Weekly Wrap-Up; A Giveaway Winner And Another Giveaway!

by Emily

Hey there! First things first, the winner of my Sandwich, Bagel, and Pocket Thins giveaway is – #30, laurajacobson. {if you’re only here for the next giveaway keep scrolling to the bottom of this post!}

I haven’t talked much about work beyond posting some pictures of my office, so I thought I’d share a few updates:

a) Most of my coworkers love my purple hair. Everyone has said that they wouldn’t have expected me to be the type of person to get a crazy color, which is funny because over the past decade I’ve gone purple or pink (or one really unfortunate shade of maroon) several times.

b) As of this week I’m going to be covering inpatient floors on Tuesdays. I’ve been enjoying my job but it is very exciting to get back into acute care! My heart belongs to tube feeds. And since I’m just going where I’m needed, I’ll be able to get exposure to a little bit of everything.

c) It finally happened… one of my former students came into the clinic!!! I saw her name on my list but didn’t put two and two together until she was standing in front of my door for nutrition counseling. We both spent the first 10 minutes of our time reminiscing and freaking out. It was really fun to see how grown-up she was.

Now onto the food, in reverse. I had many really amazing new things this week and you’re in for a lot of gushing; you’ve been warned…

dinner

Fancy pasta.

Whole wheat noodles, sautéed shrimp, and torn kale tossed with lemon, parmesan, and fat-free half & half.

A total fail.

This was my attempt at okra masala, sans recipe.

Things were going well until I added a 2nd round of dried herbs and spices, rendering the dish inedible. I ate a bag of gummi bears for dinner instead.

Plus my kale chips.

In celebration of upcoming St. Patrick’s Day, Fairway contacted me to see if I would like to try* their house-baked beer bread. Yes, please!

The bread is made with NY local Blue Point Brewing Co. Hoptical Illusion IPA.

The bread was delicious – between sandwiches and toasted slices with cheese melted on top we finished the entire thing in two days! – but even more magical was what happened when I went to go pick it up. Apparently I had never been inside a Fairway before, because, holy foodie heaven, you guys, I have found my new favorite grocery store. Fairway was better than TJ’s, Whole Foods, and even {gasp!} Wegman’s. The store was impeccably clean, the produce was the best I’ve seen all winter, and I spotted at least five of the products I’ve been trolling other stores for over the past six months. There was even a hot bar! I don’t think I saw any store brands so my wallet won’t let me shop their exclusively but I am very jazzed to add it to my grocery rotation!

As for the bread, I decided to stay on theme and make turkey reubens.

Beer bread, fresh sauerkraut, 1000 island dressing, and Applegate Farms Herb Turkey Breast and Emmentaler Sliced Swiss.

For our green on the side we did baby kale sautéed with dried blueberries and honey roasted almonds.

Such a good combo, the berries took it over the top.

And Thursday I was too lazy to make dinner soIatepopcornwhilewatchingtv,theend.

snacks

Recently Cow Wow reached out to me about trying* their cereal milk.

Cow Wow is low-fat, kosher, gluten-free, all-natural and organic. They sent me three flavors in an adorable little lunch box.

Adam and I split a Fruity Trudy Organic Low-fat Milk one night as a snack.

The flavor was spot-on for milk from the bottom of a bowl of fruity cereal. I hate fruity cereal, so it was a little too spot-on for me, but Adam liked it. I’ll talk about the other flavors lower in this post, but to enter to win a lunchbox of your own just scroll to the end of this post!

A super sundae.

Dannon Café Latte Frozen Greek Yogurt – the flavor was wonderful but the texture had the hollowness that low-fat ice creams tend to have –

topped with candied pecans and Spoonable Flowery Lavender Caramel Sauce.

Beer bread with cheese.

I didn’t even use the oven that time. I microwaved it. Like an animal.

And Blackberry Oikos with the last of the pecans.

lunch

Lunches vacillated between freaking awesome and very weak. Monday was a strong showing.

An Everything Bagel Thin with Applegate Farms Roasted Turkey, a fantastic crunchy cheddar from TJ’s, and banana peppers.

Plus a granny smith with Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter.

Tuesday I bought a salad from the cafeteria and didn’t take a picture.

Wednesday was insane and I ended up not having time for my packed lunch. Instead I just drank this Arriba Horchata Energy Drink.

