Tag Archives: chicken

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

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Don’t get too excited, no fairy tales here!  The title comes from our movie choice for the evening, I’m not feeling that creative.

I wasn’t feeling all that creative with dinner either, I almost exactly followed the recipe.  “The recipe” was from Cooking Light, Sausage-Fennel Subs.  My teeny changes were –

  • substituted 1T evoo for cooking spray
  • added ~1/2cup red bell peppers
  • skipped the garlic (we really ought to buy garlic again, it’s in pretty much everything)
  • used only 1 slice (per sandwich) of 2% provolone

I also added double the amount of sausage but that was unintentional, we have a lot of leftovers.  Thank goodness it was tasty!

As planned, after dinner we headed to Dolci for dessert.

It wasn’t quite what I was expecting 😦  Although Adam did come home with a box of cookies.

Undeterred, we headed down Elmwood until we accosted a family with ice-cream cones and found out where they got them.  Delish it was!

Awesome, awesome idea – check out this flavor list of locally made ice-creams:

Oh yeah!  I chose salted caramel and was not disappointed.

We ooohed and ahhhed over our ice-cream and drove around doing some apartment hunting before we headed home to the Dwarves.  I ate a huge bowl of popcorn that somehow escaped the camera.

No cheating on wikipedia – can you name all seven of the dwarves??

One-a-Day, Fun-a-Day

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I couldn’t manage to make this a three-post sort of day, but it was a lot of fun!  Tomorrow and Monday are going to be all about Anthro so I’m glad I squeezed some joy in today.

When I woke up this morning I was so hungry I was actually a little angry about it!  Sometimes when I’m so hungry I feel like I could eat a horse I end up not eating anything at all because it seems like no matter what I try I’ll still be hungry!!!  Plus I knew I had a fun lunch date to look forward to 😉

Katie and I have been planning a trip to the hot bar at the Lexington Co-op for months.  The co-op only has outside seating and it was 45* outside today but that wasn’t going to stop us, we just bundled up!

And ordered hot coffee (with skim milk).

Foodwise I went with a bunch of fun tastes.

Stuffed grape leaves and some massaged kale,

An amazing falafel – it tasted like it was baked instead of fried and the outside was super thick and crunchy,

curried chicken salad, and chicken salad with almonds and grapes,

and some Thai cucumber salad with peanuts.

Yumtastic!  I adore meals where I get a bunch of different tastes, I find I feel much more satisfied.

Afterward I picked up some fun bargains at the co-op, as well as dessert.

That peanut butter swirl brownie was literally gone in less than 2minutes!

Later in the afternoon the husband and I headed to the movie theatre to see Kick Ass.  The movie was pretty kick ass (hehe) but holy moley was there a lot of explicit language and violence!

I too felt like a superhero when I got tonight’s dinner on the table.

The bacon fettuccine alfredo was almost tastier leftover than it was the first night.

And for our veggies I made the world’s best dish from yesterday’s lunch: kale and eggplant with worchestire and marinara; I left out the okra because the husband thinks it looks like spider eggs!

The pasta and the veggies ended up working together perfectly.

Dinner was a definite success.

However, a few hours later (now) I did end up feeling some hunger.  I knew I was heading to bed soon and didn’t want something heavy so I decided to try the packet of chocolate whey protein I picked up.

Shaken with 8oz of skim milk.

Meh?  It wasn’t bad, but I feel like there are a lot more exciting (natural?) sources of protein.  That’s not to say I wouldn’t try another variety though.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend thus far, enjoy your Sundays!

What is your feeling on protein powders?  Any recommendations (or warnings) for me?

Taming the Beast

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Sorry for the late post, I had 8am lab and my day ended up galloping off from there!  I was hoping my extreme hunger was a yesterday thing, but it ended up following me into today as well; I felt like I was trying to tame the beast!

We had a hard quiz this morning (the first of the semester I don’t think I got a 100% on, boo) so I started my day with some brain food in the form of a green monster.

1 cup frozen spinach + 1 cup calcium/vitamin d oj + 1 frozen banana = tasty, healthy perfection!  I’m glad I experimented for the husband’s sake, but you just cannot improve on this recipe.

Normally GMs leave me satisfied until lunch, but today the beast was howling by the time I finished with lab around 11:30.  I knew I wasn’t going to make it at the gym without food so I fueled up at the mini cafe next to my class.

A cup of fruit salad and some Silk Soy Chocolate Milk.

Ready to go; I’ve got to give the snack a little credit for the fact that I had another great swim work out.  As promised – because I love you guys! – here’s a picture of me in all my dorky glory in my swim cap:

Actually, a lady walked by right as I took this picture so I had to explain to her why I was taking photographs in the ladies’ locker room.  She ended up giving me some great swimming tips and encouragement.  Although I’m still a little jealous of Meghann’s locker room social scene.

