Tag Archives: recipes

Recipe break!

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It’s me again.

I have been doing homework ALL.DAMN.DAY. Lots of reading and researching and discussion questions…ay yay yay.

I have been breaking it up with household chores, errands, walks, and intermittent exercises.

And recipe making. Since it’s time for me to take another mental break, I decided to write a post to share my recipes from today!

First up, Summer Salad. This was inspired by a recipe from Athena’s blog-she actually made it for me when I stayed at her place last month. I didn’t have the exact ingredients, so I made up my own.

Summer Salad

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • cucumber
  • tomatoes
  • onion
  • garbanzo beans
  • kidney beans
  • olive oil
  • lemon juice
  • S&P

 

Here’s what you do:

1. Dice up the cucumber, tomatoes, and onion (I am not listing amounts because that’s up to you. I made just enough for lunch/dinner, but you can obviously make as much as you want- and add more of the ingredients you like better)

2. Rinse the beans.

3. Mix all the ingredients. For my batch, I used 2 capfuls of lemon juice and 3 capfuls of olive oil.

4. S&P to taste.

 

Next, Deviled Eggs.

I have never made deviled eggs before, but I had a mean craving for them today. Weird.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • dozen eggs
  • 2 t. mustard
  • 1/3 c mayo
  • 1/4 t tabasco
  • paprika
  • S&P

 

Here’s what you do:

1. Hard boil the eggs. Don’t know how to? Google it.

2. Peel the eggs (duh). Cut them in half length-wise with a sharp knife.

3. Empty the yolks in a bowl and mash them up.

4. Add the mustard, mayo, tabasco, paprika to taste, and S&P. Mix it up.

5. Spoon the mixture into each half. Sprinkle with paprika for presentation.

 

Ok, back to work I go. I still have to get in a workout too! Oof.

Layla says hi.

I made balls…and other topics

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As promised, here is the recipe from last night’s dinner (from Eights and Weights)

Healthy Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients

  • 1 lb lean ground turkey
  • 1/4 c breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp soy milk (I used almond)
  • 1/2 tbsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 2 gloves garlic (I used minced garlic)
  • Grated veggies (I used carrots)
  • 1 pack of whole wheat spaghetti
  • 1 28 oz can tomato sauce
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
  • 1 onion (I used 1/2)
  • Cooking spray
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degress and spray baking sheet with the cooking spray

2. In a large bowl, combine the turkey, breadcrumbs, parmesan, milk, egg, black pepper, thyme, 1/2 clove garlic, grated veggies, and half the salt

3. Once combined, form into balls (I did 12 medium sized)

4. Baked for about 15 minutes, until balls are browned.

5. For the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan. Add in the onion and rest of the garlic. Right as it browns, add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and the rest of the salt. (I threw in a little chili powder as well)

6. Let the sauce simmer. When the meatballs are done, carefully add them to the sauce and allow at least an additional 15 minutes of simmering before serving (I had them simmer about 45 minutes. The longer, the better)

7. Cook the spaghetti per the directions on the box. Top readied spaghetti with balls and sauce and dinner is served.

******

Ok now that we’re done with that, I’d like to give a shout out to Athena for the workout she posted from her Tuesday night class (Oh how I miss Two a Day Tuesdays. Not only for the workouts, but for the peeeeeeople!)

I started with 10 minutes of HIIT on the spin bike, then got right to it.

There were 2 rounds of tabatas. Then cardio after each round. I chose to do a minute of cardio between each tabata for a little extra punch.

Round 1

  • On the bosu: Pushups/Burpees
  • With a medicine ball: Woodchops/Pulses
  • Bands: Bicep curls (In and out)

Round 2

  • On the bosu: Planks/Mountain Climbers
  • With a medicine ball: Front lunges w/twist
  • Bands: Tricep extensions

Then I did all the ab work she posted. (Seriously, just check out her post-linked above- for a more complete description).

Last, I hopped on the elliptical for another 10 minutes of HIIT.

It was a GREAT workout. I swallowed so much salty sweat. (Gross. Cringe. Barf. TMI- I know)

Only difference in my workout from Athena’s was the music selection. She chose to go with a Cinco de Mayo theme. Me: not so much. I have been hearing way too much techno-y/pop-y music lately, that I needed me some rap, hop-hop and otherwise ‘thuggy-thug’ music. (This is no offense to anyone by referring to it as ‘thuggy-thug.’ I just think it’s an amusing way to get the vibe across.) Little Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, Kayne, Snoop and Notorious all made appearances on my playlist this am. I gotta tell ya, that music really revs my engine.

