Strawberry dream

I was craving fruit this morning so I decided to make a smoothie.

The ingredients:

Strawberries, oranges, a pear, coconut water and Amazing Grass.

When I bought that container of Amazing Grass I figured I would have a green drink once or twice and the mostly full container would be sitting in the back of the cupboard forever.

But take a gander at this:

An empty container!!

I really surprised myself - and I feel pretty proud at sticking to a very healthy habit of having a green drink everyday.

*Commence patting myself on the back*

The combination of strawberries and pear was really delicious!

And no coffee this morning because I am beginning to suspect that my 'anxious' feeling lately might just be the result of too much caffeine intake.

Happy Sunday!

Cheesy scrambled eggs

I was very proud of my eggs this morning. They came out fluffy and flavorful.

Today I added 1/2 teaspoon of Bulgarian yogurt with 1 whole egg and 3 egg whites, a pinch of salt, 1 Tbsp. of nutritional yeast and cracked black pepper.

The Bulgarian yogurt added a hint of lemony tartness and with the cheesy nutritional yeast? It reminded me a bit of hollandaise sauce, MMMMM.

Eggs are topped with a pinch of paprika and some dried parsley. 

My coffee was bizarre this morning.

It turns out that adding almond milk to coffee is not such a great idea. 

It tasted OK - but I think I will stick with soy milk in the future. Sure, soy milk separates a bit too - but not this much.

I at my breakfast in stages today. Mostly because the eggs cooked much faster than the oatmeal and I wanted to eat them before they got cold and rubbery.

Breakfast course 2 - 

McCann's Irish oatmeal with 1/2 teaspoon of peanut butter with a little drizzle of wild raspberry honey.

I cooked 1/4 cup of oatmeal with 1 cup of water. This takes a while - about 30 minutes - until it is creamy and tender.

 Oh, and a pear.

I was re-reading the articles on nutrition and muscle building at Bodybuilding.com - they definitely seem to stress the 6 small meals a day for optimal muscle growth. 

What is your opinion about the frequency of meals and it's supposed effect on metabolism and muscle growth? 

A wonderful morning

It has been a wonderful morning. Very first thing, I took the dogs on a long walk. It has been in the '90s here lately and it is cooler today so a breezy morning walk was very welcome.

Then I came home and made this:

Smoked salmon omelet.

I don't know about you but if I open a package of smoked salmon I need to use it up within 2 - 3 days or the fish starts to be slimy and I just can't eat it then.

So, I whisked 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites together with a dash of salt, some cracked black pepper, dried basil and fresh chopped parsley.

It went into a saute pan on low with a little olive oil.

When the egg is almost set - add it pieces of smoked salmon. Carefully fold over the omelet and let cook a few seconds more and then plate.

I sprinkled some fresh chopped parsley on top and added a spoonful of Tofutti sour cream.

I also had a pear and a mug of coffee. I will need the caffeine boost when I am at the gym!

 

A weight is lifted

After a couple of hours of tossing things, I feel like a weight has been lifted.

I started with anything I hadn't used in a year that when I looked at the item I had a negative reaction. 

Example: I received a set of picture frames as a gift - but I have always hated them. Every time I would see them on the shelf I would feel guilty because I really just wanted to throw them out but I felt I couldn't because they were a gift. 

Today the frames got pitched and I can't tell you how relieved I felt.

I pulled out the crispy pizza dough round for lunch:

The crispy pizza round with a smear of pesto and low sodium turkey breast.

Baby greens.

A generous sprinkle of Parmesan.

The pizza sandwich went into the microwave for 30 seconds until the Parmesan cheese was just beginning to melt.

A side salad of baby greens, fat free balsamic dressing and slivered almonds.

 

 

A plump, juicy pear.

Have you ever kept something just because you felt guilty?

Inspired salad

For lunch I made a non-vegan version of this salad recipe I found at the Vegan Coach website.

I used the rest of the salad mix from the farm stand and then I added:

a handful of green olives (chopped)

1 shredded carrot

1 pinch of basil

1 pinch of parsley

1 1/2 Tbsp. of nutritional yeast

2 tsp. of lemon juice

2 tsp. of olive oil

shredded Parmesan cheese

And a side of fruit.

The dogs are unsure about the new semi-running routine. 

I think they preferred the slow walks we used to take so they could stop and smell things to their hearts content.

I think next time I will follow the recipe to the T - my version turned out a bit too tart.

At the moment, I am contemplating ordering my new running shoes online - has anyone else tried ordering running shoes online? I am a bit paranoid about not going to a store and trying them on first.

Blueberries, pears and kale, Oh, my!

I broke out the juicer this morning. 

I am using a Breville - on loan from my sister. 

The most important rule about using this juicer? Make sure to rinse all the part thoroughly IMMEDIATELY after juicing - No exceptions! Otherwise the pulp will dry and harden up like cement and be very hard to remove. You have been warned.


The ingredients - 

I threw in a carrot, a couple of stalks of celery, two handfuls of blueberries, a red pear, some kale and a nice juicy cucumber. 

My sister gave me a great tip about juicing - when adding slightly bitter greens in with your juice (like kale) make sure to include a pear - which, for some reason, seems to work better at mellowing out the taste than apples. 

The results.

A mug full of antioxidant goodness.

The dogs got a handful of blueberries sprinkled over their kibble. It is always fun to watch them hunting down each little juicy globe before they move on to the rest of their meal. 

On the agenda today - hitting the farm stand for a fresh supply of eggs and veggies. And if it doesn't rain - possibly some pictures of chickens. :-)

Parsley to the rescue

I should mention that cause of Abby's stomach ache is no mystery. Abby has a very unladylike obsession with eating cat poop. Yup, that is the horrible truth.

While on our evening walk yesterday - she took advantage of my momentary lapse in attention (while I was talking to a neighbor) and she dove on her prize and gulped it down with speed of a raptor.

And even though she is feeling better - I took the opportunity to make some tummy soothing snacks.

In a addition to being a great source of vitamin C - parsley has a wonderful stomach soothing effect.

I added two large handfuls of chopped flat leaf parsley to the rest of the turkey meatball mix.

 

Keep in mind that I have no intention of eating these - this is just a way of getting a good dose of parsley in a palatable form for dogs.

I sauteed them until golden brown.

The dogs gobbled them down with enthusiasm!

I was in the mood for a big salad.

Red leaf lettuce

Some chopped mushrooms along with whatever parsley was left on the cutting board.

Sliced cucumber.

Some shredded carrot.

And the idea for this dressing comes compliments of my friend Leslie. Mix 1/2 Tablespoon of blue cheese dressing with 1 Tablespoon of fat free raspberry vinaigrette. I know it sounds a bit odd - but it is delicious.

Some crumbled blue cheese and chopped pear (forgot to take a picture of that).

Tomorrow is Friday! I only have one more day of constant construction noise and then two days of blissful quiet....