Some Yum Yums & A Date With The Girls

I am lovin me some food here lately. I have been trying to eat a variety of things and keep my life spicy!! Lots of different breakfast, lunches, snacks and din dins. I have also found that my tummy does OK with one serving of dairy a day in the form of either Greek yogurt or my beloved cottage cheese. Here is one of the breakfasts I have been enjoying as of late...

• 2 slices of Ezek bread (one with pb, cinnamon, and bananas, the other with TJ's low sugar jelly)
• Greek yogurt with strawberries, cinnamon and NuNaturals stevia

So I usually don't like to buy individually packaged products because its not good for the environment but I couldn't resist when I saw these 100 calorie packs of hummus..
Can you say portion control!! Which I totally need with hummus. This brings me to my snack..

• Original Marys Gone Crackers
• Tribe Roasted Garlic Hummus (I could only eat half the 100 cal pack)
• Few slices of Boars Head chicken lunch meat
  

For dinner I made pizza with my fav pizza dough, Trader Joe's whole wheat...
I learned from reading forums that you shouldn't roll this dough (which never worked for me) but instead use gravity to stretch it out by holding it up and rotating it with your hands. It worked perfect and I think this is my first ever round crust :).

• The big part with cheese was for the man
• The little part with cheese and veggies was for the little one (she loves mushrooms)
• The part with veggies, no cheese and hummus instead of tomato sauce was for me

Being the good girl that I am and practicing portion control I only had one slice atop a salad...
with turkey pepperoni.

So last night we had a little blogger/reader meet up at a local Nashville restaurant called Calypso Cafe. I ordered the tuna salad with two sides which included spiced sweet potatoes with coconut on top and the Martinique Callaloo greens...
To be honest it wasn't that great. I ate one scoop of tuna all the greens and about half the sweet potatoes. It didn't matter about the food though because I had a great time with the girls!! Here is the line up...
From left to right: My sweet friend Kim, adorable blogger Heather, some crazy awesome chick in the middle, another adorable blogger Amanda, and yet another adorable blogger with perfect hair, Mandy.

After dinner we all split. Kim and I headed off to Trader Joe's to fulfill my Puffins craving and the rest of the chicks hit up a frozen yogurt place. I got my Puffs and a Bag of Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzel Slims....

(I had to steal this pic from some blog because I ate 3/4 the bag in the car and the man and the little one ate the rest when I got home)

Talk about evil!!! Don't buy these unless you plan on surrendering all self control and polishing off the bag!!!

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: There is this really lean lady that takes all the same classes as I do at the Y. I found myself tempted to ask her what she eats to stay so lean. I had to stop myself and remember that the same thing doesn't work for everyone and that I am happy with the way I am eating now and I don't need to worry about other peoples eats in that way!! Do you ever find yourself envying someone else's bod and wondering what they eat??

Chocolate Brownie Pie

I bet that got your attention, didn't it??

Well, I hate to say it, wait actually, I am not, I am thrilled to say that I AM NO LONGER TRYING TO BE RAW OR FOOD COMBINE and it feels MARVELOUS!!!! More on why in a future post :)

Tell me, was there a better way to initiate this than with a Hugh Jass from Whole Foods? I think not!!!

• chicken
• turkey
• mushrooms
• grilled eggplant
• 2 kinds of hummus
• wheat berry salad
• broccoli
• artichokes
• tons of garlic cloves
• green beans
  
• sugar snap peas
• and a bunch of other shit served over a bed of spinach

TAKE THAT FOOD COMBINING!!!!!

I celebrated with my buddy Kim and her little kids and I was thrilled that she was eating for the first time at Whole Foods with me!! Check out her monster....
She didn't even make a dent and left with a box. What a Whole Foods Rookie!!!! lol

My Whole Foods loot...

• dulse
• ww pie shells (for a raw brownie pie, I know I was to lazy to make the raw pie shell, plus I am rebelling!!)
• frozen cherries
• brown rice vinegar (for no reason)
• goats milk yogurt
• larabar/jocalat
• dates
• unsweet ketchup
• salsa
• red sweet potato
• huge thing of tilapia
• cookies and cake for the little one and the man
• coconut butter (THANKS SO MUCH KIM!)
• sushi
• grape kombucha (by far my fav)

We also made a quick stop by Trader Joe's as Kim has never been there either (hello, what planet are you on?)

