Weekly Wrap-Up: 1/23-1/29

January 30, 2012 by 5 Comments

Hey y’all!  I really meant to post this this weekend but I was super busy so it just didn’t end up happening. 

I decided I would try out a weekly wrap-up post instead of making separate posts for my weigh in, work outs, new stuff I’ve tried, and just general goings-on.  I thought it might be nice if I kind of condense it all.  It’s just an idea, so we’ll see where it goes!

First my weekly weigh- in!

Last week’s weight: 175
This week’s weight: 174.6

Change this week: – .4
Total weight lost:  35.4 lbs!!

I gained about 5 lbs during finals and Christmas break (stresssss) so I decided that I wanted to lose that 5 lbs by the end of January.  And if I made it I would reward myself with something.  I left the reward open ended so that I could choose whatever I wanted when I reached my goal. I doesn’t usually work for me to choose the prize ahead of time because I’ll just end up saying “screw it” and buy the item for myself regardless of the outcome. Anyway the first weigh in of January I lost 4.8 lbs!  And then the second weigh in I lost .2 and then this week, of course, I lost .4! 

About halfway through the month I started seeing people tweet about the Nike Fuel Band.  I was curious about it so I started looking at it.  The more I read about it the more I knew I had to have one!  So since I was so close to that 5 lbs and I was confident I would make it I went ahead and got one when they went on pre-order (they’re not actually available until the end of February).  I’ve now earned my reward and I can’t wait to get it- I think it will be delivered on Feb. 22nd!  I can’t wait to test it out and let everyone know all about it!

Since I did so well this month I’m going to keep my weight loss goal on the smaller side for next month and say that I would like to lose 2 lbs.  That’s 1/2 a lb per week. I think that is attainable but a little daunting since I normally lose .2-.4 lbs at a time.

 

Weekly recipe round up!

This is totally new!  I thought I would talk about recipes/meals I make each week for anyone that was looking for ideas for tasty healthy meatless meals!

So we’ll divide this up into my personal recipes I posted this week…

Barley, Tomato and Arugula salad!

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AND

Chocolate Cupcakes!

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And recipes I made and loved this week! (cell phone pics+ bad lighting. Sorry!)

Veggie Pot Pie stew and sweet potato biscuits from Appetite for Reduction.  The stew was fabulous, but the sweet potato biscuits were not unfortunately

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Tamale Casserole from The Happy Herbivore.  This was delish- the husband was a huge fan!  We served it with some steamed collard greens.

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And I played with a new product called soy curls.  More on this later- I’m planning a whole post about their fabulousness!  I followed these directions and we had BBQ sandwiches out of them served with oven fries!   Will definitely be using soy curls again- so delicious!!!

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And finally let’s wrap up this little wrap up since it’s starting to get kind of long.

 

This week’s work outs!

My runs have been epic failures most of this week but I have been doing some strength training so I’m pretty proud of that!

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This one was HORRIBLE!  I’ve been having such a hard time breathing lately.  I go through this every winter with breathing problems and bronchitis.  Blah. (p.s. thanks for the encouragement Diana and Laura!)

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I was feeling a little better on this one…

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And I finally got a long run under my belt on Saturday!

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This post has gotten longer than planned, so I’ll go ahead and say adios!  Have a great day!

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Filed Under: Menu posts, recipe round up, Recipes, weekly wrap up, Weight Loss Tagged With: , , ,

What’s for dinner tonight?

October 11, 2011 by 6 Comments

OMG you guys I just realized I haven’t posted in over a week!!  There’s been SO much going on with school that that’s pretty much all I have time for these days with all the tests, quizzes, research papers, and group projects I’ve got going on right now.  It’s been crazy busy over here!

I actually had a Meatless Monday recipe that I wanted to share, but I lost the piece of paper that I wrote the recipe on!  It was a pretty amazing chana masala recipe too!  I hope I find it because I really want to share it!

