Tag Archives: salad

Too Busy For A Saturday

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Oh man.  I’ve been “on” for 14 hours straight so please forgive me if this post is “off.”  I spent several hours on campus this afternoon and I’ll spend most of tomorrow there as well so I’m warning you in advance that Sunday’s recap will be cranky!

Today’s plan included three main objectives –

  1. Attend a training at school.
  2. Get all the shopping for Chili Sale cooking completed.
  3. Bake amazing muffins to help thank classmates for coming into school on a Sunday.

The training was actually for a job, thank goodness.  A short-term one though; I’m going to spend the next month working as a caller for the Buffalo State College alumni donation effort.  10 – 2pm today was spent in training sessions for the upcoming first week of work.

I didn’t have much time in the morning (I was trying to maximize sleep!) so I packed this NuGo Organic Double Dark Chocolate Bar for breakfast.

The NuGo people knew what they were doing when they stuck these samples in our HLS bags; every bar of theirs I’ve tried I plan on buying for myself!  This wasn’t as good as Balance Bar Cookie Dough (what is?!), but I liked the crunch and chewiness of the inside and the chocolate coating was sweet without being too sweet for breakfast.

I bought a sandwich for lunch on our break.

This was a book store cafe paninni with pesto, roasted tomatoes, and mozzarella.

Plus an Earl Grey with skim milk.

When I left campus at 2 I headed straight to the store to meet up with some classmates in the Chili Sale group.  We had to go to Wegmans, then BJs, then back to Wegmans again, but I think we are ready for tomorrow.

I bought a coffee with skim milk while we shopped.

And very happily accepted this chocolate sample with my beverage.

Guylian shells are my favorite chocolate candy of all time and they are pretty pricy so this 2-piece freebie put a huge smile on my face.

That smile was promptly wiped off as our hunt for dinner turned into an epic journey.  I got the first half of my work schedule for the week and it required some meal plan switching so we decided to go out.  But we don’t have much (any?!) money right now so we agonize over how we spend it.  Nothing is good enough to justify the expense and the dining options in Buffalo just aren’t that good to begin with.  Adam and I wasted a good hour driving around from vetoed, to closed, to 40 minute wait-listed.  We finally ended up at JP Bullfeathers and decided just to split two of the cheaper options.

I ate 2/3 of the Julius Caesar;

a salad with sun-dried tomato Caesar dressing topped with crab and rock shrimp salad.

Plus 1 triangle of Adam’s grilled avocado quesadilla,

which had cheddar, jack cheese, and roasted poblanos.

Mine was better 😉

Dinner wasn’t as filling as I would have hoped though.  I did a few nibbles whilst baking, plus I noshed on this bag of Combos.

These weren’t bad but I think my thing is finally over.

When we got home around 9, we finally got to baking.

I don’t have the time (or energy) to tell you about these muffins now, but I promise to blog the recipe soon because it’s a good ‘un!

Thank you to my amazing husband for playing medical intern to my lead surgeon (ie holding bowls, laying out supplies, and wiping my brow); without whom my baking project would probably still be underway.

The Best Thing Ever

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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?

Quick Trip To Canada

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I went to Canada today!

We didn’t really do any exciting abroad things, but we did snap pictures as we drove past the falls.  We were just making a quick trip up to the International Marathon Expo.  I offered to drive up so that blog friends Katy and Holly could pick up their packets.

I actually was planning on running the half marathon with them until not too long ago, but that’s another story for another time.

Prior to our drive, Adam and I hit up the farmers’ market in search of eggplants.  We had success.  We also found breakfast.

The husband and I split this locally made cheddar-rosemary scone.

It was crumbly and delicious.  I need to put “make scones” on my life to-do list.

Then after Canada we headed to the grocery store.  Adam and I both got totally sucked in by this register line purchase.

We split the box 60:40 (his favor), but both took at least a nibble of all four flavors.

When we got home I made myself a plate of grilled cheese epicness for lunch.

