Tag Archives: mushroom

Pregnant in Philly

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Ever since the Healthy Living Summit I’ve been thinking about one thing.  Not blogstalking new people; I’ve been too busy for that.  Not how to improve my blog, though obviously that should be high on my list.  For me, Philly was all about the Philly.

The vegan Philly Cheese Steak.  The minute I took that first chewy yet crunchy bite I knew this was something I’d have to recreate at home.

We hollowed out a roll of Italian bread, piled it high, and melted on two slices of 2% Provolone cheese.  For our filling we sautéed together sliced mushrooms, sliced onion, thin strips of red pepper, and crumbled Seitan.

Meet the /mostly/ vegan Philly cheese steak /done at home/.

It was delicious.  But it wasn’t the delicious.  I was looking to relive the taste I experienced in Philadelphia – the savory yet tangy flavor, my need to pull pieces of the “meat” from my sandwich to eat with my fingertips – and this wasn’t quite there.  Still good though.

I plated myself a small bowl of filling on the side when we sat down.

But I ended up having more than enough food and leaving most of this, plus a few bites of bread, behind.

For the salad course of dinner we ate the remains of some romaine.

Topped with Kraft Light Parmesan Asiago Balsamic Vinaigrette and big handfuls of blue cheese crumbles and buckwheat groats.

My last bite was pure blue cheese and buckwheat and it was ridiculous good.  The crunchiness of the groats makes me enjoy salads 100% more than before.

Other than making a good dinner, I didn’t accomplish near enough this afternoon.  After all my morning workout motivation it was all I could do not to fall asleep on my notes this afternoon.  It didn’t help that Webster was being a distracting little stinker –

That is the top of the couch!  Why/how?!?

Pregnancy Chic?

The other half of my title comes from my afternoon admission that I rock tunic-style tops fairly regularly.  They look good on me, they hide the fact that I spent the summer watching Charmed on the couch, and I generally think they’re adorable.  Like this new top I got at the Banana Republic outlet this summer.

This top is super cute, especially the wrap-style boobs.

But when I was describing my look this morning I heard “second trimester chic” coming out of my mouth.

I’m good with it though.  I may be years away from pregnancy but I’ve already got a ton of concerns about all the things that come after getting knocked up.  At least I can cross *spending money on maternity clothes* off my list of worries, my current wardrobe should carry me through just fine!

Are you a fan of the “pregnancy chic” look or do you prefer tighter fitting tops?

Two Desserts

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I started my morning off right with a run. I didn’t pay attention to time, I forgot my heart rate monitor at home and didn’t check the clock before I left, I just ran. Thanks to the miles markers on the path behind my grandparents’ house I did learn a couple of things – 1. I can’t run a whole mile without stopping to walk (bad). 2. I ran/walked five miles this morning (good).

I came home feeling good in time for breakfast.

Cantaloupe melon,

chicken breakfast sausage,

and a delicious egg casserole with mushrooms, cheese, and bread cubes.

The fluffy texture and slightly sweet flavor were just like a souffle.

Adam and I had to run to the store for my grandma after breakfast and we spotted a Subway where I rewarded myself for my run.  (not that I don’t just drink diet soda all the time anyways but it can still feel like a reward sometimes)

They had Coke Zero and Cherry Coke and getting to mix them gives me this face –

We spent the afternoon hanging out with my grandpa and actually ate lunch at the hospital cafeteria.

I filled a plate at the salad bar with lettuce, a few kidney beans, black olives, almonds, and mushrooms, and some honey French dressing.  Not bad.

Adam and I did a few things around the house for my grandma but overall this has felt like a total relaxation vacation, right down to snacks before dinner.

In addition to a few small handfuls of nuts I had a few mini buckeyes,

and the olives from the husband’s drink.

Adam and Nana had martinis but I was drinking a more pg (and old school!) Tab.

Dinner was great, per usual.

Another small piece of foccacia (with butter after the photo),

side salad (with garlic vinaigrette ATP),

roasted glazed carrots,

and penne with tuna, feta, capers, and fresh tomato.

I like dinner but I enjoyed my two desserts better.  Peanut butter ice cream pie with heath pieces,

plus a bowl of homemade tapioca pudding.

I seriously love tapioca so much, I was moaning with joy while I ate this!  And my grandma sent me home with the dry tapioca so I can make some myself!

I’m going to hurry to get in bed, but first I’ve got to tell you guys that I totally kicked the husband and my grandma’s butts at Rummy 😉

I’ve got another long day in the car tomorrow before I’m back to a short week at school.  Thank goodness I’ve got such good travel partners.

