A LITTLE ON THE SWEET SIDE

Still on-and-off raining today!!  I SHOULD have been using the bad weather as an excuse to get some cleaning done in the house, but instead I decided it was an excuse to try some new recipes!

BREAKFAST:

Did not occur today due to my not being able to pry myself out of my nice, warm bed! 

I did however have a little snack pack of sorts before I went to the gym LATE last night so I guess I can kind of count this as breakfast.  711 has a little pack of 2 hardboiled eggs, 2 saltines, and a little slice of cheddar chesse.  This is becoming a pre-work out must have for me.  Little boost of energy with a HUGE protein punch.  LOVIN IT!

LUNCH:
I found a block of Tofu in my fridge that was in some desperate need of attention!  I REALLY need to buy a tofu press because I'm sick trying to find creative ways to press the water out of my tofu.  Believe me when I say there are now many items in my kitchen, practically chipped, because I tried using their weight to press out my tofu.

But I regress...Anyway I decided to make a stir-fry of sorts with a little pre-made curry sauce, and substituting mung bean sprouts for rice.  I'm lucky that I don't actually like white rice.  I find it to be a tasteless filler and I much rather prefer using other things as a "filler."

I pressed out my tofu and put a little curry powder on it.  I then lightly "fried" it with some coconut cooking spray and then threw the veggies and sauce in the pan and cooked until tender.  I got two servings out of this so now I don't even have to think about lunch tomorrow!

1/2 LIGHT FIRM TOFU + 65 G BROCCOLI + MUNG BEAN SPROUTS + 1 CUP STRAW MUSHROOMS + THAI KITCHEN PANANG CURRY SIMMER SAUCE

DINNER:

I was craving some sushi so I grab Boyfriend and made him go to Whole Foods with me.  He HATES going to the grocery store with me because "I just need to grab 2 things," quickly turns into me grabbing a shopping cart because I can't hold everything that has "caught my eye" on the way through the store.

Anyway, I like Whole Foods sushi because they have rolls with brown rice, and some with rice paper and no rice.  After looking through the sushi selections I realized that I wasn't in the mood for something that filling so I just grabbed one of their prepared Calamari salads.

3 OZ. CALAMARI SALAD + MISO SOUP

SNACK:

Absolutely stunning!!!  Can you say that about dessert?!  I picked up some Cappuccino Mini Meringues at Whole Foods.  I know they are basically just sugar and egg whites but they taste AMAZING and are FAT FREE so I will ignore the fact that I'm basically eating flavored sugar.

6 MINI CAPPUCCINO MERINGUES

Anyway, they are so sweet that I can only eat a few anyway.

That's all for now.  I'm doing a late night gym sesh with my friend Mark that we've been doing about 3-4 days a week.  We are basically just focusing on weights and I can already feel a difference and it's only been about a month and a half.

XOXO

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY

I love this camera.  It's so fun, the pictures are amazing, and the editing software is adding so much fun to my pictures.  Worth every single penny!

BREAKFAST:

ALMOST done with my Kashi cereal!!!  Threw some in a bowl with the rest of the strawberries from VDay and breakfast was served.

KASHI HEART TO HEART CEREAL + STRAWBERRIES +

1 TSP SPLENDA WITH FIBER + ALMOND MILK

I'm so proud of Boyfriend!!!  He saw my oatmeal creation the other morning, so he decided to make one himself! 

From what he remembers he added oats, chocolate syrup, peanut butter, and whole milk.


He said it was good but he didn't seem as enthusiastic to scarf down his oats as I am.


He wasn't too happy about me taking pictures of his food...lol

 I NEVER used to eat breakfast.  I NEVER used to like breakfast.  Slowly that's beginning to change now that I've added a little more variety to my morning eats. Eggs, cereal, OATS!!

SNACKS:

Cosmic Cranberry GT's Kombucha is a must try!!

So I know I promised I wouldn't buy food BUT I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF!!!  Luna's were on sale and Boyfriend asked me to make him chili.

RANDOM NECESSITIES FROM TARGET!

Decided to change around the vitamins a bit.  I'm really happy with the current vitamins, but not their form.  I'm switching from big horse swallow pills, to gummy or gooey chewy vitamins.

