Meggie's Munchies

Pwned

2011-08-30T16:57:00.002-04:00

And the McFlurry won. But it was a tasty defeat!!!

What would you doooo-ooo-ooooooooooo

2011-08-30T12:06:00.005-04:00

For a Klondike bar?????

Why is it so hard to stay on track for me lately? Why do I only want to eat junk food--bread, ice cream, subs, etc.....JUNK...GARBAGE!!!!!!! We had a power outage for three days from Hurricane Irene--everything was okay, we just lost power for awhile. It's hard to stay eating Paleo/Primal when you can't eat any fresh food. We went out to eat for a couple of meals and I ate complete junk. :( Last night I ate half a chicken breast. We nommed on trail mix (the good kind with M&Ms) pretty much all weekend. I *know* that it's easier when you JUST DO IT. So why can't I get started???? I broke down and got food at the store for sandwiches yesterday, our power was still out. Then magically, last night our electricity was restored!!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!! But now I have two loaves of whole wheat bread in the house. I ate one piece with butter & honey last night.....nom!!!! An egg on a piece of buttery toast this morning.....nom nom!!! And a turkey & cheez sandwich for lunch today.....why does bad food have to taste so good???? It is so hard & I need to get my mind right.

ANYWAYS, here's a picture of my front yard during the storm...

In other non-food newz--we went to the mall to kill time during the outage. And mainly to get the babeh out of the heat. The clothes in Baby Gap are so cute!!!! Like to-die-for MF CUTE!!!! Cute on a stick even. So we did the best we could to avoid the salespeople and tried on hats. This store is too expensive. Twenty bucks for a baby hat. I wonder how much that much yarn would cost in a craft store?? Do I need to learn how to knit????? Cuteness ensues:

Cauliflower Mac n Cheez

2011-07-17T12:36:00.005-04:00

Happy Sunday everyone!!! We just went for a nice 3 mile walk on base and it really tired me out, so I thought I'd veg out and update here!! Summer is flying by as usual, here's a pic of me & babeh from the fireworks on the 4th. We had a great time & it was nice & cool by the water!!

Now the foodz--I've been making this recipe for a few weeks now & we just love it. I'm not Paleo by any means right now, I'm just avoiding grains & dairy (except for cheez). I found this recipe for cauliflower mac & cheez in People Magazine. It was created by Whitney Miller, the winner of MasterChef.

Basically you roast some cauliflower--

Grate up some cheez

Make a roux

Add the cheez & cauliflower, mix & put in a baking dish

VOILA!!!!!
The last time I made it, we just had some simple baked chicken & sauteed asparagus. It was delightful and hits the spot when you need some home cookin!!

Here's the recipe:

Cauliflower Mac & Cheez

serves 4

Ingredients

8 cups cauliflower (1 head)

2 T olive oil

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 T butter

2 T flour

1 1/2 c fat free milk

1/2 c heavy cream

1/4 tsp table salt

1 c sharp cheddar cheez

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss florets in oil on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt & 1/4 tsp pepper. Roast until fork tender and lightly browned, 25 minutes. Reduce oven to 350 degrees.

2. Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk. Simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thickened, 2-4 minutes. Whisk in cream and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Remove pan from heat and stir in 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and all but 2 T of cheez. Stir over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.

4. Place cauliflower in 8x8in glass baking dish or 4 10oz ramekins. Pour cheez sauce on top. Sprinkle with 2 T cheez. Bake until sauce is bubbly, 20-25 minutes.

Turkey Bacon Chili

2011-07-04T10:39:00.005-04:00

Haillo everyone!!!!! I haven't posted in a dog's age, but here we go! So much has happened since the last post, I don't know where to begin. It's been almost a year and I'm engaged to a great fella and have a beautiful new baby girl named Lizzie!!! I luff her to pieces and she's just perfect. Here's a pic of my beauty and her momma!

Anyways, I have gained a bit of baby weight and it's time to get crack-a-lackin to take it off!!! We're avoiding grains, but rice will make the occasional appearance. Breakfast is the good ole green monster, lunch has been a Big Azz Salade (BAS) and dinner is a meat & vegetable. I'm going back to work next week and am making it easy on myself by making food on the weekend & bringing it to work. Today I just made turkey bacon chili, a creation of my own. :) Here we go!!

Turkey Bacon Chili

Ingredients:

1lb ground turkey

1.5 pieces of bacon, chopped into bits

1 onion chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped (couldn't find the garlic press!)

1 cup of carrots--just to add some more veggies into my life

2 cans of diced tomatoes

3 cans of beans (NOT PALEO)

1 can of pumpkin

2 mini cans of chopped green chilis

1 teaspoon of better than bouillion, beef flavor

Spices (not pictured)

salt & pepper

cumin, cinnamon, 21 seasoning salute from Trader Joe's, red cayenne pepper, onion powder, parsley & thyme

First off, here's my turkey

Canned goods
Carrots & onions
So fry up that bacon!!!

Add the onion and salt & pepper

Add the spices, turkey & bouillon

Add pumpkin & tomatoes

Rinse the beans, add them with the green chiles

Simmer everything together for an hour, you may add some water to thin things out a tad.

Finished!!!!! Very easy, we'll see how it tastes in about an hour!! Update to come!!

Chorizo Hash

2010-07-08T06:59:00.004-04:00

Wuttup homies?!?! Yes the Meggilizz has returned from Puerto Rico and is back on track! I had a really awesome time, I'll share some pics later on, but wanted to share some food since I haven't done that since the Crimean War.

I haven't really done any real grocery shopping in a few weeks since I have discovered Carolina Grown!! It's a great company that delivers farm-raised meat, produce, eggs, and other goodies right to your door!! This is what I had to work with

Eggs, spinach, radishes & local pork chorizo! From the Coon Rock Farm in Hillsborough, NC.

I scrambled it all together and came up with this awesome breakfast!

I'm enjoying it in front of some kick-ass music videos and some Crema coffee that I picked up in San Juan.

Hope y'all are doing well!!! Leave me a comment and lemme know what you're up to!! Peace out. :)

Mission: Puerto Rico

2010-06-15T09:16:00.005-04:00

In less than 48 hours I will be on a plane heading to San Juan, Puerto Rico!! We'll be staying in this swanky hotel, pretending to be high class broads.

Plans include laying on the beach under shady palms, drinking copious amounts of rum & mojitos, being fanned by a cabana boy or perhaps two??

We hear-tell there is a 'rum boat' that takes you on a three hour tour and gives you as much rum as you can handle. Pray that your Meggilizz will not fall off the plank! I'll be paying a visit to the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista to confess any sinning that may occur. Perhaps I should schedule an appointment now??

Besides the typical carousing, we will take a tour of Old San Juan and try to soak up some culture along with the rays of delightful sunshine.

I'm packing all my bikinis & SPF 50. See y'all on the beach!!!!

Big weekend ahead

2010-06-03T21:09:00.002-04:00

Hey y'all!! I've got a really exciting weekend coming up and can't wait to share it with you. I almost thought I wouldn't be able to go because I woke up yesterday just feeling HORRIBLE!!! With a stuffy head, sore throat & fever that came on last night, I went to the doctor today and got some good medicines. I feel SO MUCH BETTER today!!! I'm trying to pump myself full of fluids, boring jello & chicken soup.

Tomorrow I'm heading down to Savannah for my girlfriend's wedding!!! They've been together for 10 years now and finally getting hitched!!!! I'll make sure to take some good pictures--I'll have to find my camera and charge it up! So I hope you have a good weekend and I'll see you on Sunday night!!

Life Update...

2010-05-10T12:28:00.005-04:00

No excuses, folks. I am just a very bad blogger!! I lose interest so quickly it seems and it's just another tedious thing that must be done. I'm changing my attitude though, starting NOW!!! I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and a lot of things have happened in the past few weeks. I'm still doing Crossfit at our new gym--A Star Iron. I'm also running again! I've done a couple 5k's & a 10k at the beach and signing up for a half marathon in November. A few weeks ago, I went to a nutrition workshop put on by Melissa Urban of Urban Gets Diesel and Dallas Hartwig, together they are the Whole 9. I learned a lot of great information, I knew some of it, but it was nice to hear the science behind it AND to be able to ask questions! Take a gander over at the Whole 9 site, they have a lot of good information in their blog and even offer personal services.

With me, I've been through a lot this past year and I would guess that any one of those things would've needed a year to get over. Deaths of two friends--John Velandra in January and one of my old friends from my college days died a couple weeks ago. He had quite a few health problems and I thought he was on the mend, but I guess the Man Upstairs had a different plan, as he always does. I may have talked here about my mom being sick with kidney problems & dialysis--well there's some GREAT NEWS!!!! On Mother's Day, she got a call from the hospital that there was a kidney waiting for her! It was a match, they had the surgery and she's been back home now and doing just fabulously! I went to visit my family over Memorial Day weekend and she looks great and I'm so happy that her kidney troubles are over!

Dealing with my divorce is another big thing for me, I never got any closure and probably won't for awhile. Imagine having not the best relationship, but being in denial about it and being emotionally abused. Always trying to please your spouse, doing everything you could to make them happy and totally avoiding yourself and your own needs to be healthy in the process. Then imagine your spouse telling you they don't love you anymore, what do you do then?? You centered your life around that person, uprooted yourself, moved hundreds of miles away from your only home, support him during a LONG deployment and now this!!! I tried my hardest to make him happy while we were together, I know he has problems from the deployment but there were things that I couldn't fix. There are things that I won't go into here, but I hope the best for my ex, everyone deserves to find happiness and I hope he finds it one day.

It takes a long time to get yourself back and figuring out who you really are, recreating what needs attention. One thing I've realized over the past few months is that it really doesn't matter what you have or where you are, but that you're surrounded by people that love you. Your family should be that number one priority, but everyone has issues, whether they speak to certain family members or not. I'm taking the time to get to know myself again, working on the inside & the outside, everything goes hand in hand. What you eat feeds how you feel and how you perform in the gym.

Stay tuned!!!

Trip to Raleigh!

2010-02-20T20:12:00.002-05:00

Today has been such a great day!! I went to Crossfit for a nice little ass-kicking before I headed up to Raleigh for the day. I met up with my friend Terry for lunch at Neomonde, I got the Neomonde sampler and it was DEEE-LISH-USSSSSSSS!!!!!!!! Let's see, there was baba ganoush, hummus, tabbouli, a whole wheat pita and some walnut baklava for dessert. SOOOOOOO FREAKIN GOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!! I really can't wait to go back and get something new!!!

We then took a trip to the mall and I resisted temptation of a fabulous dress at the Limited, I must keep my eye on it to see when it goes on sale!! After dropping some cash at Sephora (le yaaaay!!) we went over to Whole Foods so the Meggilizz could get some grass fed beef!!

Isn't this so neat?? It was hanging over the meat case at WF. :)
I got 10oz of grass fed London Broil and marinated it in soy sauce, Worcestshire sauce, olive oil, garlic and salt & pepper for a few hours before broiling it.

Cooked just about 5 minutes on each side in a VERY hot broiling oven.

I had it for dinner with some leftover brussel sprouts & radishes.

IT WAS SO GOOD!!!!!!!! I can't wait to get back to Raleigh for some more Mediterranean food & grass fed beefmeats!!!!! :D

Roast Chicken

2010-02-16T19:43:00.002-05:00

I woke up quite early today and got my chicken ready for the oven before I went to Crossfit!! I decided to cook him long & slow so I wouldn't have to hurry to get back. I rubbed him with olive oil, salt & pepper, stuffed the cavity with apples (was out of onion) stuffed garlic in the skin and put bacon on top!

I cooked him at 300-325 for about 2.5-3 hours and he turned out like this--

The bacon was pretty tasty too ;) I had a nice plate of brussel sprouts, carrots, radishes all roasted together with my chicken for dinner. FANTASTIC!!!!!
I'll be making soup out of the carcass sometime this weekend.

Snow!!!

2010-02-14T12:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday & Valentine's Day!! This is the beautiful site that I woke up to yesterday morning.

We got about two inches and it was all melted away by the afternoon. :( I took a nice little walk in the snow before it melted so that was nice. :) For breakfast I made a fried egg

And some oatmeal with banana.

I was a VERY busy little Meggilizz on Saturday, I reorganized my furniture in my living room, got rid of a bunch of junk lying around & stored away my desktop computer. Things are looking a lot more open & fresh in my house now! :) I made Texas trail beef with cheez and sour cream for lunch.
In between cleaning and mopping and tidying and vacuuming, I roasted up some veggies to be eaten at dinner.
And made Thai green curry with beef meat to eat over my veggies.
It was pretty good!!! Saturday night I went out with the girls and needless to say I'm not feeling up to par right now and definately not into eating anything!!! So I'm going to drink some water and probably take a couple of naps today ;)

It's been awhile!

2010-02-12T20:27:00.002-05:00

Hey y'all!! It's been a bit too long since an update, hasn't it??

I'm gearing up to be snowed in tonight, so here's a nice long post to entertain both of us. This week has been very busy and crazy and exciting at the same time. My parents went on a cruise to Costa Rica and nearby places (lucky bitchezzz) and they're currently floating in the water while I'm stuck in a mild snowstorm!!!!

There's just a dusting on the ground so far, they say we'll get anywhere from 2-4 inches. We'll see what happens. Okay on to the noms!! This is just going to be a mish-mash of different things, I wasn't able to photograph everything I ate, this is pretty much the gist of it.

Tuesday morning I went to Crossfit for the first time after being sick (le yaaaay!) and it was great. I made a green monster for breakfast--before:

And after!!

This was my lunch Tuesday, I had a hair appointment during my lunch hour, so I made a wrap out of turkey, ff sour cream, mayo*, onions, spinach, tomato in a Flatout* with some carrots on the side.

I really love those wraps!!! I went over to my friend Jo's house for dinner, I brought the Texas trail beefy mac and we had green beans. :) I love green beans, even canned! I don't care if it's not classy, I luffs me some green beans!

Wednesday morning I was very hungry!! I had some of my homemade applesauce

And some veggie quiche cups that Jo gave me.

Lunch was chili with egg, cheez, sour cream and chopped onions.

Wednesday night I went to Bdubs and got some spicy garlic wings....NOMMY!! Also tried the new Samuel Adams Noble Pils--it's AWESOME!!! Very bright and hoppy, just how I like it!! Thursday morning I had bacon & eggs for breakfast and couldn't take a picture b/c I was running late for court. After court was out, I made another bowl of chili and then went to Crossfit. Dinner was really neat--steak and roasted brussel sprouts with shallots & radishes.

My friend Vicci from Crossfit told us about roasting radishes, she saw it in Saveur magazine. I may have to check into getting a few copies of this magazine, it looks really interesting!!!