Impulse Control

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I’ve made it to hump day and school is still going ok, phew!  I’ve attended 5 out of my 6 classes now and it seems like this semester is going to be doable.

We have a super long lunch break on Wednesdays so a group of friends and I decided to take advantage of the time and took a walk down Elmwood to lunch at The Spot.  We ended up walking a bit more than 2.5 miles round trip, booyah!  Between that and walking to and from school and with Webster I think I can practically count walking as a workout for today.

Lunch was a fun mix of flavors.  I can’t believe my Thai leftovers even lasted this long!

There’s less there than it looks, sad face, maybe about 1 cup’s worth of veggies and broad rice noodles.

Still nice and spicy though, I had to buy a cup of skim milk from The Spot to save my tounge.

I also packed some leftovers from last night’s dinner.

2 oz of Black and Blue Dip,

with celery and green bell peppers dipped in.

This was a great lunch, I love meals with lots of little pieces.

We got out just early enough from our final class that I had time to hurry home, cuddle Webster, and drive to the post office before it closed so I could mail a book I sold on Amazon.  While I was out I also picked up a few necessities from Target.  Including this impulse purchase –

Actually, I spotted a display of candy boxes at Wegmans on Sunday and have been obsessing about them ever since, so I’m not sure you can exactly call this an impulse purchase.  Definitely a good purchase though, look at some of those flavors –

Yum!

After taking Webs on a walk the husband and I threw together the quickest dinner ever.

It helps to keep things speedy when almost every item on the plate is a leftover.

Like these leftovers tacos.

We spread a thin layer of the Black and Blue Dip on corn taco shells,

added a layer of the sautéed veggies from last night (onion, red bell pepper, and mushroom),

and topped with a layer of this Newman’s Own Medium Pineapple Salsa.  <– divine

The seemingly random combo of flavors actually went together really well.  The dip is pretty savory and the salsa is a bit sweet and the texture of the veggies went perfectly with the crunchy taco shells.

Plus a serving of bbq kale and beans on the side.

I actually single-serving froze the rest of those leftovers so I have them for lunches later on.

You know what our after dinner plans were.

Another cup of red velvet tea with skim milk and a serving of chocolates.

Adam and I mostly split them but I kept the bananas foster flavor all to myself.  I’m actually finishing up my snack and we speak type.

What was the last thing you impulse purchased?

Dip for Dinner

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I finished all of my schoolwork for this week, wrote an article for the Dietetics newsletter, and made a deeply delicious dinner.  Go me!

The first round of dinner felt oh-so-sophisticated, dip and crudities.

The dip was my newest recipe creation, Black and Blue Dip:

Yield: 14 ounces; Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 0

  • 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 oz (or 1/2 cup) blue cheese crumbles
  • 4 Tbsp light sour cream
  • 3 Tbsp A-1 steak sauce
  1. Place beans into the food processor and pulse until mostly smooth.
  2. Add blue cheese, sour cream, and steak sauce and pulse until well-combined, scraping down the sides of the food processor as needed.

The black beans and blue cheese are a fun flavor combo, the A-1 adds spice and depth, and the sour cream helps to smooth out the flavor.  Adam described this as meaty (and fun for all vegetables!) so I guess this had umami!  Each 2 oz serving had only 106 calories so this would be the perfect dip to bring to a party where you were hoping to keep things healthy.

I ate a 2 oz serving,

with baby carrots, green pepper, and celery dipped in.

Adam and I both agreed that this was a fabulous appetizer.

The second half of dinner was brinner.

I used 2 Tbsp of butter to saute 1 pint of sliced mushrooms, 1 sliced red bell pepper, and 1 Mayan onion.  We pulled out half of the cooked veggies for later use and scrambled the rest into 3 large eggs.

This dinner ended up being a little small but it’s bedtime so what can you do?  Meh.

What is your favorite thing to dip into blue cheese?  Baby carrots are good but pizza crusts are better!

Birds Eye Blue

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Tonight, we dined in the future!  Well sort of, we tried the new Chef’s Favorites line from Birds Eye that won’t hit stores until September.  I was sent an exclusive free trial to sample as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program.

