Blame it

Hello all! Happy May Where has this weekend gone? I can’t believe it’s Sunday night already and I blame that on one thing:

No, not the alcohol

 

or rain 

Blame it on Marathons!

And not the running kind

It seemed like each time I turned on the tv this weekend there was a marathon of some sorts on. First there was a House marathon on Saturday night, which killed my evening right there. And today there has been non stop Real Housewives. I love that I can catch up but hate how it just sucks me in. Especially when I’ve seen Theresa from RH of New Jersey flip over a table and call Danielle a whore at least 30 times now. I’ve officially decided I want to create a RH of NJ drinking game and each time Caroline says “We’re family” or “protect the family” you have to take a drink. I would be drunk within the first 10 minutes of the show!

Even though, I was plagued with a case of the marathons, I still got quite a bit done.

On Saturday I woke up at 3am and couldn’t get back to bed. Not that that was annoying at all. As soon as the sun rose, I got to cracking on my errands. While driving around, I saw at Wiki Wiki Car Wash for a free $15 car wash in celebration of their grand opening. There was a huge line but I had absolutely nowhere to be so I drove in and waited my turn.

Yeah, apparently everyone and their mom is about the free car wash. Could you blame them?

But then I saw we were actually going through the car wash and it wasn’t a manual car wash.

Eeks! I remember as a little kid, I would love going through the car wash and it was exciting. Now? It just freaks me out and I think I am going to stall or crash into someone. I blame this on Enterprise Rent A Car. Enterprise was my first real job out of college and to keep it simple—the job sucked. I was making $10 an hour, wore a suit to work….in Phoenix….in the summertime….while running from one car dealership to another to go get cars. At that time I didn’t run so yeah, it was a horrible job. Oh and I didn’t mention that the main part of the job was selling the optional insurance that is complete bs? I am not one to be pushy especially with a product that I don’t believe in so I often had to go to sales calls with our regional manager so I could “learn” from him. That never happened because I knew it was BS. One day I had to run a white F-150 through the car wash and I crashed it while going through since the wheels weren’t on track. I believe this traumatized me and still haunts me to this day.

Even though I was completely hungover, I still made it to the gym on Saturday afternoon. I started with doing 25 minutes on the elliptical than did upper body strength training. I would love to tell you what I did but I cannot remember for the life of me since I wasn’t too hot. And I think I was the stinky person at the gym….I blame it on the night before since I was sweating out all the liquor.

Even though beer was coming out of my pores, I had a great workout!

Dinner was put together last minute on Saturday night. I had white shrimp defrosting in the fridge but didn’t have a plan as to what to do with them. I didn’t want to fry them and wasn’t in the mood for pasta so I marinated in Paula Deen’s Peach BBQ sauce for 30 minutes then cooked the shrimp on the stovetop

While that was sitting,  I got to start on the side items first up was baked okra. I love that okra is back in season since it’s such an easy veggie to prepare! You don’t even have to fry it , which unfortunately was the sole way I used to eat it. I blame that on working at Cracker Barrel. I worked there for four years in my high school and college days. I started off a hostess than working my way up to server and made awesome money there. I just hated the ugly brown apron we had to don, that did not help me with tips. I like to slice mine up, toss in extra virgin olive oil, garlic and pepper and bake at375 degrees for 20 minutes. However, no extra virgin olive oil tossing this time (um, how dirty does that sound??) Because I finally put down the $10 to buy a Misto!

I spritzed the okra with extra virgin olive oil from the Misto then let bake.

Hmmmm, not as oily as previously made but still tasty. They didn’t turn out as crisp as they normally do which was a bit of a let down.

When visiting the hippies on Friday, I saw they had turnips. I’ve never cooked with turnips and am forever on a quest to try new veggies. I asked them what I could do with turnips and they suggested that I add them to mashed potatoes. I’ve been jonesing for sweet potatoes lately so I killed two birds with one stone with by making mashed sweet potatoes with turnips mixed in. I boiled one sweet potato and one turnip until soft then mashed and added half and half, grated  parmesan, salt and pepper.

This turned out smooth and creamy and was a perfect way to try a new veggie! I  really didn’t notice too much of a stand out taste of the turnip but from what I’ve heard it’s a mix between a carrot and potato so it jived well with the sweet potato.

This meal was a little more labor intensive that what I had hoped for on a Saturday night but a successful dinner all in all!

This morning, I went to Panera to work on some internship stuff and get my free bagel waiting for me via MyPanera rewards.

I was sitting enjoyed my jalapeno cheddar bagel when all of a sudden, a terrible headache hit me. And you know what I blame this on? Unruly children whose parents don’t discipline them.

Beautiful noise my ass.

I know a lot of you reading this have children and my tolerance of children has gone up in the past few years but these kids were horrible!!! The kicker was that the terrors looked like little angels. Little angels who like to shriek at a pitch that Lincoln would’ve heard and little angels who like to throw pieces of bagels at each other. I already switched locations from the area over the wall where  the guy wearing a velour suit kept rubbing his right pec while reading the paper. I couldn’t stop staring at and he probably thought I was getting turned on (not so much) So I didn’t want to move yet again but tried to power through the rest of my work and get out of there. And you know what? As soon as I walked out of Panera, my headache went away. Go figure!

