cellophane_star's Journal

Christmas Eating

Dec 18 2009 11:06

Hey all, just wanted to post Epicurious.com's advice for healthy holiday eating: Cut Yourself Some Slack!

I don't think I'll have a huge problem with Christmas overeating. On Christmas Eve, we're going to a big dinner with the Danish side of Greg's family. There's like 30 people and always a ton of food. On Christmas Day, we'll probably go to his aunt's & uncle's place for another turkey dinner and that's it for the big feasts. Oh, we might have to do something dinnery with my brother & his wife too.

Probably gonna make a French Pain d'Epices (spice bread) this weekend. On Sunday, Greg & I + my friend are going to this restaurant. It's a Brazilian Steakhouse & they bring the meat out on swords and carve it in front of you. My favourite thing is the grilled pineapple though. Mmmm.

Anyway, gotta go work out now, even though my arms are dead from deadlifts & thrusters in yesterday's session! Oh, my trainers loved the tin of healthy cookies that I gave them & asked for the recipes so they could be posted on their web site :)

Have good weekends!

Free Larabars + Recipe Post

Dec 15 2009 09:56

Guess what, guys? Yesterday on Twitter, Larabar was giving away sample packs! All you had to do was post your favourite winter outdoor activity or memory on their blog during a particular time period and they'll send you a pack! I just got an e-mail asking for my mailing address (I hope they'll ship to Canada!).

Here's the link to their blog. It looks like they're giving away the sample packs for 5 days (today being Day #2). Today's question is asking for your favorite indoor memory so comment & win! They just tweeted this

They just tweeted this: "Day 2 of our SAMPLE PACK HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY! Visit our blog [and post a comment on their blog!] at www.larabar.com from 10:45am-11:15am MST today to receive a sample pack of Lärabars! The giveaway will be open for 1 HOUR ONLY so don’t delay!"

Don't worry if your comment doesn't show up right away. I posted yesterday afternoon & they e-mailed me about it today.)

After work, I'm going to my training session. I'm going to give them the cookies I made (which makes me nervous!) and I have to record some video for promotional purposes. It's just a few questions like "why did you join Fresh?" or "How has your experience been?" and they'll be used on their web site. I might link it eventually!

Time to post some of the recipes I had bookmarked lately...

Dinner:

Pumpkin Coconut Curry with Chicken Meatballs

Almond Crusted Chicken Bites (Yum... will make)

Mini Pumpkin Sage Balls (I have a ton of sage leftover from those turkey pinwheels & I've wanted to make these since they first appeared in Veg Times magazine 2 years ago!)

Snacks/Desserts:

Pepita Protein Bites

Raw Gingerbread Men (definitely making these)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Not diet-friendly at all but I was browsing cookie recipes that I could make for a friend with a sweet tooth:

Thumbprint Cookies and Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies

Weekend Eats

Dec 14 2009 08:04

It was so cold this weekend that when I got home at 5 on Friday, I stayed put (except for a trip to the grocery store on Saturday afternoon). Of course, I spent all my time in the kitchen, doing Christmas cards and putting the finishing touches on Christmas presents. Here's the menu:

Friday:

For dinner, I roasted some spaghetti squash with olive oil & garlic, then topped it with baked chicken, parmesan cheese and a spicy tomato sauce with wilted swiss chard, green lentils, onion and green pepper in it. YUM.

Then I watched Julie & Julia. The movie was different from the book, which was written by Julie Powell so it's her memoir. There is some excerpts from Julia Child's memoir in the J&J book but not as much detail as in the movie. I loved the Julia story more than the Julie one. Julie was portrayed fairly similar to the book but while I was reading, I was thinking "wow, this women is really mentally unstable & falls apart at the littlest thing". Like when she couldn't make mayonnaise properly she had a tantrum and threw shit around her kitchen... that's when her husband almost left her. But he never did leave during the project. Honestly, I was a little turned off when I finished the book & started Googling the real Julie... apparently she became a butcher and cheated on her husband with her high school boyfriend (then he cheated on her too but they still remained married). In reading the book, it seemed like they would never do something like that. Oh well. The book also talked a LOT about sex & the sensuality of cooking. Julie also made a lot more mistakes while cooking & took more shortcuts than shown in the movie. And a lot of the characters from the book (like Julie's brother, mother, friends) were missing from the film. Meryl Strep was the star of the movie anyway. So good.

