Notes On Things (and things of note)

• Listening to my iPod in alphabetical order by song has proven to be a better song shuffler than the "shuffle" option itself.
• Upon listening to my iPod in this way has also proven to me that many artists have blocks of songs starting with the same letter.... here's me: "Hm, I haven't heard any Muse in awhile."  Here's my iPod, on the letter "S": 8 Muse songs (I'm only up to "G", *sigh*)
• For some reason, 8GB of music is not enough and I struggle every time I want to put new music onto my iPod with the decision of what songs to leave behind, as if I will never hear them again.
• Discovering Pinterest has made my days at work far less boring.  Follow me here
• With my current obsession with Cookie Butter (and the unfortunate discovery of it being sold at my local Whole Foods store), it's a terrible thing to have found this (don't worry, I'll  make it soon.):
• I have a friend crush on my Zumba instructor.  We should totally be bffs, if only because we live in the same town (and all my other friends live 25-50 minutes away).  Found out that her b-day is the day before mine!  We should hang out.  All.The.Time.
• I have too many places I want to go before the world ends end of the year, how to decide?!?
• One of those places is North Carolina.  I miss my old bestie.
• Another place is Montana.  I miss my physics friend.
• Neither of those states were ever on my bucket list until I had friends move there (p.s. please come "home").
• For some strange reason, I like planning things.  Camping trips, Costa Rica vacations, birthday parties, dinner... Am I a closet control freak?  Maybe.
• Currently planning my birthday (which happens to be the day before Easter this year, blah) here:
• When did volunteering become so tiring?  When my telescope operator training last night lasted until 11 pm, when it was scheduled to end at 9:30 pm.  And really?  How is learning the History of Telescopes (again) going to help me operate one?!?  Ok, I may just be super tired.  I was probably the only schmuck there who decided to start volunteering somewhere that takes 45 minutes to get to from their house.  But who's counting?  (That's actually less than my commute time to work, believe it or not)
• Thinking about buying a house-soonishly.  Any idea how much I need at contract signing?  20% isn't looking very feesible in Marin County, even with house prices on the low side.  Also, any idea how much additional monthly costs can range (for insurance, etc... anything that isn't the mortgage payment)?  Trying to create a budget is hard.

Cream Puffs - B-Day Girl Request #1

Ok, so I've never even considered making a cream puff before.  Although, admittedly, I find them absolutely delicious!  So, when one of my besties requested them as her special birthday dessert last weekend, I decided to take on the challenge (with a back-up plan, of course... Lemon Bar recipe to come).  I was a little hesitant, mostly because we were going out salsa dancing and I was nervous they would completely melt before anyone could have a chance to try one! 

I waited as long as I could to assemble them and once assembled, I threw them in the freezer (while my boyfriend and I went out for dinner). As we were heading out the door to make it to the salsa lesson before the party, I put them in a carrier with an ice pack, topped a few with toothpicks so the foil wasn't smooshing the chocolate glaze too terribly, and hoped for the best! The chocolate got a little smooshed, but not too bad and no one seemed to mind anyhow!

I didn't have a recipe on hand (I don't have many dessert or baking recipes in my big binder of recipes at home), so I took to the internet. I found the basic recipe on Joy of Baking's website and used the chocolate glaze from a different recipe I found on Cooks.com.  Yummy in the tummy!

Cream Puffs with Whipped Cream and Chocolate Glaze

Makes 12 small puffs

194 Cal, 14 g fat, 16 g carbs, 2.4 g protein, 68 mg sodium, 77 mg chol, 19% Vit A, 2% Calcium, 4% Iron

Ingredients:

Choux Pastry:

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon granulated white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup water

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Glaze:

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated white sugar, or to taste

Chocolate Glaze:

1/2 cup granulated white sugar

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 cup water

1 (1 oz) square unsweetened chocolate

Dash salt

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Choux Pastry:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly butter or spray the pan with a non-stick vegetable spray.

2. In a small bowl, sift (or whisk) together the flour, sugar and salt.

3. Place the butter and water in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. (Make sure that the butter melts before the water boils to reduce the amount of evaporation.) Remove from heat and add the flour mixture, all at once, and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Return saucepan to the heat and stir constantly until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a thick smooth ball (about 1-2 minutes).

4. Transfer the dough to your electric mixer (or hand mixer) and beat on low speed to release the steam from the dough (about a minute). Once the dough is lukewarm start adding the lightly beaten eggs (dough will separate and then come together) and continue to mix until you have a smooth thick paste (dough will fall from a spoon in a thick ribbon, this will take several minutes).

5. Spoon or pipe 12 small mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart.

6. With a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the dough with a lightly beaten egg (you can probably skip this step if you're planning on using the chocolate glaze, the glaze will cover up the nice shiny shell top anyhow - but it made for nice pictures).

7. Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350° F. Continue to bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes or until the shells are a nice amber color.

8. Turn the oven off, poke a couple of holes in each puff and, with the oven door slightly ajar, let the shells completely cool (and dry out).

Whipped Cream:

1. In a large mixing bowl place the whipping cream, vanilla extract, and sugar and stir to combine.

2. Cover and chill the bowl and whisk in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.

3. When chilled, whip the cream just until stiff peaks form (this took several minutes).

Chocolate Glaze:

1. In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Add water, chocolate, and a dash of salt. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly, several minutes.

2. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Cool to warm.

To Assemble:

1. Split the pastry shells in half with a sharp knife (should be completely dry inside).

2. Place the tops of the shells on a rack and spoon chocolate glaze over the top (I did this as a separate step to avoid melting the whipped cream by spooning over the top of the assembled shells).

3. Fill (or pipe) the shell bottoms with the prepared whipped cream.

4. Place the top half of the pastry shell on the whipped cream and refrigerate to keep cool. Enjoy cream puffs the same day you assemble (they become soggy on standing).



