Weekly Wrap-Up? Yes Please!

happenings

As promised, here is a picture of my gaudy new cell phone –

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I’m liking it more now that I’ve gotten used to the new system.

This week I gave an hour-long nutrition presentation at a women’s shelter near the hospital.  We talked primarily about added sugars, reading nutrition labels, and the plate method.

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I opened with an activity where we compared the sugar content of different beverages.

I started reading Amy Poehler’s memoir, Yes Please.  I am halfway through and completely smitten.

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It is just as hilarious and inspiring as you’d expect it to be.  And her relationship with Seth Meyers – he guest writes a chapter – makes me love both of them more if that’s even possible.

breakfast

Coffee and a chocolate coconut water.

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Latte and an Opal apple.

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Stumptown cold-brew box with turkey jerky and dates.

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Coffee (duh!) and yummy hot chocolate with marshmallows that the hospital administration had for employee appreciation day.

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They also had a bunch of cookies out, but it was 9 o’clock in the morning and one of the midwives brought in bagels for the clinic so I went with one of those instead.

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I definitely made the right choice, my pumpernickel bagel was splendidly chewy.  Also – I poured my marshmallow cocoa into my coffee after it had cooled down and it was ridiculous.

lunch

From home – yogurt bowl.

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Blueberries, Heritage Flakes, and a Dannon butterscotch Greek yogurt.

From the cafeteria – a turkey sandwich and baked fries.

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My sandwich had turkey, provolone, mayo, mustard, lettuce and red peppers and my fries had a side of blue cheese.

From home – another yogurt bowl.

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An Opal apple and plain Fage with amazing 18 Rabbits Caramel Apple Granola.

From the cafeteria – a giant chicken quesadilla.

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With cheese, chopped bell peppers, and sour cream and guacamole on the side.  I planned on only eating half because it was quite big, but it was so good I ended up demolishing the whole thing.

Dinner leftovers (see the scrambled egg night) on top of spinach with ranch, chopped carrot, and cucumber from the cafeteria.

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The salad bar packed lunch mash-up was perfect, I’ll have to remember to repeat it the next time I’m getting tired of my yogurt bowls.

snack

Adorable gummies from last weekend.

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Baby carrots and dip.

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I made an oatmeal chocolate chip mug cookie.  It was quite enjoyable but basically raw so not a recipe for sharing.

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Jarlsberg mini cheese.

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Chocolate milk.

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Coffee with almond milk.

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Sundaes that Adam and I made with this dream team:

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Girl & The Fig’s salted fig caramel is perfect.

dinner

Bibimbap bowls.  I couldn’t get a great picture, but these were sooo good.  Runny egg yolk goes wonderfully with spice.

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Jasmine rice with rice vinegar // baked tofu cubes // broccoli and baby kale sautéed with canola oil, a bit of sugar, and tons of Sriracha // chopped sesame seaweed // and a sunny side up egg.

We used the leftovers the next day for another Asian-ish dinner.

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Leftover rice and veggies stir-fried with sautéed onion, eggs, fish sauce, soy sauce, and rice vinegar.

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Plus “beef and broccoli” aka chicken with broccoli and cauliflower.

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I way overcooked the chicken and this was not very good.

I guess the next day was pretty similar as well.  I sautéed chopped seitan, corn, and spinach in evoo and Sriracha and then scrambled in eggs and part-skim mozzarella.

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It tasted so much better than it looked.

Chipotle in front of the tv on Friday.  We were supposed to go into Brooklyn but it was terrifically cold outside and changing into pajamas just sounded too good.

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Chicken rice bowl with sautéed veggies, three types of salsa, cheese, sour cream, and lettuce.  Plus chips.  There’s a giant diet coke just to the right of that photo

Have you read any actor memoirs that you loved?  I was a HUGE fan of Mindy Kaling’s too and I’m excited for Tina Fey’s next.

