(Frozen)Yogurt

by Emily

breakfast

Coffee!

With caramel.

Or with Hint of Honey Almond Milk and plums.

Or a Clif Bar.

Also one morning my coworker brought in yummy poppy-seed Danish.

lunch

I had a really great sandwich with spicy sliced chicken, pickles, and fresh mozzarella from the cafeteria.

The other days I did yogurt bowls featuring the new blended flavors from Chobani. Coffee with plums and KIND peanut butter granola.

Mixed berry with blueberries, raspberries, multi-grain o’s and Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes.

And vanilla with more berries and bran flakes.

The texture of the 2% yogurt was seriously creamy and good.

dinner

I can’t show you Monday/Tuesday’s dinner because it is my Recipe Redux for this month. I will show you some of the tasty stuff we had with it though… Like roasted green beans on the side. I added thinly sliced shallots and they got insanely crispy, crunchy, good.

And frozen yogurt for dessert. With all of the chocolate toppings.

We liked the Nutella on top so much we ended up going back again the next night.

Wednesday was Webster’s Buyday (the anniversary of the day we brought him home) so we made a special dinner with some of his favorite foods – Nachos! Chips with cheese, broccoli, cilantro, and chicken (pronounced chick-ON chick-ON in this house).

He even had his own little dish.

And of course we got Chipotle.

Of course.

random thoughts

I am so freaking excited that Target is doing away with gender-based labeling in some of its children’s aisles! When I worked at a toy store in college I hated when people would come in and ask for “boy toys” or “girl toys.” This awesome graph sums up my thoughts pretty well –

I’ve already seen some pumpkin beers and it is taking all of my self-control to not start stockpiling. I’ve told myself that I’m waiting until mid-September.

Poorly Drawn Lines is always hilarious but I feel like this week’s comics have been especially great.

We had dessert every single night this week. I want to nip that daily habit in the bud, but I also have fifteen plus new ice cream joints that I want to visit before summer ends.

7Aug2015

Lunch N Oats

by Emily

breakfast

This week’s coffee (a mix of Community Coffee and Brooklyn Roasting Co) was iced with milk (a mix of vanilla almond milk and skim). Sweetened with honey – meh.

And maple – yum!

And paired with watermelon juice.

And an apple.

lunch

2% Lingonberry Strawberry Siggi’s with chopped apricot and plum and Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes.

The rest of the week was all about the oats.

Chocolate chip oats with peanut butter and diced apricot stirred in. Plus goats milk maple caramels on the side.

Coconut maple oats with purple rose plums(!!) and chocolate pumpkin seeds.

And oats from home. With freeze-dried strawberries, chia seeds, chocolate covered cocoa nibs, and chocolate chunks.

snack

Delicious nougat bar my parents bought me at BRKLYN Larder. Adam bought me Luxardo cherries for my birthday there too and I am so excited to start using them.

Iced Americano with cream.

Herbed turkey and Havarti roll-up.

I ate several handfuls of prunes this week. The snack situation was getting pretty bleak.

But then we bought the new Reuben lays.

It was amazing, if you were blindfolded you still would totally taste rye bread and thousand island dressing. If they were kettle chips instead of the flimsy regular kind they’d be my new favorite.

dinner

Leftovers from Sunday. Whole-wheat penne topped with sautéed turkey, mushrooms, and onions in marinara sauce.

Eaten cold, out of the Tupperware, in front of the open fridge. It’s kind of crazy how classy I am.

The next night really was pretty snazzy though.

Lemon Pepper Baked Shrimp with shredded Brussels sprouts and barely.

Recipe HERE, this cooks in less than 30 minutes.

Then we had big salads with red curry turkey burgers on top.

Arugula blend topped with TJ’s Asian Sesame Vinaigrette, sliced cucumber, and baked shredded Brussels sprouts and broccoli. Two notes – 1) baking the shredded B sprouts is my new favorite thing; 2) I bought TJ’s Thai-style chili and lime cashews to put on the salads and they were so spicy even I couldn’t eat them.

The patties were lean ground turkey with tons of parsley and green onions, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, red curry paste, and ground ginger. Cooked in coconut oil.

We were supposed to have this meal two nights in a row but we snacked on the 1st round of patties while we assembled the salads (and the dog ate an entire patty that fell on the ground!) and there ended up only being enough leftovers for one. Really I won out though because this chile rellano from TJ’s was darn good.

Best frozen meal ever.

Finish this thought – this weekend I am excited to…

23Jul2015

Reunited And It Feels So Good

by Emily

I had an absolute blast in Buffalo but this past week I have been so freaking excited to be home with my boys. I usually miss them by the end of my workday so a long weekend away feels like an eternity. I am lucky to have a husband and dachshund who are both so great! {/sap}

breakfast

Black and white coffee.