Words cannot express what an awesome workout I had today! I got to the gym right as it opened and found a Precor AMT to hop on. Does anyone else feel extremely awkward while moving backwards on those and using the handles? I tried to do both simultaneously and it just didn’t work for me. I did a resistance ranging from 8 to 12 and killed it! So much that I was sweating in places I never knew I could sweat. As much as I tried to cool down, I felt like I kept having to wipe myself off. Gross, I know, but I’m a sweater when I workout. If sweat is a result of a great workout, that’s A-OK in my book! I did lower body strength training afterwards including

*squats (15 reps, 2 sets 20 lb kettlebell)

*hip adduction  (12 reps, 4 sets 95 lbs)

*hip abduction (12 reps. 4 sets 110 lbs)

*leg extension (13 reps, 3 sets 80 lbs)

*hamstring extension (13 reps, 3 sets 65 lbs)

Awwwww yeah. Like I said, sweating is not an issue if it results in an awesome workout!

When I got home, I went straight to the kitchen. I didn’t even greet Lincoln properly and I blame this on the workout since I was voracious. I put together a quick wrap with hummus, veggies and ham with a side of blue tortilla chips

The ham was a completely random addition to the wrap but I had a couple of pieces sitting in the fridge that I wanted to get rid of. I hate throwing something out if I don’t need to and Lincoln helped me get rid of some

When I went to Panera this morning, I noticed they didn’t have any Tabasco sauce out with the rest of their condiments so I couldn’t snag any for my house. I went through my stash of condiments and couldn’t find any hot sauce for the tortilla chips

Then I went through some of my purses because there had to be a hot sauce hidden in one of my purses, right?

Right. Mission accomplished!

My frugality and refusal to buy condiments like normal people? Well, I guess I could blame my Polish heritage on.

For dinner, I mixed it up by making tofu but doing it Italian style! I’ve cooked tofu with Mexican and Asian influenced spices before but never Italian. How could I leave out my heritage in my tofu loving??

I coated the tofu in a mixture of thyme, pepper, salt, garlic and red pepper flakes then let cook in oil with zucchini, red onion and red peppers

I had sea shell pasta cooking on the side which I then covered in parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and extra virgin olive oil from my Misto

Then topped with the tofu and veggies

The tofu and veggies had so much flavor this didn’t need any sauce. If you’re looking to mix up your dinner one night, try this out!

As for the rest of the nights, I’m chilling with my peeps

Literally.

What’s your favorite way to prepare shrimp or tofu?

Are you a hot mess like me when you work out?

Real Housewives: love it or hate it?

Negativity, happenings and goal checks

So the past few days have been rough, I’ve just feeling blah. Maybe it was from the drunken stupor of Friday night, the 79 degree days we’ve been having or just laziness but I’m finally back to feeling “normal” and like myself again.

I had a major tofu fail last night. I have a couple of slices pressed in the fridge to get the liquid out and was looking forward to cooking up something tasty. I added bbq sauce to the tofu and cooked it on the stovetop while I had sweet potato slices and kale chips in the oven.

The tofu was extra firm but it was crumbling while cooking it so it quickly turned into a bbq tofu mash and it was funkalicious. It didn’t taste right at all so there goes my first experience with tofu gone bad. The rest of the meal was fantastic though.

Afterwards, I met up with a friend at the Y. She went to find a treadmill to run on while I found a Precor AMT to get my cardio on. When I finished working out, I sprayed down the machine and the guy next to me flipped his lid! He started getting all whiny and dramatic “Saying, og my gosh, I can’t breathe, why did you spray it in my face?? blah blah blah” I apologized saying that I didn’t realize it gotten on him (I sprayed it two times on the machine and wiped it) then after I apologized he gave me more attitude saying “Next time you really need to spray on the towel and wipe” and I just smiled and spurt out “Ok”. I walked away and *almost* walked back to go off on him and say something along the lines of “If getting cleaner on you is the biggest issue you have in life, I want your life” but I’m trying not to be so confrontational with strangers plus it’s the Y and I know I would start dropping the F bomb on him so I walked away.

My friend and I did some upper body weight machines after like the row, lateral pull down, shoulder press and chest press.

 It was a great workout and to think, I almost didn’t go because I had a case of the Mondays!

I came home and made a green monster with kale, coconut milk, Spiru-Tein Blueberries N Cream protein powder, flax seed and Yoplait Smoothie fruit mix.

Very tasty! I don’t think I would buy the Yoplait Smoothie mix again because there really isn’t alot of fruit in the bag and I believe it only comes out to two servings in the bag. I would rather buy a generic brand than spend an extra buck on this.

And today was hell. I didn’t have a lot on my plate because I wanted to work on a project but that fell through and there were just issues all day long. I started the day off with Yoplait and a Vita Top

Unfortunately, this didn’t hold me over at all. And there was a little issue with my sanitzer spilling all over the Vita Top–boo!

Just a note, this is the most disgusting scented sanitzer I’ve ever smelled. Plus the fact that anytime I see it, I start singing Strawberry Champagne to the tune of “Raspberry Beret” is getting annoying.

I didn’t make anything in advance so I had something new for lunch-Morningstar Sesame Chik’n

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again-I’m not a huge fan of frozen meals but usually keep a few in my freezer for days I have no lunch. This was surprisingly good though. The “chik’n” tasted like real chicken and the sauce was smooth and didn’t seem like it was laced with a shaker of salt. I’ve had Lean Cuisine frozen meals like this and they pale in comparison compared to Morningstar with it’s abundance of vegetables and flavor. I will definitely be buying this in the future.

When I got home, I was spent. But I came home to a nice, surprise package.

What can it be?

Multigrain Cheerios and Biggest Loser Wii workout I won from Kelly Olexa! If you haven’t ever visited Kelly’s blog, please check it out. She is super inspiring, posts vlogs on the faily and has a Monday post called Monday Manjoyment–who doesn’t love that!? Whenever I am feeling down an uninspired, I head over to her blog and it puts things in perspective for me and motivates me to get off my behind and work it out!

Dinner was something new-chicken satay with brown rice, green beans, onions and baby corn

I’ve never cooked with satay sauce, nor did I know how orange it was!

