Better In Plan Than Construction
Posted: March 14, 2011 Filed under: dinner | Tags: chard, dinner, lentils, recipe, wrap 2 Comments »I have seen chard leaves used a wrappers for many things around blogland so I thought tonight would be a good time for me to try it out!
I bought a giant bag of carrots this weekend so I knew I wanted to use them in the wrap, now I just need a protein – enter the lentil!
First I washed the chard leaves and cut them in half (these are massive).
I peeled two carrots and filled the leaves with them equally.
After the carrots I added the lentils and a special sauce.
Nutritional yeast, tomato sauce and hot chili sauce – this is where I went wrong because this sauce is too watery. Next time I would use tomato paste instead of sauce.
Wrap it up and serve it up!
I would like to roll these a little better next time. Ashley seemed to have a lot of luck with her breakfast chard leaves so I am going to her method out next time. Either way the leaves were a nice shell and not bitter at all, there was just way too much water.
WEDDING UPDATE
Nick and I have booked an venue!
We are getting married at the Rock Ford Plantation in Lancaster PA! I have looked into pricing for invitations (we plan to make our own), I should be better two quotes from caterers soon and I am going dress shopping this weekend! Our color is parrot/wild apple (I think) with Maryland wildflower colors as our accent colors. I wanted a fall orange but then realized I didn’t want to limit myself because you never know what they will have in September!
Lots of stuff going on this weekend besides dresses. My mom and I are going to Rock Ford to check out the actual measurements and logistics of where things will take place. We are also going to check out hotels and B&Bs in the area! So exciting!!!!
Lentil Love
Posted: April 23, 2010 Filed under: Friday | Tags: bagel thin, gym, orange, Snobby Joes, wrap 4 Comments »I am so beat! I am not really sure why, but I do have a lot to do tomorrow so I am planning on watching Jamie Oliver in bed once I am done with this post! I can’t believe it is series finally tonight, I wish they had touched on more aspects of the backwards food programs of America ie. farming and labor! I guess with only 6 shows you can’t go that deep into the story.
I was really uninspired while making lunch today so I was only excited to eat because I was hungry. I hate meals like this! They seem to happen on Fridays when the fridge is running low on the good stuff.
Wrap and orange. Yep.
I really like Minneola oranges better than navel ones!
In the wrap: carrots, maters, LC wedge, lemon hummus, hot peppers. It was not enough. Thankfully the group next to us was having a party and they shared their leftovers. Some of the food was not pretty. You should see people around free food!
I snagged some olives and cheese, which is exactly what I needed.
The day came and went and I was finally on my way home through awful Friday afternoon traffic.
I made a little pre-gym snack before heading out the door.
I am slowly finishing some bagel thins, but I really put off by how many preservatives they have in them. I can’t throw food out but they have been on my counter for at least a month and have no mold. My Wegmans bread grows mold in 3 days…yep. Anywho I spread on homemade cinnamon vanilla almond butter and jelly. Best after work/school snack.
Then I went to the gym to test out the calf/knee. I did 30min on the elliptical and 15min incline walk, with a 2min run to end. My calf is still a little stiff, but I think with rolling and another day off she should be good to go. My knee is still the same, working but I need to be nice to it. Arms, legs and core then home for dinner!
Nick was no here for dinner so I got to make something he is not a fan of, lentils! Man I love lentils.
I have heard of Snobby Joe’s all over the web so I started with this recipe and just went with it.
I didn’t have any tomato sauce so I added marinara and fresh tomatoes. I also 1/4 the recipe because I was only making one serving. These were so good! Lentil love baby.
Along with my lentils I had some green beans drowned in sweet and spicy mustard that made my nose run! It is like wasabi in that way.
Jamie Oliver is making me laugh. A child had McDonalds in Elementary school…yep.
OK time to hit the hay. Where is Sissy Pants?
Enjoy the weekend!
Mustard Thighs
Posted: April 15, 2010 Filed under: dinner, lunch, Thursday | Tags: broccoli, chicken, fig bar, wegmans, wrap 1 Comment »I’ve got to make this quick. We are leaving for kickball in 20min!
I got to walk at lunch today and it was amazing! I was so nice to get out of my air conditioned cube for 30min and enjoy a nice spring day. Do worry I went with other people. I would never go walking around the west side of the city of I weren’t in a pack.