Saturday:

I woke up at 7:30 (damn cat). I was planning to make these Gingerbread Pancakes with Candied Ginger for Greg & I but I knew he wouldn't wake up for a while so I had a pre-breakfast mix of Greens +, banana, cottage cheese, protein powder. Sounds & looked totally disgusting but I quite enjoyed it (and brought it for a mid-morning snack today)! Anyway, I later made the pancakes and they were ok. I thought they would be spicy, which I like, because of the addition of candied ginger but they were a little blah. Not quite gingerbready enough.

I also brewed some coffee but I added cinnamon, ginger, cloves & nutmeg to the grounds to make Pumpkin Spice Coffee! It was nice. You don't really taste the spices, it's just aromatic.

Later, after getting groceries, I ate the rest of Friday night's dinner (again, so good) and prepped the Almond Milk Rice Pudding with orange & dried apricots from the latest issue of Clean Eating magazine. I halved the recipe & got 3 servings. The pudding was pretty decent. Not quite as good as regular rice pudding (made with white rice & tons of sugar) but it was a good healthy substitute (though I found it necessary to add an additional drizzle of maple syrup & some cinnamon).

For dinner, I made Turkey & Trimmings Pinwheels (an Anna Olson recipe). They were delicious but do not make them if you are hungry! I had to make the stuffing & roll up the turkeys... That took maybe 20 mins. However, the bake time was twice as long as recommended (about 45 mins) because my package of turkey cutlets contained two large pieces instead of 4 smaller ones. I had to pound these ones out a bit... they were almost too thick to be considered "cutlets". Anyway, once you take them out of the oven, you have to let them get to room temperature AND THEN cool them in the fridge before you cut into them; Otherwise, they'll fall apart. Eventually, I just wanted to eat so I sliced a cutlet in half and didn't bother to cut it into the pinwheel shape. I paired the turkey with cranberry mayo & cranberry mustard: Take 2 parts cranberry sauce & mix with 1 part mayo or dijon mustard. Very easy & delicious. When I cut them up the next day, they looked awesome! They would make a great appetizer for a party.

Sunday:

For breakfast, I cooked some soaked oats (1/2 c rolled oats + 1/2 c water + 1 tbsp kefir, soaked overnight in the fridge) and added 1/2 mashed banana, protein powder, peanut butter, cinnamon & cocoa powder. Easy stuff.

For lunch, I made a Lentil Squash Casserole. I had cooked the rice & lentils the day before so this meal took no time to put together. I topped it with a little bit of marble cheese (2 oz.) and baked it for 25 mins. I didn't expect it to be so delicious! Can't wait to eat this for this week's dinners & lunches.

Later, I made some hot apple cider (love this) and baked some Espresso Chip Oatmeal Cookies to put in a tin (along with some other healthy cookies) for my personal trainers. I un-veganized the recipe by using milk chocolate chips & regular milk (I didn't feel like opening a new carton of rice milk). It's always fun when I get to use my mini cookie scoop so the cookies looked all pretty. And I used my expensive espresso powder from Williams Sonoma so the flavour was right on. These cookies were Mmmmmm. Way too easy to eat. Luckily, Greg liked them too so I ate two, he ate two & the rest were packed into a gift tin!

For dinner, I made these Morrocan Turkey Meatballs from a Clean Eating e-newsletter. The meatball recipe calls for "grated onion"... you have to take an onion and just file it down on a grater. Luckily, I did this in the sink because this is a total freaking mess. There's onion water everywhere, filling the kitchen with onion smell and making my eyes burn like hell. Tastewise, the meal was fine. I think the leftovers will be even better the next day, after the flavours have mingled a bit. The sauce was thin & brothy so when I placed the meatballs & sauce on top of some whole wheat couscous, it just soaked right through the grain. That was unpleasant. I might make the meatballs again because they were cute & small & I could use my mini scoop again (!) but would probably make some other kind of sauce.