A Day In The Life... (Monday)

Hi, friends!  I decided to give you a little sneak peek into what a day in the life of me looks like on a Monday!  Don't worry, there will be plenty of food posts to come, I promise! 

• 5:00 am: Wake up, find clean gym clothes and get dressed (brr!), brush teeth, pull up hair and fasten bangs out of the face, locate book/ipod/gym towel/water bottle, wonder why this takes so long...
• 5:25 am: Warm up the car and drive to the gym
• 5:35-6:10 am: Read Clash of Kings while doing intervals on the elliptical, level 7 (-388 Cal)
• 6:10 am: Stretch and head back home
• 6:20 am: Hop in shower and quick rinse (washed hair last night), find something nice-ish to wear to work, pack breakfast/lunch/snacks, make coffee (thank you, Keurig!), pack gym bag and walking shoes, and head out
• 6:48 am: Walk down to the mailbox to throw in the Netflix we watched yesterday (Apollo 18, only 2 stars for that bad-boy) while the car re-warms up (yeah, it's that cold in the mornings still)
• 6:50-7:30 am: Commute to work, finish coffee (+5 Cal)
• 7:30 am: Catch up on work emails; fill up on mint tea
• 9:00-9:30 am: Morning meeting
• 9:30 am: Breakfast - 1 large organic banana (+105 Cal) and 1 hard-boiled egg (+78 Cal); I know I'm supposed to eat within an hour of waking up, I just never really have been a breakfast person
• 10:00 am: Workie workie; refill mint tea (sneak in a fun sized Twix bar, shh +80 Cal)
• 12:30 pm: Take a brisk walk around the block (-90 Cal)
• 1:00 pm: Read Tao of Physics while eating lunch - 3.5 oz chicken breast leftovers (+194 Cal), 3.5 oz sliced cucumber (+12 Cal), 2 oz sliced organic carrot (+26 Cal), 1 green onion (+5 Cal), 1/3 small organic avocado (+91 Cal), 1 tsp olive oil (+40 Cal), 1 Tbsp chopped dillweed (+0 Cal), juice of 1/2 lemon (+3 Cal)
• 3:00 pm: Snack - 6 oz cantaloupe (+58 Cal), 1 low-fat string cheese (+65 Cal)
• 4:00-4:15 pm: Tidy up desk, change into gym clothes
• 4:15-5:00 pm: Commute back to the gym
• 5:00-5:55 pm: Pilates (-200 Cal)
• 6:00 pm: Drive home, drink lots of water, shower
• 6:30-7:30 pm: Prepare and eat dinner - 1/2 large chicken breast (+147 Cal) marinated and grilled in 2 Tbsp Chaka's Zesty Sauce (+17 Cal) with a side of 1/2 head cauliflower (+72 Cal) smashed with 1/4 cup lactose free 2% milk (+30 Cal), 2 Tbsp romano cheese (+27 Cal), and 1/2 head of roasted garlic (+60 Cal)
• 7:30 pm: Take muscle relaxer for twitchy calf so I can sleep later, catch up on DVR'd shows (tonight it's the new show, Missing), enjoy dessert - Tofutti Cutie (+130 Cal)
• 8:30 pm: Take other pills for cramping calf so I can sleep later, do 15 minute hand weight routine (-43 Cal), wash dishes/clean kitchen from dinner, get lunch ready for tomorrow, catch up on Frozen Planet (Summer episode)
• 9:30 pm: Brush teeth, floss, face primping routine, crawl under the covers
• 9:45-10:00 pm: Try and fall asleep!

Total calories in:                                      +1,241 Cal
Total calories out (exercise):                        -724 Cal
Total calories out (mostly seated lifestyle): -1,782 Cal
Difference (Cal in-Cal out):                       -1,265 Cal

I wish I could say every day was this successful!  But I don't usually hit the gym 2x in one day... so there is that.  But today was pretty much a success, which is all I can count on!  Only 11 more lbs to meet my ultimate weight loss goal, then I get to start in on maintenance mode... we'll see how that goes!

Herbed Scallops with Couscous and Steamed Carrots

Hey, look at me!  I added a Print Friendly button to my posts so you can print out recipes with ease!  I also added an email widget so you can sign up to receive emails when I post.  If any of you like that sort of thing (as much as I do).

Now on to more important matters... food!  We made this gorgeous scallop dish a few Fridays ago with much success!  Look at that crazy nice sear down there - yum!  The secret was, of course, butter.  So from this point forth, I will most certainly be adding a smidge of butter to the oil I sear my scallops in.  In my house, we eat scallops about once a week.  We buy them in a huge bag from Costco (wild caught, of course).  A serving is really probably 3 scallops, but we up it to 4 per person since they don't have that many calories anyhow.  The recipe below is for the scallops alone, I have them pictured over a bed of Whole Wheat Couscous (cooked in chicken stock instead of water) topped with 10 steamed baby carrots (steamed in our rice cooker which came with a steam rack) and a sprinkle of the parsley that I've somehow kept alive in a pot on my patio all year round!

Herbed Scallops with Couscous (adapted from Family Circle's recipe)

4 servings

338 Calories, 14 g Fat (5 g sat, 2 g poly, 7 g mono), 78 mg Cholesterol, 311 mg Sodium, 17 g Carbs, 3 g Fiber, 35 g Protein

Ingredients
• 1/4 cup wheat flour

• 1-1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper

• ½ teaspoon dried oregano

• ½ teaspoon paprika

• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme

• 8 large sea scallops (approximately 13 oz.)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 tablespoons chopped parsley

• ½ lemon, cut into wedges

Directions

1. In a shallow dish or pie plate, mix flour, lemon pepper, oregano, paprika and thyme. Coat both sides of scallops in the flour mixture, shake off excess and set aside.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil and the butter over medium-high heat. Saute the scallops for about 3 minutes per side or until nicely browned and cooked through. Set scallops aside on a plate and keep warm. (when doubling this recipe, cook your scallops in 2 batches so as not to overcrowd the pan)

3. Garnish with parsley. Serve with lemon wedges, couscous, and cooked baby carrots on the side, if desired.

Sausage, Basil, and Mustard Pasta

It's been so long since we made this, I almost forgot how yummy it was!  Yummy enough to warrant a picture with a big, fat glare on it - oops!  That's what happens when it gets dark before dinnertime so I have to use a flash.  That's Trader's Joe's garlic bread taking up half the plate over there.  Yeah, I know.  It totally cancels out all the calories I saved up all day, but man is it good!  (Check the freezer aisle and eat it ASAP. Maybe try and split amongst 4 people instead of 2 like we do)  We might just have to make this again soon, it's so easy on a weeknight after Zumba, for example.  Plus, mustard?  Love it!  I always put it in my mac and cheese, but it really pairs well with the white wine in the sauce for this recipe.  Enjoy!

Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Mustard (adapted from Food and Wine)

2 servings

410 Cal, 9.8 g fat (1.7 g sat, 0.8 g poly, 2.9 g mono), 90 mg chol, 277 mg potassium, 940 mg sodium, 48 g carbs (2.5 g fiber), 30 g protein, 5% Vit A, 7% Calcium, 3% Vit C, 14% Iron

 

Ingredients

• 4 ounces macaroni
• 1-1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 ounces chicken or turkey sausage, crumbled (such as Isernio’s Hot Italian Chicken Sausage)
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup fat free half and half
• 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
• Pinch of crushed red pepper (may omit if using hot sausage)
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced basil

Directions

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente; drain.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the sausage meat and brown over moderately high heat, about 5-8 minutes.

3. Add the wine and simmer, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.

4. Add the cream, mustard and crushed red pepper (if using) and simmer for 2 minutes.

5. Remove the skillet from the heat, add the pasta and basil and toss to coat. Serve.

 

Avocado Pasta with Chicken and Bacon

I know, I know... it's been awhile since I've posted anything.  It is certainly not due to lack of cooking on my part (just lack of motivation to upload pictures haha).  The past 2 weeks, I've been waking up at 5 am and hitting the gym early instead of after work to see if that helps my calf cramping/twitching issue.  It was maybe helping a little bit, but I'm keeping at it!  As hard as it is to wake up over an hour earlier than usual, I do feel better after my workout and I think it might be helping boost my metabolism too.  I saw a neurologist last week, to see if there were other options for my cramping calf.  She put me on a dopamine supplement, used for people with Restless Leg.  It's only been just under a week, but it might be working.  I have seen a pretty good reduction in twitching and cramping so far.  Not sure if that's from my exercise time change or the meds, but I also don't really care so long as I can sleep at night!  I'll keep you posted.  Since I am not going to the gym after work as often (still going to Pilates and one Zumba class after work twice a week), that gives me more time to cook!  I have five recipes to share with you, all with pictures!  Here is by far my favorite of the lot, it will surely enter our "what should we cook tonight?" rotation when we run out of steam.  It's easy and pretty quick.  You can cook the chicken and the bacon and the noodles at the same time, they all finish together.  Next time, we might add a side of roasted mushrooms and broccoli, it did need a little something to go on the side (or you could just eat more of the pasta, of course!).

I am so excited to share this recipe!  When I found it a few weeks ago, I immediately pinned it onto my new-ish Pinterest account.  I seriously cannot believe I never thought to do this myself, I love avocados so much!  This recipe was all the more perfect, because we usually have all the ingredients on hand.  I made a few tweaks, mostly to the cooking of the chicken.  My crock pot is 7 qt, and it seemed awfully silly to cook 1 chicken breast in there.  Maybe someday I will try, but I simply poach the chicken in my version.  See the original post here, as posted by The Realistic Nutritionist.  I kept it at 4 servings because I really wanted to have leftovers for lunch.  Ate it cold the next day and it was just as good!

Creamy Avocado Pasta with Chicken and Bacon

4 servings total

350 Cal, 11 g fat, 41 g Carbs, 9 g Fiber, 21 g Protein, 311 mg Sodium

Ingredients:

• 1 large 8 ounce chicken breast

• 1 can low fat, low sodium chicken broth

• 8 ounces dry spaghetti noodles, cooked

• 1 avocado, pitted and scooped out of skin

• 4 tablespoons fat free half and half

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 3 tablespoons lime juice

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 pieces of crispy cooked bacon

Directions:

1. Poach the chicken: Place the chicken breast in a small saucepan and cover with the stock, about ½” above the chicken (you can use just water or a combo of chicken stock and water, if you'd like. We save the poaching liquid after, skimming any fat or scum off the top, to reuse for making rice or couscous, etc). Bring to a boil and then partially cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes (it should barely have bubbles). Remove from heat and let sit for 10 more minutes with the lid still partially on. Once done, shred using two forks and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, place avocados, half and half, lime juice, salt and pepper. Blend until soft and creamy. If mixture is too chunky, add additional cream. Add additional lime juice to taste.

3. In a large bowl, mix the chicken, pasta and avocado sauce together. Crumble bacon on top and enjoy!

Costa Rican Breakfast... At Home

It's been awhile since I've posted.  I have to be honest, I have been feeling overwhelmed with my promise to post pictures with my recipes more often!  While I generally take plenty of pics, I am reallllly lazy about uploading them, for some reason.  Anyhoo, what better way to start off than with a recipe that I will be making until I run out of Lizano sauce. 

