Tag Archives: beans

Monday Monday

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Uggh; how does “late” come so quickly every night?!  It’s not good, not good at all.  I had a whole list of to-do’s for today and the only one that got checked off was working out.  30 minutes on the stationary bike at level 7 random.

I didn’t even manage to cook today and since I was super hungry things got snacky real quick.  Here’s the recap – Lunch.

Soup.

Plus bread ends with Smart Balance Light.

Desserts.

A mac cup.

Bread with melted cheddar and olive oil.

A big bowl of fresh cherries.

Dinner ended up being seconds thirds on both the bread and the cherries.  I plan on grabbing something else before bad too, probably a bowl of cereal.  Sometimes you just have to do what you can!

I Swallowed (A Wine Tasting Recap)

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What a fun day!  It included booze, friends, and cookies, so you know it was a winner.  I didn’t do the best job photographing but today was one of those days when it is more important to live it than blog it.  I guess that’s true for all days really!

I have no excuse for the past two days because I think blogging a recap would have been my most exciting event, sadly.  I was lazy not busy.  But I do have two new recipes to share this week.  Two recipes for two days seems fair.

We had to do a major cleaning job on the apartment this morning but we did find time for a dog walk.  Breakfast on the go.

Adam and I split this Mango Noosa Yoghurt (there are two servings per package) and we were both big fans.  So thick and creamy!

I read up on the company and I really like their policies.  I just wish the ‘gurt was available in low-fat.

Today my friends and I cashed in a big group Living Social deal and hopped in two town-cars for a winery tour.  We got picked up at my place so every one came up for some sweet treats first.

We had (unphotographed) “virgin mimosas” of oj and vanilla club soda and I baked two treats.  How Sweet Eats’ Chocolate Drenched Coconut Oatmeal Squares.

And cookie dough truffles (recipes is one of the two promised for this week).

Both were big hits!  HSE is basically a genius; I subbed in unsweetened coconut but otherwise I left her recipe alone.  Adam complained about helping me bake on Saturday night but after he tasted the goods he shot me death-eyes when I tried to send friends home with leftovers!  I ate two of each all total for the day.

Then we were off for three hours of wine tasting.

We hit up three wineries, all of which had a great selection.  Between the seven of us there was a large range of preferences.  Rachel likes super dry and I like super sweet so the two of us ended up swapping glasses a couple of times.  I don’t really drink wine so it was nice to have little tastes to see what I like; I even tried a couple of reds!  The craziest ones were Schulze Wines’ crackling sweets.

I especially liked Niagara Landing’s Rosebud line and even came home with a bottle.

And I paid $2.50 extra at one spot for this mini glass of ice wine.

All total I had 13 tastes and I didn’t spit once!  I probably should have though, it wasn’t an insane amount of alcohol but all 13 were sweet and I felt pretty sick by the time I got home.

I ate a mac and cheese muffin (the 2nd recipe),

and then crashed hard on the couch.

When I forced myself up two hours later I knew there was no way I would be cooking the soup on my meal plan.  Instead we went to Moe’s.

My vegetarian burrito had rice, black beans, sautéed mushrooms/peppers/onions, cheese, corn salsa, and guacamole.  It was just what I needed.

I’m feeling loads better now.  But I am hoping to turn in early because I’ve got a busy to-do list for tomorrow.

Have you ever been to a wine tasting?  Did you spit?

Father’s Day

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Did everyone have a happy end to their weekend?  Things have been quiet around these parts, mostly because the husband caught a summer cold.  Poor boy!

I did get up at 6 am to start my book club recipe but then I spent half the day napping to make up for it.  And we did start our second morning (at 10am!) with a quick Fur-Fathers’ Day walk.

I love those guys.

The tree outside of our house is sprouting cherries!!!!

Would it be crazy to eat them?

Brunch was a veggie scramble.  I cooked chopped poblano and broccoli into four eggs (split between the two of us).

Plain yogurt and creamy mushroom soup were also in the mix.

I rounded out my meal with some tasting as I spent my afternoon in the kitchen.  A puppy treat and a people treat were made and I’ll be sharing the recipes this week.

I’m not feeling so hot either and cooking was basically my only accomplishment this weekend.  I spent half my day moping because I’m just so tired of myself.  It would have been too flipping easy to get my stuff done in advance and instead I’m waking up early tomorrow to plough through things last-minute.

We had salads in the afternoon.

Romaine topped with 2 Tbsp of Wegman’s peanut sauce and 1 Tbsp each buckwheat groats, tamari almonds, flax, and white cheddar.

