Tag Archives: greens

Tasty/Slow

by

Hello there.  Long time no see.

Between going to work on Friday night and eating an unphotographable lunch via food lab, it was just too difficult to blog yesterday.  But apparently it was quite easy for me to stay up until 1:30 am watching tv with the husband.  (Sidenote – how freaking off-the-charts fabulous was the newest “Bones” episode?!?!)  I was the walking dead all day today.

My morning actually had an early start because I had an 8:30 am volunteering commitment.  I had to pick up a friend on the way there, and shower before I faced the public, so my alarm felt super early.  But I was done and picking the husband up for a fun lunch date before I knew it.

Necessary back story ahead:  A classmate’s family owns a great local restaurant (Romeo and Juliet’s).  Their restaurant generously provided the cookies and bread that we sold as sides during the Chili Sale.  The bread was mini rolls made of panettone dough and it was completely fabulous.  The taste was like a very elevated King’s Hawaiian Roll.  Adam loves Hawaiian Rolls.  After we all raved about the rolls, our classmate told us that R&J’s also makes them for a local restaurant that centers their sandwiches around that bread.  There were leftovers after the sale and we all were thrilled to take some home.  On Thursday I brought home 10 mini rolls.  Adam got home around 4pm that day.  By 5pm all 10 rolls were gone.  Last night, when Adam picked me up from work he brought me a cannoli.  “Because [he] knew [I] wanted to try one.”  Upon further pressing, I found out that the cannoli was from R&J’s.  Because he went to see if they had more rolls.  (They did not.)

So long story long, today we dined at the restaurant that centers its sandwiches around R&J’s epic buns.

SoHo Bar had this funky, industrial vibe to it that we loved.

I took Adam as a surprise and while he was excited to be getting a lunch date, he had no idea why we were there.

(e) Read the menu.

(a) The salads look good.

(e) Look at the burgers.

(a) The meat is provided by Johnny’s Meats?

Sometime I think it’s a good thing he’s so book smart!  But once I pointed out the only sentence on the menu he had yet to read aloud, he was thrilled.

Adam went with a classic burger on an amazing bun, and I got a #4 combo so we could try multiple menu categories.

I had the turkey burger, with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and red onion.

Plus I requested some cranberry chutney to add on too.

The sour of the chutney and pickles went so well with the sweetness of the bun.

Adam and I split my fries, which came in an adorable mini fryer basket.

And finally we split a spiked shake (2/3 to 1/3, his favor).

We went with a Kentucky Caramel, Woodford Reserve Bourbon, vanilla ice cream, caramel ice cream, caramel sauce.

The bourbon-caramel combo was pairing perfection.

We continued our date with a long walk around the mall and it was the perfect afternoon.  At 2:30 I had to go to work but it was a short 2-hour shift that flew by quickly.  Plus, I was the ‘top earner’ yesterday and I went home today with a $5 gift card! 

My $ was promptly spent on snacks for the husband.  I carried a jumbo tub of movie-butter popcorn for many aisles through Target before I decided I’d probably ultimately be happier not consuming 5-bazillion calories before dinner.  Instead I ate the 2nd serving of Chia “Rice” Pudding.

Still tasty, but calorically dwarfed by the popcorn and packed with omega-3 fatty acids.

It was delicious straight out of the fridge, topped with cinnamon, and I highly recommend trying it yourself.

I don’t recommend dinner.

Don’t get me wrong, the flavors were amazing. 

