Tag Archives: veggies

What Was Lunch?

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I felt like today’s dinner and lunch sort of became an ambiguous blob that spread out across the afternoon.  I kept eating different pieces and it was hard to tell where one meal ended and the other began.  As you saw, I had a plate of cheesetastic mac and cheese around 2:00.

Then a while later I had a salad.

This was an especially good salad too.  A romaine base with 1.5 Tbsp of peanut sauce, 2 Tbsp of bloody mary peanuts, and a huge handful of chopped celery.

A while after that, I ate ~2 cookies’ worth of dough while helping Adam with some baking.

Next, I ate a bowl of leftover Hoppin’ John.

And finally I dipped Adam’s pizza crusts into diet pop, but didn’t snap a picture so you’ll have to use your imagination.  I’ll be honest that I planned on eating a bowl of ice cream too, but somehow that one got away from me.

Off With A Thud

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2012 started off with a resounding … thud!  We headed out this morning for a grocery trip, ran over a nail and saw blade (wtf?!), and spent the rest of the afternoon changing the husband’s tire and getting it patched.  Whoops!  In the spirit of being a more positive person, I found a few Pollyanna-type takeaways from our flat –

  1. Thank goodness the tire wasn’t rusted to the axle like the ones on my car, and we were able to change to the spare by ourselves (in the Wegman’s parking lot!).
  2. Since we were spending the afternoon at Mr. Tire we took my car in as well for winterizing, a task we had been putting off.
  3. I probably wouldn’t have spent the day cleaning the entire house, working out like a madman, or changing my entire life anyways; and having the excuse of being stuck with the car means I don’t have to feel bad about not doing those things!

Before the bad thing happened, I made myself a cup of White Christmas tea with skim milk.

I was starving at the grocery store and I’m glad I managed to grab some food from home before we headed out for three hours at Mr. Tire.  Adam and I each got a 1 oz serving of Lord Nut’s spicy bloody mary peanuts.

The nuts were a Christmas gift from my mom. 

They were good; the flavor was spot on but not too spicy for Adam.  My 2nd snack was also a Christmas gift.

Lara Bar kindly sent me some samples of their newest flavor, Cappuccino!

I think it is actually my newest favorite flavor.  This tasted the least like dates (my only complaint about Lara Bars is that some flavors are too strong with date) and the coffee flavor was there without being overwhelming.

We spent part of our wait-time wandering around outside in the rain, and ended up at Mustachio’s for slices of cheese pizza.

Also fun, when we stopped at the Co-op on our way home I managed to snag a sample of mint swirl brownie.

Sweet!

Since 2012 didn’t have the most auspicious start, I’m glad we ate a dinner geared towards bringing us luck.

We followed Jenna’s recipe for Hoppin’ John, with a few changes –

  • mixed everything together rather than making a relish
  • replaced two of the plum tomatoes with tomatillos (<– I highly recommend this change, it gave the dish a nice citrus flavor)
  • substituted brown rice with forbidden black rice for extra luck!

And if it wasn’t lucky, at least it was healthy and tasty.

Our plans for the rest of the evening include Netflix Instant Watch and this skillet cookie my sister-in-law gave us for Christmas.

2012, bring it on!

How’d you spend the first day of the new year?

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.

St. Thomas to Buffalo

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Monday

Yesterday was the perfect last day on island.

I got to see some of my favorite people and eat some of my favorite things.

I tried to eat this honey fig Oikos for breakfast.

The flavor seemed like something I would love but one bite in I was twisting up my face in disgust. Why so sour?!?

Instead I ate some leftover crack pie.

And an old-fashioned strawberry candy for good measure.

My unorthodox breakfast didn’t matter, because I had something good coming for lunch.

Chicken patty!

Pattys (pronounced like pate) are fried dough stuffed with spiced meat.

Amazing. The dough is chewy and the filling (usually beef or saltfish, but sometimes salmon or even veggies) is always tender and perfectly seasoned.