Or Vanilla Chameleon Cold Brew with chocolate milk and an apple on the side.

Cereal with milk. And blueberries.

Plus Guava Mandarin Polar seltzer.

I lugged that back from Wegman’s in Buffalo and it was so worth it.

Coffee-eee-eee.

Always worth it. I’d be lying if I said my birthday drink freebie wasn’t bringing me a lot of anticipatory joy.

lunch

Asian-ish.

Microwave noodles and roasted seaweed.

Oatmeal bowl.

Chai-spiced oats from Target with maple almond butter on top and 2 black pluots on the side.

Yogurt bowl.

Vanilla Skyr Icelandic yogurt with blueberries, KIND peanut butter granola, and chia seeds. This was so tasty; I need more of that yogurt immediately.

dinner

Adam was at the hospital when I got home on Sunday so we had to turn Monday into date night. He picked me up at work and came bearing red velvet cupcakes.

We went to dinner at East Wind Snack Shop by Prospect Park.

We came in for the foie gras bao, which ended up being only ok. For the cheap price the amount of foie gras was very fair, but I would have rather paid a bit more and gotten a better meat-to-bun ratio.

But my Happy Buddha Vegetables were yummy.

They describe this dish as “jasmine rice, fermented tofu, seasoning, and all sorts of vegetables.” I’m not sure what the green sauce was but it was worth going back for. Then we walked to the theatre (our movie theatre) to see “Ant-Man.” The character development was weak but the movie was still hilarious so we’re glad we went.

I didn’t have time to do a real grocery trip this week so the following two nights were admittedly a little weak. This meal was fine but it’s not winning any prizes.

Cheez-its, leftover roasted veggies that Adam made last week, and a turkey and Havarti cheese sandwich.

This meal was a bit better. It definitely tasted good.

We needed a carbohydrate side so we had beer! Tusker is one of my all-time favorite beers, and pretty much the only lager I enjoy.

With roasted veggies – asparagus, okra, and zucchini – with Applegate chicken nuggets.

A copious amount of ketchup was added after I took that picture.

My parents come to visit tomorrow. And Friday is my birthday. I’m old, but excited!

6Jul2015

July Fourth 2015 At Solomen’s

by Emily

I had an absolutely amazing Independence Day with my family down on the river. It was a complete joy to catch up with my loved ones! My cousins both brought a ton of their college friends down with them so we had a bustling, entertaining crowd.

I was way too busy to take good pictures, but my aunt and uncle are both fantastic cooks and we ate like Kings all weekend. Think crab cakes, cheese plates, bourbon slushies, and key lime pie. 90% of what passed my lips was either crab, booze, or fresh-picked berries so you know I had a great time!

P.S. I was so freaking brave and I ate my first-ever soft-shell crab this weekend in Adam’s honor.

15Jun2015

Mary Moon

by Emily

Another great week came to an end. We are looooving summer around these parts. Amazingly, I got myself up and out of bed by 7 am both Saturday and Sunday and you wouldn’t believe how much time I felt like I had free to play. It was great to get everything I wanted to do done – errands and fun stuff – and still make it to bed at a mature adult hour!

breakfast

Cereal and milk (and coffee).

Smart Start cereal with blueberries and milk with a side of iced coffee.

I rarely eat cereal with milk because I usually have it on top of yogurt but it is darn good with fresh berries on top.

Another day, another coffee. Starbucks’ newest dark roast was quite tasty clover-brewed.

With a Sonja apple and an Epic protein bar.

I love the idea of the bars in theory, and the texture was great, but unfortunately I’m never a big fan of the cranberry almond pairing.

Finally, espresso from Brooklyn Roasting Company never lets us down.

As you’ll see below, this was not our only coffee that day, muwhahaha!

snack

Friday afternoon, just as I was racking my brain for a way to get a cookie on my way home without missing my train, my phone rang – the social worker was calling to let me know that a sales rep had brought us cookies!

How fortuitous.

The dog and I both think that cheese sticks make good snacks.

On Saturday we enjoyed popcorn and a movie.

This Churro flavored popcorn from Erin’s Popcorn was on point. {it was also a free sample, please note that I did not receive further compensation for this post and all opinions are my own} It had the perfect balance of cinnamon and sugar and was nice and crunchy. The husband, the true churro connoisseur, could not keep his hands off of it.

We snacked on it during Jurassic World, and I’ll just say that the popcorn was the best part of that outing.