On the way to the gym I heard this song and I got really amped to work out. It really just makes me wanna dance and twist and shake and shimmy. Please tell me that you clicked on the link. And that as soon as the music played, you started bobbing your head or rocking your shoulders back and forth. Admit it. Because that’s what I’m doing. RIGHT NOW. Of course I’m playing it on repeat until I finish this post.

Then, on the way back, I heard this song. It was my very first favorite song that wasn’t and oldie or a Disney tune. Total throwback. Not gonna lie, I have used it quite a few times in playlists for classes I ran in Boston. Best part was when someone in the class would be like “Aww man, great tune” They scored 50 points in my book.

Ok, on to address the notes I left for myself in the last post.

1) Lululemon Swimsuits.

(Source)

I’m pretty sure I am going to buy all of them. I went to the mall yesterday just to “visit” them and I fell in love. Tyler, are you reading? Your lady wants a swimsuit. The gal who freaked out at the Hot Springs 2 weeks ago because of the dreaded bathing suit wearing…WANTS A NEW SUIT. I suggest you take that as a hint.

2) Calgary Beerfest

(Source)

I got tickets for Tyler and I for Friday night. Very excited. VERY. There are so many new-to-me beers that are going to be there. I know, it’s a tough job trying all of them, but I feel I am up to the challenge. A lot of these Canadian beers have rivaled my favorites from the states, and some of them have been just awful. I checked out the list of who will be there, and some of my new faves are..so I’ll at least have some backup.

3) Copycat blogging. I’m actually in a good mood today, so I don’t want to bring myself down if I really get into this topic. Next!

4) At home workouts. I used to hate doing at home workouts because I either didn’t have the space or didn’t have the equipment. But now, I totally love them. I have my own room that I can sweat to my heart’s content. I’ve got my mat, my stability ball and my new weights. So many options.

5) How much I hate washing dishes. The end. I just hate it.

6) Positives and negatives of being a lefty. Positives: I got on a lot of sports teams growing up. I got the lefty desk in school. Negatives: Coaches had a hard time teaching me the ‘opposite’ way. I smudge over pretty much everything I write.

I know there are more, but I can’t think of them right now. I think I just wrote that on my list last night because I had completely smudged up some important paperwork. #fail

7) Sleeping positions. On my belly or on my side. If I am drunk, I sleep on my back with my arms over my head. Totally weird.

8) Favorite chapsticks/lip glosses/what-have-yous. Chapstick: Carmex. But only in the classic stick and only in the original and cherry flavors. Strawberry? Blughk. Lip gloss: Benefit Ultra Shines. I have had just about every color and love every single one of them. What have yous: Exude Lipstick. I have the lip cream in Nude- I got it from my Birchbox a few months ago (which I had to cancel when I moved because they don’t deliver to Canada! Tears, people. Tears.)

This should be sufficient reading for you all for now..There’s a lot more to get done today!

Anyone want to rant/rave on anything? I’m all ears!

Getting the ball rolling

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Well, last night ended terribly. I committed a crime, a very bad crime. I weighed myself at the end of the day- at the end of a holiday weekend. The verdict? You don’t want to know. Ugh, I was so mad at myself. Hated myself even.

You’d think after 25 years I’d have learned to enjoy food and fitness in balance. But every once in a while- it takes a mean turn and I cry myself to sleep over a stupid number on a stupid scale.

After a huge sobfest and a good nights sleep, I started today with a clean slate. Breakfast was a bowl of oats w/honey, almond milk, almond butter, raisins and toasted coconut.

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Today’s workout included a 3 mile run- the first ever since moving to 3500 ft altitude. I think I did pretty good

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Sub-10 min miles. I’ll take it, thankya. And the route I took was hilly. Another high five for me.

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I listened to a new playlist for my run- it’s a weird mix of genres and old/new stuff, but it hit the spot for a run today!
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Oh, and Nicki Minaj’s new CD? Fantastic. She does a lot of the rap that she’s known for, but here and there she actually sings and she has a great voice. And great lyrics. And great featuring artists. Most of the songs talk about b*tches and d*ck, though. Hell, one song’s even titled Come on A Cone. For serious. But I really like the music- I’ll just have to watch my potty mouth for a bit 😉

My heart was a-thumpin’ by the time I got home. Theeeen, I did a quick at home circuit that consisted of

    Squats with alternating front kicks
    Side lunges with high knee
    Pushups
    Crunches
    Side plank dips
    Mountain climbers
    Jumping jacks
    Side crunches
    Jump rope

Oof!
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15 minutes of those moves, and I broke my second sweat of the day. Very pleased with my workout on day 1 of post-scale horror.

