Tag Archives: beans

Tru Tortilla Chip Craving

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I managed to hold off my snacking urge all afternoon, but we did decide to switch up our weekly meal plan and head to some take out!  Dinner is being repurposed for my lunch tomorrow and my restaurant leftovers are going toward the husband’s lunch so in the end it all works out.

We went with Moe’s, always a good choice.

I was in the mood for a quesadilla but instead I ordered something I was sure to have leftovers with; a rice bowl.  I topped my rice with black beans, chicken, mushrooms, peppers, onions, cheese, lettuce, jalopenos, black olives, medium salsa, corn salsa, and cilantro.

The flavor storm was great and as predicted my rice bowl ended up ginormous.  I ate about 1/3 and packed the rest up for Adam.

I probably should have stopped there but I got a side of queso dip so I also scarfed a sort of disgusting amount of free tortilla chips.

Soooooo full.

We are currently Netflixing the show “Tru Calling;” we are only 1 episode in but it seems pretty good!

Icing or Cake

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This post comes from back in Buffalo.  We made it (mostly) in one piece.  More on that later though.

I want to preface this post with recognition of the fact that the husband and I eat very differently than the rest of his family.  Our preferences, nutrition goals, and food values are all very different.  This means that when we are with his family I have to weigh being rude or being a bother with eating in a way that makes me feel happy and healthy.  I try to satisfy myself in a healthy way and also not to offend anyone.  I did my best to balance both of those goals this weekend.

When we went to the store Friday night my brother-in-law did warn me that I needed to buy breakfast so I was more than prepared for that.  I got to try a couple of new things 😀  – – – Side note; walking through the yogurt aisle in his grocery store practically gave me an aneurism because I was so jealous of the immense Greek yogurt variety.  – – –  Like Fage 2% with blueberry.

I was so excited for this but I ended up being a bit disappointed.  It wasn’t terrible, but the blueberries had a weird bitter taste.  The strawberry Fage has such a great balance of sweetness and tang but it just didn’t work here.

I had much more success with Oat Revolution instant oats, cinnamon roll flavor.

The texture was way more complex that regular instant oats, definite upgrade!

Adam and I drove around with his brother helping to pick up things for the party but we also found time to play on the swing set with our niece.

Excuse the closed eyes, swinging as high as I could was glorious but sunny.  We swung for an hour which ended up feeling like a bit of a workout.  We also worked on handstands and cartwheels.  Just throwing it out there – my fitness goal for the next 4months is to be able to do a proper handstand and cartwheel again.

Lunch.

I grabbed two small slices of pizza with ranch and a little serving of pasta salad.

Our niece had an iCarly birthday cake.  I requested a tiny corner piece.

It ended up being mostly icing, which was exactly what I wanted!

Saturday evening the grandparents babysat and we went on a movie date with Adam’s brother and his wife.  We saw The Expendables which was adequately funny.  There are so many movies coming out that I’m excited about.  I packed a Toffee Chocolate Power Bar as my movie snack.

When we got home I ate another two small slices of pizza for dinner but they somehow escaped the camera.

This morning I started my day with a Yoplait Plain Greek Yogurt with a grape honey stick.

Everyone was in a hurry to get on the road but we did make time to go to the in-laws’ favorite spot for breakfast.  It was a buffet but sadly most of the options were meat based.  I ended up putting together a pretty good plate.

Veggies, scrambled eggs, and a biscuit with honey.  And a second plate full of fresh fruit.

Why, oh why was 90% of the fruit bar canned in heavy syrup?  I would have loved peaches or strawberries.

I had one final coupon to use so we stopped at McDonalds at lunchtime.  My coupon was for a premium salad so I got a Southwest Salad with grilled chicken.

I have a lot of issues with some of the offerings at McDonald’s so I wanted not to like this but I just can’t give this salad a bad review.  Honestly?  It was freaking amazing.

