My early morning was filled with the rigamarole of new hire paper work and office introductions. I was in my cube by 10:00 and to work by 10:05. My late morning and afternoon were filled with excel spreadsheets and January promotion configurations. By mid-afternoon I was seeing double as I was looking from one excel cell to the next. But, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Being out of the house for 9 hours straight and being a productive member of this household (contributing financially for the first time in a long time) was AMAZING! It felt nice to be doing more with my day than watching Netflix, talking to Jake, and hanging out at home (in my jammies no less).
But, as this is a food blog you are probably wondering what affect this had on eating and food and my thoughts of food. For once, I was so consumed with what I was doing that I didn’t actually have time to even think about it-until the thoughts of the dinner I was going to prepare started making their appearance around 2. As I reported in last night’s post, Michael and I had steel cut oats for breakfast. We soaked them overnight (a method I’ve learned about from a blog I’m following) and then heated them this morning but it didn’t exactly work out in our favor. In the end we ended up having to microwave them. (Where would we be without technology? Most likely in the streets and starving! ) Breakfast did a fantastic job of holding me over for the entire morning and into the lunch hour. Honestly, I didn’t give food a second thought all morning. While I didn’t do so great at lunch (I didn’t eat nearly enough) I am happy to say that I did have the willpower to turn down sandwiches, chips and cookies in the conference room. I believe my body has adapted to this new way of thinking (and feeding) because I didn’t give it a second thought once the offer had passed.
As I left work this afternoon the rain had moved in and brought with it a bit of sleet b
ut the dreariness wasn’t going to ruin my day. I called my grandmother on my way home (she jokes about how she’s glad my sister and I drive a lot because that’s the only time we call her) and talking to her lifted my spirits even higher! (Man I love that lady!) I finally made it home and was greeted at the door by an ever-so-handsome gentleman who was super excited I was home. Can a day get any better? I mean look at that face-isn't that the sweetest thing in the world? Just melts my heart!
Once the hubby made it home and after some cuddling and a healthy dose of Donkey Kong Country Returns (I’m no gamer but this one is GREAT) I made my way to the kitchen. I don’t know what it is (maybe all the blogs I’ve been reading, or the articles, something) but I suddenly have this new found passion for cooking and being in the kitchen. Not just cooking but experimenting and creating delicious, healthy meals. So, I turned the music up-the vocal stylings of the GLEE cast was tonight’s entertainment-and went to work. I used one oldie-but-goodie recipe and then took a leap with 2 new dishes. (keep reading for recipes and photo)
It’s strange but in the last week or so I’ve felt like I have more pep in my step. More energy. More drive. I don’t’ know what it is but I’m going to ride this motivation train all the way to the station! I can’t wait to see what’s waiting on the platform when I get there! Now it's time for some P90X Yoga! Until tomorrow, good eats!
Thursday Food Break Down:
Breakfast was a concoction of steel cut oats (3/4 c=4 points) and 1 T of almond butter (3 points) topped with ½ chopped red apple(0 points) and 1 T walnuts (1 point). Breakfast total was 8 points.
Lunch included a multigrain tabouli (less than 1/3 c for 1 point) I picked up at Whole Foods, carrots, and some blueberries. Sadly, I got so wrapped up in work that I didn’t eat nearly enough. Yup, just the one point. It didn’t affect me until I was driving home and then I suddenly had a headache. Does that ever happen to you? It’s definitely my body telling me, “hey lady-EAT SOMETHING!”.
So I listened. When I got home I snacked on 1 english muffin (3 points) spread with 1 T almond butter (3 points) and ½ a banana (0 points). I added a bowl of blueberries and blackberries with 1/16 c of Greek Yogurt for 0 points. It was quite delish and definitely satisfying.
Dinner was AMAZING. One of the blogs I’ve been reading recently had a menu idea so I took it and adapted it a little. I made maple marinated salmon (3.5 oz for 4.5 points), garlic and Parmesan roasted cauliflower (2 points), and quinoa with roasted pine nuts and scallions (I had 4 T which was what I thought the serving was but turns out I only had about 1/3 of a serving and counted it + pine nuts as 4 points). It was beyond words. Yes people, that's what 4 T of quinoa looks like and 3.5 oz of fish.
Maple Salmon Marinade (a recipe we use a lot and LOVE)
¼ c pure maple syrup
2 T soy
1 clove of garlic, minced
**mix the 3 ingredients and then pour into a glass baking dish; place fish (skin up) into the bowl and let sit over night**
Garlic/Parm Roasted Cauli
1 head of cauliflower
3 T olive oil
4 T minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Parm Cheese
**cut up cauliflower and then put in sealable bag with olive oil and garlic; shake to mix. Pour mixture into a greased glass baking dish and bake on 450 for 25 minutes. Take out and sprinkle with parm and salt and pepper and let roast for 5 additional minutes or until golden brown!**
Quinoa
1 c quinoa
Pine nuts
Scallions
Fresh lemon juice
**I prepared the quinoa just like I would rice in our rice cooker with 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water; add EVOO to a skillet and roast pine nuts; chop scallions and then mix together and squirt with lemon juice**
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