Long weekend

The weekend was a bit chaotic with tons of family in town and lots of get togethers, but so much fun! I spent all day Saturday cooking and baking for pot lucks and didn't do a great job documenting, but made sure to snap photos of some of the tastier concoctions. I was left to my own devices taking pictures so forgive the poor quality!

Our office was closed on Friday so after a trip to the gym there was more time than usual to make lunch. I've been craving mango salsa so chopped up and tossed together the following ingredients:

• 2 mangoes
  
• 1/3 red onion


• 2 tomatoes


• 1 jalapeno


• juice from 1 lime
  

I also smushed up an avocado with a little lime juice, salt and pepper and melted some sharp cheddar and organic black beans between a whole wheat tortilla. It was so delicious and fresh tasting!

There was more than enough salsa so I dumped some of the leftovers over couscous the next day for lunch and it was equally yummers.

Saturday night I went to a BBQ and offered to bring a side dish so made tabbouleh after some begging from my cousin :) I think I've only made it once before but she happened to be in town and loved it so I figured I'd give it another try. I used Far East brand (I think that's what it's called) tabbouleh to start but only mixed in a little of the flavor packet that comes in the box so that I could add my own. After the grain was ready I added the other ingredients. Even though here were tons of people at the BBQ this recipe made A LOT and we ended up with leftovers:

• 3 boxes of grain, 1 packet of seasoning


• 2 cups grape tomatoes


• 1/2 cup golden raisins


• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese


• 1/3 cup Greek dressing


• 1 1/2 chopped cucumbers


• 1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper chopped


• 1 can drained chick peas

It was great that night and even better the next day!

Yesterday afternoon I made a quick ricotta cheesecake and berry topping with some fresh blackberries and raspberries. Of course when I was ready to dump the mix into a pan to bake I realized I didn't have a spring form pan so just used a 9 x 13 baking pan. They were a little thinner than they should have been but tasted great.

The recipe is from cookinglight.com (of course!): http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=104186

Although the recipe calls for homemade ricotta cheese I bought park-skim ricotta at the store instead. I figured baking a cheesecake was ambitious enough without making my own ingredients!

I also gave this recipe a try:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1891917

I couldn't find sugar snap peas at the grocery store so used green beans, and also added about 1/3 cup lemon and 1 tbsp of capers to the sauce as it was reducing so it had a piccata flavor. No photos since I was starving by the time it was ready! I wasn't a huge fan of the mint flavor in the bean and asparagus salad, but it was nice to have a change from the lemony green bean/asparagus I've been making lately. The chicken was pretty tasty and very tender, but I'm curious about how it would taste if I stuck to the recipe- something to try next time!

This blog is still very much a work in progress so if you have any suggestions, comments or ideas I'd love to hear them. My brother informed me that it's the most boring thing he's ever read, so there's that! I'd also love recipe ideas if you'd like to share your favorites.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Morning workouts

Last week I decided it was time to stop finding excuses and start working out in the morning. It's so beautiful this time of year I can always come up with a million reasons to skip the gym after work. Like wanting to go out for a cold drink, or make a great dinner, or go get ice cream. None of which are terrible on their own, but no gym + food/drink indulgence = tight pants. So beginning last week I set the alarm for 6, went to bed early, and hoped for the best. Miraculously, it worked. I made it out of bed, got dressed, and drove to the gym. Bruce and Pman seemed terribly confused, and I was still half asleep. Other than the fact that all the television programming at 6 am is terrible, I now love working out in the morning. Today was my fourth time, and I think I'm becoming a regular. I recognize the faces of other folks at the gym who are willing to put exercise before sleep and get moving in the morning. If you had told me six months ago, heck six weeks ago, that I would be one of them I would have laughed. Wonders never seem to cease.

