Back to the Grind

As per usual, Monday morning was rushed. For breakfast I had a Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut barand half a grapefruit
I snacked later on half a Blueberry Crisp Clif
I surprised myself by liking this one. I don't usually like fruit flavored granola bars. I prefer muffins or the real thing!
I dragged my butt to the gym today. Was so not feeling it, but once I was there everything was fine. Isn't that always the case?
For lunch I packed an enchilada and a half, plus extra tomatilla sauce. I listened to my senses and only ate a whole enchilada. 2/3 of the below picture. It was so tasty.On the side I ate a carrot and a few grape tomatoes.I missed my hummus, although the carrots and tomatoes didn't really need it. Very good produce.
I was super-snacky today, and I think it was all due to being very tired. I had almonds and puffins. Sorry for the recycled pics, I have no excuse.Dinner was a success. I made a pasta with broccoli and shrimp. It was topped with pecorino romano, and liberally spiced with red pepper flakes and roasted garlic. Yum!
This post has to be a little short because Mr. Beans needs to further his education and write a paper!
'Til next time - check out the fruit basket my mater bought me. Wasn't that sweet? Nice pears too! I can't wait to eat them.

Pumpkin Oats

Tuesday:
For breakfast I had pumpkin oats, using a third cup of Libby's Pumpkin Pie filling. On top I sprinkled vanilla almond granola, raisins, and walnuts.
About halfway through I stopped eating. Something tasted like plastic. Maybe it was the expired pumpkin? The week old oats? For lunch I had a grilled ham and cheese with spinach.

On the side I had veggies and hummus: grape tomatoes, yellow and red bell pepper, carrots, and celery. Meh. I made this batch of hummus, and it didn't turn out so great. Mostly because we didn't have enough lemon juice. Lemon juice is very important apparently. I squeezed a lime into the mix, but that seemed to add more bitterness.

Snacks:
Later I had a Clif Z Bar. Peanut butter is not as good as Honey Graham in my opinion. This was chewy, and had a rather syrupy taste.
The difference between these and large Clif bars is these are more of an oat/granola bar, whereas Clifs feel more like a protein bar. I like that Z bars are all organic and have fewer calories. Of course, they're also smaller.

I also ate a really good banana, but I saved the Chobani for later.
I feel like the window for bananas is 2-3 days. Then they're too soft and mushy. If I had a fruit stand within walking or bike riding distance to my house I would buy fruit as needed, instead of weekly. Right now I'm feeling pressure to eat a lot of fruit that I just bought.

Dinner: We were both tired, so we made a simple meal using leftover roasted chicken: Pesto pasta.
It's definitely one of our go-to quick meals, along with chicken salad, and omelets. We use store bought pesto, whole wheat rotini, and chicken or shrimp. I tossed a few tomatoes in mine. They fell to the bottom, apparently.

After dinner I fell asleep. I have had the worst sinus headache since Sunday! Boyfriend has been fighting a cold or some sickness since then as well.

A Leftover Kind of Day

The air felt GREAT today! It's currently 67!


Breakfast: Today I tried the Voskos plain Greek yogurt topped with my own honey. I tried a little without honey too (for fairness), and have to say their 0% is better than Oikos in my opinion. Not that I would turn away any Oikos. If you think that, you're mistaken.
I also had PB Puffins, and coffee. There was a grapefruit planned, but it looked old and gray so it went back into the fridge. Not quite a complete breakfast, but I scraped by.

Snack: Clif bar - last of the PB crunch. Not my favorite. In case anyone is wondering, I eat a snack about an hour before I work out. Anything helps with energy levels and performance. I used to be really anti-protein bars, but I've changed my opinion a little.

Lunch: Is anyone surprised that I'm still eating lentil soup? I have about 6 servings left. They're going in the freezer.And a sweet potato that I baked last night.I tried something that I remembered reading on the daily plate. I put honey on it. Just honey. It was good, but maybe too sweet? I like my sweet potatoes with pepper, or if I'm not caring about calories with butter and peppery seasonings.
My lunch always consists of a big gulp of water too. One in the morning, one after working out.Ah!

Snack: apricots, dates and(I ate the rest of the bag and then took a picture)

Dinner: This has turned out to be leftover week. There was some chicken leftover from my roasting project (5 days old is still good, right?), so we made an old favorite Pasta Pesto with Chicken.
I had an olive and sliced bell pepper on the side.
Links of Note:
Beautiful Farmers Market Soups
Probiotics in Yogurt
WIC Expands to Cover Fresh Produce

Shrimp Skimpy

Note: Tonight's recipe is largely based on one I remembered from Kath Eats Real Food: here



Tonight I hemmed and hawed over what to eat. Should we clear out the bursting freezer? Or chip away at some canned goods? We have a few odds and ends in the fridge, but other than that, not much.
Originally I was going to make a shrimp stirfry using some frozen veggies, but at the last moment I changed my mind and threw some pasta into the pot. I'm glad I did, because it was heavenly.



Ingredients Used: whole wheat pasta, spinach, olive oil, a few shrimp, white wine (1/3 cup or less), a clove of garlic, white hard cheese (pecorino romano), red pepper flakes and Tony Chachere's. We usually use those small screw top bottles of wine for cooking. They're sold in little 4 packs. In case you are wondering, there are a few paper towels in my spinach bag to keep the spinach from getting that slimy wetness. I believe I picked up that tip from B+B. It helps with lettuce mixes too!Moving on...I cleaned and deveined some shrimp. We had about 6 left in the bag, so that will really clear out some freezer space. Or not.

Gulf coast shrimp -WILD!

Here they are in a cold bathHello handsome!

Shrimp with olive oil, garlic and sprinkled Tony's.

Grab a few handfuls of spinach and toss in the pan. When the pasta is finished cooking, add it as well as a bit of pasta water, plus a splash of white wine. Let the liquids cook off. Serve it topped with grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese.

My serving

His serving

Clean plates

**Notes**I was reading about shrimp scampi, and it should really have some lemon juice, and possibly some bread crumbs, but I like it this way just fine!



My cat/blog partner pretending not to eat my chocolate covered crack raisins.