2 mini sandwiches (that’s a small plate) of sourdough bread with cheddar, 2% mozzarella, and pickled jalapeno slices.

I cooked the sandwiches in a skillet with another smaller skillet pressed on top and they turned out so crispy. 

Plus melty, cheesy, and spicy.

With a cookie for dessert.

We had dinner planned but Adam was absolutely desperate to get back to India Gate.  We compromised by eating some veggies at home first.  In the form of salads.

This was an amazing salad too.  A Romaine lettuce base topped with groats, roasted zucchini, goat cheese, and champagne dressing.

The cheese was more of the world’s best goat cheese from First Light Farm and Creamery.

This time a double cream chevre with garlic and dill.

And the dressing was a Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program sample from Marzetti’s Simply Dressed Line.

Nutrition –

From the accompanying literature – “Marzetti Simply Dressed is made with a minimal number of all-natural ingredients, such as extra virgin olive oil, canola oil (a source of Omega-3 ALA) and sea salt, and does not contain any preservatives, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, MSG, or artificial flavors or colors.”

After all that it’s ironic, but my only complaint was with one of the ingredients!  The dressing contained xantham gum (which I’m not opposed to in principle and do use occasionally in smoothies) and it made it way to viscous.  The thick, goopy, snotty (sorry) texture is not what I’m looking for in a dressing.  But the flavor was nice without being overpowering.  And I only needed 1.5 Tbsp (less than 80 calories) to feel like my whole salad was properly dressed.

‘Twas good all together.

But we hung out a bit too long between our salad course and the rest of our meal because we definitely had room for dessert, drink, and appetizer!

We started with Paneer Pakora, hhome-made cheese dipped in chickpea batter and deep-fried.

This was like the Indian spin on fried mozzarella sticks.  Here’s my serving –

We also ordered a fig lassi.

It was creamy with nice back hints of fig and these great little pieces of chewiness at the bottom.

We meant to share this 50:50 but I took a much larger portion because my meal was hot-hot-hot.

It’s not on the menu, but they were happy to hook me up with Tofu Vindaloo.

Vindaloo is a spicy, tomato based sauce that I’ve been dying to try because it’s notorious for melting your face off.  I ordered mine “hot” hot and while this was spicy it still wasn’t quite the heat level I was hoping for.  I’ve found outside of Thai food other types of heat just feel a little flat to me.

Adam repeated his order from last time, Chicken Makhani, boneless skinless tandori chicken breast prepared in tomato, butter, cream sauce and garnished with cashews and raisins.

My meals have all been good but I think there is really no way to beat this dish!  The cashews and raisins are little bits of chew embedded in every bite.

The bits of chew theme continued with fantastic rice.

I told Adam during this meal that chewiness is my favorite texture sensation.

Here was plate number 1 –

Rice, tofu, plus a taste of the Makhani sauce.  I ended up also topping my vindaloo liberally with raita to help cool things down.

For plate number 2 I ended up just layering all of the components into a pile.

It was a great combination of flavors.  And we came home with leftovers so we’ll have happy taste buds for lunch tomorrow too.

We didn’t want to kill the date-night vibe so we ended with dessert.

Gulab Jamun, deep-fried milk balls in a sweet syrup.

These were like little donuts with the slightest flavor of milk, like tres leches light.  The syrup had some sort of spice in it and lent another nice layer of flavor.  It was a fun end to a fun meal.

Which Indian dish should I check out next?

The Circle Of Life

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“From the day we arrive on the planet

And, blinking step into the sun

There’s more to see than can ever be seen

More to do than can ever be done

There’s far too much to take in here

More to find than can ever be found

But the sun rolling high

Through the sapphire sky

Keeps great and small on the endless round

It’s the Circle of Life”

I just can’t stop singing!  It’s possible I’ve hummed straight through my day.  Other than “Aladdin,” “The Lion King” was the Disney movie with my favorite music.