Can I just say DO NOT go serious shopping with 3 kids under the age of 4 that have never been socialized in any type of school! hahaha

The bag I bought for my loot...
All my stuff fit perfectly in the bag. Its all pretty self explanatory...
After a long a day of shopping the little one zonked out and the man went straight from work to a Fantasy Football Draft Party (BLAH!!). I was alone and decided to put one of my ideas into action :). I present you with RAW BROWNIE PIE....

Oh Yeah!!! You know you want another look...
It was so simple to make. I basically took Averie's recipe for raw brownies and put it in a pie shell. Here it is laid out the best I can do (I didn't really measure)...

• .95 lb of dates
• .95 lb of walnuts
• about 1/2 cup Hershey's dark choc cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup agave nectar
• stevia to taste
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• tiny bits of water to blend
  
• 1 pre-made pie shell or 1 recipe raw pie crust

I used a food processor and divided up the ingredients into 3 batches which I highly recommend unless you have the super hero of blending machines. If you have a shell that needs to be baked do that while you are blending. Remove the blender gook and place batches in a bowl until you are through blending it all up...
Then spread it in the shell the best you can (its a sticky little booger) I must warn you, it is quite messy...
I held out, refrigerated and enjoyed a piece this afternoon with my left over sushi from lunch...
CONFESSION OF THE DAY: I am horrible at doing laundry. I mean if its stained you might as well toss it horrible!! I need tips ladies??? Bring them on please!! How do you separate your loads?? Anything special you do for stains?? How do you keep your whites from getting dingy? What about washing tennis shoes?

Super Sloppy Joes and Some Sludge

Thought I would drop in and show off a few of my eats/cooks from the last few days. Here's my fruit cereal from this morning...

• half a mango
• whole kiwi
• giant banana
• cinnamon
• NuNaturals Stevia (packet)
• almond butter
  

I have been sticking with tons of fruit every morning since trying the raw/combining detox. That was just one of my many morning bowls :).

I picked this fresh from my garden the other day...
Which in turn produced these...
Yumma delicious and crispy...
I ate that along with a salad for lunch yesterday and my new favorite hummus dressing...

Its Trader Joe's Tahini Free and properly combined :)

For dinner I made pizza for the man and the little one using Trader Joe's ww crust, chicken, leftover roasted potatoes, pizza seasoning and lots of mozzarella....
I ate some AMAZING leftover Tex Mex Turkey Sloppy Joe over a bed of zucchini "noodles" with fresh steamed green beans and brussel sprouts...
Lunch today was a huge ass, juicy portabella sandwich on Ezek...

This x2

Snack...
Another snack...
The sludge above is Averie's Raw Vegan Brownie Recipe. I didn't measure but threw in about 8 dates, 1/4 cup walnuts, dark chocolate cocoa powder a few squeezes of agave, and NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia (good stuff by the way). This was supposed to last a few days. But by accident the little one and I finished it off on one sitting. Man Averie, I don't if I can make this stuff anymore. It is that good!! Averie has a Vitamix so hers looks a bit different. My measly blender didn't make it as pretty but I can assure you it didn't effect the taste!!

TEX MEX TURKEY SLOPPY JOES with Corn & Peppers
Serves 6

• 1 ear fresh corn
• 8oz. extra lean ground turkey breast
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 4 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 tbsp. no salt added tomato paste
• 2 tsp. low sodium soy sauce
• ww buns/bread
• 1 tbsp arrowroot powder dissolved in 2 tbsp cold water (I omitted)
• 1/2 cup low fat jack cheese, shredded

1. Cut kernels off cob and set aside
2. In a large skillet, cook turkey. Add peppers and cook about 2 min. Add onion and cook about 4 min. Add chile powder, garlic powder, and salt, cook 1 min. Stir in tomatoes, corn, broth, tomato paste and soy sauce, increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 min.
   
3. Add arrowroot mixture to sloppy joe mixture and stir until sauce thickens.
   
4. Serve on buns and top with cheese.

Here's the mans...
Extra sloppy because I didn't have arrowroot. But it was also extra delicious!! There are so many things you can do with this. I think adding beans would make an awesome chili and it worked great over my zucchini noodles!! I know it was a lot of ingredients but it was super simple to throw together. Thank you CLEAN EATING MAG!!!