At the beginning of January, Ryan and I whisked ourselves off for our long overdue Costa Rican adventure.  I'd been promising myself a trip sine I first graduated with my Bachelor's way back in 2005.  At the time, I was single (and much more financially unstable).  The thought of traveling alone royally freaked me out!  When I received my Master's in 2010, I was in a long term relationship and made the decision (for us both) to take that trip!  Look how pretty:

Waterfall near Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica

Me and the boy climbing around the lava rocks at the Arenal Volcano

Waterfall near Monteverde Cloud Reserve

Sunset in Manuel Antonio

See?  I told you!  Anyhow... about 2 weeks after we got back, I decided to make Gallo Pinto from scratch.  Gallo Pinto is what Costa Ricans typically eat for breakfast, often with eggs, and it is really simply beans & rice sauteed together with onions, cilantro, and spices/sauce.  I bought a bag of black beans and made a whole batch of it in my new 7 qt crock pot:

My new crock pot in action!

Steamy black beans, finished product

Now I have a few ziplocs full of plain black beans just waiting for me in the freezer!  No salt added!  Anyways, here's the recipe I used, from a random website I found by searching google... I think you could potentially use worcestershire sauce in place of the Lizano, though their flavors are a bit different.

Gallo Pinto (4 servings, 165 Cal per serving)
Ingredients
1 cup of rice, cooked in chicken stock instead of water (we stuck with good ol' white, since that's what they used in CR)
1 cup of cooked beans with a bit of the bean liquid for color and flavor (it was ALWAYS black beans in CR)
1 chopped onion (small)
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 bunch chopped cilantro
4 Tbsp Salsa Lizano (can useWorcestershire sauce but don’t expect the same taste!)
Pinch of black pepper

How to prepare
1. Fry onion, garlic, and cilantro in the oil for about 3 minutes.
2. Pour in the beans and add the Lizano sauce and black pepper. Let it cook for a few minutes, but don’t let it dry out.
3. Pour in the cooked rice and mix it with the beans.

We served ours alongside scrambled eggs and a sliced papaya (I know, I know... it was from Chile, but it really added to the Costa Rican ambiance!):

My version at home in Cali

Gallo Pinto and scrambled egg breakfast in Monteverde

It was served with coffee, juice, pineapple, watermelon, and papaya

          

Easy Chicken Dinner

The time for our Costa Rica trip is finally upon us!  Weee!  I'm so excited!  We leave tonight and fly overnight.  I can't wait!  I feel like I'm only half-way present at my job today, but it doesn't seem as though anyone minds.  I got most of my work done yesterday, anyhow.  I spent a little time (finally) compiling my blogged recipes into an easy list.  The link is up on the main page (Master Recipe List) and I will try and remember to keep it updated!  I'm also hoping to start adding photos of my recipes more often.  I'm giving you this recipe sans photo since I'll be whipping it up tonight before we head out to SFO and thus won't have time for uploading any pics. 

I received this Rachael Ray recipe in an email awhile back and we have made it a bunch of times.  We recently acquired Spicy Curry Powder (thank you, 50% off bin at Safeway!), which I love in this recipe.  Admittedly, it was a little bland before that.  If you like a little bit of heat and only have regular Curry Powder, we have also thrown in a minced jalapeno with half of the seeds removed.  This is so easy, and we tend to have all the items needed in our pantry (or freezer, since chicken in the pantry just sounds yucky), making it an easy go-to dinner.  It definitely makes plenty of sauce, so plan on eating this with whole wheat couscous, brown basmati rice, or some sort of veggie (we've had it over roasted cauliflower as well as some simple sauteed green beans with much success - I highly recommend trying it with roasted cauliflower, try this recipe if you need a starting point).

Coconut Curry Chicken (2 svgs: 317 Cal; 17 g fat; 3 g Carbs; 33.5 g protein)

Ingredients:
3 teaspoons canola oil, separated
1 teaspoon curry powder (I use spicy curry powder)
1/2 can lite coconut milk (6.25 oz; I freeze the other half until needed)
12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breasts (~2 breasts), cut into strips
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium heat. Stir in the curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and cook until reduced by half, about 7 minutes.
2. Toss together the chicken, five-spice powder, and salt and pepper.
3. In a large, heavy skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Increase the heat to high and stir-fry the chicken until just cooked through, about 6 minutes. Stir in the coconut curry sauce.

How To Make That Sausage Potato Soup

...you know, that one from the Italian Restaurant chain that you love? I've tried a few different recipes and have sort of combined them to make this version. When we made it last night, I used Food & Wine's version as a guide for how much potato and kale to use, but my version is actually a bit different and includes bacon and cream (which I learned from a different recipe that I can no longer find). Anyhow, I cut Food & Wine's recipe in half to make 2 servings for dinner last night. It turned out to be 3 servings, and I had a nice, hearty lunch leftover for today! Calorie count is based on using real (full fat) whipping cream, which is what I had on hand and figured since it's only a little bit, it's no big deal. I have made this with fat free half and half with excellent results, there will be -18 Cal and -2.6 g fat per serving if you make this substitution.

Kale and Potato Soup with Turkey Sausage (SERVINGS: 3)
328 Cal; 14.4g fat (4.5g sat, 2.6g mono, 1.4g poly); 32.6g carbs; 4.9g fiber; 19.7g protein

Ingredients
1 teaspoon canola oil
2 links turkey sausage, casings removed (I used Jennie-O Hot Turkey Sausage)
½ medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 cups water
1 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth
¾ pound boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
Dried red-pepper flakes, to taste
½ pound kale, stems removed, leaves shredded
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled into pieces

Directions
1. In a soup pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and onion and cook until the sausage is browned and all liquid has evaporated, about 8-10 minutes.
2. Add the garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute longer.
3. Add the water and broth and bring the soup to a boil. Add the potatoes and red-pepper flakes and bring back to a simmer. Cook, partially covered, for 2 minutes. Add the kale and bring the soup back to a simmer. Cook, partially covered, until the potatoes and kale are tender, about 6-8 minutes longer.
4. Add the black pepper, bacon crumbles and cream and remove from heat. Stir to combine and serve.

