Is It Friday Yet??

I was like a machine this morning! I woke up for a nice, hot shower and got to work! I drained and rinsed black beans and threw them in the crockpot. Then I emptied the clean dishwasher and added the dirty dishes. Then I assembled our lunches. I chowed down on some cereal and milk, grabbed my coffee, and dashed out the door! I almost forgot my belt.

At work, we had a bridal shower for a co-worker. I had a donut for a snack. I brought a salad for several reasons: 1) I had nothing to contribute to the potluck. 2) Potlucks aren't very nutritious round these parts. 3) I had things to use up from our fridge.

For lunch, I had that salad which was about 1 C greens and .5 C veggies plus a little less than a slice of deli turkey, about 2 oz mozzarella cheese, a hard-boiled egg and 5 shrimp. I hit the potluck table up for some sides... I grabbed some pita chips (~5) + 1 Tbsp red pepper hummus, and 3 big crackers + 2 Tbsp of Heather's hubby's dip (sour cream, cheese, green onions, and olives!). I also spied ANOTHER salad, but this one was Greek. There was tons of spinach and some cherry tomatoes, so I dug out some of those! And I had 1 chicken tamale. 'Tis the season, yes? I came away from it pleasantly full, not stuffed.

Later, I had the most amazing carrot cake ever and some fresh fruit.

After work, life got a little crazy, or should I say, crazier. I picked up Kendall and then we had the worst encounter EVER at a gas station. The place was packed and Kendall got in line to pull forward after a woman finished pumping. This guy pulled up behind her, and we got nervous. Was he going to do what we thought he was going to do? He moved his wheels a bit, and I just thought he was stuck with all the cars swarming around. Then the lady pulled forward and so did he... right to the gas pump! No he didn't?! Yes he DID! Kendall got out and confronted the guy. He was annoyed but didn't get too heated. He just asked, "Why would you do that? Did you not see me?" And the guy actually said, "Yeah, but I needed to get gas!" Seriously?!?! So did we, sir! Well... Happy Holidays and I hope you feel super-duper great about yourself, you big Bah Humbug! So we left and went to another gas station.

Then we came home, grabbed Kendall's suits, took them to the dry cleaner and ran to the grocery store for my prescription + new facial moisturizer + wine + beer for our 1.5 weeks off!

Came home to a hot slow-cooker full of black beans! Combined with leftover rice, Mexican-style canned diced tomatoes and a little cheese. Delicious! Had it with a glass of wine.

Speaking of wine... look what we got! This is our second food-related gift this Christmas and we are thrilled! First, we got a 6-month subscription to a Breakfast Club with English Muffins galore! And today, our sweet friend Robin gave us these little cuties! Just the sweetest winter wine glasses ever!

Today's Totals:

Grains: 5 serv

Veggies: 3.5 serv

Fruit: 1.5 serv

Dairy: 2 serv

Protein: 4 serv

Discretionary: 300 cal... and counting with the wine. But for serious, it's been a rough few days!

Feel the Pow-ah!

I am a big believer in the power of food. I think we can all agree that eating well leads to feeling better. But I think we can also agree that food can do much more than nourish the body. Whenever we have people over, people congregate around the kitchen. We love to chow down with friends and family over a yummy meal. And I find that whenever I'm feeling down, cooking for loved ones makes me feel better.

Enter... bento.

I don't do them often, and honestly, haven't done them in a while. But after reading about them, and asking Kendall about them from his year in Japan, I started making some bento-inspired lunches a few months ago. They take more time, and so I haven't been making them recently. But last night, I decided I could use a bento-session. I packed a regular lunch, but made it bento-tastic by cutting carrots into stars and arranging it in a plastic container. In a way, it's a creative outlet. I've seen some beautiful bentos on the internet than anyone would love to eat. The food is artfully displayed and looks delicious. Mine isn't that artful, but still was fun to put together.

Lunch included: 1 sandwich of turkey and Swiss on whole-wheat with .5 C of greens and some mayo, carrot sticks and green bell peppers, a clementine and half of a banana. (2 serv grain, 1 serv protein, 1 serv dairy, 1 serv veggies, 1.5 serv fruit + discretionary cals in mayo) Kendall had the same plus another sandwich.