My adventures in peanut crusted chicken were a relative success. Besides the fact that I inadvertantly purchased kidney beans instead of black beans to add into the rice the dinner was pretty tasty (I think I was so focused on finding the low sodium kind I forgot to pay attention to the type of bean. Oops!). I added some red pepper flakes to the breading, used store bought bread crumbs instead of homemaking them (no food processor) and also added some lime juice to the salsa. I think next time I'll try peanuts and penko for the breading, per mom's suggestion. Having an amazing cook for a mom makes for some great advice :)

I'm going to give the mushroom chicken pasta a whirl tonight. Not sure how I can screw it up too badly. I'm skipping the white wine and adding shallots for some extra flavor. I think pasta likes to stick to my ribs once I eat it, so I'll just have a few noodles (whole wheat egg noodles to Parker's dismay) and cook some fresh green beans with a little garlic, olive oil, and some toasted pine nuts to have on the side. The picture at the top is what it's supposed to look like, I'll try and remember to take a photo of how it actually turns out :) Here's a link for a recipe that comes close to the green beans, but imagine a few crispy pine nuts on the top: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=549731

I'm also going to take a shot at making these lemon bars tonight if I find the motivation. I have been craving them lately and a friend found this great recipe for me:

http://www.foodfit.com/recipes/recipe.asp?rid=1929

One of my big goals since getting on this eating well/working out kick has to eat 5 fresh fruits and veggies per day. Although it sounds like a snap it can be a little tricky. Thank goodness spring is here! If I was starting this plan in the winter I would be doomed for failure. As it is, I've done pretty well but definitely need to be diligent. I snuck in some leftover asparagus with lunch today so that along with fresh pineapple, mushrooms and green beans will get me pretty close.

Hope you're enjoying this gorgeous day! :D

Fresh Start

A couple of months ago I started getting serious about leading a more healthy and active lifestyle. A combination of the winter blahs, a closet full of clothes that had "shrunk" overnight, and a feeling of complacency culminated, motivating me to make a change.

I always thought it would be too hard, that I didn't have enough time, that I wasn't that unhealthy... lots of excuses and no serious willingness to commit. Until I found a website where I started counting calories. Not just counting the calories of what I ate, but also what I burned. It was like the lightbulb finally came on! So now I not only cook and exercise more, I enjoy every day more :D I am having so much fun trying new recipes, new exercises and challenging myself to learn more.

The biggest shift which is really a miracle in itself has been planning my weekly menus. This coming from the person who used to make a trip to the grocery store every day. Sometimes twice. I've also started going to the gym 5 days a week and taking two rest days to relax and recoup. I always used to dread working out and now not only love going, but sometimes get disappointed when my rest days roll around and I need to take a break. This surprises the heck out of me, but I am thrilled and grateful.

My goal has been to try at least two new recipes every week, so cooking Monday and Tuesday evenings will be a bit of an adventure!

In the midst of all this planning and moving and eating and learning I have lost 11 pounds. Not a huge deal in the world of The Biggest Loser, but a major accomplishment for me. My remarkable friends and family have not only been phenomenally supportive, but have also started asking me to share some food ideas. So here I am.

Here's a look at the yummy food on tap for this week along with links to the recipes:

Monday 5/18/09
bfast every day: Fiberone shredded wheat with lowfat vanilla soymilk (Silk brand)
lunch: Ceasar wrap (lemon pepper chicken breast on the Forman grill, lettuce, tomato and cucumber tossed in lowfast ceasar dressing all wrapped up in a wheat tortilla)
dinner: Peanut crusted chicken with pineapple salsa and lime asparagus(http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1714551)



Tuesday 5/19/09
lunch: leftovers from Monday's dinner and some steamed asparagus with lime juice
dinner: chicken and mushrooms with garlic white wine sauce (http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1545708)



Wednesday 5/20/09
lunch: whole wheat pita with 1 tsp evoo, sliced pear, gorgonzola, fresh sage and crumbled walnuts broiled for a few minutes
dinner: Sweet and sour chicken (http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1599631)



Thursday 5/21/09
lunch: same as Wednesday but with apple rather than pear
dinner: friend's birthday dinner

Friday 5/22/09
bfast: breakfast cookie from fitnessista.com (Soak raw oats overnight in milk of your choice and some sort of produce- last week was pumpkin and vanilla soy milk, this week will be vanilla soy milk, peanut butter and banana. The first one was a bit bland so hopefully this attempt will be better!)
lunch: whole wheat quesadilla with black beans and mango salsa
dinner: Sage and Parmesean crusted pork chops with lemon and pine nut green beans http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1860082

My goal will be to update at least once a week with new recipe ideas. Happy eating! ;)