So! I think that's it! I'm going to be such a good housewife.

No Game

Dec 11 2009 08:04

Greg got two tickets for the hockey game tonight (Flames vs. Minnesota) but I would rather just go home after work & cook! Is this a problem? That I'd rather say home & cook & eat instead of going to an NHL game? I mean, it's freaking cold outside.... -18 tonight. And it's supposed to snow again. My friend went to a game a few nights ago and it took her 1.5 hours just to get to the Saddledome because people here immediately turn into idiotic drivers once they see snow. And it's Minnesota... I don't care about them though I like their uniforms. I think one of his friends would enjoy the game more. I don't know. Whatever, I think I'm off the hook.

Wanna know what I have planned for dinner though? I'm gonna bake some chicken & spaghetti squash and top it all with a tomato sauce, wilted spinach or chard & parmesan cheese. I've been thinking about making this Lentil Tomato Sauce but I'd probably just add some cooked lentils & vegetables to the jarred tomato sauce sitting in my fridge. Easy as pie.

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday morning so I took a 1/2 day off work. I made a great pumpkin oatmeal yesterday morning... I cooked 1/2 c rolled oats in water, then mixed in lots of pumpkin combined with vanilla protein powder (to thicken it up), then added spices, ground flax & 1 tbsp of maple syrup, topped with 1 tsp each raisins & cranberries and 2 tsp pumpkin seeds. It kept me satisfied for hours.

I had been considering preparing Swiss oats (from the original Eat Clean Diet Cookbook or Fruit & Nut Muesli from my Fresh with Anna Olson cookbook. I went with the latter option, which is lucky for you because the recipe is online. I made two portions. Recommendations: Toast the oats, barley/spelt flakes & almonds for 10 mins, not 12, and toast the wheat germ separately, in a dry plan on the stovetop. The wheat germ burned in the oven but I just shook the mixture over a strainer to remove it and it was all good. I also toasted the pumpkin seeds in a frying pan on the stovetop too. I was out of apples so I used a pear and blueberries instead of strawberries. When I ate it all this morning, I was very happy! One serving has 380 cals & 15 g protein, btw.

On Wednesday, I was on my own for workouts so I went to the gym for some treadmill time. I did my jog-sprint interval routine (on the bottom right) but I added a 1% incline, which made it more challenging... in fact, I burned about 100 cals more than I would with no incline! And it only took 40 mins. I was impressed. I ended the session with a 10-1 pushup-situp combo. Do 10 pushups, followed by 10 sit ups, then 9 pushups + 9 situps, etc.

Yesterday, I had a session with my trainer and I hit a high record for Most Calories Burned in One Session: 650 cals in 1 hour! (I usually burn 350-500). Usually our sessions are small group, meaning it's me and 2-4 other people. Last night though, it was just me. I did an agility routine. 1 min working hard + 30 seconds rest between. So I did: 10 jump squats with med ball, lateral hops over a little hurdle, one-legged lateral bounds, stationary high knees, squat + side shuffle + squat, and lateral bench hopovers. I repeated this 4.5 times (the last time was 30 s on each station with no rest in between). It was a burner.

Oh hey, this is food related: I just finished reading Julie & Julia. It was an interesting read. I found Julie to be a bit of a crazy bitch but I enjoyed her writing and description of cooking. Now I have to see the movie, which just came out on DVD!

I think that's it for today. Should be a quiet weekend... supposed to be cold again. It's going to be above zero next week though! Have nice days, all.

Blech

Dec 06 2009 21:00

So, food confessions....

There was a snowstorm on Friday so we got to leave work at 2:30. When I got on the train, someone had just thrown up all over the floor! However, I got a seat just out of reach of the mess, so that was sweet. I decided to get the train part way and then the bus so I could avoid walking 20 mins to my house and luckily, it came within a few mins of me being there. It would have sucked to walk!

So, I had all night to make this Butternut Squash Skillet Gnocchi. It's a perfect "I'm stuck inside all night" meal because it took like 3 hours total! I thought it tasted pretty good. I used parmesan instead of mozzarella, which I think was a better choice.