I poured it over ice and it was ridiculous good.

Thursday I ate Wednesday’s lunch.

A Cara Cara.

And a Fage Coffee Fruyo.

This yogurt is my new favorite. It blows every other coffee variety out of the water! This was not enough food though (I forgot my other bag of snacks at home) and I ended up eating candy at my desk all afternoon. Boo.

breakfast

Last Friday I finally got to try the new vanilla macchiato from Starbucks.

It was flipping fabulous and I’ve had one almost every day since.

Random sidenote – Now what I really need to try is this:

I want it so bad I can practically taste it but none of the locations I’ve been to have had it frozen. I’m a woman obsessed.

A set of cinnamon.

Cinnamon Crunch Somersaults.

And a Cinny Minny Cow Wow.

Again, the flavor was a perfect match to the bottom of the cereal bowl. And I do like cinnamon cereal so I was a fan.

A ridiculously fantastic breakfast sandwich.

An Everything Bagel Thin with sautéed kale, fancy cheddar, roasted turkey, and a fried egg.

It was tasty, filling, and it didn’t even take me all that long to make.

~~Cereal and milk~~ cereal milk and fruit.

A great pear – TJ’s has been killing it with the bosc and d’anjou pears lately.

And my last flavor of Cow Wow.

The fun of chocolate but not too sweet for breakfast. Chocolate Chip Cathy was my favorite flavor by far. Though they also have a marshmallow flavor and if I can ever get my hands on it I’m pretty sure it will win my affection.

*both the bread and the cereal milk were sent to me free of charge. I was not provided further compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

the giveaway

~~To enter to win your own lunchbox packed with three flavors of Cow Wow, simply leave a comment on this post by 8 pm EST on Monday, March 17th.~~

***Update – #10, latanya, was the winner.

24Feb2014

Weekend Wrap-Up; Winter’s Gone And I’m Not Sad

by Emily

Winter is not gone for good, obviously, but it took a much-appreciated hiatus this weekend. It was so warm yesterday that we could walk the dog without coats!

Oh spring, you cannot come soon enough.

Stream of consciousness style, here is some of what I ate this weekend…

Thursday’s lunch.

The new Key Lime 2% Fage is so ridiculously good. I stopped on my way home that same day to buy more!

Plus a Lady Alice apple.

And a Strawberry Lemonade Cascade Ice.

I bought the drink with my own money after enjoying my samples, but something in this reeeeeally made my stomach hurt so I probably won’t be buying it again.

Friday’s lunch was a delicious sandwich of 1 slice of pumpernickel topped with Miracle Whip, fancy blue cheese, banana peppers, and Applegate Farms Roasted Turkey.

Plus an emmy’s dark cacao macaroon – my new favorite flavor.

And a pear.

The Somersaults you see in the background were swapped out for this Double Shot.

My coffee obsession accepts all forms.

We blended up a final round of our favorite smoothie.

That was the last of our chocolate peppermint soy milk until next holiday season.

I ate a bowl of sugar cereal(s).

Kid’s aren’t all wrong, this was fricking delicious.

I dipped sliced green apple in a blend of melted peanut butter and dark chocolate sauce.

I love green apples when paired with something sweet or cheesy but the thought of eating one all on its lonesome makes my lips purse up.

I tried another evolution juice.

The Essential Greens with Lime was much, much better than the variety I threw out the other day. Still can’t hold a candle to fresh juice though.

I ate a ton of ice cream.

The Ben and Jerry’s Cores are out of control. We’ve tried blondie salted caramel and chocolate hazelnut and both were great. Adam actually liked them more than I did, which says a lot because he claims not be into ice cream.

A friend and I met up at Bierkraft and shared this cider.

It didn’t taste like maple at all, sadly. But it packed some kick, apparently, because we went out for burgers afterward and it didn’t occur to me to snap a picture until there was only one bite left on my plate.

I got an easy dinner from Trader Joe’s after I went grocery shopping at 8 pm on Saturday.

Along with my salad – which was delicious – I had cheesy bread. Aka a baguette baked with butter and sharp cheddar.

That was more delicious than the salad. Obviously.

We made shrimp Pad Thai. And it was good!!!