It was really good.

I stocked Adam up with leftovers and I ate dinner at book club.

We didn’t actually read a book this month but it was good to get together and talk (and eat!)

I had bruschetta, cheesy artichoke dip, and strawberry guacamole with blue chips.

A small glass of wine.

Roasted veggie enchillada.

And (messy, tasty) pie.

(Recipe’s coming by Tuesday)

P.S. I love you Daddy!!

Zombies Don’t Feel So Fresh

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Hello, hello!  No post yesterday due technical difficulties.  P.S. “technical difficulties” is a fancy way of saying “I’m an idiot and when I plugged in my camera I somehow deleted all of my pictures.”

That wasn’t even the stupidest thing I did all afternoon.  We were eating M&M’s on the couch and I didn’t realize that I had spilled a handful until I saw the dog licking them.  I picked them up immediately (because chocolate and dogs don’t mix) but we have no idea what I did with them next.  We finally determined that I must have eaten them.  That’s right, I basically took food out of the dog’s mouth and ate it.  Yum.

Yesterday was a disaster any way.  We did not run.  We did eat nachos.  Like, ridiculous nachos; they were almost too cheesy.  Oh, and I fell asleep on the couch at 5pm again.  I don’t know what my deal is lately but I’m so tired I feel like a zombie!  I seem to be a little bit allergic to the dog but overall this has been my best summer ever as far as allergies go.  And while summer school is easy I don’t feel like I’m not doing enough and I’m certainly not doing too much.  I don’t know why I feel so tired all of the time.

For breakfast a Roasted Nut Roll Larabar Uber was packed.

The last of my Uber line samples, this flavor is my 2nd favorite after Bananas Foster.  The mix of nuts included almonds, pecans, peanuts and macadamia nuts.  It tasted almost like one of those pecan roll candies with the white stuff in the center!

I should mention that the husband was the one who sweetly did the breakfast packing.  Unfortunately I requested an apple to go with my bar and he provided a rock-hard nectarine instead.  No fruit for me.

Lunch was a very special feast.

One of our classmates owns the famous, local restaurant Romeo and Juliet’s Cafe and she brought us in a spread.

I had veggie pizza,

a stuffed pepper,

and salad.

And then I couldn’t help going back for a 2nd slice of pizza.

The stuff on the side is honey mustard dressing and house-made red pepper flake mayo.  I dipped my crust in the sauces and was in absolute heaven.

She brought in dessert too.

I finally ate my first cannoli!  Loved it!

I bought espresso to drink with my dessert like a real Italian.

A double shot with tons of skim milk and a few shakes of vanilla sugar.

Continuing the excitement, we watched a movie in class this afternoon (it was appropriate, it was a food movie!).  Fresh is a documentary that examines the pros and cons of organic versus factory farming and looks at our country’s food system as a whole.  A lot of cool people took part in it, including Michael Pollan and Joel Salatin.  We all really enjoyed the movie and I highly recommend that you check it out.  None of the information was really new to me but it was a great reminder that I need to do a better job of sticking with my principles when we go out to eat.  Adam and I only purchase humanely raised meat to cook at home and ideally that is the only type of meat I ever want to consume.

Even more exciting, we got the news that we are getting the day off tomorrow.  I am going to go to the mall with some friends and I couldn’t be more jazzed.  <– honestly, I clapped my hands and squealed when someone suggested it and I have no idea why because I’m not even going to be buying anything

I had big plans to make up yesterday’s run this afternoon and it just didn’t happen.  Actually, I got up and dressed in running clothes this morning (shoes, sports bra, everything) and made it as far as the couch.  I thought I would be able to redeem myself after class but I was dreading the run.  Every time I got up to go I just felt sad.  I need to do a better job of pushing through and working out more consistently (more in general!) but I love running so much that I hate to do it when I’m not going to enjoy it.

I did finally make that soup though.

Tex-Mex Chicken Soup from Cooking Light.  It was very good but not great.  I was mostly to blame for leaving out important ingredients.

my (mostly stupid) changes to the recipe

  • used 1/2 Tbsp less evoo
  • subbed green bell pepper instead of red (do you have any idea how expensive red pepper are?!)
  • subbed pickled jalapeño
  • skipped the cumin, cilantro, and queso (again, $)
  • skipped the tomato
  • used homemade shredded chicken and stock

I liked the spice level, especially with the pops of sweet corn.

I know this sounds strange, but I think I would have liked it better without the chicken!

Also this happened.

Yuck.