The lettuce was super fresh and the salad was loaded with black beans and roasted corn.  The dressing came from Newman’s Own and even if you did slop a lot on there were only 100calories in the pack.  The tortilla strips added crunch and the perfect amount of heat.  I was pretty much in love!  With grilled chicken (and the dressing packet) the salad came out to only 320calories, and it was very filling.  Even though I loved it I was so full that I only could finish ¾ of it.

Now we’ve made it safely home and I’m headed off to the grocery store.  That was supposed to be a Monday errand but instead I’ll be meeting the glass repair guys to deal with the giant crack that resulted when a rock kicked up by a truck (in the left lane like a jerk!) met our windshield.  Here is a question dear readers – do you have glass coverage included in your auto insurance?  Repair is going to be a hassle, but at least it’s free.  I highly recommend you check out your policy.  Fun fact – Adam was actually going to remove glass coverage from our policy on Friday, but while he was on the phone I told him not to.  Thank goodness!

Which do you prefer, the icing or the cake?  I’m an icing girl!  To the chagrin of classroom mothers, when I was a kid I would like the tops off of cupcakes and throw the rest away!

Oh, Canada

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Tuesday was so absolutely busy that it’s taken me ’till halfway through Wednesday just to sit down and do the recap!  I’m not even worrying about today’s posts until later, I think this one will be looooooong enough.

Yesterday morning Camile, Adam and I piled into the car bright and early to pick up Benji; oh yes, we were going to Canada.

Actually, first we stopped by the American side of the Falls.

Adam and I, in our typical fashion, forgot our passports so while he ran back home the rest of us wandered across the bridge to a view of the Falls I hadn’t seen before.  Mother Nature knows where it’s at, everything was gorgeous.

For our car breakfast I packed a Cookie Dough Balance Bar,

and a Blueberry POM to split with Adam.

POM Wonderful recently sent me this new juice variety to sample.  I tend not to drink a lot of juice but POM has such concentrated nutrient value that I think it does have a place in a healthy diet.  Plus, juice usually doesn’t register fullness with most people but POM has such a strong flavor that I think it contributes to satiety.  The four of us agreed that while the blueberry was good, we liked the original variety better; the berries gave a bit of an aftertaste.  We also thought that it was too strong, we cut ours with water and enjoyed it better that way.

We crossed the border into a pretty touristy area, but the four of us definitely enjoyed marveling at the wax sculptures, the kooky decorations, and all the offerings at the gigantic Hershey’s store.  Everyone was hungry and ready to get out of the heat so we stopped at the Rainforest Cafe for lunch.

I enjoyed all the decorations and special effects, but thought that the menu was pretty overpriced.  Adam and I decided to split an entrée.

Splitting was a good decision, our meal was giant!  It ended up being wonderful though.  We shared pasta with peas, shrimp, mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes.  We both adore sun-dried tomatoes and we felt like the food was pretty high quality.  Splitting worked out perfectly; I gave Adam all of the shrimp and most of the pasta and he let me go to town on all of the veggies.

Next we drove to Toronto!  I loved it!  Adam, Benji, and I kept asking each other all day why we didn’t just live there?!  Toronto seemed like a very walker-friendly city, we saw tons of bikes, there were a bazillion cute stores, the food options were great, and everyone was so nice.

We walked all day, my idea of heaven!  We started in Chinatown; I went into a small grocery store which was probably a mistake because now I’m dying to get back to shop.  You could buy Bobba!  Adam insisted that it wasn’t a kitchen necessity, but we did get some bubble tea.

I got a small passionfruit black tea with tapioca, yum!

We had to walk to see the CN Tower.

Tickets to get in were $20, so we spent some time craning our heads back and walked around the lobby instead.  I met a very fuzzy bear, which might have made Adam a bit jealous 😉

Afterwards we wanded around what I guess was the fashion district (there was also a button).

Fabulous, is pretty much the only word for dinner.

We searched for vegetarian Poutine and came up with Utopia Cafe.  Perfect crispy fries topped with vegetarian gravy and big cheese curds?  Fabulous.

I was so excited to get to try this classic (usually the gravy is meat based).  The four of us split a basket for an appetizer and now we all want to go back.

