Tag Archives: turkey

Wednesday – Thursday, Still On The Move

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Hello again from another location, this time Ohio.  Once we get home from here we have a day trip to Toronto and then I’m staying put until the end of break!

Wednesday

Yesterday was Adam’s and my 4-year wedding anniversary, aka our 9-year anniversary of being together!!!  It’s crazy to think that we’ve shared so much of our lives.  Sappy sidenote – I am grateful every day that I get to spend with my husband.  I am so thankful that the man I love is handsome and funny in addition to being intelligent and kind. </sap>

I had an early morning orthodontist appointment and we had to do a grocery restock and then we reunited with another man I love.

I sort of want to get those pictures framed.

Adam and I spent our anniversary doing our favorite things – namely tons of eating good food and cuddling on the couch watching good tv.  A big, made from scratch breakfast felt downright gourmet.

For the eggs, we went to the deli and requested two, 1/4 inch-thick slices of honey roasted turkey.

We chopped them up and sautéed them in a bit of butter, then scrambled in 4 large eggs.

Out of control delicious.  I quit eating most meat (mammals) before I had gotten to try everything and I suspect that I would really enjoy ham.

We also had hash browns made with white potatoes, onion, red bell pepper, 2 Tbsp of butter, and 2 tsp of chipotle oil.

Adam bought me some fourth year gifts for our anniversary.

A book with a sweet inscription, persimmons for fruit and rugelach for flour (substituted for flour because we were going out-of-town).

I’ve been picking up the persimmons and deciding that they were too expensive to splurge on for weeks at the grocery, so they were such a nice surprise.  We split part of one persimmon but decided that it wasn’t ripe enough yet.

Adam was careful to buy squishy ones because once in the city, before we knew better, we tried to eat an unripe persimmon and about died when all the moisture was sucked from our mouths!  This one had a good flavor but was still a little cotton-mouthy.  So we washed it away with rugelach.

The snack was perfect to bring us into lunch.

I had an Applegate Farms Turkey Bologna sandwich on half a cheddar jalapeno bialey with a little bit of Miracle Whip.

Plus a huge pile of roasted green beans.

Adam hates jalapeno but knew I’d like that bialey more than the others and I gave him the half with more cheese, so we both compromised in the name of love.

It would have been easy and fun to go out for a romantic dinner, so I’m extra proud of us that we stayed home and cooked together instead.

I started by steam-sauteing 3 chopped zucchini in a bit of chicken stock.  Then I finished them off with 1 Tbsp of evoo and this packet of Garlic Gold I got in my HLS swag.

I was expecting to adore the Garlic Gold after all the love it got in the healthy living blog community, but we found it to be pretty “meh.”

We set the cooked zucchini aside and while Adam boiled 3 servings of pasta I made a roux with 2 Tbsp of butter, 2 Tbsp of flour, and 1 Tbsp of milk.  Into that, I whisked 1 cup of skim milk and 1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese.  Once the sauce came together all we had to do was toss it with the cooked squash and pasta.

We topped our bowls with a bit of panko and more cheese.

Dinner was great, definitely as good as anything we would have gotten in a restaurant.  This was on the healthy side, but now I am absolutely going to make a similar sauce and use it in oozey, gooey mac and cheese.

We stayed up later than planned watching “That 70’s Show,” which was good for anniversary fun but bad for me working out this morning.  I can’t do anything active here in Ohio and I’m worried that all my vacation workout momentum will be for naught.

Thursday

Today was a day of many meals.  Due in parts to time of the month and restlessness from 7 hours in the car.  And we got junky food too; a healthy living blog no-no but an unavoidable part of existing in the real world.

Chicken biscuit from Chick-fill-a.

The leftover serving of dinner.

A juicy pear.

Animal crackers split with Adam (70/30 his favor).

Mid-way we got to stop for froyo.

I got eggnog and toffee mocha yogurts, topped with candy bar pieces and some marshmallow topping.

Alas both of my flavors were too spicy and I ended up throwing most of mine away.  It was a sad day indeed.

But hundreds of miles later we found a Sonic and I ordered a diet coke with strawberry that totally made up for it.

Adam and I also split fries and chicken tenders.

Good thing my grandma served a lateish dinner, huh?

Webster was a perfect angel for 95% of the drive.

We even got to take him in to meet my grandpa this afternoon.  I like it when all the men in my life are well-acquainted.

Per usual, my grandma made a great dinner.

Side salad,

cooked spinach with feta and cherry tomatoes,

truffle mac and cheese to make up for Adam not having any on Christmas,

and italian breaded chicken, 

which I only could eat a few bites of because I felt like food was coming out of my ears.

