Not Yo Mama’s Turkey Burgers

by Emily

Three posts in one day?!? I’m on a roll! And since I didn’t have it together to eat before late afternoon, this is actually everything I ate today. Sidenote – my #2 goal for the next 30 days is to blog every single day/eat. My #1 goal? Involves my ass and the gym.

Since I waited too long to eat I was absolutely starving. I ended up eating a 6-inch tuna sub, with vinegar and red onions, while I cooked dinner.

It was tasty, and it kept me from gnawing my own arm off.

Dinner was a good’un. Quick, delicious, and it involved two brand-spanking-new recipes.

Emily- and husband-approved.

New recipe 1 was Nacho Turkey Burgers, makes 8 small burgers

1 lb 94% fat-free ground turkey
1 large egg
60 grams crushed tortilla chips
1/4 cup medium, chunky style salsa
3/4 cup Mexican shredded cheese blend
1 tsp evoo
8 hamburger buns
guacamole (optional)
sliced cheddar (optional)
hot sauce (optional)

In a large bowl, combine turkey, egg, chips, salsa, and cheese until a homogenous mixture is achieved. Use your hands to shape into 8 equal-sized patties.
Heat evoo in a grill-pan over medium-high heat. Working in small enough batches as to not overcrowd the pan add patties to pan.
Cook burgers until browned and fully cooked through; 5-8 minutes on each side.
Serve cooked burgers and top as desired.

New recipe 2 was served atop the burgers, Citrus Guacamole.

2 medium-sized ripe avocados
1 tomatillo, minced
1 small lemon, juiced
1/4 tsp salt

Place avocados in a medium bowl and mash with a fork, leaving some chunks.
Stir in tomatillo, lemon juice, and salt. Serve immediately.

Both recipes ended up turning out really well!

I love it when my kitchen experiments work out.

I had one nacho turkey burger, on a bun with citrus guacamole,

a serving of rice and beans (just rice with a can of black beans stirred in during the final minutes of cooking) topped with another dollop of guac,

and some roasted asparagus.

The citrus-salt theme was carried nicely throughout the entire meal.

For dessert I nibbled on a few chocolate covered pretzels.

We’re currently making our way through the “Aliens” movies, so “Aliens, 2” was our dinner entertainment. Webster thought it was thrilling.

He’s such a cutie.

So, about that hair cut. A month or so ago, this exchange took place on Yes I Want Cake –

Katie got her cut soon after, and it looked fantastic. I’d just given to Locks of Love, but after some time enjoying my new hair, I was ready. What do you think?

I love it!

5Jan2012

The Final Location

by Emily

Today we traveled to the final location of our winter vacation. It’s good to be “home” for good! The last two days were spent with cold-like symptoms. Hence the no-blogging, no-working, no-working out, and no-resolutioning. Well, that’s no entirely true. I have read a book a day from Kathy Reich’s Temperance Brennan series. Each one is better than the last, I swear.

Anyway though, today, we were headed to Toronto. The morning got off to a rough start – I am feeling less than 100% still and it’s possible I’m cranky – but by 12 we were on the road. And by 12:30 we were back home getting our passports. But then, we were on the road.

A Big Gulp of Cherry Coke Zero did a lot to raise my spirits.

As did starting another Temperance Brennan book.

And before I knew it, we were there.

Our plan was to head to a neighborhood with froyo and then hunt for a late lunch there. We weren’t certain what we would find, so we were thrilled to come across a cheap, all-you-can-eat sushi joint.

Just what the doctor ordered! What? Adam’s practically a doctor.

Everything was delicious. I had … A small bowl of green salad.

Cheese wontons split with the husband.

A piece of tomago sushi (egg).

Two rolls split with the husband. The Rock and Roll white fish, salmon, pepper, masago, cream cheese, tempura, eel sauce. The Fire Roll crab meat, avocado, cucumber, masago, spicy mayo, tempura, eel sauce.

A Sakura Roll avocado, tempura bits, hot sauce.