Our entrées were fantastic as well.  I got the curried chick pea and potato burrito.

The entrées all came with rice and beans and a green salad.

My burrito tasted so much like the roti I grew up eating, I felt like I was back in St. Thomas!  The potato and chick peas were cooked in a spicy coconut curry with raisins and served with some chutney.

I ate all of my salad, most of my rice (Adam happily scarfed down the rest), and half of my burrito.  I’m already excited about eating the second half for dinner tonight.

Then we piled back into the car for the drive back to reality the U.S.

Have you ever been to Canada?

I Am NYC Homesick

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I had an amazing time at BlogHer, but it’s always great to be back to reliable internet home!  I hate to rush through a recap of a good time, but it’s after midnight and I did miss my husband!

If Thursday night was a healthy living fail, Friday night was a blogger fail – I forgot my camera!  We attended an art gallery at BlogHer and then walked down to Lexington Ave for some fabulous Thai food.  I stuffed myself silly 🙂  When Camile e-mails me her photos I’ll post some up later.

Saturday morning there was a long lull between breakfast and the first session so we decided to walk over ‘late’ and just pick up breakfast along the way.  I got a bagel with egg and turkey bacon, no cheese,

and a Zico coconut water.

Everything was super tasty but I knew the expo hall had samples waiting so I stuck with half of my bagel.

Later in the morning I sampled a new “dessert” line from Yoplait.

So good, I can’t wait until these come to Buffalo.

Lunch was vastly improved over the first day as well.

A bean salad with yellow raisins,

green beans,

and a small piece of salmon.

For dessert I grabbed a Jello Mousse Cup, also good.

Later in the afternoon I also snagged a blondie,

and a baggie of apple slices.

At 5, Camile and I met up with a group of bloggers for some green juice and a power walk.

[thanks for the group shots, Kath!]

I went with spinach, parsley, carrot.

I’ve been missing green juice like crazy since we moved to Buffalo, so this hit the spot!

We walked around Central Park for an hour or so, then hightailed it back to our hotel so we had time to make it back to converge with the group for dinner.

We went to Eatery, which was wonderful.

I ordered the Adobe Salad, which came with grilled chicken, smoked bacon, jack cheese, blue tortillas, black beans, buttermilk dressing, and honey chipotle dressing.

The honey chipotle was out of this world.  I ate about half of my salad in total.

We spent some time at the BlogHer Gala (mostly people watching and marveling at the mommy bloggers boogieing down) and then made the long walk back to our hotel.  To say we were delighted to find a Pinkberry mid-trip would be an understatement.

Just yum.

I got a small original (tart) froyo, topped with yogurt chips, coconut, and praline crunch.

OMG.

This morning Yelp turned up a brunch spot right down the road with tons of rave reviews, Penelope.  It was set up like a country kitchen and the eclectic touches abounded (the coffee cups didn’t match!).

It was too freaking adorable.

And my brunch was out of control.

FBLT – fakin’ bacon, avocado, lettuce, and tomato with black pepper balsamic mayo, served on sourdough with homemade french fries.

Delicious.  The mayo put it over the top.  It was monstrous too; I only ate a couple of fries but I still could only down 3/4 of the sandwich.

On the way out we stopped by the killer dessert case,

and 7.5hours in the car later I was splitting a peanut butter blondie with Adam.

During that 7.5hours I also consumed a Rockstar.

Camile had read about JP Bullfeathers on my blog and requested that for dinner.  I don’t know what is up with me and chicken fingers lately but I went with the buffalo chicken sub.

With blue cheese for dipping, duh.

I spent the rest of the evening showing the husband my swag.  Oh gosh, you guys, the swag!  I’ve decided I have a mildly unattractive level of excitement about the freebie coupons.  Could be a problem.

Do you have a favorite brunch spot in your neighborhood?

Baking and Buddies

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I did not work out today (I told you I can’t take a day off, 1 has turned into 4, eek!) but I did manage to do a ton of creating.  I feel like I’ve spent the whole day mixing and stirring, and that’s a fabulous feeling!