Please disregard chipped nail polish. Instead of giving myself a manicure, I choose to blog.

I chopped up one and a half chicken breasts and mixed with the sauce

Cooked some onions on the stovetop then added the chicken

Then added the green beans and baby corn

Checked to make sure any chicken didn’t fall because if it did, Lincoln would be right there by my feet but instead he was sitting like a good boy

And voila! A tasty, healthy meal

I like to think of myself as a positive person but this past weekend, I had two guys tell I was a really negative girl and that bothered me. I am lot more positive than I used to be and when I feel like I’m speaking my mind or “telling it like it is” apparently, I come off negative. This came from me speaking about my job, you know, when you go out partying the first thing you want to talk about is work right? So when someone asks me what I do, I tell them then try to steer the conversation in another direction by saying something like “Let’s talk about something more interesting than work” and when they ask me, I really start to speak my mind about my job. As many of you know, I’m very unhappy with my role and have no issues about speaking my thoughts on my position but I guess I am really coming off negative? That being said, I am going to start making more of a conscious effort about how I speak about my job, life, feelings, etc and try to portray them in a more positive way and speak my mind more thoughtfully. I know I shouldn’t be doing this for other people but when I think about would I want to hang out with someone who is consistently complaining about their job, I wouldn’t. It’s just a downer. So I am going to try to express myself better or just learn when to shut up.

Which brings us to…..goal checks!

*Pay off one credit card by 2/15/11.  

 Success! I paid off in January and working on paying my other one down. I’ve paid $500 down on it in the past two months so I’m cutting that balance down. Thank God for 0% balance transfer offers!

*Quit my job. 

On the way to success! My manager and I had a one on one last week and I told him that I am 100% sure I will be out of there by May. He was quite receptive to what I was saying so I appreciate it and the goal date is going to be April 29th. I told him that I will give them a month’s notice since I’ve been with the company for six years and want to leave on a high note with a good recommendation. I can’t believe this is going to happen.

*Check out cities that could potentially be my new home.

Working on it! I am going to Pittsburgh in late March to check out the scene there. I have a good number of friends from college there, it’s an hour away from where I went to college and I would be within driving distance to family six hours away. I hate the fact that I have two nieces but I feel like I don’t know them at all. One is turning 10 this summer and I know nothing about her, I don’t want it to be that way, especially since I don’t want to have kids. Pittsburgh was recently named  the #1 Most Livable City in the US so it seems like a possible moving location. I am going to look into Indianapolis when I am there in May and possibly Chicago around that time as well. It scares me that I have absolutely no clue where I will be in six months yet at the same time, it excites me.

*Pay a little more on my car payment each month so I can pay it off quicker

Success! I’m still paying about $30 extra with each paycheck to cut the balance down on there

*Cut down on  Starbucks and eating out.

Umm, what’s Starbucks? Seriously, I’ve only been going one to two times a week which is major for me. I haven’t been eating out as much as I once did which is also helping me save money and when I do go out to eat, I try to use a Groupon/Living Social deal.

*No new clothes until March.

I did it! I don’t know how but I did and I’m proud to say, I didn’t buy any new clothes in January or February. It is possible!

*Plan a stay-cation instead of jetsetting all around the country.

This is going to be a difficult one still with all the traveling for potential cities to move to but am least when I travel, I will be crashing with friends instead of staying at hotels

*Sell what I don’t need.

Copied from last month because there is no progress on this–I haven’t sold anything yet but I am in the works of putting together everything I want to sell, take pics, put on Craigslist, etc. If anyone in the Charlotte area is looking for a Wine Refrigerator, let me know

*Try out new ethnic recipes.

 I still need to mix it up some but I made some good stuff in February like stuffed mushrooms, meatballs, tuna melts, tofu tacos and roasted chicken along with going out for sushi, Indian food,

*Be more consistent with taking my vitamins.

I give myself an F. Seriously, I don’t know when the last time I took one.

*Cut down on my meat intake.

Success! Doing great with this by incorporating Meatless Mondays along with eating  more beans, tofu and making dishes meatless.

*Use skim milk or almond milk in my coffee instead of half and half.

 Success! I bought coconut milk this weekend after seeing a recommendation from Monique and it’s sooooo much better than almond milk. Go try it if you haven’t!

When cleaning off a machine at the gym, do you spray the machine and wipe or spray the towel and wipe?

Organized Chaos

I live in a state of organized chaos. 

Whether it comes to my kitchen with my limited counter and cabinet space

The contents of my fridge

And yes, when I am feeling uninspired and too lazy to look through hundreds of recipes that I have at my fingertips, I simply pull up a stool to the fridge and stare until I come up with meals to make.

How I organize my cookbooks

Hell, even my magnets on my fridge are organized chaos

And especially at work, this is my desktop on a day where I have 95% of my work done and I’m feeling good about it

My thoughts are  in a state of organized chaos. ALL. THE. TIME.

But I’m cool with that since that is how I am used to things being and living. Some may not understand that but that’s how I am and operate. I have so much going through my brain on the daily, it’s difficult to keep things straight but somehow I manage. I thank my Blackberry memo pad that lets me jot down random thoughts and things I need to get done and of course, Post It notes. I can’t live without Post It notes.

(source)

Even living with Lincoln is a state of organized chaos since he is the dog who like to rest with a pillow on top of him, not under him

My workouts are in a state of organized chaos. I go to the gym with no idea what I’m going to do but knowing I want a killer workout. I do this because the gym I go to gets busy which means that finding a machine can be difficult. I try to find any kind of machine I can whether it be elliptical, treadmill or bike and go to town on it. Afterwards, I usually do some kind of strength training but again, unplanned. since that is how I roll.