Weekend Wrap-Up

random facts

  1. I finished reading my latest book on Friday – Fairyland, a memoir about growing up with an openly gay father in San Francisco in the 80’s.  (Not much of a)spoiler alert – he dies of AIDS related complications.  I was wracked with sobs for the last quarter of the book.  Steve Abbot was a published author who kept detailed journals his entire adulthood and wrote copious letters to Alysia while she was in college, so she had a lot of source material to pull from which was nice; it was practically a biography within a memoir.
  2. A big chunk of Saturday is missing because we went on a fun foodie tour and I am devoting a whole post to it.  (coming tomorrow)
  3. We upgraded our phones on Sunday.  My new Galaxy is giant and tacky, obnoxiously gold.

breakfast

Adam and I tried the new raspberry white chocolate coffee from Dunkin’.

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Our opinions ranged from good to meh.  I still want to try the Starbucks version.

Cereal bowl.

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Cocoa Pebbles and Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes.  Pebbles have absolutely no flavor and were deeply disappointing.

Oatmeal bowl.

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Rolled oats – cooked in the microwave – with 1 heaping Tbsp each chopped pecans, raisins, chocolate chips, and brown sugar.  Plus milk on top.

Coffee from 7-11 with wasabi almonds.

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Yes, that was a terrible combination.

lunch

Chipotle!

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White rice / chicken / black beans / sautéed veggies / fresh salsa / tomatillo salsa / sour cream / cheese.  I would normally get lettuce but I split this bowl with Adam and he didn’t want it.  I’ve stopped putting the corn salsa on my bowls in general because even though it’s tasty it isn’t really necessary to pile another carb on top of a rice bowl.

Adam went to a post-ABSITE surgical exam party and brought home leftover mini pizzas.

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Paired with green juice.

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NYC Jamba Juices recently introduced a new line of 12 oz Cold-Pressed Juice bottles and they sent me a $10 gift card so I could try them out.

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I was not provided with further compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

The juices contain no preservatives and three servings of fruit and/or vegetables and each full bottle has between 140 to 190 calories.

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Citrus Kick was way too spicy for me – Adam liked it but I just can’t do ginger – but I found Tropical Greens to be nicely balanced, neither two sweet nor too grassy.  (There are four flavors in total; the two I didn’t try were Orange Reviver and Veggie Harvest).

dinner

We had another stupendous meal at Russ & Daughters.

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The Breakfast Martini = Beefeater gin, jam, lemon juice, egg white, Pernod Absinthe, Angostura Bitters.

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I adore cocktails with egg white.  <– I was about to type that they will be hard for me to give up if I get pregnant!  I guess the alcohol may also be an issue.

I ordered the Eggs Benny, which came with Scottish smoked salmon and sautéed spinach on challah.

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No surprise, the eggs were perfectly poached and the hollandaise was loaded with flavor.  <– more reasons I’m not chomping at the bit for a baby

Sunday night we made a nice, but less exciting dinner at home.

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We were helped out by a jar of Sepo Sauce, a creamy garlic and horseradish spread that’s meant to be used as a dressing, dip, and/or sandwich spread.

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Sepfonifiq sent me a jar of sauce free of charge to review.  I was not provided with further compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

The sauce has 150 calories and 2.5 grams saturated fat per 2-Tbsp serving, so it’s not any healthier than most typical dressings, but it packs a lot of flavor so you would rarely need to use any more than a serving.

We decided to go the bread and lettuce route.

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A sandwich of part-skim mozzarella cheese, thick-cut uncured turkey ham steak, and whole-wheat cinnamon swirl bread spread with Sepo Sauce and oven-toasted.

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A salad of baby kale tossed in Sepo Sauce and topped with roasted broccoli and sweet and spicy pecans.

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Plus we split a sumo mandarin on the side.

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Sadly, we hated the thick cut turkey, which kind of ruined the sandwiches.  We both got rid of the meat halfway through and ended up eating big desserts instead.  But we loooved the Sepo as a dressing and were both blown away by the salad.  I will definitely look forward to making that again.

Please cross your fingers that it’s not actually snowing in NYC right now?