Fried tofu split with the husband.

A piece of butterfish sushi.

Some baked eggplant and grilled veggies.

And finally spicy crab, tempura, and california hand rolls.

We got our money’s worth but weren’t too too stuffed; a perfect all-you-can-eat experience.

To clear some stomach room before froyo, we took a short walk down ultra-cool Bloor St.

And then finally it was time for Menchies.

I topped plain tart and hot chocolate yogurts with small amounts of Skor bar, hot fudge, Smarties, and crunchy pb, and large amounts of rainbow sprinkles and popping bobba.

Perfection.

We had an uneventful drive home and now the boys are over for a game of poker. I’m banished to the office so it’s possible I’ll get a jump on some schoolwork, but it’s doubtful. It’s looking like our late, big lunch with count for dinner, but if I end up munching on anything I’ll update. Otherwise, catch you in the am!

2Jan2012

What Was Lunch?

by Emily

I felt like today’s dinner and lunch sort of became an ambiguous blob that spread out across the afternoon. I kept eating different pieces and it was hard to tell where one meal ended and the other began. As you saw, I had a plate of cheesetastic mac and cheese around 2:00.

Then a while later I had a salad.

This was an especially good salad too. A romaine base with 1.5 Tbsp of peanut sauce, 2 Tbsp of bloody mary peanuts, and a huge handful of chopped celery.

A while after that, I ate ~2 cookies’ worth of dough while helping Adam with some baking.

Next, I ate a bowl of leftover Hoppin’ John.

And finally I dipped Adam’s pizza crusts into diet pop, but didn’t snap a picture so you’ll have to use your imagination. I’ll be honest that I planned on eating a bowl of ice cream too, but somehow that one got away from me.

1Jan2012

Off With A Thud

by Emily

2012 started off with a resounding … thud! We headed out this morning for a grocery trip, ran over a nail and saw blade (wtf?!), and spent the rest of the afternoon changing the husband’s tire and getting it patched. Whoops! In the spirit of being a more positive person, I found a few Pollyanna-type takeaways from our flat –

Thank goodness the tire wasn’t rusted to the axle like the ones on my car, and we were able to change to the spare by ourselves (in the Wegman’s parking lot!).
Since we were spending the afternoon at Mr. Tire we took my car in as well for winterizing, a task we had been putting off.
I probably wouldn’t have spent the day cleaning the entire house, working out like a madman, or changing my entire life anyways; and having the excuse of being stuck with the car means I don’t have to feel bad about not doing those things!

Before the bad thing happened, I made myself a cup of White Christmas tea with skim milk.

I was starving at the grocery store and I’m glad I managed to grab some food from home before we headed out for three hours at Mr. Tire. Adam and I each got a 1 oz serving of Lord Nut’s spicy bloody mary peanuts.

The nuts were a Christmas gift from my mom.

They were good; the flavor was spot on but not too spicy for Adam. My 2nd snack was also a Christmas gift.

Lara Bar kindly sent me some samples of their newest flavor, Cappuccino!

I think it is actually my newest favorite flavor. This tasted the least like dates (my only complaint about Lara Bars is that some flavors are too strong with date) and the coffee flavor was there without being overwhelming.

We spent part of our wait-time wandering around outside in the rain, and ended up at Mustachio’s for slices of cheese pizza.

Also fun, when we stopped at the Co-op on our way home I managed to snag a sample of mint swirl brownie.

Sweet!

Since 2012 didn’t have the most auspicious start, I’m glad we ate a dinner geared towards bringing us luck.

We followed Jenna’s recipe for Hoppin’ John, with a few changes –

mixed everything together rather than making a relish
replaced two of the plum tomatoes with tomatillos (<– I highly recommend this change, it gave the dish a nice citrus flavor)
substituted brown rice with forbidden black rice for extra luck!

And if it wasn’t lucky, at least it was healthy and tasty.

Our plans for the rest of the evening include Netflix Instant Watch and this skillet cookie my sister-in-law gave us for Christmas.

