Thanks for the support and encouraging comments on yesterday’s post. Honestly, after I hit publish last night I laid awake in bed for awhile feeling very unsure about my post. I really do try to always keep it real here, but being open is sometimes freaking hard!
I just don’t want to seem like a complainer, but guys…sometimes life is hard. On those days it’s kind of a challenge to find a balance between staying positive and uplifting while still being real.
And to be perfectly honest, there is nothing that drives me more crazy here in blogland than when people come across as perfect on their blogs. While I didn’t actually address this issue yesterday, it did come up in the comments. It seems that most of you feel the same way. Let’s just lay it all out there – there have been times when I’ve considered no longer reading some blogs because they just seem too perfect. And whether they are perfect or whether they’re not – it really doesn’t matter – it is a negative force in my life to read about it everyday. It’s extremely difficult to avoid the comparison trap when all you read each day is the perfection in people’s lives. I have to constantly keep myself in check with this issue – finding myself trying to measure up to someone else’s style, recipes, photos or exercise routine.
And speaking of exercise routines, this would probably be an excellent time to make known that the husband and I will no longer be running our November half marathon. You know, the one that was originally supposed to be a full marathon? After a lot of contemplating and discussion, we’ve decided to step back from racing for now.
With trying to get our own business off the ground + Jon working full-time and me almost full-time, there really isn’t enough time for training. We tried to make it work, but sleep was the main thing being sacrificed. We try every night to get in bed before 11pm, but when there are deadlines to meet sometimes it’s just not an option. And seeing as how getting adequate sleep is one of the most important parts of long distance running, it isn’t healthy or smart for us to keep pushing it.
Being the perfectionist that I am, this decision was really difficult for me at first. And to bring this full-circle, I realized that a lot of it was due to comparing myself to other bloggers. When you see countless bloggers running so many miles a week, it can make you feel like a failure if you’re not doing it too. In my quest to defeat perfectionism though, I was able to step back and realize that my life is not the same as anybody else’s…and therefore I have to make the best decision for my body and for Jon.
Besides, I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this, but the husband designed the branding for the entire race – from the participant’s guide down to the finish banner. So, we’ll be running all over the place on race day, getting photos for our website (and cheering on all the runners!). I’m super stoked about it – I love races! Although I know I’ll be wishing we were running, I’m glad we’ll be going to support everyone and our business!
So that’s that.
Now that we’re through all the heavy stuff – let’s move on to the food!
Breakfast this morning was a green monster, per the usual. Oh, green monster, how did I ever live without you??
I spent the morning working on my yoga class for tonight and trying to get iPhoto and Flickr to be friends. The story of my life. They are currently on speaking terms, though we still have a loooong way to go.
About 10:30 I got so hungry, so I heated up one of my favorite whole wheat pitas and had a big blob of creamy hummus for dipping!
So, if you follow me on twitter, you may know that I had a major life experience this morning.
I lived through my first earthquake!
You have to understand, Oklahoma does not get earthquakes. Like, ever. I never would have dreamed that I’d ever feel one.
So, picture this. I was sitting on my couch with Olive looking up idioms for tutoring students and dealing with flickr when all of a sudden I heard a sound like the entire house rattled. I actually didn’t feel anything, but it was such a strange noise – I literally thought to myself “that sounded like how I’ve heard earthquakes described.”
I glanced at Olive to see if she heard it, and she was sitting up with her little ears perked looking around. However, here is a prime example of a downside of working from home. There are no other adults around to confirm that you’re not crazy when crazy stuff happens!
So what did I do? The only logical thing – I went on about my business and forgot about it.
About 30 minutes later, I went to check my phone and realized I had about 5 missed calls and 2 texts from the husband, and a text from my mom, wondering if I’d felt the earthquake and making sure I was okay. ha! I couldn’t believe it.
Anyway, apparently it was a 4.3 on the scale and was felt all the way from north Texas to Arkansas and everywhere in between.
With all that excitement I completely forgot about lunch, and suddenly I looked up and I had 15 minutes till I needed to leave for tutoring! Considering everything I still needed to do before leaving, I knew a lunch on the go was in order! So, I whipped up a brown rice cake sandwich with natural peanut butter and half a banana. It was delish. But somewhat messy. Have you ever tried to bite into a rice cake sandwich? Unfortunately I failed at getting a picture in all the madness. I lived through an earthquake – can you blame me?!?
By the time I got though with all my tutoring appointments and taught my yoga class I was starving for dinner. Enter leftovers of my favorite meal.
cooked spinach, vegetarian refried beans, rotel tomatoes and vegan (Daiya) cheese wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla a doused in spicy enchilada sauce. With a side of baked corn chips (corn tortillas) and homemade guacamole.
Dessert was simple.
two little oranges (only a portion is in the picture)
All in all I’d say it was a banner day – a nice way to balance out yesterday methinks:)
Oh, one last side note. I’ve told you guys how much I love meeting with international students, right? Well, I love it more and more everyday. Hanging out with them is so refreshing + I think I learn more than they do! Awhile back I mentioned one of my students, Nada, who is super sweet but also beyond talkative and a bit high maintenance. Well, she really threw me for a loop on Monday. We were chatting along just like normal when all of a sudden she said “blah, blah, blah…when the little one comes.”
Say what?!
“Little one?” I asked.
“Oh, yeah…I’m expecting. Did I not tell you that? I’m due in January.”
“Um negative on that. I would remember if you had told me that. I’ve been meeting with you for weeks – how can I not know you are pregnant?? So, is it a boy or a girl?” I asked.
“It’s a girl.”
“Aww, how sweet (beginning to get over my initial shock at this point). So what are ya going to name her?”
“Well, I have a couple of names in mind, but one I’m really leaning toward….Lupus.”
“Ahem. Excuse me?”
“Lupus. That’s what I’m going to name her.”
So, I then had to gently explain to my sweet little Egyptian student that Lupus might not be the best choice. I mean, sure it’s cute and all…but oh the pain it will cause for that poor child!
I felt bad to shoot her down, but I also felt it my duty to shelter the baby from a lifetime of humiliation.
Oh the joy of international students:) And I can say that because I was one.
Now that I’ve sufficiently talked your ears off! I’ll be signing off. I’ll see you all tomorrow!
G’night!
P.S. I can only imagine the google searches that will come forth due to this post!
Are you happy to be starting a new week? I am. As much as I used to dread Monday morning, I am so thankful these days that the end of the weekend doesn’t hold an impending sense of doom. Of course I was by no means springing out of bed with a smile on my face at 6:30 this morning, but I’m not sure that’s even possible anyway!
We had a slow and easy weekend…just how I like ‘em:) As I’m sure you can all identify…they are few and far between. So, we soaked up every moment.
Saturday morning Farmer’s Market trip was picturesque – with the beauty of fall only intensifying every day. I ate an apple on the way and was positively starving by the time we left!
We picked these up for the baby – and she was a happy girl:) And don’t worry, they’re vegetarian. Peanut Butter to be exact.
After leaving the market (one bushel of swiss chard in tow) we stopped by Starbuck’s for a soy half caf latte for two. Aren’t coffees the best when they’re shared? Having my own straw just isn’t the same.
The rest of Saturday included a long walk down to Main Street. There was a vintage car show going on downtown, and we were hoping to scope it out, but as we progressed toward Main, we began to notice a disappointingly steady stream of vintage cars cruising past us. By the time we got there, there were only a few stragglers remaining:( So, we just turned around and headed back home. Stopping for mini photo shoots along the way.