Weekend Wrap-Up; My Camera Went MIA

Moving to Long Island has done something to my brain!  <– real talk, please let’s just pretend that this problem is a LI thing and not the fact that I turn 30 this year

Prior to 2013, I had lost/seriously misplaced one item in my entire life: a pair of flip-flops at a party in high school.  Also I had to have my dorm keys replaced in college after Adam kicked them into a lake, but those weren’t technically missing, they just weren’t accessible.  But lately?  I’m an absentminded disaster.  Last year, on my very first day at the hospital, I lost a brand-new scarf.  This December, I lost a brand-newish i-pod somewhere between my apartment and the gym.  And this weekend I misplaced my camera.  Not lost, thankfully, because it turned out that I had just left it in the husband’s car, but since he then drove that car to 30 hour shift this is my long-winded way of telling you that I don’t have a ton of pictures from this weekend.  I am missing a lot, especially since I didn’t deem things like the four slices of cinnamon toast I ate for dinner on Saturday instagram-worthy.

How often do you lose track of your stuff?  Someone tell me they left their baby on the bus so I’ll feel better!

breakfasts and lunches

Coffee!  This was a freebie so I went a bit crazy – a large iced latte with extra espresso.

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Those Starbucks workers get very snarky once you start asking for that much espresso.

Yet another good reason to have coffee at home instead.

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Starbucks iced (but from home!) with Hint of Honey Almond Breeze and fat-free half and half.

Fruit and yogurt bowls ruled my work lunches.  Grape Chobani with pomegranate and a Zing Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip bar on the side.

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Stonyfield Chia and Red Berry Greek Yogurt with fresh strawberries and the last of the TJ’s Pumpkin O’s.

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Several coworkers commented on this lunch; I guess they aren’t used to chia?!

The best was clearly brunch at Rabbit Hole with a girl friend.  I got the Eggs Norwegian, aka a Benedict but with lox instead of bacon and served on a biscuit.

brunch at rabbit hole in williamsburg

Sooo good.  But the drink in the background was even better – Champagne, St. Germaine, and grapefruit.  We both got one and thought that they were just great.

snacks

We tried some fun drinks while we were in Chinatown.

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Yeeech!  The sugar cane was terrible.  But we only spent $1 so it was worth a shot.

Adam bought Gushers!!

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They weren’t as good as I remembered, but it was still a fun throwback.

Coffee is always good.

blue bottle

The Blue Bottle in Williamsburg made me my New Orleans with skim milk.  Frankly, I would have accepted almost anything at that point though – first my friend and I stopped at one coffee shop that was out of ice and another that poured me a giant glass of whole milk with a smidge of coffee in it.

dinner

I made us great pasta bowls one night.  Box mac and cheese gussied up with canned smoked trout, chopped spinach, sautéed bell peppers and garlic, and tons of caramelized onions.

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I doused my bowl in green Tabasco.

Adam and I finally got to try Pies and Thighs for dinner.

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I got the Chicken Biscuit.

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Fried cutlet with honey butter and hot sauce on a biscuit.

Plus a really amazing salad.

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Collard greens with avocado, pickled red onions, and smoked coconut.  Adam and I could not get over how delicious it was; I really want to remake it at home.

With banana cream pie on Nilla Wafer crust for dessert.

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Yum.   

Weekend Wrap-Up; Marshmallow Madness

I am not 100% yet, but I am feeling much better. 90%?  Poor Adam, though, has gotten my cold x2, complete with an ear infection.  It’s put a real damper on how much sympathy I’m able to get!  At least we were both in the mood for a quiet, lazy weekend.

breakfast and lunch

Friday at work I had a Coconut Chocolate Chip Clif Bar with WF’s Citrus Blend Italian Sparkling Mineral Water.

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Don’t get me wrong, nothing tops Diet Coke, but I am really loving those sparkling waters.  The strawberry flavor is the best.

Then for lunch, Grape Chobani with KIND Raspberry Chia Seed Clusters, an apple, and a Vita Coco Café.

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Again, not as amazing as iced coffee, but the espresso coconut water mash-up is damn good.

And I did have iced coffee this weekend.  With skim milk and vanilla creamer.

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Plus peanut/butter toast and a mini cheese for brunch.

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That is the only weekend breakfast or lunch picture I have because mostly we snacked on random things.

fudgy triple chocolate marshmallow brownies

Also I made and ate a lot of brownies (see below…).

dinner

Friday night we turned to the freezer for dinner.

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TJ’s vegan orange chicken was alright paired with broccoli.

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But it was basically the least filling thing on the planet.  We both ended up making sandwiches too.

