Tag Archives: squash

Taming the Beast

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Sorry for the late post, I had 8am lab and my day ended up galloping off from there!  I was hoping my extreme hunger was a yesterday thing, but it ended up following me into today as well; I felt like I was trying to tame the beast!

We had a hard quiz this morning (the first of the semester I don’t think I got a 100% on, boo) so I started my day with some brain food in the form of a green monster.

1 cup frozen spinach + 1 cup calcium/vitamin d oj + 1 frozen banana = tasty, healthy perfection!  I’m glad I experimented for the husband’s sake, but you just cannot improve on this recipe.

Normally GMs leave me satisfied until lunch, but today the beast was howling by the time I finished with lab around 11:30.  I knew I wasn’t going to make it at the gym without food so I fueled up at the mini cafe next to my class.

A cup of fruit salad and some Silk Soy Chocolate Milk.

Ready to go; I’ve got to give the snack a little credit for the fact that I had another great swim work out.  As promised – because I love you guys! – here’s a picture of me in all my dorky glory in my swim cap:

Actually, a lady walked by right as I took this picture so I had to explain to her why I was taking photographs in the ladies’ locker room.  She ended up giving me some great swimming tips and encouragement.  Although I’m still a little jealous of Meghann’s locker room social scene.

In the pool I did 32 laps (75ft each) in 28minutes.  The husband walked into the pool area in time for my last loop so I tried to haul ass; I could feel my heart pounding by the time I was done! 

We had to run some errands on the way home and Adam decided we were going to lunch.  He didn’t consult me and I had pool water dripping down my back but I’m still not complaining!  You’ll never guess the location he chose 😀

Yes, we went back to Cozumel again; yes, I did major damage to the chips.

I told you the menu is expansive, I tried yet another new item!  Veggie Chimis –

Nachos aside, I never order stuff like this and I quickly remembered why.  Unless we are talking  french fries I don’t like things that are fried, give me roasted or raw any day!  Thankfully it wasn’t all that greasy and the cheese was fairly under control.  Plus it was stuffed with mushrooms, zucchini, and summer squash.

I didn’t even taste my rice, who would want more carbs as a side with this?

My hunger was only temporarily quelled though, and a few hours later I was ready for more.  The husband I continued our fancy-free attitude and took a walk to Sweet Tooth.

I went with a small ice-cream which beyond hit the spot.

Cookies and cream with raspberry white chocolate swirl.  Holy yum!

I’m sure you’re shocked that I was still hungry for dinner a few hours later 😉  On the menu was this recipe for Pineapple-Glazed Chicken with Jalapeno Salsa.  Two thumbs up!  If nothing else, I highly recommend making the salsa.

Here’s my plate:

I had a small piece of chicken,

with a side of roasted veggies drizzled in leftover glaze.

The glaze was awesome but I still could only choke down half of my veggies; I just did not like these!  The husband thought they tasted off too, we ended up throwing the rest of them out.

I was a little too fancy-free with the husband today and I’ve got a TON of work to do by the end of the week so I’ve got to run.

Do you like fried food?  How often do you eat it?  Other than nachos and french fries, yum, I genuinely don’t enjoy fried foods.  Although I do like typically fried foods if they’ve been baked (i.e. chicken nuggets).

Shaken, Not Stirred

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I didn’t get as much done this morning as I could have hoped, but it was certainly an improvement on my track-record of late.  I have my final Chemistry quiz (and lab!) tomorrow, for which I began studying making up reading for at the oh-so-responsible hour of 10:00 this morning.

My breakfast wasn’t really big enough so I did some snacking while I studied.  Half a package of chocolate covered espresso beans; I can’t believe how long I’ve had these sitting in my cabinet.  [My camera ate the photo, but if you click the link there is an original picture of them there]

As well as some homemade trail mix;

1/2 cup Kashi H2H, 1/6cup dried cranberries, 1T cinnamon chips.  I liked this combination a lot.  I always make my own trail mixes because they tend to be healthier than store-bought, but I end up putting so many healthy items in that the serving size becomes unhealthy.  Today’s mix had ~200calories and still managed to interest my taste buds.  Sometimes simplicity is better.

I worked on my lab-work all morning then threw some veggies in the oven while I took a much needed shower.  I emerged much cleaner, and quite excited about my roasted veggie salad lunch.

Romaine lettuce base topped with roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and yellow squash.

I roasted extra veggies so I could put some pre-made in the fridge for the rest of the week.