Chicken & Broccoli Stir Fry

In an effort to not gain every last pound that I lost before my calf started twitching, we are trying to eat healthy, low-cal dinners again. I am also trying to keep my evening carb-count to a minimum, since I'm not so active after dinner these days (this stupid cold is hindering my activity level even more than my calf twitching). Enter this recipe! Ryan made some rice to go along with his dinner, but I found the extra broccoli really filled me up! This was quick and easy and we have most of the sauce ingredients on hand, so this would work really well with whatever veggie is still in the fridge and whatever protein you want (shrimp & green beans, perhaps?). Original (4-serving) recipe was from FoodNetwork.com. Here's my "healthified" version for two servings:

Chicken and Broccoli Stir-fry
SERVES 2; Calories: 294; Total Fat 13.7 grams; Saturated Fat: 2 grams; Protein: 27 grams; Total carbohydrates: 18 grams; Fiber 4 grams; Cholesterol: 61 milligrams; Sodium: 865 milligrams

Ingredients
Game Plan: Marinate the chicken while you prepare the rest of the ingredients
1/2 pound chicken breast (about 1 breast), cubed
2 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle, whites and greens separate
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2-inch piece peeled fresh ginger, minced
1-1/2 teaspoons reduced sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons Stevia-In-The-Raw
1-1/2 teaspoons, plus 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons dry sherry
1-1/2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
About 8 teaspoons water
1 tablespoon canola oil
3-4 cups broccoli (2 heads), trimmed sliced stalks and medium florets (keep the 2 cuts separate)
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1-1/2 teaspoons hoisin sauce

Directions
In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with the scallion whites, about half the garlic and ginger, the soy sauce, Stevia, 1/2 teaspoon of the cornstarch, half of the salt, the sherry, and the sesame oil. Marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes. Mix the remaining cornstarch with the water.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the oil and heat. Add the broccoli stems, and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the florets and the remaining garlic, ginger, 1 tablespoon of water, and season with the rest of the salt and pepper. Stir-fry until the broccoli is bright green but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Get the skillet good and hot again, and then heat 2 more teaspoons oil. Add the chicken and chili flakes. Stir-fry until the chicken loses its raw color and gets a little brown, about 2 minutes. Add the hoisin sauce, return the broccoli to the pan and toss to heat through. Stir in the reserved cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil to thicken. Add more water if need to thin the sauce, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper, if you like. Divide among 2 plates and garnish with the rest of the sliced green onion greens.

My Default Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

We made cookies! Yes, again. Is is December afterall, and that huge bag of Reese's Miniature Cups we bought after Halloween is officially gone. One of our go-to cookie recipes is Oatmeal cookies. 1-because they're the boy's fave and 2-because we almost always have all the ingredients on hand. Most cookie recipes contain the same basic ingredients anyhow. I start with the recipe on the lid or box of Quaker Oats, cut the recipe in half, and make a few alterations in order to make them a little healthier (mostly so that I don't feel as bad when we want to add toffee or chocolate chips to the mix haha). I use Stevia-In-The-Raw in place of the granulated sugar and I replace half of the butter for applesauce for a lower fat cookie (also adding in 1/4 tsp baking powder per 1/4 cup applesauce is supposed to help when baking things). Then I use my trusty Conventional Toaster Oven and only bake as many as we plan to eat - that way, they're always fresh and hot out of the oven YUM! The rest go into the fridge for tomorrow. Sadly, this batch actually used up all the cinnamon we had on hand (probably all of those Snickerdoodles we made last month teehee), and I'm getting awfuly low on brown sugar and white flour now... but this batch should last us through the weekend, at least! Here's my version (we use things other than raisins in ours):

Vanishing Oatmeal (Raisin) Cookies (72 Cal & 2.5 g fat per cookie, not including *)

Ingredients
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup Stevia-In-The-Raw
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
*1/2 cup toffee bits, chocolate chips, raisins, craisins, etc.

Preparation
Heat oven to 350°F.
In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars (and applesauce and baking powder) until creamy.
Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.
Add oats and raisins; mix well.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown.
Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

One Pot Curry Shrimp Dinner

I don't know about any of you, but I am still working on getting leftover staples from Thanksgiving out of my pantry and fridge! We still have way too many potatoes, onions, celery, and carrots. The turkey's all gone, but I have a freezer full of containers of the turkey stock I made Thanksgiving night after everyone had gone. So when we decided to make shrimp for dinner last night, I wanted to find a recipe that used a bunch of the stuff we had on hand! This was perfect for just that, and it only dirtied 1 skillet to boot! Here's my 2-serving version, adapted from My Recipes/Oxmoor House:

Curried Rice with Shrimp
(585 Cal per serving; 2 servings total)

Ingredients
1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, thinly sliced
2 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
1-1/2 cups broth/stock (we used turkey stock but any will do)
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 teaspoon curry powder (we used Spicy Curry Powder)
1/2 cup long-grain brown rice (Brown Basmati rice)
Kosher salt and pepper
10 ounces large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon dried basil (fresh is better but all my Basil has gone too seed now)

Preparation
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add onion, carrots, and potatoes; cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften, 6 to 8 minutes. If vegetables begin to stick, add a little slosh of broth to skillet.
2. Add garlic and curry powder; cook, stirring until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add rice, broth, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 35 minutes.
3. Add shrimp; stir, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are opaque and rice is tender, another 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle with basil and serve.

Enchiladas Done Light

Gobble Gobble! As Turkey Day nears, we at home have been trying to eat a variety of different foods this week. On Monday, we made Five Spice Scallops with Anchovy & Garlic Asparagus on the side. I think the scallop recipe is technically meant to be used as an appetizer and not a main dish, so we basically each had 2 of what they refer to as a "serving" in the recipe (we cut both of the total recipes in half to come up with 2 servings total). Nice and easy recipes for a quick week-night meal and definitely not anything we plan on eating for Thanksgiving. And the whole meal was only 215 calories (= cookies for dessert, yesssss!)

