Taste Explosions

Today's post might be a little short because I'm trying to get a lot (of chores) done.
Breakfast was a nonfat Voskos greek yogurt, topped with super nutty granola and honey.This combo had my mouth yelling, "I love it! I love it! I love it!'There was no snackage for me today. My boss went to Zea Rotisserie and Grill, and offered to pick up for everyone. The menu was so big that I had trouble figuring out what to get. What I ended up with was a Carving Board Sandwich with a side of Corn grits. It came in a microwarmable container. Good to know.The grits were my favorite part, and very different from the grits I make at home; more of a sweet mush with corn niblets, milk, sugar(?), and butter. It was like a sweet, creamy corn pudding.After my food coma wore off, I felt a little better. I stopped at the library after work, which was nice. Unfortunately they didn't have about 8 of the books I wanted. :(

For dinner I decided to make a simple stirfry. It contained yellow squash, carrot, celery, edamame, onions, shrimp, bell pepper, and mushrooms on top of brown rice. The sauce is one I've used before.
My pictures of the stirfry came out horribly -
Flash:
No flash:With dinner I drank a club soda with a twist of grapefruit.Now I'm moving on to the One and Only...

Burn Down the House Chili

I have been smelling something on fire the past couple of days. The boyfriend didn't smell it, even when I made him stand in the exact same spot as me in the kitchen. You see, I'm a little bit of a "super-smeller", and have been even when I was a smoker. It smelled like either a wood stove burning, or a barbeque pit, but only in one corner of the kitchen.
I forgot about it on Monday after verifying that there was no fire, but on Tuesday I was determined to find out what it was. Were my neighbors grilling something delicious? Maybe it was a wood stove, although the temperatures have been in the 70's. I stood in that one spot in the kitchen, and smelled everything, including the bamboo cutting board. Then I looked up. Eureka! Mr. Greens had bought a bunch of dried chili and peppers from Fresh Pickins this weekend, and the smell was seeping out of their bags. They smelled peppery, but also like wood smoke. I grabbed the bag and ran into the other room, "I'm not crazy!" I yelled.We had chili tonight with these large dried peppers. I'm obviously not a pepper connoisseur, nor did I pick out the peppers. Mister made the chili with beef, diced tomatoes, bell pepper, dried peppers, beer, stock, red beans, kidney beans, and maybe a few secret ingredients. He was cooking by feel, but ended up being disappointed with his dish.I was not disappointed, and ate half of this bowl.Plus several pieces of cornbread. [Maybe 3 small pieces?]And....2 beers.














To rewind a bit, for breakfast I had steel cut oats with a teaspoon of brown sugar, walnuts, and raisins.
It was creamy and good. I added a dab of milk (maybe a tablespoon or two?) to help liquify it a bit. When I make a big batch and keep a few servings in the fridge, they tend to become rather gelatinous. Most of the milk seeped out of the container on the way to work.
Unfortunately I snacked on these a little bit:They really made my stomach hurt. I haven't had M&M's in awhile.
For lunch I had a sweet potato half (plain)
and black eyed peas. Oh yeah! I could've eaten about 3 servings of BEPs but I held back. A little bit later I munched on a few veggies from this tempting tray. Even had some hummus. Nice paprika dumpage.But I wasn't really hungry, so I stopped. I even brought out a pear and Zbar to be photographed but they didn't get eaten. I am not taking any victory laps for intuitive eating yet, I think it was the M&M's that killed my appetite for the rest of the day.
Right now I'm drinking a good decaf tea-Sweet Coconut thai chai. Sweet Dreams!

Mushroom Omelet

One of my favorite bloggers, Angela discussed sleep cycles today. This was timely because my cat Hedwig would not stop with the meowing last night. My sleep cycle was definitely interrupted more than once. I finally figured out that her problem was that the dryer was running, so she didn't want to go through her cat door, but she wanted to go outside. Yes, she is spoiled. She is also the loudest cat I've ever met. And her tongue always sticks out in the most unladylike fashion.
On to breakfast!
Another whole wheat waffle from the freezer batch. This time with most of a banana and a few walnuts.
And no, those aren't bite marks on the side. That's just a Lopsided waffle.
I worked overtime today, but that didn't keep me from grazing on some veggies and hummus. Let's not forget the Smokehouse almonds. I need to stop eating these. So. Much. Salt.
I didn't quite finish the vegetables and hummus spread, and back into the fridge they went. My work fridge is pretty packed.
Soon afterward I ate lunch. I had brought a smallish sweet potato (pre-baked), but it was not good. I actually meant to eat it yesterday, instead I ate pizza. So today I had a trifecta of leftovers: Mujadarrah, the last of the cauli' mac 'n' cheese (serious this time) and black beans.
Amish swiss on the side (ate half of this ounce serving)
After a few hours of work, I ate a Clif and some more banana. At times I feel guilty eating bars if I'm not working out, like today. I know that a calorie is a calorie... I got home to an empty house. Since I planned on having dinner later, I had a snack of cashews and chocolate covered raisins.
I trucked over to Highland Coffees to get more of our daily coffee, and myself a nice treat. One unpictured iced soy mocha later, I decided to go to Whole Foods for some retail therapy.
I've been really wanting a veggie sandwich with mushrooms and sprouts like I was eating this summer. Fresh and simple. So I bought a few supplies: Sprouts, yogurt, spinach, mushrooms, and two frozen burritos (in case of emergencies).
The yogurt selection was pitiful. By that I mean, it was all wiped out. There was a sale on Chobani and every single container was gone! Oh well. I need to get on some sort of message board in my area with alerts for these kinda sales.
I also got junk food and top secret work snacks:
I need help! I don't even need snacks, but I couldn't resist buying some things. The Food Should Taste Good was free with a coupon though! Olive is my favorite.
Drool!
I almost forgot about dinner. I wasn't super hungry, but I wanted to try some mushrooms. So I decided on an omelet. Once I got the onions and mushrooms sizzling I got hungry! The omelet had: onions, mushrooms, spinach, sharp cheddar, one egg + one egg white. I almost always add beans to omelets, but this time I held back.
With this I had a repeat of last night's simple mocktail: club soda and lime.
Cheers!