Doesn’t matter what kind of face or noises you make, this girl refuses to look at the camera.
Honestly, I was a bit lazy all weekend as far as food was concerned. I made a huge batch of crock-pot taco soup on Friday, and we ate it probably 4-3 times between then and Sunday. At least it was delicious! Leftovers are the way to go in my book:)
Crock-pot Taco Soup
Ingredients
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (really you can use whatever kinds of beans you want!)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans – you got it, drained and rinsed
1 small onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 can sweet corn, no salt added, drained
1 can rotel
1 can diced tomatoes
3/4 small can tomato paste
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
about 1 cup water
Directions
1. Dump everything into the crock pot and turn crock pot on low. Allow to simmer all day.
2. Come home from work, give it a quick stir, and eat up! But careful – it’s hot!
It’s really very complicated.
*You may want to add more or less water, depending on how thick you want it. The husband and I like it nice and hearty!
**I know this recipe has a lot of “cans” in it – and I know you’re technically supposed to limit canned goods, but sometimes convenience just wins out. Sorry. Actually, no I’m not.
Served with a side of homemade corn chips, sprinkled with sea salt and baked at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. Watch them closely because they go from not quite done to charred in about 1 minute flat. Not that I would know.
I also had a side of leftover roasted kabocha squash.
You may have noticed this really hideous looking squash in my fall post a few days ago. I basically sliced it up and roasted it at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes. And let me tell you, I have eaten it for about 6 meals since then. I have tried butternut squash once and honestly really didn’t care of it. This guy is a whole different ballgame folks. If you haven’t tried kabocha squash – stop reading right now and go get one. You won’t regret it. It was a bit expensive (around $5 I think), but it’s lasted so long, and was totally and completely worth every dime. Every time I get ready to eat it leftover, I just toss a few wedges on a cookie sheet and re-roast them. Tastes like the first time every time!
Anyway, before I go I wanted to let you guys know about something called “Share the Love Week” going on over at a really lovely blog, 3 Boys and a Little Lady. I just stumbled upon this blog about a month ago, and I haven’t been able to stop reading since. Right now their family is trying to bring home the little girl they’re adopting from Ethiopia, Elsabeth. I don’t think I’ve really mentioned this before on the blog, but Jon and I have a huge heart for adoption. We hope and pray that we can adopt a child one day, but since we aren’t quite on that road yet, I’m excited about the opportunity to help out a family that is. Emily is having an auction of sorts with different Etsy shops, and all the proceeds go toward their adoption fund. It starts tomorrow morning, so please check it out if you get a chance!
Today I’m bringing to you the recipes that made up my dinner party for Project Food Blog entry #3. Also, today is the last day to put in votes for all your favorite entries. And as always, I would be so thankful if you’d check out my entry and vote if you find it worthy! Thanks so much for your support thus far!
When I started planning the menu for my party, I knew I was going to be under a serious time crunch, so I needed something simple, yet I still wanted to wow my guests with something new and unique. The other twist was that my guests were not familiar with vegan dishes at all…so I really wanted to create something that would show them how enticing meatless dishes really can be!
I started off with the vegan chimichanga recipe – I had made it before, so I knew exactly what tweaks I needed to make. They were so much better this time around!
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (I may try black beans next time!)
1/2 cup tempeh, chopped (or an additional 1/2 cup beans)
1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 whole wheat tortillas
2 tbsp olive oil, for frying
fresh lime wedges, for garnish
fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish
Directions
In a large frying pan on medium heat, combine oil, onion, garlic, chili powder, oregano, chipotle sauce, cumin and salt. Saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add zucchini and tomatoes and saute for another 5 minutes until veggies are soft.
Add beans and tempeh and saute for another 3-5 minutes.
Stir in vinegar.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spray baking sheet with cooking spray.
Spoon 1/4 of filling down center of each tortilla, leaving 1-2 inches spae on top and bottom.
Fold bottom edge over filling and roll up, tucking in sides as you go. Place a toothpick to hold tortilla closed.
In a separate frying pan, heat oil, then place burritos seam-side down on pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side to lightly brown, then transfer to sprayed baking sheet.
Bake for 12 – 15 minutes. Remove from oven and garnish with cilantro and lime.
I also made up a quick sauce to drizzle over these. For the sauce, add about 1/4 cup of vegan sour cream together with 1/2 tbsp chipotle hot sauce. Mix well and then scoop sauce into a plastic baggie. Cut off the end of the baggie and drizzle away!
1 can of beans – whatever kind you fancy! I used lentils, and they worked great.
1/2 tbsp cumin
1 tsp ground red pepper (I like it hot!)
shredded cabbage
grilled veggies – green bell pepper, red bell pepper, onion
vegan sour cream
corn tortillas
Directions
Place frying pan over medium heat. Combine beans, cumin and ground red pepper and heat through.
In a separate pan saute veggies in a little bit of oil (oops! forgot to add to the ingredient list).
While keeping an eye on the veggies, cut tortillas into small circles using a round object (husband used a cup).
Assemble! First, seasoned beans. Then, grilled veggies. Next, shredded cabbage. Last, top it off with sour cream!
Note: you could also use the leftovers “rims” of the tortillas by sprinkling sea salt on them and baking. Then use them as toppers for your salad! I actually almost did this…but I accidentally charred them. FAIL!
Now let’s backtrack just a little bit and talk about appetizers.
Of course there is no way I could possibly have an epic tex-mex party without the star of tex-mex, could I? But I also didn’t think my basic guacamole really fit the bill. I mean, we’re talking epic here! So, three kinds of guac it was. And these are all so easy it’s embarrassing.
Classic Guacamole
Ingredients
1 avocado
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tbsp lime juice
1/4 cup onion, chopped
Directions
Okay, I have to be honest. All the measurements above are guesstimations. I basically just eye all the ingredients and have the husband taste test and make recommendations until it is unfathomably awesome. Works for us. But I understand some people really might appreciate a recipe, so I tried to estimate exactly how much I use of each ingredient. I would highly recommend doing a bit of experimentation, though, because we don’t all love guac so hot our eyes water! The cool thing is that you can add a little bit more of each ingredient until the flavor evens out. It’s really hard to ruin guacamole in my opinion. Unless you forget the garlic like I did for my party. oops!
Barbecue Guacamole – just make the exact same recipe as above, then mix in about 1/2-1 tbsp of your fave barbecue sauce. Lastly, drizzle a little extra over top!
I mixed fresh greens (any kind will work), with jicama, cut into matchsticks and sliced red cabbage. After mixing it all together, I poured a Chipotle dressing over top and mixed it all together.
The dressing really made this salad. The flavors went together like peanut butter and banana.
And lastly, was the decadent dessert! I honestly had huge reservations about making this, I’m not going to lie. I’ve never fried anything in my life…and it was a bit scary. But somehow I just didn’t think baked plantains would have the same effect as fried plantains. And in the end, authenticity won out!
I honestly didn’t think I would like this dessert much, but it was so good it hurt. I bought some soy french vanilla ice cream to pair with the plantains and it was like a match made in heaven. Love love love.
And that’s it folks! I was so happy with how this dinner turned out…and so proud of myself for pulling it together. Whether I advance or not I’m so happy I took the opportunity to complete this challenge. I feel like I’ve grown so much, just from the three entries I’ve created so far. I’d love it if you’d help me get to round 4!