For last night's dinner, Ryan wanted enchiladas. We've made this recipe from Eat Yourself Skinny a couple of times now and it's a big hit! It's hard to believe each enchilada is only 160 calories, but it's true! And the sauce is the perfect flavor and so easy - no more canned sauce for us! Now if only I could find tomato sauce in something other than a can, I've been hearing little birdies talk about how the acid in the tomatoes breaks down the tin, releasing BPAs in the process... yuck! I even just read that BPA levels tested on humans right after eating a can of soup spiked by over 1000%! Yikes! Moral: avoid canned stuff. Guess I'll need to make my own tomato sauce now! Here's the recipe. Try these soon! You'll want them in your meal-rotation, I promise! If you don't have any leftover chicken, we usually poach ours in chicken stock for about 17 minutes (add chicken to a saucepan and cover with chicken stock or water or a combo of both and let it simmer away for 17 minutes). Top these off with some diced up fresh tomatoes, extra cilantro, avocado slices, and a dollop of fat-free plain greek yogurt - YUM!

Skinny Chicken Enchiladas (159.5 calories per enchilada)

For the sauce:
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can diced green chilis (we use Hot Fire-Roasted Green Chilis)
3/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. southwest chipotle seasoning (Mrs. Dash)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 cup fat-free chicken broth
Salt and fresh pepper to taste



For the chicken:
1/2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro
Salt
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. southwest chipotle seasoning (Mrs. Dash)
8 tsp. chicken broth
1/4 cup tomato sauce
4 (6-inch) reduced carb whole wheat flour tortillas
1/2 cup shredded low-fat Mexican cheese
Nonstick cooking spray

In a medium saucepan, spray oil and saute garlic for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add green chilis, chipotle seasoning, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onions and garlic on low until soft, about 2 minutes. Add chicken, salt, cilantro, cumin, oregano, chipotle seasoning, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and cook 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Spray a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Put 1/3 cup chicken mixture into each tortilla and roll it. Place in baking dish seam side down. Top with sauce and cheese. Cover with foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes. Top with extra cilantro if desired and enjoy!

Anti-Vampire Soup

When I first took my job up in Santa Rosa, my first few thoughts were:
1. Where exactly is Santa Rosa in relation to the East Bay?
2. Isn't that where Guy Fieri lives?
The answers are:
1. Up above the North Bay
2. Yep!

After realizing that, I was just waiting for the opportunity to check out his restaurant, Johnny Garlic's, in Santa Rosa. As it turns out, the Windsor restaurant is closer, and my boyfriend took me there for lunch on my birthday back in April. I of course had to try the Roasted Garlic soup with my lunch, and was far from disappointed. The soup simply oozes garlic and I could have eaten another bowl or two instead of whatever it was I ended up eating for lunch. The soup was the clear winner of that meal!
I found the recipe on Food Network and we've made it a few times since. The biggest advice I have to make this a quick cooking weeknight meal is to roast the garlic the night before and pop it in the fridge. Then the rest of the soup comes together in around 30 minutes. Here's our version, adapted from the original on Food Network:

Roasted Garlic Soup (4 servings; 356 calories per serving)

Ingredients
6 large whole heads garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper, divided
6 tablespoons Smart Balance Light spread
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
4 cups 99% fat free chicken stock
2 cups water
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 cup fat free half & half

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Cut the tops off the garlic heads just to expose the bulbs and remove any excess papery skins. Place in a large sheet of aluminum foil and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Close the foil around them, leaving a space between the tops and the foil, and place on a baking sheet in the oven. Roast until soft and fragrant, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove, cool, and squeeze out the garlic into a bowl.
In a large, heavy soup pot (preferably enameled cast iron) over medium-high heat, melt the Smart Balance, add the roasted garlic, and cook for 5 minutes. Add in the flour and cook until a dark golden roux is achieved, an additional 5 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 1 cup chicken stock, incorporate, and repeat until all the chicken stock had been added. Repeat with the water. Add the Italian seasoning, remaining salt and pepper, and stir to combine well. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Add in the half & half and cook for 10 minutes more at a very low simmer, stirring occasionally.

Clam Chowder, without the nasty side effects

This is a pretty delayed post, since I actually made the Clam Chowder on Monday. I have been putting off making Clam Chowder myself for so long because I just love eating it in a bread bowl by the SF Bay or Ocean when I make it over the bridge. However, my slight lactose intolerance sometimes makes it a less than enjoyable experience an hour or so after scarfing down a huge bowl of the stuff. That said, I decided to try a lightened up version with lactose free milk in place of the cream/half and half/milk option. I went the easy route, and also decided to try a recipe that used canned clams instead of fresh clams, mostly because I've never bought or prepared whole fresh clams myslef (yet). I found this version in my email inbox recently and decided to give it a go. I tend to err on the safe side and only make a small batch of new recipes so I don't have leftovers to throw away when it comes out a horrible mess (which has only happened a few times really). This recipe would have been lovely to have as lunch all week, so next time I will make the whole batch. Since we ate it as a meal in itself, 1 serving is really 2 servings. I cut the recipe in thirds and we ended up with 2 dinner sized servings and 1 lunch sized serving, if that helps put it in perspective. Anyhow, here is my 4-serving adaptation of the recipe I received from Cooking Light:

Simple Clam Chowder; 4 servings (approx 1 cup each):

Ingredients
1 bacon slice
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
Pinch of salt (I used Lawry's Seasoned Salt)
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 (6 1/2-ounce) cans chopped clams, undrained
1/3 pound diced peeled baking potato (I used one Organic Yukon Gold potato)
1-1/2 bottles clam juice (approx 12 oz)
1 bay leaf
1 cup 2% Lactose Free milk
8 teaspoons whole wheat flour
Cracked black pepper, to taste

Preparation
Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving the drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside.
Add onion, celery, salt, thyme, and garlic to drippings in pan; cook 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Drain clams, reserving liquid. Add clam liquid, potato, clam juice, and bay leaf to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender. Discard bay leaf.
Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until smooth (or shake vigorously in an old jar or yogurt container like I did - works much faster than using a whisk!). Add flour mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 12 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add clams; cook 2 minutes. Sprinkle with bacon and cracked black pepper.