When I got back inside I was starving and woofed down my lunch.
Ugh this picture is so gross colored. Maybe I will bring a plate and placemat to work one day to be able to eat off of something pretty!
Orange, large carrot and a mexican wrap made with leftovers from last night.
Guac, beans, lettuce, and tomatoes. Yum scrum!
Guess what I had for my afternoon snack???
Fig cookie bar! I have come to the conclusion that these are really good. So much like an actually cookie, but not!
After work I had to go to PetSmart because Sissy seems to have gotten what we think is kitty acne. It doesn’t seem to be bothering her now, but it can get bad and that would require a trip to the vet. I switched her bowl to metal, which was sad because her food dish is a family dish (I am going to use it for keeping her nail clippers and brush).
Once I had gotten that under control I headed out for a nice little run. I didn’t map my run, but I am thinking it was about 3.5 miles?
I got home and started in on dinner. (I love my portioning on my plate here 
)
Chicken thighs cooked in lemon juice, sweet and spicy mustard and thyme.
This actually came out really well! The mustard really kept its flavor and made a great sauce.
Along with my thigh I had a ton of roasted broccoli and onions.
I also had a slice of Wegmans bread on the side for some whole grain carbs. I also snacked on a few Kashi TLC crackers while dinner was cooking. I was starving!
I’m planning on some Mayan Gold chocolate for dessert on the way to kickball.
Trying to make it 5-0 tonight! Lets hope it is a quick one, I am sleepy.
Have a good one!
Lots of Side Notes
Posted: April 9, 2010 Filed under: Friday, Jamie Oliver | Tags: chobani, cycling, ice cream, Jamie Oliver, wrap 2 Comments »Warning this post was written after 2 glasses of wine…
Hey, Hey it’s Friday night! I remember the days when Friday nights = go out and drink. These days, things have calmed down a bit. When you get up at 5:30 it is really hard to stay up late. It makes me feel better in the morning as well and I actually have a morning! This obviously does not mean I do not enjoy a glass or two of wine every once in awhile
Before the wine I went through a pretty simple day at work broken up by lovely lunch.
Note to self : Amazing Grass in oats is an amazing stomach filler!
My lunch was full of different flavors!
First off we have an orange and Chobani Pom. The yogurt seemed to taste more like grape than I remember. It was still tasty and I love that is says “awesome” on their packaging!
If you were only organic! I still cannot turn them down during a 10 for $10 sale, or really any other time I walk by the yogurt isle.
And the main event…wrap-tastic. BTW I recycle my foil wrapper for my wraps!
In my wrap I had tomatoes, lemon hummus, lettuce, avocado and cilantro.
And the day went…
Then it was time for a FiggyBar! Note: Nick really enjoyed them and he is my general public survey
This FiggyBar was delicious! I love how you can peel it apart of eat it all three layers in one bite. So many texture changes and flavors!
This afternoon I FINNALLY picked up my bike from REI. They knocked off $20 from the labor charges so that was really nice!
Once I got the bike in the car I headed to the NCR trail. This is where I used to do my long Sunday runs when I was training for my 1/2 marathon.
Me at the six mile marker aka the furthest I ever ran on that trail + my bike turn around point today. It was cold and windy today (30mph gusts). I can’t wait to see what is past the 6! Does my helmet look different? Well it is!
The helmet I bought at first was a woman’s and well I have a rather large head and had to return it for a men’s. It fits a lot better now!
Anyway I rode about 11.5 miles in 48min57sec. This seemed slow compared to other’s rides I have read about in the blog world, but I did realized I do not have clips on my bike, the wind was crazy AND I was on a mountain bike. It was pretty hard I must admit you have to be so much more mentally aware when you are on a bike because you are going so much faster than a run!
I can’t wait to ride when it is warm and less windy! Also on a road bike wouldn’t hurt.
When I got home I was starving, but I need to clean and shower first.
After the quickest shower ever (OK Katherine maybe Kent’s were faster) I started on dinner while drinking a glass of vino.
I love having frozen shrimp and scallops on hand! They are so easy to defrost and throw in anything! This was one of those nights.
