Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy

I made myself a smallish breakfast because I could tell today was going to be a snacky day, and sure enough at 11:30 –

1.5servings of ‘Smores Goldfish.

They were pretty good, but nowhere as good as lunch.

This sandwich was indeed pretty killer.  A pretzel roll with ~2oz sliced turkey, a slice of green tomato, hot pepper peach preserves, and ~1/6 of a slimcado.

The mix of textures and flavors here was amazing.

I didn’t misspeak by the way, that really is a slimcado and not an avocado.  I did a bit of research, and the slimcado has 50% less fat and 35% fewer calories.  Regular avocados are grown in California and slimcados are grown in Florida; the difference in growing enviroment gives them slightly varied properties.

Have you ever tried a slimcado?

The Brock Brought It

I actually ended up passing out without eating dinner yesterday, so that’s where the evening post was.  Do you ever get too tired for dinner?

Today was the first day (of many days) of moving.  Ugh, ugh, ugh!  We’d want to use the moving truck only for things that have to be moved by truck, so we are trying to get all the little stuff over there this week.  Today we made a big dent in the office.  My eats were kind of all over the place, as I imagine they will be this entire week.  At least I’ve found that moving will be a more than adequate workout 🙂

Maple Walnut Cookie Bar.

12oz Jamocho shakes, a la birthday month gift certificates.

Wegman’s salad bar.

Goat cheese stuffed zucchini blossom,

broccoli and wok seared veggies,

sweet and sour chicken.

I quickly realized that I had taken too much food, but the husband was more than happy to finish off the last 1/3 for me.

My greatest creation, another sundae bowl.

Usually I make these with a little bit of homemade key lime pie ice cream and a lotta bit of 0% Plain Oikos, but today’s ratio was the reverse, making it more of an actual sundae.  Topped with blackberry topping and a grumbled graham square.

This was also the last of the ice cream, I’d be lying if I said I’m not a little heartbroken.

Dinner was very late but also exciting; a trip to JP Bullfeathers for the sandwich I’ve been dreaming about the past month.

The Brock – a turkey paninni with cole slaw and 1000island dressing.

It was just as delicious as I’d imagined but 10:30 was a little late for dinner so I ended up eating half and bringing the rest home.

Tomorrow is going to be another full day, we want to move all our storage bins and I’ve got a paper due on Monday.  I hope everyone else is having a good weekend!

Which sandwich topper do you prefer: cole slaw or sauerkraut?

Culinary Confusion

I ate a sundae for breakfast and breakfast for lunch, how’s that for traditional?  Really though, it doesn’t matter how “normal” a meal is, as long as it is healthy and tasty.  And breakfast and lunch both were!

My sundae bowl yesterday was so wonderful that I had to do a repeat.

0% Plain Oikos, a little bit of homemade key lime pie ice cream, blackberry sauce, and crumbled graham cracker.

I seriously fall more in love with the ice cream every time I taste it!

Breakfast lunch featured some favorites as well, hash browns and pizza eggs.

For the hash browns I chopped up a small handful of baby red potatoes then fried them in 1T Smart Balance with salt and paprika.

Tasty, but next time I’d let them cook longer and get those crunchy brown bits.

Pizza eggs are a favorite, and so simple!  2 eggs + 1oz extra sharp cheddar + 10 slices turkey pepperoni + 1/4 cup marinara sauce = taste perfection

Mmmn-mmm-mmmn!

What is your favorite way to eat potatoes?  Mine is oven baked fries.

Get On The Train

No, not that train.

The gravy train!  (which is a bit of a misnomer here as well, but just roll with it).

Actually, first I’ve got to go back to that sundae I talked about in the last post.

When I posted I had just sat down to eat my sundae, but I hadn’t really dug in yet.  Oh-My-God!  That thing was insane!  I couldn’t decide what the best part was, everything was good, but together it was fantastical!  Siggis yogurt is so thick that it’s basically firm, the key lime pie ice cream is the best thing I’ve ever made, and something about turning the blackberries into topping seemed to make them practically seedless.  I think it was the combo of just a little sour, just a little sweet that pushed it over the edge for me.  So here is your homework; you pick one but if you do all three you’ll give yourself an A++

  1. Ignore the shockingly high, “what, I don’t have rent to pay?!?” price tag and buy yourself some Siggis yogurt.
  2. Buy the reasonably priced (because it’s such an investment) Pie, Pie Pie: Easy Homemade Favorites, by John Phillip Carrol and make the blackberry topping that is supposed to go on the Blackberry Sour Cream Pie.
  3. Get hitched so you can get an ice cream maker via registry, then make Rachael Ray’s recipe for Key Lime Pie Ice Cream.