Initial thought – I think this line is a wonderful idea.  Each bag contains two servings and cooks in the microwave in approximately 5 minutes.  The veggies are flash frozen and the ingredients are mostly natural, 99% just like a home-cooked meal.  The meals cook right in the bag, so you don’t have to dirty any dishes or really do anything.  Two bags come together to make a nice meal (with a protein ideally) in approximately 10 minutes, and those 10 minutes are basically hands-off.  All of which is to say, if you have a few of these in your freezer there’s no way to say “I’m too tired for dinner, let’s get take-out.”

On the left is the Lightly Sauced Mushroom and Green Bean Risotto.

It contained a few iffy ingredients (xanthan gum, modified food starch, maltodextrin) but overall was like what I’d make at home.  The taste was pretty similar to what I’d make on my own (after way more work!) too.  Not the best risotto of all time, but very creamy and with a good ratio of rice to veggies.  Each serving had 170 calories, 5 grams of protein, and only 18% of your allotted sodium.

On the right is Lightly Sauced Creamed Spinach.

This was nice and creamy though the spinach did have a little bitterness.  Each serving contained 90 calories, 3 grams of protein, and only 14% of your allotted sodium.

Together, this made a tasty meal.

Wins all around, I say.

The calories in dinner were pretty light though (~270), so I supplemented with beer.

Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager is in my top five for favorite beers.

We also had j-e-l-l-o for dessert.

This afternoon I made up a box of pina colada jello with half water and half club soda for some fizz.

‘Twas good.

Two final notes:  1 – We are currently half way through “Blue Valentine” and I’m loving it.  All this point I can’t decide if it’s really hopeful or really sad, maybe both.  2 – Webster’s godmother asked for a picture that shows how big he is –

I Made Coq Au Vin!

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What a day; I’ve been a busy bee since literally the minute I got out of bed!  I realize I didn’t do anything major – and most of you have jobs – but lots of little things added up and I feel accomplished and exhausted.  I don’t loving doing one long post a day but that will probably have to be the schedule once school starts anyway.

I had a scary doctor’s appointment across town this morning which meant I got to drive along the water.

I also got to eat breakfast in the car, in the form of an 18 Rabbits Cheeky Cherry Chocolate Granola Bar.

This was awesome; the perfect amount of chew with a little bit of tang from the cherries and a little bit of sweet from the chocolate.  Plus for 240 calories this was very filling.  I know I live for Cookie Dough Balance Bars and Chocolate Coconut Covered Lara Bars, but when it comes to straight up granola bars 18 Rabbits takes the cake oat.

My doctor’s appointment wasn’t fun, but it wasn’t as scary as it could have been.  I had a bump on my hand that needed a biopsy so 2 needles, 1 scalpel, and a band-aid later I was done.

It hurts a bit, but felt a little better once I could get home and pretty it up.

Did you know we only have children’s band-aids in our apartment?  I’m going to hit up a drug store tomorrow but Adam’s going to have to wash my hair tonight because those cuties are not water-tight.

On the way home I stopped at the gym to complete a workout session for the study I’m participating in.  We fuel with three different drinks and then walk on the treadmill for and hour at our heart rate range and take some notes on exertion levels.  Today I fueled with this 24 oz mystery beverage that I believe was water and apple juice.

I walked on the treadmill at a 5% incline for an hour and 2.9 miles.

I had to hurry to shower when I got home because I was meeting friends, but I was heading back to the gym after lunch.  It was the perfect time to try out the Champion tank every blogger’s been raving about.

I picked this up at Target the other day and I’m in love.  You know I’m all about the blouse-tank.

This may be my new favorite top for play and workouts; it was so comfy.  Plus, two different homeless guys stopped me to tell me I looked hot, so I’m giving this two thumbs up.

For lunch I met up with a few school friends at Coles.  It was so great getting a chance to catch up with a few people I haven’t seen all summer.  I ordered off of the specials menu.

A sandwich of grilled salmon in a sweet glaze with pickled veggies, and french fries.

This was okay, but the sauce was oddly sweet.  The best part was actually the spicy mayo which wasn’t even mentioned on the menu.  I ate about 2/3 of everything.

After lunch I headed back to the gym for my real workout: a running session on the treadmill.  It was pretty hard (being fat isn’t fun!) but I made myself stick to the same goal as Sunday of minimum 5 minutes running, maximum 2 minutes walking.  I did 4 miles in 42 minutes, 22 seconds.  Seven miles in one day probably wasn’t my best idea though, my back is killing me.

I was starving when I got home and dinner took for-ev-a so I ate a few snacks while I cooked.  Watermelon chunks stolen straight from the big container.

And two servings of Trolli Soda Poppers.

P.S. These aren’t bad, but they’re no gummi cola bottles.