I ‘made’ extra of my salad dressing as well.  I was in the mood for blue cheese but I’m not one of those bloggers who like my lettuce dry; I knew I would need to spread my dressing further in order to get enough of it.  So for two servings (today and tomorrow) I shook together 2T blue cheese dressing with 2T vinegar.

Whenever Adam and I finish a jar, canister, or what-have-you we always wash it out and save it to be reused.  It is a convenient way to be green, and save some $.

Speaking of saving money, I can tell this is going to be a snacky day so I thought ahead this time and threw some snacks into my purse already.  I’m heading to campus to pick up the husband before Anthropology and Chemistry, I’ll let you know what I ended up snacking on when I get back for dinner.

Does your family reuse containers or do you just trash them?

Silk Soy Nog and Savory Bread Pudding

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It’s been a full day around here and tomorrow is looking full as well so this will be unabashedly short.

I had pt this morning, it’s going well.  I’m pretty frustrated that legwise I’ve been allowed to run but footwise I can’t.  My pt agrees that since I’m basically taking January off (I’m having my wort surgically removed) it’s a good idea to work as hard as I can the next three weeks.

I left the house before 7:30 which didn’t leave me much time for breakfast.  I got my protein in with this Odwalla.

Super Protein Vitamin Fruit Juice Drink.  I drank about 3/4, it was a good breakfast.

We are going home for Christmas and my big final is on the 21st so I’ve got lots of studying and loose ends to tie up today.  I spent my lunch hour working on stuff and by the time I picked up Adam at 2 I was starving.  We hit up a pizza place he found with zillions of choices and huge slices.

I got broccoli, chicken, brussetta.

Yum, broccoli is my favorite pizza topping.

Even hungry though the slices were way too big though.  I left about 1/3 of mine.

Although that didn’t stop me from devouring Adam’s crust.

We ran a lot of errands (doctor’s office, mall, pharmacy) before coming home to do some gift making.  I did a little bit of nibbling on the pretzels, but mostly I enjoyed the ultimate Christmas festivity –

I’m so glad I found Silk Soy Nog again this year!!  I had 1 cup topped with nutmeg.

Dinner came from the October issue of Cooking Light, Butternut Squash and Parmesan Bread Pudding (click the link for the recipe).  I halved the recipe, used skim milk, and skipped the egg whites, but otherwise I followed it.

It was pretty good.  A little sweet though, I think my favorite part of dinner was my side salad.

All together –

We are watching “Waitress” and then heading to bed.  I’m not sure what I think of the movie yet, definitely quirky.

Are you a bread pudding fan?  Any savory kinds you’ve liked?

Adding to My Happy List

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I discovered several new things I enjoy today.  If I had to make a “happy list” it would be a bazillion pages already but it’s always good to find new things. 

Volunteering went well, there was more for me to do than usual, which is always nice, and it was good to spend time on my feet after the car and plane trips of the past weekend.  One of the nurses gave me a piece of “Canada candy.”

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It was surprisingly good, I thought I didn’t like milk chocolate but maybe I’ve been lying to myself.

In challenge fasion, I used my lunch voucher to bring Adam home pizza for his afternoon snack.  For my snack I had two servings of Quaker Quakes Kettle Corn Rice Cakes.

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I thought I didn’t like rice cakes, but apparently I was wrong about that too!  I bought this last week because I had a coupon and was pleasantly surprised.

I was rushing out of the house and I was a little worried that I ended up looking like I was rocking my pjs.

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I think the (amazing, far nicer than anything I’ve ever owned before, handed down from my aunt this weekend) jacket salvages it don’t you?

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I was hurrying because I had a meeting with a professor at UB’s anthropology department.  She couldn’t answer all of my questions – the big one being do I want to be an RD, an anthropologist, or a turnip – but it was informative.  Afterwards she asked if I’d like to sit in on her class that afternoon (4-6).  It was amazing!  She had a guest lecturer – a previous student who now is a policewoman/csi.  She talked about evidence collection and showed all sorts of crime scene photos and generally thrilled me.  I seriously sat there for two hours with a big grin.  I don’t know which career path I’ll choose, but I do know that I find forensic/anthropology fascinating.

My Chemistry class is at 6:30 and it was all the way across the campus so I ended up having to speed walk there with my huge bag.  I was sooo thirsty by the time I got to class.  I ended up buying Lifesavers to suck on from the vending machine.

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Challenge Balance – 60cents.

When I got home I had a Zevia to drink immediately,

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and then I started on dinner.