Meals are sometimes in a state of organized chaos and unplanned….like on Monday.

I had off on Monday but since I have been so overloaded with work, I went in for a few hours to knock some stuff out without distraction. I was there for two hours and really didn’t get that much done nor did it give me the peace of mind I was hoping for.

I made a tuna, green onion and avocado salad with tomato on top of a sandwich thin with a side of Kashi Mediterranean Bruschetta crackers

This was such a fantastic and flavorful combination! I didn’t use any mayo and it was still rich and creamy.

Dinner was a bit unorganized as well and the brainchild of sitting in front of the fridge for a few minutes.

I chopped up some tofu then pressed for few hours

Mixed with taco seasoning

Then fried those little suckers up

I added some black beans and corn that was looking for a home

Then I remembered I had cooked mushrooms that were also in need of a home

While that was cooking, I chopped up a few springs of green onion and two jalapenos (with gloves of course!)

Then added everything together….plus some tomato, cheese, avocado and salsa

I already have enough organized chaos in my life, why not add some more to the mix with food?

This was such a terrific meal but I got too ambitious with my toppings and they were difficult to eat. I love that since most of the ingredients were fresh I didn’t have to add alot of seasonings to the mix except for the taco seasoning.

And it left wonderful leftovers such as a naked burrito bowl.

Dinner on Tuesday night was a completely random one….. brown purple pink green monster!

Instead of using baby spinach like I always do, I used kale instead after reading about a kale smoothie on Thorns Have Roses. I love me some kale but never thought to use it in a smoothie before so I was a tad apprehensive. I mixed with almond milk, strawberries, flax-seed and Spiru-tein Blueberries and Cream protein powder

I would never really crave a green monster for dinner but I had my permanent crown put on Tuesday afternoon and was supposed to stick to soft foods for 24 hours.

Do you live your life in a state of organized chaos?

How do you keep your thoughts and life organized? Paper, phone, calendar, planner?

PS–Win a $25 Restaurant.com gift certificate!

This is a very boring post.

Ok, so I am bored. Like really bored. I feel like there’s nothing to do tonight and I had today off so I finished everything that needed to be done. I need some excitement. I need some variety. I need something.

Thursday night dinner was a complete fail. I saw oven roasted vegetables on Snacking Squirrel and it looked amazing! So I tried my best to make a meal like that but yeah, fail.

I started with mixing chile pepper honey marinade with tofu and let it sit.

Then I chopped up baby spinach, kale, onions and mixed in with the tofu. When I chopped up everything and mixed it together, I kept imagining how tasty it was going to be along with healthy.

Baked at 350 for 15 minutes.

 In theory it was good but I didn’t have any squash or something heavier in there to make it a full meal. So I sat around wondering what to do. I could make something easy like pizza, nachos or pasta but I wanted something different. I called some friends and no one was available to dine with me, boo. I was flipping through my coupons and such and saw this:

Hmmm, Ruby Tuesdays? I worked there in college but really haven’t been since. I’m not a huge fan of chain places but why pass up on a free burger? I went and opted to sit at the bar so I could at least distract myself with beer and spots.  I was the only chick at the bar and felt like the only one not there on business since there are three or four hotels within a 1/2 mile radius. Oh well, I would enjoy being a younger woman all by her lonesome…..with the help of some Yuengling and biscuits.

I got the Alpine Swiss Burger which came out in no time along with their endless fries. The fries were crispy, fried, salty goodness. My only complaint is now they are a tad more chic, the ketchup is served in ramekins and not a bottle in sight. I put ketchup on everything so I like to have a bottle within reaching distance. I definitely didn’t need endless fries and didn’t take them up on the offer. And the burger? Succulent with just enough toppings to make it fun yet not fall apart. I think the menu said it was 8 oz and it was a lot better than I expected.

I could only finish half and was happy to take the other half to go. I think I’ll enjoy it on a salad this wknd! The rest of the night was hanging with little man.

It was technically my Friday since I had Friday off from work so guess what we did? Yep, watched even more Gilmore Girls.

Instead of just lounging around the rest of the afternoon, I got off my butt and went to the YMCA. I did 35 minutes on the elliptical then did an upper body circuit including

*Rows -40 lbs (13 reps, 3 sets)

*Lateral Pull Downs-50 lbs (13 reps, 3 sets)

*Seated Shoulder Press -20 lbs (13 reps, 3 sets)

*Concentration Curls-20 lbs (13 reps, 2 sets)

*Curls-20 lbs (13 reps, 2 sets)

*Seated Fly-20 lbs (13 reps, 2 sets)

Then the after came and went. I really don’t know what I did after that since I was so bored and probably just sat around. Seriously, I am really bored over here and am not being melodramatic. For dinner, I made nachos with black beans, onions, jalapenos, avocado and cheese.

Personalized license plates-love em/hate em/don’t care?

Anyone who knows me well knows the answer-HATE EM!!!

If you have a personalized license plate–what’s the store behind it?

Gilmores and Kale

Ok, so I don’t know how this day has gone by. I feel like I just woke up and felt like I did alot of stuff but really didn’t do too much. I was thinking about going into work for a few hours to get stuff done without interruption but yeah, that didn’t happen. I slept on the couch last night, falling asleep to Gilmore Girls. I’m really digging sleeping on the couch after this past weekend–I don’t wake up at all around 3A like I do when I sleep in my bed and feel like I’m getting better sleep. On the flip side, I have a mean kink in my neck from sleeping on the throw pillows. Nice little catch 22 I have going on.

And I’m currently addicted to Gilmore Girls-I’m a little bit behind if you can’t see. So many questions….