On Sat night, we had to go to Greg's work party. It was very cold and on the opposite end of town. There were not that many people there. We didn't make it to last year's party but the year before that, there were probably 100 people. This one only had 40-50. I was feeling pretty cute in my black dress. We only got this one picture & I don't think I looked that great. Not a great arm shot. Very particular about my arms. I loved Greg's outfit though. Anyway, the food... They had a buffet with Greek, pasta & tossed salad, lots of steamed vegetables, chicken + rice & a carving station for roast beef (it was so rare). For dessert, they had 4 mousse cakes (meh) and cut up fruit to dip into a chocolate fountain (Mmmm). I was doing ok until the food portion of the evening was done. Then I decided I needed to drink all the white wine on the table. There was only one glass gone out of it so I just kept pouring. So I got drunk (but I finished the bottle) and thank god, Greg drove because we got home at a decent hour without having to wait a year for a cab.

Today, I stayed home all day. I was slightly hungover so I made Pumpkin French Toast again. Then, we decorated the Christmas tree & listened to records. Greg's mom was in town so she came over for a few hours. I feel like I've been eating all day. I had lunch before she got here (a big ol' stirfry with tempeh, whole wheat noodles & a peanuty sauce... totally huge), then we were grazing on candied nuts & crackers. Blech. Too many nuts. Then she left and I had to use up some bananas so I baked some banana walnut muffins. Then I decided to bake some healthier cookies to give to my personal trainers(these maple flax & soft ginger cookies). The flax cookies didn't turn out as nicely as they did when I made them before so I was pissed. The ginger ones were really really good. I got like 30 cookies out of each batch so I don't know what to do with all of them. i'm self conscious about giving them as gifts because they're not like stunnginly pretty. They're small & easy to eat so I had a few & froze the rest. And I ate a muffin. And the rest of the squash gnocchi with some bread. Just feeling pretty gross right now.

Greg's watching the Terminator movie. I'm bored. It's almost Monday...

Recipe updates.

Dec 03 2009 07:58

Oh it's so cold here. It was -18 degrees this morning. And it was -14 when I got home yesterday so I made the perfect warming dinner: the Ethiopian Sweet Potato Stew AND the Pumpkin Pie Rice Pudding I had previously posted.

The stew was really good. I recommend it. Nicely spiced and satisfying. I'd suggest making this one on a lazy Sunday, when you don't mind waiting to eat while food simmers. The recipe recommends letting it simmer for a minimum of 30 mins but I let this sit for 45 mins and that was better. It's a little low in protein (~12 g per serving... 350 cals) so you might want to add something on the side. You could probably throw some cooked tofu or tempeh in too.

And the pudding... wow. It took over an hour to make because there are many steps (And I actually saved some time because I had cooked brown rice in my fridge). The first one step was to make the spiced pumpkin puree. It's a combo of pumpkin, maple syrup & spices, heated on the stove until it thickens. Guess what? That's how you make pumpkin butter! I could have stopped right there and had a cup of pumpkin butter than cost less than $2. But of course, I continued on with the recipe and 60 mins later, I was eating the pudding. And it was YUM. I halved the recipe and got 4 decent sized portions. When it's topped with the toasted pine nut/walnut/raisin mix, it's perfect. Also Recommended!

As for my workout yesterday, I didn't do it solo; another girl was there too. This was a good thing because yesterday's workout was HARD. I'm feeling it today.

The Zoo lunch was fine but it just hammered home even more how I need to leave this job and go into a different field. I wrote a big, rambling blog in my other journal just to vent my frustration so I'm spare you the details. The moronic people combined with the company's "New Vision" to change our office into open concept (i.e.: we're all in cubicles) is the final straw in this meaningless job (I've also been reading "Julie & Julia" and it's inspiring me more than ever).

Anyway! No more of that. I'll write more when I figure out where I'm going. It's early and I need to pour my coffee!

Ultimate Breakfast Cookie

Dec 02 2009 08:29

The Ultimate Breakfast Cookie... full meal on one plate (390 cals, 20.5 g protein):

1/2 c rolled oats
1/2 of a large banana, mashed
3/4 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tbsp Greens+ powder
1 tbsp almond butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1-2 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Mix all ingredients (except for the almond milk) until well combined. If it looks dry, add a drop of almond milk. Spread the mixture onto a small plate, cover with wax paper & refridgerate overnight. In the morning, microwave for 20-30 seconds. Eat it!