After dinner, Nana and Adam worked on a 750-piece puzzle while I wrote this monster post.  I hate all these super long posts I’ve been writing lately!  I know none of my readers are interesting in scrolling for hours, but since I use my blog as a journal I don’t want to skip days that are so great.  I promise to get back to a less annoying schedule once I’m home for good.

Merry Christmas In St. Thomas

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I hope everyone is continuing to have happy holiday season!  I know that booze and beaches don’t feel very winter-holiday festive to most of my readers, but to me they feel like home.  We’ve done lots of traditional food and family this year too.  If Adam had been home this would have been my perfect Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Saturday morning, after my run, we met up with my aunt and cousins (the visiting set) for breakfast at Barefoot Buddha.  I got an iced coffee with Silk soy milk.

Barefoot Buddha is my favorite restaurant in St. Thomas (I ate the Bigfoot Bagel Sandwich on the morning of my wedding!) and our meal did not disappoint.  My mom and I split two sandwiches so we could get lots of flavor.

The wrap special had tons of veggies, sesame tofu, and a peanut sauce.

And the Bigfoot Bagel Sandwich had egg, turkey, turkey bacon, cream cheese, and a chipotle aioli.

Yum and yum.

The day was spent on holiday preparations and I ate a handful of carrots at one point for some crunchy energy.

Then it was time to celebrate.

My family has thrown a big (tequila shot flowing) Christmas Eve party for as long as I can remember and it felt a little strange not to have one this year.  But the visiting family came over for dinner and then a big group met for drinks at the Island Time Pub and it was nice in a new way.

We had Hanukkah dinner leftovers for dinner.

Salad,

a little bit each of pineapple chili salmon and sour cream dill salmon,

and more potato latkes.

I also had a 7-layer bar and a small slice of “crack pie” before we headed out.

Then I had a great time getting to drink and chat with a bunch of family and friends.  O-bomb shot,

black and coke,

jack and ginger.

Funny, I did not end up running Christmas morning 🙂

Christmas

Christmas with my parents was perfect, though Adam was very missed.

Great minds think alike – my mother and I ended up buying each other the same doxie pen!

While we unwrapped I had a coffee with eggnog,

and a cherry cordial straight from my stocking.

Then our visiting family came over for breakfast.

Turkey sausage,

egg and cheese casserole,

half a mini bagel with cream cheese,

and a piece of 7-layer bar.

Plus a piece of sour candy cane my cousins brought me later.

Then Christmas afternoon was spent on the water.

Fun fact – here is a (far away) shot of the beach where Adam and I got married!

A Christmas tradition is to spend the day in “Christmas Cove.”  There were 40+ boats all connected together but I never did get a good shot.

The crystal light-vodka-whatever I was handed may have had something to do with that.

Is there anything more perfect than Christmas at the beach?

After we washed off the salt, everyone went to my (St. Thomas based) aunt and uncle’s house for Christmas dinner.

Before we headed over I made myself a plate of apple slices and latkes,

but the combination of booze and sun must have hit me hard because I hit the fruit and cheese spread like there was no tomorrow.

Everyone was (lovingly) teasing me about the blog so I did manage to take a picture of every single (9!) cracker/cheese bite!

But I did keep my dinner plate simple.  One thing for health and one thing for fun.

A big pile of salad,

and a big pile of truffle mac and cheese.

The husband is going to be so very jealous; last year he finished off three plates of that macaroni!

After a long-long day we just had to squeeze in one more piece of festivity, so my mom and female cousins and I went out for girly embarrassing drinks.

That’s a virgin pina colada, and even sans alcohol it was a little too much for me.  Merry Christmas indeed!

Monday

Today is my last day on island, so I made sure to get an early start.  My amazing mother drove me to school before 8 so I could get in final run on the field.  ~1 +ish mile ran.  I forgot my sunscreen so I kept it short.  Now as soon as I get some party pictures e-mailed I’m off to soak up as much family time as I can.

Do you Christmas/Hanukkah traditions include any beach time?

Cheesy Bacon Horsey Dip

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I came up with his combination on a whim the morning of our holiday party and it ended up working perfectly. This dip is creamy and cheesy with just a bit of bite from the horseradish.  If you choose to omit the bacon and Worcestershire, 3-4 Tbsp of soy sauce would give a comparable yet vegetarian sense of umami.

We paired ours with pretzel chips and carrot sticks.