*Is Sookie’s boyfriend Jackson gay and she later finds out? He is very dramatic yet passionate about his fruit (which I find endearing) just a little confused on that. *

* So Tristan (Chad Michael Murray) left–when he leaves,  is One Tree Hill a spin-off from his character on Gilmore Girls or is that someone else completely?

*When will Rory get bangs?  She has a very big forehead that’s driving me nuts

*Why doesn’t my town have a troubadour?

*What is up this brat Paris’ butt?

*Do Lorelei and Luke ever get together?

*And how the hell do those Gilmores talk so damn fast?

Since I had nothing on my agenda for today, I started the day off with a big breakfast-one egg, egg whites, Trader Joe’s Uncured Turkey Bacon and an english muffin.

I was excited to buy their turkey bacon since Trader Joe’s almost always satisfied me but it sucked. Taking it out of its packaging, none of the pieces were staying together as one and they were stringy. It was still edible but not whole so I could still eat it broken down and all. And typing this out, I am realized I didn’t have a meatless Monday. Oh well!

Lincoln and I went to Freedom Park to get our walk on. It was a dreary day from the start, a complete 180 from yesterday with its sunny weather.

I love Freedom Park but hate how busy it gets at times and today it was dead with the exception of a few runners, families and dog owners. Pet peeve of the day? Dog owners who are rude and won’t let their dog socialize with Lincoln. And I’m not talking big dogs or anything, little dogs like Lincoln size but the owners are too preoccupied with getting their workout in or they are just snobby. All Lincoln wants to do is say hi and maybe sniff a butt-totally normal dog protocol.

When I got back home, I wanted to sit down and relax with Eat Pray Love that I got from Netflix this past week. I’ve hesitated on watching it b/c I’ve heard it’s pretty bad and I hate when Hollywood completely changes the story of a book. But I loved the book and hoped for the best that it wouldn’t be as horrible as everyone has said it was. And you know what? I turned it off before she even got to Indonesia, it was bad. I can’t wait to pop it in the mail box and send it away!

I had a salad and soup combo for lunch–black bean soup and a baby spinach salad with cucumber, tomatoes, corn and  cheese topped with Ken’s Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette

I also started to press my tofu for dinner tonight, I love my crappy fake tofu press.

I also tried a new green tea this afternoon-from my luvah Trader Joe- of course. Trader Joe’s Organic Cranberry Green Tea

Even though clove was pretty far down there on the ingredients list, it was the first thing I smelled when I opened the box. I despise the smell of cloves. It reminds me of college because there would always be one creepy person smoking a clove cigarette and the smell doesn’t sit well with me. I think I would die if I had to smell curry and cloves together-blech!! I liked the mesh-like bag that it came in and tastewise it was ok. I was expecting more cranberry flavor to come out and of course, less clove. I wasn’t overly impressed with it but I won’t be throwing it out either.

And this afternoon consisted of just about nothing. I hung out, cleaned, caught up with my best friend Leila on how her first 1/2 marathon went yesterday and soon it was dinner time. I was attempting to do meatless Monday but kinda killed it with my first meal but still kept up with the original plan. I made BBQ tofu and onions over egg noodles with kale chips on the side.

Some of you asked about the kale chips. I rip off the stem then break into bits, throw in a bowl with extra virgin olive oil and spices, toss then spread on a baking sheet and bake at 350-375 for 12-15 minutes (depending on how crispy I want them) and that’s about it. They are very easy to make, loaded with beta-carotene and vitamin C  so why not give kale a chance?

I chopped up 1/4 onion and tossed into a pan to cook while I covered the tofu pieces with bbq sauce

Then added to the onion mix on the stovetop to let cook then I popped the kale chips into the oven to bake

I cooked egg noodles yesterday so I warmed those up then added the tofu mix on top along with pieces of parsley and voila-a big, green meal!

A seriously delicious, green meal….and healthy for the most part. I was completely satisfied after this yet didn’t have a heavy feeling in my stomach which is always nice since I don’t like that heavy feeling at night.

 

Gilmore Girls-Love it, hate it, never seen it?

Is it so wrong?

To buy tempeh on sale for $2 yet have no idea what to do with it?

I made tempeh once and it was meh. I am willing to give it another shot sooooooo, if you have suggestions on how to cook up this bad boy–let me know!

To think that the idea of public restrooms are nasty? When you think about it, you’re within arms reach of another person doing one of three things (hopefully that’s all), it’s kinda nasty when I think about. Even with all the advances that modern-day bathrooms have made, it just doesn’t sit well with me knowing someone is right there and I can reach out to them if need me. And what’s up with people taking the stall right next to you when there are tons of other stalls open? Don’t worry, no pictures here.

To think that Chick-Fil-A’s new Spicy Chicken Biscuit isn’t even that spicy?

They really need to kick it up a notch since I threw buffalo sauce on there and was without a mouth on fire.

To have no plans for dinner? I whipped up a bowl of brown rice with a Laughing Cow wedge, bbq tofu and green onions and it was one of the most simple and fantastic things I’ve made yet.

To get sushi from Harris Teeter after seeing it made right in front of me even though I swore off their sushi after a bad experience?

Who cares if I’m not sticking to my guns–it was fantastic!

To like Jennifer Hudson chunkier? I think she looks so ordinary now and I don’t think I could spot her out of a crowd. Now that I think about it-add Drew Carey to the list.

(source)

(source)

To be proud of myself for not choosing fast food as drunk food? I went out for drinks with some of my old co-workers on Friday night after work to catch up on things. One of the guys bought me a Red Bull + vodka (which I haven’t had in ages) and enjoyed some $1 beers and it felt good to unwind since I never really do happy hour anymore. McDonald’s or Wendy’s would be my usual go to for drunk food but instead I went to Nothing But Noodles to use my last Groupon I had for it (they had an offer for $10 worth of food for $5 so I bought three last summer).