Breakfast was cereal and milk with coffee... Same old, same old! (1 serv grains, 1 serv dairy)

Dinner was late, but delicious! I made chicken and veggies in parchment paper with rice pilaf (3 oz protein, 2 serv rice, 1.5 serv veggies). I put two slices of lemon on the bottom, the put on the chicken breast, then threw in some zucchini and red onions. I drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, pepper and Old Bay. It came out great!

Today's Totals:
Grains: 5 serv
Dairy: 2 serv
Veggies: 3 serv
Fruit: 1.5 serv
Protein: 2 serv
Discretionary: 200 cal

$tock and $ave!

Hey all! It's time for our weekly receipt. Now, I feel the need to break this down a bit because we did hit some sales and therefore stocked up on coffee and cereal. So here it goes!

After deducting some beer, TP, a few non-perishable food items we bought as donations to the food bank, cleaning supplies, etc., our total was $57.80.

Now, after deducting two pounds of coffee and four boxes of cereal, we come to $35.10! Not bad. Is that cheating? Perhaps, but we won't eat all the cereal or coffee this week, so... what can I say.

Here's what we bought with that $35.10...

• 1 lb of white shrimp
• 1 package frozen spinach
• 1 package frozen broccoli
• 2 cheese pizzas
• 1 gallon of milk
• 8 oz block of mozzarella
• 8 oz block of Monterrey jack with peppers
• 8 oz of all natural turkey deli meat
• 8 oz of sliced Swiss cheese
• Bulk organic baby salad greens
• 3 green bell peppers
• .74 lbs of bananas
• .68 lbs of carrots
• .68 lbs of zucchini
• 4 tangerines
• 2.34 lbs of apples
• 1 pack of 12 corn tortillas
• 1 loaf of whole-wheat bread
• 1 jar of raspberry preserves
• 1 can of tomato soup
• 2 cans of tomato sauce
• 1 can Mexican-style diced tomatoes
• 1 can of tuna
• 2 cans of tomato paste
• 1 bottle of blueberry juice

Pretty successful! We'll be home next week for the holidays, so we'll see what the menu holds and what we spend on Christmas dinner!

Monday Monday Monday

The day started with cereal and milk and a cup of coffee. Then I was off to work. Just a few minutes into my drive, Kendall called and said the car wasn't working! They say things come in threes. Please let this be it!

For a snack, a banana. Work wasn't too busy today, which was nice. I spent my lunch break visiting my brother in the hospital (he's totally fine, though!) and came back to a turkey and Swiss sandwich on whole-wheat with mayo and about .5 C of greens. I had two clementines on the side. Yum!

After work, I came home to see if I could jump Kendall's car. Negative. So it's been towed. We came in and made a nice dinner of shrimp scampi with whole wheat pasta and asparagus.


You better believe I mixed that up!

For dessert, a cup of hot chocolate!

I'm exhausted! We're watching "Becoming Jane," and chilling in our PJs. I hope to rest up tonight!

'Tis the Season for Craziness

I'm sorry, but no photos for Friday, Saturday or Sunday. This weekend had some unexpected twists and turns with the fam, but we are home and relaxing now. But there is ALWAYS a silver lining, and here's mine:

1. We are getting new carpet in our study and guest bedroom on Thursday, so we had to move out all of our stuff into our Master Bedroom. But we managed to sort and purge. Some furniture went to Goodwill and we painted my old desk. So now we will have more space, a more sleek look and a new feel. Hooray! My dad helped out tons. Thanks, Dad!

2. You know how you usually wish you had more time with family during the holiday season? This weekend, we really got to S-L-O-W down and spent lots of time with my Dad and I got to hang out with my nephews today. Um, I'm the clumsiest aunt in the world. I challenged my nephews to a race and ran down a hill. After successfully going down the hill and was running on FLAT GROUND, I fell over. My knee is bruised and a little swollen because that is what broke my fall. Ouch.

3. We went to check out Luminations at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center. It was so neat! And we got to donate to the local food bank, which is always a great cause.

4. Lots of laughs with some co-workers on Friday night.

Here's what I ate, people...