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Fancy pb&j for me.

Saturday night was just straight fancy.

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I made baked shrimp!  Shrimp, chopped bell pepper, evoo, fresh cilantro, salt, smoked paprika, cayenne, lime juice, and a sprinkle of chopped butter, baked at 425* for 12 minutes.  Served on top of jasmine rice cooked in chicken stock.

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This was tasty, healthy, and oh-so quick to prepare.  Triple win.

Sunday I started dinner in the car home after the world’s longest trip to Trader Joe’s.  Apparently people are freaking out about our potential blizzard.  By the by, please, please, please cross your fingers that it doesn’t blizzard!

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After my pretzel roll I made a spinach salad.

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With balsamic vinaigrette, pomegranate, goat’s milk cheddar, and sweet and salty pecans.

snacks, aka marshmallow madness

My mother-in-law sent us a cute Valentine’s card and some strawberry Peeps.

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They were yummy, but the marshmallow extravaganza was just beginning… we also had a big container of fluff!

So I made the very best brownies I’ve ever tasted.

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Triple chocolate fudge with a layer of marshmallow fluff in the middle.

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Recipe is coming tomorrow and it is absolutely fantastic, I promise.

In the meantime, I did something else with the fluff.

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Oh yes, I did.  Malted Marshmallow Coffee Creamer.  If you put skim milk, marshmallow fluff (1:2 ratio with the milk), and malted milk powder (1:4 ratio with the milk) in the blender you can put it in your coffee and pretty much die of happiness.

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We used 2 cups skim milk, 1 cup fluff, and 1/4 cup malted milk powder, but as long as you follow the ratio above you can make a smaller or larger batch, no problem.  I highly recommend it!

Weekly Wrap-Up; On The Mend

I am still a teensy bit sick, but thankfully I am feeling much, much better than last weekend.  Hopefully by the end of this weekend I’ll be back to 100%!

breakfast

My first day back, when I came in feeling just terrible, my coworker surprised me with a bagel with lox and cream cheese.

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So sweet of her, and very serendipitous since I hadn’t managed to get coffee, let alone breakfast.

Adam drove me into work on Wednesday since he had errands to do in Brooklyn, so we went in early and made a date of it.

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Doughnut Plant!

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I got a coconut cream filled and a Valrhona hot chocolate.  Plus we stopped for an iced coffee along the walk.

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This was so much fun, I cannot even tell you; morning date for the win.

Yesterday I randomly woke up feeling sooo hungry so I pieced together a big breakfast in the cafeteria.

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Coffee with chocolate milk,

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and scrambled eggs, veggie sausage, and a croissant.

lunch

Veggie pizza from the cafeteria.

This was good, but it had corn on it which I found to be an incredibly strange topping choice.  Not that I don’t love corn, but on a pizza??!

Wednesday I brought an apple and a Jarlsberg Cheese Mini (more on that in a minute…) from home.

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Plus a salad from the cafeteria that I apparently don’t have a picture of.

Yesterday was another apple, plus an Apricot Ancient Grains Chobani with TJ’s Pumpkin O’s and KIND Banana Nut Clusters.

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I liked the Chobani much more than the one with oats I tried previously.  The pieces of apricot were quite nice.

snack

I don’t usually drink coffee after 4 pm but I ended up getting iced decafs twice this week because I was so obsessed with the idea of coffee flavor in the evening.

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With skim milk and a splash of cream.

Another night we had smoothies for our creamy drink fix.

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Chocolate peppermint soymilk with frozen strawberries and plain Greek yogurt.

Back to that cheese…

Jarlsberg mini

Jarlsberg recently started making minis and they sent me some to try.

jarlsberg minis

For full disclosure I will tell you that Adam didn’t like the flavor (“too mild”) but I did, and I thought the texture was great (firm bite – you could squeeze it between your fingers and the wheel held its shape – but very creamy).  70 calories per mini wheel, for a nicely portable snack.

Caramel apple plate,

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Caramel pecan popcorn and apple slices sprinkled with caramel cinnamon sugar.

caramel cinnamon sugar shaker

I brought that adorable shaker back from San Francisco’s Japantown.