First, we had to turn this –

into this –

Making tamarind paste “from scratch” felt super badass, just fyi. And it was very essential to getting a good sauce.

Basically just rice noodles, carrots, bean sprouts, shrimp, eggs, and this sauce, cooked in canola oil and topped with lime, scallion, and crushed peanut.

It tasted legit! I can’t even tell you how proud I was.

Last night our dinner plans fell through and we ended up with turkey burger take-out from Bare Burger.

Not the original plan but certainly nothing to complain about. Mine had turkey bacon, peppers, fried onions, and smoked cheese.

Have you ever made Pad Thai at home? How’d it turn out?

20Feb2014

Weekly Wrap-Up; Out Of Order

by Emily

A Sunday – Wednesday post? Why not! I’m a little out of sorts this week because I’ve been (just slightly) under the weather. Thankfully it hasn’t been too bad, but I’ve had: the sniffles; difficulty speaking as much as I need to at work; and insane, crushing exhaustion. I seem to be on the upswing though, and I’m posting today as a hopeful symbolic fresh week.

Thanks to my sore throat, I’ve been loving the tea. Earl Gray with skim milk and lots of honey.

Black tea with ginseng and honey from Arizona.

And I even tried some juice.

Ugh, couldn’t do it. I’m not a big (fruit) juice person anyway but this stuff was terrible.

Other things I didn’t like this week included.. A cinnamon dolce latte that was fully flavored because I forgot to ask for “half syrup,”

and emmy’s chai spice macaroons.

Both were too cinnamon-y for my tastes.

We also had a terrible meal at a burger place in Astoria.

My turkey burger was fine, but nothing to write home about, but the Fruity Pebbles milkshake we attempted to share – aka the entire reason we were excited about the restaurant – was horrendous. No flavor and very soggy.

We had much more success at home!

Like the croissant ‘wich I recreated from my brunch at Penelope’s.

A split croissant topped with scrambled eggs {cooked with red and green peppers and light sour cream}, maple bacon tempeh, and sharp cheddar.

Just as good as the original. Adam liked his too.

We also made some turkey bacon carbonara with whole wheat linguine.

Recipe from Cooking Light.

Here’s the only lunch I managed to pack for work (other days I had total junk from the cafeteria).

Leftover tempeh with sharp cheddar on pumpernickel.

Seaweed.

Leftover bell pepper slices.

And a minneola.

For dessert this week we continued to adore emmy’s dark chocolate sauce.

And this combination of strawberry and cola gummies wasn’t bad either.

Either together, of course.

Is anyone else fighting a winter cold?

4Feb2014

Weekend Wrap-Up; Beers In Brooklyn

by Emily

‘Twas a super weekend, even if I didn’t watch a single second of a certain football game. We don’t have a cable hook-up! I would like to see if I can find the commercials somewhere online though.

My meals this weekend were the like Seahawks, unparalleled winners. Here’s some of what we ate…

lunch at work on Friday

A Tart Cherry Noosa.

An Asian pear.

And a flourless chocolate chip almond butter cookie.

I made the cookies for Adam but they were so good that I ended up stealing another one when I got home that afternoon! This recipe, but with Vanilla Bean + Espresso Barney Butter and half as many chocolate chips.

sweets and snacks

Cosmos.

With Cascade Ice Cocktail Mixer, a splash of oj, and vodka.

The fancy one was actually Adam’s, mine had ice and a straw.

But mine ended up being his too in the end; I am just not a cranberry person.

A serving of Red Velvet M&M’s (new flavor!).

They are very chocolate-y and also very headache-inducing.

A kid’s double scoop at Ample Hills Creamery on our date night. I had Sweet as Honey on the bottom – Homemade honeycomb candy (made with honey from bees at Queens County Farm) in a sweet cream ice cream – and Gather ‘Round the Campfire on top – Toasted marshmallow ice cream with chocolate-covered graham cracker.

I love this place! The flavors were perfect. I also tried a taste of the Peppermint Pattie and pretty much died.

cereal and milk {cereal and milk}

It’s back!

I know the box says “new!” but the raisin Frosted Mini Wheats were my number one favorite as a child. Also the only “sugar cereal” I can recall ever having in the house growing up.

With Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk and blueberries.

a recipe revisit

I wanted to remake my Berry Better Than Spaghetti recipe so I could reshoot the photos (not that the new ones are all that great!).