Lunch was a smoothie with an interesting list of ingredients.

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It included: 1 frozen banana, 2 handfuls spinach, orange juice, frozen raspberries, Oikos Greek yogurt, and 2 medjool dates. Totally delicious.

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Dinner was quickly and easy- another round of healthy chicken tenders with broccoli and spinach citrus couscous.

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Dessert was an orange.

I finally got around to trying out another way to get hard cooked eggs. Rather than boiling them, I baked them!

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In the oven they went at 325 for 30 minutes, then I plunged them in ice water to stop them from cooking. They actually turned out! I’ll be eating them over the next few days! Yum.

Chicken breasts in a bag

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Big things are happening here. I started season 1 of Mad Men today. I have a strong feeling I’ll be sucked in to the Mad-ness (pun intended). I’m going to have to restrict myself to only so many episodes per sitting so that I can get stuff done around here. Like, walks with the dog and domestic errands. OooOOoo.

I was busy on the Internet box last night but managed to quickly whip up a dinner that Tyler actually liked.

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Potato chip chicken and Brussel sprouts with walnuts and raisins. In case you ladies need to make dinner in a jif (dare I say male readers want to get creative in the kitchen. Oof sexist comment? Nah, just praise for lady kitchen genius over here-me,) here’s how it’s done:

Potato Chip Chicken
In a bowl, whisk an egg and 1/8 c of milk. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Take 1/4 bag of potato chips (I used BBQ popchips), and crush the chips still in the bag. Take two large chicken breasts and soak them in the egg wash. Then throw both breasts in the crumbled bag of chips and shake to ensure the breasts are completely coated in chips. Put chicken on a baking pan lined with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Brussel sprouts with walnuts and raisins
Cut the sprouts in half and simmer in a pan on medium high with olive oil. Cover and let steam for 10 minutes. Toss in a dash of cinnamon, raisins and walnuts, and a bit more oil, and stir. Cover the pan and remove from the heat and let sit until chicken is ready. (I added a dash of red pepper flakes since Tyler likes spice. The sweet/spicy combo was actually great!

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Dessert was a modified banana split. I melted 1/4 c chocolate chips, topped with rainbow sprinkles and a banana to dip.

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Then, another sleepless night. More reading under the covers, tossing and turning, and according to Tyler, I was sighing all night. I even got up at 3:30am to shower in hopes it would help me sleep. Meh, no such luck. I really think I need to get out of the house and keep busy so that I konk out at night. Today, I shall do just that! (after a couple episodes of Mad Men, of course).

But first, breakfast!

I had leftover batter from Sunday’s whole wheat pancakes. Except this time, I made them with bananas, then topped with almond butter and a drizzle of honey. A glass of OJ Simpson on the side. Terrific way to get my intended busy day started!

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Banana Applesauce Bready Goodness

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Hi Friends. Having a low day because I am dealing with more trials and tribulations of the move to Canada. Lots of legal things and what not. I’m taking deep breaths to hopefully relax. And not too many deep breaths to get light-headed.

Thank goodness I had a loaf in the oven (WAYYYY better than a bun, eh??! bad joke) and was able to enjoy some warm bready goodness at the end of my most recent bad phone call.

I threw this recipe together, and IT ACTUALLY WORKED. Like, it turned out pretty darn good. I have no fancy name for it, so I give you:

Banana Applesauce Bready Goodness

  • 1/4 c brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp butter, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 large ripe banana, mashed
  • 3/4 c all purpose flour
  • 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1/4 c raisins
  • 1/4 c walnuts
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar. Beat with mixer for 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and applesauce and beat for another 2 minutes. Fold in the banana, chia seeds and cinnamon.

In another bowl, combine the flours and baking soda.

Slowly add the flour mixture into the banana mixture. Fold in raisins and walnuts if desired.

*Optional: top poured batter with oats for a crunchy top

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for about 40 minutes.

I had a couple slices with natural pb (Note: Natural peanut butter is the same price as a gallon of cashew butter in the states. i.e.: EXPENSIVE. argh) and some OJ for breakkie.

Parden the appearance of the pb, it was the kind you have to stir. And I didn’t do a good job of stirring. Therefore, it looked like a puddle ‘o poo.

I’m off to tape and paint the window wall in the living room! (Excited, but not too much. Upside is I can watch some HD movies while I work. Way better than whistling while I work. What were those dwarves thinking? Silly men.)