So instead how about a what’s for dinner post?

Tonight I made the Migas Especiales from the Engine 2 book.  And ZOMG it was a-mazing!

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It was a tofu scramble and it also had onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, tortillas and I topped it with a little Daiya pepperjack!  NOM!

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Served with a side of mixed fruit and a couple of corn tortillas for scooping!  So. Good.

 

Oh and P.S. the Rangers won tonight! BEST. GAME. EVER!!!!

Take a lookie- Cruz is my homeboy!! (just click on the video and it’ll take you to mlb.com to watch the clip!)

 

And P.P.S. we have World Series tickets!  WOOT WOOT!!

 

Goodnight!!

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Filed Under: Menu posts, Things I'm Obsessed With Tagged With: , , ,

WIAW + WHAW(What Harley Ate Wednesday)

August 31, 2011 by 10 Comments

Hey friends!!!  School is officially back in session and I have a few random thoughts on my classes/teachers…

1. One of my teachers might be insane.  Literally.

2. I HATE classes that are all interactive/group workey.  I like to go in, sit down, listen to an amazing lecture and take notes.  That’s the kind of class that I enjoy and I learn better that way because I’m not thinking about how much I hate doing stupid activities and group work the whole time.

3. One of my teachers is making us sit in assigned seats.  In alphabetical order.  I’m not even kidding.  I’m 31 years old people and I’m in COLLEGE- not elementary!

4. My GTA for food science lab is maybe the funniest and craziest people I’ve ever met and I want to be her BFF!

5. I’m already in love with my Sports Nutrition class.  I’m totally obsessed with it and I’ve already read several of the chapters in the textbook even though I don’t need to read them yet.  This is a career path that I am definitely interested in learning more about.  The subject is fascinating.  I just wish the class was a lecture class instead of online.

 

I took my WIAW pics yesterday so I could show some examples of some typical school-day meals.

 

For breakfast I usually stick to toast/cereal/fruit type things because it’s easy and quick.  But since it was the first day of school I decided to actually make something.  I made the pumpkin cream pie oats from the Peas and Thank You cookbook. (p.s. this cookbook is amazing- you should get it ASAP!)

I topped it with some Barney Butter from my HLS swag bag and a drizzle of agave nectar- it was SO good, but I think I’ll appreciate it more when the weather cools off a bit(it was 106 yesterday!!!)

(oh and p.s. I took all these pics from my new cell phone (the Samsung Infuse).  It has an amazing camera for a phone!!)

 

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I packed up a nice assortment of goodies for lunch/snacks for school.

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Lunch was a PB&J on whole wheat, carrots + cukes + pretzels with hummus for dipping.  The apple slices and blueberries and dark chocolate almond milk were for between class and driving home snacks.

 

Dinner was easy thanks to all the preparation I did for this week by pre-chopping all my veggies!

Portobello Peppersteak stew served over Caulipots(mashed cauliflower+potato) from the Appetite for Reduction cookbook.  I used all portabellas instead of the using seitan and portabellas because I’m not a huge fan of seitan.  Oh. My. Goodness. This was sooooo good!  Definitely will be making this again!

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I also thought I would include a What Harley Ate Wednesday in this post.  She decided one of my textbooks looked tasty. 

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The cute face is deceiving people.

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Filed Under: Dogs, Menu posts, WIAW Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Ah, Tofu…

April 25, 2010 by 1 Comment

I’ve tried tofu in the past and I’ve never liked it.  Turns out I wasn’t using the right kind, nor was I prepping it the best way!  I think I was using tofu that was too soft and I was just taking it right out of the package and cutting it up.   Oh the horror!  hehe!

Anyway, I’ll be super sweet and try to demystify tofu a bit for you…

So what the heck is tofu?

Tofu is made by coagulating soy milk and pressing the resulting curds into blocks.  That’s pretty much it.  Simple, no?