NEW VITAMIN REGIME

Boyfriend LOVES my crock-pot chili and he asked me for it the other day.  Little does he know that I just throw all of these ingredients into the crock-pot and leave it on low for 6 hours.  I still get to enjoy all the kisses and thank-yous for my "hard work."

1 LB GROUND BEEF + MINCED GARLIC + TOMATO SAUCE + 2 CANS DICED TOMATOES WITH CHILIES + KIDNEY BEANS + BLACK BEANS + TOMATO SOUP + A FEW TSP OF RANDOM SPICES THAT I DIDN'T LABEL BUT THEY WERE SPICY! 

DINNER:
Hungry Girl is always raving about this soup.  It has onions in it and I HATE onions so I never tried it.  However it was raining today and I was craving soup so I picked up one can at Target.

BEST SOUP EVER!!  I love this soup!!!  Can't even taste the onion and there are these large chunks of tomatoes in the soup.  It's actually more like a tomato sauce then a soup. 

1 CUP AMY'S ORGANIC CHUNKY TOMATO BISQUE

I also put together a little cheese plate which was also left over from VDay.  Cheese plates for dinner are my heaven.

 8 HEART CRACKS + 20 G RASPBERRY PRESERVES + TJ'S MINI BRIE

Having lighting issues with the camera as you can see.  I'm really good with natural light, just having a bit of a problem with the artificial light.  I'm a work in progress:)

NEW TOY!!

I bought a milk frother for my Almond Milk.  No more lattes runs to Starbucks anymore.  I can make them at home anytime.

Today was not too productive as you can see from all the pictures.  It was raining ALL DAY and it really craps up my To Do list.  San Diegians don't do well in the rain.  That's not how we roll! :)

xoxo

CHANGING OF THE SOCKS

Lol...totally feeling this today.  I still have to study my manual and immerse myself into the art of back lighting.  Go easy on me...it's my first DSLR.

First day rockin the St. Patty's day socks!!!!  Love these Mary Jane socks from Target.  All I need is the Easter socks and I will have a pair for every holiday.  So COMFORTABLE and CUTE!

(Should have been a foot model, right?)

BREAKFAST:

I channeled Katie last night and prepped some overnight oats a la "oatmeal smash."  AKA. Overnight oats spread out on a plate.  I tried a bit of a new combination with the addition of fruit, Lite Chocolate syrup, and some Peppermint extract.

mint chocolate-strawberry smash!

 65 GRAMS STRAWBERRIES + MOM'S BEST DARK CHOCOLATE OATMEAL + 1/4 TSP PEPPERMINT EXTRACT + 1/2 CUP ALMOND MILK + 1/4 CUP PUMPKIN + 1 TBSP HERSHEY'S LITE CHOCOLATE SYRUP

This was soooo good!  Can't say it enough.  The only problem, was that it was gone so fast:( 

Breakfast was topped off with some Strawberry coffee from my At-Home Starbucks coffee bar!

STRAWBERRY COFFEE + 3 TSP SPLENDA WITH FIBER + WHIPPED CREAM

LUNCH:

On the go...I had a few errands to run.  I left my card at the ATM at the bank.  They called me later, but I was too lazy to go back.  I have to put that on my "To Do" list for the week now.

I told myself NO GROCERY STORE VISITS for the next two weeks.  I have TONS of food at home.  But I realized I had no produce and I really wanted to try CHIA SEEDS.  Therefore, a trip to Whole Paycheck was in order.   I actually did quite good.  Fresh produce and a seaweed snack for $25. 

KOMBUCHA + BEAN SPROUTS + ALFALFA SPROUTS + BUTTERNUT SQUASH + YAM + CAULIFLOWER + SPINACH + 2 PINK LADIES

NEW SELF MAGAZINE

GREEN STRIPED KNEE HIGH SOCKS

Started munching on this treat as soon as I got into the car.  Such a good on-the-run snack!!



WHOLE PACKAGE SEA'S GIFT SWEET

SEAWEED SNACK

DINNER:

A little of the same with a new twist.  I picked up a yam today, and though I originally planned on saving it for later on in the week, I just couldn't resist.

I spiralized that puppy...