The noodles weren’t singing to me but I soon found out Nothing But Noodles is a bunch of liars because they did offer items other than noodles, who knew? Trying to be a healthy drunk, I ordered pot stickers and the Asian chopped salad and got a Diet Coke. I only had to pay $1.50 for all of that so I was a happy gal and was on my merry way to go scarf it down at home.

To still be unsure as to whether this was an orange or grapefruit?

It had qualities of both fruits and yes, while it was tasty, I don’t like how I couldn’t determine what it was.

To take a ridiculous amount of pictures of Lincoln just for shits and giggles?

That’s when he is looking at me that is. Most nights, this is my view of him

 

To dress like a homeless person all wrapped up at home so I don’t have to crank up the heat and drink wine straight out of the bottle?

Wait, don’t answer that one.

Meatless Monday Round 1

More like Meatless Sunday and Monday. Last night, I whipped out my new William Sonoma Soup cookbook I got for Christmas and picked something I’ve never made before…..black bean soup! Are you shocked? I know you all haven’t seen my eating any beans at all in the past few days so why not? And yes, I know at the rate I am going I am going to morph into a black bean at any moment but I am willing to take a chance. I like to think of it as making up for lost years. My parents never made us eat beans while growing up and they still don’t eat beans to this day. Whenever we go out for Mexican food, they always order double rice instead of getting a side of refried beans (I still don’t know how some don’t like this, hello, it’s smothered in cheeeeeese!). But me, I love the frijoles. Black, white, garbanzo, dark kidney, chili, I’m equal opportunity to it all. I wanted to start doing Meatless Monday again so I could vary up my routine a bit from the usual chicken, pork or beef. One of my goals for 2011 is to cut down on my meat intake so this goes hand in hand with it.

Back to the soup, I can’t post the recipe for obvious reasons but I will show via pictures.

I felt like I was making chili but without tomato paste and less tomato. The recipe called for two cans of black beans and I used two and a half to beef it up a little more and cut down on the chicken broth by four cups.

 Instead of making the soup, then ladling the black beans into a food processor or blender, I put them in the magic bullet before making the soup to give them a soupy consistency.

I was skeptical about the recipe at first since it called for chipotle peppers in adobe sauce and I am not the biggest fan of the smokier flavored pepper but wanted to give it a shot. If you like chipotle, you will love this recipe as it seemed to highlight that flavor the most (besides the black beans, duh)

Even with cutting down on the chicken broth, this still made four huge portions as it was called for in the book. It was a perfect meal for a cold night and I’m stoked to have learned yet another soup to make. I didn’t think it was too spicy since the chipotle peppers are more a slow, smokey hotness but it had my eyes watering a bit. I put a dollop of sour cream in it and topped with green onions for a little more zing. I can’t wait to nosh on this throughout the week and even put a container in the freezer for some enjoyment later on. I don’t mind leftovers as all but three is my normal max number of times I can eat leftovers of one thing in a week.

And today was more meatless fun. I’ve tried to do the whole veggie thing in the past and didn’t succeed because I wasn’t prepared but was this time around. I hate some Chobani greek yogurt for breakfast and snacked on hummus and veggies in the afternoon. Lunch was leftover enchiladas

Being Monday and the first full week I’ve worked in forever and just wasn’t feeling the whole work vibe today….or doing anything for that matter. I ate lunch at my desk while catching up on world events celebrity gossip then took a 20 minute stroll just to get some blood flowing. Luckily, it was cold out and not a lot of people who were outside but the ones who were out there I would try to out walk out, without them know of course because I’m sneaky sneaky like that. I cut into Starbucks in the way back in to say hi since I haven’t been there in four days. Yes, you read right, I haven’t been to Starbucks in four days. One of my resolutions is to cut down on  the money I spend on coffee. I am not going to go cold turkey on the Buckies but really don’t need to be spending extra cash when I can bring my own every now and then. My baristas were excited to see me an asked where I’ve been so I told them the whole resolution thing and I don’t think they approved. So for that, they got me a grande pike with peppermint stat because they are cool like that. I love my baristas but I love free coffee even better!

After lunch, I was useless. I think I did ok with looking like I was busy or doing something work related but in reality, I was paying bills,  budgeting, finishing up what my goals are for the year (a little behind on that one). I got alot done in the morning but just felt unmotivated in the afternoon. No matter what I did, time seemed to creep by very slowly and was counting down the minutes until I could get out of there. For dinner, I had a fresh pack of Nasoya cubed tofu in the fridge and wrapped in paper towels last night and pressed a plate on top of it to get all the liquid out. I’ve tone sesame tofu, tofu tacos and bbq tofu but wanted to mix it up with a different sauce to try. Then I remember my Cloister Honey Arbol Pepper honey marinade!

I haven’t tried this yet but recalled the Cloister Honey dude telling me it would be great to cook on shrimp or scallops and figured it would be equally as great on chicken or beef so tofu cook this stuff couldn’t be bad. The hard task was mixing it up in the jar since all the pepper flakes were at the top and it was tough! Then I remembered it is honey and kinda difficult to mix up.

I spooned some on the tofu and let sit for a few minutes while I began chopping up mushrooms and broccoli and got some brown rice cooking. When I make stir fry I like to add some garlic, red pepper flakes, ginger, black pepper and salt but only added garlic and pepper this time since I didn’t want to take away from the flavor of the honey marinade.

Scrumptious! I topped with green onions and once I did, I remembered that I had chopped red peppers in the fridge that I was going to cook as well. I hate when that happens! Of course this was eaten with chopsticks to make it seem somewhat authentic plus that slows me down from scarfing the whole bowl down.