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Oven Baked Chicken Salad from the October issue of “Family Circle” (click the recipe for the link).  There were several ways to make this recipe healthier, but due to time and budgetary restrictions I chose to follow it as is – minus onion salt which I didn’t have.  However, here are my suggestions for a healthier dish-

  1. Substitute 1 chopped, sauted real onion for onion salt.
  2. Substitute half or all of the mayo with plain Greek yogurt.
  3. Skip the “topping” bread crumbs and cheese.
  4. Add additional chopped veggies – broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber.

I ate my portion alongside some oven roasted broccoli and butternut squash; both cooked with salt, pepper, and fresh ginger.

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It was all seriously so fricking delicious!  I always forget how much I love roasted broccoli and the casserole was shockingly good.

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Mmmn.

I need to hurry to shower now, as starting my gym routine back up in the morning is pretty much a necessity.  I hope everyone else has a good night.

Where do you find recipes?  I have a long list of things that sound good on other blogs, but for the most part I get my recipes from magazines.  I am subscribed to “Cooking Light” and “Everyday with Rachael Ray,” but the healthy living magazines have a lot of great recipes too.  The ‘older’ magazines my mommy subscribes too (she sends them to me) have yummy recipes that aren’t quite as healthy, but can easily be modified like my suggestions tonight.

Dreams of Root Vegetables

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Whew, Tuesday is almost over!  My meeting went well, I still have no idea which career path I’ll choose but it is exciting to learn about the options.  After my meeting I swung by the house to pick up the husband, who graciously offered to go along on my printing/mailing resume errands.

True Story – while we were driving he got annoyed that I don’t know what I want to do and said – “You’ll never know what you want to do.  Next thing I’ll know you’ll want to be a turnip!  Do you need to go back to school to be a turnip!?!”  And now he has called me Turnip for the rest of the day.  Holy cow I love my funny husband!

On our way home – resumes successfully mailed, hopefully I will be substituting at some point – we stopped in The Spot for coffee.

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I got a small  Chaider; steamed apple cider and chai tea.  Mmn, fall!  I actually think I’m going to head back to the Spot to work tomorrow, I haven’t been getting much done at home 😦

I was feeling sick with hunger when we got home so I got a snack while I worked on my lab (which I can not do without help, boo!).

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A bumped log,

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with Granny Smith slices with cinnamon caramel apple dip.

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I had a coupon for the dip and you know I’m a sucker for all foods fall.

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After struggling with Chemistry for forever I moved on to making dinner.  On the meal plan was a recipe from the November “Everyday with Rachael Ray” ‘lightened up’ moussaka.

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I can’t share the recipe but if you bought the magazine and are planning to try it here are the changes I made:

  • used 99% lean ground turkey instead of beef
  • skipped the food processor and used low fat whipped cottage cheese
  • used half graffiti eggplants
  • add 1/2 pint mushrooms

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We actually got busy and didn’t even eat dinner so I’ll have to review the recipe tomorrow!  I have a busy day planned tomorrow – no room for headaches! – so don’t be surprised if I don’t post until dinner.  Night!

Don’t forget to enter my Zevia giveaway!

BSI Entry

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Oh man was a good evening!  I am pretty much excited about everything right now.  My dinner (and drink) are delicious, but more importantly fall themed, and the whole meal is just rocking my socks!  I’ll back up though…

We didn’t head out to the store until after 7:30 but I was cool with the tardiness because I was excited about my new shirt.

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This was one of many $10 mall finds last weekend.

The grocery store was quick and easy, Adam and I make each other laugh so much when we are doing errands.  This week’s BSI, a la Megan, is acorn squash, so I picked one up for dinner.

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By the way, Adam was less than thrilled by a veggie stuffed squash so he made his own dinner, including (among several other things) this sample from Annie Chun’s Soup Bowls.

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It had beef broth, so my caveman was happy.

While I cooked dinner I ate the last of this pineapple.

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Dinner was a masterpiece if I do say so myself!  My squash was inspired by eggplant and chicken parmesan, but ended up being waay more tasty.  Italian Stuffed Acorn Squash, for 1-2

  • 1 medium acorn squash, cut in half with seeds scooped out (go bigger than the one I bought, pictured above, it was too small and I had leftover guts)
  • 1T evoo
  • 1C baby bella mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 a small eggplant, cubed (I used a graffiti eggplant)
  • 1/4t minced garlic
  • 1/4t dried oregano
  • salt and pepper
  • 3T balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2C marinara sauce
  • 1/4C reduced fat mozzarella, shredded
  • 1T seasoned bread crumbs
  1. Preheat the oven to 400*.  Line a baking pan with tin foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.  Place squash cut side down and cook for 40minutes.
  2. While squash is cooking, heat evoo in a pan over medium-high heat.  Add eggplant and mushrooms.
  3. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano.  Cook for 7minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Add balsmic vinegar and cook another 3-5minutes, until liquid is reduced.
  5. Remove from heat and stir in marinara sauce.
  6. Remove squash from oven and flip cut side up.  Fill cavities with veggie mixture and top each side with half of the bread crumbs and cheese.
  7. Return to oven for 10minutes, until cheese is browned.