My parents and I spent the afternoon walking around downtown with my visiting aunt, uncle, and cousins. Important note – some of the best foods from my childhood are found in town and I spent the rest of the day eating myself silly.

The #1 best thing I had all vacation was this glass of soursop (guanabana) juice.

I never find soursop in the states but it will always be my favorite fruit. It’s sweet and almost creamy.

A while later I bought a fraco with milk (shaved ice with sweetened condensed milk).

I went with tamarind and passionfruit, more local flavors.

I only could handle half of it but that’s really all you need.

And for my final drink of the afternoon we cracked open a jellynut (aka a green coconut).

The water was more sour than I prefer, but I grabbed a long spoon and scraped out all of the sweet flesh.

That evening my parents and I headed back into town so we could eat dinner at Gladys’ Cafe.

I started with a slice of bread with butter.

And a bowl of callaloo (a thick soup made with spinach and okra).

My meal was the special plate, and it was exactly what I was craving.

Mac and cheese,

cole slaw,

rice and beans,

fried plantains,

and stewed chicken.

I could get past the bones to eat much chicken, but I stirred my rice and beans into the sauce and was in heaven.

We ended our evening with a glorious walk down the waterfront.

For nighttime entertainment I headed back to my high school friends’ apartment.

Vodka/something, x2.

Several old friends were there and I was so glad to get to see everyone. Adrien found his old year book which was perfect and hysterical. They were Adam’s grade, so no pictures of me, but I did see a few great ones of the husband!

Tuesday

Today I had to head back to Buffalo; which did at least mean a rendezvous with Adam.

The food situation today was pretty bad. That’s what 13+ hours in the airport will do!

In the St. Thomas airport I ate a johnny-cake with cheese.

On flight 1 I read this book.

In the Miami airport I wandered.

And got drawn in by this sign –

I actually ended up buying a very healthy sandwich.

As well as a very decadent sounding slice of cake.

The dulce de leche did not disappoint!

When I wasn’t eating on flight 2, I was reading.

After a quick scamper through Chicago I was on flight 3 starting my third book.

And before I knew it, I was home with the husband.

We stopped at Moe’s on the way home to pick up a quick and healthy dinner.

After my carb-filled day week I requested that they go light on the rice and cheese.  Topped with cilantro, green pepper, onion, mushrooms, and corn salsa.

Off to unpack I go!  P.S. It’s our fourth wedding anniversary tomorrow!

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?

STT; Wednesday Afternoon – Thursday Morning

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Wednesday

Yesterday afternoon I made another stop at the gym; woot!  I hopped on the treadmill for 9 sets of 2 minutes running/2 minutes walking.  36 minutes and 3 miles.  I’m going to need to make myself do some strength training soon, but for now I’m taking baby steps.  Plus, my legs got sore enough that I decided to make Thursday a day off.

After a shower, I was heading downtown for a mini-meet up my old school was hosting.  I hate going to things like that by myself; I am seriously the worst with faces.  I love getting to catch up with people but if I’m not with a friend to tell me who people are then it feels more stressful than fun.  Thankfully (ha!) there really was no one I knew there, just a bunch of younger kids.  I met up with one friend from my class and we quickly fled in seach of dinner.

Crystal – a high school friend that I am thrilled is visiting the same time as I – and I headed over to Benny Iguanas, the new location of a sushi place that was very popular back in the day.  I started with a tofu/veggies miso soup.

And got a cucumber-avocado roll for my meal.

The catching up was better than the food, but the meal wasn’t terrible.

Thursday

I started this morning with dessert.

Plus a little of this –

And some of this –

The holiday season just isn’t complete without some “Carebears Nutcracker.”  Though it’s possible that I “borrowed” that DVD from a Blockbusters in Brooklyn 3 years ago!

I also had breakfast.

A 2% Pineapple Chobani with a sliced banana.