But not 60+ minutes in the kitchen amazing.

for 2, quickly written but slowly cooked

  1. Place 3 oz prepared whole-wheat spaghetti in the bottom of two bowls (6oz total, 3oz each).
  2. In a large pan, working in three separate batches, use chicken broth to steam 6 oz fresh spinach, 1 small graffiti eggplant, and 22 large frozen shrimp.  Split between bowls.  Use the same pan for every step in the recipe to allow the flavors to build.
  3. Cook 2 slices Applegate Farms Turkey Bacon.  Chop and set aside.
  4. Heat 2 tsp evoo in the pan over medium heat.  Add 2 chopped shallots and 3 chopped cloves of garlic.  Cook until translucent.
  5. Add 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour and cook 1 minute.
  6. Stir in 1/4 cup chicken broth.  Add 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup light cream and continue to stir.
  7. Return chopped bacon to pan.  Add 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese and cook until melted.  Pour sauce on top of veggies and pasta.

The sauce was fantasmic but I needed a bigger pan because cooking each layer separately took up waaaaay too much time.  My favorite part was the bacon, which I stole a slice of during prep.

Yum.

And I must smell like bacon, because look at how the dog has insisted on sitting all evening –

It’s sort of making my life.  Plus we watched “Crazy/Beautiful” while we ate and it’s one of my favorite movies so I’m pretty blissed out in general.  Hope everyone else is having a good weekend!

Veg Head

by

The chili sale was good, work was good, but today was crazy and I’m tired so I’ll keep this quick.

Sometimes, when I know that the schedule of a day will make it impossible to keep an all-around healthy lifestyle (like today!) I’ll choose one healthy goal to work on.  Today’s goal?  Making veggies the main “meat” of all of today’s meals.  And in light of today’s goal, I think this is the perfect post to share the vegetarian infographic my friends at RetailMeNot sent my way –

Vegetarian Foods
Source: RetailMeNot.com

Breakfast’s veg was eggplant.

My Cheesy Baked Eggplant leftovers are just as tasty as they were the night I made them, even cold and straight from a Tupperware!

Today’s schedule was class –> chili sale –> orthodontist –> work –> home.  With a fun mid-day addition of cake tasting.

A classmate’s wife is starting a cake business and sent one in for us to give feedback on.

Lunch was a Chili Sale meal (we did great by the way, made more than $250 to give to the food bank!).

Veggie = beans in the vegetarian chili.

Plus a super delicious roll, provided by Romeo and Juliet’s Cafe.

And a bit of the tasty veggie sandwich they brought as well.

Dinner was pure veg.  Spinach, butternut squash, mushrooms, (and tofu and craisins!).

Yesterday I went on a roasting extravaganza.  I did the tofu in maple syrup and rice vinegar, the squash in curry powder, and the mushrooms in truffle oil and salt.  Once everything was nice and toasty (30 minutes at 350* followed by 20 minutes at 400*)  I put them all together in a Tupperware with a few handfuls of spinach and some craisins.  I shook everything together and the heat from the roasted veggies wilted the spinach a bit.

It was perfect.  And the mix of flavors was great.

As were these –

The bookstore was having a Combos’ sale, how could I resist?!?  I didn’t eat that entire big bag but I definitely came close!

I really wanted to make it to the gym today but it just didn’t happen.  I’m hurrying to the bed in the hopes that a good sleep will get me to there tomorrow.

The Best Thing Ever

by

Some household things snuck up on me and I don’t have much time to blog dinner.  It was a good one though.

First course – Caesar salads.

Romaine lettuce base, Caesar dressing, and groats and “croutons.”

The dressing was Wegman’s Yogurt Caesar and it was great.

Nice nutritonal stats for a (creamy!) Caesar dressing too.

Entrée – Cheesy Tomato Eggplant Bake.

Think Eggplant Parm but quicker and much healthier.  I layered thinly sliced eggplant and marinara sauce into a casserole dish and baked at 450* for 30 minutes.  Then topped the dish with slices of 2% provolone and put back into the oven for a final 30 minutes.

It was wicked good; super cheesy and hearty.

Dinner, while good, was not the “best thing ever” though.  That title goes to my afternoon snack, which was delightfully low-brow.