I ended up making a few tweaks to the recipe too. It turned out fantastic!

coffee love

Medium non-fat cinnamon brown sugar latte at Dunkin Donuts.

I have been loving these lately but this one was too sweet. Speaking of… has anyone tried the cookie dough or brownie batter donuts at DD yet? I am seriously debating buying one.

Short nonfat caramel macchiato from Starbucks on errands.

Our Trader Joe’s is always a madhouse and I love it when the husband is available to wrangle the cart for me because it means I can have coffee while I shop.

Iced coffee with almond milk from Café Dada.

Love, love, love, love, love. There is just no beating Blue Bottle.

brunch in SoHo

A girlfriend and I met up at Penelope on Sunday.

I had the Andrey’s Egg Sandwich – Scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and peppers, topped with ~~grilled chorizo~~ fakin’ bacon and sun-dried tomato pesto on a fresh-baked croissant. It was a strange order for me – I usually go with sunny side up eggs or something sweet – but very good.

beers in Brooklyn

Adam had the best date on Saturday, and I’m not just saying that because he got me tipsy! I managed to find my top 2 favorite beers! For reference, here’s my list –

Emily’s All-Time Favorite Beers Ranking

{1} Genesee Cream Ale

{2} Left Hand Milk Stout

{3} Heineken Light

{4} Red Stripe

{5} Abita Strawberry

{6} 21st Amendment Brewery Hell or High Watermelon

We started at Bierkraft, where I tried a Joe Mama’s Milk from Keegan Ales.

I couldn’t taste the coffee at all, but this was nice and smooth.

Then we headed down to Dinosaur BBQ,

where we found ($3) cans of GCA!

I also had a Left Hand Milk Stout with my dinner.

So much beer – for me – but it was all so good!

Dinosaur BBQ is actually from Upstate. They make our favorite bbq sauce but we never had a chance to visit the restaurant while we were in Buffalo. I was thrilled that a location popped up in our old Brooklyn neighborhood.

Adam and I split a sampler platter to start.

Shrimp boil, chicken wing, deviled egg, and a fried green tomato.

I got a pulled chicken melt as my meal. BBQ, caramelized onion, poblano peppers, and melted cheddar.

I skipped my bun and cheese but quite enjoyed the chicken. This definitely wasn’t the best barbecue we’ve ever had, but it wasn’t bad either. And we would go back for the beer menu alone.

What are your top favorite beers? Do you tend towards high or low ABV?

31Jan2014

Weekly Wrap-Up; Feeling Fizzy

by Emily

Hey there! The weather has not warmed up yet (though we are promised a week of mid-30’s to come!) but, as predicted, I am in a much better mood* than I was during my last wrap-up. My dietitan side wants to attribute my good feelings to getting in more produce this week!

*I am probably going to exclaim that “____________ was soooooo good!” a million times in this post and I feel the need to disclaim that this is not just my bubbly persona, I had lots of really tasty things this week.

Breakfast

Half of a Gnu Fiber Love Blondie Bar and a skim black tea latte.

I went with tea only because I had a coupon but I ended up thinking that it was quite nice. The bar on the other, was very meh.

A short skim latte.

I almost never drink hot coffee but in the moment it sounded good. Probably because I was still thinking about how nice the foam was with my tea.

A fantabulous smoothie.

Frozen blueberries, a frozen banana, Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, 2 Tbsp Vanilla Bean and Espresso Barney Butter, and a Coco Café Coconut Water Café Latte. The coffee + almond combo was perfection.

Lunch

Lunch 1.

Strawberry Rhubarb Noosa Yogurt (pssst, all Noosa shown in this post are former freebies).

I had never tried rhubarb before this but if it tastes in pie like it does in this yogurt then I’m sure I’d be a fan. Plus baby carrots and green pepper with Bolthouse Farms Blue Cheese Yogurt Dressing for dipping.

And a Pink Grapefruit Cascade Ice Water.

Oh gosh, the pink grapefruit, sooooo good. I don’t even usually like grapefruit but this knocked my socks off. This bottle was part of a very sweet box Cascade Ice Waters sent me this week.

Being a fan of all thing fizzy, I knew I would like them, but I’ve been shocked by just how good they are. I enjoy all of the flavors I’ve tried so far a bunch.