Unhealthy Snickerdoodles = Happy Me

Halloween is officially over and apparently so is fall on the East Coast. It's still mostly Summer over here in the NorCal area... I actually broke a sweat on my lunchtime walk around the block yesterday! 76 degrees in Santa Rosa. Gotta love Cali! I recently started following How Sweet It Is, a blog which I prolly should have stayed far, far away from. Why? Because I discovered these in my email a few weeks ago and promptly printed out the recipe. In an effort to not royally screw up the goodness that is a Snickerdoodle in any way, shape, or form, the only change I made was to use 1/2 real sugar and 1/2 Stevia In The Raw. You'd never even know it. I was hesitant to do the apple sauce substitution since there is only one egg, but it does take a whole stick of butter too. Maybe next time I'll replace half the butter with apple sauce and see how it goes. Here's my version of the recipe (note that I intentionally did not figure out the nutritional value of each cookie. It's better this way, I promise):


Snicker-Chip-Doodle Cookies

makes approx 20 cookies

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup Stevia-in-the-Raw
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons 2% milk
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup toffee chips
2 Tbsp sugar + 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon for dipping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well until combined, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix until dough comes together. Add in milk. If dough is still crumbly, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until it comes together (I did not need to add more milk). Fold in chocolate and toffee. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In a bowl combine remaining sugar and cinnamon. Remove dough from fridge and roll into big 1 1/2 inch balls. Dip in cinnamon sugar mixture and place on baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Goodbye, Farmer's Market

The last Farmer's Market in my town was on Tuesday night and I'm a little torn up over it! It has basically ruined grocery store produce for me, not to mention how nice it was to meet up with my boyfriend and good friend after work for a little stroll around downtown. *Sigh* In an effort to use up the veggies we bought from last week's market, I decided on a Tofu Stir Fry for dinner on Tuesday night. My boyfriend has been working graveyard shift all week, so it was nice to sneak in a tofu dish instead of meat or seafood. He likes tofu okay, but I try to limit the meatless meals to once a week, and those don't usually have tofu either. I had a bunch of green beans and a half head of green cabbage left-over from last week's Green Bean Carbonara and Salt & Pepper Shrimp dinners. Here's the recipe, adapted from Eatingwell.com.

Szechuan Tofu & Green Bean Stir-Fry (~4 servings)

Ingredients
1/2 cup water, divided
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
1 14-ounce package light tofu, drained
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
3 cups green beans, trimmed and cut in half
1/2 small green cabbage, shredded
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

Preparation
1.Whisk 1/4 cup water, soy sauce, tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, crushed red pepper to taste and 1 teaspoon cornstarch in a small bowl. Set aside. Cut tofu into 1/2- to 3/4-inch cubes and pat dry. Toss the tofu in a bowl with the remaining 2 tablespoons cornstarch to coat.
2.Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and spread out across the surface of the pan. Let cook undisturbed for 2 minutes. Gently turn and stir. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and crispy, 3-4 minutes more. Transfer to a plate.
3.Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add green beans, cabbage, garlic and ginger; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the remaining 1/4 cup water, cover and cook until the beans are crisp-tender and the cabbage is wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir the reserved soy sauce mixture and pour it over the green beans. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute. Add the tofu and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 1 minute more.

Nutrition (Eating Well's version - my version has a little bit of extra veggies and less sugar but I didn't recalculate the nutrition)
Per serving: 218 calories; 11 g fat ( 1 g sat , 6 g mono ); 0 mg cholesterol; 20 g carbohydrates; 2 g added sugars; 12 g protein; 5 g fiber; 672 mg sodium; 364 mg potassium.

Mushrooms + Soup = Swoon

Even though it has been in the 90s up here in NorCal for the past week, I decided to make Mushroom Soup on Wednesday night for dinner. We had a potluck at work that day for lunch, and I totally overdid it on the indulgent eating... no regrets! Alas, by dinner-time, I wasn't starving. Instead of making the planned carb & fat-laden Green Bean Carbornara for dinner (pushed to Fri night dinner), I burned a few extra calories by finely chopping up about 1-3/4 lbs of mushrooms. Thankfully, that was the hardest part of the meal! Threw them in a pot with some stock and garlic for 10 mins, blend it all up, add a little creme freche and coriander and viola - soup! Or Veloute, I guess, if you're feeling fancy. Here's my (not so different) version of the recipe from Food & Wine:

Recipe: Two-Mushroom Velouté

1 1/4 pounds cremini mushrooms (1 pound finely chopped, 1/4 pound thinly sliced)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 1/2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup crème fraîche
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
Chopped chives, for garnish

1.In a bowl, toss the chopped cremini mushrooms with the lemon juice. In a large saucepan, combine the chicken stock with the chopped cremini and shiitake mushrooms and the garlic and bring to a boil; simmer over moderately low heat until the mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes.

2.Meanwhile, in a medium nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Add the sliced cremini mushrooms and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until golden brown and tender, about 4 minutes.

3.Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until very smooth (very small batches so you don't burn yourself - I did approx 4-5 batches); return to the saucepan and whisk in the crème fraîche. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add the coriander and season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish with the sautéed mushrooms and chives and serve.

One Serving: 137 cal, 7.5 gm fat, 3.0 gm sat fat, 10 gm carb, 0 gm fiber, 7 gm protein.

ABC's

I found this over at Not Rachael Ray

A is for Apple: What is your favorite variety?
My fave apple has to be the Pink Lady. Yummmm.

B is for Bread: Regardless of nutrition, what is your favorite type?
Undoubtedly garlic bread, but sourdough comes in second. Garlic Sourdough rocks my world.