The rest of the night involves me, the couch, a dog and a man.

But which man?

Nights like this I miss my DVR.

PS-I emailed Groupon today along with the picture of the Groupon with Groupon misspelled. Subject line? Misspelling of Groupon on a Groupon–eek!

Tofu Win. Egg Fail

 Monday was meh Monday. Blech. Another Monday where I just couldn’t wake up, it was too humid out and my stomach was cramping. Suffice to say, not a good way to start the week. Plus the new guy on our team started today and I am helping with training so trying to be patient, enthusiastic and oh yeah, nice was stretching it a bit for me.

I thought breakfast would be rocking—I made an egg scramble with egg whites and one brown egg with avocado and tabasco.

To be honest, the eggs kinda sucked. I am used to eggs with ketchup and for some reason, don’t have any on hand. In my old apartment, I would have bottles of ketchup in the cupboard for this kind of situation. But now? None. Maybe someone decided to do their own intervention o’ ketchup since they know I love it so much but I honestly have no clue who that would be. And it’s not like I don’t go to the supermarket twice a week and live within walking distance of one that I can’t buy it, I just haven’t. End of ketchup rant. The avocado looked like it was ready to go on the outside and was tender but when I sliced it open, it totally wasn’t. I hate when that happens.

I had leftover  Linguine Pescatore for lunch

Now looking back, I was totally that obnoxious person stinking up the break room with my seafood. Oh well, sucks for them—it was worth it!!

Snacks for the day

There was a surprise anniversary party for one of the managers on my floor. And we all know what that means—cake. Lots of it. But I was surprised they had stuff besides cake like cheese, crackers and nuts.

I was quite proud of myself for passing on the cake but I would be lying if I said this plate was my only plate of cheese. I can’t resist the siren calls of dairy!

I bought some tofu awhile ago and needed to use it soon. Most of the tofu dishes I’ve made have been stir fry and to be honest, that gets a tad boring after awhile. I thought it would be fun and something different to try tofu tacos.

I got creative with getting the liquid out from my tofu instead of just pressing with a plate or paper towel. Who needs a tofu press when you have this? Actually, a tofu press would be pretty sweet but still I can save some money in the meantime by doing this.

I seasoned the tofu with salt and pepper then cooked with these two

The tofu was great-I’ve only made it one other time without breading or not fried and it turned out horrendous (on another note, that was one of my favorite posts to write). But this meal was fabulous, tasty and fresh, what more could you ask for?

As always, my little guy was right near me waiting for something to drop. Something tells me he wouldn’t discriminate against the tofu

I got my free drink coupon from Starbucks in the mail–now to think of what I will get and when!

If you’re like me thinking a peach and pomegranate smoothie would be a fun RSVP party in your mouth, you’re wrong. I made this concoction last night with almond milk, ice, xanthan gum and it was horrid. So horrid I didn’t even take a picture of it so yeah, chew on that (or should I say sip on that?) for awhile. Sometimes pairings that seem magical to you don’t turn out to be so magical.

Kinda like Crystal Pepsi

I used to not care for Tuesdays just like Amy but ever since I started going to zumba on Tuesday nights I have something forward to and am diggin that. I convinced one of my co-workers ( who has started to eat healthier and lost a ton of weight already!) to go with me and she seemed interested but I didn’t think she would actually go. She mentioned to me the other day that she will see me there tonight and I can’t wait to see her at zumba.

I also found out a restaurant near my place that has $2.50 fish tacos on Tuesday nights which could totally get in the way of my zumba time. But then I guess it all comes down to priorities right? Happy Tuesday all!

Likes and Dislikes of the day

Happy Saturday all–this is going to be a long one so get comfortable.

I woke up at 8A

What I liked about this

• I got to sleep in

What I didn’t like about this

• I had to set my alarm on a wknd so I could get my oil changed

I still wasn’t going to let my oil change appointment get in the way of me missing big weekend breakfast

I had cream cheese on hand for once since it was on sale $.67–holla and I made stuffed french toast stuffed with cream cheese and Trader Joe’s Superfruit Spread

I used two sliced of Trader Joe’s Whole Grain Bread and 1/8 of the Philly Cream Cheese package with three tbsps of the Superfruit Spread

What I liked about this

• Umm, everything? It was amazingly delicious and decadent. I really like that word and don’t use it too often but I think if I were to start using it often, it wouldn’t have the allure it has.

What I didn’t like about this

• It had to come to an end

It was beautiful when I stepped outside and so happy spring is here!

What I like about this

• Gorgeous weather, I can start tanning again and just happier in general

What I don’t like about this

• The fact that I forgot to wear SPF at the pool yesterday and got sun on one side of me but not the other. Oh and the fact that I am extra crispy and not original recipe

I then went to the Toyota dealership to get an oil change since I’m driving to DC next wknd. I got my car in August and just hit 4,000 miles this past month. I really don’t like to drive anymore. And I had a free coupon for an oil change so yay!

What I liked about this

• Free oil change-duh. And the potential to see hot grease monkeys 🙂
• They have an ultra cool cappuccino machina including Butterfinger cappuccino. I had to try it (I only filled half the cup and filled the other half with regular coffee)

What I didn’t like about this

• They rotated my tires without telling me that it is an additional $20 so I had to pay out-of-pocket. Not good customer service there.
• No hot grease monkeys 😦

I drove across the border to South Carolina afterwards to get gas

What I liked about this

• South Carolina gas is usually $.20 cheaper a gallon than North Carolina. Plus I used my Bi-Lo reward points and got an additional $.30 off which brought it down to $2.25 a gallon.