Lunch 2.

A Mango Noosa with some toasted coconut on top.

An Asian Pear and a banana fudge cereal bar (warmed, for the win!).

And a Lemonade Cascade Ice Water.

Super refreshing. These drinks don’t taste “diet” at all. <– usually my complaint with beverages other than diet coke.

Lunch 3.

More veggies with dip.

A mineola.

And leftovers.

…from a dinner you’ll see in a sec.

Dinner

Here’s that dinner I was talking about. A poorly-lit date to Namaste that I’m going to share anyway because it was the best Indian food we’ve ever had.

We went with a Groupon that let us get a bunch of courses. Including wine.

Riesling wasn’t actually the best pairing with my spicy food but I shared with Adam and he shared sips of his mango lassi with me.

Our Shrimp Bhuna appetizer was ridiculous. The sauce was amazing.

Dinner was great too.

I a pile of Okra Masala next to rice that I topped with some of Adam’s Chicken Shahi Korma.

Delicious. My dish was perfectly spiced. This was the best okra I’ve ever had and you know I love okra.

Plus they brought us creamy rice pudding for dessert.

Namaste, we will be back! {again, and again, and again}

A quick and easy dinner at home.

Herring salad – canned, smoked herring mashed with Miracle Whip, dijon, and pickle relish.

Orange honey cabbage – shredded cabbage and chopped celery sautéed in evoo and then cooked with a sauce made of orange juice, honey, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and corn starch.

Plus dried clementines so that my plate didn’t look like it belonged to someone edentulous.

I wasn’t feeling any of my piles, sadly, but Adam loved this meal.

The last dinner I have to share was a loser too.

I topped leftover creamy mushroom casserole with truffle salt and a sunny side up egg but my favorite flavors weren’t enough to make up for the lackluster casserole underneath. We shared this cutting board of pineapple as an appetizer and that wasn’t great either.

Maybe I’m actually being picky this week?

Snack

Adam and I tried the new Butterfinger Cups.

Not fans; they were actually too spot on, the flavors were so recognizable as Butterfingers and Reese’s Cups that it was weird to be eating them mashed together.

Peppermint divinity candy, on the other hand, is always good.

Thanks for sending it, parents! P.S. Fellow NYCers – if you come across divinity candy somewhere in our fair city please let me know!

Margaritas!

Made with Cascade Ice Margarita Sparkling Cocktail Mixer, a splash of orange juice, fresh lime, and tequila.

I don’t even like margaritas (I drink them from one bar only, always with Herradura) and I thought these were out of control.

I haven’t seen the Cascade Ice cocktail mixes at my store but I am buying more of this as soon as I can find it.

Homemade ice cream that was a total success.

Amazingly, I managed to make the best coffee ice cream we’ve ever had.

Coffee Cookies and Cream Ice Cream, serves 4 – 6

1 and 1/2 cups fat-free half and half
heaping 1/4 cup coffee grounds
12 oz can evaporated low-fat milk
1/3 cup and 1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 Tbsp vodka
3 large egg yolks
1 cup crushed Oreos (we used Mega Stuffed by any kind works)

Place coffee grounds and half and half into the base of your French press. Stir. Cover (do not insert the press at this point) and store in the fridge overnight, at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours.
Press grounds and pour coffee-infused half and half into a medium saucepan.
Whisk evaporated milk, 1/3 cup sugar, salt, vanilla bean paste, and vodka into half and half. Heat mixture until tiny bubbles begin to form around the edges of the pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove pan from heat and set aside for 10 minutes.
While the milk mixture cools, whisk 1/4 cup sugar into egg yolks in a large bowl.
Slowly stream the milk into the eggs, whisking constantly. Be sure to temper the eggs by starting with a very small amount of the hot liquid and gradually adding more.
Return mixture to pan and cook another 5 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
Place pan into a large bowl of ice water, stirring occasionally, until cool, 20 – 30 minutes.
Pour cooled base into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Transfer finished ice cream to a large storage container and fold in crushed Oreos. Serve immediately or freeze.

What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?

21Jan2014

Three Day Weekend Wrap-Up

by Emily

My first long weekend as a worker bee was fabulous. Friday through Monday were packed with fun (and food!). Adam and I managed to spend a ton of time together. <– heavenly Here’s some of what we ate…

breakfasts

Breakfast in Park Slope with Adam and a girlfriend.