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: I feel bad for my fam. on days I feel like I have over eaten because I never end up making dinner on those days for some reason and they are left to fend for themselves. Today for example, too much raw brownie sludge = no dinner for fam.

Chia Seeds, Kobocha Squash And Fast Food

Don't worry, I didn't eat the fast food.

After a super busy, fun filled weekend the man and I decided to take it easy on Monday. I slept in, got up and ate brekkie, let it digest and then headed to the gym (the little one was at my mother in laws). When I pulled up to the Y it was jam packed! I circled the parking lot like 4 times and could not find a space, so I decided to take my workout home. I walked 2 miles with the hub and then I ran/walked the 3rd one alone. When I got back to house I did some random free weights. I was really sweating and it felt great. I made a cottage cheese smoothie when I was done...

• 1/2 cup LFCC (lactose free cottage cheese)
• 1 cup UVAM (unsweet. van. almond milk)
• 3 in. banana chunk
• fresh and frozen strawberries
• stevia

Yum it was perfect for cooling me down.

We slowly got ready for the day and headed out to pick up the little one and eat dinner at my in laws house. No pics there. But my sweet mother in law marinated me a chicken breast cause they were having BBQ sauce soaked ribs. She also steamed me some asparagus because they were having sugared green beans and potato salad. I also brought a chunk of kabocha squash baked, that sweetie pie Heather gave me. I was full after we ate but by the time we left I was ready for a the treat I had waiting in the fridge...
Look how thick...That's just plain old UVAM with 2 tbsp chia seeds (also given to me by sweetie pie Heather). It was nice and thick when I got home so I added some stevia, cinnamon, 1 spoonful of LFCC and blended away. Yum, it was like a nice cold vanilla pudding.

I was on a roll with 2 new foods in one day :).

This morning I woke up at the butt crack of dawn for the weight class at the Y. I almost talked myself outta going (do you ever do that?) but I am glad I didn't. After the class I did 10 min. on the elliptical, 10 min. on the stair climber and then some deadlifts and tricept press downs.

For breakfast...
That's a rough copy of Heathers Chia Protein Oat Bran. Mine contained

• 1/2 oat bran
• water (unmeasured)
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 large strawberry, chopped

I nuked it and then added stevia, cinnamon and more water. I started eating it but I was still hot and sweaty from the gym and the oats were making it worse. I popped them in the freezer and ate the LFCC. When I finished the LFCC I went back for the oats. The were good all cooled off :).

For my snack I had this...
That's a quarter of a kabocha squash ( I am so confused on how to spell this) heated and filled with an unmeasured spoonful of Trader Joes Crunchy Almond Butter. I love this squash, skin and all! Its so dense and really fills you up. Here's the nutrition facts I found on them just in case you are wondering.

Well, I am starting to get hungry for lunch and I have yet another doctors appointment to get ready for soon.

Have a great Tuesday!!!

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: I will absolutely not let my little one eat fast food. All the grandparents know this but this weekend the rule was broken and I am still a little upset. I am trying to get over it. I know I cant keep her from it forever but as long as possible would be nice :).

Sometimes Its Just Better Without One...

the title that is.

Hey, wow I have really been MIA lately! Now that it is getting warm outside I find myself curled up at the computer less, which I guess is a good thing :). Also, my camera died and I kept forgetting to put it on the charger (bad blogger!!). Enough excuses and on to yumminess. I had my first savory acorn squash the other day and loved it.
I usually eat it this way. This time I filled it with some left over spaghetti meat and had a side of my favorite veggies (brussel sprouts). Super, super good it still had a slight sweetness which I loved and thought went great with sauce and meat! I also tried a new sausage :)!
Here I ate it with a leftover Pan "Fried" Chicken Burger and salad with broccoli slaw.

Here I ate it as a snack with an Italian Herb Flatout wrap, red pepper hummus and spinach.
I really liked this sausage and despite the name, "Spicy" my taste buds didn't find it very spicy at all and I thought it had a great flavor. This particular sausage has only

100 cals, 11g of protein, 6g of fat and 2 carbs.