Thanks so much for the well wishes yesterday. I’m very happy to report that I’m feeling much better today.
I started out this morning with a 4 mile run. Sadly I forgot to plug in the Garmin last night, but the husband came through for us by suggesting we use the Map My Run iPhone app. It worked like a charm! If you’re ever in a pinch, try it out. It doesn’t tell you a lot of details, but it does tell you your average pace, distance, time, and it maps as you run. Not bad for free, right?
Anyway, once we got home I had a green monster for breakfast before doing a run through of my yoga class.
lots of spinach, 1/2 banana, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1/2 scoop Amazing Grass, 1.25 cup almond milk, ice
There really is just nothing that compares to an ice cold green monster in the morning…really there isn’t.
By the time I got ready for the day and then enjoyed an hour of yoga, it was time to go meet my friend, Grace, for our weekly lunch. Definitely one of the highlights of my week! We went to my favorite little cafe, Cafe Bella. If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ve seen this sandwich many a time before…but I just can’t resist getting the same thing. The one time I branched out I regretted it, and since then have clung dearly to my staple.
grilled veggie panini with hummus
I spent this afternoon working on Outbox tasks and laundry. Definitely one of my favorite parts of working from home is being able to stay on top of household tasks throughout the day. I’m really quite the domestic diva;)
Snack break!
grapes
cinnamon raisin Ezekiel muffin with natural peanut butter
I also ended up having a small mug of Kashi Go Lean Crunch with almond milk later in the afternoon. I am like a bottomless pit today!
Tonight Jon and I decided to turn off work for a few hours and just hang out. We hardly ever watch TV…but tonight one of our favorite shows premiered for the fall season. How many of you watch The Biggest Loser? We are huge fans. And I have to admit, part of my love stems from my love for Jillian. Don’t you just wish you could carry her around in your pocket all day? Or not;)
Anyway, I never fail to feel inspired after watching an episode of TBL. I think it’s going to be a really good season. The only thing I didn’t like about tonight was the way they chose the contestants. They went from city to city, and at each stop they picked 3 people; however, those 3 people had to compete in their first challenge in order to decide which 2 got to actually go on the show. The other person had to go home. One of the challenges was a 1 mile run in which the first two people to finish won. I felt that the most unhealthy person, the one who needed the most help was of course the one to lose on every challenge. I just thought it was kind of silly. I’m sure there was a reason for it, but you’d think they’d want the most unhealthy person to be chosen. I guess that’s the way the show goes, too, though. If you watched tonight, what did you think?
For dinner Jon and I had the bright idea of making quesadillas. Unfortunately, by the time I was all psyched up for it, we realized we were out of soy cheese. Enter sad face.
For some uncharacteristic reason, I decided to just have regular cheese on mine. I think I might have been from Mexico in a different life. Not even kidding. It’s like I get in the zone…and my eyes glaze over at the mention of mexican food. Kind of scary, really. Anyway, it wasn’t that big of a deal, but afterward I did wish I had made a different choice. Isn’t that always the way it goes? Onward and upward, though. Perfectionism will not get the best of me:)
I’m definitely not going to kid myself by saying they didn’t taste good. The husband knows how to make a mean quesadilla. Mine had cheese, vegetarian refried beans, chopped onions, and diced green chilies. mmm.
I’ve got a busy day ahead tomorrow – the usual Outbox work, 3 tutoring appointments and a yoga class await me! My newest tutoring student, Nada, is a little bit high maintenance…which I guess she has every right to be. She wants to learn strictly grammar…and she wants the hard core stuff. She catches on really fast and asks lots of questions – definitely keeps me on my toes! She’s also quite the talker. At the end of our last appointment she started talking and ended telling me everything from how to not get taken advantage of at Disney World (what?) to how to get a job in Dubai. 45 minutes later, I was walking to my car in a daze. I’m going to have to reign her in tomorrow though, or else I’ll be late to yoga. Doesn’t look to good when the instructor’s late!
Okay, now I’m starting to act like Nada:) I’ll talk to you all tomorrow!
P.S. I don’t want to bug you guys, but if you feel so inclined, please drop by and vote for me in Project Food Blog – you can check out my entry and vote here. Thank you so so much to those of you who already voted. You guys are the best!
I can’t believe it’s already Thursday. This week has flown by! I’ve been spending the last couple of days eating and breathing yoga as I’ve prepared to teach my first class. I’m happy to say it went really well! There are of course a lot of things I want to improve upon as I continue teaching, but for my first class I was pleased.
My eats have been kind of boring because I’ve been so preoccupied…just the closest, healthiest (and sometimes not so much) thing and call it good has been my motto! Sometimes life is just like that you know? However, last night when I walked in the door from yoga at about 6:45, the husband was hard at work in the kitchen, cooking up a fantastic recipe from, you guessed it, Eat, Drink and Be Vegan!
Gimme Chimis
Ingredients
1/2 – 1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp dried oregano
1-1.5 tsp Chipotle Hot Sauce
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp sea salt
1.5 cups zucchini, julienned
1/2-3/4 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup tempeh, chopped (or extra firm tofu or additional 1/2 cup beans of any variety)
1.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 whole wheat tortillas
2 tbsp olive oil (for frying)
fresh lime wedges, for garnish
fresh cilantro leaves, chopped for garnish
Directions
In a frying pan on medium heat, add oil, onion, garlic, chili powder, oregano, chipotle sauce, cumin, cinnamon, cloves and salt and saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally
Add zucchini and tomatoes, and saute for another 5 minutes until veggies soften.
Add beans and tempeh (or substitute), stir to combine, and saute for another 3-5 minutes.
Stir in vinegar and transfer mixture to a bowl (scraping out all filling and reserving pan for later).
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
On a flat surface, spoon 1/4 of filling down center of each tortilla, leaving 1-2 inches space on top and bottom. Fold bottom edge over filling and roll up, tucking in sides as you go.
In the same frying pan on medium-high, heat oil for 30 seconds, then place burritos seam-side down on pan
Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side to lightly brown, then transfer to lined baking sheet )or if frying pan is oven-proof, then simply place it in oven) and bake for 12-15 minutes.
Remove and serve with lime wedges and a sprinkling of cilantro
This recipe was awesome. I have to say that before I became more conscious of my health, chimmichangas were one of my favorite meals to order at mexican restaurants. I especially loved the fried crispy shell. This healthified recipe was very reminiscent of the old chimi days…and the part that was most similar was the tortilla. It was flaky and crispy, yet soft in just the right areas. Score!
Well, I hate to cut this short, but I gotta run. Tomorrow is the day I leave to go get my yoga certification, and I still have to read up on the manual and pack. Oh, and run through my PiYo class again because I’m teaching in the morning! I am loving all the yoga in my life right now, but I’ll also feel a bit relieved when the new stage has worn off and I can spend a little less time and energy preparing. Soon enough, soon enough.
I love Sundays…especially when there is no work on Monday. There’s nowhere to be, no pressure to prepare for the week ahead…plenty of time to just be:)
Prime example of how flavors aren’t just about the actual food. They implicate environment, memories, seasons and tradition. I couldn’t resist a Pumpkin Spice latte…but ordered it iced because it’s still 90 degrees. It just wasn’t the same:(
However, it still warmed my heart just seeing the sign.