Now that you have your homework, back to the gravy!

I told you I had a strange dinner in the works – an open-faced turkey sandwich with gravy.  Very traditional and yet very unorthodox for our house.  I topped a piece of beer bread with thick sliced turkey breast and provolone, put it into a 450* oven until the cheese was nice and melty, then topped the whole thing with fat free turkey gravy.

It was delicious but the flavor wasn’t quite what I was going for, I’m not sure what was missing.  The husband loved it though.

We also had big plates of green bean fries on the side.

Other than okra, green beans are my favorite veggie to roast.

And some Dove dark chocolate for dessert.

What is the most “traditional” meal you’ve prepared lately?

P.S. I don’t know what kept this meal from being filling but Adam and I both got more to eat later on since we were both so flipping hungry!

Dinner at the Dollhouse

I think I actually did pretty well on my test 🙂  But the amount of work to be done in the next three days is frankly a bit scary.  I’m decompressing before my nose hits the grindstone by watching Dollhouse with the husband.

Did you catch my vegan challenge recap?  This breakfast is so tasty that even though it’s vegan it’s the only thing I wanted.

A serving of Van’s Buckwheat with Berries waffles with my Berry Breakfast Topping.

I used Silk Almond Milk, a peach and some blueberries in my topping.  It is just so good!  Like at how juicy and big the berries get –

The rest of my day was decidedly UNvegan.

While we were out getting his new phone the husband bought me Coldstone.  I went with a kid’s size Oreo filling ice-cream with a Reeces Peanut Butter Cup mashed in.

It was the perfect amount, I’m so glad they let me get a kids instead of the “small.”

We still haven’t gone to the grocery store since our roadtrip, so dinner came courtesy of the bar downstairs.

My turkey grill had turkey, tomatoes, jack cheese, and 1000island dressing on sourdough; no butter on the bread.  With fries.

If I’m getting fat it’ll be on french fries please, not soggy fried bread; don’t be afraid to request modifications when ordering in a restaurant.  I was a bitter waitress for years but I never minded when people championed for their health.

What modifications do you make to restaurant orders?  I usually just throw away the bread, but when I plan on eating it I ask for no butter.  I also ask for things like Hollandaise sauce on the side.

Boston, Bubbles, and Boats

It’s been another fabulous day here in Boston!  I’m feeling much better, thank goodness.  I was nervous that my episode last night was the start of some sort of illness but it seems like I just reacted to something I ate.

Nikki had to work today so Adam and I were on our own in the morning.  We wandered around Coolidge Corner and ended up stopping in at b.good for a late breakfast. 

I’ve seen this fresh fast food spot on blogs before and I was thrilled to get to try it myself.  Adam and I split a meal because we were so close to eating lunch at that point.

We got a turkey burger west side style (avocado, cilantro, tomato, and chipotle salsa).

And steamed veggies.

The husband got an amazing tasting chocolate shake,

but I went with water to try to rehydrate.

Afterwards we met up with our friend Ian and hopped on the T.  We wandered around Kendall (?) and saw some fun buildings.

And ultimatly went to lunch at The Black Sheep in the Kendall Hotel.

They had cute sheep decor,

and we sat on the porch in the sun.

I went with the Kendall salad – “baby spinach leaves tossed in our tangy maple vinaigrette, sprinkled with candied pecans, crumbled blue cheese, and marinated green apple slaw”

Delicious!  I think the combo of strong cheese and candied nuts on salad is perfection.

Next we headed up to Harvard Yard.  It was a gorgeous day and the geese were out with their babies.

We ended up laying out in JFK Park and goofing around.

Finally we headed in to explore civilization.  Adam got an amazing looking cupcake at Sweet (highly recommended by Tina),

but that wasn’t an option for me because I’d already spotted the…..bubble tea!