Today I'm still on a meaty kick and had steak & an egg for breakfast!!

Now I know I said before that I was doing Weight Watchers, but also implementing ideas of Paleo & Primal Balance. Today I haven't eaten much else other than the steak & egg. I had an apple and milk with my coffee this morning (and a Diet Coke this afternoon) but that's it. I'm experimenting with the Intermittent Fasting, I'm going to try it out once a week. So today, I didn't eat a formal lunch or dinner and I'm doing pretty well!!! No jitters, fatigue, nothing really out of the ordinary. My stomach only growled a little bit maybe 45 minutes ago (8pm Eastern) so that's really not bad at all!! I haven't drank much water today, so I'm going to get on that right now.

This weekend should be fun, getting snowed in tomorrow, I'm planning on cooking some green beef curry and a roast chicken! Hope y'all have a good night, I'm watching the Olympics and SO EXCITED!!! I've always luffed the Olympics, especially Winter. AND oh mon DIEU I am totally drooling over the USA team's wool caps with the cute little moosies on them!!!!!!!!! I have got to find one!!!! I tried googling it just now and came up with nothing, so if anyone knows where I can get one, let me know!!!!!!

Grain-free Monday

2010-02-08T18:06:00.004-05:00

Happy Monday everyone!!!! Hope y'all had a great day, it really just flew by for me!! I'm sitting here in front of Cash Cab and thought it would be a perfect time to update the old bloggerino.

This morning I had a green monster with spinach, banana, strawberries, milk, Amazing Meal Green Superfood aaaaaaand I think that's it!!! It wasn't very sweet since my bananas aren't browning yet and I left out the whey powder to save on extra points.

Needless to say without the extra protein, I got hungry WAY earlier than I usually do!! I packed an apple and didn't realize it was so tiny when I went to eat it. Lucky for me I had stowed away some cottage cheez in the fridge at work! I'm sure y'all can imagine what an apple and cottage cheez look like :P Nothing special.

For lunch I was still mighty hungry and had my planned chili with an egg on top (cooked in olive oil). I added some cheddar cheez and sour cream for the helluvit and it was delightful!!

In order to bulk up my lunch a tad, I made a salade with spinach, carrots, tomatoes, onion and avocado with olive oil & red wine vinegar to dress. It was a perfect lunch!!

This afternoon was a typical extremely uneventful day at the office, I'm taking the evening to relax and paint my toenails. I don't want to push back into Crossfit too hard, so I'm going to go twice this week and more next week. When I got home, I was quite hungry and was glad that I had food ready to go!!! Turkey roast and leftover zucchini, yellow squash & onions.

It was tres nom and I totally scarfed it down!! I made a cup of white chai from Stash

And added a teaspoon of honey and milk.

It's a good thing there aren't any cookies in the house!! They'd go perfectly with my tea. :) BUT would totally ruin my grain-free day!!

For those wondering, I'm currently following Weight Watchers Simply Filling Technique--but incorporating lessons learned from John Velandra about the evils of grains. It's still early days of totally limiting grains, but I've noticed that I'm less bloated in the tum and I just feel SO much better generally!!! When I do eat grains, it will be either oatmeal or whole wheat pasta, just because I love both of them so much!!!

Okay, it's time to put another coat of polish on my little piggies, so I bid you goodnite!! :D

Tuna Wraps & Applesauce

2010-02-07T14:40:00.008-05:00

Happy Super Sunday!!!! I hope everyone is having an awesome day so far :) Today is very low-key for the Meggilizz, I'll be going over to my friend's house tonight for a little Super Bowl partaaaay action. It should be fun!!

This morning I slept in just a *tiny* bit but made it to the church on time :P I had a green monster for breakfast.

Today's recipe before blending:

2 handfuls spinach

1/2 banana

1/2 c frozen strawberries

1 T coconut oil*

1 scoop vanilla whey powder*

1 scoop Amazing Grass Green Superfood

1 10oz container Naked Juice*--Tropical Mango Probiotic flavor--nommy

It was delicious, as usual! After church, I picked up a Starbucks FF latte and went to the store to get some produce that I'd forgotten yesterday afternoon. How can you forget carrots & tomatoes??? I guess you can, and I did. Hmph.

Somehow I found myself with a LOT of extra apples in my fridge and not wanting them to go to waste, I'd normally make apple crisp. But being that is NOT the most healthy option, I went in search for a good recipe for homemade applesauce instead. I smooshed together a few recipes in my head, then kinda just winged it ;)

Meggilizz's Homemade Applesauce

11 apples--mixture of Pink Lady, Red Delicious and Empire

1-2 t brown sugar*

1/2 c water

2 T cinnamon

1 T cloves

1 t nutmeg (I would've added more, but ran out)

1 T olive oil

1/2 T French sea salt

I chunked the apples rather than chopping them b/c I like applesauce more chunky. Put everything in a big pot together, cover and heat on low for 1-2 hours. My stove is pretty hot (even on low heat) so I cooked mine for only about an hour and 15 minutes.

And the finished, delumptious applesauce!

Now I've got a nice supply of applesauce and Mexican-type dishes in my freezer, this blog may get a little repetitive over the next few days folks!!!

For lunch I made a wonderful healthy tuna salad wrap. I mixed together the tuna filling:

1 can white tuna, packed in water

2 t olive oil

1 t mayonnaise*

1 T FF sour cream

Salt, pepper, Bombay Veggie seasoning (luff that stuff!!)

1/2 avocado, mashed up

2-3 T diced onion

Then layered the tuna stuffing with spinach and tomatoes on a Flatout* wrap.

Rolled it up and had it with some baby carrots. :)

Ohhhh babies!!!! This was a truly nomtastic lunch affair!!! I'll probably make up some more tuna filling to have on hand for lunches this week. Perhaps in a pita pocket would be less messy than a Flatout, oui??

I'm outtie for now, gonna read my Pirate book that a certain someone gave me and head over to my friend's house for the game. See y'all later!!!!! :D

Back in the Saddle Again

2010-02-06T19:02:00.007-05:00

Well I guess it's time to get back on the blogging horse. It's been a month since John's death and things are settling back into a routine. I'm still doing Crossfit and am getting over a nasty bout with bronchitis. I am going to start training soon for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon in May.

Today for breakfast I got myself a little treat from Starbucks! Nonfat lattes are a great way to start the day. I also had a green monster for breakfast but forgot to take his picture.

Lunch was a bowl of chili with an egg on top--you know how I love that combo!! :)

Tonight for dinner, I made Texas Trail Beef Macaroni. I've known about this recipe for years from my friend Heather but never made for whatever reason.

Here are my changes:

2 lb lean ground hamburger

1 c chopped onion

3 cloves garlic

4 cups beef stock

29 oz canned fire roasted tomatoes

1/2 c water

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp Chipotle chili powder

2 tsp Penzey's Tuscan herb blend

4 c whole wheat macaroni, uncooked

Fat free sour cream for topping

Fat free or soy cheddar cheez for topping (I'm using full fat and counting points)

In a large stockpot, brown beef with onions. Add all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, cover & cook for 15-20 minutes. Top with sour cream, cheez and/or Tabasco sauce.

I'm having my Texas trail beefy mac with zucchini, yellow squash & onions sauteed in Bombay Veggie seasoning from Whole Foods.

And a cup of white chai tea with honey and milk while I watch this NCIS marathon!! Hope y'all have a good night!

Here's to you, Mr. Velandra

2010-01-08T18:45:00.002-05:00

January 6, 2010 will be a day that I never forget.

My dear friend and Crossfit trainer, John Velandra, was killed in a horrific car incident. Note I said incident and not accident. He was on his way to the gym and a total d-bag in a stolen truck barreled into him in the middle of a bad intersection (it's bad b/c that's the same intersection where I had an accident this summer). So anyways, the cops had been chasing this d-bag for about a half-hour (it was before 6am fyi) and it happens that this waste of a human being slammed into my friend's car going 70mph. He was killed instantly, his heart just struck 'perfectly' that he felt absolutely no pain.

I was completely shocked and blown away when my friend Jo called me with the horrible news. I didn't believe her, I didn't want to believe her. My friend Stella has known John for years and I would have to be the one to break the news to her since her office is just right next door. I was numb and in disbelief telling her what happened...the past few days have been a blur of trying to get work done, tears, and getting together with friends who also knew John.

John was WAY more than a trainer or a coach. Sure I've only known him less than a year, since March 2009, but he was that kind of guy that you are drawn to, that really brought people together. It seemed like he knew EVERYONE in town and he was always helping someone. He had such a personality that you were instantly put at ease, you knew how genuine he was about fitness, health, nutrition, about helping you get better, to become the best version of yourself possible. He encouraged me to follow the Paleo Diet and encouraged me to do what I loved, cooking. He loved this little silly blog and I made Paleo Bars for him quite a few times. There was nothing fake about this huge man, nothing at all. He never let a bad word out of his mouth about ANYONE, which is pretty unusual in these times. He was a good Christian man with a huge heart, he leaves behind a beautiful wife and I truly feel for her. Sending your husband off to work like any other day and then getting this horrible news....

Thank you Johnny V for everything you have taught me--both in Crossfit, with nutrition and in life. I will do my best to keep your positive spirit alive, I love you and will miss you both in & out of the gym...3-2-1...ENJOY!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-25T17:05:00.012-05:00

Merry Christmas Bloggies!!!

I've been quite busy with family things the past few days, so here we go with a super update! On Wednesday, I went out to lunch with my sister to CHIPOTLE!!!!

I got a steak bowl and Heather got a chicken bowl.

We did a bit of shopping, I came home and made a loaf of banana bread.

The recipe came from a Shaker cookbook.

Shaker Banana Bread

1/2 c butter

1 c sugar

2 eggs

2 mashed bananas

2 c flour

5 T buttermilk

1/2 t salt

1 t baking soda

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and bananas. Add one cup of the flour and half of buttermilk alternately. Add salt and baking soda to remaining flour. Stir in second flour mixture and remaining buttermilk alternately. Turn into well greased 9x5 loaf pan. Bake at 325° for one hour.

My brother Ryan and his girlfriend Heather showed up from NYC!

We went to the first Max & Erma's in German Village. Ryan & Heather both got garbage burgers.

I got a mushroom-cheddar burger.

Tuesday night I got to go out with my bestie from high school, Kim! We had way too much fun!! And I have no idea who that bald dude is behind us, whatev.

Thursday I was just a teensy bit hungover and didn't take any food pics!! :P My sister and I went to the mall and got some avocado chicken egg rolls from California Pizza Kitchen, they were NOMTASTIC!!! We got the rest of our Christmas shopping done, headed home and wrapped up the last of our presents. Our family always goes out for Chinese food on Christmas Eve before church. We went to Joey Chang's and had a great meal, their food is super! And it's fun to get a bunch of dishes and share with everyone.

Christmas morning, we woke up to mom's Christmas casserole, it was soooo gooood!!

I had a wonderful breakfast of banana bread, coffee cake & casserole!! :)

After opening our presents, mom & I set up the bar with the appetizer smörgåsbord!!

Let's see--pickles, green & kalamata olives, fruit cake, peanut brittle, Jarlsberg & cheddar cheez, cheezball, Jarlsberg dip, crackers, summer sausage & mulled wine.

And here's the girls--Meg & the two Heathers :)

My sister always makes corn-bake for holidays and coordinates with a cute paprika decoration!

Twice baked potatoes :) nommy!!!!

Goofing around waiting for the roast beef to finish cooking...

Arrrrrgh!! Hurry up beef--we're getting hungry!!!

Ryan making asparagus

And we're still waiting for the roast to finish. I will post an update when we've got everything plated!!!

I'M SO HUNGRY!!! WHERE'S THE BEEF!!!!!!

********

Here we go!!! The beef finished cooking (finally!) and we chowed down! :D

Tonight we're going to digest our nommy beef dinner and go to see It's Complicated. I don't think the WHOLE family has been to a movie together in YEARS!!! I'll let you know how it is. :) Hope y'all have a great Christmas!!!

mEGGilizz Mc Muffins

2009-12-23T10:47:00.003-05:00

Good morning!!! How are y'all doing today?? I had a great time last night visiting my old haunts, talking about the old days! I got to sleep in today and my mom came with a great idea for breakfast--egg mcmuffins!!!

Toasted English muffin, ham, an egg and Jarlsberg cheez :)

Check out Spencer eyeing my breakfast while I had to run upstairs to grab the camera!!! I told you this dog runs the house!!

Today is going to be a pretty low-key day. I'm waiting for the FedEx truck to deliver my new phone--my phone broke on Friday and the good people at Verizon are *supposed* to be overnighting it. I'm blaming the snowstorm if it doesn't come today, if not VZW is going to get an earful!!!

I'm meeting my little sister for lunch at Chipotle. I've got to wrap presents and I'm baking banana bread later this afternoon. Today is my parents anniversary so they're going out for a fancy dinner. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!! And my brother and his girlfriend are on their way from NYC into Ohio and should be here tonight! So quite busy for a low-key day, eh?? Hope you have a good day!

Clam Pasta

2009-12-22T18:11:00.005-05:00

Good evening bloggies!!! Hope you're having a wonderful week so far! I'm thoroughly enjoying my vacation in Ohio, there's snow on the ground and it is just beautiful here! This morning I went with my parents to the grocery store where we saw this:

ISN'T THAT HILARIOUS!!!!! For those who don't know, The Ohio State University Buckeyes are in the Rose Bowl playing against the Oregon Ducks. :) After we unloaded our haul, I met up with my best friend from high school at Bdubs. I got to meet her little girl Sophie, she's almost 3 years old and so cute!!! Don'tcha think??

I went over to my old workplace and visited with all my old buddies! It was so good to see a bunch of oldie but goody faces today. :) When I got home, it was 'wine-hour' at the Weddle household, so I made my mom & myself a bloody mary! These are my total fav and the first time that I actually made it by myself!!! I used Spicy V8 juice instead of tomato juice, Tanqueray vodka, a dash of Worcestershire, olives, lime, pickle, celery & Old Bay on the rim.

As soon as T.M.Dubz got home, it was time to make dinner!

Clam Pasta

1 pkg capellini

4 T olive oil

2-4 cloves minced garlic

3 7 oz cans clams--1 minced, 2 chopped

1/4 c tapenade (we make our own)

1/2 t fresh ground pepper

1 bunch chives or green onions chopped.

Sauté garlic in olive oil for one minute over medium heat.
Add clams with broth, heat to boiling and cook three minutes. Stir in tapenade and pepper, cooke one minute until heated through.
Mix cooked pasta, clam sauce and chives.
You may also add sliced olives and sautéed mushrooms.
Enjoy with a NOMMY beverage of choice!!