Friday:
Cereal with milk and coffee
Leftovers: 1 veggie enchiladas, 1 chicken enchilada, 1.5 serv rice, and 1 serv black beans + a few chips
Sloppy Joes with a salad and some potato chips + 3 glasses of wine

Saturday:
Scrambled eggs + juice and coffee
Leftover sloppy joes with some pasta salad and a veggie salad and a Diet Coke
Pizza and salad with a Full Moon beer
Popcorn and half of a beer

Sunday:
Cereal with milk and juice and coffee
One slice cheese pizza, veggie soup, clementine
Coffee
Diet Coke and French Fries
Two chicken tostadas with lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, sour cream
Popcorn and beer

Sometimes, when life gets crazy, you can be so extraordinarily pleased by having a set of clean sheets in the closet! It's the little things.

Holiday Luncheon!

Holiday Luncheon at work today! I started off with a bowl of cereal and milk and grabbed my coffee. I had to dress up in a tacky holiday outfit. I borrowed a holiday snowman sweater from my mother-in-law and paired it with leggings, 2 pairs of Christmas socks, sneakers, Christmas pins, earrings and bracelets. Yes!

We spent the morning setting up. For lunch, I had veggie enchiladas, rice, black beans and a few chips with salsa. I had sweet tea on the side. For dessert I had a few bites of pumpkin mousse and a piece of chocolate cake. Yum!

For dinner, I had to finish off our black beans. I made some rice and stirred some canned tomatoes and chili seasoning into the beans with some onions. Success! A sprinkle of cheese, some green onions and a bit of salsa verde on top made a hearty meal.


Later, I had some vegetable guilt issues, because the enchiladas didn't have that many. I was still a bit hungry, so I heated up some vegetable soup. For something sweet, I popped a few blackberries in my mouth. So sweet and juicy. I love blackberries and have been amazed at how good these are, given that it's December. I don't even want to know where they've been shipped in from!

Dad came over and I snacked on a Clementine and a small glass of red wine.

Now it's time to go to bed!

Nacho Night!

It was COLD this morning, so I started off with a nice hot shower. Then I had some hot apple cinnamon oatmeal made with 1 C milk. I made my coffee and packed my lunch.

Work went smoothly this morning. We're prepping for the big Holiday Luncheon tomorrow. I had a pear for a snack.

For lunch, I had half a turkey sandwich on whole-grain with lettuce and mayo. I also packed some leftover chicken stew. I also had a tangerine. And for dessert...



THESE BABIES! I got them last year as a Christmas present. Since I've been so tempted by candies around the office, I turned to them. They are dark chocolate coated cacao nibs. The entire tin is only 140 calories, but just a few of them pack a lot of punch. I really only need a few and the satisfy my choco craving.

Tonight was nacho night. I make them every once in a while, usually to use up ingredients. I had to use up some tomatillos, so I made salsa verde. Avocados were on sale this week, so we had three. I used one. I also needed to use those black beans in a new way! So we had nachos. I also made a salad of greens, tomatoes, cilantro in a lime dressing.

Nacho directions:

Spread out tortilla chips on a rimmed baking sheet or a 13x9 casserole. Put ingredients to be warmed on top, like beans, canned diced tomatoes, onions, and cheese. Put under the broiler for 3-4 min. Turn, and broil for 3-4 min. Then sprinkle your fresh ingredients on top, like green onions, fresh tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, and cilantro. Serve with a big old spoon!

Just an Ordinary Tuesday

I started off the day with some cereal and milk (1 C of each). Then I started the crockpot with black beans! I packed my lunch and I got dressed.

For a snack, I had some raisins and mixed nuts (1/4 C total) and a cup of low-cal hot cocoa. I didn't finish the cocoa.

For lunch, I packed a big bowl of white bean and spinach Minestrone. There were tons of veggies! I had about 2.5 C of soup, and I'm estimating that about 1 C were veggies (either soup veggies or spinach). On the side, a slice of whole-grain bread and a slice of Muenster cheese. For my sweet tooth, a tangerine and a cranberry muffin. I also downed about 16 oz of water at lunch.

Later at my desk, I felt cold. A neighbor had Andes mint. Love those! I also had some hot tea.