Finally, a product update – Smoke and Ashes from China Glaze’s Capitol Colours line (as seen in this post) has a great slate color but it chips like crazy.

Do not recommend.

Wow, that was a long post!

Have you seen “Fresh” yet?  What did you think?

Funtastic Friday

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Today has been the best day ever!  I mean, not running my half marathon good or getting married good, but pretty damn good.  Exploring, delicious food (seriously, seriously delicious), time with a friend, surprises for the husband…

I spent my afternoon exploring East Aurora with Holly.  It was great but getting there was a trip.  <– that’s a pun.  10 minutes into a 30 minute drive my phone (and gps) shut off.  Apparently my hour at the Sprint Store was not well spent.  The rest of the drive was like a scene from the 90’s, except I didn’t have the prerequisite skills of phone number recall and map reading.  Somehow, and I seriously don’t know how, I ended up exactly where I needed to be.  Phew!

And I was rewarded for my navigation magic with lunch at the festive Arriba Tortilla.

They had fancy lights and they let me order from the kids’ menu so they were 2-for-2.  I got a kids’ taco platter with two fish tacos.

My fish tacos had mahi mahi, corn salsa, black beans, and zesty cole slaw.

I ate 1.5 and was covered in sauce and grinning from ear to ear when I was through.

After lunch we spent a couple of hours strolling around the adorable town.  When Holly told me that EA was awesome I didn’t think that she was lying, but I didn’t actually expect it to be quite so amazing!  Tons and tons of cute local shops and great walkability.

I grabbed an iced coffee with skim milk from Taste, the local coffee institution.

And we ended our travels at Firefly, a gorgeous cupcake shop.

It was a difficult choice but I ended up ordering a key lime pie cupcake.

Yellow cake with a graham cracker crust, key lime buttercream and key lime curd filling.

Ridiculous good.  The frosting may have been the best I’ve ever had.  I definitely closed my eyes and swooned at the first bite.  I ate 90% of the cake and every last lick of the frosting and filling.

I’m glad we did lots of walking because the day’s dessert consumption wasn’t over yet.  Holly told me something very exciting about our mall.  Something very exciting that I managed to keep to myself long enough to surprise a very happy husband…

Buffalo now has self-serve froyo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m so embarrassing; when Holly told me this morning I got so excited I could actually feel my heart speed up.

I got plain tart and coconut froyo topped with some fruit and sprinkles and tons of popping bobba.

Now that I can have it every day more often I’ll need to watch the portion sizes, but I wanted to enjoy the bobba just in case it didn’t make it on the long-term menu.

Adam and I ran errands into the early evening and then settled on the couch to cry hysterically watch the “Grey’s” finale.  Dinner was pretty much identical to lunch but I had a coupon to Moe’s so I just went with it.

Two fish tacos, one hard and one soft for variety’s sake.

Plus chips with queso.

I thought the crunching would stop the crying but that was a lost cause.  If anything, screaming at the screen helped me to eat less chips.

Which show finales have you been freaking out about this season?

Cinco De Mayo Surprise

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I had big Cinco de Mayo themed plans for today but unfortunately they fell through.  It was a good day regardless, just not themed.  <–  I love a good theme, I sort of can’t believe I didn’t rush a sorority in college

Friday was good in a “day-off” sort of way.  Thursday night was ridiculous; I woke up a little bit before 4am and never went back to sleep.  I tossed and turned, got up to pee, got up to get a drink; nothing worked.  Which is how I ended up eating blondies and watching “Private Practice” at 6am.  I knew I would be cranky and unproductive so instead of trying to fight it I spent my day eating Indian food, watching dramatic tv, starting the latest Kathy Reichs book, and going to see “The Avengers.”  Sidenote – “Avengers” was great, I am thrilled that I got to see two Joss Whedon pieces in the same month!

I spent this morning finishing up Flash and Bones in bed (loved it!).  My mood threatened another day off but I knew I needed to get my butt in gear and face the world.  I set out on errands and ultimately finished most of next week’s to-do’s as well!  I was out later than expected and ended up grabbing lunch at Moe’s.

A Moo Moo Mr. Cow (kids’ burrito) with rice, black beans, grilled veggies, corn salsa, and pickled jalapeños.

I didn’t eat 90% of my chips and queso but they were nice to have after particularly spicy bites of burrito.

I had a blondie when I got home.

Adam came home from his shift at the hospital this afternoon with his black dress shoes completely spent so we headed off to the outlet mall.  It was crazy and crowded but we rewarded ourselves for our efforts with Ben and Jerry’s.