Backing up to where we left off yesterday, I spent some time (not enough) with these –

I popcorned while I studied.

I hated it.

Plus 100 calories worth of Ghirardelli Midnight Reverie 86% chocolate topped with a smear of Biscoff spread.

Adam was in surgery until late so the meet-up plan involved friends picking me up and all of us getting together with Adam whenever he could make it.  The husband had told me to be ready at 5:45 so a bit after 4 I took Webster out on a long walk.  We were heading home around 5 when I got a call from our friend Patrick – “Eithan said to tell you he’s running late, they’ll probably get you around 5:30.”  5:30 you say?  Whoops! 

Thankfully I’d already showered in the morning so I didn’t take all that long to gussy.  I even managed heels and mascara.

Ready on time, we set off to Pearl Street Grill and Brewery for dinner before the show.  Thankfully, Adam got out early enough to meet us for dinner so we did a little sharing.  I ordered the Gobbler (turkey burger) with a side salad subbed instead of fries for veg.

I was not expecting such a large plate of greens though!  In the end I ate ~ 1/3 of the husband’s chicken fingers and fries,

all of the salad (with brown sugar rum vinaigrette!),

and 2-3 bites of the turkey burger.

Adam was more than happy to take care of the rest for me.  We were with a great group of friends – 2 couples of regulars plus another 2 couples who were friends of friends – so even dinner was fun.

Getting to the theatre was a bit of an ordeal – it’s possible all of the girls had to sprint 2 blocks in high heels! – but all that really matters is we made it.  This was my first time seeing “The Lion King” and I thought it was great.  Knowing the music from the movie and being able to sing along (silently!) definitely helped to keep me engaged.  My favorite part of the show was actually the visual appeal; the costumes for the elephants and giraffes were truly breathtaking.  I’m so glad we had the opportunity to go.  Though now Adam and I are desperate to see the movie to hear the songs again!

It wasn’t the earliest bedtime and my 6am alarm felt a little … rough.  Thankfully I thought ahead so all I had to do was put on shoes, grab my bags, hop in the car, and stumble to the gym.  My notecards and I spent some time on the treadmill, more for a wake up and study review than workout purposes.  2 miles walked, 35 minutes.  A quick change and face wipe bath later and I was ready for my exam.

Before the test I ate this White Chocolate Macadamia Chewy Nut Bar Odwalla sent me to sample.

This was sweet, but not too sweet, and a little bit nutty.  I couldn’t savor it the way I would have liked because our test was about to begin, but it did hold me over well through the morning.  210 calories and 2 grams of saturated fat for 25% each daily value of calcium and folate (<– important for baby making).  The white chocolate macadamia flavor will be hitting stores this month; look for it!

My test went alright, not great but not terribly either.  The subjects covered included the clear liquid diet, parenteral feeding, and Latin roots for medical terms, among other things, so no matter how the test went I know it’s all material I will be seeing again. 

I had time for a quick break and then it was on to class #2 and a group presentation.  Our non-nutritive sweeteners group had to present our findings from the last test lab as well as information on the options available to our future clients.  We were the very first group to go which was a little nerve-wracking but the TA said we did a good job.  We also did our 2nd set of sampling today, this time with commercially made products. 

The class had to analyze original and sugar-free versions of cola, yogurt, ice-cream, jell-o, and chocolate syrup.  Normally we can just take small tastes in lab but since I’ll have to write up a report for this one I needed to take really good notes which meant eating all of the samples, even the nasty ones.  And most of them were nasty.  <– Word to the wise – don’t even waste your time with Hershey’s sugar-free chocolate syrup, yuck city. 

Since I didn’t have time to photograph everything I ate (which ended up having to be a lot) I gave myself the afternoon off from blogging as well.  I will note though, that lunch included many handfuls of salty nuts and a big bag of chips to help balance out all that sweet!  And other than eating and dog walking I didn’t accomplish a blessed thing.  We have two huge exams and a paper due next week and I needed some time for tv watching before my long-weekend study session begins.