In the pool I did 32 laps (75ft each) in 28minutes.  The husband walked into the pool area in time for my last loop so I tried to haul ass; I could feel my heart pounding by the time I was done! 

We had to run some errands on the way home and Adam decided we were going to lunch.  He didn’t consult me and I had pool water dripping down my back but I’m still not complaining!  You’ll never guess the location he chose 😀

Yes, we went back to Cozumel again; yes, I did major damage to the chips.

I told you the menu is expansive, I tried yet another new item!  Veggie Chimis –

Nachos aside, I never order stuff like this and I quickly remembered why.  Unless we are talking  french fries I don’t like things that are fried, give me roasted or raw any day!  Thankfully it wasn’t all that greasy and the cheese was fairly under control.  Plus it was stuffed with mushrooms, zucchini, and summer squash.

I didn’t even taste my rice, who would want more carbs as a side with this?

My hunger was only temporarily quelled though, and a few hours later I was ready for more.  The husband I continued our fancy-free attitude and took a walk to Sweet Tooth.

I went with a small ice-cream which beyond hit the spot.

Cookies and cream with raspberry white chocolate swirl.  Holy yum!

I’m sure you’re shocked that I was still hungry for dinner a few hours later 😉  On the menu was this recipe for Pineapple-Glazed Chicken with Jalapeno Salsa.  Two thumbs up!  If nothing else, I highly recommend making the salsa.

Here’s my plate:

I had a small piece of chicken,

with a side of roasted veggies drizzled in leftover glaze.

The glaze was awesome but I still could only choke down half of my veggies; I just did not like these!  The husband thought they tasted off too, we ended up throwing the rest of them out.

I was a little too fancy-free with the husband today and I’ve got a TON of work to do by the end of the week so I’ve got to run.

Do you like fried food?  How often do you eat it?  Other than nachos and french fries, yum, I genuinely don’t enjoy fried foods.  Although I do like typically fried foods if they’ve been baked (i.e. chicken nuggets).

One-Pot Wonder

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I am so sorry to rush through this post but the husband is working at the hospital tonight and I know if I want to get any work done at all I need to tear myself away from the computer immediately!

The morning was spent at an open house at Buffalo State.  None of the breakfast options really appealed to me but I did snag a big plate of fresh fruit.

When we got home the husband made himself a plate of green tuna enchilladas (and smushed it all up with his fork) which he then decided he didn’t want, so I ate them for my lunch.

This was the last of the leftovers and they will be missed, definitely a keeper recipe.

However, my mouth was on fire (our green salsa was a bit too spicy)!  I was so hot I finally pulled this box out of the freezer –

These ice pops traveled with us from Brooklyn to Buffalo unopened!  I tried the Dr. Pepper one today,

and I don’t know what I was waiting for; it was sweet and mouth-cooling all for 35calories.

While grocery shopping I tried a small bread + cheese sample,

and when we got home I opened up a Dannon Light and Fit Apple Pie Yogurt.

There was some major artificial sugar taste but the strong cinnamon and huge pieces of apple pretty much made up for it.  Plus anything with a SunButter spoon is good!

I also ate a small bowl of popcorn while we watched the 100th episode of Bones.

Anyone else a Bones addict?  What’d you think?????

Dinner was this recipe from “Rachael Ray Magazine” – Chicken Chutney One-Pot.

My changes; based on Adam’s tastes and our pantry –

  • we only used 1lb of skinless boneless chicken breast
  • 1T (vs. 2T) evoo
  • 1potato subbed in for the apple
  • skipped the ginger
  • skipped the cumin

I did serve the dish with some crusty bread though, smeared with roasted garlic.

I followed Ms. How Sweet’s garlic technique, she’s kind of a culinary genius.

And a side of roasted green beans.

Made for a very tasty dinner.

I will probably do a bit of snacking while I (hopefully) study this evening, I’ll update later if so.  Hope everyone’s having a great weekend!

Do you read any food magazines?  I’m subscribed to Cooking Light and Rachael Ray, but I love to pick up Bon Apetit too whenever I can.

*****Updated – Unless eating ice-cream on the couch counts as tedious, I didn’t get a lot of work done last night.  I’m sure I’ll find other means of distractrion, but I’m taking the computer out of the equation for today; see you again Monday!

An Even Better New Thing

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TGIF!  Not having a job and all, weekends don’t really mean much to me lately, but today has been an exceptionally good day. 

Before I headed to the gym I ate a big spoonful of TJ’s SunButter.

As well as a mixed berry mix 1.

Tasty, but I split it with the husband so I wouldn’t be too sloshy.

I pulled out the new one-piece and headed to the pool for my first ever swim workout.  I was a little bit nervous but things ended up going great.  Growing up on an island, of course I’ve always known how to swim, but I don’t know how to swim swim.  I’m so slow!  True story: one time my friend Amanda realized we could move faster with her swimming and pulling me along by one leg than by swimming and waiting for me to catch up!

