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.

Monday Bloody Monday

Breakfast:
This morning I was in a huge rush.
All I could scramble up was half a Clif Bar and a small banana.
I worked overtime at work today. I usually use my lunch time to exercise at the gym at work, but today I was dragging so much that I wanted to get out as soon as possible, so I just ate at my desk.
Lunch: was a reheated Chik patty on an Orowheat bun, with a Laughing cow wedge, and mustard.
When I make chik patties, I bake two at a time, and zap the other in the microwave the next day. They have never been good straight microwaved to me, but reheated is ok.

This photo was taken at home, but I keep another jar of honey dijon at work in my little fridge. It's good stuff.

Dinner: When I got home, my boyfriend was already cooking.
He fried up some potatoes in a teaspoon of butter, and a misting of olive oil. We both agreed that the pulled pork I made a couple of days ago wasn't my best effort, so he added it to make a corned beef hash (sans beef).
Like any hungry man, he added two fried runny eggs to the top of his mountain of hash.
My serving was one modest egg.
Almost immediately afterward I had half a grapefruit with my new grapefruit spoon. Thanks, mom!

Aren't they pretty?

Saturday Part II

The rest of my Saturday has been pretty fruitful. It's been a slow cook kind of day.
Yes, it's pulled pork again. What can I say, it's pretty popular with the boyfriend. Today I added an old carrot. And because I was feeling ambitious, I tried a new recipe. It was for cauliflower mac & cheese from Carrots N Cake: recipe (borrowed from Real Simple).
How is this 6 servings, Real Simple? (There is another dish to the side as well). I took a test bite and thought it was a little dry, but I'm going to give it some sittin' time before I judge too harshly.
Earlier when I realized I needed some fresh parsley I went out to my abandoned backyard garden and looked around hopefully. No such luck, but I did see some cool stuff.Green bananas on the banana tree.The banana tree's flower. I love the banana flower, it is huge and a startlingly bright color. Last year during Hurricane Gustav, this tree threw bananas all over the yard. That was Labor day last year.

Dinner:
I tried the Orowheat thins and liked them!
Toasty Oro' thin, Chik Patty, mozzarella, baby spinach, honey mustard, and a few slices of onion.I also enjoyed a Turbodog while mopping. If you're ever by Abita Springs, I recommend going by their brewery and taking the tour. Lots of fun!


Now:
I'm off to watch The Soup and do some relaxing.
My pineapple plant:

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.

Pulled Pork Sandwich

Breakfast this morning was homemade sweet potato bread and a cup of coffee.
At work I had a few snacks. There was a blood donation emergency at work, so I was more than happy to oblige. Some people are sick or queasy by the sight of needles or blood, but not me. Bring it on! Snacks were: a bunch of yogurt covered raisins. These are good. Laughing cow Gouda cheese and a sweet, sour, crisp delicious Granny Smith Apple!

Lunch was a kangaroo pocket pita stuffed with leftover pulled pork, cheddar, and baby spinach. I should've had some BBQ sauce. Oh, sweet Baby Ray, how I missed you! I have made pulled pork several times, but this time I used a recipe culled from aggie's blog. I originally got to the recipe from itzy's kitchen. It was fabulous, and the consensus at our household is, never make it the old way again. Pictures of my food taken in the AM:Cruel light of morning.
Bag o' spinach, pulled pork, 2 pita pockets, and a cool mint chocolate Clif bar.
The Clif bar was uneaten today, as I ended up not being able to work out. The nurse who took my blood said no strenuous activities for 12 hours!
I usually workout at lunch and then hurriedly eat my lunch at my desk. It's definitely become a habit to exercise, and I feel thrown off if it doesn't happen.

Sunrise and Pita

My view this morning driving to work was heavenly. Really my camera and photography skills can't do it justice.
I need to figure out a way to take pictures of my lunches and snacks. My work is very private so I feel wrong taking pictures of anything at my desk. I did sneak and take a picture of my snack cabinet, for sort of a time capsule of what I've been eating lately. Excuse the overly saturated light effect. I work in almost complete darkness.

Left to right: Nature's Path Pumpkin seed granola, Smokehouse almonds, pitted dates in a ziploc bag, Community Coffee medium roast (local brand), granny smith apple, two boxes of mint tea, creamer and sugar, small box of clif bars. In the back: croutons and dried apricots.





Dinner was a pita stuffed with black beans, swiss, and a thin slice of ham. Which I then crammed with spinach. Oh yeah!
I'm ready for bed!