T.M. Dubz knows the Meggilizz loves her hops and picked up this wonderful IPA!!! I'm luffing it!

We are snacking on some peanut brittle and watching the evening news. I'm heading out to meet some more friends and catch the OSU basketball game!!! I love being at home! Hope y'all have a great night!!!! :D

Gruyère Macaroni

2009-12-21T17:44:00.007-05:00

My mom & dad made a scrumptious dinner of home made macaroni & cheez made with GRUYÈRE!!!!! :D

They were told about the recipe from a lady at their church--she saw it on the cover of Family Circle, then when she opened to page 162, there WAS NO PAGE 162!!!! Someone had torn it out!! My dad, who used to work at the Grandview Library, decided to help her out and ordered the October 17, 2009 copy of the magazine since the picture looked so good! And he's just a helpful kinda guy ;)
Mom made up some fresh green beans
Altogether with some ham from Yutzy's in Plain City, Ohio, it was a great satisfying and comforting meal!
Recipe for "Mac & Cheese" Family Circle Magazine Oct 17, 2009--The combination of three cheeses makes our mac extra rich and creamy.

Makes 12 side-dish servings

Prep 10 minutes

Cook 6 minutes Bake at 350° for 20 minutes Broil 3 minutes

1 box (1 pound) penne rigate

3/4 pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 pound Gruyère cheese, shredded

1/2 cup shredded Asiago or Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Heat oven to 350°. Coat a 2 quart broiler-safe oval baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boiling.

2. Once water boils, add penne. Cook 6 minutes, then drain. In a large bowl, toss together the cheddar, Gruyère, and Asiago. Set aside.

3. Meanwhile (back at the ranch), melt butter in medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Whisk flour until smooth and slightly bubbly. In a thin stream, whisk in milk. Stir in the onion powder, salt and cayenne. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in 2.5 cups of the cheese mixture.

4. In pasta pot, stir together the cooked penne and the cheese sauce. Pour half into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with a generous cup of the cheese. Spoon remaining penne into dish and top with remaining cheese.

5. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Increase oven temperature to broil and cook 3 minutes, until top is lightly browned. Cool slightly before serving.

Per serving 400 calories, 21 g fat (12 g saturated fat), 20 g protein, 33 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 410 mg sodium, 65 mg cholesterol

......Not that *we're* counting!!! This week is going to be a food free-for-all for the Meggilizz!! I'm going to eat whatever I want, but am going to *try* to balance it out with vegetables. See I got my mom to make green beans with dinner!! And they were FRESH!!! :D

Christmas at Ledge Lane (and travel pics)

2009-12-21T16:39:00.005-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS from Ledge Lane !!!! I was greeted with Santa serving me a glass of Chardonnay.

The Weddle Christmas Tree looking beautiful
Winter candle
Spencer!!! The Maltese-poodle that runs this house!
I tried to get a pic of Spencer with Mom, but he jumped off right when I hit the button!
Looking out the back door into the ravine. They got only 2 inches of snow, they just missed getting the Blizzard of 2009.
Rudolph--his nose lights up at night! How cute!!

Here are some pics from my day of travel! It was bright & sunny when I was in North Carolina. There were traces of snow just before Greensboro--this surprised me!!!

Pilot Mountain in northern NC

Somewhere in Virginia

The trees were beautiful in WV!!! This is north of Beckley on the WV Turnpike

After a long ride, I made it to Ohio!!! And was greeted with a local favorite!! :) Love ya Bobby!

Savannah

2009-12-21T16:28:00.006-05:00

Okay so it's been quite awhile since I updated--shame, shame!! I know!! Here's a tiny snippet of last weekend in Savannah. I stayed with my good friends Michele & Dee, they have a cute house on Whitemarsh Island. Saturday morning we had a hearty breakfast at a little place downtown. I forget the name right now, I'll have to get with Michele and update again later! :P This is an Italian sausage omelet with grits. You gotta have grits when you're in Georgia, folks!!!

This is one of the gorgeous Savannah homes decorated for Christmas.

Michele and I went ice skating and had a blizzaaaaast!!! I got a blisterrrrr on my foot which was not awesome. Ain't Michele cute???

After our little workout we were quite famished and went up to the Rocks at the Bohemian Hotel for some ahi tuna with pita bread. It was VERY good!!! We wolfed it down!!

Here we are all decked out in our finery and masquerade masks!!! We had such a great time even though it was freezing!!!

I really love it down in Savannah and can't wait to go back!!! Thanks so much to Michele & Dee for another awesome weekend. They really know how to show a girl a good time!!! ;) Love y'all!!!

Oatmeal, Chili & Chicken

2009-12-09T19:23:00.005-05:00

Hey y'all!!! How are you doing? I've had a pretty repetitive couple days food-wise and busy busy busy otherwise!! For breakfast yesterday I had some pumpkin-butter oatmeal --without brown sugar this time. It was MUCH better without sugar!! :)

Lunch was some paleo chili with an egg on top. I am officially out of chili and that makes me a little sad!!
I love chili with an egg on top. Kinda like Surry with the Fringe on Top?? ummm....nope.

Dinner was garlic baked chicken, butternut squash & green beans.
The squash recipe came from Cooking Club magazine and my friend Michele in Savannah gave it to me!! And I will now pass it along to you, it is awesome and made my house smell wonderful! :)

1 lb. butternut squash, pealed, cubed (3/4 inch)(4 cups)
2 c. cipollini onions or shallots, quartered ( I used 1 c. shallots & the rest were yellow as that was what I had on hand)
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 tsp olive oil

1) Heat oven to 450*. Spray rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan with cooking spray
2) Combine all ingredients except oil in large bowl: toss with oil to coat. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake 25-35 mins. or until tender & browned in spots, turning several times.

4 (3/4c.) servings
115 cals, 5g total fat (.5 g sat fat), 2g protein, 18.5 carbs, 0 mg cholesterol, 305 sodium, 3g fiber

I woke up very late today, I blame it on this morning's rain!! I made a fried egg

And some more oatmeal :)

This is only 1/4 c oats, 1/2 c skim milk, almond butter, raisins & a banana.
Lunch was a salade
And a very funny looking lame steak. Not the best cut of meat, but whatever!
And a repeat performance of last night's dinner!
Defo better on the second night. I've got a busy day tomorrow and Friday I'm going down to Savannah to visit Michele!!! :D I'm very excited for my little weekend trip! We're supposed to be going to a masquerade ball, I'll make sure to take beaucoup de photos!!!

Weekend Recap!

2009-12-08T07:06:00.006-05:00

Happy (?) Tuesday Bloggies!!!! Hope you're having a good week so far, I'm très busy at work and don't have much time, I was here until 7:30pm last night! arrrrrrrrrrgh. Here's a cute-to-the-max pic of Bella & Brutus snuggling on Sunday night. Silly Bella wouldn't hold still so she's a bit blurry. :)

Saturday was a very lazy day, I woke up with a huge headache and missed the KERF Brunch :( Hopefully I can catch up with you ladies sometime soon!! I watched football all day and for dinner I had some leftover lentil soup.
Sunday morning I made a nice big green monster!! I haven't had one in forever and it was awesome.
I headed over to Jo's house and we hit the road for the Boylan Artwalk in Raleigh. There were so many cool artists and craftsmen. Some street musicians too!
And Christmas alpacas!!!
We left around 3pm and went to Ruby Tuesday for lunch. I was seriously wilting and needed a huge salade.
Went over to Whole Foods where I picked up a few necessities along with this pumpkin butter.
I used it yesterday morning in my oatmeal--with banana, raisins, brown sugar (totally unnecessary!) and almond butter.
Lunch yesterday was a salade with salmon and balsamic vinaigrette.
And dinner I had paleo chili that I pulled from the freezer.
Okay, sorry for the Speedy McFeeley post, but I've got a deadline!! Have a good day! :)

Restaurant Review: Sherefe Mediterranean Grill

2009-12-04T17:43:00.008-05:00

Today you are in for a very special treat--my very first restaurant review!! My friend Stella and I headed over to Sherefe's for a lunch to-go and they did not disappoint.

The 411--

Sherefe Mediterranean Grill

3608 Ramsey Street

Fayetteville, NC 28311

910-482-4433

www.sherefe.net

Located on one of Fayetteville's main drags, it's easily missed from the bustling street that is Ramsey, but once inside you're enveloped in wonderful hospitality!! The owner, Mustafa Somar, opened this, his first restaurant in 2003 after spending over 30 years in the industry. He gave Stella a giant hug and couldn't stop smiling the entire time we were there. He's a tall, jolly man, perhaps the Turkish version of Santa Claus? A trim Turkish Santa of course!!! They've earned quite a few awards, most recently "Best Vegetarian" and "Best Soup" by Fayetteville's Up & Coming Magazine.
Mustafa & his wife Kathy, pride themselves on using local food as is showcased in the daily specials. Sherefe means "cheers" in Turkish and the restaurant is definitely a good manifestation of the word!
The restaurant has dine-in and to-go options, there are two dining rooms in which to enjoy your meal. I love the floaty feeling the drapes give--almost like you're in the desert and have walked into a little food oasis.
I ordered the special soup--red lentil. It was very flavorful and had a nice light, yet creamy broth.
a Greek salad (with extra olives!) This was perhaps one of the best Greek salads that I've ever had, every leaf of lettuce was perfectly coated with dressing!!!
Complimentary pita breads--perfectly warmed.

Altogether now!!!

I made little salad roll-ups with a few of my pitas! :)

All in all, Sherefe has WONDERFUL food and a very pleasant atmosphere. I just wish we'd been able to eat in the restaurant with a nice glass of wine. I can't wait to go back for dinner and get one of the meat based dishes. If you ever find yourself in Fayetteville, make a special trip to Sherefe's on Ramsey Street!!! Tashakir to Mustafa and everyone at Sherefe Mediterranean Grill for another awesome meal!!!!! :D

Pumpkin Oatmeal

2009-12-04T06:42:00.005-05:00

Good morning bloggies!!!!

By some power of Greyskull, I woke up before the alarm today!! I really love lazy mornings, especially after stressful days. :) I'm catching up on my VH1 and watching Mike & Mike with my breakfast.

Pumpkin Oatmeal:
1/3 c oats
2/3 c water
pinch of sea salt

1/3 c pumpkin
2 t brown sugar
1 T almond butter
cloves & Penzey's Pumpkin Pie Spice
handful mixed dried berries (cranberries, cherries & blueberries)
All mixed up
It was nice & ooey-gooey thick! I love oatmeal that is so thick you need a huge glass of milk to chase it with. It's still dark outside, so I'm going to ~~veg out~~ put away some laundry and get ready for work!! Have a great day y'all!!
***********
Here's a super cool give-away from HangryPants !!!!! Click *here* to be entered in a drawing for a free yoga mat. :)

Ough what a day!

2009-12-03T18:35:00.005-05:00

What a long day I've had!!! I had an appointment at the courthouse this morning and decided to have a protein packed breakfast to hold me over. God, breakfast feels so long ago right now!!! I made a two egg spinach omelet and it was very good!

After sitting, waiting, wishing and finally a hearing at the courthouse, I came home and had some turkey breast with tomatillo salsa on top. :)
I ran a few errands around town and picked up one of these babies!

And after taking that pic, I proceeded to squirt fizzy Chinese tea all over my car's interior :( The car is airing out now but it's going to smell pretty bad for a few days!!! For dinner is leftover pasta Meggilizz--which is probably better today than when I made it, but that's how it goes with most Italian dishes, oui? Uhh, I mean, sì??

Also cracked open one of these bad boys ;)
What are you doing tonite? I'm hoping to get to bed early, but there's a football game on tonite that I'd like to watch!! We all know the Buckeyes are going to the Rose Bowl and the winner of tonight's Oregon-Oregon State game is supposed to be our opponent. The game starts at 9pm eastern, so unless I take a nap now, there's no way in hell I'm going to be awake at the end of the game!!! Oh well, we shall see!!

I'm every woman!

2009-12-02T19:40:00.008-05:00

It's all in meeeee!! Anythang you want done baybaaaaay....Okay I'll stop singing now! You will soon find out why I'm so womanized today, but first the food!! The food, folks, the FOOD!! I ate leftover pasta at the office for lunch.

With a nice little tarty apple from the Raleigh Farmer's Market.
Aaaaaand then I went to get my hairs did!!!!!
Isn't it lovely? It was just a quick trim and highlight, but I feel like a whole new woman!!!!

After work I went to another suh-weat-aaaaaaaaay kickboxing class and it was awesome, comme d'habitude!!! For dinner is leftover turkey breast, butternut squash, salade & skim milk.

Salade: spinach, carrots, cucumber, celery, tomato, bacon bits!!!!! and balsamic vinaigrette.
What's on my turkey, you're wondering?
Trader Joe's Tomatillo & Roasted Yellow Chili Salsa of course!!
It's très nomtastic if I do say so mahself!!! Tonight I've got a little bit of work to do and am going to chillax in front of ESPN2 and the Big Tenn/ACC challenge. GO BUCKEYES BABY!!! Have a good night! :)

Do the humpty dance!

2009-12-02T07:06:00.005-05:00

Happy Humpday! I got up a little early today so I can fold laundry and have a relaxing breakfast while watching some music videos. It's my little guilty pleasure!! But let me go back to yesterday afternoon, I had another apple from the farmer's market before I went to the gym.

At the gym, I did a run 1/4 mile--walk 1/4 mile for 3 miles. Also did four rounds of 20 reps: dumbbell presses (20#) and DB swings (20,25,25,20). I came home and didn't want to eat turkey again for dinner, so I came up with a hodge-podge meal. Roasted butternut squash, leftover green beans, fresh mozzarella cheese and two eggs.

I spent the rest of the evening catching up with friends and watching college basketball. I hate football season being over, but I love college hoops!! Fast forward to breakfast--

this mixture is:

1/3 c oats

2/3 c skim milk

pinch sea salt

cinnamon, cloves

banana

1 T flax seed

1 t brown sugar

1 T raisins

1 T almond butter

Okay I think I've procrastinated enough, I've got to get ready for work!! I'm going to cut my hairs cut at lunchtime, I'm so excited!! Hope y'all have a good day!

Turkey al Fresco

2009-12-01T13:21:00.004-05:00

It's such a beautiful day here in North Carolina!! The sun burned away the fog and it's just gorgeous outside now! I brought my lunch onto my little patio, but I'm without a patio set (thanks STBX--baer--anyways) so I'm going to have to keep my eye out for a cute little bistro set!