Today I did 32laps in 30minutes.  That’s 32 x 25meters or almost .5miles.  It felt great to be moving again!  Nothing could replace running for me but this might be one of my new favorite workouts.  Some thoughts –

  • they made me buy a swim cap (yes I looked ridiculous, yes I’ll post pictures next time) but I think some ear plugs might need looked into as well
  • I refuse to wear goggles too, but Visine definitely needs to be purchased
  • I alternated between breast stroke and freestyle but I don’t know how to flutter-kick at all; I was frogging it the whole time!
  • My leg hurt once or twice but overall I think this is a safe, great workout for my injury
  • I need to pack a change of clothes.  I thought I would just throw my yoga pants back on over my wet suit but it felt so awful I ended up just going commado!

When I drove home I couldn’t find a parking spot anywhere near our house.  I had to pay for a meter (which I need to refill or move at 3) and then make a long trek home.  On my walk I stopped in at Arbys for a diet soda and totally got suckered in by some good marketing – Market Fresh Pecan Chicken Salad Sandwich, with chicken, pecans, celery, apples, grapes, and mayo.

Yum.  I couldn’t help getting jalapeno poppers as my side.

Not the best or worst lunch ever.

I have to run, I need to go fill the darn meter soon!

Do you ever swim to work out?  Any tips for me?

Happy Easter

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It’s the final day of Adam’s spring break and we celebrated in lazy spirit.  Actually, I had big plans for getting some work done today but our fun last night killed that idea a bit.  What fun you ask?  Oh, that would be around 2am when the upstairs apartment had a plumbing issue and water started pouring into our kitchen!!!  Good times, good times D:

Although 9:30 ended up feeling way too early this morning we made the best of it and went for a walk.

We ended up at Starbucks for a tall, nonfat, iced white chocolate mocha.

A mile of walking was all my leg could take, but it was a pretty day so we took a drive.  Somehow we ended up with a spicy chicken sandwich from Wendy’s for lunch, which was sort of anti-climatic.

This happened a couple of times as well.

TJ’s SunButter is kinda addictive.

We wanted to do Easter-y things so we dyed some eggs.

It’ll be nice to have these hard-boiled fellows around this week.

Plus I made some lemon curd from scratch!

I used this recipe the people from Old London sent me –

Lemon Meringue Tarts, yields 24 tarts

  • 1 box Melba Snacks
  • Lemon Curd
  • Meringue

For Lemon Curd, yield 2C

  • 1T finely grated fresh lemon zest
  • 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2cup unsalted butter, cut into T pieces
  1. Whisk together zest, lemon juice, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan.
  2. Add butter all at once and cook over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on the surface, about 10minutes.
  3. Immediately pour curd through a fine sieve into a bowl, then chill, covered.

For Meringue

  • 3 large egg whites, at room temperature 30minutes
  • 1/4 t cream of tartar
  • 1/2cup granulated sugar
  1. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar using an electic mixer at medium speed until they hold soft peaks.
  2. Increase speed to high and add sugar, 1 T at a time, beating until meringue just holds stiff, glossy peaks.

Assemble Tarts

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Spoon cold lemon curd in a large re-sealable plastic bag and remove any air pockets; knead slightly.
  3. Cut one corner tip off the bag which allows you to squeeze the cold curd onto the toast.
  4. Gently squeeze the lemon curd onto the toast, making sure to have a smooth, flat top.
  5. Add a dollop of meringue decoratively over the filling.
  6. Immediately bake until meringue is golden-brown, 8-10minutes.

My notes –

  • it took waaaaay longer than 10minutes for my curd to thicken; I’m not sure if it was my old stove or if the recipe is wonky
  • we skipped the sieve, I prefer a little texture
  • Adam and I went without the meringue, opting to spread some curd on some Sea Salt Melba Toasts and leaving it at that

Yum!  I might want to tweak the recipe to get it a little thicker, but the flavor was spot on!  And the toasts were a tasty accompaniment.

Evening plans include tv time with the husband and an easy peasy dinner.  Plus, hopefully, an early uninterrupted bedtime!

What ‘Easter things’ did you and your family do today?

Achoo, Achoo!

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I’m feeling sick so I’ll keep this quick.  (I’m a poet and I don’t even know it, ha!)  My s-i-l has cats that I’m super allergic to I’ve been sneezing my head off.  So I’ve got showering, packing, and sneezing 8bazillion times still on the agenda before bed.

This morning I made a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch with skim milk.

I’m not gonna lie, Adam was getting some seriously whining about my inability to make a Green Monster.  Sometimes (like all day today) the food situation with my in-laws is frustrating because I eat so differently than they do.

