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.

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.

en-lazed August 21, 2008

as my dad would call it. i shouldn’t dread blogging as much as i do, and i guess dread isn’t really the correct word to describe it. i just feel like it’s more of a chore than anything. it’s holding me accountable to what i eat and i’m grateful for that so i’m gonna have to come up with a way to make it more fun. obviously, once i get going it’s not so bad and i really have a lot to say. but writing has always held this mixed emotion for me, even though it remains the most eloquent and efficient way i’ve found to express myself just because of my generally perceived superior grasp of the english language (perceived to me at least)…

no more soapbox, i have food to post. i had a z-bar pre-workout yesterday.

but it was like 2 hours pre-workout. i was certainly not properly fueled for spin class yesterday and i found myself worn out after just the warm-up. to be fair, i really hit it hard starting out and didn’t really save any energy for the rest of class so i tried to stick with it as best i could but i wasn’t able to push myself as hard as i would have liked. i was really hungry afterwards, too. i wanted to make good on my promise to cook so i went about it normally but nibbled on a kashi peanut granola bar while everything was being prepped and cooked.

i made spicy bean stuffed bell peppers straight from the recipe on kath’s blog. they were absolutely delicious, i was super happy with the way they came out. they could have used a bit more time in the oven to fully roast the peppers but i mis-read the recipe and sprinkled the cheese on before i put them in initially instead of after the first 20 minutes just to melt it. i like my yellow bell peppers crunchy anyway.

it was hella spicy though. i used hot diced jalapenos (as opposed to medium or mild) and it gave the filling quite a kick. i could only finish one of those suckers and it definitely cleared my sinuses. my mouth was literally on fire after eating this and there is only one dessert in the world that will do after a spicy meal and that’s ice cream. i had 1/2c. of vanilla slow churn with some caramel tea cookies and a drizzle of sugar-free maple.

that settled my mouth and my tummy. and i can’t feel guilty about it because i was down 1.4 pounds this morning!

what to do August 8, 2008

i just read on prevention that keeping a food diary is even more effective if you log your food choices before you eat anything. until i get my act together and start keeping food in my own fridge again it’s not gonna happen. like last night, i went to mom’s house after working out and didn’t know what i was going to eat until i got there. it was whole wheat pasta with tomato/bell pepper sauce

my plan was to have only 1/2c. of pasta (and only that much because i was having a bottomless pit kind of day) and fill the rest of the bowl with pepper and avocado for volume. i did eat that and then 2 (3?) more spoonfuls because it was just so good. this is why i need to stay away from pasta, i just keep eating it!
that wasn’t even the biggest downfall of the night. i did not manage to avoid the movie snacks like i usually do and had a significant amount of popcorn plus peanut m&m’s. it was like i couldn’t stop myself. uggh…