mad skills September 9, 2008

i threw a little something together last night to use up the produce i just bought. i was pretty happy with the result. next time i will sautee the squash first and make the spinach layer a lot thicker. i’d also like to use black beans instead of the canned refried ones i used this time. other than that, this was a perfect way to use a lot of ingredients and have plenty of leftovers for the week. and quinoa is good.

i started with a layer of beans.

then i added the quinoa. it was only a 1/4c. (and i of course prepared it beforehand in boiling water).

uh, for some reason i didn’t photograph the next two green layers. i have nothing against my greens, these were both my favorites. i just got excited layering and skipped the photo… whoops. first it was a modest sprinkling of diced jalapenos from the can. i remember how friggin’ hot they were last time i used them with a grain (the bulgur bean stuffed peppers) so i went easy on them this time in order to take advantage of all the flavors i would be using. then i threw the spinach on after them. i really wish i had made a thicker layer of it.

next up was the squash. you can see the spinach underneath. again, i really i shoulda sauteed them first.

then i added a generous helping of corn.

a fresh diced yellow bell pepper…

and finally two fresh diced roma tomatoes.

here are all the layers before going into the oven.

i stuck it in there for 20 minutes at 450 and got perfectly roasted peppers and tomatoes and perfectly wilted spinach. had i made the other modifications it would have been perfect all around but it really was tasty just like this. i sprinkled the last of my shredded mozz right when i took the whole dish out of the oven so it melted very nicely.

here’s my portion topped with avocados and some of mom’s salsa with the leftover corn on the side.

day 2 September 5, 2008

i don’t really have a great plan for today, i need to buy food real bad.

5 September 2008

breakfast
overnight oats
-3/4c. oats
-1/2c. + splash almond milk
-vanilla + cinnamon
-1tbsp. slivered almonds
-1 chopped banana
-SF maple
2oz. vemma mangosteen supplement

lunch
i got nothing

snack
verve!

dinner
way up in the air

workout
jazzercise @430

not my favorite way to eat but all this situation does is challenge me to make better choices when i’m faced with them. hopefully i have a chance to pick up a few things today or tomorrow morning after i workout. my goal for tomorrow is to hit up the farmer’s market for fresh, local and cheap produce.

humble pie September 4, 2008

there’s this delicious pizza place literally a hop, skip and jump away from the office. i adore it. i packed the butternut squash soup, the bell pepper slices, salsa, cheese and cookie this morning but i knew when i was planning last night that those items by themselves wouldn’t be a sufficient lunch because it was seriously lacking greens. that’s why i had the idea to takeout a salad from somewhere. then i remembered the last time i ate at humble pie and how much i loved the veggie salad. i ordered a half-size for pickup and drove on over about 2 minutes later. when the weather is nice i will definitely walk. but i will walk nowhere in 100+ degree heat. even for vegetables. the salad itself contains avocado, jicama, green beans, tomatoes and mozzarella on a bed of romaine with an awesome herb vinaigrette. perfect for my lunch side salad, really rounded out the meal.

also, i didn’t eat the string cheese stick because of the cheese in the salad so i still have it on hand in case i want it as part of my snack later. once i finish the cheese that’s left in my fridge i vow not to buy anymore. additionally, the salad came with a slice of sourdough bread which was convenient because i hadn’t packed any grains either. it was good, i tore off pieces of the crust to dip in the soup.

i have decided that i’m not a huge fan of butternut squash soup.

motivated! September 4, 2008

i’ve come up with a new plan. i would rather take extra time planning my meals and workout schedule for the day ahead than taking time to upload pictures of every last morsel i consume. so i’ll post each day’s plan and post pictures of interesting, original or particularly photogenic food throughout the day as i see fit. hopefully this will work, it seems like a plan i can stick to so i’m excited about it… at least for now.

4 September 2008
breakfast
overnight oats
-1/2c. oats
-3/4c. almond milk
-vanilla + cinnamon
-1/2 frozen/thawed mashed banana
-1tbsp. slivered almonds
-1 spoonful AB
-drizzle SF maple
smoothie to-go
-1c. almond milk
-1 frozen banana
-handful frozen strawberries
-2oz. vemma (mangosteen supplement)
-1/2tbsp. flax oil
lunch
about 1c. butternut squash soup
yellow bell pepper slices
1/4c. homemade salsa (for dipping)
1 string cheese
possibly a takeout salad?
1 uncle eddie’s vegan chocolate chip walnut cookie
pre-workout snack
lemon larabar
verve! energy drink with mangosteen
dinner
kashi entree – black bean mango
toasted ezekiel english muffin
dessert
1 wei of chocolate piece

workout
jazzercise @ 545p (x2?)… i gotta get ready for my workshop so maybe i’ll stick it out for two classes tonight. we’ll see how i feel after one.

i like being productive and having organized plans! and clean workout clothes

superstitions September 3, 2008

in this ladies… post the gals all discuss their sports superstitions and i got to thinking about mine. when i was in college and would go to basketball games i would always talk pre-game analysis and such with my dad from the arena on my cell. but i would never ever talk to him at halftime. he was the biggest jinx ever. he would call during the game, too, leave text messages and generally just try to get my attention but i have an ignore-my-phone policy while at live sporting events (if only to avoid him and his bad attitude towards my team). nowadays i refuse to watch games with my dad if we’re watching them on tv. he literally has to watch from another room because for whatever reason, if we’re watching it together our team loses. i just don’t like to talk about how the team is playing while the game is going on and this goes for any sport. i usually need to watch the games by myself so that nobody in the room is tempted to talk to me. i HATE answering questions during a game, plus i feel like it affects the team’s performance. these self-imposed guidelines are only for games i’m emotionally invested in. my hometown baseball and basketball teams and my alma mater football and basketball teams all rank high on my investment list.

