Much Ado

Been very busy lately...

GOOD EATS

I originally started this blog as a visual food diary so that I could more closely examine what I was eating, and how it was making me feel.  It then sort of turned into a food diary/journal to document my everyday living.  It's nice to go back sometimes and look at the pictures, not just from big events (birthdays, engagements), but from the day-2-day stuff too.

It's funny how my eating has changed.  I used to be calorie OBSESSED, but now I'm healthy foods obsessed.  Don't get me wrong...I'm still all about burritos (I live in Southern California for goodness sake!), but I'm very focused on MODERATION!!!

BREAKFAST:

2 EGG WHITES & 1 YOLK + 1 PIECE EZEKIEL CINNAMON RAISIN BREAD + 2 MORNING STAR SAUSAGE PATTIES

 Love this Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin bread!  It satisfies my urge for a little something sweet for breakfast, without turning into frosted doughnuts! 

I also used to new juicer to whip up a batch of juice.  All of that produce made around 32 oz. of fruity-veggie goodness.  Boyfriend's juices consist of primarily vegetables, but I HAVE to throw in some fruit for a little sugar.  Helps so much with the taste.  My juices actually taste yummy whereas Boyfriends are ick!

SPINACH + BEET + PINEAPPLE + ORANGE + APPLE + CARROT + GINGER

LUNCH:

One of my FAVORITE things to make and eat lately is what I call a "Mexican Lasagna".  It's basically whatever I can scrounge up, layered between corn tortillas, and then melted to perfection in the oven.

GREEK YOGURT + CORN TORTILLAS + DAIRY FREE "CHEESE" + BLACK OLIVES + DICES TOMATOES & GREEN CHILIS + ENCHILADA SAUCE + GREEN CHILI + FF REFRIED BEANS 

Simply put, I start with a layer of corn tortillas on the bottom of a casserole dish, followed by beans, tomato mixture, yogurt, cheese olives, peppers, and then repeat.  My final layer is just the corn tortillas topped with a layer of cheese.  Then, I pour the enchilada sauce over the "lasagna".  I bake it in the oven covered at 425 degrees for 30 min, and then uncover the dish for another 15 min. at 425 degrees on broil. This helps to melt the "cheese".  This is especially important if you use fake cheese, because it really needs some extra efforts to melt.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE making this!!  It's easy, and it makes enough for around 6 meals for me!!!  I end up eating this for lunch, breakfast, and dinner every day.  When I get a chance, I'm going to sit down and figure out the stats on this meal.  My instincts tell me that it's a winner because everything in it individually gets an A+ except for the cheese.  But I use the nicest cheese possible and the yogurt and beans, this thing had to be packing some serious Protein and Fiber heat!!

DINNER:

I was out running errands around dinner time, so I went with the lazy girl's choice of a sandwich from Starbucks.  The stats weren't my favorite but I was famished and could have done a lot worse.  Starbucks has some amazing "snack plates" with things like apples, eggs, peanut butter, etc.  I usually go for one of this picks but I was CRAVING bread and meat!

TARRAGON CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICH + TALL PIKE'S PLACE WITH SPLASH SOY MILK

My night MIGHT have ended with a few chocolate doughnut holes that Boyfriend bought for his midnight munchies!  Luckily for me, he can usually finish a whole box in one sitting so they aren't sitting around on the counter all day tempting me with their chocolatey goodness!

XOXO

JUST ANOTHER TUESDAY

Today was a day to attack my To-Do list!  But first, some fuel...

BREAKFAST

Started off the day, in the right way with a bowl of hot oats.  I've been back on the oatmeal bandwagon since it's gotten colder now.  I know San Diego "cold" isn't real cold, but I'm a wuss now after living out here for 6 years.

OATMEAL + BLUEBERRIES + ALMOND BUTTER + COFFEE + FF WHIPPED CREAM

My highest priority was cleaning my car which can get to be a bit of a disaster since I'm always on the move.  I practically live out of it and at any time about half my wardrobe is in my car.  I was on the right track until I approached the car wash and the damn thing stalled my car.  I'm not car savvy but any means, but all I know is that water was shooting up underneath the carriage of the car and the car stalled.  I was stuck in the middle of the car wash with an angry line of cars behind me.  After letting it sit for about 5 min. it finally started again but totally but a damper in my car washing plans.  I figure it best not to try that disaster again.  However, I did empty EVERYTHING out of my car and after a nice vacuum and interior scrub, I'm happy to report that at least the inside looks nice and sparkly!  

LUNCH/DINNER

Somehow food passed me by today and before I realized it, it was dinner.  This is a rare occurrence for me.  I almost NEVER miss a meal!  Eating is my favorite time of day!  I'm again on a fridge cleaning mission, so dinner tonight incorporated some turkey that is pretty close to it's expiration date.

THOMAS' WHOLE WHEAT BAGEL THIN + SPROUTS + PICKLES + TURKEY + BROCCOLI

I bought a new oil free dressing from Whole Foods the other day and tried it on the broccoli.  I loved the dressing!  It had a nice sweetness to it, almost like Annie's Mango dressing.  I think it will taste bomb a$$ on a crab and spinach salad, but I think it was just a tad to bit sweet for broccoli.

I'm in love with a  Luna Bar!  Yesterday I found the new Luna Bar that everyone has been going gaga over.  I wanted to hate it because I hate going with the trend...but I loved it!!  Def one of my new go to bars when I'm running around and have no time to feed the belly.

Luna Bar: Peanut Honey Pretzel

   XOXO

RETURN WITH A MAC

It's been awhile!!!  My HP laptop finally bit the dust a few months ago so I splurged and decided to replace it with a sweet new MacBrook Pro. 

 

Problem: I HATE the blog editing software for the Pro and it's taken me MONTHS to finally find a program that is semi acceptable.  Unfortunately, the program (MarsEdit) doesn't want me to upload photos right now.  So after all that fuss, and a return to blogger's positing software (sad face), I return to the world of blogging!!!

And with some new kitchen toys!!

SANYO RICE COOKER/BREADMAKER!!

I never imagined that there was a machine that could cook both rice AND bread!!!  That's crazy!!  I made a whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread last night and I expected a colossal failure!!  Except, what I was got was delicious!!!  It was a little bit firmer then a traditional loaf of bread, but I expected that from using all whole wheat.  This machine is going to be my new favorite toy.

Last night, I also decided to whip up a batch of Sarma's Raw Macaroons a la Lavender and Meyer's Lemon.  I like to dehydrate them for a least 36 hours to get them really crispy on the outside.  Another bonus about a long drying time is the amazing smell that permeates throughout the house!

(Dehydrator is old, I just had to share my sweet obsession!) 

Another new toy:

EXPENSIVE NEW JUICER

Boyfriend and I decided that we really didn't need any Christmas gifts this year, so instead, we went 50/50 on a swanky juicer.  While, I really don't think this beauty actually extracts more juice then our $40  machine, the fruit/veggie chute is double the size so I don't have to cut up the fruit as much.  That was a huge downside of the other machine.  Clean up still is a bit of a b$%h but it must be done!

Well, that's about it for today.  I didn't have my usual food intake/exercise run down today because I decided to try a post at the end of the day therefore no pictures were taken.

Should be back on my regular schedule tomorrow so long as this computer doesn't irritate me so much that I throw it out the window. 

XOXO