A slice of Wegman’s Country White Bread, slathered in butter.  I saw Adam eating a slice of the white bread this afternoon and suddenly I wanted it more than I’ve ever wanted anything.  I spread on some butter (onto cold bread) and was in absolute Heaven.  I’m actually not sure I’ve ever been more satisfied by another food.  In fact, the husband told me I was creeping him out because I was enjoying it so much!

What was the last simple thing you blissed out over?

Pork

by

Can you guess what I made for dinner today?  I’ll give you some hints.  It was made in the crock-pot.  It was inspired by my favorite meat dish back when I ate mammals, Coca Cola grilled pork at my grandparents’ house.

Any guesses?

Cherry Coke Crock Pot Chicken!

Cherry Coke Crock Pot Chicken, serves 4

  • 1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • 2 cups (warm) Cherry Coke

Place chicken and soda into crock-pot and cook 4 hours on high.  Remove excessive liquid from crock and shred chicken with two forks.

The chicken only ended up with the slightest hint of cherry cola flavor, but it was perfectly tender and juicy.  And the smell coming out of the crock-pot was ah-mazing!

We served our shredded chicken on top of a big pile of steamed, frozen spinach.  With Cherry Cola Soy Reduction drizzled on top.  I boiled Cherry Coke and tamari until reduced by 3/4 then whisked in 1 Tbsp of butter and 1 Tbsp of all-purpose flour at the last minute.

The sauce made this meal!

Speaking of pork,

Pig is no more.

It’s been 2 days, Webster is a beast!

Do you ever cook with cola?  What is your favorite way to enjoy a soft drink?

Eating By Smells

by

My latte oats were tasty, but sooo filling.  I ended up leaving behind more than half of my bowl.

I swear that having this candle going increased my satiety too.

Smelling pumpkin caramel latte was almost as good as tasting it!

We didn’t really do a grocery trip this week and finding lunch that sounded good from the fridge was a bit of a challenge. 

In the end I tossed a big handful of spinach,

into a pan with a sprinkle of salt and a drizzle of black truffle oil.

Sautéed until wilted then tossed in paprika,

and scrambled in two eggs and the last 1oz of the amazing goat cheese.  The combination of smells while this was cooking was out of this world!

And the end product was better than any meal I could have planned.  A bit on the small side though.  I’m hoping to squeeze in a little grocery trip this afternoon and I plan on getting some fancy coffee to round out lunch.

So far today I’ve spent not enough time studying and too much time with this guy –

I’ve got to get my nose in a book if I’m going to make it through two tests and a paper in one week alive!  Especially because I’ve spent time on things like replacing this week’s planner pages that got “ruined” by an ink bomb.

Obsessive compulsive much?

10/90 Work To Sleep

by

I spent basically the whole day napping with the dog and the husband.  It was epic.

Just like next week will be an epic fail as I try to work around all the stuff I didn’t do.

I swear the cold just makes me go into hibernation.  My appetite was all over the place too.  We started our “morning” with hunks of sourdough dipped in herbed olive oil.

Off all the things my body could have demanded at 45* degrees in October, next came ice cream.

I topped Ben and Jerry’s Cinnamon Roll ice cream with hot fudge and Heath crumbles.

When we did make our way out of the cave it was to go to the movies.  50/50 was great; very touching and funny.  I love Seth Rogan in everything he does but it was nice to get to see him play a new role.

We also made a weekly trip to Wegmans.  They were out of eggplant entirely which through our meal plan for a loop, but I think we worked it out.  We didn’t get any hot bar (more on that tomorrow) but I did buy 50cents worth of Halloween candy.

50cents for $100 worth of happiness.  I live for theme things.

Following the theme, Adam and I split a pumpkin beer when we got home.

Shock Top’s Pumpkin Wheat was wonderful.  Not bitter at all like some pumpkin beers I’ve tried.  I think I actually liked this variety better than traditional Shock Top.

For dinner we made this tofu quiche.

Same recipe as last time, though I did leave out the milk this go-round.