I sautéed onions and garlic in EVOO, thyme and S&P. Then I added some shitake mushrooms to simmer. While these were cooking off I cooked off some green beans and added some shrimp and scallops to the mix with parsley and lemon. This was then thrown on top of a toasted Ezekiel English muffin. I could eat these for every meal!
Now that it is Friday I needed to enjoy it a little, this does not included the wine! I had a nice little bowl of pb cup ice cream while Jamie Oliver was on the tele.
I could totally hit the hay at 10pm tonight. When did I get so old???
I love my sleep and my days are full of to-do lists, growing up is a bummer.
To end on a bright note, tomorrow Nick and I are attending a Bourbon, Beer and BBQ festival tomorrow and it should be a lot of fun. I have about a million things to do before then.
Go Jamie Oliver Go!
Night All!
Biggest Loser Burgers
Posted: March 16, 2010 Filed under: Tuesday | Tags: Sicily, turkey burgers, wrap, yoga, yogurt Leave a comment »It is Biggest Loser night! Quote of the night so far from Jillian, “You didn’t come on the Biggest Loser to go the Four Seasons, you have to loose 200lbs off your ass!” Looooooove it! I also love that Curtis Stone is on and this week is finally about food!
My day went by pretty quickly due to the fact that I was kept pretty busy. Deadlines before vacation will do that to you!
I worked until about 12:30pm and I was ready for lunch.
Plain Stonyfield yogurt, clem (that tasted like butt) and a green wrap that was a little early for St. Patrick’s Day.
In my wrap I had celery, arugula, avocado, LC wedge and cucumbers.
I continued to work through the afternoon and was finally on my way home and eating my snickie snack.
Baby organic gala and 1/2 of a strawberry pomegranate Odwala bar. I really enjoy these bars but rarely buy them. I need to change that.
My knee was telling me to not go running this afternoon even thought it was 62 and gorgeous! I opened up all of the windows and rolled out the yoga mat. I did 50min of a Dave Farmer power flow podcast, and my arms are still shaking!
I got to cook dinner by natural light! It was great.
I made up some turkey burgers with garlic powder, S&P, Worcestershire sauce and hot peppers.
I topped these little suckers with sauteed mushrooms onions and elephant garlic. I also had some hot dog relish, it was time to bring it back out.
I also had some sweet potato fries and swiss chard (!!!) topped with white balsamic vinegar.
It was so nice to find organic swiss chard at my regular Giant this week.
Now if you will excuse me Sissy and I need to get back to Biggest Loser and filling out our NCAA brackets!
Don’t forget to wear green tomorrow!
Night!
Olympics Day 1
Posted: February 13, 2010 Filed under: saturday | Tags: almond butter, apple, BARCS, butternut squash, chickpeas, kale chips, wrap Leave a comment »Greetings from Guitar Hero land! We have been switching between the game and Olympics all day long. We also took a break to watch Duke stomp all over Maryland in Basketball. Nick and I are both Duke fan thanks to our parents both attending.
I played with some pretty nice kitties this morning. There was one that was just a lap lover named Sydnee. She was a year old and seized from her previous owner. 
Stupid humans. Most of the animals are strays or owner surrendered, but there are a few that we get from animal control. The animals of BARCS are just looking for love.
Anyway I stopped by Target on my way home to get Nick’s V-day present and when I finally got home I was starving.
I made the quickest thing possible, wrap and apple.
In me wrap; my last 3 meatless meatballs, LC wedge, Frank’s, lettuce
Apple with raw almond butter.
I really don’t like the raw. I also had about 3 graham cracker sheets and a vanilla raspberry ice cream bar from Trader Joe’s.
All this food kept me full until at least 7pm when I thought that maybe I should get up and make dinner.
Roasted chickpeas, butternut squash, kale chips.
I roasted the chickpeas in clementine juice, cinnamon, S&P and apple cider vinegar. Baked clementines are amazing with flavor!
B-nut squash with garlic powder, kale chips with the last of the Heinz ketchup.
Dessert was a tea, adora disk and sugar cookie. No pictures.
We are heading to Ellicott City tonight to check out the night scene. We shall see how it is over there.
Have a great night!