I'm having turkey breast, leftover beta potatoes,

a spinach salade and skim milk

Now only if I could get a tv hooked up out here so I can watch Days outside!!

Oatmeal-to-go

2009-12-01T08:01:00.005-05:00

GOOD MORNING!! How are yoooooooou?? Yes I've had a few cups of coffee and not getting much work done, but it's not my fault because I keep getting interrupted! argh. Anyways! I FULLY intended on going to Crossfit this morning but just kept hitting the ~~godforsaken~~ lovely snooze button! I finally got out of bed when one of the cats knocked my lamp off the bed table! WTF?!?! After a nice long hot shower, I made some oatmeal and it exploded over my freshly cleaned microwave! grrrr. I had no time to relax in front of the tv with my breakfast, so I made oatmeal-to-go and brought it into the office.

Today's breakfast noms:

1/3 c oats
2/3 c skim milk
1/2 banana (ate the other half)
1 spoon almond butter
2 T raisins
1 T brown sugar
cinnamon
ground cloves

It was so thick and tasty!! :) I just LOVE oatmeal when it's cold & foggy outside. Okay, it's time to get some work done, see y'all later!

Pasta Meggilizz

2009-11-30T20:21:00.004-05:00

Question: What do you make with all these ingredients?

Answer: Pasta Meggilizz!! Basically it's my own version of Bolognese sauce with lots of beef and healthy veggies. :) I made a nice appetizer of fresh mozzarella...mmmmmm so gooood!!

Drizzled with balsamic, olive oil, salt & pepper and that's pretty close to heaven folks!

For my pasta sauce, I used 90/10 ground beef, a chopped onion, celery, carrots, GARLIC (of course!) tomatoes, tomato paste & spices.

Don't you wish you could come over and have dinner with me? I've got plenty to share!!

I had a great time at my box-kicking class, the room was so hot and there were no fans!! I was a sweaty motha by the end of the hour and couldn't get into the shower fast enough!! Now I'm just vegging in front on the tv about to dig in to my dinner. Hope you have a great night!!

Where did November go?

2009-11-30T14:29:00.006-05:00

Seriously!! This month flew by like no other! And it's so warm outside today that it feels like Spring instead of the day before December!! I've had a semi-productive, semi-irritating morning so far. It's hard getting back to work after being off for two days, I feel like I wasted the entire morning doing busy work and now I can finally get down to business!!

For breakfast I had some oatmeal with applesauce, almond butter & raisins. At lunch I rushed over to the grocery store for some produce, I feel like I haven't had a salade in F-O-R-E-V-A-H!!!! After all the heavy dishes from Turkey Day it was nice to have a crisp & fresh little lunch. I made a spinach salade with tomatoes, cucumber, celery, carrot, tuna & balsamic vinaigrette.

I brought some almonds and an apple to nom on later in case I get hungry. I'm going to kickboxing class tonight, which I'm really excited about!

Also this morning I had a nice g-chat with my good friend Christie! We talked about food, relationships and how to deal with problems. Both of us tend to bottle things up inside and then we don't really know how to deal with them when they come out. I'm dealing with many things right now and I'm not sure it's time for me to address them yet, but here goes!

It's scary to make changes in your life, but if you feel like you want or need a different outcome, then you must make those changes in order to obtain that outcome. After all, if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got!! I've heard this idea before, but only applied it to healthy eating and the physical outcomes. Now I'm seeing that this can apply to ALL areas of your life!! If you don't change your behaviors, you can't expect to have a new and different outcome. Where I'm at right now is that I need to learn exactly WHAT changes I need to make. I know the outcome that I want, so I've got to figure out how exactly to obtain it. This is usually where I hit a dead end. In the past, I've repeated unhealthy behaviors and never learned a new healthy behavior. I'm going to have to research different healthy ways of thinking so I can stop the unhealthy cycle. I'm thinking a lot of time to myself, reflection & meditation are in order!!!!

Thanksgiving 2.0

2009-11-29T19:22:00.002-05:00

Hey everybody!! How's it going? I've had a super weekend and think I've got my batteries fully recharged :) After getting my whole house cleaned yesterday (yaaay!) I heated up my last plate of leftovers (booo!). Turkey, ham, stuffing & gravy, squash casserole & sweet potato casserole (not pictured somehow).

It was just what the doctor ordered! I was pleasantly stuffed for the rest of the evening. This morning I woke up with a nasty headache, so I didn't get a photo of my coffee. That didn't really work in getting rid of my headache so I just went back to bed. After a few hours I got up and made some roasted sweet potatoes with onions. These are 'old timey betas' that I found at the Farmer's Market last week. They are supposed to be the oldest sweet potato and aren't orange like regular SP's, they aren't as sweet either, but have a similar texture. I roasted these with olive oil & salt and pepper.

For dinner I heated up some turkey breast, leftover butternut squash along with my beta-potatoes.
I had a humongoid craving for apple crisp and since I didn't have any leftovers I decided to make a new pan. I followed my old family recipe & used 3-4 different kinds of apples, also from the Raleigh Farmer's Market.

So I'm going to dig in here and bid you goodnite!! :)

Happy weekend!

2009-11-28T13:23:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone!! Hope y'all are doing well, I know I've been absolutely horrible about updating the blog here lately and I only have so many excuses about being busy. But hey, who's NOT busy???

I hope y'all had a super Thanksgiving!! I stayed here in NC and had dinner with my friend Stella at her mother's house. I was sad not being with my own family this year, but I had a nice long talk with my mom so that was nice! :)

One other thing I guess I may as well put out there--my husband and I are getting divorced. It's a long story, but basically the 15 month deployment to Afghanistan ruined our relationship and he wasn't interested in fixing it when he got back. I'm as good as can be expected spending the holidays by myself, but honestly I'm way ahead of the curve since he basically shut me out of his life back in March while he was still deployed. It's really unfortunate that it had to happen, but we are both better off apart. I'm planning on staying in North Carolina (for now anyways) since I have a job and great friends down here.

Anyway, enough about all that--HOW BOUT THOSE BUCKEYES?!?!?!

We beat Michigan again this year, got the Big Ten Championship title AND are headed to the Rose Bowl!!!!! Of course the final BCS rankings aren't out yet and anything can happen, but I'm pretty sure that's where we're headed. We haven't been to the Rose Bowl since 1997--I was in high school then and my parents went out to Pasadena for the game. I remember how they were so excited about the whole trip--the Rose Parade, hanging out with all the alumni and of course the game!!! We won that game 20-17, it was awesome.

Anyhoooo--this morning I went to Crossfit and had a great workout. We did 3 Rounds for Time of 800 m run, 25 KB swings, 25 hollow rocks, 25 back extensions (on the GHD machine). I finished in under 28 minutes, for some reason I was having a hard time running this morning and was getting light-headed pretty easily.

For brunch I made some eggs

and oatmeal cooked with skim milk, apple pie spice, cloves, applesauce, raisins & almond butter.

I'm spending the rest of the day in the house doing a deep thorough cleaning!! The sun is shining and it's a gorgeous day, so I've got my curtains open and am enjoying my coffee while doing laundry. If I'm feeling ambitious, I'm going to finish painting my living room!!

It only takes one

2009-11-04T19:46:00.004-05:00

Hey y'all!

Howzit goin' bitchez?? I've been busy as usual, but doing pretty well overall! My food choices are getting pretty much back on track but I need to overhaul my exercise routine. More on that later. I've had lots of yummy green monsters for breakfast this week--this one doesn't look all that great though does it?? :P It's such a gross color thanks to a bunch of blueberries!

For lunch--or dinner? no it was lunch--I made some eggs with zucchini and some salsa on top. I wasn't sure how it would taste, but it was great and I'll do this again! :)

Last night I went and got a new tattoo, it took way longer than expected, so I only had Diet Coke for dinner. :) Here's my new ink

It's a snake wrapped around a red lotus. The snake symbolizes inner strength and the lotus

"...symbolizes the original nature of the heart (hrdaya). It is the lotus of love, compassion, passion, activity and all the qualities of the heart. It is the lotus of Avalokitesvara."

Lotus flowers also symbolize rebirth and beauty, since they start out as a seed in the bottom of a nasty mucky pond then rise up through all that ugly pond water to become a beautiful flower! I really love it and think Jason did an awesome job! He did the lotus in an old-school style, he's never done that before or even seen it anywhere, so I've got a unique piece of art on my back!! :)

Today I had a green monster for breakfast, I was running late so I didn't take a picture. For lunch, I met up with my friends at Bdubs, one of which is leaving very soon for Afghanistan :( I got six traditional spicy garlic wings--my favorite!! After work I came home to tidy up the apartment before I made dinner of salmon with zucchini & onions.

Cute huh? :) I've got all my candles lit and the Yankees game on tv. It only takes one, one game, one win to decide this year's World Series!!

This little soundbite got me thinking in the past 10 minutes about how that can have meaning & extend into other parts of life. IT ONLY TAKES ONE. One kind word, one good deed, one healthy decision can send your moment, hour, day, week, month, year, or life into one after another of positive things. Think about it!!! If you just look at things one at a time, they really are not as intimidating as previously thought. So tomorrow let's all just take things one at a time and see if we can't have a more positive day!

Okay then, the Yanks are at bat so I'm going to get off the computer and pay attention to the game!! Hope y'all have a good night! :)

Happy (sore) Monday..ow ow ow

2009-11-02T06:48:00.005-05:00

Howdy!! Hope y'all had a good weekend! :) I know that I did, we headed over to Wilmington for the Battleship Half Marathon and had a blast!!! Here we are pre-race

Meggilizz, Michele & Jo

We started at the USS North Carolina

Went across a bridge and ran/walked through the historic downtown area of Wilmington and saw some gorgeous homes.

Then we went around Greenfield Lake and found a clearing with tons of herons. It was amazing to see so many in one spot!

We then looped back around to cross the other bridge and finished back at the battleship. I have a couple of blisters and a sore ankle, but I did it!!!

Thank goodness for the time change or else I'd be super late to work today!! I have enough time to make a good breakfast of eggs and a green (brown?) monster and to post a quick update here!

I've got a super busy day at work and an optometrist appointment this morning, so I'd better get moving!! Bye!

Paleo Zucchini Bread

2009-10-25T12:56:00.002-04:00

4 large eggs, room temp & separated
2 medium zucchini, grated
1/2 cup almond butter
1 cup almond meal
1 tsp salt
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 325°

Grease a loaf pan, line the sides of the pan with parchment paper and grease that too ( I used foil, fresh out of parchment paper!)

Beat the egg yolks until they have lightened to a lemony-yellow color (about 2 minutes). Add zucchini, almond butter, almond meal, salt, honey, spices & baking powder, mix until well blended.

In a separate, clean bowl with clean beaters whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. This works best with a metal bowl, room temperature egg whites.

Take a big spoonful of the beaten egg whites and mix well into the zucchini mixture. Fold the zucchini mixture into the egg whites until no more streaks of white appear.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 45-50 minutes until browned and puffy on top and firm in the center. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing from pan to cool on a wire rack.

Week in Review

2009-10-25T12:06:00.005-04:00

Happy Sunday!!

How are you doing lately? I've been so busy this week it's a wonder I've kept my head on straight!! Between work, court, crossfit, training for our half-mary NEXT SUNDAY it's been hard staying on track food-wise. I've really got to start taking pics of every single thing that goes into my mouth because I can tell I've put on a few pounds. I don't want to seem shallow, but I worked very hard to lose 50 pounds and they just keep creeping back on due to my own poor planning and lack of motivation. This week I have visited quite a few fast-food establishments, which is showing to be worse & worse for my waistline & my wallet.

Some good things I've had this week are apples with almond butter

Salads with tuna and veggies

Green monsters
And healthier than fast food, but not-so-healthy pasta.

Eggs!! I love eggs for breakfast lunch & dinner!

The new pumpkin spice donut!! My friend Brigitte opened the door to the wonderful world of seasonal donuts last week after our walk and I broke down and got some for my breakfast on Tuesday after Crosssfit!!
Definately NOT healthy or Paleo, but soooooooo tasty!!!

This morning I made some eggs with mushrooms and bacon.

And Paleo pumpkin bars to get my pumpkin craving in a healthy format!

These are very very verrrrry good!!!! Healthy and moist so it really feels like a naughty treat! I'm doing some more baking now, I've got Paleo zucchini bread in the oven right now, I'll post again later when it's finished.

Here's my recipe for the Pumpkin Bars

Mix these ingredients:

1/2 c tapioca flour
3/4 c coconut flour
1/4 c almond flour
1/4 c hazelnut flour
1 tsp baking powder
2-3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp sea salt

In a separate bowl mix these ingredients:

4 eggs (room temp)
1/3 c coconut oil
2/3 c unsweetened applesauce
1/4 c honey
1 can pumpkin
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Mix together wet & dry ingredients. Add dried fruit & nuts of your choice, I used 2/3 c raisins, 1/2 c pecans and 1/2 c cranberries (unsweetened of course). Pour into 8x8 pan (I had to use two pans) You could also make these into muffins, use a bread pan or a 13x9 glass pan.

Bake at 350° oven for 20-30 minutes. I'm deviating from the original recipe by quite a bit (enough to make this my own recipe) so I'm going to check on my bars pretty frequently so I get the perfect cooking time down.

**Update**
It took about 40 minutes for my two 8x8 pans to cook.

I'm healed!!

2009-10-15T19:53:00.005-04:00

Hey everybody!!! How are you? I'm in a great mood because my hip is fixed and I can squat again!!! I'll tell the story later, but first let's begin with an LOLCat of our very own!! Brutus just konked out on the couch and is just dying for an LOL-capshun! I'm not very good at it, so gimme your best shot!! :)

Last night I had a wondrous sleep in my new bed!!! I can't wait to sleep in, it probably won't happen until next weekend though. I woke up early today for Crossfit and made a green monster to drink afterward.

Today's WOD
7 Rounds for Time (RFT)

5 skyscrapers

7 plyometric pushups

9 moving-squat-jumps

Since I was having a problem with my hip, trainer-extraordinaire-JV made a modified workout for me.

7 RFT

5 pullups

7 pushups

9 KB swings

8:33 not too shabby!!

During my lunch hour, I went back to see JV for him to help me out with my problem. Back in March we discovered that during sit-ups my left hip always makes this NASTY popping sound. We figured out that if I keep my legs straight it doesn't happen. So I've been bopping along doing Crossfit and walking, I'm doing a half-marathon November 1st, so we've been doing a lot of walking lately. I haven't been strict at all--hell--I don't stretch at all after walking like I did when I was training for the full marathon last year.