It was quite good; very cheesy.  A good hibernation food.

How did you celebrate the start of October?

Wegman’s Jackpot

by

We didn’t get in bed until past 11pm and the dog snuggled me awake 10 different times during the night but somehow I did manage to get in a 6am gym session.  Woo-hoo!  30 minutes on the elliptical at level 5.  My feet kill and I was moving pretty slowly, but I got some movement in and spent some time reviewing my notecards.

When I got home I grabbed a coffee for the road but didn’t bother taking a picture because the dog ate my camera cord.  Coffee, English Toffee syrup, Silk Plain Almond Milk.  I think y’all know what that looks likes.  Instead, here is a picture of Webster the Destructor –

I had a nice break between class 1 and 2 because my test only took half of the alloted time.  The test went well, probably not an A but definitely not an F.  We’ve had mostly multiple choice questions for the past year so I need to get used to the short answer, matching, etc. format.

I ate my breakfast on the break (I uploaded my photos after I packed lunch last night).  Mini box of raisins,

serving of Love Grown Granola (HLS swag),

and a Trader Joe’s applesauce packet.

I ended up going ahead and eating my lunch during the same break (phone pic).  I packed a frozen serving of leftover kale and beans which I plated and stuck in the campus bookstore microwave. 

There was a bit of tofurkey sausage and parmesan on the bottom too.  Even frozen and defrosted the bbq kale and beans were still delicious!  I’m sad this is all gone and plan to make another batch soon.

Eating lunch at 10am left me pretty hungry come my second break but I distracted myself with some computer time.  <– I even started writing this post!

After school I had to run to Bagel Jays to pick up some halvah for a school presentation later this week.  They were all out, but the cashier did have a suggestion of where I could find more.  And an epic journey to the Wegmans 25-minutes away with an international section ensued.  In the end that hour was completely worth it though; I ended up finding all sorts of goodies that I haven’t spotted elsewhere in Buffalo!

Adam and I have been searching for everything matzoh every since we left Miami!  And I was excited to eat a snack find right away.

Pizza flavored snacks (chips? crackers?) from Bissli.

Adam and I split the package and we both loved them.  The flavor was pretty mild but the texture was unlike any snack I’ve ever had, very hard and crunchy!  When I turn my epic Wegman’s journey into a monthly event I will definitly be buying more Bissli products.

I also drank a Wegman’s diet root beer and pretty much died and went to heaven.

Sidenote -I don’t show you all of the diet soda I drink (I’d never get off the computer!), just the interesting ones.  Diet cola is my favorite thing on Earth but other sugar-free sodas tend to make me gag.  I’d sooner dehydrate than put Diet Sprite in my mouth.  But this root beer was amazing; perfect balance of sweet and spice, no aftertaste.  This actually was the best root beer I’ve ever had, diet or regular, period.

We ate our snacks on the road because we were out searching for a camera cord replacement.  Many (many) stops later we finally had success.  By the time I had the ability to photograph dinner Adam and I were completely demoralized.  He actually called my mom and begged to charge dinner!  She’s the best lady ever, so out we went.  And wouldn’t you know it, we wandered into restaurant week.

How serendipitous!

My pictures of dinner are all terrible.  I’m hoping it was the lighting because if I need to buy a new camera right after I sprang for a new cord I might just cry.

Course 1 was soup;

a jalapeno cheddar corn potato chowder.

This had a nice spice to it but was too rich for my taste.

For my entrée I ordered the tortellini ratatouille.

That’s not it.  I was two bites in I was complaining about the lack of veggies when I came to a startling realization – this was the tortellini Bolognese.  Pros – my entire pre fixe meal was comped.  Cons – I ate a cow!!?!

Our waiter was apologetic about the mishap and soon enough I had my ratatouille.

Much better, this had tons of veggies.  I ate 2/3 of my meal and brought the leftovers home for a happy husband.  He ordered steak with a Stilton crust and was thrilled.