Creepy face.
Dinner was a combination of two favorites. Mexican Pizza.
Whole wheat pita spread with vegetarian refried beans and topped with all the goods – soy cheese, black beans, diced green chilis, onions and drizzled with green enchilada sauce. mmmm.
The husband was sweet enough to let me lead him through a yoga class tonight. And even extra sweet by pretending he enjoyed it! He’s my guinea pig throughout this whole “learning to be a yoga instructor” process. I’m so lucky. We worked up quite a sweat actually, and it left me feeling really energized and much more ready for our run than I was before. Three cheers for yoga!
And then I went out with a bang tonight when my bedtime snack turned into this
That would be Oikos greek yogurt and Kashi Go Lean crunch splattered on my kitchen floor. Tasty, no?
I’m off to bed – we’ll be starting Labor Day off right with a nice long run!
I found a coupon for a free 16 ounce Oikos greek yogurt in my HLS swag bag (love that swag bag:), so I had no choice but to pick it up at the store yesterday. Wait, did you catch that? FREE.
So today I decided an extravagant yogurt mess sounded like a pretty decent plan. I also used my coupon for a free box of Uncle Sam’s cereal at the store yesterday, so why not throw some of that in? There were also dried cranberries, sliced bananas, vegan dark chocolate chips, cinnamon and chia seeds!
Speaking of chia seeds, did you enter my chia seed giveaway earlier today? I am loving hearing about everyone’s adventurous side – keep ‘em coming!
In other news, please take a minute to click over to Heather’s blog and check out my guest post on PiYo! Heather and I met at HLS, and her blog is as adorable as she is. She’s one of those people who has a smile that literally lights up the entire room, and I was so excited when she asked me to share more about PiYo with her readers. I hope you’ll take a second and stop by there!
I spent the afternoon working on a special project in our office. It’s not quite ready to reveal yet, but it won’t be long!
I worked up quite an appetite, though, and by dinnertime I knew exactly what was on the menu. I had boiled a huge batch of dry lentils last week and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use them. It was kind of fun to switch it up from our usual enchiladas!
After our long run on Saturday, Jon and took a nap and accomplished some tasks around the house before packing up and heading to my hometown. Since my birthday is Tuesday, we had planned to celebrate with my family this weekend.
We had such a wonderful time. Saturday night my mom made a mexican feast
This dip was the star of the show! As soon as I get the recipe from her (mom, I need the recipe!), I’ll post it!
Best dip I’ve ever had, hands down. It was that good.
whole wheat tortilla, spinach (steamed in the microwave for about 20 seconds) refried beans, black beans, diced green chilies and green enchilada sauce
Also on the menu for the non-veggies (aka everyone else:) was my mom’s Mexican Casserole. She’s been making this casserole for as long as I can remember, and before becoming a vegetarian it was one of my favorite meals of all time! Unfortunately I didn’t snap a picture of it – the family isn’t too keen on waiting for me to catch a shot of every dish while all the food gets cold. Go figure;)
It was the perfect birthday meal for me as I’m sure those of you who have been reading for awhile can attest to.
After dinner we all enjoyed breaking a sweat in a fun family workout!
How many of you remember this?
Oh yes we did.
It started out as a joke reminiscing about the past…but then it got real serious
After working up a sweat – it was time for birthday cake oats!
And there were presents of course! Thanks so much Mom, Clark and Cristen – my birthday celebration was so special:)
Sunday morning we got up kind of late and just hung around the house. We ended up grilling out for lunch…and let me tell you – I want a grill so badly now. I’m dreaming of grills:)
the cooks:)
I cut up a red bell pepper, green bell pepper, zucchini and squash. Seasoned them with sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder and ground red pepper. Then my sis wrapped them up tight in a foil pouch and put them on the grill. I’m not sure how she did it – but these were cooked to perfection!
I ate them atop a bed of couscous. With a side of corn on the cob. So fresh and so good!
Jon and I hung around for a couple of hours after lunch on Sunday before heading out for the surprise he had planned.
The American Idol concert! I’m sure for those who don’t watch the show, it wouldn’t be a fun concert, but we watched it all season, and I was so excited to get to see all of them perform live!
On the way we stopped at Pei Wei to eat dinner.
I ordered the Spicy Korean with vegetables, tofu and brown rice. To die for, seriously.
And we split these two spring rolls as an appetizer.
And now off to the concert!
Unfortunately, “professional” cameras weren’t allowed inside, so I had to roll with the iPhone for the concert.
This was one of the best pictures I got (sad, I know) – that’s Crystal Bowersox, who was one of my absolute favorites on the show.
That’s it for the birthday weekend recap – it was so great mainly because I got to spend time with my favorite people in the world. I’m so very thankful:) Not sure what I’m going to do on my actual birthday (tomorrow) that will even come close:)
Hope you all had a great weekend as well. I’ll see ya later on for some eats!
I arrived home super late tonight after spending the first half of my day cleaning out my classroom and the last half at the orthodontist (for 3 hours!). I was so happy to walk in and smell dinner cooking right away. The husband really outdid himself this time:)
He made his and hers Mexican Casseroles by first lining a small glass baking dish with corn tortillas (2 per bowl). He then layered black beans (rinsed and drained), soy cheese, vegetarian refried beans, chopped tomatoes and onions, black beans, green chilis and a garnish of cheese. These were delicious! He baked them at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes…perfection:)
Today was so crazy! I met my mom at my school this morning, so we could pack everything away. They’ve already hired someone new to take over my position, which made me a little sad. What did I expect, though…right??
Per the usual, it ended up being a much more time consuming job than we expected + the air conditioning was not running in my room, so by the time we finished several hours later, we were both famished and exhausted!
I know I’m a dork, but I commissioned my mom to take some pics of me in my room. I spent SO much time there this past year…I just wanted to having something to remember it by!
It looks quite different because a lot of stuff had already been taken down and my desk had been cleared off, but it’ll still remind me of my room! Can you see my “censored” poster in the background. I’d hold it up over the T.V. during sketchy parts of movies – the kids got a pretty big kick out of it:)
And last but not least – there was lots of time spent here.
Anyway, cleaning out my room was the last thing to check off before officially signing off from my school. It was a touch bittersweet leaving for the last time today. Another chapter closed and a new one opened, eh?
Also, a special shout out to my mom for giving up one of her last days of summer to help me out. I needed moral support, and I’m so thankful she was there!
I promise I did eat other stuff besides our little Mexican fiesta tonight – green monster this morning, larabar for a snack, Panera for lunch – but unfortunately I was in such a craze this morning that my eats escaped the camera. And for some reason my lunch pictures turned out dark. Sad!
On our marathon training schedule for today was cross training, so we took it easy by going on a 30 minute, 1.9 mile walk. Nothing too intense, but it felt great to stretch our legs after yesterday’s 6 miler. I’m still so excited about training – I woke up smiling about it first thing this morning!!
I hope you’re all having a great start to the week!
Question for today:
What are you most looking forward to this week? I’m most looking forward to going to the lake on Wednesday and Thursday with my mom and sister. We’re taking a girl’s trip as our last “hoorah” before they go back to school. I’ll be scheduling some posts for those days – maybe the last couple of vacation recaps from Europe (better late than never!) and a spiralizer review!