Tofu has been around since the Han dynasty in ancient China, so it’s nothing new.   I think we just don’t know how to work with it, so that’s why we tend to shy away from it.

There are lots of different kinds of tofu, here are some of the basic types…

You’ve got your soft/silken tofu.  It’s soft, just like the name implies.  Its texture is similar to custard or pudding and It has the highest moisture content of all of the types of tofu.  It’s best used in smoothies, puddings, ice creams, as an egg replacer, etc…

Then there’s firm tofu.  And you guessed it…it’s firm!  It’s drained and pressed, but still has quite a bit of moisture.  It springs back at you when touched.  The texture is similar to a very firm custard.  This was the kind I was trying to use when I tried to make it before, but it fell apart very easily and made the dish a mess.  I think this kind of tofu would be best if you were wanting to make vegan scrambled “eggs” or a non-egg egg salad.

Then we have the extra firm tofu.  This is what I should have used the past few times I tried to work with tofu.  This type of tofu is perfect if you want the tofu to retain its shape like a stir fry or a baked dish.

Working with tofu…

Most recipes will tell you to just drain the tofu, press the liquid out with the tofu wrapped in a towel with a heavy skillet on top, slice it then throw it into the dish.  This is not the best technique, though it will work if you are in a hurry and don’t have time for the technique that I’m about to share.

What you should do is this-

As soon as you get home from the grocery store put it in the freezer as is- packed in water (I don’t think this technique will work with the aseptic packages that are shelf stable).  Let it hang out over night.  Then in the morning, take it out and let it hang out on the counter until it’s defrosted completely.  Then you open it, drain the water out, take the tofu out and squeeze it out over the sink.  Squeeze it out like a sponge.  Lots of water should come out.  This gives it a more “meaty” texture I think.  Then slice it and sear it until golden brown on both sides in a hot pan.  Then you can do whatever you want with it.  Marinate it, eat it as is, throw it in a salad or a stir fry- whatever you like!

I marinated mine today in a little Soy Vay Island Teriyaki Sauce, then baked it in the oven.  Then I threw it in with a little whole wheat couscous and some steamed broccoli and it was AMAZING!!!!  I’ve definitely changed my mind about tofu now! YUM!

Just look how pretty and yummy it looks!

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Now go try something new!!  There’s no reason to be afraid of tofu anymore!

Filed Under: Menu posts Tagged With: ,

Mushroom Risotto

April 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Taking a little study break so I decided I should post the recipe from dinner last night.  It. was. so. good.  Wow!  I halved the recipe since there were just two of us and I didn’t really have room in the fridge for leftovers.  It was the perfect amount for us with a little garlic bread on the side.  YUM!  Give it a shot!  Oh and I forgot to take a picture, but it was really pretty too!

Mushroom Risotto  (yields about 6 servings)

Ingredients:

5 cup(s) vegetable broth
2 tsp butter or margarine, divided
1 small onion, minced
1 lb crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/3 cups white wine (I didn’t have any on hand so I used veggie broth)
1 1/2 cup(s) uncooked arborio rice   
1/2 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

 

Instructions:

  • Place broth in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover to keep warm.
  • Meanwhile, coat a large saucepan with cooking spray; place over medium heat. Add1 teaspoon butter and cook until melted.
  • Add onion; cook, stirring, until onion begins to caramelize, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms release moisture, about 5 minutes. Add wine; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; reduce liquid by half, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove vegetables from pan; set aside.
  • Add remaining teaspoon of butter to same pan; cook until melted. Add rice; stir to coat with butter. Pour about 1/2 cup warm broth into rice; stir to keep grains from sticking to sides of pan. Keep stirring until all of broth is absorbed. Add another 1/2 cup warm broth and repeat process. Keep adding broth and stirring in this manner until all of broth is used and rice is just cooked but not mushy (should still be slightly chewy), about 18 to 20 minutes.

Stir in vegetables and cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Yields about 1 1/3 cups per serving

Filed Under: Menu posts
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