For dessert I ordered peach cobbler with Grand Marnier and chantilly cream.

I never really consider the cobbler but this was a lot of fun to eat.  I finished all of the peaches and cream and 3/4 of the cobbler.

Not so fun is the fact that my stomach started hurting halfway through dinner.  It was bad enough that the pain was making me sweat (though not bad enough that I’ll skip dessert, apparently!).  The issue was probably the creamy soup, but I’m going to blame the beef!

Are there any foods you don’t eat?  When was the last time one slipped into your meal?  Veggies – how do you react when you accidentally consume some flesh?

Oh, Balls

by

Oh.  Hello there.  Are you here to hear me talk about my balls?  Well calm down, I’m getting to that.  I do have some exciting ball news but there was lots of excitement today.

Like my discovery of my new favorite smoothie of all time.

I know it doesn’t look like much but this new combination was freaking amazing.  I put 1 cup of lemonade and 2 Tbsp of chia seeds in my blender and left them to soak.  Five minutes later I added 1 cup of frozen strawberries and then blended like crazy.  Here’s an outside picture so you can really see the color –

Un-be-leave-a-bull!  The chia seeds mostly blended but still left a nice chew and their nuttiness was the perfect foil to the sweet and sour of the strawberry lemonade.

Even better, my smoothie actually held my stomach through my 4 hour class.  I attribute this to the chia seeds.  My 2 Tbsp of chia seeds gave my smoothie an extra 140 calories, 5 grams of protein, 11 grams of fiber, and 7 grams of polyunsaturated fats (mostly omega-3s).  source

That’s not to say I wasn’t ready for lunch though.  We had a “welcome back” department lunch today, complete with food.

I took a slice of mushroom pizza,

a few fresh veggies,

and some amazingly fresh strawberries and watermelon.

I also grabbed a 2nd slice later on.

In other lunch news I finally had an apple month win!

This caramel apple iced coffee from my school’s coffee shop totally hit the spot.  I did only drink half of that monster (I thought I was ordering a small) but I definitely made sure to get every last lick of caramel out of my cup.

Fully fueled, I headed to the gym for a L-O-O-O-N-G spells long workout.  I had a time goal and a length goal and I ended up hitting my time goal long before my length one; ie I took too many walking breaks and was slow!  I did a looong warm up and looong cool down with walk/run intervals in between that ended up being a lot of walking. 

In the end I covered 9 miles in 1 hour and 53 minutes.  As slow as you can move and still call it running but the distance at least is nothing to sneeze at.  P.S. I’m having some issues with the bones in my right foot but my legs feel great; yay!

Alright already, let’s talk about the balls.

S’mores Oat Balls.  Click here for the recipe link.  I swear to God this recipe was inspired by the S’mores Quaker Chew Bars and not my desire to say the word balls repeatedly after eating and rewatching Schweddy Balls.

The recipe was simple but the end result was delicious yet subtle.  Part s’more, part oat, totally acceptable for breakfast!  I resisted any nibbling while I assembled but I did eat two balls as soon as they were formed.

Make them at home, I promise you’ll love my balls.

Since we ate dessert first dinner needed to be a 15 minute affair.

I prepared 2 servings of spirals pasta, stirring frozen spinach and peas into the mix in the last few minutes of boiling.  Then I made Emily’s Nutritional Yeast Sauce and tossed everything together.

Yum, I thought the nutritional yeast was really good; though that could have been my love for peas with pasta talking.  Head over to The Daily Garnish (recipe link) to see all the benefits of nutritional yeast, but suffice to say dinner was healthy.

Adam has a test tomorrow and I have a really hard time sleeping when he’s not in bed (the upcoming surgical rotation should be fun!) so I’m going to stay up with him.  Studying, blog reading, perhaps a shower; who knows what I’ll get done.

P.S. I used the word “balls” 10 times in this post.  Sorry, Nana!