Cheesy Bacon Horsey Dip

Yield: 1.5 cups; Prep Time: 15 minutes

  • 8 oz package reduced fat cream cheese, softened
  • 1 and 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
  • 1/2 cup Miracle Whip or reduced fat mayo
  • 1/2 cup parsley, roughly chopped
  • 2 Tbsp prepared horseradish
  • 3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 5 slices turkey bacon, roughly chopped

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and use mixer on medium speed to combine.  Place in a covered container in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.

You could also use a food processor but be careful not to overmix; you want some chunks of bacon embedded throughout.

Primed to Party

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We have got –

a) a problem
b) a packed to-do list
c) a party
d) a profound preference towards alliteration
e) all of the above

If you guessed (e), you’re correct!  Adam and I have the problem of being crazy people because we stayed up past 2am doing absolutely nothing.  This morning got off to a late, rough start, but our day was packed full of to-do’s to prep for tonight’s party.  We are almost set up and I’m all packed for tomorrow to boot.

Today was a double smoothie sort of day.  First, another round of berry chocolate mint.

For two, 2 cups chocolate mint soy milk, 2 cups frozen strawberries, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, and 6oz 0% plain Greek yogurt.

My second smoothie was a (soy) nog delight.

For one, medium frozen banana, 1 cup Silk Soy Nog, 3 Tbsp malted milk powder, and a handful of ice.

Plus nibbles while we got ready for the party.

I’ll see y’all on the other side, from St. Thomas!

Note – I will probably be blogging every other day or so on vacation (my parents don’t have internet).  If my first post is Monday morning, that doesn’t mean my plane crashed.  But thanks in advance for thinking safe thoughts for me!

I Wish I Was In Hawaii

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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.

A few pieces of sweet and sour chicken,

and veggies picked from a chicken dish.

I got a lot of work done this afternoon and I definitely have to give credit to my student partner –

Dinner was a shrimp roll.

Plus fruit as an apple with Justin’s Maple Walnut Butter.

And veggies in the tasty form of Hawaiian Inspired Greens.

Click here for a link to the recipe, it’s a good’un.

I ate my dinner way to early in the evening and ended up doing some (unneccessary) snacking as the night wore on.  Popcorn,

and a few pieces of Almond Rocca.

Think smart thoughts for me tomorrow?

Presenting ..

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I had an important test today (it didn’t go well, but that’s another story) so I got up early to do some studying at Starbucks.  Just as I was about to head out, Adam called.  He’d left his pager at home and needed me to wait for him.  At first I was annoyed; I needed every minute of studying I could get.  But then I realized that he had a pager because he’s going to be a doctor, and that’s amazing.  So I got over it.

When I finally did get to Starbucks at 6am I got myself a gingerbread latte.

Actually, I ordered a plain non-fat latte and added 1 Tbsp of gingerbread syrup from home.

Shhh.

When I left at 7:30 I did buy an actual fancy drink though, a short, non-fat, salted caramel hot chocolate.

The flavors in this feel very complex and gourmet for a coffee joint, but it’s pretty rich so the short size is perfect.

I also ate some leftover fruit salad.

Then I failed took my test, got myself in a tizzy applying for several jobs and internships, and did my group presentation on cultural food patterns.  Our country was Ireland so we all dressed in green.

We also brought in Irish soda bread for the class to try.

In addition to my slice I ate a Peppermint Stick Clif Bar.

This flavor was good, but not great like I was hoping it would be.

After class I had so much nervous energy I needed to burn off that I actually went to the gym!  30 minutes on the elliptical, level 6 random.

I got home at 3:30 and had to unpack, shower, change, and eat dinner before my 4:15 orthodontist appointment, so this meal was quick but good.

My amazing turkey sandwich was 2 slices of toasted rye with cranberry relish, 2 slices of Applegate Farms roasted turkey, and 1 oz of reduced fat cream cheese.

Cream cheese on a sandwich is where it’s at.

I also had a pile of roasted green beans on the side.

I had less than 8 minutes to shovel my food in and this still tasted good!  And I’m glad I did an earliest bird dinner because my teeth don’t feel like chomping with my new retainer set.

Webster and I are going to take a walk down Elmwood to pick up a friend and then she’s coming back here so we can work on yet another presentation.  Exam week won’t be fun, but I still going to be so relieved when we have our last class of the semester on Thursday!

Which “fancy drink” are you going to Starbucks for this winter?

Long Dog In A Little Coat

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Sorry I keep disappearing.  No one actually cares besides my mom, but she really cares! (Sorry, mom!)  My personal school semester seems to have ended two weeks ago, and since real school runs until December 15th it’s been sort of a problem.

But today was busy.  So busy in fact, that I woke up at 7:30 but didn’t have my first bites sips until after 10am.

A mug of White Christmas tea with 1/4 cup of eggnog.