Finally, Weekend
Posted: January 23, 2010 Filed under: weekend | Tags: banana, butternut squash, eggs, ezekiel, wrap Leave a comment »Good Morning an Welcome to the weekend! Nick and I were downtown for a birthday happy hour so I didn’t get a chance to post the rest of yesterday. Here ya go!
raw carrots and maters, wrap of feta spinach and hummus, pear.
My pear was so juicy it dripped all over me!
I think I overdid it on the feta because my wrap was super salty, but still tasty!
I didn’t need my afternoon snack given we were eating and early dinner and I had some prunes in the morning (my overnight oats did not hold me as well as they usually do )
I got a library card yesterday and was going to pick up some cook books but they library is under construction so most books need to be placed on reserve for you to come pick up later on.
When I got home I started on the butternut squash for dinner – it actually took center stage on my plate.
I was going to add chickpeas or beans to my plate, but I ended up have a lot more crackers and cheese than you see there so I skipped them.
I really like how baked tomatoes pop all hot in your mouth. I ate a ton of b-nut and was super full!
I had a Guinness for dessert at the bar and had a good time chatting with everyone before heading home.
When I woke up this morning I had a serious craving for eggs. I really don’t know the last time I had a fried egg! I used to eat them every day!
Smile with a Zack Morris hair flip which equals 2 fried eggs, 1 Zeek muffin with raspberry preserve and almond butter and 1 small naner that managed to end up on the ab 1/2 of muffin.
My eggs just had a little S&P and over medium yokes, perfect!
I am watching Food Network and drinking my Saturday coffee. So nice to just relax. This won’t be for long, I have my BARCS training at 11:30! I really hope I can find something to for them that actually makes a difference.
I hope you are enjoying your Saturday morning!
Check ya later!
Knee News
Posted: January 21, 2010 Filed under: Thursday | Tags: BARCS, clementines, knee, oat bran, Peanut Butter & Co., wrap 1 Comment »Sorry for the no show last night. News from the Doc was not the best, but not the worst and I just didn’t really feel like plugging in after all of that.
Basically I had irritated soft tissue in my knee that can only get better with doing NOTHING. I even asked about yoga and he said, no. The one thing I can do is swim, which I am bad at and cannot afford to join another gym just for a pool considering they are much more expensive and I can’t break my current contract without serious fees. I am basically only allowed to walk where I HAVE to walk when I HAVE to walk. After A MONTH if there is still pain I have to get an MRI and maybe a scope.
Not moving is going to be the most challenging. I am an active person! On the bright side this will give me plenty of time to concentrate on helping BARCS, which starts on Saturday. I may also look into some other volunteer opportunities. I HATE coming home from work at 4:30PM and having nothing to do.
Anyway here is a quick run down of the eats yesterday + about 2 servings on H2H that I consumed in nervous eating before my appointment.
Tea and almonds.
Wrap and raw veggies. Adora disk.
In my wrap was hummus, spinach, egg, olives, avocado and cilantro.
Clems + seltzer + those cups of Kashi H2H…
Due to my excessive snacking I had a small dinner to round out my day.
Spinach, peas (I love peas), meatless balls, pesto. Apple with DCPB.
Very Green.
I fell asleep on the couch around 8:30pm (Sorry I didn’t call you back mom!)
This morning I watched some early morning tennis.
I really enjoy all of the grand slams.
I also made myself some oat bran for breakfast.
1/3 cup: oat bran, water, skim, plain Stonyfield. 1 tbs chia and flax, 1 small banana, black berries, sprinkle vanilla almond crunch granola, DCPB.
Food Rule will come with dinner. I have run out of time! I still have to drop off the recycling! Yikes!
Fending Off The Bug!
Posted: January 15, 2010 Filed under: Friday | Tags: adora, eggs, kashi, waffle, wrap Leave a comment »Hello from the couch! My cold is coming on on strong and I am fending it off as best I can. Problem is I am not really hungry, but I know I need to eat. So I am! My waffle held me over amazingly…It was 11:30AM and I didn’t even realize it was almost lunch and I still wasn’t hungry. Yummy waffles pizzas are on the menu more often.
I was able to eat my lunch in peace.
Wrap, veggies and an Adora disk.
In my wrap there was more than roasted red pepper, but it sure took center stage. It also had hummus, tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.
Around 3:30PM I was feeling awful and thought maybe a snack would give me some energy and strength for the drive home.