I think it was a combination of not stretching, doing Crossfit and just overuse that caused my butt-muscle-hip-connector thing to tighten up. About a month ago, I notice my squats weren't what they used to be and last week my hip started hurting and popping during burpees. That finally made me ask JV about it, plus it was kinda cool to show him the nasty loud popping noise!!

I got to the gym and he laid me down (oh that sounds naughty, doesn't it!!) and started rolling my hamstrings VERY HARD with a big foam roller. This felt good at first and hurt in quite a few places. Then I was instructed to sit on a tennis-sized ball and roll around on each buttock--paying attention to places that say "HI!!!!!! I need to be worked!!!" I did that for each cheek a few times. I felt good after that and was instructed to do a squat. I was a little bit hesitant, but I could tell something was happening with the roller and ball loosening up my tight little ligaments. I bent my knees, popped my butt back...aaaaaaaaaand....... SQUATTED!!!!!!!!

I was so happy that I did it again and once more!! Then I got the idea to try the skyscraper that everyone did in this morning's WOD. Basically, you go down in a squat and then roll onto your back. Once you're down, you continue the momentum and while keeping your arms raised up, lift up your legs in a pseudo-yoga-pose. Then after you've lifted your legs & arms up, release them down and swing back into a standing position! It was pretty hard, but fun once I mastered my squat again!!! :) I have to keep working on my hips & butt with a hard ball and rolling pin at home to keep myself loose & limber.

For lunch I had a tuna salad--spinach with tuna, olive oil & balsamic vinegar.

After work I had to run some errands, but was pretty hungry when I got home, so I had some leftover squash real quick to tide me over.

After running my errands--I found some awesome new sheets (and two new tops!) at T.J.Maxx--I made dinner!!! And it was delightful!!! Sautéed zucchini

With Paleo chili & a fried egg on top.

It was such a perfect meal on this cold rainy day!!

I got my bedroom all set up, what do you think?? Bella loves to sit on my dresser, she's such a rascal!

I do believe Game One of the NLCS has just started, so I wish you good night and to all my friends in Pennsylvania--GO PHILLIES!!!!!!! :D

Busy days, busy nights!

2009-10-14T20:14:00.003-04:00

So how are you today? I'm busy busy BUSY!!!!!! Work just never ends both at home & the office. I'm still trying to get back in the swing of food blogging, so here's a mish-mash of the past few days. Monday I had a green monster and some tuna-fish for lunch.

We went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner to watch Monday night football. I had wings (moderately Paleo) and maybe a few fries & beers. ;) Tuesday morning I woke up 10 minutes before Crossfit, but I made it!!

5 rounds (NOT for time)

25 jumpropes

6 barbell thrusters--going up in weight each time.

For some reason I was having problems with my thrusters so he kept my weight at 45 pounds. I'm going in Thursday for some one-on-one to try to figure things out. I made bacon and eggs for breakfast.

For lunch I had another green monster & tuna. It seems to be a good go-to-lunch with lots of greens and protein (and cheap!). Yesterday after work I spent my evening painting my living room! For dinner I had Paleo chili of which I forgot to take a photo. :(

This morning I meant to wake up early to go run-walking but somehow I didn't wake up until 7:15!!! Oopsies! The cold rain on my windows must've helped out some, right? ;) I made myself a green monster and drank it once I got to work. Stella and I went to lunch together, ran some errands and ate some chicken wings at B-dubs. I swear that place is my kryptonite!!! I got six free wings from a coupon from Monday night--score!! :) This afternoon my new mattress arrived (YAAAAAAY!) No more air mattress!!!!! Pro: my bedroom feels so nice & grown up! Con: none of my sheets fit. So I'm going to hit up Tuesday Morning & Marshall's tomorrow night after work.

For dinner I made a spinach omelet since I was lacking in greens and some roast butternut squash. Which actually may have been a cross between butternut & spaghetti? Or maybe I just cooked it too long.

I got a hankering for baked apples and was just about to dirty up my clean kitchen when I remembered that I had apple sauce!! I heated some up in the microwave with cinnamon, nutmeg & vanilla. I'm having a nice glass of Cab/Shiraz blend from my Target wine cube!!

Yes it's wine from a box, but it's a cube-shaped box, so it's cool homies! I'm enjoying my snackola watching the ABC lineup. I've got a busy day ahead tomorrow: Crossfit, work, one-on-one training, work, shopping (poor me!!), then home to relax!

Hope y'all are having a good night!!

I'm back!

2009-10-12T07:20:00.002-04:00

...and better than ever!!!

We'll see about that anyway. But I think I'm finally all set up in my new place! :) We put a little paint on the walls on Saturday, it's not finished but I really like the color. This morning for breakfast I'm having a fried egg & a green monster with 2 cups spinach, 1 cup almond milk, 1 banana, 1/2 c applesauce & cinnamon.

Time to get ready for work, hope you have a good day!

...tip-toeing back into the room

2009-09-17T16:16:00.006-04:00

...oh, uh HI GUYS!!!!! Where have I been the past few weeks?? Well let me tell you I've been so busy and it's no excuse, but I just needed a break from blogging for a bit. I'm in the process of taking care of myself and a lot of changes are going to be happening in the next few months, so I'll post when I can.

Work has been TOTALLY HELLACIOUS, moreso than usual and I don't have time to blog when I'm at work anymore. Work must actually get done!!! Isn't that horrible? Then most days I work late, I'm way pooped when I get home that I don't even bother logging onto the 'puter. The days that I get out at 5pm, I go walking with Jo.

Anyways, I'm kinda back!!! Labor Day weekend, I drove up to O-HI-O to visit my family. We had a great time together, it was pretty low-key and that was fun. Last weekend was the first weekend I stayed in Fayetteville in a looooooooong time!! I helped at the North Carolina State Judo Tournament all day Saturday, watched my Buckeyes lose a very unfortunate game on Saturday night and was a complete & utter lazy biotch on Sunday!! :) It was great!

This week, oh my jeezuss, this week. I really don't even want to talk about it, but basically all I want to do is CRY but I don't have time!!!!!!! I did some pretty awesome workouts at Crossfit though, Tuesday morning we did shoulder/push presses and I maxed out at 70 lbs. I totally tried 75lb, but I couldn't get it up. Yesterday I worked with JV (John Velandra, trainer extraordinaire!!) on some super-duper deadlifts!! I was very happy to max out at 135lb, but again, I really wanted to do more. Today I got such a lovely surprise!!!

I spent the whole day in court and got back into the office to see these on my desk!!!!! Aren't they just gorgeous???? I totally loving them too. I'm taking a much deserved long weekend, my sister Heather is flying down and we're headed to the beach!!! I'm going to work late again tonight to tie up some loose ends so I can return to work on Tuesday. Total extra long weekend & I'm SOOOOO EXCITED BITCHEZ!!!!!!!!! Anyways, leave me a comment and let me know how & what y'all are up to!!!!!!! ♥

Savannah Safe & Sound!

2009-08-28T09:17:00.006-04:00

Good morning!!

I'm glad to say I made to to Savannah and my good friend Michele's house! I'm NOT so glad to say that I forgot my stupid USB cord for my camera!!! So we will have to be photo-less unless I can find a new cord at Target or something.

Yesterday was a pretty frazzling day. I went into Crossfit for a grueling session of four rounds for time of:

walking lunges--10 each leg--15lb dumbbell held at the shoulders (OUCH!!!)
4 renegade row--15lb for first three rounds, 12 lbs on last round
10 DB thrusters--15lb for first three rounds, 12 lbs on last round

It was totally hard & I was just dripping with sweat after--not a pretty sight!!! My back is a bit sore today from the rows, but it's a good kind of sore ;)

Work was crazy! On top of the extra work that comes with a four day week, cramming to get everything ready for the day off, we had a retirement luncheon to go to at the Olive Garden. I had a less-than stellar lunch, the Venetian apricot chicken. I won't say anything else bad, but the food I make is MUCH BETTER!! Stella and I went to Cold Stone Creamery for some dessert and I totally forgot about my lunch experience!! I got the small dish of "mud pie mojo" which is coffee ice cream, oreo cookie pieces, heath bar pieces, a ribbon of peanut butter & fudge. It was NOMULAR!!! The best cow ice cream I've had for a long long time!

After work, I was rushing around the house trying to get everything together & somehow I forgot my cord :( I swear I'd forget my head if it wasn't attached to my shoulders!!! I drove over to Stella's house, so it was Stella, her son Thad and I piled into her minivan. The drive itself was pretty uneventful, we stopped for gas & grub somewhere near Florence, SC. I'd never been to Zaxby's so we went there, I got chicken strips and they were pretty good! We didn't get into Savannah until after 11pm since we had to drop Thad off at a friend's house, this took longer than expected and didn't please Stella one bit!

I met up with Michele at J.J. Bonerz on Bay Street and we were so tired, all we wanted to do was head home. I was asleep by midnight and woke up this morning around 7:30, I walked a mile (barefoot!) on the treadmill and snacked on some trail mix & pecans for breakfast. Michele's only working a half-day today so we'll get to hangout all afternoon, I'm excited!!! Michele & Dee have two of the best dogs, they are Boxers and are so sweet!! Here's a picture of Molly

and here's Pete!!

Cross your fingers that I can find a blessed camera cord, maybe I should just break down & invest in a card reader? I don't know, but I'm going to get some water, watch some daytime tv, play with the dogs and hit the showers. Hope you're having a great Friday!!!

Vote for this Fish!!

2009-08-26T18:50:00.011-04:00

Hiya bloggies!!! Hope you've had a good Wednesday so far! I must start out this post with a request for one of my fellow-Primal-girls!! This month, the good folks over at Mark's Daily Apple are having a Primal Challenge and everyday they're giving out totally AWESOME prizes. Well, August 10th started a "Primal post-it contest" in Mark's words:

"Originally inspired by MizFit’s execution of Operation Beauty, for today’s contest you’ll need a sharpie and some Post-its.

It’s one thing to chat in an online forum about going Primal, it’s another to spread the word to your grocer, your banker, or the guy who goes to the gym to talk on his cell phone. It’s time for you to leave a Primal message for total strangers to see…

It’s probably easier to show you what I mean than to tell you (below you’ll find some examples), but the idea is to provide a humorous, tongue-in-cheek, or poignant statement about the modern world with a simple Post-It note and a dash of wit. It’s the world seen through a Primal lens."

So whatdya know but my friend Emily is one of the FINALISTS!!!! Here's her entry:

You can vote & view the other finalists entries here. I think hers is awesome because it's original & creative, versus some of the photo-shopped entries. And the best part??? THE PRIZE!!! An awesome pair for Vibram Five Fingers!!!!

So please help out my friend, she's a fellow military wife and we need all the support we can get!!! Crossing my fingers for ya Emily!! :) FYI--voting ENDS at 8am Pacific on Thursday. THANKS A BUNCH GUYS & GALS!!!!!

********************************************************************************

On to the food! Today is another hodge-podge kind of day. I'm going to be hitting the road tomorrow evening for my trip to SAVANNAH so I don't want to leave any food in the fridge to waste. When I get back, I'm going to try to extend my no-grocery-shopping experiment as long as I can, eating up a bunch of boring soup from the freezer. Be ready to be dazzled this weekend, then after that, who knows!!! Today for lunch I had the leftover zucchini-tomato-onion mix from last night topped with the very last of the Thai yellow curry sauce (one piece of chicken in the whole thing!! hmph!!).

I warmed up a bowl of chicken soup for some extra protein.

But I don't think I had enough protein (or perhaps fat?) at lunch since I started totally dragging at 3pm, then started feeling VERY snacky!!! I wanted something, not out of hunger, just to EAT! Lucky for me I didn't have any food in the nearby vacinity and I got over the snacky feeling by 4pm. :)

Dinner was another strange combination: carrot-coriander soup

With a salade topped with a piece of salmon. The salade had spinach, cucumber, tomato & balsamic vinaigrette.

It was quite delicious and I cannot wait for some fresh local seafood that may be in my future this weekend!! I hear a dinner at a hibachi place is in store AS WELL AS a trip on a BOAT!!!!!!!! Yes folks, I will be on a boat!

Inglorious Basterds

2009-08-26T08:04:00.003-04:00

Good morning!! Happy Humpday!! I'm so glad this week is almost over but I've got to get busy at work, so let's get on it! I couldn't post yesterday afternoon because I left my mini-USB here at the office :grumble:

Here's my lunch of roast beef and a spinach salad with celery, cucumber, tomato, olives, green onion & balsamic vinaigrette.

For dinner I made a quick zucchini-tomato-onion sauté along with bacon-wrapped turkey medallions.

A big group of the husband's friends and my friend Jo went to see Inglorious Basterds and it was VERY GOOD!!! It was kind of long, but I don't mind long movies, I think it gives you more time to get to know the characters. My back was hurting so that's the only reason why it was a bit long for me. But the movie itself!!! Very good!! FUNNY in many places, you really didn't expect this to be such a funny movie, but it was just great. Everyone clapped at the end, I don't know if it's because the theatre was full of soldiers or what, but I really liked it.

I didn't get to bed until after 10pm so I wanted to sleep in a bit this morning, but had to make do with 6:30 so I made it to work on time. BAER. I made a raspberry-chocolate smoothie with 1 cup almond milk, 3/4 c frozen raspberries, 1 scoop chocolate whey powder, 1 scoop wheatgrass-clippings, 1 T coconut oil, vanilla & cinnamon.

I heated up the last of the nasty turkey bacon. I will never buy this junk again!!

Since I'm leaving tomorrow night for my trip, I brought my coconut banana pie cut into bars into the office to share. I'll have to reserve a few pieces for my Crossfit folks tomorrow! Hope y'all have a great day! I'm going to get my tea going and get to workin'!! :)

Here's lookin' atchu

2009-08-25T09:47:00.004-04:00

RIBBIT! RIBBIT!!!!!!!

Last night I came home from work and was about to dead-head some roses when this practically attacked me!!!!

I think we were both scared more than anything! :) After my near-fatal attack, I changed real quick for my 5 mile walk with Jo. We were lucky that we didn't see any snakes on the trail! I guess I got my dose of wildlife early yesterday. For dinner I had a bowl of chicken-veggie soup.

This came out of my freezer, I honestly don't remember when I made it but it is still delicious!!

And a piece of banana-coconut pie for dessert.

Since it's the end of the month, money is a little tight so I'm doing an experiment to see how long I can last without grocery shopping. You could call it being Primal and not being able to find any food in the forest, I guess in all honesty it's a clean-out the freezer type of week!! I'm also going out of town this weekend, so it'll be good to not have a fridge full of food for an empty house.

Enter the hodge-podge of Tuesday!! After Crossfit, I made a green monster with a wimpy handful of spinach, 1 cup pineapple, 1/2 cup strawberries, 1 cup almond milk, vanilla, 1 T coconut oil, 1 scoop wheatgrass-clippings, 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder, 1 T almond butter.