random but fun!

blah September 3, 2008

clearly i’m supremely unmotivated to catch up on posting anything. i still want to but the fall tv show line-up is starting to heat up and now i fall asleep watching my recorded shows instead of going to bed early so i can workout in the mornings. there has to be a better way but i haven’t figured it out yet.

i feel pretty good about my food week so far, i’ve kept myself to one piece of chocolate after dinner and have even managed to squeeze in a lot of vegetables and greens. i desperately want to go to the farmer’s market this weekend for some good local produce. as unmotivated as i’ve been on the blog, it’s been even worse in the kitchen. i really have to get my act together because, though i’ve managed to avoid anything catastrophic so far, letting anybody else feed me is too potentially disastrous for my slimming efforts. it continues to be my personal challenge and something i will continue to struggle with every day…

blogging August 30, 2008

i don’t want to blog everything in one post. i’ve decided to spread it out over the course of the week. the good news is my pictures are now uploaded to my computer and they’re ready to be posted. it’s just a matter of me posting them. i’m just not feeling it right now. too much work for a saturday evening during this lazy labor day long weekend.

also, i’ve decided to unofficially participate in chandra’s 6-week weight loss challenge. i’m not going to send my name in but i plan on keeping up with it and making more of a concerted effort to lose weight during the next six weeks.

MIA August 28, 2008

i have food pictures from this weekend, i really do. i only slacked a little. i think i missed photographing 2 meals the entire time i was away. the only problem is i need to upload the pictures to my own laptop before i can post anything. usually i would do it from the work computer but there are too many to weed through. my camera is full of food/vacation pictures all jumbled together. the enormity of the task is making me kinda sick so that’s why i’ve been putting it off. but i solemnly vow to post everything i have, with details, as soon as i feel like sitting down at home and getting it all done in one sitting. because after one sitting i might give up. i was going to do it last night but then a movie came on and i decided to watch that instead. i have been itching to just sit and watch a movie for weeks but my i can’t get my dvd player to work and there are never any good ones on tv (i know because i’ve looked). so last night “no reservations” came on one of my hbo channels that i recently upgraded to get as part of my cable service and i kinda just dropped everything to watch.

kudos to me, though, for working out last night even though i felt like crap from eating too much at lunch. that was one of the meals that didn’t get photographed. it wasn’t bad stuff, just lots of it and i know better by now to scale down the portion sizes.

that’s all i got for now, pictures to come later.

i’ve gone too far August 22, 2008

i would have gone next door to pick up some lettuce for my lettuce wrap idea but my stomach was too hungry and decided it was too far to walk. so i just split this big bowl with dad. i ate about half and gave the rest to him.

and, for good measure, a close-up of all the goodness this bowl of spicy bulgur madness has to offer.

for the record, step class was ok. i was more concerned with getting the steps right than keeping my heart rate up so i’ll need to work on that if i go back but i was sweating the whole time and we finished the class with some killer weightlifting.

today i’m going to bodyfit at 430 for some more killer work with free-weights. immediately afterwards me and my workout buddies have plans to enjoy ladies night at a wine bar nearby. my sisters are invited, too, so i hope they come! it should be a fun night.

kale chip disaster August 22, 2008

my first attempt at making kale chips failed miserably. i don’t think i put enough kale pieces on the cookie sheet because they came out crumbly, like melt-in-your mouth crunchy and not in a good way. also, they were WAAAAAY too salty, it ruined the flavor of the kale. i sprinkled on quite a bit of salt because i was afraid i wouldn’t like kale’s natural flavor. i was wrong.

i’m going to try again soon because i have a ton of kale sitting in the fridge now that i need to use. here’s last nights batch before going into the oven.

and close-up, bathed in salt and olive oil.

fresh out of the oven on my plate along with my chick’n sandwich.

you can totally see the salt concentrations… it makes me gag just looking at how salty they were. my sandwich was good though. it was a chick’n patty on an ezekiel english muffin with a tiny sprinkle of mozzarella (that i couldn’t even taste) and some spicy mustard.

i was probably full after just eating that but i was so disappointed in the kale chip disaster that i craved something creamy and cool and sweet. i compromised by adding a tbsp. and a half of agave nectar to some soy yogurt and pairing it with kashi h2h and slivered almonds. so really it was a trio of things in there, (not counting the agave) not a pair.

friday morning dawned bright and early today. after my shower i was hungry so i dipped into my cantaloupe.

lots of fresh juicy cantaloupe and i ate it all. cantaloupe is my all-time favorite favorite fruit ever. of all time. i love it so much that last statement wasn’t even redundant.

i wasn’t so hungry after all that cantaloupe but i packed some grapes and an almond butter & banana sandwich for mid-morning.

having eaten all of that i should be stuffed. but i’m definitely already hungry for lunch. i’m excited to share something i’ve actually cooked myself with my dad. i had a ton of stuffing left over the other night from the spicy bean stuffed peppers. i brought the filling to work with me today and plan to run next door for some lettuce we can wrap it in for spicy lettuce wraps! i know he’ll love them because they’re really hot and he likes jalapenos.