I got a frozen chai tea with boba.

So cinnamony and delicious!  It was pretty sugary though and I was trying to be careful with my stomach today so I deeply enjoyed half of it and threw the rest in the trash.

We headed up to Copley to pick Nikki up from work and went to sit outside Cafeteria for drinks.  I went with Diet Coke,

but I did steal the olives out of the husband’s martini.

We went from one adult activity to the next, Duck Tour!

The Duck Tour involves a land-water bus tour of important historical sites in Boston.  It was fun, but by the time we were done at 7:30 I was more than ready for dinner.

A final trip on the T took us to Common Ground where they, gloriously, had Abita Strawberry.

Sadly I wasn’t as impressed with the food selection.  I ended up ordering a fried chicken sandwich with honey mustard and swiss cheese.

I threw the bread away but finished 90% of the meat and fries.

Finally we headed back to the apartment to watch the Celtics game.  We might head out to a bar and I’m trying to convince everyone that frozen yogurt is in order but otherwise we’ll be having fun here.  Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Winner of a Dinner

My dentist appointment went great and my pearly whites are in tip-top shape!

However, my pre-appointment anxiety was enough that even with a clean bill of health already I plan on stepping up my flossing routine to more than a couple times a week!  I’m no Jessica Simpson, but sometimes I definitely phone in the effort.

I stopped on the way home and grabbed an insanely huge Big Gulp of Diet Coke (swoon) and it’s been work, work, work ever since.  Some of my accomplishments include –

  • purchasing a ‘welcome to the world’ gift for my newest niece
  • organizing my e-mail inboxes
  • submitting my health insurance waiver and other soon-to-be-a-freshman-again business
  • sending some blog e-mails
  • putting away 2 loads of laundry and unpacking from last weekend
  • making a pie, with a homemade crust
  • going to the grocery store to rebuy half the ingredients for the above pie
  • cooking a winner of a dinner
  • precooking most of tomorrow’s dinner

Whew!  Done, done, and done; don’t even tell me diet coke isn’t superwoman fuel 😀

“Lunch” never really happened (probably something to do with the Big Gulp caffeine buzz) but I did get a few snacks in there.  I was feeling particularly hungry when the husband came home this afternoon with leftover chips from a meeting but I stopped myself before I went big gulp on the chips by portioning some out onto a plate.

I also had an Amazing Grass packet, shaken together with 8oz of calcium + d oj and 5oz of H2O.

The packet was part of my secret valentine bloggie gift.  I wouldn’t say I liked the taste, but I didn’t mind it either, and the nutritional stats were amazing, tee hee.

Dinner was a last minute idea that ended up being an absolute winner.

Roasted asparagus [spritzed with evoo and salt, 25minutes @ 425*] as a side,

with Pizza Eggs!!!

I came up with the recipe on a whim because I had leftover egg whites to use up from the pie and I ended up telling Adam that this is my favorite thing I’ve ever made!

  1. I combined 1egg and 5whites with salt, pepper, and dried oregano and whisked everything together.
  2. Then I melted 1T of butter in a pan over medium-high heat.
  3. I poured the egg mixture into the pan and scrambled with a spatula until they were mostly set, 1minute.
  4. Finally I added 1/2 cup marinara sauce; 20pieces of turkey pepperoni, halved; and 2oz of extra sharp cheddar, chopped to the pan.  I stirred everything together for 1minute before removing from the heat and plating.

I took a break after dinner to start working on tomorrow’s dinner, and then it was time for dessert.

The pie is “Fresh Lime Pie” from the book pie pie pie; easy homemade favorites by John Phillip Carroll.  I can’t post the recipe for the filling here, but that is my very favorite baking book and I highly recommend that you purchase it.  I can, however, give you the recipe for the crust, because I subbed out the book’s recommendation for my own creation: Biscoff crust (recipe posted below)!

The ginger and lime flavor went together like pb&j or bread and butter!  I’ve been dreaming of this combination ever since I dipped Biscoff cookies into homemade lemon curd a month or so ago.  Be warned though, it was super sour.