C is for Cereal: What is your favorite kind currently?
I don't really eat cereal, but if I wasn't worried about my figure, I'd say Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

D is for Donuts: What kind do you fancy?
Maple bar and/or glazed old fashioned.

E is for Eggs: How do you like yours prepared?
Over medium. The whites have.got.to.be.cooked or else I can't eat them. But runny yolks are key.

F is for Fat-Free: What is your favorite fat-free product?
Non-fat plain greek yogurt. Eat it for brekkie every work day!

G is for Groceries: Where do you purchase yours?
Safeway and Trader Joe's. But we buy all our fruit and veggies from the local Farmer's Market once a week.

H is for Hot Beverages: What is your favorite hot drink?
Starbuck's Soy Pumpkin Spice Latte. Even though it has the same amount of calories as my lunch (I didn't gain those 20 lbs I'm now trying to lose from nothing, ha!).

I is for Ice Cream: Pick your favorite flavor and add a fun topping.
Bailey's Irish Cream Ice Cream, duh! Needs no topping, but maybe brownie crumbles would be delightful.

J is for Jams or Jellies: Do you eat them? If so, what kind and flavor?
Yeah, not so much.

K is for Kashi: Name your favorite Kashi product?
I don't really eat much Kashi. I'm trying to stay away from most packaged foods, and although I have looked at their frozen food offerings, most/all cntain bell peppers :(

L is for Lunch: What was yours today?
It will be leftover Creamy Mashed Cauliflower with chives and green onions plus 1/2 cup black beans, for protein. And a pluot for dessert.

M is for microwave: What is your favorite microwave meal/snack?
Popping-corn!

N is for nutrients: Do you likes carbs, fats, or proteins best?
I'm a carb gal, myself. Bread and pasta, all the way! Even if these days it's the whole wheat variety.

O is for oil: What kind do you like to use?
We use canola mostly, but for meals that don't require high-heat stove setting, EVOO or Grapeseed oil.

P is for protein: How do you get yours?
Greek yogurt and cheese are in most of my daily proteins. We rotate our dinners and have shrimp or scallops and salmon once a week, chicken once or twice a week, tofu once a week, and pork or beef once a week.

Q is for Quaker: How do you like your oats?
Steel cut and slow cooked. With cinnamon and brown sugar.

R is for roasting: What is your favorite thing to roast?
GARLIC. I could eat it straight out of the oven! Broccoli comes in a close second.

S is for sandwich: What’s your favorite kind?
Mortadella, provolone, and avocado on an onion roll with mustard, lettuce, tomato, dill pickles, and extra extra extra red onions.

T is for travel: How do you handle eating while traveling?
I use travel as an excuse to indulge on new and delicious foods!

U is for unique: What is one of your weirdest food combos?
I have no answer for this...

V is for vitamins: What kind do you take?
Multi-vitamins, a few times a week since I almost always forget.

W is for wasabi: Yay or nay?
Yay! We made a new salmon recipe recently that called for prepared horseradish and wasabi. It was soooo good! Also, I heart sushi.

X is XRAY: If we xrayed your belly right now, what food would we see?
Coffee only right now, but I'm about to dig in to my brekkie: non-fat plain greek yogurt with 1 packet of Truvia, 2 oz blueberries, and 1.5 oz strawberries.

Y is for youth: What food reminds you of your childhood?
Cap'n Crunch and Kool-Aid.

Z is for zucchini: How do you prepare it?
With sausage in a garlic alfredo sauce over pasta. But I made a kick ass low-fat zucchini bread recently that was pretty darn good!

Just Checking In

Current Weight: 145.6 lbs
Goal Weight (by 1/11/12): 135 lbs
Weight to Lose: 10.6 lbs

I'm getting there, slowly but surely! Checking my last blogged weight, I've lost 3 lbs in 3 weeks. That's the average I'm really hoping for, based on the amount of exercise I do and the calories I consume. I actually only lost about a half pound this week, but considering the fact that I spent last weekend in Reno devouring buffet food, beer, and free drinks in the casino... that's not too bad! I was sort of expecting a slight increase, actually.

I've tacked on some extra exercise to my daily routine. I try and wake up early with Ryan during the week and ride the little stationary bike in the living room for 15-20 minutes while my coffee is brewing. Then, every time I visit the restroom (and no one else is in there), I try and smash out 20 squats or lunges and 5-10 push ups against the sink counter. Just a little something extra. Plus my 20 minute walk around the block before I grab lunch. So I'm attributing my recent push towards my weight goal to these few things.

I have, however, been getting pretty bad side cramps lately. I'm taking the advice of one of my Zumba instructors and changing my shoes to see if that helps. They might just be too worn out! I'm also getting ca-ra-zy muscle cramping in my left shin. That would be the leg that suffered through my sciatica... related? I don't know. But the last 2 weeks have included some *awesome* calf twitches and when I try and stand on my tip toe, the muscle actually seizes up and gets stuck there for 30 sec! Last week it happened when I got in the car to drive home from the gym. I drive a stick, so when I started up the car, my muscle seized up right then and there. I didn't think I'd be able to drive home - it was really scary! I basically had to force it back into normal state, scootch my seat up real close to the steering wheel, and drive without pointing my toe (and my fingers crossed) the whole way home.

Needless to say, I toned it down this week with the morning workout and the walking... but only the walking ebcause it rained one day this week. The other 4 days, I've walked. With different shoes. So far, my leg hasn't seized up since Wednesday, and that was only for a moment. I hope that I get better just by changing my shoes! I know I'm not over-exerting myslef or anything... it's not like I'm training 6 hours a day or something.

Nothing exciting happening in the food area of life. Although, Ryan made these puppies last night with a little side salad. Yummy! I found the recipe on my new fave food blog I mentioned before and got the cupcake recipe from. I dipped mine in a little combo of some non-fat plain Greek yogurt, some chopped up fresh dill from my patio garden, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a squirt of whole-grain mustard. It worked really nicely to cool off the buffalo chicken.