I filled 'er up three times!! Very tasty, if not a little gritty. The lack of banana was not very noticeable, perhaps that would've covered up the grit. I foraged in the bottom of the freezer and found some sausage links!! I always need more food on Crossfit-days and today is no different. I ate these in the car on the way to work! :)

No sooner than I sat down, my coworker shows up with a box of DONUTS!!! Stella and I split a cake donut and it was quite delicious!!

At Crossfit this morning, my friend Jo gave me a bunch of awesome treats!!! A bag full of tomatoes from her neighbor's garden, a fruit snack

Ingredients--all natural!!

And a little bag of dark chocolate roasted almonds!!!!

These were beyond delicious and it's probably a good idea that Miss Meggilizz doesn't keep these in the house!! Quite a hodge-podge morning so far, eh??? Just wait until lunch!!!!

Target Score!

2009-08-24T14:19:00.004-04:00

Hot hot hot!! My lunch of leftover chicken curry had gotten a tad bit spicier, so I had to run my errands with a hot-curry-mouth! I went to Target and totally scored on these for my coworker that's retiring.

She LOVE LOVE LOOOOOOVES coffee, so what better present than a couple bags of Starbucks and an awesome french press? I saved $6 on the coffee since the cashier had her mind on something else & scanned my coupon twice--SCORE!!!!! I picked up this candy bar for the husband since he loves hazelnuts. :)

In the UK & Ireland, they have a Cadbury's bar called Whole Nut that's his favorite, it's just the delicious European chocolate with hazelnuts. The international aisles of the grocery store have recently started carrying Cadbury's chocolate bars, but they have a Roast Almond bar instead of the Whole Nut, so lately I've been on the lookout for hazelnut chocolate bars! Let's hope he likes it. :) Here's a funny old ad I found on youtube about Whole Nut! :) I've got loads of work to do since I had three walk-in clients this morning and I'm just not motivated!!! At least I got a Diet Coke to cool off my hot-curry-mouth! :)

Back to the old grindstone

2009-08-24T09:02:00.005-04:00

Good morning bloggies!! Hope y'all had a great weekend! They always go by so fast, don't they? Sunday I slept in until 10 O'CLOCK (!!!!) and made a nice green monster for breakfast.

We spent the morning (or what was left of it) totally vegging out in front of the tv. The husband studied & I finished reading Julie & Julia. I really liked it!! It was a surprisingly quick read and I can't wait to pick up Julie Powell's next book. Early afternoon I was getting a wee bit hungry, so we decided to skip lunch and have an early dinner. In the meantime I sliced up some sprite melon.
I picked this up last weekend from the Farmer's Market, it was a very interesting flavor--kind of the same texture as cantaloupe, a slightly similar taste to honeydew. I'm not a big fan of honeydew, so I'm glad it wasn't too close a taste-similarity, you can definately notice the pear in this melon.
I also heated up a piece of my banana-coconut pie :)

For dinner we had a very autumnal veggie selection!

Butternut squash, brussel sprouts & leftover roast beef. I roasted the sprouts & squash in a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes.

Last night I started reading Time Traveler's Wife and couldn't keep my eyes open much past 9pm! I'm getting back into granny-mode! This morning I slept as long as I could and made a green monster for breakfast.

I packed some almonds for a mid-morning snack, I can tell I'm going to be hungry today.

I've got some errands to run at lunch today (REMEMBER to get gas!!) so I packed some leftover chicken curry to eat in the office.

Have a good Monday! I'm trying to suck down some tea so I can get some kind of motivation to do this pile of work in front of me......later dudes!!

Beef & Coconut Pie

2009-08-22T21:37:00.006-04:00

Hiya guys!! I have been MIA for awhile, sorry about that! I was very tired last night after work and didn't feel like posting, so I'll update you now! I got this new mango tea from Trader Joe's and tried it for the first time on Friday. The bag itself wasn't very appealing, as the Republic of Tea teabags really smell amazing, this tea bag was just 'bleh'. BUT when the boiling water hit the satchel, it was a totally different story! The mango flavor is really nice, not overpowering and goes very well with some almond milk.

I made some sausage and eggs since I didn't have time to make a green monster before heading to the courthouse.

I got my case dismissed--yaaaay!!! So I came home to change out of my suit, grabbed a handful of almonds

and a very large banana.

For lunch I heated up some leftover roast beef & veggies.

I just love beef and have been having quite a bit of it lately!!

After lunch I had an extremely hard time focusing on things at work, saw a few clients and was so happy to see 5 o'clock come!! I had leftover chicken curry for dinner.

Along with a bite or two (or three or more) of coconut milk ice cream. :)

We didn't go out Friday night and I was very tired, so I headed to bed early. I had a very deep sleep and woke up with enough time to have a real breakfast before this morning's Crossfit.

I made a green monster with 2 cups spinach, 2 T coconut oil, 1 banana, 1 cup almond milk, 1 scoop wheatgrass, 1 scoop chocolate whey protein, 1 T almong butter, cinnamon, vanilla & ice to drink after a very very painful Crossfit session!!

Today's WOD:

800m run to start

3 rounds of--22, 18, 8 reps

single arm DB push press (20lb, 15lb, 20lb)

hollow rocks

Turkish sit-ups (10lbs)
squat jumps

800m to finish

and THEN 50 pushups!!!!!!

It took me forever and I was so sweaty & tired afterward!!! But it was better than sitting on the couch eating cheezburgers, right?? ;) I drank my green monster for nourishment then met up with my friend Cindy to paint a coffee mug for our coworker who's retiring this week.

I got home after 1:30 and was FAMISHED so I made a nice green salad with spinach, cucumber, celery, green onion, olives & balsamic vinaigrette along with a nice slab of roast beef. :)

I made a Paleo version of a cake!! It actually turned out more like a pie, but it was still very nomstastic!!!

I call it Coconut-banana pie and I found the recipe yesterday afternoon from Son of Grok. I modified the recipe a bit, using only 2 bananas (since mine were so huge!) and used more coconut milk, maybe 1/2 cup total.

It turned out very moist and quite delicious, I ate two little pieces this afternoon.

I spent the rest of this afternoon reading Julie & Julia and napping :) I got that book and also the Time Traveler's Wife from amazon and am trying my very best to get both books read before I go see the movies. My mom saw Julie & Julia--I had to stop her from telling me too much!!! For dinner I made roasties and sirloin steaks. I haven't had potatoes in a long time and was really craving something carby today, so I had a spoonful with my dinner.

I polished off the coconut milk ice cream for dessert :) And I sit here on the couch, watching the Carolina Panthers lose to the Dolphins thinking about getting up to make some mango tea.

**Crap the Dolphins just got another touchdown, it's the fourth quarter so I guess this thing is over!!**

I've never been a pro-football fan until recently, where I'm from there's no need for any other sports team besides The Ohio State University Buckeyes!!!! But down here in Carolina, basketball is the major sport, so I get my pre-season football kicks from the Panthers ;) Tomorrow I'd like to get over to the trail for a nice long walk, we'll see what the weather is like.

Hope y'all have a good night!!

Is it the weekend yet??

2009-08-20T19:07:00.003-04:00

I swear this has been one of the most tiring weeks in a LONG TIME!!!! How are ya today my bloggie-friends?? :) I spent the whole day in the courthouse and have to go back tomorrow morning! Ughhhhhhh. Anywhoooooo--I started off the day right with a nutritious, delicious green monster: 3 cups spinach, 1 banana, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1 cup almond milk, 1 scoop wheat grass, vanilla, cinnamon & 1-2 cups ice.

And a few pieces of sausage.

Days in the courthouse are usually extremely tiring and we almost always miss lunch which most of the time causes bad food decisions--remember a few weeks ago the Chinese food?? So I planned ahead and packed a big salad with spinach, celery, tomato, cucumber, almonds, dried cherries & balsamic vinaigrette. It was delicious and I feel great knowing that I didn't waste a day food-wise.

When I got home, I heated up some roast beef.

And nibbled on some sea-salt dark chocolate with a cup of tea.

I had a pretty big want for ice cream RIGHT after I ate this chocolate, but I didn't cave in. I sat with the feeling for a few minutes & it miraculously disappeared!! There's really not much on tap for this weekend (that I know of yet), I'd really like to stay around the house and relax. But the new Brad Pitt movie comes out tomorrow, so we might just run down to the movies tomorrow night!! Probably not though, since the husband isn't a big movie person.

Anyways, I'm going to get things tidied up around here a bit before heading to bed. Hope you had a good day!!!

Oh what a day!

2009-08-19T19:18:00.004-04:00

Hi guys! I hope you had a good day because mine sure was a doozy! Things were just crazy busy at work and I'm completely exhausted. The next two days are going to be equally busy, so I'm going to get to bed early tonight.

This morning I had dessert before lunch--Stella gave me a small slice of her very special triple layer brownies and oh mai good-ness!!! They were deeeeeelish!!

I had to run errands at lunch, so I brought some leftovers to reheat in the office--a piece of soyaki chicken

And carrot & zucchini a scapece.

I had to work late and run to the grocery store afterward, so when I got home, I went straight to work making dinner. The husband was good to me and made me a cup of tea (with almond milk) while I made the chicken curry using Trader Joe's Thai yellow curry sauce.

Along with the chicken there's an onion, 2 zucchini, 2 small yellow squash & 3/4 of a purple tomato with the curry sauce. Of course I added some extra garlic, garam masala, coriander & cayenne pepper to spice things up!

I'm having another cup of tea & have got to get up early tomorrow, so have a good night!!

Wakin' up is hard to do

2009-08-19T07:30:00.005-04:00

...especially with no spinach for a green monster!! Happy Humpday guys! Hope your week is going well so far, I got a lot of productive work done yesterday & I can tell today is going to be a great day!

Yesterday after lunch I had a piece of chocolate that my friend Jo gave me--Beaucoup Berries by Dagoba. It was VERY good!! Thanks Jo! :)

After work, Jo & I took a nice 4 mile walk on the trails and for dinner I made another salade.

With spinach, onion, tomato, celery, shrimp, salmon & balsamic vinaigrette.

We spent last night watching my favorite trashy tv show--Hell's Kitchen. I love Gordon Ramsay and he never disappoints on the entertainment meter! :) I didn't listen to my hypnosis cd for whatever reason last night and I could really tell a big difference. I had a really hard time falling asleep and I kept waking up during the night. I've learned my lesson--my eyes are so sore today! I made a ghetto-frappuccino out of coffee, chocolate whey protein, almond milk, vanilla, cinnamon & ice.

I have been a REALLY busy little bee this matin--I got the kitchen entirely cleaned, including mopping the floor!! It worked out perfectly, the floors got completely dried when I was getting ready for work. Naturally I'm feeling very accomplished and ready to tackle the workday! For munchies, I heated up some homemade sausage and fried two local eggs.

Lovely breakfast!! :) The only thing I want to do right now is take a nap, but I'm going to drink some more ghetto-frappuccino for a boost to get things done at work!! Do you have a trick to get yourself motivated? Upbeat music, relaxing music, complete silence--what works for you?

Have a great day!!

Colorful food

2009-08-18T13:57:00.004-04:00

Good aftienoon guys!! Hope y'all are having a good day! I'm feeling very accomplished at work and attribute it to my healthy breakfast. I made myself a rainbow-monster this morning--ingredients: spinach, banana, pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, wheatgrass powder, almond milk, vanilla, cinnamon, coconut oil & almond butter.

I stuck everything in the blender so it would be ready after Crossfit. Today's WOD:

Four Rounds:
200 m run
6 dumb-bell thrusters--I used 25lb (20lb on the last round)
15 kettle-bell swings--I used 16kg (12kg on last round)

Finished in 13:50. Here I am mid-clean, this is a great action shot!! :) Btw I'm in the grey top & black pants.

For breakfast, I made some eggs with onion & homemade sausage. It was packed with protein & très delicious!!

At lunch, Stella and I ran over to the alteration lady only to find out they were closed, so we went to Roly Poly for lunch. I got the Brown Derby Cobb (please excuse the pic, it's from my phone).

It has lettuce, spinach, tomato (ugh totally sub-par to my farmer's market tomatoes!) avocado, chicken, blue cheez, bacon and honey mustard dressing. I've got the other half of this huuuuuge salade to eat this afternooon!! Dinner tonight is going to be another salade with salmon & shrimp--I've got a bunch of spinach to use up before it goes bad!! Okay folks, well I hope you're having a good day, I'm going to get back to work!! Bye! :)

Chicken Soyaki

2009-08-17T19:38:00.002-04:00

Dinner turned out great!

I baked the chicken at 350 for 30 minutes

Added three tomatoes from the garden in with my sliced okra, added salt, pepper, Penzey's Tuscan Sunset spice and broiled it for 8 minutes.

A usual complaint with okra is that it turns slimy, but I think broiling it really helps to dry it out. I made a cup of Sleepytime tea

And ate two squares of my dark chocolate sea salt bar.

I'm going to read my book after Seinfeld and get to bed early so I can wake up on time for Crossfit tomorrow. Have a good night! :)

It what's for dinner (and lunch)

2009-08-17T13:28:00.005-04:00

Mmmmmmm BEEF!!

How is everyone doing today? Sorry I haven't been able to post, the interwebs were down here in the office for a loooong time and I was forced to see some nasty nasty clients! But we're back on the grid now & I can vent!! :)

Last night we grilled up the local, grass-fed NY strip steaks and Oh mai ceiling cat were they every deeeeeee-lish!!!!!!! I will mos-def be picking up some more steaks next time I go to Whole Foods.

I covered them in salt, pepper & Montréal steak seasoning. I served them with modified zucchini a scapece recipe that I found from Food Network. Instead of making this into a cold salad, I just sautéed everything together, omitted the vinegar and must've forgotten to add garlic! Hmph I deserve to be slapped for that! I used some of my new Bombay veggie seasoning from Whole Foods and it was a great accompaniment to the steaks.

For dessert I ate two squares of my new chocolate bar.

This is another local company (in Raleigh) and the combination of salty & dark chocolate is awesome!

This morning I slept in and was late to work (bummer) so I made a simple green monster to go. Today's recipe: 2 cups spinach, 1 banana, 1 T almond butter, 2 T coconut oil, cinnamon, 1 cup almond milk, 2 cups ice, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder.

I also had two little sausage-balls before rushing out the door.

I've felt fairly light-headed and sleepy all day long so I'm definitely going to get to bed early tonight! At lunch I heated up some roast beef & leftover Bombay veggies.