Biscoff Crust, or Sweet Ginger Pie Crust

  1. Preheat the oven to 350*.  Place 3/4 of a stick of butter into a pie pan and put the pan into the oven while it heats.
  2. Meanwhile, crush a package of 30Biscoff cookies into fine crumbs.  A food processor would be the easy choice here, but dumping the cookies into a large heavy-duty baggie and crunching with a rolling pin works just as well.  Or if you’re really ghetto like me, you could use a plastic cup for your rolling pin.
  3. When the butter is melted dump the cookie crumbs into the pie pan.
  4. Use your fingers (don’t be a wimp!) to incorporate the melted butter into the crumbs, and then press the mixture so it spreads evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan.
  5. Bake for 11minutes.
  6. Let cool before adding filling to the crust.
  • the crust needs no further baking, but can withstand another 20minutes or so if the filling requires it
  • if you are using a flimsy single use pie pan it can be helpful to put it in and out of the oven on a baking sheet

I had a couple good, if not obvious, ideas whilst baking that I’d like to share.  1. Lay all of your ingredients out ahead of time so you’re sure you have what you need and everything runs smoothly.

2. Save the “shells” of juiced citrus to add some zing to glasses of water.

Do you have any baking tips to share?

Is Your Choice Behind Door A or Door B?

It’s been a great day of family fun; we played board games, watched the Discovery Channel, and I got to see my niece get her ballet pictures taken.

I brought my own breakfast from home (picked up from the hospital cafeteria at volunteering) so I was sure to have something healthy to start my day.

Quaker Instant Oats Express in Baked Apple.

This was actually seriously delicious.  I tend to avoid instant oats unless I’m traveling because of the added sugar but this ended up being a really nice treat.  And the fiber/protein content led to enough fullness that it was almost a trade-off for the sugar.

Unfortunately I just can’t jive with the waste of packaging or I would make this a regular thing.

Lunch was a 6inch turkey sandwich from Subway.

Topped with pepperjack, lettuce, tomato, green pepper, banana pepper, red onion, pickles, cucumbers, and honey mustard.

The worker was annoyed that I packed so much on but my sandwich ended up being tasty and filling.

I ate part of a small bag of Cheetos with my sandwich.

I only ate half, because I realized that with Cheetos the enjoyment-to-unhealthiness ratio quickly shifts from left to right.  I’m never going to stop eating crap completely, but I’m really trying to make an effort to regularly check-in with myself about whether or not the treat is worth it.  I think it’s (more than) ok to occasionally eat things with no health benefit, but it only makes sense if there is a happiness benefit.

On the way to the mall I sucked on a blow pop.

Why were we at the mall you ask?  Black light mini golf, duh!

They managed to squeeze 18 holes into the course.

I have a dorky child-of-the-80’s obsession with black lights and the aquatic theme was pretty tacky-fabulous.

After we worked up a sweat, of sorts, we headed to dinner. 

The in-laws’ pick was Cici’s Pizza, which was a new experience for the husband and I.  I was excited about the buffet aspect (I loooove choices and small tastes) but pretty disappointed in the lack of veggies.  I genuinely don’t understand only offering iceberg lettuce at a salad bar!  I will admit that I was pleased to see everything small-sized; the pizza pieces were tiny so you could try a bunch without eating too much.  I was super hungry but I didn’t want to go crazy so I decided to do two runs of healthy food first.

Small plate of salad.

Small bowl of chicken soup.

After I filled up a bit on soup and salad, then I got pizza.

Sadly I wasn’t really in love with either of these, the crust was pretty soggy and disappointing.  I ended up picking at 2/3s or so before moving to dessert.

Dessert, however, was pretty darn good.

I skipped the soggy crust but I loved eating the strusel topping and the cinnamon roll was great, super duper cinnamon-y.

Unfortunately I did too good of a job not overeating; I ended up not eating enough!  When I got home I broke out a Fruit and Nut KIND bar from my from-home-snack stash.

Holy yum!  KIND bars are always good but this flavor was socks rocking delicious; I love that the use apricot in addition to dates for stickiness.

There will most likely be some snacking tonight, I’ll recap in the morning.  Hope everyone else is having a great weekend!

Veggies eaten today: ~2cups

What is your thought on “treats” (candy, cookies, chips, extra cheese, or whatever your preference is)?  Should you cut them out completely, enjoy in moderation, or go hog-wild?  What works, or doesn’t work, for you?