What I didn’t like about this

• The people in York County cannot drive. They either go 40 mph or 95 mph on the highway and it’s frustrating

After I got gas I drove a little further to go to Rainbow AKA the ghetto baby girl store that I love so much. I mentioned how I think of Jennifer Lopez as a style icon and I love the graphic, flashy tops she wears. Since I am going to DC I need new clothes right? Right.

What I liked about this

• Holy good buys batman!!

I don’t know if I’ll wear this in DC but I could wear it out or to work which I really like.

OMG frickin love this top. I love the cut, that it ties in the back to make my waist smaller and accentuate the girls (which in turn can get free drinks??!) and pockets in the front. Fabulous.

Buy one, get one 50% earrings. They are the same in gold and silver and I looooove big earrings.

What I didn’t like this about this

• That I was called “Snowflake” by one of the girls in the store since I was the only white chick there. I felt like Alicia Silverstone in Beauty Shop

It was 2P by the time I got home and was FAMISHED! I had so much food on hand and made a roast beef sandwich with lettuce, tomato, dijon, low fat mayo, Muenster and american cheese. Hey, I warned y’all I love cheese. I also had half a bag of Trader Joe’s Lite Kettlecorn

What I liked about this

• Like breakfast-everything. This was a MONSTER sandwich and totally filling. I know a sandwich and popcorn sound random but it was a great combo

What I didn’t like about this

• That I never have lunch meat on hand to make sandwiches like this, we may need to change that soon.

I had some tofu leftover and wanted to use before I go to DC so I patted them dry and marinated in A1 Cracked Peppercorn

I also cut a sweet potato up and doused in evoo and McCormick’s All Seasoning Spice

I spent some quality time with Lincoln afterwards

What I liked about this

• “Shake it Like a Salt Shaker” by Ying Yang Twins came on and we danced to it

What I didn’t like about this

• We started to play catch with his favorite squeaky toy. I threw it, he ran to it then ran back to me without it. I then explained the mechanics of catch and retrieve to him but am 99% sure he didn’t understand me

Soon it was time to make dinner so I threw the potatoes in the oven and grilled the tofu up on the stove top.

Dinner is served!

What I liked about this

• The sweet potatoes were absolutely amazing

What I didn’t like about this

• The tofu, not so much. The best I can compare it to is Al Pacino in “Gigli”

Amazing actor, has played remarkable roles in the past and has never really disappointed. But eventually, he does disappoint. And the disappointment goes by the name of Gigli…..or A1 tofu

Butler won!!!  Butler won!! Butler won!!!

 So happy for them and cannot wait for the WVU game.

What I like about this

• I am happy for Butler since they were the underdog and my sis went there. And WVU hasn’t gone to the Final Four since 1959 waaaaaaaay longer before I was a glimmer in the eyes of my parentals

What I don’t like about this

• I am not in Indianapolis to enjoy it. I feel about 85% better but wasn’t better enough in time.

Off to watch the game!

Damn you potatoes

Hello all-Happy Tuesday! Another gorgeous spring day in Charlotte, if it could only stay this way forever!

I started my day with an Iced Coffee Green Monster

I got to work and automatically went to the Bucks. I yet again, got a Venti Iced Coffee with soymilk and three splenda’s. I can clearly see this being an addiction. Dunkin Donuts has my favorite iced coffee —Coconut Iced Coffee but the two locations within walking distance of work are closed-boo!

Don’t mind my produce for the day in the shot, it gives it some color!

I had half a container of Chobani Strawberry Greek yogurt with sliced peaches and Fiber One Cereal .This stuff is so good and it has 14 gr of fiber per half cup and only 60 calories!

 

I don’t think I could eat it with milk alone but add some fruit and yogurt and I would be set!!

Speaking of getting your fiber on, click here to win a bottle of Tropical Traditions Coconut Cream Concentrate!

OR

If you would like to win some free Yoplait Greek Yogurt Coupons and a $20 Stop and Shop Gift Card, click here

I had a Big Salad….it’s a salad only bigger.

With Baby spinach, black beans, tomato, cucumbers, shredded cheese and Chick Fil A Fat Free Honey Mustard

All of this for under 300 calories—yumm yummy yumm

I took a 25 minute walk so I could get outside and enjoy the sun

I came back and sipped on some hot chocolate since it was freezing at work

By 3P I needed my second lunch which was baked tofu and broccoli slaw marinated in soy. I wasn’t too keen on this the other night because it didn’t fill me up and I sprinkled a tad too much sriracha on it. Paired the salad a few hours before it held me over.

http://www.ugo.com/the-goods/lost-toys-jacob

For dinner, I had a half a pork chop and roasted potatoes

Why such a small dinner you ask?

 Because of these—JAY’S POTATO CHIPS!!!!!

Jay’s takes me back to my childhood in Indiana. I didn’t even know they made them still but my sister sent me an Easter care package (even though I will be seeing her this wknd!) I made the mistake of opening the bag and then I couldn’t stop. Damn you Jay’s and damn you potatoes.

 Other goodies include:

Old Navy Tops

Tommy Hilger pajama pants

Gossip magazines

Mucho chocolate–including Fannie May Trinidad’s and Pixie’s 🙂 And Coconut M&M’s which I have heard about but never seen before!

*Note, I will NOT be giving this stuff away!

A Raw Indulgence Revolution Bar (again something I’ve never seen) anyone know anything about these??

Thanks sis!!

Does anyone want to see a Levi Johnston reality show? Yeah, me either. Dude, you seem like a tool. A hot tool but tool nonetheless

I cannot wait to get my Lost on tonight!! Am I a dork for wanting these figurines??

Actually, please don’t answer that!