And baked in with some S&P and garlic powder til crispy.

75 GRAMS YAMS + SALT + PEPPER + GARLIC POWDER

I paired it up with a wonderful new combo of ingredients that made a perfect tasty salad for dinner.

80 GRAMS CRAB + 91 GRAMS TOMATO + 2 TBSP TJ'S WHITE BEAN HUMMUS + LEMON JUICE

I know a chocolate attack will be setting in later.  I'm already planning what VDay treats I can bust open. 

Have a lovely night!

CAT NAPPING

It was a lazy cat day!

 We did not want to get out of bed this morning...

But when we finally did, we had these yummy guys waiting for us...

2 VAN'S LIGHT WAFFLES + I CAN'T BELIEVE ITS NOT
BUTTER + 1 TBSP WALDEN FARMS NO CALORIE
BLUEBERRY SYRUP

It's been raining here all day.  I could have sworn I moved to Southern CA to avoid this weather!

LUNCH:

The crappy weather made me lust for some hot soup. 



MISO SOUP + 10 TJ'S CILANTRO CHICKEN WONTONS

DINNER: Totally forgot I had this puppy sitting in my crisper.  Yams never last too long around me!  This was like eating dessert for dinner!

135 GRAM YAM + I CAN'T BELIEVE ITS NOT BUTTER +
CINNAMON



After all was said and done, I actually got a lot done.  Even if the day started out a bit unproductive.  Hopefully the rest of the week will be a bit nicer weather wise, but the weathermen have been predicting more gloom and doom!



MY FRIEND, MARK AND I AT A HEAVEN & HELL PARTY





VALENTINE'S DAY HANGOVER

Oh My Goodness!!!

Woke up today DEFINITELY feeling that hike from yesterday.  My tush is so sore.  It's amazing how I can spend a miserable hour at the gym and barely feel it the next day, but go on an amazingly fun hike and feel the burn right away.  Must find more fun ways to get my workout on!!!

I've been alluding to a new addition in my house....And the UPS man FINALLY brought it today!!!

CANON REBEL T2!!!!

I can't believe that I actually own this puppy!!!  I was feeling a bit guilty about owning such an expensive camera, but I did get it for such a good price.  I was having a bit of buyer's remorse until I starting actually using the camera.

Holy gosh!!!  You can actually see each and every one of her whiskers.  Usually pictures of the black cats just look like a blob with my P&S.

I'm justifying this purchase by promising myself that I will learn as much as humanly possible about DSLR cameras and I will use it all the time.

BREAKFAST:

I don't quite have the heart to say good-bye to Valentine's Day yet, so today's breakfast still had a bit of a heart shaped theme. (DSLR had not arrived yet so this is from my P&S)

STRAWBERRY COFFEE + 236 G STRAWBERRIES +

3 EGG WHITES + 2 TBSP EL PINTO SALSA

LUNCH:

I made Boyfriend lunch with some leftover heart-shaped pasta from dinner yesterday.  It was simple yet tasty.  He devoured it within 2 minutes!  I loved the heart pasta, I only wish it were whole wheat:(

HEART SHAPED PASTA + PESTO + CHICKEN



I put away my Valentine's dish towels, and put out my St. Patty's towels.

Boyfriend is trained to know that these are SHOW towels.  Translation:  Lookie, but not touchie!!!

Cats aren't so easy to train as Boyfriend.  They LOVE to claw at my holiday towels much to my dismay.

DINNER:

This was my first food picture with the DSLR and I am a little disappointed.  It's not my shooting skills, by my presentation that stinks.  Tupperware?  I could have done so much better, however I was in a bit of a rush and I was more concerned with getting the food in my stomach rather then what the plate looked like.

Anyway, I made a Crab Spinach salad and it was yummy.  I used Fresh Gourmet Wonton Strips as a new crunchie topping and they were good, but the serving size was weak.  I had to double it just so I could get a good crisp.  They were on sale for $1 at Vons though so trying them did not break the bank.

I have been munching on those Peanut Flour Protein balls.  I'm so proud of myself!  I'm averaging about one a day.  I was a bit fearful when I made them they I would sit down and gorge on the whole container.

Well, I'm off!  Things to do, life to live.