Related note – this salted caramel hand sanitizer smells beyond amazing.

salted caramel - bath and body works

Another souvenir from our SF trip, Ruby Grand dried nectarines from Frog Hollow.

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Served on with vanilla shortbreads for a very fancy, only slightly Georgia O’Keefe-y snack plate.

dinner

An easy dinner for the first night I cooked after take-out for every meal all weekend.

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Salad with honey mustard dressing, parmesan, dried blueberries, and sweet and salty pecans.

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Eggs with sautéed onion and TJ’s canned mackerel scrambled in.  Plus turkey bacon.

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I cooked the bacon first so everything in my eggs was infused with that flavor.

Date night at Pequeña in Brooklyn.

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We started with an order of the fried sweet plantains.

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Pretty good, but I think I would have to go back home to really get my plantain craving satisfied.

I ordered veggie quesadillas for my entrée – Pan Fried Tortillas Stuffed with Oaxacan String Cheese And Zucchini, Peppers, Mushroom, Onion, and Squash. Topped with Salsa Roja, Queso Fresco and Cilantro.

veggie quesadillas at Pequena - brooklyn

I always cook my quesadillas in a pan, but apparently “pan fried” here meant legit deep fried quesadillas.  They were tasty but also a bit ridiculous; I ate one plus the filling out of the other.

I’m writing this post before dinner on Thursday, but it’s gotten pretty late and I’m leaning towards a big salad and an old-school pb&j.  🙂

Goods And Bads; Weekend Wrap-Up

I wasted an entire long weekend being sick in bed with a cold.  Uggh!  All the signs were there – cough, sniffles, headaches, plus we ate nothing but take-out, I watched about a billion episodes of Friends, I used two boxes of tissues and a toilet paper roll blowing my nose, and I haven’t worn pants since Friday.

Thankfully I had two healthy days at work Thursday and Friday, so I do have a few good things to share…

Iced coffee with chocolate milk is always good.

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iced coffee and chocolate milk

But I also learned that Starbucks’ salted caramel pretzel bars are really good.

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And the ‘Bucks didn’t let me down with these almonds either.

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On the healthier side, heirloom red spinach is also good.

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salad with heirloom red spinach

This coconut milk totally helped me feel better – for a minute or two – on Sunday.

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And TJ’s Crispy, Crunchy Broccoli is fantastic.

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Plus, Chobani’s new grape yogurt tastes like Greek yogurt with a purple pixie stick mixed in!

Now I’m crossing my fingers that I can make it through today with only one box of Kleenex.  Think dry thoughts for me!

Two By Two…

…hands of blue  <– name that show!

A short weekly wrap-up since my pictures were terrible, the two best from each category…

breakfast

I made wonderful coffee this week with the help of Grady’s Cold Brew Bean Bags. DSC04887 Paired with 1) A coconut berry smoothie. DSC04853

Hint of honey almond milk, frozen strawberries and blueberries, and coconut butter. I love the way the coconut doesn’t totally blend in and you end up with little pockets.

2) A surprisingly good omlette from the cafeteria. 20150106_094337

Eggs with onions and peppers.

lunch

1) A mix of seafood items from the caf made me feel fancy. 20150107_134558(0)

Tuna salad sandwich, lobster bisque, and a honey tangerine from home.

2) A snack plate that was actually the first half of lunch; I had Vietnamesse food at a party later. DSC04898

Pretzels, turkey jerky, and cinnamon apples.

snack

1) The party was a goodbye party for my boss. I brought in cookies.  Lavender chocolate caramel chip and my Smore’s Monster Cookies.

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I ate way too much dough then stayed up half the night with a stomach ache/sugar high finishing the latest Kathy Reichs’ book.

2) More sugar?

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I enjoyed these crispy m&m’s much more than I was expecting to.

dinner

1) Chipotle is always good.

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White rice, pinto beans, veggies, corn and mild salsas, cheese, sour cream, and lettuce.

2) This salad, sans chips, was good too.