First I whipped up a batch of natural spider repellant.

It’s h2o and lemon essential oil combined in an old spray bottle.  I went spritz-crazy all over the house.  I’ll let you know if it actually does any repelling.

Next I cooked up a batch of Maple Coconut Granola.

I used Kath’s recipe but substituted unsweetened shredded coconut for pecans.

Then I tried my first smoothie in a bowl!

First I put a Siggi’s Vanilla in the bottom of my bowl.

Next came my smoothie.

I mixed 1cup frozen strawberries, a packet of Chocolate Infusion Amazing Meal, and water.

This was my first smoothie using water as the liquid and I still adored the Chocolate Amazing Meal!  It wasn’t too grassy or too sweet but it totally helped to fill me up.  No weird graininess either.

Finally I topped my SIAB with 1/4 cup of my new granola.

Delectable!

I think smoothies via spoon instead of straw will definitely be the new thing in this house.

I may not have done any exercise, but my blender sure got a workout!  Next it had to tackle hummus.

I don’t have exact measurements, but I blended up chick peas, evoo, balsamic vinegar, salt, and water.

I wanted fresh hummus for lunch, but I also wanted … purple?

I ended up creating a pretty plate.

Purple bell peppers,

purple cherry tomatoes,

a dollop of hummus,

and some pita pieces; a take-home from dinner with my parents the other day.

Lunch was good, but nothing could top my afternoon snack.  I’ll give you a hint…

I cobbled together a couple recipes and my memories of Oko in Brooklyn to create Honey Greek Frozen Yogurt.

I didn’t have any fresh fruit (the horror) but enjoyed this bowl sans toppings just fine!

Make.This.  The texture is a tad bit softer than regular ice cream and the flavor is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted.  There is a bit of tang and a bit of sweet, but the olive oil totally comes through at the same time.  Click here for the link to my recipe.

Dinner was also a winner, and I’d say that even if it didn’t rhyme.

Chicken with figs and blue cheese (follow the link to the recipe, you can click to enlarge).

Soon I’ve got to head to the airport to pick up my friend Camile!  She’s flying in today and then tomorrow we are driving to NYC for BlogHer.  So excited!  The only sad this is that our friend Kristen was supposed to be meeting us in Buffalo on Sunday but due to some personal issues her trip got canceled.  I’m feeling a bit down about the breakdown of our trio visit, so indulge me in a little reminiscing?

Our senior year in college –

My 2007 visit to Miami –

Their 2007 visit to NYC –

My 2008 visit to Miami –

Their 2008 visit to NYC –

Their visit to STT –

My most recent visit to Orlando –

Do you keep in touch with any of your college friends?

The Devil Went Down to Georgia…

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We have internet!  And I cooked dinner in my oven!  A banner night all around 🙂

On my walk home this afternoon I realize that it had been 6hours since breakfast and was going to be another 4 until dinner, definitely time for lunch!  I made a stop into Subway.

I got a 6inch tuna salad sub with oil and vinegar and red onions.  I think the combo of tuna salad and red onions is just to die for!

I got a meal (hello, fountain diet soda!) so I also got some Baked Lays.

I took me a while to get hungry but once I was I got HUNGRY!  I also ate a serving of Goldfish,

and two cookies (yes in my Goldfish bowl, we have a tiny dishwasher I can’t be dirtying things left and right!).

Thankfully I was still hungry for dinner because dinner was a freaking masterpiece!

Every single component was through the roof tasty and the combination all together rocked my socks.  Plus, you know any meatless meal that the husband raves about is a winner.

My Buffalo Blue Bean Burgers,

Unfried Green Tomatoes from Cooking Light,

and 2 deviled eggs, recipe below.

Made for quite the pleasing meal.