When Adam and I went to gas up the car around noon I spotted a ‘make-your-own’ milkshake machine and squealed with glee.

I’m not sure why these are so exciting to me but they really are.  Adam and split a mint chocolate chip.

And then we came home for a real lunch.

Celery and carrots with a little bit of ranch,

part of a Cara Cara Orange,

and a turkey sandwich.

I also had a few of these throughout the afternoon.

My m-i-l made an adorable bunny cake –

But it was box cake with can icing and there was no way that was worth the trans fat ingestion.

Dinner was a Mexican affair.

Turkey nachos,

and chicken, peppers, and black bean quesadillas.

Adam and I were in charge of making the quesadillas but I only ended up eating half of one.  I did go back for nachos seconds though.

My b-i-l made a plate with nachos just for the two of us and I was in heaven.

My favorite part of dinner was my beverage though.  Diet cola with Strawberry Crush, hell yeah!

I ate way too much crap this weekend, but I know that that streak will be continued tomorrow because we have a foodie day planned……..in New York City!!!!!

Do y’all have any idea how excited I am to back to the city?!  Oh man!  We are getting there around 11 and staying until around 7pm.  It’s obviously not the trip we had planned originally, because our favorite thing to do in NYC is walk, but we wanted to go in spite of my injury.  Even a low-key day will be a lot of fun.

We have an 8+hour drive back to Buffalo and I have classes Tuesday afternoon so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to post a recap.  I hope everyone else had a great weekend.

What is your favorite US city?

Under the Influence

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Hello from PA!  It was a loooong day in the car but we made it.  I’m more than ready for bed, and I have an actual topic to discuss, so I’ll keep the food recaps quick.

Breakfast this morning was a new kind of Green Monster.

For two (Adam and I) I blended 2cups frozen spinach, 1cup frozen strawberries, and 2cups skim milk.  They were ok, not even close to my regular GM love.

The reason I made the crappy new Green Monsters was because the husband tends to not like oj in smoothies, but was willing to give spinach smoothies a try.  Adam almost never eats breakfast, and doesn’t eat anywhere near enough servings of veggies, so if I could get him on the Green Monster band wagon it would be positive all around.  I know it seems like I eat a lot of crap (especially in comparison to the other healthy living bloggers) but in general I’ve been a good influence on the husband’s diet since we met.

  • He eats far less red meat now, maybe once a month or so.  He grew up in a more than once a day meat family.
  • He’s even gotten on board with the occasional vegetarian dinner.  And surprise – he loves tofu!
  • 90% of what I cook is healthy.
  • I always keep the house stocked with healthy snacks.
  • And even though he eats his own junk from time to time, he’s basically stopped eating any trans fat because of what I’ve told him about it.

Obviously as a medical student the husband has more health knowledge than the average American, but it feels really great to help someone I love make good choices.

For brunch (eaten at 9:30am?) I polished off the rest of the gumbo.

So fricking good, I can’t wait to share this recipe with y’all!

And when we got on the road we split a bag of Fizzy Skittles.

I am in love with the new nutritional panels I’ve been seeing on some products.  Obviously that blurb doesn’t tell the whole story (and there is complete info on the back) but I love being able to know calories at a glance.

By 7 we were starving for dinner.  When we pulled off Adam got giddy at the sight of this –

Eat n’ Park.  Meh.  I’m not big on diner food but he was very excited.  This is where the husband influences my choices (and not for the better!) I ended up ordering an Oreo Milkshake with my meal.

I always request skim milk when I order a milkshake.  I get no more enjoyment from a whole milk milkshake (in fact I much prefer skim) so it never hurts to ask.  Never be embarrassed to make healthy substitutions, even to a not-so-healthy order!

For dinner I ordered the pirogues.

I was starving but these were just not good.  I ate about 1/3 and then I stopped.  I know I’m not exactly the picture of good choices, but I do have one hard and fast rule – If it’s not good for me and I don’t like it I don’t eat it.  There are so many foods that I love and so many foods that are good for me, why eat something ho-hum just because it’s there?

You’ll never guess where we ended up stopping to get me the rest of my dinner –

Wegman’s salad bar!  I got lots of veggies and I loved them.  I’m not gonna lie, I picked all of the broccoli out of the container!

I also love these quad-containers, perfect portion control.  Thai style tofu and veggies,

General’s chicken,

and Paneer Mutter.

Yums!  I gave Adam a big bite of all three dishes and he loved them as well.

I was left perfectly satisfied by dinner, and probably should have just said no to pizza at the in-laws, but it just looked too tasty.

A weekend trip isn’t exactly a ‘vacation,’ tomorrow I’m going to try to eat a little less crap.  It’s bedtime in these parts, sweet dreams!

How have you influenced your significant other’s eating habits?  What healthy changes have you inspired (or been inspired by)?