Dinner was similarly low-key.

The Tandoor Chef veggie Pad Thai is seriously better than most of the Thai available in Buffalo.

Yums.

On my extra-sweet day, check out what arrived in the mail –

Adam’s mom sent us a haul of cookies!  It’s taking a lot of self-control but we are going to wait until the coffee caramel is finished before having at them.  And on that note, we are off to have sundaes!

Which sugar-free products do you use?  Do you prefer the taste or are you diabetic/looking to cut calories?

Goats In The Grass

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So that turtle sundae was about as amazing as an afternoon snack gets.  My finger scooped several more tastes of the coffee caramel throughout the afternoon!

Thankfully I was looking forward to dinner, in large part due to my most recent co-op discoveries.

First, a maple yogurt from Maple Hill Creamery, made with organic milk from 100% grass-fed cows.

I so wanted to love this.  This was my first time trying any dairy product sourced from 100% grass-fed cows.  To give you some short background info, grass-feed cows provide different nutrient content (via meat and milk) than their “traditionally” fed counterparts.  Eating polyunsaturated fatty acids (such as omega-3 and omega-6) is essential for a healthy diet, but the ratio of those PUFAs is important as well.  The typical Western diet has a greater ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s and does not fall within the healthy range of the 1:1 – 1:4 ratios.  Milk from grass-fed cows provides a healthier 1:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids.  Plus, Maple Hills Creamery is a NY company with great business practices that I’d love to support. 

However, I just didn’t enjoy this!  I want to try MHC again and I definitely want to try 100% grass-fed dairy again, but I just don’t enjoy flavored non-Greek yogurt that much.  The flavor of this was way to sour for me, no sweetness or maple flavor at all.

Once I realized that I couldn’t eat more than a bite of my yogurt – and more than a bite of 50% of my dinner calories – I ended up stealing from Adam’s packed lunches.

I know that doesn’t look very fancy but I promise it was good.  The husband threw chicken breast, carrots, and sweet potatoes into the crock pot and cooked until delicious.  Then topped the final dish with a healthy dose of A-1 Steak Sauce.

I ended up going back after a few bites for a dollop of sour cream to balance out the A-1, but overall I loved this.  The melded flavors of the sweet potato and chicken were amazing.

The second half of dinner was the real winner though.  Cue my new favorite salad.

A romaine base, topped with 1 Tbsp of Catalina dressing, craisins, groats, and goat cheese.

Can we talk about the goat cheese?  This was the co-op purchase that panned out.

A Double Cream Chevre from First Light Farm and Creamery.  A local business with sustainable business practices, and the producers of the best flipping goat cheese I’ve ever eaten!  I was dying eating my salad.

This was so creamy and rich!  Locals – buy some asap!

In The Navy, Yes You Can Sail The Seven Seas

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October is here!

Now that it’s finally Pumpkin Month, you know that I had to start my morning off with another Wilson Farm’s pumpkin spice latte.

50% regular, 50% sweetened, 100% pumpkin-y deliciousness.

Actually, I started my morning with a fruitless trip to the BAC.  At an event last weekend (which I didn’t blog about) several friends and I all won “$450” to the Buffalo Athletic Center.  We didn’t get our hopes up too high, and sure enough, when we took the tour this morning we learned that what we won was the privilege of buying a $19/month membership.  No thanks!

The morning wasn’t a total wash though because Janessa happened to mention that she was heading to the unmarked stand at the farmers’ market, which is actually a Great Harvest.  What, what?!

Score!  I picked up a bag of granola and a loaf of sourdough.  Adam and I tore off big hunks of sourdough right in the car for breakfast.

Doughy and sour and delicious.

We were in the car because we were on our way to cash in Groupons at the Buffalo Naval and Military Park.

The weather was cold and drizzly but we trudged onward because our Groupons were set to expire soon.