I got poached eggs with toast, hash browns, turkey bacon, and a mimosa.

Sadly our meals were all slightly burned and boring. Win some lose some. The iced coffee we got from Cafe Dada afterwards was a total win.

They have almond milk on their milk bar!

Speaking of almond milk, that’s what I put in my homemade iced coffee, cold pressed for the win.

Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk. Plus some maple syrup.

And almond milk went in my cereal too – Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes with bunches of blueberries.

That cereal has stayed my favorite for months.

Another day another coffee. This time with a banana and fudge cereal bar.

The bar was de-lish. I am eagerly looking forward to microwaving one and eating it warm.

lunches

Friday’s lunch at the office.

Leftover mac with sardines and broccoli.

And a Wallaby low-fat Greek yogurt with strawberry.

Hot bar date at Whole Foods in SoHo.

I choose 2 vegan dumplings, a scoop of macaroni and cheese, and made a salad with mixed greens, balsamic, olives, and blue cheese.

Plus Adam and I split a Raspberry Chia Kombucha.

dinners

It’s been crazy cold in our area recently and we’ve both been craving soup. So I whipped up an Asian-inspired batch of the hot stuff. With a creamy soft-boiled egg cracked on top.

It was so good I even recorded the recipe.

Asian-Inspired Soup; serves 2

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 fresh jalepeños, thinly sliced
1/4 cup sliced green onions
5 oz bok choy, sliced lengthwise in quarters
1/4 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch each salt and pepper
3 cups broth
3 oz stir-fry noodles
{Optional toppings} Sriracha, sliced green onions, soft-boiled eggs

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add jalepeños, green onions, and bok choy to oil and cook until softened, 3 – 5 minutes.
Add all spice, cloves, cinnamon, salt and pepper to vegetables and stir to combine.
Add broth to pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
When the broth has reached a boil, add noodles to pot and reduce heat to bring the soup to a simmer. Continue to simmer until noodles are softened, 3 – 5 minutes.
Serve and top as desired.

Another night we went all fancy (sort of) with polenta (sort of) stacks.

Layers 1, 3, and 5 were sliced polenta baked with dried basil and mozzarella. Layers 2 and 4 were lean ground turkey sautéed with evoo, thinly sliced garlic, thinly sliced turkey pepperoni, and marinara sauce.

The pepperoni totally made it. Roasted broccoli on the side.

And the last night of the weekend we did take-out from Yesterday’s Diner.

Adam and I split a turkey burger with mozzarella and french fries. We love their turkey burgers. And it helps that they send a juicy pickle and blue cheese dressing for dipping.

snackage

This section is full of love! Like this snack plate of super sharp cheese with Honeycrisp apple.

Haribo Juicy Gold Bears became my favorite gummi.

The texture is perfect – chewy and firm with no teeth sticking – and they are sooooo juicy.

The rest of the treats are all mint based, since I’m having a total love affair with the frosty flavor lately. The best froyo ever.

Mint with chocolate crunch, yogurt chips, and hot fudge.

A fabulous first trip to Emack and Bolio’s with Adam.

He got ice cream that he deemed the best he’s ever had and I went with a scoop of grasshopper pie frozen yogurt.

We also got a chocolate egg cream that was the best we’ve ever had. We want to go back immediately.

Finally, a vegan mint cream cookie sandwich from Babycakes.

Are you a mint fanatic too or is it too toothpastey for you?

3Jan2014

Weekly Wrap-Up; Hello, 2014!

by Emily

Hello from a new year! Like I said in my last post, I am very excited to have welcomed ’14. We didn’t do anything exciting for NYE (we were in bed watching Vines by 11), but we started the year off right with a fun day on the 1st.