And I want to kick it off by thanking all of you, my lovely readers, for your support, your time, you encouragement and your friendship. I can honestly say that the process I’ve gone through over the course of the last week has been made so much easier and sweeter because of you. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I want to celebrate my 100th post, as well as thank all of you by doing a fun giveaway!! I’ll be releasing the details early next week so stay tuned!
The other piece of great news I have is that I got the job yesterday! I’ll be teaching ESL classes as well as helping to plan and carry out events for international students and their families. I won’t actually start teaching until the fall semester classes start in late August, but I will be doing some prep work and other things starting in a couple of weeks. Whoop!
Obviously, securing this new job has helped boost my confidence about leaving my old one, and it just so happens that I was offered the new one on the same day that I sent in my resignation letter. Coincidence?!
I’m really working hard to stop dwelling on the what ifs and concentrate on what I have going on now. I also received some very wise and very sweet encouragement and advice from you guys yesteryday, and I wanted to share some of your thoughts, in case there’s anyone reading who is dealing with something of this nature
Heather said “Just keep reminding yourself of why you are making this choice.” – I’ve thought back to this advice many times over the past couple of days. And when I think of it I’m reminded of all the exciting things that are yet to come!
My very wise friend Elyse commented saying “Your identity is not in what you do, it’s who you are. And a job is not who you are. Your worth is much more than the paycheck and responsibilities you had.“ – Wow. What a wake up call. It seems so obvious, but I hadn’t stepped back from the situation long enough to realize this. I think it has been helping me a lot to try to step back and look at the situtation objectively.
Mary gave some very short and simple advice that I think will be my new mantra. She said “Now go courageously on and choose joy. – I think that oftentimes joy is something that we do have to consiously choose. we can dwell on the negative or we can focus on the positive and choose to be joyful no matter our circumstances.
And from Kelli “you will be amazed at the blessings you encounter along your path when you have time to slow down and enjoy them. you will love your new freedom. (i can already see you are!) don’t be afraid to take the leap!=) – Our society is so fast paced that I think I sometimes feel guilty for just slowing down. Like I won’t be doing everything I need to be doing if I take time to slow down and enjoy life.
Lastly, a very insightful thought from my sweet friend Sarah “Maybe we don’t hear about peoples regrets because they don’t have any related to quitting a job that wasn’t right for them? – So true! Why would anybody have regrets for making a decision to be happier and leave behind something that is dragging them down? Why would I regret that?
How could I not be feeling more positive and uplifted after all that?
Well, I can’t celebrate my 100th post today without some food pics! Amen?!
Yesterday’s lunch…simple.
Amy’s low sodium vegetable lentil soup
apple – (leftover from my trip to Panera with my mom a couple weeks ago:)
Soy cheese and spinach enchilada with chopped onions and green chilis…covered in green enchilada sauce
homemade guacamole – obvs;)
This morning’s breakfast – Nature’s Path Organic Flax plus Raisin Bran (whew..what a mouthful!) with almond milk
We’re headin’ out to spend the weekend with my family at the lake. We’re running soooo late because we tried to fit too many thing into this morning – workout (quick 5k on the treadmill), packing, giving Olive a bath and haircut (bad idea;), blogging, invoicing, going to the bank, picking up a book from the bookstore and going to Walmart. AAAHHHHH!
Have an amazing 4th of July weekend everyone! We have no internet at our lake cabin, so I’ll see ya when we get back to civiliation on Monday!
Today has been a better day. I chatted with my sister for a couple of hours this afternoon, and she pepped me up a little bit.
Somebody please explain to me why I need to be told to quit analyzing everything and MOVE ON! I am trying to cut myself a little slack because this has been a really serious and hard decision. But now that the decision has been made, there really is no reason to dwell on it. It is just a work in progress methinks:)
I’m realizing how much of an emotional person I really am through this process. I no sooner sat down in my principal’s office yesterday than I got all choked up. I couldn’t even get a word out! While I was a little bit mortified, I also really wanted to express to her how much of an attachment I have to the school. Mission accomplished. I mean, if she doesn’t know that I care at this point, then I don’t have two webbed toes. did I just say that out loud?
Annnyway. Before I left to meet up with Mohammad earlier (the student I’m tutoring), I somehow forgot to grab a snack. I didn’t sweat it too much though, figuring I would be distracted enough during our meeting. However, after receiving a phone call 5 minutes after I arrived at the coffee shop saying he was going to be an hour late, I knew I wasn’t going to make it. So, I rushed home and grabbed this
I really love these waffles. The flavor of them is just too good, and the ingredients are great. Plus – they only have 70 calories per serving (1 waffle)! Win, win, win!
I tried to be at least a little productive before heading back to the coffee shop, but there just wasn’t enough time to get much done.
Thank you Mohammad for virtually taking up 2.5 hours of my afternoon. At least he’s funny, though. Today he asked me if he could come live with Jon and I…at which point I about fell out of my chair.
I had an exchange student, K, from Germany last year, and at one point during the year she was having trouble with her host family. The exchange student coordinator emailed me one day and asked if K could come live with Jon and I. Really? Shouldn’t you have some experience raising kids before you take on a full-blown teenager?!
I politely declined.
I digress.
By the time I got home tonight, it had gotten rather late, and I was trying to think of something for dinner. I wasn’t feeling very inspired, so I defaulted to Mexican. Easy. Cheap. Tasty.
First this…
black beans, pinto beans, corn, rotel, cumin and sea salt – all mixed up!
Dun! dun! dun! We were out of bit sized pasta, so we went with spaghetti! Whole wheat of course.
hot and steamy
Toss! toss! toss!
Delicious. Maybe not the most glamorous or creative meal, but it always hits the spot.
Unfortunatly I realized I am out of my favorite spice ever…so I had to forgo the ground red pepper. boo:(
Oh, my gosh…I totally forgot! I got a call for an interview today! I mentioned in my post yesterday that I might have an opportunity to teach ESL classes part-time. Well, today I got a call and I’ll be meeting with them tomorrow. I’m excited about this opportunity because it will enable me to have more time for the things I want to do and will give us a little extra moolah in the meantime. Plus, I love working with international students. So, I’m hoping it goes well.
Keep your fingers crossed for me!
What is your default/go-to meal for when you aren’t feeling inspired?
Do you love mexican food as much as I do?If not what’s your favorite ethnic food?
Hey everyone! TGIF, right?! Per the usual Friday syndrome, I haven’t been super productive today; however, I was able to get caught up on some tasks built up from shopping with my mom all day yesterday, so it’s all good.
Speaking of yesterday (how’s that for a creative transition;), we had the best time. It is rare that mom and I spend time just the two of us, but I’m always so thankful when we do. Our day primarily consisted of talking, shopping, eating, eating…..and well, eating. Wahoo! My kind of day. Unfortunately I didn’t get home until late and then spent the rest of the night cuddling with the husband, sooooo I didn’t do my online yoga. Tomorrow.
Onto lunch
Black bean soup + whole grain baguette (my Panera usual) = not the most photogenic fare on the block
Strawberry Poppyseed salad (mom’s meal) = at least not a total fail in the looks dept. *ahem, iceburg lettuce*
I love that I now base my feelings about my food as much on how well it photographs as I do on how it tastes. Priorities, right?!
Anyway, after shopping around for another few hours, we stopped for a snack
Oh for the love of all things good and holy.
Not sure why, but this yogurt was the best I’ve tasted in years. And it was completely sugar/artificial sweetener free (not dairy free, but who needs to know that?)!