The tea contained peppermint and ginger so all of my favorite holiday flavors were present in this mug.

My morning included dog walking, house decorating and grocery shopping.  Then I took a quick break for lunch.

This open-faced sandwich was stupendous.  I topped a thick slice of bread with cranberry relish, some shredded rotisserie chicken, and a few slices of melty sharp cheddar.

The tang from the cranberries paired really nicely with the cheddar.

Adam had to go to the mall to replace his eyeglasses (Webster) so I tagged along.  We also finished up the last of our Christmas shopping and cashed in a coupon at DQ.

I got a mini candy cane chill blizzard. There were little pieces of crunchy peppermint throughout and I loved it.

The flavor and texture actually reminded me of that great peppermint stick chocolate bar Adam and I ate last week.

We made a quick stop at home to pick up the little destructor and then we headed to Pet Smart.  Someone has been getting chilly on walks.

Oh. My. Goodness.  I don’t even have the words to describe how cute Webster looks in his new sweater (thanks, mom!).  Sidenote – every single time we go out on a walk someone/many people comment on how cute Webster is, so I always tell him that he’s “the toast of the town.”  Then today I got to ask how The Toast liked feeling toasty!

My evening included coffee cake cooking, more cleaning, and dinner.

We split a bag of Bird’s Eye garlic cauliflower,

and made a batch of Rachael Ray’s Beer-Braised Meatballs.

I subbed in turkey meat and chicken stock for the beefy bits, but otherwise followed the recipe.  We think this one’s a keeper.

And for dessert I tried a small slice of the coffee cake.

Pretty good.  I’m actually not the hugest coffee cake fan but I’m hosting book club tomorrow and I needed a brunch-appropriate cake (we read I Was Told There’d Be Cake).

Are you a pet dressed?  I’m not really into it (my mom tried to buy Webster a bandana of the month club and we staunchly put our feet down) but the dog seems kind of wimpy and I don’t want him to be unhappy on walks.

Happy Thanksgiving

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We’re in Miami!

Can I just say, how little I did I manage to pack for two people for four days?

And that’s with the husband’s giant boy clothes taking up extra space.

Our day of travel went smoothly, minus my yogurt (in a perfect peanut butter jar!) getting tossed at security. We slept though the first flight and then spent three hours walking around the Chicago airport.

We got a strange 8am meal, splitting a Baja chicken burrito from Burrito Beach.

I asked for chicken, red rice, black beans, corn, cheese, sour cream, and roasted veggies.

Supplemented with a tangerine packed from home.

I was pleased with the job I did packing food for this trip.

(Adam also had a downright gourmet salad in my backpack.)

I ate a sandwich – Applegate Farms Turkey Bologna, Crofter’s Grape Spread, everything Bagel Thin – on flight number two.

Plus Peanut M&Ms bought from the airport.

I also started reading the all time funniest book ever on the plane.

Clearly Webster liked it too.  I laughed aloud so many times I’m sure our seatmates were thinking of muzzling me.

Before we knew it, we were on the ground and hugging my parents at the gate.  We are so freaking excited to be with them (especially in Miami!).

Our first stop was a nice walking tour of our old haunt, the U!

So fun to see how the campus had changed in little ways.  I will admit to becoming a bit nostalgic when we walked past the building where I took all of my English classes.  Plus it’s fun that Adam and I got to date here for four years.

Our next stop made my heart sing.

Self-serve froyo is high on my list of things to be thankful for!  I did keep the serving small though (we were about to head out to a nice Turkey Day dinner!); dolche de leche and taro froyo with fruit, a smidge of marshmallow, sprinkles, and lots of popping bobba.

If we manage to sneak in a froyo every day of the visit I think this will end up being the best vacation ever.

For dinner we headed to the Chart House.

The shirt that Adam has on here is actually the one he got married in!!!

I started my meal with a Blue Moon.

And a really great roll with butter.

And for dinner I went traditional.

Sliced roast turkey,

cornbread stuffing,

mashed potatoes,

cranberry relish,

and creamed spinach.

The spinach was soooo good, but overall I probably ordered the wrong thing since I actually hate most Thanksgiving foods.  I only ate a 1/3 or so of my plate; but at least I won’t have regrets about “missing”anything, and Adam is thrilled with his plate of leftovers.

My meal came with pecan pie.

But there wasn’t a preference issue that kept me from eating this, the pie was just plain nasty.  Store-bought (crappy store-bought) pie, Chart House?  You can do better.

But what really matters on Thanksgiving is family, and I got to spend the day with my three favorite people.  And I hope all of you, Americans or otherwise, got to spend the day with your nearest and dearest too.