Resolutions, Past and Present

I didn’t set any resolutions last year, but since 2011 it’s been a yearly goal to read a book a month. I missed January and February, but overall I did pretty well with 20 books read in 2013:

March

Last to Die – Tess Gerritsen (f)

The Bone Bed – Patricia Cornwell (f)

June

97 Orchard – Jane Ziegelman (nf)

Spiced: A Pastry Chef’s True Stories of Trials by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, and What Really Goes on in the Kitchen – Dalia Jurgensen (m)

July

The Perfect Husband – Lisa Gardner (f)

The Third Victim – Lisa Gardner (f)

Alone – Lisa Gardner (f)

August

Hide – Lisa Gardner (f)

The Neighbor – Lisa Gardner (f)

The Next Accident – Lisa Gardner (f)

The Killing Hour – Lisa Gardner (f)

September

Fiction Ruined My Family – Jeanne Darst (m)

October

Live to Tell – Lisa Gardner (f)

Love You More – Lisa Gardner (f)

Catch Me – Lisa Gardner (f)

November

Bones of the Lost – Kathy Reichs (f)

December

Brain on Fire – Susannah Cahalan (m)

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight – Alexandra Fuller (m)

Dust – Patricia Cornwell (f)

Wild – Cheryl Strayed (m)

This year I did decide to set a few new year’s goals for myself, though I won’t be typing them all out here. Basically I want to lose some of the weight I’ve been steadily putting on the past three years / continue my book reading goals / and start chipping away at the continuing education requirements for my Dietetics registration.

Fashion Friday

Last Friday.

Monday.

Tuesday.

A day off on Wednesday.

Welcoming in a new year at work on Thursday.

Breakfasts

Since part of this post is from last year you won’t really see this go into effect, but I think I am going to make more of an effort to eat breakfast on workdays. I’ve been getting insanely hungry every afternoon and I think running out of time for breakfast most mornings is partially to blame.

Giant non-fat latte with 2 shots each peppermint and white chocolate.

Coconut coffee and a pear.

The Vanilla Coco Cafe was delicious, even better than the original.

My pear was tasty too, but eating it gave me such bad heartburn that I almost got off of my train to throw up! I’m not sure what the deal with that was.

Lunches

I made a big batch of roasted veggies this week, enough to pack for three days of lunches. Butternut squash and green beans (and broccoli that I burned the crap out of so only 1-3 stalks ended up in each lunch). I stuck with the winning formula of veggies + a fruit + candy the whole week.

Monday.

Veggies with smoked almonds and Sriracha mayo. Plus tangerines and Chinese candy.

Tuesday.

Veggies with pistachios and champagne pear vinaigrette. Plus mint m&m’s and an Autumn Glory apple (<– they taste like cinnamon!).

Thursday.

Veggies with smoked almonds and bbq sauce. Plus gummies from Dylan’s and another cinnamon-y apple.

On Wednesday, Adam and I went into the city for lunch at Serendipity3.

The Christmas decorations were out of control, it was gorgeous in there.

We shared a frrrozen hot chocolate that was delightful.

I got my favorite sandwich for lunch, the Summer Bries – smoked turkey, sliced apples, melted brie and alfalfa sprouts, served on raisin pumpernickel with Russian dressing.

Yum! I shared about 50% of my sandwich with the husband, but it was ok because I stole some of his curry sauce to drizzle on my salad.

Snacks

I don’t have any pictures because I haven’t been bringing my camera to work, but let me just tell you – I’ve been eating so much freaking junk on the train! Like I said earlier, I am super hungry all afternoon, and I end up buying food the minute I escape the hospital. It is a bad bad habit.

Strawberry Champagne Polar to make work on NYE feel a little more festive.

Actual champagne. We drank Moet & Chandon on our honeymoon and now it feels extra special.

Numi Chocolate Pu-erh Tea with honey.

Plain Greek yogurt with blackberries and maple syrup.

Seltzer and a candy cane.

Gummi cola bottles (Adam bought me an array for our anniversary), eaten nightly this week while playing Sonic. <– best thing ever

Dessert hour with Adam at Cafe Dada.

We split a diplomat pastry,

and both had cafe cortados.

They use Blue Bottle Coffee as their espresso and it is divine.

Dinners

I don’t have pictures from Monday and Wednesday and without them I honestly can’t remember what I ate those nights. I ate a small serving of mac and cheese from Panera on NYE, but I’m sure I had something with it and I can’t remember what! When I used to blog every day I didn’t realize how much the act of picture-taking helped to cement the meals in my brain.

An easy favorite. Farro topped with smoked herring, sweet sesame seaweed, Sriracha, and a soft-boiled egg.

