morning I had oatmeal + coffee. Steel cut oatmeal, walnuts, raisins, craisins, and a sprinkling of Ginger Snap granola.

I don’t use milk or any extra water. I suppose years of avoiding milk has made me like it that way. I still like Cream of Wheat with a dot of real milk. Soy and rice milk are too sweet, even the plain versions.

For a snack I had carrots, bell pepper, and celery.

Lunch was beef stew, and TLC roasted vegetable crackers.

‘Twas good. While I was trying to eat my lunch, I heard my coworker’s Christmas music. For some reason this just enraged me! It was skin-crawlingly bad music, played a little too loudly, and she was laughing and apparently enjoying herself, which made me feel even more Grinch-like. I stopped eating halfway through lunch because I was upset by a crooning version of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.” [edited to write: Chillax!]

I had a Clif bar later in the day,

and Gingerbread spice tea.

For the record, I usually drink coffee at 2:00 every day with my coworkers. I drink coffee 3 times a day, (and tea) although I don’t always finish each cup. I would like to cut down to 1 or 2. Ack! The morning coffee is good, but I also look forward to having coffee when I get home. The boyfriend and I sit down and talk for a moment before making dinner or watching TV, or studying. *Sigh* Back to booze!

Dinner was a chickpea coconut curry with broccoli. Remember this stuff?

I spooned a little into a pan, along with chickpeas and rice. I steamed broccoli in the microwave and added it, along with red pepper flakes.

I also made some sweet potato fries. They’re pretty good straight from the pan. They’re also tasty in chickpea curry. Just for future reference.

I can safely say that today I got enough vegetables in my diet.

Tomorrow I’m off from work, but I have tons to do! This stress Reduction Kit might help!