Serving of Kashi H2H warm cinnamon.
I had planned on going to the gym to do a light bike then some PT exercises that I can only do at the gym, but I just went straight home got into my PJs and hit the couch with Sissy. I didn’t wake up until Nick got home and then about an hour later and an Emergen-C + 100 glasses of water later, I made some “dinner”.
I really didn’t have anything planned so I went with what would take me 5min and be healthy and filling.
Eggies, 1/2 of my remaining waffle from this morning, microwed apple with cinnamon.
2 eggs mixed with dill, S&P, milk, peas and cotswold cheese. Waffle with PB and blueberry and pumpkin jelly.
For dessert I tested one of my black raspberry bottom muffins that I am bringing this weekend. The taste was good, but they were extra moist in the middle but dry around the wrapper. This could be because I did not use butter. We will see how they taste in the morning. I also made a special treat form Mr. Bean (Jen’s dog).
I know it doesn’t look that tasty, but it was! I am going to finish watching Bones and then head to bed. I hope I feel better in the morning, I have a lot to do!!!
Patellafemoral What?
Posted: January 9, 2010 Filed under: weekend | Tags: knee, micheal pollan, Sicily, tofu, white beans, wrap Leave a comment »Hola Fijoles!
First thing first, knee update!
Ray came over after his football game with Nick this morning and gave me a few knee tests to try and figure out what is causing my pain. He concluded that it is patellofemoral pain syndrome or “runner’s knee”. Long story short I have extremely weak hip adductors and it is causing my knee to turn in when I run and therefore my tendon is rubbing against my knee cap in a not so nice way. He gave me some strengthening exercises to do at the gym(!!!) and home and told me know running for another 1.5 weeks. He did say that I could do the elliptical or other machines as long as my pain does not increase. He also taught me a way to tape my knee so that it is pulled away from the tendon and not longer rubbing. Woohoo nothing serious, but another week and a half, guff!
And now back to the food.
Last night Nick and I went to see Avatar so I didn’t have time to post. The graphics in the movie were amazing, but the plot line was pretty simple. Overall it was a good movie and I am glad we went.
Before leaving I had a trio plate.
Tofu baked with honey, EVOO, chili powder and baked brussels with mustard.
Mama Bean’s white bean salad! I know this is a summer salad, but I had a can of beans I wanted to use and I love this oh so simple recipe.
Summer White Beans Salad:
- 1 can white beans rinsed and drained
- 1 garlic clove pressed
- ~1 tbs Olive Oil
- juice of 1 lemon
- S&P
- ton of fresh basil
Mix all but beans and basil and then add beans and basil to dressing. Allow to soak at least a few hours.
For dessert I had a small piece of peppermint bark.
This morning I finally filled my craving for pancakes!
I used 1/2 cup of the Arrowhead Mill whole wheat pancake mix + 2 tbs flax + 1 tsp chia seeds, 1/2 cup skim. I added the POM arils once the cakes were on the griddler.
I topped each of my silver dollar POM pancakes with pb and dipped them is real maple syrup. Don’t see a fork? That is because I made this finger food! The best
After breakfast I headed out to the grocery store, Boarder and Rite Aid (post Ray visit).
I got two books from a gift card that is am excited about one a little bit more than the other!
Michael Pollan’s new book, that I am figuring will take me the afternoon to read, and a simple vegetarian cookbook. Don’t get me wrong I like my tofu cubes and roasted veggies, but I need to mix it up a bit! Especially if I want Nick to eat some of it. I also got some sports tape for taping my knee.
It was about 1:30PM when I got home from all of this and my stomach was growling! I wanted to use the griddle to make a wrap and things grew from there.
WW wrap with tempeh, LC wedge, sundried tomoato Sabra hummus, Franks and greens. I also had the rest of Mama Bean’s white bean salad and an pictured orange.
The wrap was not as good as I was hoping…I think it needed some cheese!
It is playoff week one this weekend, and I hope you are still cheering for the Ravens! I know Sissy is!
You like her collar? It was a present from Grandma Joanne, and I think she loves it 
p.s. she was looking for her baby under there, hence the weird position.
Alright I am off to read my new book/ watch the Duke game! I haven’t really been watching this year, but things are getting more serious and I need to get on that!
Check ya later!