Insert more shopping…aka exericise;)
And dinner. My step-dad drove an hour to the city just to meet us to eat. He likes to do nice things like that (line stolen from my FIL). Although, I’m not quite sure whether the company or the food motivated him to be so kind.
Appetizer – corn tortilla with spicy carrots, onions and tons of salsa. Just a side note, when eating Mexican, I try to eat fewer chips, instead replacing them with a corn tortilla or two. Saves in the calories dept. as well as your health!
Wanna know one way to keep it vegan and still enjoy Tex Mex? Order tacos with black beans instead of meat (you will most likely get a strange look for this, at least in Oklahoma) and hold the cheese. Also, make sure and check with the server because re-fried beans (cooked in lard ewww) and mexican rice (cooked in meat stock) are often not vegetarian. I find that there usually is a vegetarian bean option, even aside from black beans – all you have to do is ask!
My mother and her charming husband
It was a fun day indeed. And can we say relaxing? Thanks mom!
Not sure what Jonathan and I are going to do tonight. Actually, I do know one thing we’ll be doing. My ever so creative husband ordered a mobile for us. No, we do not have a little bundle of joy on the way. This mobile is more of a mobile for adults. Hmmm…that still doesn’t sound quite right. Either way, after we assemble it we’ll be hanging it in our office, and I’ll just have to show you pics tomorrow. Simmer down, guys. Don’t get yourselves overexcited now.
How do you healthify Mexican food restaurants?
What plans do you have for the weekend?
This morning I hit the gym for a quick 5k and some weight machines. As mentioned before I have lost some of my running endurance, and I am now on the road to getting it back. I took one walk break smack dab in the middle of my run this morning, so my final time was about 35 minutes. Not that impressive, I know, but I’m just happy to be running!
Oddly, I wasn’t too hungry when I got home, so I held off awhile before fixing this for breakfast:
grilled banana and peanut butter sandwich on Ezekiel
This was my first time for a grilled pb and b, and I loved it! Will definitely be making this again and again. I simply spread a layer of pb on one side of a piece of Ezekiel bread (toasted for about a minute to thaw it out). Then I sliced a half a banana in half, laid it on the bread and put another slice of toast on top. I then lightly buttered each side of the sandwich with Earth Balance so it would cook better. Then threw it in a skillet and grilled away!
A few hours later I decided to make something fun for Jon since he was coming home for lunch.
For the bowl, crumple a piece of foil into a ball and lay a whole wheat tortilla over it, pressing it down over the ball. Bake it in the oven at 400 degrees until the edges are slightly browned. Spread the tortilla with refried beans and sprinkle on brown rice. In the meantime, sautee green bell pepper and onion strips in seasonings until soft, then add them to the bowl. Finish it off with rinsed black beans, cheese, salsa and homemade guacamole. Jon could not stop raving over how delicious this was. By the time he got home to eat, I was a bit hungry so I made one for myself as well, minus the tortilla and cheese. Heaven in a bowl:)
Today I’m working on getting our office organized, which is proving to be quite a feat! There is layer upon layer of stuff to go through, everything from college projects to current bills. It feels like it’s never going to be done, but I know it will feel so good and be such a pleasant place for J and I to work once it’s all cleaned up. We’re planning on rearranging and doing some more decorating as well…there will be chalkboard paint involved!
That’s all folks! Hope you’re having a great Monday. I’ll leave you with a quote I saw on a friend’s twitter earlier:
Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage!
Amen and amen!
Also, stay tuned later for my promised juicer review as well as a recipe on these vegan beauties
Tonight’s post is going to be a quickie. I have had a lot on my mind lately, resulting in a lack of productivity this evening. O’well.
This morning Jon and I headed out early for a run – we finished about 3 miles (dead Garmin!) despite the heat, so I was perfectly happy with that. We ended up on the college campus mid-run and took advantage of the fountain on library lawn by splashing it down our necks and backs. Even the distance between the fountain’s pool and our bodies proved too far for the water to keep its coolness, but once we were off again, the breeze felt so refreshing on my damp skin. Best part of the run:)
When we got back I sewed a couple of missing buttons onto Jon’s shirt, and he was out the door to work. I made myself a quick green monster, then hit the shower. I won’t bore you with pictures of my gm again. It was delicious as usual, though, and got my morning off to an energetic start.
A few hours later, I fixed a little snack to tide me over until lunch.
Whole wheat pita stuffed with hummus, broccoli slaw and sprouts. I have a serious crush on broccoli slaw right now. lol. It adds a nice crunch to almost anything!
As mentioned this morning, I worked on getting our budget set up on mint.com. I think I’ve got it pretty much figured out, but let’s just say that anything having to do with numbers budgeting eludes me so it’s going to take some practice. Gotta start somewhere, though, eh?
Guys, I had the best time at lunch today. Not only was my meal out of this world, but my company was even better. Let’s start with the food
I ordered the Veggie pita, which was a whole wheat pita, literally stuffed to the gills with grilled red pepper strips, romaine, onions, bell pepper, cucumber and tomato. I asked for honey mustard on the side, which I later drizzled over the veggies. With a side of fruit. It was so much better than I anticipated! I felt so great afterwards, too – don’t you love the feeling of being full on fresh, clean food?
I met Tracy many years ago when we were probably sophomores in college. We were both English Education majors, and we both got placed at a school that was an hour’s drive away for our student teaching. So, naturally we commuted together. She was my saving grace during that time. Those long drives to and from school were filled with venting, encouragment, advice and just good girl talk. After college Jon and I moved away and now that we’re back she has moved. We hadn’t seen each other in ages, and it was so refreshing to catch up. I honestly love this girl, and seeing her made my day so bright. She just got a job teaching English as a second language to sixth and seventh grades, and I know she is going to rock it!
When I got home I was craving a little somethin’ sweet, so I indulged in this piece of dark chocolate I had stashed away in the fridge.
Because Tracy and I couldn’t peel ourselves away from each other for almost three hours, I didn’t do much else before Jon got home from work. We stuck to our favorite for dinner and whipped up some vegetarian burritos.
I started by sauteeing some green pepper strips and onions in some Mexican seasoning for about 5-7 minutes. Meanwhile, I heated up some canned refried beans and cooked some brown rice. Once everything was ready I simply spread a spoonful of refried beans around on the (heated) tortilla, sprinkled on some rice, added a layer of veggies and a sprinkling of soy cheese. I then topped it all off with salsa, rolled it up and had a little fiesta in my mouth:) Simply delicious.
Now that it’s after midnight, I’ve got to be off to bed. I’m planning on going to Piyo tomorrow morning and may try to fit in some running on the treadmill as well. We’ll see how it all pans out in the am. Happy Friday!
Btw, I’m currently listening to a new album by Diane Birch, and I’m loving it! If you haven’t checked her out, you definitely should! Let me know what you think if you do;)
Today started off with a bang when Jon and I headed outside for a sweltering 20 minute run/walk. It has been so hot and humid here – it’s nearly unbearable. I think I might be hitting the gym to spend some time with the big T tomorrow morning.