Adam and I got hot and sunburnt walking around Smorgasburg and we split a cookie sandwich from The Good Batch.

Chocolate brown-butter cookie, vanilla ice cream, toasted hazelnuts, and Nutella spread. It was good but not great and we ended up not finishing it.

In contrast, we licked every last drop out of our ice cream cup at Morgensterns.

American egg and sesame caramel ice creams topped with Luxardo cherries. And now I know that I am obsessed with Luxardo cherries.

We had good coffee at Happy Bones. Adam’s flat white was intensely velvety.

But my skim lavender hot chocolate from Maman was even better. Not too sweet or soapy, and thick enough to feel decadent, even with skim milk.

Their gorgeous floral cups make me insanely happy.

Uggh, why is the Lower East Side so adorable?!

lunch/dinner

We went outdoors and grilled!

Lime seltzer with fresh mint and pineapple popsicle to drink.

With corn on the cob, asparagus, sliced halloumi cheese, and Applegate uncured chicken hot dogs.

The corn and the asparagus – cooked with a drizzle of olive oil and smoked paprika respectively – were roasted in the oven, only the amazingly squeaky cheese and the dogs (which were the best I’ve ever had!) were cooked on the grill. But we ate on the lawn with Webster circling our feet and it was pretty great.

We did brunch at Root &Bone that ended up being one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. Every single item was perfectly executed. Even if Southern-style food isn’t your favorite I recommend checking this spot out.

For drinks we shared the Colonel’s Daughter – 100 proof bourbon, preserved peaches, Amaro Montenegro, and rosemary and a wine spritzer that I cannot find the description for or begin to remember.

We started with the crispy chicken biscuits which came topped with root chips and Tabasco jam and with a jar of pickles on the side.

This was hands down the best chicken I’ve ever tasted. I really hate the word succulent but it works the best.

Adam got the bacon benedict for his entrée and I went with the peach caprese – gooey pimento cheese croquette, charred peaches, pickled green tomatoes, baby heirloom tomatoes, and basil and molasses vinegar.

Not surprisingly, smoky sweet charred peaches pair really darn well with fried pimento cheese. We were swooning.

Sunday we had Chipotle for dinner, because we are very predictable.

My salad bowl had chicken, sautéed veggies, sour cream cheese, and mild, medium, and tomatillo salsas. I legit had a dinner planned and prepped but we walked 7.5 miles around SoHo and DUMBO and my feet were killing me! The sights were worth it.

12Jun2015

Dinner Bowl

by Emily

Do you have a preference for tableware and/or flatware? Whenever possible, I eat out of a bowl, preferably with chopsticks. Probably because it’s easier to chase every last bite when the food can’t roll off of the plate! All of my dinners this week were delicious and I think it’s not a coincidence that they were all served in bowls.

breakfast

This was a weird week for me, I ate breakfast – as in chewable breakfast, not just tons of milk in my coffee – almost every day.

Sonja apple.

String cheese and my last mango coconut almond thin. {p.s. Kate won the giveaway!}

String cheese and a KIND Salted Caramel Popped Bar. <– very tasty and packs 2 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein for 140 calories thanks to the blend of whole grains.

Don’t get me wrong, there was coffee too! This one was TJ’s cold-brew with skim milk and toasted marshmallow syrup.

And this monster was a Starbucks reward freebie that I took full advantage of – venti skim iced latte with extra espresso.

lunch

Yogurt bowls for the win. Adam and I are both head over heels for the KIND granola.

Local vanilla bean Greek yogurt with KIND maple, chia, quinoa granola and yellow nectarine, black plum, and blueberries.

Plain Fage Greek yogurt with KIND granola and red plum and yellow nectarine. Plus a serving of Lindt Pink Explosion on the side.

Honey Fage with blueberries and TJ’s bran flakes.

And Tuesday I had catered lunch thanks to a malnutrition policy education that I attended. Dessert was chocolate-covered marzipan that a sweet coworker snuck to me.

snack

A picture’s worth a thousand words. Apparently I was all about the freeze-dried produce.

dinner

Another reason we both like bowl-style meals is that it’s nice to have our grain/protein/veggie components layered together rather than served in separate piles on a plate. I like to get a little bit of each flavor in every bite.

Honey-chipotle chicken Chipotle style bowls.