And had a glass of blueberries for dessert! :)

I watched Australia yesterday and I really liked it!!! I cried a bit at the end, which is okay, everyone needs a little cry now & then! The husband saw this movie while he was deployed and thought it was just awful, so he took the time to study. Tonight we're having chicken for dinner--I've got some marinating in Trader Joe's Island Soyaki. I'm making roasties for the husband, we'll have salade and I'm going to broil some okra for myself. I'll check in with y'all after dinner--hope you're having a great day!!

Farmer's Market & BACON!!

2009-08-16T12:42:00.011-04:00

....I'm back!! How are you? It's been such a long, busy and FUN weekend I could hardly find a minute to post! Friday night we went out to Paddy's with some friends and had a LOT of laughs, it was a really great time. I woke up late and missed Crossfit :( I made myself a green monster to cure what ailed me.
Also had two pieces of bacon for breakfast. Yesterday was a BACON filled day! I had bacon with every meal. This was in no way planned, but I think it's just hilarious!

I picked up my friend Jo and we headed up to Raleigh to the Farmer's Market. This market is freaking AMAZING!!! We loved looking at all the fresh fruits & veggies! I got some zucchini, tomatoes, a sprite melon which is a blend of watermelon, pear melon & honeydew. Also picked up a butternut squash--I'm accepting recipe ideas since I've never made it before!

They have their own little shop dedicated to selling pork! I got some local bacon & fresh ground pork to make my homemade sausage.

Isn't this funny!! I have no idea what you'd do with a pig's head, but they had them!!

Jo & I met up with our friends Marci & Terry for lunch at Camille's Café (from left: Terry, Marci, Jo & Meg)

All of us got wonderful salades--Jo & I ordered the ultimate salad with grilled chicken and tomato BACON dressing. I should've told them to leave off the cheese, it kinda upset my stomach from not eating dairy lately. But I'm alive, so it didn't hurt anything (and it was VERY good!)

Marci & Terry got the same salad--it was a seasonal salad with lots of fresh fruit & brie, they really loved it.

We all went to Trader Joe's and I found my dream car in the parking lot!! It was a cute little Triumph and just beautiful.

At TJ's I picked up some more Thai green curry sauce, some Thai yellow curry, vanilla, almond milk, coconut milk and almond butter. We went to Whole Foods and really scored--I got a couple of local, grass-fed steaks! Aren't they gorgeous?

We'll be grilling NY Strip tonight for dinner & I can't wait! I also got a new tin of tea, a couple chocolate bars, local eggs and coconut milk ice cream. We gawked the bakery case for a minute or two :)

And had a bit of the ice cream! It was Jo's first time eating it and she loved it--she said it was very rich & creamy.
After getting home I heated up some leftover zucchini & a turkey medallion wrapped in BACON!

We went out to the country bar last night with the husband's coworkers. One of the guys got married yesterday and it was fun to play pool & watch all the two-steppers & line dancers! I cannot dance like that to save my life, but it's fun to watch.

This morning I made some sausage with 2lbs of pork.

And 2 tablespoons

of my Penzey's breakfast sausage mix.

I added some salt and pepper.

And baked them at 350 for about 45 minutes.

These are the eggs I got from Whole Foods, just beautiful.

I picked two tomatoes from the garden to go along with my breakfast.

Quite a marathon of a post!! Congrats if you're still here with me ;) I don't have much planned for today, I feel like I need a day at home from all the traveling I've done lately!! I'm going to make some tea & watch Australia. Have you seen it? I've heard good & bad reviews, but I like Nicole Kidman, so I'm going to try it out.

Have a good Sunday!!

Naughty avocado!!

2009-08-14T14:11:00.002-04:00

Hiya bloggies! How's this wonderful Friday treating you? I am very busy at work (comme d'habitude!) and was surprised at lunch to find the husband home off early from work! :) For lunch I was planning on an avocado omelet and was very disappointed to find this:

BAD AVOCADO! BAD!! NAUGHTY NAUGHTY AVOCADO!!! Sorry to spoil the post with the first pic being a rotten avocado, but that's life!! I'll have to be more selective the next time I shop for these little suckers. I was in a bit of a hurry, so I cut up a piece of bacon, some onion, zucchini & ham and threw it in the pan with 1 tsp bacon grease.

Ate some cucumber salade while this was cooking since I was STARVING!!!!!

Added two eggs into the bacon-ham-veggie mix, topped the whole thing with tomatillo salsa and VOILA!!!!!

Bacon-veggie-ham-egg scramble bitchez!!! It was totally awesome if I do say so mahself!!!

What are you doing this weekend? I'm making a trip with some friends to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods...what should I get? I'm off dairy & grains/beans so that really narrows things down. I'll for sure get some nuts to make Paleo bars with, I haven't made any bars in a long time! Okay, I'm off here to get some work finished up--we're going out tonight with some friends (yaaay!!) and I need to clean up the house right after I get off work. Good thing dinner is already in the crockpot!! See y'all after dinner!!

Mmmmmm bacon!

2009-08-14T06:25:00.002-04:00

Good morning!!! How's it going so far? I'm having a great morning, although my rear is extremely sore from spin last night!!! It was a really fun class and I hadn't seen the instructor in a long time since I only go to Crossfit now, so it was good to talk to him. He actually said he was going to check out Crossfit sometime!! Cool, huh?!?! :) Anyway, last night he did these "hover" things where you hover your...ahem...hips? just over the seat of the bike--on very high resistance!! It was ROUGH!!!

I slept like a little baby last night! I listened to my hypnosis/meditation cd and don't remember anything from it, so I guess I fell asleep. But it's all good! They say the brain still absorbs everything even though you're sleeping. I got up just as the husband was leaving for PT and lucky me, there was still some hot water in the kettle so I could have some tea with my breakfast! :)

I really love this tea, if you haven't checked out Republic of Tea, you really should, they have TONS of flavors (both loose and bagged) and a new line of tea specially blended for iced tea. I haven't tried those yet, but if they're anything like the rest of the label, then they're sure to be delightful!! I tinkered around the kitchen this morning, made lunch for the husband, emptied the dishwasher, tidied up a bit, put a roast in the crockpot, made some BACON!!

I ate two pieces of crispy crunchy delicious bacon and made a green monster.

Today's recipe:

3 cups spinach

1 banana

1 cup strawberries

1 cup almond milk

1 scoop CHOCOLATE whey powder

2 cups ice

That pint glass was filled almost three times ;) My coconut oil was still slightly solid, so I skipped that today. For some reason I didn't put in my wheatgrass, I think I wanted to see how the chocolate whey would effect the overall flavor of the shake. Verdict: delicious!!! It's not overpowering chocolately flavor and I'll defo add wheatgrass tomorrow. Well my lovely morning is running out!! The Today Show is almost on, so it's time for me to get ready for work!! Hope you have a lovely day! :)

Busy busy busy!

2009-08-13T20:54:00.004-04:00

Hey guys--I'm going to make this short & sweet because I am so tired!! I'm usually in bed by this time but I got home late so I'll have to suffer awhile longer. I went to spin after work and it was a great workout! Sweat was just pouring off my face and I feel great now. :) I had a snack of almonds & dried cherries afterward.

I had to run to the gas station and grocery store before going home. I made a salad with salmon cooked in 1 tsp coconut oil, spinach, tomato, cucumber, onion, blueberries & balsamic vinaigrette.

It was just the right size & the salmon was cooked perfectly!

I really liked the bite of the onion paired with the sweet blueberries.

I've got a cup of sleepytime tea here on the coffee table waiting to be slurped down.

I hope everyone had a good afternoon, I'm going to listen to my CD and hit the hay. See you in the morning!! :)

Rain downgraded to light mist

2009-08-13T13:23:00.005-04:00

Afternoon peeps!

It is STILL RAINING here but has slowed up and was only misting on my way back from lunch. I decided to have a hot lunch since it's been kinda grey, chilly & drab today in the office. I heated up the last of my masala chicken,

the leftover zucchini from last night

and cut up half an heirloom tomato.

Think I got enough photos of lunch?? ;)

I'm comfortably full now and am ready to tackle this afternoon!! I've got a tiny pile of work to finish before I start prepping for next week's court hearings. Yeee-haaaaaaaaaw!! Tonight I'm going to spin class and the grocery store on post to pick up some non-Paleo food for the husband, coconut oil and whey powder for yours truly.

So I'm gonna get on it here--oh one more thing--I found this recipe today from the Food Network for Zucchini & Carrots a Scapece. I've got all the ingredients at home (except mint which I may just leave out) and thought it would be another good use for my zucchini. What do you think? Doesn't it look good? So have a good aftie & I'll see y'all tonight! :)

Another rainy day

2009-08-13T07:22:00.003-04:00

Good morning everyone!

It's another rainy day here in good ole Carolina! This morning I woke up very early (4:45am) to see the husband off to work, did a load of laundry, tidied up a bit and then left for Crossfit. It was a pretty tough workout and my legs were still sore from Tuesday!

Today's WOD--4 Rounds for Time:
20 push ball -- I used 14# ball (like a push press but with the medicine ball instead)
walking lunges (going--length of the basketball court)
broad jumps (coming back--length of the court)

I finished in 11:50 and was so happy when it was done!! I made myself an omelet with tomatillo salsa on top.
And a green monster with: 2 cups spinach, 1 banana, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1 cup almond milk, cinnamon, 1 scoop whey protein powder, 1 scoop wheatgrass powder, 2 T coconut oil

I am officially out of coconut oil & have one serving left of protein powder, so I'll be stopping by the grocery store on the way home from work today!

I'm going to make some tea and try my damnedest to get motivated!! I've got leftover chicken & veggies for lunch, nothing too awful exciting. Hope you have a great day!

Pain, rain, go away!

2009-08-12T18:48:00.003-04:00

Well it has rained pretty much all afternoon here! The plants desperately need it and we got a good soaking. The bad part is that my legs are still SO SORE and I can barely walk! :( So I skipped going to the trail and am going to rest my body tonight.

For dinner I made roasted zucchini & a turkey medallion wrapped in bacon.

It was VERY good, the turkey was tender & juicy, the bacon was crispy. And I really smoked up the house!! I love the little crunchies on the edges of the meat.

I'm having some Sleepytime tea while ~~watching What Not to Wear & Seinfeld reruns~~ reading my book.

Like my mug?? Only 18 days until the first OSU football game!!! I can't wait! Anyways--I'm going to relax awhile here on the couch then listen to my hypnosis cd. Hope you have a good night!!

Berries & Salad

2009-08-12T13:24:00.003-04:00

How's your day going? I'm busy as usual at work!

I made a repeat salad of last night's dinner--spinach, cucumber, tomato, shrimp, avocado, sunflower seeds & balsamic vinaigrette.

I sautéed the shrimp in some coconut oil

And had a cup of blueberries for dessert.

There's not much else going on, I've got half of my desk cleared off!! YAY!! Have a good afternoon everyone! :)

Oh so sore!

2009-08-12T08:13:00.008-04:00

Good morning! Hope you're having a good day so far. :) I was planning on going for a run this morning but that just didn't happen! The husband woke up at 3am and I was awake for about an hour after that because the cats were all riled up. Jumping on the tv and being total nuisances! I guess that's the job of a cat though, right? :) After sleeping from 4-5am, and somewhere in the middle of hitting the snooze from 5-6am, I decided to not go running. My lower body is VERY SORE from yesterday's Crossfit, so I felt I deserved to sleep a little bit more. I think I'll head over to the trail for walk tonight, it's not going to be as hot as it was yesterday and it'll be good for me to get some cardio in.

I made a green monster for breakfast with: 3 cups spinach, 1 banana, 1/2 cup frozen pineapple, 1/2 cup frozen strawberries, 1 scoop wheatgrass powder, 1 scoop whey protein powder, cinnamon & 2 T coconut oil.

It's very thick and I love how the pineapple really brightens up the heaviness of the wheatgrass. I grabbed a handful of almonds on the way out the door.

Here are a couple of photos from my garden. My gerber daisy hasn't bloomed all year and I was kind of worried about him! Yesterday I was glad to see a nice little flower.

And a teeny tiny little bud from my rose bush.

***********

Now I must tell you about the hypnosis/meditation CD I've been listening to for the past few nights! My friend Christie from Quit Your Diet gave me a copy of "Clearing Emotional Blocks" made by Jennifer Polle. Here's the blurb from Ms. Polle's website:

"Reprogram your subconscious to let go of past experiences, emotions and beliefs that have been keeping you from living your most healthy and happy life. This hypnosis process was originallly developed for clients who were dealing with past trauma or had simply come to believe that they weren't ok, on some deep level. It's become a mainstay for my classes on weight release, and is helpful for just about anyone wanting to feel more confident, self-assured, and at peace in how they approach their life, their relationships, and in how they feel about themselves."

This CD is a sort of prerequisite to the Intuitive Eating CD that I'm interested in listening to, I'm not sure if I'm one of those people that buys into hypnotherapy, but if it works for people then that's great! I'm using this CD as a sort of meditation and way to relieve stress at the end of the day. It's recommended to listen to it before bed and since I started listening on Sunday night, I've had much deeper sleeps and feel more rested during the day. I'll keep y'all updated if I notice any other changes in my waking life that might be because of this CD! :)

So that's that! I've got a staff meeting here in 20 minutes, hope you have a good morning!!

Exciting evening

2009-08-11T19:52:00.005-04:00

I hope everyone has had a good day--I know that this afternoon has been quite exciting with my news from Foodie View and all! :)

I'll back up though and tell you about the rest of my afternoon. I was planning on making a salad at lunch, but decided to go out with my friend Stella instead. We went to Beef O'Brady's and got some delicious chicken wings. This is Stella's lunch, she got the sweet jalapeno flavor.

I ordered the garlic wings and wasn't expecting them to come out dry, but they were very good nonetheless.
After a nice productive afternoon at work, I came home and got to talk with my cousin Michelle in Ireland on Skype! I've only used Skype once before and I must say, it's really neat to be able to talk to far-away family & friends!!

For dinner I made my shrimp-avocado spinach salad. I used some of the new Penzey's Tuscan Sunset spice along with balsamic vinaigrette.

I will definitely be making this salad combination again, as well as using more spices in fresh vegetables.For dessert I busted out the truffles from Carytown! Left to right the flavors are: cinnamon latte, dark chocolate raspberry & chocolate mousse.

I had doubts about the cinnamon latte, but I must say that was my favorite! I was expecting to L-O-V-E the dark chocolate raspberry, but there was something about it that didn't really punch me in the tastebuds. I'm not sure it was rich or dark enough for my liking.

To wash down the chocolatey goodness, I had a cup of tea with almond milk.