I got a small cup of Schweddy Balls and Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz.

Mmmmn!

During our travels I also had these Jalapeño Cheddar Combos.

Our evening plans included a surprise party for our friend Ethan.

The event was held at Torro, a local tapas place.  They brought us bread with oil and vinegar upon arrival.

And Adam and I split the Tempura Shrimp – “skewers with napa salad, miso dressing, and sweet Korean chili dipping sauce.”

This dish was great!  I ate two with sauce, plus all of the cabbage.

Of course there was cake.

I had half of that small piece, I’m in more of a savory than sweet mood.

We’ve had tapas before, so we were aware that one plate wouldn’t be enough for two people but there was an issue and we never got our 2nd plate.  No big deal though, the boys all came back here for an impromptu poker game so I’m cuddling up with some chips and dip.

Did you drink any margaritas today?

Double Sushi Day

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Hello from yesterday!  I had a good evening (mostly) but didn’t get a chance to post until today.  My clinic hours went well; it is always great to get a chance to talk with professionals in my field.  The RD I was with yesterday owns her own private practice and she had lots of great advice.  She also helped talk me down a bit about next summer’s certification exam.

As I headed out the door around 4 pm yesterday I was so hungry I thought I might have a fit.  I knew we had plans to grab an early dinner before the health fair but I also knew that I might drive off the road if I didn’t get something to eat.  I ended up taking a Mint Chocolate Chip Luna Protein bar from the cabinet.

Yuck City!  This is the 2nd flavor I’ve tried from that line and both bars had an awful “fake protein” taste to them.  I love Luna but I think I’ll stick to their normal line.  I was so hungry that I did eat the whole thing though.

I was glad that I choked down the bar because dinner ended up being pretty lame.  We stopped at Wegmans for hot bar but there wasn’t much time and I panicked and grabbed my 2nd serving of sushi for the day.  A Thai sweet potato roll with brown rice.

With a (half decaf) coffee with skim milk and two sugars.

While we were at the health fair another RD who was doing a cooking demo brought me over a small plate of her black bean dip.

It was good and our table was nicely situated to watch her work.  She does the cooking classes at Tops Grocery, a job I would love to have some day.

The health fair wrapped at 9pm and as I was driving home I felt like I was going to burst out of the seatbelt because my stomach was so full.  I had to drive home to pick up Adam and then we ran to the store for a quick errand (he accidentally took my cottage cheese container for lunch instead of his leftovers!) and by the time we were home for good I was practically in tears.  I don’t know whether it was the protein bar, the decaf coffee, or the double dose of sushi rice but my stomach was super bloated and painful.  Ugh!  I felt so sick that I brushed my teeth and then jumped straight into bed.

Thankfully today I’m feeling good.  I even started my morning with a run.  1.2 miles in ~12 minutes.  I left my keys with the husband so I only had time for one loop but then I went back and grabbed the dog for a quick walk.  Followed by a short session of strength and stretch moves.  I’m hungry!

I’m Relleno

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Hello from Ohio.  We’re not here for a happy reason but I’m happy we made it here safely.

We stayed up late catching up on TV last night and I got hungry again.  I served myself a big bowl of cereal with skim milk; Cheerios and some raisin/bran/crunch thing.

I had breakfast food for my late-night snack and dinner food for breakfast.

A grilled cheese with Cabot 50% Reduced Sharp Cheddar and Sriracha mayo,

and a sliced honey crisp.

This meal was great but my next bite was terrible.  I stole a piece of Adam’s chicken bites from McDonalds –

Ewwwwwww!  So fried tasting and gross.

My dad flew into Buffalo this afternoon and we picked him up at the airport and headed off on our road trip.  Since we had a “road-guest” we stopped for an actual dinner.

Torero’s served us some damn fine Mexican food!  Pretty healthy too!  Here was my plate –

Black beans,

rice,

and the Vegi-chiladas.  “Steamed carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, yellow squash and zucchini rolled into two flour tortillas, topped with our salsa Mazatlán and garnished with Monterrey Jack cheese.  Served with sour cream, lettuce, and tomatoes.”

I ordered my enchiladas sans cheese because I also had a chile relleno waiting for me on my dad’s plate.

Stuffed peppers are usually my favorite Mexican dish but this guy was a little too fried for me.  I ended up eating about a third of everything, except I ate 1.25 tortillas and every single bite of vegetable.

I ate two Samoa Jumbles in the car for dessert.

Still good.

Where is your favorite road trip stop?