Sad Smoothie

This face is the reason I just got back from a 3 mile dash of a walk on the creek path .

So pitiful Lily .

Rather than fix myself up at my vanity when I came back , I threw some laundry in, threw some consumables together and am now throwing this blog together :)

Yesterday there were veggies.
Wait.
When are there not veggies?

On my CSN bamboo cutting board, leftover chopped onions from Taco night , broccoli, carrot and some dirty mushrooms.

.

Choppe and cleaned and slightly softened them in a skillet with some sunflower oil . I added a bit of chicken broth , fat free cream cheese and some pre cooked bow tie pasta.

Yum.

I love dishes that are filling and delicious but don't leave me feeling bloated and heavy . Especially in this heat.

After the dash, I thought a smoothie was in order. Thought being the key word here people.

Whole Food Vega Smoothie Mix ( I used probably 1 tbsp of the package)

Maranatha's Organic Smooth Peanut Butter ( 1 tbsp) YEY for my fav peanut butter being back in stock .

1/4 cup of 2 % Milk

1 frozen and unpictured banana

1/4 cup of chopped strawberries also unpictured

couple handfuls of baby spinach

I was surprised that what appeared to be about 1/4 of a blender full , filled up my sbux cup and a club glass.

I was also surprised that while this mix tasted amazing it made me feel very phelm-y . Perhaps it was the milk or combo of milk AND banana . I couldn't drink more than the club glass .



Ready to gnaw off my hand at this point, I grabbed the quickest thing . A cheddar and herb bagel from Superstore's bakery section, and smeared half of it with herb and garlic cream cheese.

I paired it with a homemade iced coffee in yet another starbucks cup ( I have all the cute ones ) because I need fuel and it's too hot for, hot coffee.

What's your favorite smoothie mix ?

What items do you hate in your smoothie ?

Broccoli Salad And Things That Make Me Happy

Last weekend I went to the cottage.

The weather was far from tropical but it was peaceful mostly and it made me happy to be there.

Here are some other things that make me happy :

PICTURES ...

Clouds

Yellow labradors on decks , sleepy in the late afternoon . With sticks. Sticks are very important.

Sunsets .

Super simple salads that may not be the healthiest , but are so yummy that your bf eats cereal bowls full of it.

This isn't really a recipe persay. A classmate of mine brought it for a potluck we were having for some occasion I can't recall.

It didn't look that appetizing in the bowl and of course it doesn't smell like pumpkin pie either , but it is delicious and of course a broccoli lover, like me's dream .

I've attempted to health-ify it up a bit , but to be honest, there's not much hope unless you are willing to use Greek Yogurt, which I think would alter the taste a lot .

You can use as much or as little broccoli as you want. For 3/4 of a bowlful this size ( about 5 generous servings) I used a large crown .

Remove as much of the stem as you can. You really just want the floret.

Dice the hell out of it. Don't make it dust or anything though.

Add about 1/4 of shredded cheese of your choice ( the original potluck one had cheddar ) and generously shake bacon bits in . I have never measured the bacon bits so I couldn't tell you how much to use . I just go with what looks okay .

Add equal parts sour cream ( i used fat free because it makes me feel better about possible ass growth ) and mayo ( i used the light olive oil nonsense ) .

Then, and I know this is going to sound odd, but think of it like sugar in homemade pasta sauce, for some reason this just has to be done.

Add a scant teaspoon of sugar.

As you can see I am all about measurement, with my use of the word scant and the fact that I literally use a spoon for tea as a measuring device.

Then as the above picture demonstrates, you stir it up . It won't look lovely. Once you taste it , you won't care.

Refrigerate for 2-3 hours. The longer it sits, the better it is.

What's your favorite super simple salad?

Are you a broccoli lover?

-A

(early) Valentines Day

Happy ( early ) Valentine's Day guys!
The bf and I are both impatient people. I can never keep gifts away from him . I always want to give them to him right away .. and usually do .
So Valentine's Day was no exception .

Every year he gets me a billion long stemmed roses in this perfect shade of red. I love them and nothing makes me happier :)

I got him an unpictured video game and a few boxes of gourmet chocolates that he devoured already :O

We had a relaxing Saturday. So relaxing I was able to take photos while making dinner. Here they are :

I had chicken with my meal . I really don't like steak . Odd , I know. This was just a boneless skinless chicken breast , in extra crispy shake and bake.

Sweet onion cooked in a mesquite smokey marinade, to go on top the bf's steak.

This is amazing on steaks or so I'm told. I rub it on and let the meat sit for a bit on the counter before cooking it.

I sear it in a pan with about a tsp of evo


Hers and his. Rounded out with some steamed broccoli and shredded fresh canadian cheddar from the local cheese factory :)

I ate about half the chicken and most of the rice, all the broccoli of course :)

What are your Valentine's plans? Is it just another day or commerical hallmark holiday to you?

-A

Hunger Strikes and Repurposing

Hey :)

Yesterday turned out to be a really relaxing Sunday and because I'm on break from classes, Monday turned out to be too.

Yey for lazy days spent doing laundry , cleaning and watching a marathon of Intervention on A&E. I could watch that channel all day everyday .

I had planned to leave the warmth of the apartment today to get my hair cut and roots dyed but when I called to make an appointment , I was told my lady wouldn't be in tomorrow . So I'll get it done tomorrow at 12pm. I can't say that I wasn't pleased even though I did want to get it out of the way .