I inhaled a bowl of this new (to me) cereal with chopped banana and soy milk. The verdict? Amazing. Exactly what I’ve been looking for in a cereal;)
We were busy bees today as we went to church and then headed to my hometown for my little cousin, Addie’s, 15th birthday party. Before heading out, I reheated the second half of my leftover vegetarian burrito from Chipotle. I refuse to post a pic of it due to the fact that it was probably the most offensive looking meal I’ve photographed since the beginning of time ChiaSeedMe. I’ll let you use your imagination:) I also was later accused by my loving husband of violating the “no eating out for a week challenge agreement,” but I set the record straight.
Instead, please enjoy a few pics of my beautiful, if not a bit goofy, little cousin.
And now for a funny tidbit about my cousins. Addie’s brother, Ashton, just graduated from high school a year ago and has now finished his first year of college. During high school he was the cool guy emo type, dressing in skinny jeans, rocker shirts and converse. Over the past year, however, he has made this out-of-the-blue transformation into mister country boy (also the name of the grocery store in my hometown). In this process he has aquired a coon dog named Red, about 5 chickens, 8 baby chicks and two cows. Yes, cows. So, today I was lucky enough to get to meet two thirds of his new brood.
This little guy not to be confused with the baby chick I bought on a whim during my crazy freshman year of college, only for it to die a matter of weeks later and be buried on our campus library lawn after being held hostage in a cardboard box in my bedroom. Please don’t judge. I feel bad enough already.
After touring the “farm,” eating some fresh fruit served by my aunt, watching Addie open her gifts, Jon and I made the trek back to Stillwater. This is where I must brag just a bit. By the time we left my aunt’s house, we were famished! Usually we would have no doubt stopped at the Subway on our way out of town or at least grabbed a lil something on our way back into town. But we held strong and waited until we arrived back home before cooking up our famous vegan enchiladas (recipe here). Pat us on the back!
So far, we have succeeded in our “no eating out challenge.” Today, we passed up dinner out and Starbucks, which must already by a savings of about $30. Crazy.
Well, that’s all for tonight. Stay tuned for tomorrow as I’ll be back to posting vacation recaps! G’night!
We just arrived back home from our Mother’s Day vacay about an hour ago. It was a fun overnight trip, but I am exhausted! Too much driving methinks.
Anyway, last night my mom made enchiladas for dinner. She custom made each of our enchiladas just the way we like it. Sweet mom:) Mine was stuffed full of sauteed spinach, onions, mashed black beans and diced green chilis all rolled up in a whole wheat tortilla and drowned in green enchilada sauce. Delish!
This morning we spent time hanging out at the house, then headed out to take my mom out to lunch. Mexican food was the meal of choice (again!) – no complaints about that! I went with my favorite way to healthify Mexican food by ordering the taco dinner. I subbed in steamed pinto beans for the meat and added lots of lettuce, tomato and salsa. I also ate a bit of rice on the side and of course tortilla chips and guacamole. Might have went a bit overboard on the chips. Oops! Unfortunately I failed to get a pic, so you’ll just have to take my word – it was tasty!
After lunch we headed over to visit my Grandma and Grandpa. Luckily, my aunt, uncle and cousins had the same idea, so we all ended up there at the same time. Fun!
I am so very thankful for the moms in my life. I am so blessed.
My mom is there for me anytime I need her. I always think of the zillions of times I’ve called her to ask for advice or even just to vent about something. She never fails to listen for as long as I need her to, and she always gives the best advice. She knows me better than almost anyone. I don’t know what I’d do without her in my life. She’s the best mom I could ask for and a heck of a grandma too:) Right, Olive?
I’m also so very thankful for my mother-in-law. She is the sweetest, most wonderful MIL I could ask for. She loves me like I’m her own daughter and is always so supportive of Jon and I. She’s selfless, sweet and darn funny:) Don’t know what we’d do without her. She’s off galavanting (love that word:) around Greece right now, so we didn’t get to spend time together today. We were together in spirit, though;)
I hope that I’m able to be even half the mother that these two are.
Well, I’m off to get some grading done. I’m still buried in essays, but I can see a faint glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Just gotta keep chipping away!
Hope you all have a great end to the weekend and a great start to your week!
Another crazy day of testing at school. There are only 27 days of school left…not that I’m counting or anything.
Have you ever been at a point in your life when you are at the brink of some big changes and you want to make them happen, but something (out of your control) is holding you back? Yeah, me neither;)
I’ve been a bit “out of whack” lately, and I’m ready to be “in whack” again. It’s all a matter of attitude and perspective, and I need to whip both into shape!
As promised, tonight I have a new recipe from Saturday’s fun in the kitchen.
Enter Spicy Vegan Chili. You guys know I’m a huge fan of meals that are delicious, fast, easy, vegan and of course healthy! Also, husband’s enjoyment is a key. This recipe most def. falls in those categories. YOU should try it!
Ingredients
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can organic lentils
1 can low sodium corn
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilis
1 24 oz can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1/2 onion, chopped
5 or 6 mushrooms, chopped
1-2 whole carrots, chopped
4 tbsp chili powder
ground red pepper to taste
2 tbsp cumin
1 tsp salt
Directions
Chop fresh veggies
Dump all ingredients into a large crock pot, set on low, and forget it!
If you don’t have a crock pot, you could also use a large stock pot. You just won’t have quite the same effect of “fix it and forget it.” This meal is great served with whole wheat crackers, blue corn chips or served over whole wheat pasta! I made this recipe for just the husband and I because I love having leftovers. This makes enough for an entire week of random lunches and dinners when you need something quick. Another option would be to freeze a portion of it to have a couple of weeks later when you’re in a pinch. Let me know if you try it!
I rushed home from work today to make it to a hair appointment. Nothing too exciting…just a trim. Obvs. Because I couldn’t possibly go any shorter;) Needless to say, I skipped out on my workout today, but I’m back at it tomorrow!
I hope you all have a fantastic Thursday! We will be having company all weekend starting Friday, so tomorrow night I’ll be super busy getting our house in tip top shape! I’ll check in at some point though.
Happy (end of) Monday everyone! While Monday’s aren’t my favorite, it feels nice to have one day down and only four to go. I’m not going to lie – work today was a bit on the stressful side. It’s just hard getting back into the groove of things after sleeping in and doing only things I love for an entire week. It’ll get easier, though, at least it better!!
I started off this morning with a green monster per the usual. I am seriously addicted to my morning GM. Unfortunately, I am almost out of Amazing Grass. Jon and I are trying to really buckle down with our budget for the rest of the month, so I may have to go without my grass for awhile (gasp!).
These pics are actually from yesterday. I only wish I left for work late enough to take pictures in the natural light. Yea for Sundays! Besides, I wore the same outfit, so it’s basically like I took it today:)
Later I munched on some baby carrots for a snack and then followed that up with Whole soy yogurt and a mix of sliced almonds and Back to Nature granola for toppings on my commute home. This granola will definitely be up for a review soon because it’s really one of my faves.
I planned on making it to the gym today, but work got in the way. The teacher I plan with called while I was driving, and we proceeded to try and work out some school stuff for the next hour. I was sad to miss my workout, but Jon and I made up for it by taking a nice nap when we got home! Hey, the first day back is hard, ya know?
Tonight we took a trip to the grocery store to get a few things that will last us the next week and a half. I planned out four meals that are pretty economical, and they don’t taste too bad either! I’ll be sharing them throughout the week. I’m not always the best at economical grocery shopping (i.e. nut butters), but we are really trying to make some changes around here, so I’m going to be focusing a bit more on how to eat cheap and healthy!