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My take on a copycat of TGIFriday’s pecan-crusted chicken salad.

copycat tgif pecan crusted chicken salad

Copycat TGIF Pecan-Crusted Chicken Salad

  • chicken tenders
  • honey mustard – I used cranberry honey mustard which I highly recommend
  • chopped toasted pecans
  • baby spinach
  • dried cranberries
  • crumbled blue cheese
  • canned mandarin oranges
  • balsamic vinegarette
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Farenheit. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Pour mustard and pecans into wide, shallow bowls.
  2. Dip chicken into mustard, then into pecans, pushing gently to help set the nuts (I only coated one side of my tenders).
  3. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet, naked side down. Bake for 27 – 30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Allow to cool before slicing.
  4. Assemble salads with toppings.

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instagram share

1) I bought these cards to brighten up my office for only 99 cents at Trader Joe’s.

cards from trader joes

2) I made up a joke! Adam hates me.

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Could you identify the tv show from the quote?

Hello, 2015! Weekend Wrap-Up

It’s 2015!!! 

My new year is off to a good start; I rearranged a few areas in the apartment that have been driving me crazy and have even been to the gym a few times.  I opened the year with a trip to the movies to see “Wild” with friends.  We all enjoyed it, even those who hadn’t read the book.

I’ve done plenty of good eating this year too…

breakfast

Coffee coffee.

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With vanilla sugar.

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And vanilla creamer.

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Yep, I’m still deep in my vanilla obsession.

Which is why I bought this French vanilla yogurt.

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With a seckel pear.

Another day I stirred vanilla bean paste into plain 0% Chobani.

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It was delicious topped with blueberries, toasted walnuts, and maple syrup.

Pumpkin smoothie.

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Canned pumpkin – the final can that’s been waiting in the pantry – with Greek yogurt, frozen banana, maple syrup, cinnamon, and Almond Breeze Hint of Honey.  This was thin but so tasty.

Adam and I split this latte and donut.

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Dough‘s mocha crumble did not disappoint.

lunch

A killer sandwich.

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Turkey, sharp cheddar, banana peppers, and strawberry jam.

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Plus apple slices with cinnamon maple sugar.

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Black-eyed pea salad {BEP, green pepper, sharp cheddar, green Tabasco, and smoked almonds}.

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And trail mix {peanuts, smoked almonds, dried blueberries, and birthday cake M&M’s}.

Another sandwich with sliced apple.

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Fried egg with mayo and mustard.

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If I had rye bread this would be the exact sandwich my dad cooked for me when I was growing up.  His specialties were sandwiches – fried egg and grilled cheese (with pickle relish!).

snack

A trip to Ample Hills for the good stuff.  Butter pecan brittle and salted crack caramel.

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Chocolate covered potato chips.  I measured out exactly one serving – these are Adam’s favorite thing ever and he was very kind to share.

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Turkey jerky.

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Chocolate-covered gummy bears = yum!

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It’s possible I splashed cookie-flavored coffee creamer into diet coke and it was the best thing ever…

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Dooo itttt!

dinner

You have to eat black-eyed peas on the first for good luck in the new year.  I had mine mixed with green pepper, tomato, hot sauce, mayo, and cheddar on top of sprouted brown rice and chopped spinach.

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The dog even got his own little serving!

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I stuck a fork in my bowl, but I actually scooped my meal with bbq kettle chips.

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It was a great pairing.

Friday we did salads for course 1; spinach with peanut sauce, chopped apple, and kasha (roasted buckwheat groats).

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Followed by chicken patties from Trader Joe’s and cheesy fries.

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The fries were great – just frozen from Trader Joe’s that we baked with shredded cheddar and gouda.

We celebrated round 2 of our anniversary on Saturday.  When we watched our wedding video last weekend, we were reminded that I talked about eating pizza and watching Scrubs in my vows (really, I did!) and we realized that pizza and Scrubs would be a good anniversary activity.  We got a variety of slices from our favorite pizza place in our old neighborhood and had a great time.

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I got a green juice {spinach, kale, cucumber, and pineapple} to get in some veggies while we were picking up our pie.

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Adam was on call on Sunday but I figured that I should start off 2015 by breaking my streak of chips and cheese for single lady dinners and cooking a real meal.

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Spinach salad with balsamic, dried cranberries, blue cheese, and pecan crusted chicken tenders.  I dipped the chicken in cranberry honey mustard before I dredged it in chopped pecans and it came out amazingly.

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Woot, woot!

I hope that everyone is having a great year.