I bought plain Greens+ instead of my usual watermelon flavoured and I'm not crazy about it. So how am I going to use 6 weeks worth of Greens+? In a Breakfast Cookie! I'm not gonna lie... it looks unappetizing. It's algae green. But it tastes really quite good... like a chewy granola bar! And it's a source of protein, carbs, fats & greens in one! I'm in love.

Oh! I got the new Clean Eating AND Vegetarian Times magazines in the mail yesterday! That's always very exciting. I bookmarked maybe 10 CE recipes. I was a little disappointed with VT and I'm not sure if I'll make anything from this issue. I bookmarked 3 or 4 pages but there was no WOW recipes.

I'm missing my Bootcamp class at my gym today because I have to go to a work lunch. It won't be too bad... it's at the Zoo, the food is good (we went there last year) and we get the afternoon off. Since I'm missing the gym, I scheduled a session at Fresh for 3:00. I'm going to be the only one in that class so I'm scared for what my trainer will plan!

Since I have the afternoon off, I'll be home early so I'm thinking of making that Ethiopian Sweet Potato Stew and/or the Pumpkin Rice Pudding I posted a few entries ago. To be continued tomorrow... I'm off!

Feels like a Monday

Dec 01 2009 09:20

Just a little update from my previous entry:

I didn't get to the gym. Weather was bad. I felt bad.
Instead, I cooked the Chicken Tajine with Apricots and Honey that I linked before. It was really good... a little spicy, very satisfying. I served it with a cranberry couscous-quinoa from the Eat Clean Cookbook (I'm getting a lot of use from this book lately!), which contained cooked couscous & quinoa + a mix of couscous, almond & brazil nuts (blended together), cranberries, soy/almond milk, lemon zest and apple pie spice. I liked this though the nut mixture made it a little gummy. I still ate it with no problem!
The Cooking Light Way to Cook book I linked previously is really good. If you ever had any question on how to bake, cut, cook, saute, select any food, this book will tell you. Recommended.

Here are some recipes I've been hoarding:

Ethiopian Lentils (may be good with that Ethiopian Sweet Potato Stew I posted last week)

Nutty Broccoli Balls (Cute... probably don't look good enough to serve to guests)

Butternut Squash Skillet Gnocchi (Want)

Vegan Cashew Thumbprint Cookies

Upside-Down Apple Pancake

Honey & Toasted Pistachio Muffins

Gingerbread Pancakes (I have to make gingerbread pancakes soon!)

Snow Day

Nov 30 2009 15:04

Ahh... I took the day off work to get some errands done. My plan was to shop, eat lunch, then hang out at home until my class at gym (at 5:15). As soon as I got home, it started to snow. Now it looks like it's building up & the roads may be slippery.

So, the question is, go to the gym or not go to the gym? I could get the bus in but it might take forever to get home if the roads are bad (same goes for if I take my car, which I'd rather not too because I'm not an experienced winter driver).

I know I'll be working out every other day this week (Tues to Fri). I didn't work out on last Friday or Sunday though. I actually skipped my session on Friday because my back hurt. It was ok when I woke up but I think I turned it weirdly when I was packing my gym bag. That was scary & I didn't want to pile a vigourous workout on top of it. I did go for an hour jog on the treadmill on Saturday though!

Decisions, decisions... what to do? I want to go but I don't want to be stranded if the bus is late or crash my car! I'm not in an "I'm missing a workout, I'm gonna be so fat!" type of panic or anything; I actually was in the mood to break a sweat!

At least I was productive today, wrapping presents and cooking and whatnot. :D

Anyway, now that that's out of the way, here's the stuff I made this weekend:

Pumpkin French Toast: SO GOOD. MAKE IT NOW. I made mine with rice milk, Greg's with cow milk (cooked better with cow milk) and it was delicious. Oh, and instead of just topping it with maple syrup, I mixed some leftover pumpkin puree with maple syrup & cinnamon and plopped it on top, with a few pumpkin seeds sprinkled on too.