2012, bring it on!

How’d you spend the first day of the new year?

27Dec2011

St. Thomas to Buffalo

by Emily

Monday

Yesterday was the perfect last day on island.

I got to see some of my favorite people and eat some of my favorite things.

I tried to eat this honey fig Oikos for breakfast.

The flavor seemed like something I would love but one bite in I was twisting up my face in disgust. Why so sour?!?

Instead I ate some leftover crack pie.

And an old-fashioned strawberry candy for good measure.

My unorthodox breakfast didn’t matter, because I had something good coming for lunch.

Chicken patty!

Pattys (pronounced like pate) are fried dough stuffed with spiced meat.

Amazing. The dough is chewy and the filling (usually beef or saltfish, but sometimes salmon or even veggies) is always tender and perfectly seasoned.

My parents and I spent the afternoon walking around downtown with my visiting aunt, uncle, and cousins. Important note – some of the best foods from my childhood are found in town and I spent the rest of the day eating myself silly.

The #1 best thing I had all vacation was this glass of soursop (guanabana) juice.

I never find soursop in the states but it will always be my favorite fruit. It’s sweet and almost creamy.

A while later I bought a fraco with milk (shaved ice with sweetened condensed milk).

I went with tamarind and passionfruit, more local flavors.

I only could handle half of it but that’s really all you need.

And for my final drink of the afternoon we cracked open a jellynut (aka a green coconut).

The water was more sour than I prefer, but I grabbed a long spoon and scraped out all of the sweet flesh.

That evening my parents and I headed back into town so we could eat dinner at Gladys’ Cafe.

I started with a slice of bread with butter.

And a bowl of callaloo (a thick soup made with spinach and okra).

My meal was the special plate, and it was exactly what I was craving.

Mac and cheese,

cole slaw,

rice and beans,

fried plantains,

and stewed chicken.

I could get past the bones to eat much chicken, but I stirred my rice and beans into the sauce and was in heaven.

We ended our evening with a glorious walk down the waterfront.

For nighttime entertainment I headed back to my high school friends’ apartment.

Vodka/something, x2.

Several old friends were there and I was so glad to get to see everyone. Adrien found his old year book which was perfect and hysterical. They were Adam’s grade, so no pictures of me, but I did see a few great ones of the husband!

Tuesday

Today I had to head back to Buffalo; which did at least mean a rendezvous with Adam.

The food situation today was pretty bad. That’s what 13+ hours in the airport will do!

In the St. Thomas airport I ate a johnny-cake with cheese.

On flight 1 I read this book.

In the Miami airport I wandered.

And got drawn in by this sign –

I actually ended up buying a very healthy sandwich.

As well as a very decadent sounding slice of cake.

The dulce de leche did not disappoint!

When I wasn’t eating on flight 2, I was reading.

After a quick scamper through Chicago I was on flight 3 starting my third book.

And before I knew it, I was home with the husband.

We stopped at Moe’s on the way home to pick up a quick and healthy dinner.

After my carb-filled ~~day~~ week I requested that they go light on the rice and cheese. Topped with cilantro, green pepper, onion, mushrooms, and corn salsa.

Off to unpack I go! P.S. It’s our fourth wedding anniversary tomorrow!

24Dec2011

STT; Thursday Afternoon – Saturday Morning

by Emily

It’s a busy day (the day before Christmas!) but I just couldn’t bear not sharing (pictures of all, descriptions of few) what I’ve been up to!

Thursday

Thursday afternoon, my mom treated me to lunch at Pesce, a newish Italian spot. We split the two things that sounded best. A spinach salad with craisins, candied pecans and goat cheese,

and a (fried) bbq chicken flat bread.

The husband has been calling about missing me and asking for pictures, so – Hi, husband!

Do you like my new top?

For dinner my parents and I headed to Victor’s Hideout for some good local cuisine.

Our plates came with plantains, fungi, sweet potato, rice and beans, and salad.

Plus I ate a roll with butter.