The husband is obsessed with deviled eggs and since I won a year’s worth of Eggland’s Best it’s hard to turn down his request.  Tonight I tried out a new recipe that I thought up at the bar at Cheesecake Factory the other night;

Dirty Martini Deviled Eggs

  • 1 dozen large eggs
  • 2T olive brine
  • 2.5T blue cheese crumbles
  • 2T mayo
  • 6 pimento stuffed olives, halved
  1. Hard boil your eggs.  My method is to place the eggs in water in a big pan, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and cover for 15minutes.  If you run cool water over the eggs when the time is up they will be easier to peel.
  2. Peel eggs and slice in half lengthwise.
  3. Dump yolks into a medium bowl and mash together with brine, blue cheese, and mayo.
  4. Spoon the yolk mixture back into the whites and top each egg with an olive half.

I’ve got my 2nd shower of the day and I’ve promised my pack-mule of a mover husband a back massage.  Then it’s off to bed so I can hopefully make it to an early morning tomorrow.

Deviled eggs; like ’em, love ’em, or hate ’em?

P.S. I apologize for the brain worm title, I’ll be singing that song all night too!

Greens, Beans, and Time Machines

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I am officially caught up with school and ready to take my final exam tomorrow 🙂 I’ve definitely disliked being blog-neglectful, I can’t wait to get back into a schedule after the move is over.  For now, even though I love you it’s got to be another quickie (TWSS!).

 Breakfast/lunch were sort of spread out in three courses throughout the morning and afternoon.  I managed to get enough to eat, but consume in shifts that allowed me to study.  #1 A big bowl of fresh watermelon chunks.

#2 A serving of Barbara’s Shredded Oats topped with Silk Almond Milk and blueberries.

By the by, I hear a lot of people talking about binging on cereal and if you are one of those folks I highly recommend this stuff.  It is not very tasty dry from the box but fantasmic with some Silk Almond Milk.

#3 A long overdue green monster; 1frozen banana, 1cup frozen spinach, 1cup calcium + vitamin d oj.

When Adam got home this evening we played hookey from moving and instead took a long walk.  Our long walk was supposed to be an hour or so, to the ice cream store and back.  Instead we fell into a pointless fight and spent hours huffing and crying (who me?  I’m not stressed about moving!).  Don’t pointless fights just feel like you accidentally fell into some sort of time machine?  It’s like you can’t even believe how late it is when it’s over.  We did make it to the ice cream store eventually, but they were closed.  So instead we split a slice of melty pizza to hold us over for late dinner.

The husband had chicken to use up and I made myself a Mexican bowl of sorts.

Into the skillet went 2tsp evoo, chopped shallot, a small chopped potato, half of a chopped green pepper, black beans, 1egg and 2egg whites, 2T shredded cheddar, salt and tons of paprika.

I also had some green bean fries on the side.

It is late late late, Futurama–> bed –> goodnight!

Do you ever have pointless fights with your SO or do you bottle up your emotions and save them for times that actually count?

P.S. I also enjoyed a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Lara Bar, yum!

Watermelon in a Smoothie and Beans in Some Soup

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I hate doing all these drive-by posts but things have just been so busy.  A little rush is worth it though, it was wonderful getting to meet our new niece.

We got in the car around 10 this morning and I was thrilled to see a Sheetz where we could buy fresh food in time for lunch.

I got a chicken burrito with fire roasted tomatoes, rice and beans, colby cheese, diced tomatoes, lettuce, green peppers, diced onion, and salsa.

And ate an apple packed from home on the side.

We pulled back into Buffalo around 5:30 and I immediately got to work unpacking and heading to the grocery store.  Once I was home for good, the husband helped me whip up some delicious soup.  More specifically, White Bean Consomme with Almond Milk, from SELF magazine.

I ate a serving of Salt and Pepper Sommersalts on the side.

It ended up being the perfect quick meal.

I also made a huge smoothie to drink.

Tons of frozen watermelon chunks blended with a Simply Raspberry Lemonade.

Pink!

We didn’t finished dinner until 9:30 but I knew I’d be happiest if I got in some sort of a workout.  10minutes of stretching and strength moves later, my day is complete and I’m on my way to shower and sleep.

What is the most unusual application of watermelon you’ve tried this summer?