1.5 hours later – seriously – it was time for dinner.  I made Coq au Vin!

Casey (who I had an obsessive girl crush on) made this during Top Chef and I’ve wanted to try it ever since.  I used Cooking Light’s Easy Coq au Vin recipe and my only changes were subbing in turkey bacon and using chicken breast instead of thighs and drums.

This was very good, but I’m not sure it was quite good enough to excuse the long cooking time; we’ll have to see how it does as leftovers.  At least the multiple sessions of simmering gave me time to handle my to-do’s around the house.

For my greens I made a tasty side salad.

A romaine base with Newman’s Own Light Cesar, roasted edamame, and roasted buckwheat groats.

The groats might be too savory for yogurt but I think they’re my new favorite salad topper.

I’d like to say I’m going to bed now but Adam’s still not home and I can’t wash my own hair.  But since my husband’s been at the hospital for upwards of 12 hours I guess it’s hard to complain about my day!

Preppy Provisions

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As promised, as soon as I published my last post I found myself some fruit and carbs.

The very last serving of the spinach pesto pasta,

and some watermelon cubes.

This combination was surprisingly delicious.

And since my carb was very green and my fruit was very pink, this combination was a Lilly Pulitzer approved lunch.

Sometimes I wish I dressed preppier but I wore Doc Martins in high school so I’m not sure it’s allowed.

The gym did not happen but I think that was a good thing since dinner didn’t happen either.  Adam and I had some exciting and expensive errands to run (hopefully I have some news to share this weekend) and the night got away from us.  Plus we had a gigantic pointless fight.  We suck.

But to end this post on a positive note; do you know what doesn’t suck?  This sky –

What is the stupidest thing you’ve ever fought with a significant other about?  One time in high school Adam and I almost broke up over a hair crimper.

So That’s Where I’ve Been

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Hello, hello; long time no “see!”  I’m fairly disappointed with myself for not making it to the end of my ’30 day blog everything’ goal but what can you do?  My absence was a mix of life craziness and being crazy craziness.  I’m very ready to go back to school already, I have not been spending this summer in a healthy, productive manner! 

To quickly recap what you’ve missed – Adam got sick on Monday night.  He’s fine now and didn’t have to go to the doctor or anything so we really don’t know what the problem was but we’re blaming it on the underripe watermelon.  Whatever the cause, he spent several hours clutching his stomach and moaning late into the night.  We were up past 2, including a trip to Wegmans for bread to settle his stomach, which was a terrible idea.  My impression of the hypothetical scenario at the ER due to this terrible idea (“You made him eat bread?!  Jesus, fatty, food’s not always the answer!”) was also a terrible idea since apparently laughter was painful.  Actually, I made him laugh all night long and we determined that I’m hilarious but evil.  I ended up being the one to eat the darn bread, which I dipped in olive oil and spices to fool myself into thinking I was fancy and gourmet and not the loser eating a loaf of bread at midnight.  Adam was fine by the next morning but I spent the day in bed eating caramel popcorn and feeling sorry for myself that I was too tired to go to the gym.  And I just couldn’t figure out an upbeat way to blog that so here we are.

On a less rambling note, this morning I had a orthodontist appointment and then a trip to Mr. Tire for a state inspection.  During the wait I pulled out my phone to search for coffee and discovered that Sweetness 7 Cafe (an old favorite) was only a .6 mile walk away; sweet!

Half of the drinks on the menu are things I’ve never heard of so I decided to pick something and random and go with it.  A Vietnamese iced latte.

After some Googling, I found that these are typically made with sweetened condensed milk, but I only saw the barista use a powder.  Whatever the ingredients, it was sweet but still had a rich coffee flavor.

I read while I waited.

The Little Book of Forensics was interesting, but not as in-depth or science-based as I had hoped.

Amid errands this afternoon I also stopped a Wegmans for some veggies for lunch.

Southwestern corn salad, chili garlic eggplant, sautéed broccoli, and roasted squash and mushrooms.

Yummy as usual.

Now that I’m home I need to locate some carbs and/or fruit.  I’ve realized that I either eat way too much or way too little each day and that it’s probably making me fatter than eating way too much and then a normal amount on other days.  My goal for the last weeks before summer is to get better at eating healthy stuff even when I’m not hungry and not getting so much unhealthy stuff even when I am hungry.  Make sense? 

My other hope for the afternoon is a trip to the gym but since I have to bring the materials for the study I can only go if the rain clears up.  Cross your fingers for blue skies.