Here, my dad and I split two plates. He got the fried shrimp,

And I got ole wife, a local whitefish.

Head on, scrape the meat off the bones… It was intense but tasty.

That evening I headed over to the apartment (bachelor pad) of two high school friends who just moved in together. 4 of us from a regular group were there together and it was fun to do some reminiscing. Adrien served me a tasty vodka-soda-lemon thing at some point.

But I stuck to one drink because I was driving (on the left … in the rain … without traffic signals because half the island didn’t have power). My mom did text around 1:30 to see if I was dead, which I thought was sweet.

Friday

Friday morning I may have overslept. I missed my gym window too, which was annoying. But I got up in time for breakfast.

That bowl was 1 egg, 2 whites, ~3 oz leftover spicy chicken, a handful of shredded cabbage, 1 Tbsp butter, and 2 Tbsp cocktail sauce. I’m not even going to attempt to describe it.

Brunch was Christmas in a convenience package.

A gingerbread Clif bar that I took one bite of and then trashed in horror.

And an eggnog Nutrament that I swooned over.

Plus I got a chaispresso (chai, espresso, 2% milk) during afternoon errands.

Friday night my parents hosted a Hanukkah party!

It was great getting to see everyone, and it was extra great that my uncle made his (best ever) latkes.

I took many appetizers bites. I actually did take a photo of every single one, so I’m going to consolidate them grid style –

My cousin made matzoh ball soup.

Here is my dinner plate –

Salad, noodle kugel, and a tiny bit of salmon.

And my mom made “Crack Pie” (of Momofuku fame) for dessert.

Tiny slices because it was basically a pie of caramel in an oatmeal cookie crust.

Saturday

This morning I had my mom drive me to school so I could run some laps on the field. I have no idea of distance, but I jogged 20 minutes straight; plus a quick, walking warm up and cool down. I am not in running shape at all so it was interesting to see a workout out in the wind!

And I’d like to wish a very Merry Christmas tomorrow to all of my readers who celebrate!

22Dec2011

STT; Wednesday Afternoon – Thursday Morning

by Emily

Wednesday

Yesterday afternoon I made another stop at the gym; woot! I hopped on the treadmill for 9 sets of 2 minutes running/2 minutes walking. 36 minutes and 3 miles. I’m going to need to make myself do some strength training soon, but for now I’m taking baby steps. Plus, my legs got sore enough that I decided to make Thursday a day off.

After a shower, I was heading downtown for a mini-meet up my old school was hosting. I hate going to things like that by myself; I am seriously the worst with faces. I love getting to catch up with people but if I’m not with a friend to tell me who people are then it feels more stressful than fun. Thankfully (ha!) there really was no one I knew there, just a bunch of younger kids. I met up with one friend from my class and we quickly fled in seach of dinner.

Crystal – a high school friend that I am thrilled is visiting the same time as I – and I headed over to Benny Iguanas, the new location of a sushi place that was very popular back in the day. I started with a tofu/veggies miso soup.

And got a cucumber-avocado roll for my meal.

The catching up was better than the food, but the meal wasn’t terrible.

Thursday

I started this morning with dessert.

Plus a little of this –

And some of this –

The holiday season just isn’t complete without some “Carebears Nutcracker.” Though it’s possible that I “borrowed” that DVD from a Blockbusters in Brooklyn 3 years ago!

I also had breakfast.

A 2% Pineapple Chobani with a sliced banana.

And now I’m heading to lunch with my mom, hopefully for more sushi!

How do you feel about high school reunions?

14Dec2011

I Wish I Was In Hawaii

by Emily

It’s been a good day! You would barely know that I have three exams tomorrow … 😉

Our trip to the Buffalo Centre went well. We couldn’t see much due to privacy concerns, but it was really interesting to see the menu selection system and learn a bit more about how appropriate intake for eating disorder patients is determined. Among other things, the RD mentioned that most patients won’t gain weight unless they are taking in at least 2,000 calories a day.

I ate a late lunch (thanks mom!) while I looked at some notes.