Black eyed peas for the new year. In a skillet I randomly tossed together – BEP, green pepper, plum tomato, green onion, turkey bacon, smoked paprika, green Tabasco, and plain Greek yogurt. On top of jasmine rice.

Leftover farro, stir-fried with peas.

I know I didn’t give a ton of dinner description, but I starting realizing just how long this post is!

Don’t forget to enter my Eggland’s Best giveaway.

2Jan2014

S’mores Brownies For Eggland’s Best Holiday Dessert Recipe Exchange {Giveaway}

by Emily

the concept

Eggland’s Best (EB) recently invited recipe bloggers to participate in their 2013 Eggland’s Best Holiday Dessert Recipe Exchange. Each participant was to create an original dessert recipe, or re-imagine one of their favorite family desserts, using at least two whole EB eggs.

Chosen recipes will be featured on a special EB Holiday Recipe Exchange Pinterest board, as well as EB’s website and social media channels.

Bloggers were provided with a coupon for EB eggs and a gift pack (EB branded apron, whisk, spatula, ceramic bowl, bowl scraper, tote bag and a plush egg) to get them started.

The Pinterest board hasn’t gone live yet, but here some of the ways you can currently connect with EB via social media –

the disclaimer

The nutritional/product information in this post was provided by Eggland’s Best. Eggland’s Best sent me the coupon and gift pack and are providing a 2nd gift pack for one giveaway winner. I was not provided with further compensation for this post.

the eggs

Compared to ordinary eggs*, Eggland’s Best eggs contain:

10 times more Vitamin E
4 times more Vitamin D
More than double the Omega-3
25% less saturated fat
3 times more Vitamin B12
38% more lutein

*based on 3rd party testing

the process

The chef.

Crushing the graham crackers.

Melted butter.

Pressing the crust.

Stirring in the sugar and eggs and vanilla.

Folding in the flour and milk chocolate chips.

Be sure to scrape all of that gooey brownie batter out of the bowl.

Topping with marshmallows.

Out of the oven.

the recipe

S’mores Brownies

Yield: 12 brownies; Prep Time: 25 minutes; Cook Time: 35 minutes

crust ingredients

22 sheets graham crackers (4 rectangles = 1 sheet)
8 Tbsp salted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar

brownie ingredients

2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
6 Tbsp salted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large EB eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
2.5 cups mini marshmallows (I used peppermint swirl marshmallows!)

instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place graham crackers in a large freezer baggie and bang at them like crazy with a rolling-pin or sturdy plastic cup. A few chunks are ok, but overall you want crumbs. Add 1/4 cup sugar to the bag and shake to combine.
Place 8 Tbsp butter in an 8×8 inch baking dish. Microwave until completely melted.
Pour graham cracker crumbs into melted butter and stir until all of the crumbs are wet. Press the mixture into the bottom of the baking dish with a fork. Set aside.
Place baking chocolate and 6 Tbsp butter in a large, microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted.
Stir 1 cup sugar into chocolate-butter mixture. Set aside and allow bowl to cool for 3-5 minutes so you don’t’ scramble your eggs.
Stir eggs and vanilla extract in melted chocolate.
Fold flour into batter. Then fold in chocolate chips.
Carefully pour batter over graham cracker crust, using a spatula to spread to the edges of the pan.
Bake for 25 – 30 minutes. You want the brownies to be cooked through before you add the marshmallows so check the doneness with a toothpick at 25 minutes and continue accordingly. Evenly spread marshmallows on top of brownies and bake an additional 10 minutes.
Allow brownies to cool completely before cutting into squares. Store in the fridge but serve warmed or at room temperature.

the giveaway

Eggland’s Best will provide one winning reader with an EB goody bag including an EB spatula, tote, whisk, bowl scraper, plush egg, and coupon. For a chance to win, simply leave a comment on this post by 2 pm EST on Monday, January 6th. US Residents only, no PO boxes.

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: eggs

Weekly Wrap-Up; A Giveaway Winner And Another Giveaway!

dinner

snacks

lunch

breakfast

*both the bread and the cereal milk were sent to me free of charge. I was not provided further compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

the giveaway

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S’mores Brownies For Eggland’s Best Holiday Dessert Recipe Exchange {Giveaway}

the concept

the disclaimer

the eggs

the process

the recipe

the giveaway