At home, I sauteed some onions and squash and I steamed some broccoli. I paired the onions and squash with black beans and spooned in some leftover chipotle tomatoes. I mixed it together and sprinkled just a touch of jalapeno-jack cheese on top. It was delicious! All in all, I probably had 1.5 C of vegetables between the broccoli and tomatoes, onions and squash.

Now we're just kicking it with some red wine and possible some "Bridget Jones' Diary" later...

Back to the grind! I started off the day with some cereal with milk and water. I got dressed, and grabbed my coffee.

Work was slow, and we're getting ready for our holiday luncheon. For lunch I had a turkey and Muenster on whole-grain sandwich with lettuce and mayo. I also had a tangerine and a pear. For dessert, 3 almond chocolate kisses.

The weather was NASTY out... drizzling all day and cold. I wanted something hearty and quick for dinner.

I pulled these out of the pantry... Red Runner Creole Cream Style Red Beans and chipotle diced tomatoes.

I pulled this out of the freezer. I don't like the idea of steaming things in plastic, so I dumped it into a pan on the stove.

The spinach was frozen into little cubes! I wonder why...

I served it over rice with some jalapeno-jack cheese and a little avocado salad with spinach on the side. So hearty and filling! On side, a petit glass of red wine.

I needed to use up some cranberries in the fridge so I whipped up a batch of cranberry muffins!

I had one with 6 blackberries and a bit of milk.

Now we are kicking back with a movie and another little glass of red wine.

A Little Crazy

This weekend was good, but a little crazy. Let's start with Friday, shall we?

I started with a run, then had some cereal with milk, grabbed my coffee and hit the road. There was SNOW in the forecast, and traffic was really nice and light.

For a snack, raisins, and for lunch, I had some Moroccan stew and an orange. I made some hot tea and watched the snow drift in.

After work, I started feeling a little funky, but I thought it was stress. I studied and went to take my final. Not so great.

I went home to find that husband borrowed a car to see if we wanted to buy it. It was cute, and we drove it to dinner. The restaurant we went to was more of a bar. I ordered the veggie quesadillas and Kendall got the cheese pizza. I had the 512 IPA, he had the dark porter. We I had two wedges of the quesadilla and the salad and two slices of Kendall's pizza. I skipped the sour cream.

I was NOT feeling great after dinner and went to bed early. I woke up not feeling any better. I had some cereal and coffee. I went to get Bethany's gift and then felt puny. I came home and Kendall sent me to bed while he made lunch. He made pasta salad and some soup. Then I went back to bed! I had to call Bethany and change my plans for her bachelorette party. I thought it best not to stay up late drinking but was able to meet them for dinner and some gifts and games. We started off the night with a celebratory tequlia shot. Then we walked to the restaurant. There, they treated us to a glass of rose champagne! We split some spinach artichoke dip. Then another friendly person bought us a round! More tequlia shots. That was all for me! I stuck with water for the rest of the evening. I ordered the chicken with whole-wheat pasta and veggies. It asked for the alfredo sauce on the side and I was glad I did. There was enough flavor without it and it had a sweetness to it that I didn't care for.

We went back to the room and Beth opened gifts! Then I got out of there. I was so sorry to leave the party, but I did have fun! I got home and went straight to bed.

Today, I had a big bowl of oatmeal and coffee. We had a bit of a dilemma... Our kitchen light went out and it wasn't the light bulb. We had to replace the whole dang thing! Three trips to Lowe's later, and it was installed... with barely any time to spare to get ready for the Nutcracker. We threw on some clothes, at a quick bite of lasagna, and were out the door. We got there in time though!

The ballet was GREAT! The restaurant we planned to go to was closed, so we went to Chuy's. I ordered a light beer and had the veggie enchiladas with charro beans and rice. I ate half there with plenty of chips and salsa. (Note: My dress had a belt which seriously had me feeling REALLY full when I finished half my plate. If you think you might be tempted at a holiday party, consider donning a belt around your waist with some of the cute dresses and cardigans out now. It can help remind you of a good portion size so you don't overeat mindlessly!) I took the rest home.

I folded laundry and then showered. Then I was a little hungry again, so I settled in with some leftovers and wine.

I'm feeling better, but still really tired. Good night, all!