First up for tomorrow will be a recipe I call Mexican Fiesta Pasta. If you like Mexican food, you’ll love this! It’s cheap, it’s easy, but it’s clean! Here’s a teaser;)
Have a great night everyone – on to Tuesday!
“You may be only one brave decision away from the most important turn in your life.” – Beth Moore
Tonight is going to have to be a quick post because I’ve spent way too much of my time watching The Biggest Loser and grading projects for my sophomores, and I’ve got to head to bed!
I started my day off with overnight oats, primarily because we are out of soy milk, so I couldn’t make my usual green monster. Last night I mixed up 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup soy yogurt, 1/3 cup water, a heaping spoonful of canned pumpkin and cinnamon. I set it in the fridge overnight, and then this morning hubby added in sliced almonds and some blueberries. Yummo! I always love having overnight oats! I usually really enjoy them cold, straight out of the fridge, but it was so cold outside this morning that I decided to heat them up. They kept me warm all the way to work!!
*good oats…bad, bad pic
Dinner tonight was our usual Tuesday night enchiladas, aka “our addiction.” We LOVE this meal. Jon and I honestly just cannot get enough of Mexican food, so obvs. we have to healthify it. I like our version just as good or better as the restaurant version we used to get so often. I feel a heck of a lot better after eating this one though!
* this pic is so bad I almost didn’t post it. Don’t judge the ‘lada because of the sad iPhone pic.
1 Stacy’s whole wheat tortilla (more on these later)
2 slices of portabello mushroom
sauteed spinach
chopped onion
diced green chilis
nutritional yeast (protein)
green enchilada sauce
Wrap it all up and pop it in the over for about 10 minutes, and you’ve got yourself a gooey, smokin’ hot enchilada. Add a big scoop of homemade, healthy guac and a small side of refrien beans – perfection. If you love Mexican food, you would love this meal, promise.
Question for tonight: do you have levels of healthiness when you think about the food you eat?
Let me explain. Even though all the food I eat is clean, I still put it in levels in my mind for some reason. For instance, sauteed veggies over spaghetti squash would be about a 10 on the scale of healthiness, whereas my vegan enchilada meal is about a 5 or 6. In reality, neither meal is “not clean” or unhealthy in any way, but I still put these “labels” on my food sometimes. Does anybody else do this? I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing, but it’s kind of curious. Just wondered if I’m the only crazy person food labeler out there.
That’s it for now, friends. I’ve got to get to bed – I’ve got a busy day ahead involving a english department meeting over lunch, meeting with my principal during my planning period and a workout + hair appointment after school. Gotta decide whether to grow it out or keep it short. Ahh, decisions decisions!!
Hiya blog friends (haha – I love pretending someone is actually reading:)! You will not believe what the hubs and I did today…or I guess I should say “did not do” today. I haven’t known you guys very long – ha!- so this will be a little insight for you as to the kinds of things we McCoys often do.
We slept in until about 8:30 am, then headed to the gym shortly after. I had piyo (pilates+yoga) this morning, and Jon had his usual cardio workout. After our lovely time at the gym, we came home, showered, got ready, and jumped in the car to head to the city (about an hour away). We had two tasks for the day – I had a baby shower of a college friend to attend, and we wanted to return a few things we received for Christmas. So, there we were in the car, me all dressed up, when we realized that we didn’t grab the bag of “take back stuff” from the house. Bah! I was so mad at myself. It’s just like us to do something like that. Little did I know, things would only get worse.
Before Jon dropped me off at the shower, we had to run to Target to buy a gift. We always end up buying gifts for showers on the day of, and that is seriously a habit I want to break! So, we got the gift, jumped back in the car, running late of course, and headed to the shower. As we approached my friends house, I started to get an uneasy feeling. Why, you ask? Oh, maybe because there were NO cars there, and I was 10 minutes late!! Oh, that’s right….the shower is actually 2 weeks from now! No one is celebrating, playing baby name games or eating cake…and here we sit in the street…FAIL yet again. So, basically, we drove 2 hours to accomplish 2 tasks, and we ended up accomplishing none!
So, let me introduce us again. Hi, we’re the McCoys, and we thrive on doing really dumb things and wasting lots of time. At least we do it together though;)
Really, though. It took me about 10 minutes to get over being mad at the world, then I decided to just get over myself and try to look at the bright side – at least I finally didn’t buy my shower gift on the day of the shower. Win!
Okay, onto my eats. Last night Jon and I were really craving mexican food. A month ago we would have jumped in the car and sped to our nearest favorite mexican establishment (we have multiple), but that was the old us. The new us decided to healthify a mexican feast on our own. Here is our creation.
Hers: whole wheat tortilla, sauteed spinach, chopped green chilis, chopped mushrooms, little bit of veggie shreds, onions, and green enchilada sauce.
His: whole wheat tortilla, sauteed spinach, shredded chicken, onions, chopped green chilis, low-fat mozzerella cheese and green enchilada sauce.
I also whipped up a batch of my favorite homemade guac – 2 organic avocados, chopped onions, garlic powder, ground red pepper, chopped toms, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. We had it with these organic blue corn tortilla chips and some refried beans.
This meal was excellent – and it really hit the spot! This is a perfect example of how you can A. make healthy food taste awesome B. prepare clean versions of old favorites and C. make a vegetarian and meat eater happy with little hassle!
Fast forward to today – which was really wacky in terms of eating times. After I got home from the gym, I threw together the most fabulous bowl of oats. This included 1/3 cup oats, 3/4 cup water, one heaping spoonful of vanilla soy yogurt, splash of almond milk, 1 tbsp chia seeds, about 1 tbsp almond butter and a sprinkle of clean organic granola. These were some tasty oats, even though I didn’t eat them until about 10 o’clcok.
We decided that since we had a late breakfast, and the shower (uh huh) was smack dab in the middle of the afternoon, that we would just throw in a larabar (cashew cookie – my fave) for a snack and then have “linner” around 4 when the shower was over. Well, I had just finished off the last crumb of my larabar when we realized we were lone attendees to the non-existent shower, so we decided to wait about an hour and then go eat. About 3 hours later at 4:30 (due to shopping) we landed at PF Changs.
This was only my third time to go to PF Changs, but I always love it! The ambiance is so relaxing and it reminds me of our days in southeast Asia. I have to praise my husband here for a moment because he went all vegetarian with me so we could share an appetizer and an entree. Isn’t he sweet? So, we settled on the tofu lettuce wraps for our appetizer (Ah-may-zing!) and the “Buddha’s Feast” for our entree. Both dishes completely outdid themselves! And score one point for our waitress – she surprised us by bringing out their eggplant appetizer for us to try. I’ve never had that happen before, have you? It was so nice!
Buddha’s Feast consisted of stir fried tofu, broccoli, asparagus, carrots and snap peas in a vegetarian sauce with brown rice with 210 calories for half the dish (without the brown rice) and 15 grams of protein – I can live with that for a restaurant meal! Apologies for the picture…all I had was my little point and shoot camera.
There may or may not have also been a stop through Orange Tree on our way home for some (dairy free) yogurt:)
All in all it was a great day! I just love days off when I get to spend so much time with my favorite person and NOT work on school stuff. Can’t beat it, really. I hope you all had a lovely Saturday as well. I’m off to bed pretty soon so we can wake up in time for our chuch’s early service. Until tomorrow…