I’m so glad we stuck it out; we had such a great time!

Buffalo people/visitors – be sure to plan a visit.  The self-guided tour led through (and up and down!) a missile cruiser, a destroyer, and a sub.  Adam’s parents both served in the military (his dad was in the Navy) and we loved feeling extra close to them.  You felt like you were walking though history and several exhibits made me tear up a bit with pride in being an American.  Plus squeezing through the small doors and going up and down ladders felt like a pretty good workout!

When we got home I made lunch with my new GH goodies.

A side salad of romaine with a bit of fat-free dressing and buckwheat groats.

A toasted slice of sourdough with Crofter’s Grape and a microwaved egg.

And a half cup of Wegman’s 0% Plain Greek Yogurt topped with sliced black plum and apricot, and a quarter cup of granola.

Yums!

We have plans with friends this evening so I’ve got to hit the books.  When I didn’t blog yesterday I wasn’t working either!  There are a few things happening in my department that I’m pretty upset about and I just needed to give myself the afternoon to be mad.  Mid-sulk, I came to the realization that being negative won’t help the situation any and the best thing I can do is to suck it up and keep positive.

Do you know anyone who has served their country?

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?

Fillo Me Up

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When Adam got home at 3 o’clock (two hours late, I might add) we realized that neither of us and had eaten all day and we were both starving.  Waiting for dinner wasn’t an option because of our stomachs, eating at home wasn’t at options because of our pantry, and grabbing food close by wasn’t an option because we’re growing tired of Elmwood take-out.  To the internets!

I found a Groupon for Mississippi Mudds that we could buy and use this afternoon so we headed out.

The food was cheap and sounded good so we were excited to try something new.

Adam and I got a spread to share and headed to the roof for a meal with a view.

Problem # 1 – The complete and total bee infestation at Mississippi Mudds scared us back inside in a matter of minutes.  Problem # 2 – The food was freaking bad.

I ordered the seafood salad sandwich.

I knew that there was a chance of the fake crab mix but this was basically egg salad!  I ate about 1/3 before giving up.  Plus, even with my small serving I was left completely nauseous which means I’m probably sensitive to one of the preservatives in the fake crab mixture.  <– yet another reason it’s better to eat whole foods

Adam and I also split the sweet potato fries with honey and butter (on the side).

I imagine it’s hard to produce a product that is both undercooked and burnt but they managed.  The fries were cold too, which was pretty much the final straw for us.  We’d give Mississippi Mudds a 1.5/10; the only positive was that we used a Groupon so we only had to pay 50%.

So in spite of our efforts to branch out, the bulk of lunch ended up coming from our old standby.  Wegman’s hot bar can basically do no wrong.  I got a broccoli mixture and a cauliflower mixture, plus some apple cider sweet and sour chicken.

Still cheap, but now healthy and delicious!

I have a less busy weekend with time for school work so I spent my afternoon watching tv instead of studying.  I’m typically not an emotional eater (I eat junk because it makes me happy, not because I’m sad) but I will admit that the full glass of Arnold Palmer the dog spilled on the couch did push me towards the this mint chocolate chip swirl cupcake.

I ate the top half of the cake with icing, because that’s the good part anyways.

The husband and I weren’t hungry again for dinner until pretty late in the evening so we wanted something quick.  Thank you HLS swag bag, for the mini fillo shells.

Our final meal was “Strawberry Fields” themed.

We baked the mini fillo shells with chunky peanut butter, diced strawberries, and a sprinkle of brown sugar.

I ate 6 (technically two servings for 90 calories total) and the pb&j feel was perfect.

On the side we had salads with leftover diced strawberries.

Also romaine lettuce, roasted buckwheat groats, crumbled blue cheese, and Newman’s Own Light Caesar Dressing.

Cheese plus fruit (particularly blue or goat cheese with any type of berry) is a combo that never fails.

Fellow HLS attendees; what did you do with your fillo shells?