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

Lentil Soup Redux

Breakfast: I started with the last of the cantaloupe. It was still fresh and firm. I also had Oikos 0% and Peanut Butter Puffins.

The Oikos I'm a little disappointed in. It's not as thick and mousse-like as Fage. Either I need to upgrade to 2% or stick to Fage when it's on sale. I'm going to try all the brands before I settle on one. The peanut butter puffins were addictive.

This might be my favorite breakfast combination: fruit, yogurt, and granola or cereal. Of course, I also love biscuits, grits and eggs, but I find that a lighter breakfast feels better on my stomach.
Snack: banana and clif bar
I worked out at 11:30. My sciatica was killing me today. Oy vey!

Lunch: a hefty serving of homemade lentil soup. It was even better today. It's such a colorful soup with the corn, tomatoes, carrots, and green onions. The andouille sausage I added was super tasty, and if I make this recipe again I will use a whole link. Unless, of course, I make it for vegetarians.The cheese on top was so good. It was a 6 cheese blend of Mozzarella, romano, fontina, provolone, asiago, and parmesan. I am definitely a delayed gratification eater. I save the best bits for last. This is not always the case, but I usually eat what I like in reverse order. I find it more satisfying.
If I get full before I can eat any more I save it for later. This doesn't happen as often as it did when I was a kid, but it does happen.
I was "known" as a child for refusing dessert just because I was full. I think what helped was my mother would save me a slice of pie or cake for the next day to eat, so I never felt like I was going to miss out, and thus shove unwanted cake in my face when I was in reality full. I had a better understanding of my fullness factor when I was a kid.
Afternoon snack: almonds
Dinner: I remembered the leftover rice, gravy, and roasted vegetables from the other day when I roasted chicken.Still very very tasty. I also ate maybe half a cup of lentil soup.Expect to see another appearance (or two) of the lentil soup.

On Another Note:
Earlier this evening, when I was cleaning the kitchen, I reached into a spoon drawer when something jumped at me! It was a baby anole! Anoles are a type of lizard common in Louisiana and the southeastern states. Here he is in my 1/3 measuring cup, being transported outside. He was almost translucent, with big feet and big brown spots for eyes. I'm used to seeing green, brown, and a rare white anole.He's so tiny!Sweet escape (this was a second before he leaped to freedom).I forgot to add - this was the first day of maybe fall weather we've had this year. It was under 80 degrees with very little humidity! The air was crisp and clear, and almost everyone had a spring in their step. It was exciting - I love fall and will take whatever I get.

Lentil Soup

Today's my day off and I didn't have to work overtime. Yay! So I made plans with my mom to go shopping and I was supposed to get my car inspected, but I slept in and had a leisurely breakfast.

Breakfast was Oikos Nutty granola (no milk) and a quarter of a cantaloupe.
After this I went to my mom's house.
Lunch was late. On Saturday night, my boyfriend and I went to our favorite Greek restaurant. I ordered the vegetarian platter and brought nearly everything home. So for lunch I had a falafel dipped in hummus.
and mujadarrah (didn't eat the grape leaves)
and a banana
Dinner:
Lentil soup from Food Network's Giada de Laurentiis

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 pound lentils (approximately 1 1/4 cups)
• 11 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 4 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2/3 cup dried elbow pasta
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and saute until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juices. Simmer until the juices evaporate a little and the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add the lentils and mix to coat. Add the broth and stir. Add the thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer over low heat until the lentils are almost tender, about 30 minutes.

Stir in the pasta. Simmer until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan, drizzle with olive oil, and serve.

My changes: I added a tiny bit of andouille sausage, an ear of fresh corn, and green onion. Also I used fresh tomatoes because we didn't have any canned, and I omitted the celery for the same reason. Served with cornbread. This recipe makes a huge amount!

Musical Sunday

On Sunday I woke to an extremely hungry stomach. I made grits, canadian bacon, and egg in toast. Plus coffee:
We went to my parents' house a little later, and had wine and crackers and cheese. More of the same wine as last week. Groth Sauv Blanc 2008.
crackers
The regular crowd was there.
Poojah the peach-faced love bird. Don't let the name fool you, she loves to bite. She also likes Eric Clapton.And Kali, who I disturbed napping. He's very pretty.
After a bit we ordered Chinese takeout. Singapore Mai Fun, Vegetarian Bean Curd, egg rolls, and chicken on a stick are the usuals. I have to eat a little bit of everything.
After eating, we all hopped into a car and headed to Covington to see an early music group called Musica Da Camera.
The church they played in was huge, and the grounds were very pretty.
Later on that evening I had a half of a cantaloupe. I usually wait too long to open up a cantaloupe, but today was my lucky day. This was perfect-o.
There's a few bite marks in it already. I couldn't wait.

*Right now we're dealing with fruit flies because of the cantaloupe and bananas I bought on Saturday. I have almost stopped buying bananas because they attract so many flies. What can I do? I just looked in my coffee cup and there are 3 fruit flies swimming around in there. Ack!

To Market To Market to buy a Fat Fig

This morning I woke up a little cranky and dry mouthed.
My boyfriend made me coffee and breakfast though, so that was quite cheering. Breakfast in bed was grits and a soft boiled egg.
Propped up by the ol' foot. Our curious cat will sniff anything you put in front of her nose. You can't tell, but she's really craning her neck.
After I ate, I decided it was time to go do my Saturday grocery shopping.

Vegetables: 2 potatoes, 4 ears of corn, 2 red bell pepper, garlic, 3 small squash, zucchini, 2 turnip, 2 carrot, and 3 sweet potato.
Also: 2 small yellow onions, green onions, brussels sprouts, boston lettuce, and 2 avocado.
Fruit: Cantaloupe, bananas, and grapefruit.The total for today was 21.12.I went to another store to get dry goods, bread, milk, eggs, and so forth. The only interesting thing I got there were some dried banana chips, yogurt covered raisins, and 2 bags of almonds.Yes, definitely lots of snacks. I love those Smokehouse almonds. My father used to eat those (or was it Emerald brand?) all the time, but he would nibble on one almond for hours.

Speaking of snacks, later I ate a grapefruit. It was from last week and was a little more sour than bitter. I was going to eat that apple too, but I lost interest.
Dinner:
Salmon burgers, sweet potato fries, and roasted turnip.
The turnip: it was sprayed with olive oil, and sprinkled with salt and pepper, then wrap in tin foil and place in the oven for about an hour. While that was going on, I made a few sweet potato fries. The best method I've found is to spray the baking sheet or tin foil with olive oil. I also lightly mist the top of the potatoes too. Then shake on my secret spices.The salmon burgers turned out pretty well. We ate them plain with an avocado on Orowheat thins. Also had a couple of olives and pickles on the side. Next time I'll use a Chipotle mayo or something to give it a little zing. Mine:His:
He also ate a tuna burger and I tried a bite. It was tasty!


Tomorrow we should be going to a concert with my parents, and we're planning on taking a bicycle ride.