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Holy cow, I fell in love!  The flavors of this melded together amazingly and I loved the texture. Gaaah!

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I really planned on eating the entire thing but 1half ended up being enough (I also ate some leftover stuffing while the final product cooked). 

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I am super excited to finish the rest tomorrow!  To drink I made the most “Fall” cocktail ever.

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8oz each apple cider and pumpkin beer.  Gah again!

Good meals, especially especially fall themed ones, make me so happy!  I’m going to do some blog reading and then head to bed.  I didn’t get any studying done today (that time was taken up by the flooding fun) so I have a lot to accomplish before my in-laws get here tomorrow.  Sleep tight!

Do you participate in the BSIs?  Have you won any?

The Right Fluff

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My sleepless night left me pretty dazed, and not at all productive.  In fact, as soon as this is published Adam is driving me to school early so I can focus on studying there.

Lunch was randomly thrown together but quite tasty.  I ate the second serving of my long leftover bbq cabbage.

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And discovered 5oz of okra in my fridge as well.  I chopped off the ends and roasted at 475* for 25minutes.

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I roasted this delicata squash too, with a little nutmeg.

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All together.

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The cabbage was actually better after sitting and the okra was great as always but I was not a fan of the squash.  The flavors were good (I love nutmeg!) but I did not like eating the skins at all.  I ended up leaving a big pile of “crusts” on my plate.

Dessert more than made up for it.

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I love love love marshmallow fluff so I was very excited to see a vegan, and slightly healthier version.

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I’ve had this Rice Mellow Creme in my cabinet for a while, just waiting for inspiration.  I found it!

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No, that is not a cup of hot chocolate…

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…that a fluffernutter sundae!  Stoneyfield Nonfat Vanilla Froyo with melted peanut butter and rice mellow fluff.  Mmmmmmmn!  I will be making this again, soon.

I also snacked on 1 2 servings of Food Should Taste Good Olive Chips.

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They were a little too good, I probably should have used a plate instead of dipping into the bag.

Adam is driving me to campus now so I can hopefully finish my ch. 10 notecards without distraction.  After class Caroline and I have another study session, so I won’t be home until late.  We are planning on studying at Wegmans and getting dinner from the salad bar.  I hope everyone has a great evening!

P.S. Please vote for me for the Good Mood Gig here.  You can vote every day until the 30th.

Mish Mash Meal

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Fabulous day alert!  After so many weeks of being a lazy blob I am seriously relishing my productivity.  Post office, studying, dinner; check, check, check!  Plus I rocked two of my grandma’s old necklaces which always makes me happy.

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The line at the post office was redonculous, but a very sweet package from my mommy was a nice reward at the end.  Lots of excitement ensued; I got a  bunch of magazines, new book,

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a baggie of my favorite candy of all time ever (I ate one of these without photographing), fruit gels,

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and a P.E. T-shirt from my old high school!

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After my not ‘rain nor snow’ing I met up with a friend from Chemistry to study.  We got in a solid 5 hours!  As much as we accomplished, I didn’t do so hot on the practice tests so I know I have my work cut out for me this week.

I got home around 8:30 and got right to dinner.  My goal was to use up leftovers, frozen food, and my Annie Chun’s sample.

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The end result was seriously socks rocking!  I was in absolute heaven eating this plate.

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I heated chipotle pepper oil over medium high heat.  Added 2 chopped Apple Maple Sausages (I froze these a few months ago) and 2 big handfuls spinach/arugula and a small handful shredded carrot.  Next I added leftover roasted butternut squash from yesterday and 1/2 of the black pearl rice.  Then I stirred in a splash each of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame seeds.  Finally I broke in 1egg and stirred.

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I couldn’t get over how good this was!  What a mix of flavors and textures, lots of sweet/savory which I love.

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For dessert I tried some of my new candies.

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They were good, but the Sunkist ones are the best.

We started watching “Glory Road” while we ate and I’m enjoying it.  See you tomorrow!

Have you made any good mish-mash meals lately?