This week’s dinners had a lot of components so I’m going to break them down bullet-point-style.

sautéed local Satur Farms energy greens – aka a kale, spinach, etc mix
sautéed onions and green peppers with cilantro and lime
TJ’s Cuban-style black beans
pan-fried chicken breasts that were marinated overnight in chipotles in adobo, honey, evoo, lime juice, sherry, minced garlic, smoked paprika, and salt and pepper
avocado
shredded cheese / low-fat sour cream / cilantro

We were out of the onion and pepper mix for day 2’s leftovers so instead I served all of the other components on top of big bowls of kale and broccoli sautéed with garlic and lime. Still good! We decided that my version was ~~almost~~ as good as Chipotle.

Our rice bowls were a more Asian-inspired. They would have been better with a runny egg on top but I was pleased with how incredibly juicy the chicken came out.

brown jasmine rice
browned mushrooms
roasted broccoli
baked chicken that was marinated overnight in soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce, Sriracha, canola oil, lime juice, sugar, and minced ginger
bok choy, celery, green onion, and cilantro sautéed with a bit of the sauce from the chicken

Even on my night out I ate dinner in a bowl. I met friends at Hanoi and ordered the Veggie Spring Roll Bun – room temperature vermicelli, lettuce, cucumber, scallion oil, shallot, peanut, fresh herb, and nuoc cham sauce.

Would you have guessed that there would literally be a chopped up spring roll on top of the dish? We were surprised, but agreed that it was darn tasty. The best part of the meal was dessert though. Maple soft-serve from Corner of Vermont.

We ate our ice cream on a leisurely walk down 5th ave in Park Slope and the whole thing felt wonderfully summery!

5Jun2015

Top Three Weekly Wrap-Up {And A Giveaway!}

by Emily

My favorites from the past week…

Top 3 Breakfasts

(1) Mango coconut biscotti* with my coffee.

*free sample courtesy of Nonni’s, scroll down to the last section for more info

(2) Smoothie. Hint of Honey almond milk with frozen blackberries, raspberries, and dates.

(3) Cold brew. Coffee concentrate cut with skim milk and maple water.

Tops 3 Lunches

(1) Thanks, Starbucks. A cherry, granola, and yogurt bowl that was quite tasty.

Plus a Almond Coconut KIND bar. An Airhead might have snuck in there too!

(2) Starbucks again. <– I didn’t have it super together this week. But their kale chicken Caesar salad is damn good.

(3) Apples and oats. Quaker Apple Walnut Oatmeal topped with Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter with TJ’s freeze-dried Fuji apples on the side.

Top 3 Desserts

(1) Better than a brownie. Lindt’s caramel brownie bar.

(2) Hot fudge root beer floats.

(3) Shake, shake, shake. We had a tub of vanilla ice cream in the freezer and we weren’t afraid to use it.

Bourbon In My Coffee Breakfast Shake* = 1 cup vanilla ice cream, 2 oz maple bourbon, 2 oz iced coffee concentrate, 1 cup Frosted Flakes; serves 2.

*not actually consumed at breakfast

Top 3 Dinners

(1) Chipotle. My salad was on point – chicken, cheese, corn, sautéed veggies, mild salsa, green tomatillo salsa, and sour cream.

(2) More “Mexican” food.

Green chile and cheese pupusas. Now I need to get my hands on my first fresh pupusa.

Sautéed arugula tossed with avocado and crumbled kale chips.

(3) Asian-inspired. Every piece of this meal came out of our freezer but it was still one of the best of the week.

TJ’s chicken and vegetable goyza.

Frozen broccoli, celery, and spring onions that I cooked in canola oil then gussied up with a quick sauce (brown sugar, chicken broth, fish sauce, soy sauce, Sriracha, cornstarch) and some crushed peanuts.

Plus 1 Giveaway!

As I mentioned above, I was sent a free sample of the newest flavor of Nonni’s THINaddictives – Mango Coconut.

They are completely addictive – the perfect balance between chewy and crunchy and not too sweet to eat with breakfast (they have 100 calories per pack of three). I ate them with pretty much every meal this week.

Nonni’s gave me a chance to share the love with you guys too – Simply leave comment on this post before 10 am EST on Tuesday, June 9th for a chance to win your own box.

Not feeling lucky? In celebration of the new flavor, Nonni’s THINaddictives is hosting Summer Giveaway on Facebook – 50 winners will be selected to receive a free box of the new Mango Coconut THINaddictives. There is also a $1 off coupon under their coupon tab.

8May2015

Gesundheit!

by Emily

Oh man, has allergy season hit us with a vengeance. I feel just horrible! My throat hurts, my nose is runny, and my head is an achy, foggy mess. All of that complaining is to say – I missed a lot of pictures this week, many of them of candy and/or coffee because I pretty much had to have a liquid or hard candy in my mouth 24 hours a day. That said, I got to go on several mid-week dates with the husband and it was actually a pretty great week.