And now I’m heading to lunch with my mom, hopefully for more sushi!

How do you feel about high school reunions?

STT; Tuesday Afternoon – Wednesday Afternoon

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Tuesday

Yesterday afternoon I ran some errands with my mom during her break.  Including getting me a small square of macaroni and cheese for lunch.

West Indian style mac ‘n cheese is baked with cheese on top.  It’s fantastic, obviously.

Then I went downtown to run errands with my dad.  For this trip I made myself an iced coffee.

With skim milk and 1 Tbsp of gingerbread syrup.

During the afternoon I snacked on carrots,

and chocolate.

Then I made an effort not to be a total loaf this vacation and made dinner.

My parents are wimps so I had to sub two cans of tuna fish for sardines, but other than that I followed my recipe for Sardine Mushroom Tomato Sauce.

With roasted squash and okra on the side.

I never could find good okra in Buffalo this fall, I can’t even tell you how excited I was to spot it here.

I spent the evening baking with my mom, but since my retainers were in no nibbling occurred.

And to my Jewish readers – Happy Hanukkah!

Wednesday

I started this morning with some stewed tamarind.

Tamarind has this unique, tangy yet earthy taste.  It has lots of seeds so whether you are eating it stewed or straight from the pod you have to be careful.  The best way to eat it is to swish a bite around your mouth (without chewing!) and then spit out the seeds when the flesh is gone.  Looking very ladylike I’m sure.

I also ate a leftover serving of whole wheat penne with 1.5 tsp of olive oil, a shake of salt, and a sprinkle of parmesan.

Plus two 7-layer bars,

and more chocolate.

I didn’t realize until I stated writing this post, but I’ve kind of eaten nothing but pasta and chocolate for the past 24 hours!!  I’m heading to the gym this afternoon and I guess I’ll make veggies a priority for dinner!

Now I’m back at school, trying to catch up on e-mails and eating this Greek Gods honey Greek yogurt.

P.S. No Window Shopping Wednesday this week.  With all the wishlist posts floating around it just felt a little tired.  I’ll be back with it after Christmas, next week.

Have you ever tried tamarind?  If you’ve eaten any authentic Thai the answer is probably yes, it’s often used in Pad Thai.

STT; Monday Afternoon – Tuesday Morning

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Tuesday

When I was finished on the computer yesterday I went down to the gym with my mom.  I basically haven’t worked out consistently all year (fail!) but I’m hoping to kick start a routine during my extra free time this vacation.  Just in time for 2012 resolutions, eh?  Last night I did 40 minutes on the elliptical at random level 6, followed by 15 minutes on the stationary bike.

Then my mom took me to dinner at a salad bar.

The salad bar concept is fairly new in St. Thomas and people are more than just a little excited about it.  Between my near-daily Wegmans consumption and extreme Whole Foods lust I consider myself a bit of a salad bar connoisseur.  And this one was pretty good.

I got a small scoop of pasta salads,

a big scoop of cole slaw,

and romaine lettuce with a few chopped veggies (including lots of pickles!), raisins, peanuts, and vinegar for dressing.

And then my dad fed me this peanut brittle bar for dessert.

Monday

This morning I got up bright and early to catch a ride to the gym.  50 minutes on the elliptical at random level 3.  I brought a book to start but ended up just wanting to spend some time with my thoughts.

I got home around 8:30 and crashed into what felt like the most necessary nap ever.  I’m allergic to something in the air here and if my sniffles continue I foresee lots of naps.

Then I came back to school and snacked on a Jazz apple,

and some candy I stole from a teacher gift my mom got.

She’s the lower school (kindergarten – 5th) librarian at my old school and people are crazy about her.  You should see the kinds of looks I get here when people find out who my parents are.

As soon as my mom goes on her break I’m going to run some errands with her and try to find some lunch.  I’m making dinner for my parents tonight, so please think tasty thoughts for me!