I'm going to get ready for bed now, the husband has to wake up at an extremely ungodly hour (4am??). I'm going to listen to my hypnosis CD and get to sleep--I must remember to tell you about that tomorrow! Have a good night!

Vote for Meggilizz!!

2009-08-11T16:25:00.005-04:00

Check it out y'all!!! My picture of a cheddar cheez omelet was selected by Foodie View as one of their top 9 pics of the day!!

If you'd like to vote for your favorite Meggilizz, click on the link or the button on the sidebar.

Back on Track

2009-08-11T07:39:00.006-04:00

GOOD MORNING!!

How are you so far today? I had an okay night's sleep, I woke up a few times which didn't make me happy at all. I really didn't want to wake up for Crossfit but I did because today is going to be over 100° F so it was better to get it over with at 6:30am. I'm so glad I did because now I'm feeling accomplished and back on track with eating healthy foods & getting stronger!!

Today's WOD--8 Rounds for Time:

shuttle run
5 push-ups
10 sit-ups
15 squat jumps

Finished in 15:33 and came home EXTREMELY sweaty and made myself a nice green monster!!!

Today's recipe: 2-3 cups spinach, 1 banana, 1/2 cup frozen pineapple, 1 cup almond milk, 2 T coconut oil, 1 scoop whey protein powder, 1 scoop wheatgrass powder, cinnamon, 1 cup ice

I was already running late for work so I made an omelet before getting ready.

This is a two egg omelet cooked in 1 tsp bacon grease.

I have loads of work to do today, but I kin' do it!!! I picked up a bumper sticker at Dunkin Donuts for motivation, isn't it cute!! :)

As you can see, I love magnets & postcards from places that I visit. Even if it's just the airport, I have to at least get myself a magnet!

One last thing I wanted to share before I get to it, this is a quote from General George S. Patton that my friend Jo sent me. It can apply to your life in a few different ways--remembering this quote really helped me push on those last few rounds in Crossfit! Enjoy! :)

"You’ve got to drive the body to the last inch of energy then go on! You gain nothing by just going up to where your body says you’re tired. The body will build and grow only to fit the demands the mind makes upon the lazy body. If all you do is exercise until the body is tired, the body will get lazy and stop a bit shorter every time. You must go to the point of exhaustion, then go on. That way the body figures out, “We’ve got to build up more strength if that crazy mind is going to drive this hard!” If you always quit when you are merely tired, you will never gain. Once you let the body tell the mind when to quit, you are whipped for sure. You can not gain by listening to the body. We can become much stronger if we drive the body. We use about on-tenth of the available strength of our bodies and less than that of our minds." --General George S. Patton

Have a great day!!

Updated leftovers

2009-08-10T19:07:00.003-04:00

I'm back! Got food at the store, finished dinner & planning on having a quiet evening. I stir-fried some chicken in coconut oil and added my leftover masala sauce to it, simmered for about 30-45 minutes thickened it up nicely. I also added more spices--salt, my new Penzey's pepper, turmeric, garam masala, cayenne pepper, cinnamon. It tastes MUCH better than the first time!

I got lots of produce at the store, so I'm excited for a big salade for lunch tomorrow! Right now I'm going to turn on the kettle for some tea and read my book. Have a good night!

The world is my sauna

2009-08-10T14:10:00.005-04:00

IT IS SO HOT OUTSIDE!!!

It's supposed to get up to 100° today and it's already 97° and feels like 103°. I have never lived in such a hot climate!! As long as you don't spend too much time outside it's bearable, like my own personal sauna!

For lunch I reheated my Croque Monsieur from yesterday, could it be possible it tasted better today? I know this is true for lasagnas & casseroles, but for a sandwich it sounds funny!!

I also had half an heirloom tomato

Now this was perhaps one of the best tomatoes I've ever eaten!! Firm yet tender, the flavor was excellent!

For a little treat I had some Wafernusse--chocolate wafers with hazelnut crème inside!

I'm back at work now with a cup of tea and a bunch of work that needs to get finished up before the end of the day. I've got my list made to stop at the grocery store after work. I'm making chicken for dinner. Have a good afternoon!

So much to say!

2009-08-10T06:06:00.012-04:00

Happy Monday!

I had a truly awesome weekend, so let me start at the beginning so I don't forget anything!

Friday I didn't get a chance to post, but I got a chicken-bacon-ranch salad from Subway for lunch. I'd forgotten to pull food out of the freezer so I made a good fast-food choice.

At dinner, I wasn't really up to turning on the oven in the heat, so I made a grilled ham & cheese sandwich with leftover zucchini-yellow squash.

It was okay, nothing in comparison to my lunch yesterday! But I'm rushing things so let me get back to Friday... I was planning on a quiet night watching a movie, but we unexpectedly went out with some of the Husband's work buddies.

We went to Huske Hardware, had lots of fun & didn't get to bed until 2am!!! I was mighty tired but totally excited for my weekend, so I got some coffee

and headed on up to Virginia.

This was while driving up 95, I took it as a sign of a great weekend to come!

Made it to Richmond with no problem, there wasn't much traffic at all--another reason why I love to leave early when it comes to traveling. I met up with Christie from Quit Your Diet!!

She's a really awesome gal and we had a great time together! First we went to a local farmer's market and picked up some heirloom tomatoes.

After walking around a bit, we headed into downtown Richmond to have lunch at the Capital Ale House.

I had some very nice roasted vegetable soup.

And the Pear & Bleu Salad: mixed greens topped with fresh pear, bleu cheese and spiced walnuts with balsamic vinaigrette.

I picked off the croutons. I really loved this salade and gobbled it up! This restaurant was REALLY neat--the bar has ice embedded in it! Isn't that such a cool idea??? The ice helps your drink to stay cold and the bartender doesn't have to wipe down the wet rings left from condensation!

I headed back on up the road to meet up with Soly before the concert. We always have a great time when we're together, always full of laughs!! She's never been to Chipotle--her being from L.A. you have no reason to with all those authentic Mexican places! Since we don't have one in Fayetteville, I was so happy when we agreed to go there. Both of us got beef tacos.

Isn't she cute??

We were unable to take our cameras into the concert, but DMB put on a really great show! They played a lot of the new album and a few other songs that I wasn't too familiar with. My favorite part was during Grey Street when we danced in the sidewalk between the seats & the lawn.

Sunday we got some lattes and donuts from Dunkin Donuts (I was a teensy bit hungover & not in the mood to take a food pic). After getting nice & sugared up, we said our goodbyes and I headed back down South to Richmond where I met up with Christie to go to the Carytown Watermelon Festival!

We split a bowl of the juiciest watermelon and headed into Penzey's Spices . I've always wanted to go into Penzey's when I'm home in Columbus, but for whatever reason it never happens! Here's my loot--peppercorns, breakfast sausage seasoning, Italian dressing spices (since I eat SO many salades!) and they handed us the Tuscan Sunset on the way out the door (yes, it was FREE!).

There were many hippie-like vendors and street musicians.

All the shops in Carytown are so cute and I'd really like to go back to visit so I can see all the shops! We stopped for lunch at the Brasserie Can-Can a cute little French place.

The inside reminded me of a café in Paris near the Grand Opéra.

Christie got a Croque Madame and fries

I ordered the Croque Monsieur--which is the same as the Madame, minus the fried egg on top. He was less than photogenic, so I'll let you use your imagination :) I got some macaroni & Gruyère on the side.

After lunch we walked over to a little chocolate shop, For the Love of Chocolate--the smell inside was HEAVENLY!!

Here are some beautiful truffles

And other assorted goodies.

I got three truffles--dark chocolate raspberry, cinnamon-latte and a chocolate mousse truffle. They are waiting for me in the fridge at home :) I can't wait! On our way out, we were handed a really cute little watermelon lollipop!

I ended up leaving around 5pm and was exhausted from the lack of sleep, the sun & scorching heat of the day. When I got home, I unloaded all my goodies, showered & went straight to bed!

After one of the best night's sleep I've had in a long time (yay!!) I woke up and cleaned up the kitchen and made my breakfast smoothie.

I'm out of spinach, so I'll have to run to the grocery store tonight after work.

Today's smoothie:

1 cup almond milk

1 banana

1 scoop whey protein powder

1 scoop wheatgrass

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

cinnamon

1 T coconut oil

Today I'm wearing my new dress!! It was from one of the hippie-vendors at the festival and the best part is that it was on sale!!

Okay! So that was my entire weekend for ya! I'm going to make some more tea and get to work!

Hope you have a good day!!

Quick leaving post!

2009-08-08T06:45:00.004-04:00

Well it's 6:45am and I didn't get a chance to post last night (we went out unexpectedly with some friends) so here's my quick goodbye post...

BYE!!!

I'll see you in VA with pics from last night and today where I'm meeting...

Christie from Quit Your Diet !!!! We're going to grab lunch and hit up a farmer's market for some awesome tomatoes. See y'all later!! :)

Mmmmmm bacon!

2009-08-07T06:15:00.004-04:00

Good morning!

I made a lovely breakfast for myself this morning (plus I'm out of spinach, so no green monster for me!). I made a green onion & bacon omelet (cooked in bacon grease).

I'm leaving early tomorrow for my trip! I've got to get a load of laundry done before the morning, so I'm going to get on that and get ready to head to work.

Have a good day!

Purple toes

2009-08-06T19:15:00.004-04:00

Helloooooo nurse! It is now less than 48 hours away from my trip & I'm so excited!!

This morning I tweeted (twittered? twatted?) about a totally NOM pecan-chocolate chip cookie that my office-neighbor Cindy gave to me. It went perfectly with a cup of my white-green tea! Thanks chica!! At lunch I made a salade with spinach, carrots, celery, cucumbers, tomato, salmon & balsamic vinaigrette.

Mmmm salmon!!

Looks pretty good huh??

It was very tasty! I stopped by the gas station on the way back to work and picked up a Diet Coke & Dove dark chocolate bar. It was a great little pick-me-up to finish up all the crap that's been sitting in my office all week. Now I'm feeling accomplished and am planning on having a great Friday before the trip to Virginia on Saturday. After work I went to get a pedicure.

You like??? My poor feetsies had been neglected far too long--it's been since May (before my half-mary) that I last got a pedicure!! I don't know if I'm going to eat dinner tonight, I have a bit of a headache, but will definitely have a cup of tea before bed.

Have a good night!

Morning monster

2009-08-06T07:17:00.008-04:00

Morning folks!

How are you today? I'm so happy that it's finally Thursday and the weekend is almost here! I really had a hard time getting out of bed today, I got up at 5am with the husband, walked into the kitchen with him & he told me to go back to bed b/c I looked lost!! I fed the cats and headed back for a few more precious moments of sleep. I really could've used some of my waking-up-enthusiasm from earlier this week!!! For breakfast, a usual green monster was in order.

I also ate a few leftover pieces of bacon

Anyways, I really am not awake at all yet (even though it's almost 9 o'clock!) so I need to make some tea and do something to get myself motivated. There's a pile of work just WAITING for me to tackle it, so I'd better get on it.

Hope you have a great day!

Nommity nom nom!

2009-08-05T18:36:00.005-04:00

Hiya guys! How's your day been?

I am so tired and ready to get to bed early!! This week has felt like a never-ending Monday! I got a raspberry americano from Starbucks this morning & it was gone way too soon For lunch I made a nice salade with spinach, cucumber, tomato, celery, carrots, shrimp, salmon & balsamic vinaigrette.

I'm not sure I got much done at work today but I feel like a truck ran me over! I stopped by the store for some veggies for dinner. Leftover chicken masala and roast zucchini, yellow squash, onion & mushrooms.

It was very good and I made enough veggies for two more meals so that I won't have to turn on the oven! Good thinking, eh?? I'm going to make a cup of tea & hit the hay early.

Have a good night!

Happy Humpday!

2009-08-05T06:21:00.003-04:00

GOOD MORNING!!!

How are you doing so far today? I'm happy it's Wednesday as it's one day closer to the weekend and one day closer to my trip up to Viriginia!! Saturday I'm heading up to see the Dave Matthews concert in Bristow, I'll be meeting up with Soly coming down from W. Virginia. Hopefully I'll be able to stop by and see Christie in Richmond! I am VERY excited for this weekend!!!

Yesterday I made a big salade for lunch with spinach, carrots, celery, mushrooms, cucumber, tomatoes, bacon & balsamic vinaigrette.

Dinner was leftover masala chicken

and cucumber salade.

I met up with my friend Taylor at On The Border last night to catch up, we haven't gone out in months and a get-together was long overdue! She had a glass of wine & I had a margarita (no salt). We had a great time gabbing & found out that she & her husband are going to see DMB in VA too!! So we get to meet up again this weekend! I'm really excited :)

For breakfast I felt like chewing on something, so I made a spinach-mushroom-bacon omelet (scramble?). Very tasty & very satisfying!

I'm off here to get ready for work, I may stop by the Bux for an americano, I may not.

Hope you have a great day!!

The best part of waking up...

2009-08-04T06:16:00.004-04:00

...hmmm is that a joke? No! I think after you get up, no putzing around in bed, jump up right when the alarm goes off--the getting it over with is the best part of waking up! I've been up since right around 5am and have gotten a lot done, but I'll tell you about my weekend first.

Saturday night I went out with my friend Stephanie who I haven't seen since June. Before that, she was gone on a 15 month deployment to Iraq. We had a great time & lots of laughs!! Sunday I woke up just a teensy bit hungover, made a green monster and ran away to the beach!

It was so relaxing to be by myself, reading magazines and people watching. Although I am paying for not wearing sunblock!! It was overcast and I just didn't think about putting it on before I left. :( I'm a sad lobstah now! But don't worry, I've got plenty of aloe gels, lotions & potions at my disposal since the husband is a pro at sunburn care. :)

I made some chicken with Trader Joe's masala sauce for dinner.

I ate my chicken plain, the husband had some roasted potatoes with his dinner.

Yesterday I woke up late for work, didn't have time to make anything for breakfast so the day really didn't start out too well. I had a plate of roast beef for lunch, nothing else really sounded appealing. After work I made a nice BIG salade for dinner, it had spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, mushrooms, olives, artichokes, green onions and homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

I skipped going to Crossfit this morning because of my sunburn :( I really hope that I heal quickly!! I took advantage of my morning "off" to do some chores--got some laundry done, made lunch for the husband, made a batch of bacon :)

And a wonderful green monster for breakfast!

Today's recipe:

1 cup almond milk

2-3 cups spinach

1 frozen banana

1/4 cup frozen mixed berries

1 T almond butter

1 T coconut oil

1 scoop wheatgrass powder

cinnamon

vanilla extract

It's pretty good and will give me plenty of good energy to tackle my day!

Hope you have a great day!