Pumpkin Raisin Oatmeal Cookies: Also very good. I made half a batch, halved the amount of sugar and omitted the raisins. I got to use my new cookie dough scoop so I ended up with 12.5 cookies at 50 cals a piece. They were moist, chewy & nicely spiced.

Lemony Quinoa with Butternut Squash: Also very good! I forgot the pine nuts but the dish (which I used as a side to some steamed greens and crusted cod) was quite flavourful. Recommended.

Spiced Rice & Lentil Squares: Hmmm... I want to say I liked this but honestly, I overcooked it. I forgot to save some of the lentil water and it was a little dry. Still edible but if I was to make it again, I would bake it for 30 mins instead of 40. Also, I unveganized it by using a real egg.

Kasha Breakfast Pudding: This is from the Eat Clean Cookbook. Since it was my second time making it and I loved it, I have to share it. I took a picture of the recipe here. If you can't read something on the page, let me know.

Now, what to make for dinner...?

Also, Stuff I bought:

Cooking Light's Way to Cook: I found this at Walmart for $25... 30 mins later, I saw it at Costco for $21! I went back to Walmart and returned it. This book seems like a great guide on how to prepare foods healthfully.

The Eat Clean Diet Recharged book. This isn't in stores until January 25 but since I pre-ordered it, it arrived super early. I ordered it at the same time as the Eat Clean Cookbook and it has 50 new recipes in it too. Woo hoo. I'll update on anything worthwhile after I've browsed through.

Mini Measuring Spoons: little spoons for the anal-retentive, perfectionist chef! There's a tad, dash, pinch, smidgen and drop measurement.

Harissa: so I can make this tajine. I already have ras el hanout from Chicago that I haven't used yet... Oooo...

And check out this cute advent calendar!

There's two little chocolate inside (for me & Greg) to eat each day until Christmas. I used Dove squares, Hershey's Kisses and Terry's Orange mini segments.

After Friday's art market, I came home with more spice mixes ("Bacon Salt" and Indian mixes). I have to stop buying spices. Since I'm bored & housebound, here are some pictures of my cupboards:

Spices, lentils, grains, dried fruit, baking supplies & everything else:

Brown rice, rolled oats, cereal, granola. various boxes of milks & juices, snack bars:

Nuts, Greens +, Proteins +, granola, chocolate basket, measuring cups:

Many jars of jam and cranberry sauce & and my canned goods collection (I have a hoarding problem! I do use this stuff but I hate running out of anything so once I use it, I replace it on the next grocery store trip):

So, it's almost 4 and the snow has not let up at all. I think I should stay home :(. Back at it hard tomorrow...

Jealous of your turkeys

Nov 26 2009 08:50

I wish it was Thanksgiving this weekend! We had our Thanksgiving a month ago here in Canada. I was home in Newfoundland though so Greg & I didn't get to cook our own turkey. While we had a good dinner back then, I would gladly eat roast turkey on a regular basis if I could. Individual turkey breasts don't compare to a full roasted turkey.

My workouts this week have been a little difficult. Program-wise, they're all doable routines but I've been getting or feeling fatigued easier or earlier than usual. Like on Monday, we were doing sets of shoulder presses for 10 reps. Normally, I could do this with 15-20 lbs dumbbells because it's only 10 reps and you should go heavy. However, my arms were like *dead* and I had to use 12.5 dbs. I hope I'm not overtraining. I do take 2 rest days a week (though I do go 5 days on, 2 days off) and eat a balanced diet with enough protein & water. Maybe I need to up my protein because these are high intensity workouts.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. After my noon workout, I'm hitting the second art fair of the holiday season. This one is bigger (more vendors, more space) and I just love to look around. I usually find some interesting jams, seasoning mixes, ornaments and finishing touches for everyone's gifts.

Anyway! Here are some things I definitely want to make this weekend:

Pumpkin Pie Rice Pudding

Pumpkin Pie French Toast

Ethiopian Sweet Potato Stew

Things I'd like to make, but probably won't make this weekend:

Avocado Corn Muffins

Stuffed Zucchini Bites

Sweet Potato and Kale Quesadillas

BYE!