Yesterday's eats involved a crock pot creation that turned out to be a ridiculous shade of orange. It was delicious but hideous and messy . It consisted of some chicken breasts, low fat cheddar soup, onions, celery and garlic . I cooked it on low all day .

The chicken turned out moist and so tender it fell apart. I was lazy so I just served it with rice and some steamed broccoli and asparagus. I sprinkled some fresh Canadian Cheddar cheese that the bf had picked up at the cheese factory on his way home. It's made daily!

I don't mind it melted on veggies but it's pretty squeaky and I prefer and older one.

I also had an english muffin that was delicious but didn't hold me over because I waited to eat breakfast too long.

Source

I had a craving for this guy though , so I threw 1/3 cup in the microwave with water.

Source

I really wanted something similar to banana bread . I would have made muffins or banana bread but I had no eggs. I did however have tonnes of frozen bananas in the freezer because I am always throwing over ripe ones in the freezer for baking .

I sliced up probably 1/4 of a frozen banana and put it in with the oats while they went in the microwave.

source

I topped it with a tbsp or so of Kraft All Natural Peanut Butter. This picture is small but the taste was soo good. Almost as creamy Kraft's regular Creamy Peanut Butter. Love that stuff and wouldn't bake with anything else. I was defintely full after this . It took me right until dinner's crock pot creation.

Today dinner is in the oven bubbling and browning away. I used some of the Spinach Tomato Sauce from yesterday and made a lasagna of sorts, replacing the lasagna noodles with spiral pasta. It smells delicious although I unfortunately don't know how to cook for 2 people and now have a large lasagna pan full of it !

I'm off to take part in my favorite night of TV watching .

Big Bang Theroy

How I Met Your Mother

and Two and A Half Men

and of course to taste test my work .

What's your favorite go to pasta dish ? What do you find yourself throwing together quickly time after time when hunger strikes?

-A

Friday 5: On my Christmas List

Hey :)
So yes,I'm been m.i.a on the blog this week but I have reasons!! Good reasons! I had tonnes of school work that kept me pretty much chained to my books and laptop most nights and the better part of the days and an exam today that I am so glad is over.

Goal Update:

I didn't drink alcohol all week . 6 days pretty much . I am enjoying a glass of Naked Grape's Chardonnay tonight though. In moderation. Meaning not more than 2 glasses.

Meals this week have shown a big improvement. A lot of big salads and steamed brocccoli and asparagus . A few apples but definitely not An Apple A Day, who's hosting an awesome and veggie-ful give-away.

Have also resisted the urge for take-out and have been grabbing pre made to go salads from the grocery store on my way home from class for lunch. Tonight may be an exception though . Not a large one . Promise . Probably a turkey club sandwich and a dill pickle kinda exception.

I found some awesome new stuff to try at the grocery stores this week. Stacey's Pita Chips in Naked :O which I couldn't resist sampling and think they are A-MAZING! Review on this one to come. Clif's Builders Bar in Peanut Butter , have yet to try and some POMwonderful tea stuff .

Friday 5 : Things I'm Putting On My Christmas List

1/ This awesome book shelf from Umbra I love it I would be ecstatic if this was under my tree . So what if it only holds like ten books. It's quirky and cute.

2/ Oh my god .... I have no words for this one . But whoever makes this magically appear under my tree, well lets just say you are my new favorite. FOREVER! And I have no children so forever will be tough to accomplish once a cute cuddly child is here because I will have urges for them to be favorite but then I will make delicious pretty coffee out of this while i wake up with said child who is not the favorite, and I will remember your glorious gift. Oh keurig. I lust for you.

3/ This book by the man I watch peruse the same grocery store chain I shop at and then cook up awesome food. I love it because i can actually get those ingredients unlike other food shows that want me to get on my yacht and go into the jungle for a spice.

4/ I know what you're thinking the girl wants a bar for Christmas? WTF!? Well yes I do want this bar for Christmas or for anything really because I cannot find it anywhere in stores here and I A-DORE all things banana . Banana muffins , I attack them .Mmm.

5/ Lush's Sexbomb Bath Bomb. So yummy. I love them . Any excuse to stay in the bath for an excessive period of time is fine by me .

Now I'm off to take part in "exceptions" previously mentioned :)

-A

*Photo credits from amazon.ca and lush.com

Booze Cruise Is Docked

Hola :)

After an indulgent weekend , I'm back on the boat to a healthier body. As good as the weekend was , I didn't get enough sleep and while I did have a yummy veggie-ful dinner yesterday and a lake of water but I doubt that makes up for Saturday's naked grape in a glass. Or many glasses.

Couple of Goals for this week :

• Alcohol free. The booze cruise is over. To be honest I'd love for this to extend. I'd like to have a healthier relationship with alcohol. Not drinking for emotional reasons and definitely not drinking every week. Special occasions or a dinner out , fine. Vodka and diet coke while studying, not fine. Today marks 2/2 days booze free so wish me luck.
• Less meat and more greens. I've already been making a conscious effort to do this , this past week or so but would love to focus more on it . Relying on veggies rather than carby crunchiness. The penne w/ broccoli, carrots, mushrooms and asparagus I made last night was A- MAZING!
• Manage to study for and write my exam for Tort Law on Friday without succumbing to study snack crap and without celebrating with ahem, boozy cruises afterwards.

What do you guys use when you feel like you need to cleanse so to speak? Any tips on studying fuel?

-A