I have eaten it for a quick dinner, snack and breakfast. I love that they are all fully cooked and natural so they are so quick and easy to make! Just nuke for 30 sec., grill for a few minutes, or cut up and warm in a pan. I must admit I have even popped one in my mouth cold.

Yesterday was the little ones last day in gymnastics and we have officially moved on to karate.

Today, I went hiking with my Aunt. We had a great time and probably went about 6 miles. It was a great change of pace and I had such a great time chatting that it didn't even feel like exercise! My Aunt....Before I left I broke into some loot that a sweet little fairy left me and made a shake in my new shaker (also left by the sweet little fairy). Jay Robb, I am lovin the new Vanilla Brown Rice Protein Powder!!! Your a protein genius! Thank you!!
I havent been making a lot of dinners lately because the man has been eating out a lot for work. Hopefully I will get in a few good ones the rest of the this week.

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: I never had bad skin until after I got pregnant. Gosh, it sucks now!!! Maybe these hormones the doctor has me on will clear things up???

Playing Catch Up

I hate that I got kinda behind in my blog because I have lots of pics on my camera that are just kinda irrelevant now but I am still going to try and recap some of my meals from the last few days.

First, I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone for your kind words about the loss of our beloved Kiki. I never thought in a million years that I would meet such nice and supportive people over the Internet. THANK YOU!!!

Here's a yummy chocolate covered shake I drink on Sat. while recovering from my wild Fri. night.
This is a Pan- "Fried" Chicken Burger I made the other night for dinner.
I have made chicken burgers before and they turned out pretty bland but these were EXCELLENT!! Here it is again on top of a salad...
Recipe is as follows...

• 2 slices of firm whole-wheat bread, torn into large pieces (I used a ww hot dog bun)
• 1/4 pound of cut up white mushrooms
• 1/3 cup packed parsley (I used sage because its what I had handy)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon tarragon (I omitted this and added dried parsley)
• 1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or 1lb pre packaged lean ground chicken
• 2 scallions
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon reduced sodium soy sauce

1. In a food processor, process the bread, mushrooms, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and tarragon until coarsely ground. Transfer to a large bowl.

* If you do not have ground chicken use this step....Do not clean out processor and add chicken. Pulse on and off until finely ground.


2. Add chicken to the bowl along with bread mixture and scallions. Shape into 4 patties (I got 6 patties)

3. In a large non stick skillet, bring the water and the soy sauce to a simmer over medium heat. Add the chicken patties and cook, turning the patties once until richly browned and cooked through, about 7 min.

I got 6 pretty large patties. This nutrition in for 4.
177 calories, 2g fat, 2g fiber, 9 carbs, 29g protein

Now time for a Sausage review. Starting with the Trader Joes Mushroom and Asiago.
Pic of the inside bursting with mushrooms....
All chopped up with some lactose free cottage cheese.See it bursting with roasted carrots, red and green bell peppers, green beans, zucchini and onions? This sausage is tied as my favorite with this one. The flavor is just great and there is a slight hint of Asiago that is not to over powering. The stats are pretty impressive as well with

130 calories per 85g link, 7g of fat, 380 mg of sodium (pretty low for a sausage), 2 carbs and a whopping 14 grams of protein.

Next up is a not a Trader Joes sausage but another Al Fresco all natural one. It is the Roasted Garlic With Onion and Herbs Chicken Sausage.
Here I ate it with a Flatout Italian Herb wrap with spinach and mustard...
Although I liked this sausage it was not my favorite. The flavors were just a little off and I am not quite sure what it was. Maybe it was to sweet. The sodium was also a little high. I liked it but I probably wouldn't buy it again because the previous two sausages put it shame!! You can find the nutrition facts here.

I will leave you with this yummy chicken salad I consumed yesterday for lunch with lots of avocado and salsa.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!!! Thanks again for all your thoughts on my last post!!!

P.S. If you love peanut butter like me you should check out some of these crazy combos I found. There are literally 100's of them and some are incredibly wacky but inspiring at the same time.
Crazy Peanut Butter Combos
I want to know if anyone has tried some of these. Like the peanut butter, lettuce and mayo combo?

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: Not to harp on something but it finally hit me last night after doing my post that my little Kiki Baby is gone. I cried myself to sleep last night. Isn't it crazy how we can take for granted and not always appreciate the little things in our life such as our pets and how quickly things can be taken from us?