Amish Swish

I'm still eagerly awaiting fall weather! I was supposed to start eating more cleanly in October, but I forgot about all the temptations. [Especially with Octoberfests!]
I bought cookie dough from my coworker yesterday. That breaks about 3 rules of mine.

• stop buying so much crap
• no cookies
• Limit charity/contributions/gifts at work (I was going overboard)
  

Moving on...
Breakfast was good! It was a leftover waffle from Sunday's breakfast. There were several waffles leftover that I threw in the freezer. This I topped with a small sliced pear and 2 crumbled walnuts.
I might have another tomorrow!
Morning snack was a tupperware full of veggies and hummus.
Lunch was a struggle. I had to go to lunch early, and also my big boss bought pizza for everyone. I thought about it for about a second, and then went and grabbed two slices, left them at my desk and ran to the gym. He ordered what seemed like hundreds of pizzas, which was awesome. But there were no plain cheese slices, which is what I wanted! The vegetable: (And sausage - bite missing)
It was not quite as good as my mother's homemade pizza, but it certainly hit the spot. I love pizza, and free food!
Snack: Later in the day, I was a bottomless pit, and had a snack of Clif iced gingerbread bar and a banana.
Dinner:
I told my boyfriend that I was hormonal, thus craving salty and fatty foods. He said, "you crave salt every day!"
Just put a salt lick in front of me, and call it a day.For dinner I had the last of the cauliflower mac 'n' cheese from the freezer.

After I started eating, I decided it wasn't enough. So I added black beans and an ounce of Amish Swiss. (haha - I typed swish at first)
Much better. Did I ever tell you I love beans?
On the side, instead of water I drank club soda and a squeeze of lime.
Skinny Drinks:
This past weekend I bought club soda, tonic water, and limes in order to make vodka tonics. Imagine my surprise and horror when I found out how many calories were in them!
Vodka runs usually 70-100 calories per jigger (the higher the alcohol content, the higher the calories), and tonic water is usually 90 calories per 8 ounces. It would be safe to say that the vodka tonic that I was going to drink would be about 200 calories. That's not to say that I won't drink them, but I might just try club soda instead since it has no calories. I read a good tip to use club soda, a splash of cranberry juice, and a lime wedge. Sounds tasty!


P.S.
This morning I received notice in the shape of a flyer pasted to my car that a studio is filming in my neighborhood this week. That's cool, but I also can't park in my neighborhood all day or night for the rest of this week and next! Ahh! Maybe I'll get some good pictures though.

A Complete Breakfast

Monday! I got a call from my boyfriend early this morning that I brought his keys to work with me! Ack! I hate it when things like that happen.
Breakfast was the Last of the Voskos with honey, PB Puffins, and a banana.
Once again I'm impressed by Greek yogurt. This container has 140 calories, 0 fat, and has 24g of protein. Plus the texture and flavor is out of this world!
I snacked on carrots, grape tomatoes, celery, plus a couple of red bell pepper with leftover hummus.
After working out at the gym, I came back to my desk starving. My coworker was talking to me while I was cramming my sandwich in my cheeks. It's a regular pita, with Boston lettuce, 2 oz of ham, and 1 oz of cheddar. I like Boston lettuce a lot, so I might have to try growing it. The grocery stores here usually carry pitiful looking heads.
This kept me full for quite a while.
Around 2:00 I had my customary afternoon coffee. I couldn't help but break out the Clif bar.
These things are the devil. Yum!
When I got home, I really wanted a sweet potato, but decided against it. Instead, I threw together a stirfry. It consists of carrots, celery, shelled edamame, garlic, ginger, secret bayou seasonings, and shrimp. Atop brown rice
Just mediocre. I should've gone with what I was craving instead of trying to make a dent in the freezer food.
For dessert I had a pear.
Protein:
This article links to a World's Healthiest foods article about Protein. I found it very informative, especially the foods high in protein that are plant based.
I need to go to bed!