Savory pomegranate quinoa bowl

Savory quinoa with pomegranate, basil and celery.

The star of breakfast this morning was this beauty:

 A beautifully ripe pomegranate.

I cooked up 1 cup of quinoa with some chicken broth. When the quinoa was done, I put most of it away in the fridge for another meal and kept 1 cup of the cooked quinoa in the pot.

To the quinoa I added 1 Tbsp of nutritional yeast, 1 tsp of greek yogurt and some cracked black pepper. 

I let the quinoa warm through and then added 3 fresh basil leaves, chopped fine. As soon as the basil was fragrant, I tossed in a couple of handfuls of pomegranate seeds and one stalk of celery, chopped fine. 

Then it all went into a bowl and quickly into my tummy:-)

It was an interesting dish - I liked the hint of cheesiness of the quinoa and that paired well with the cool crunch of the celery and the citrusy bite of the pomegranate and the occasional herbal burst from the basil.

I have been in what I can only describe as a 'dull' mood since I returned from my trip. 

This morning I decided I needed an exciting goal to pick up my spirits. I have decided to select some of my favorite dishes from local restaurants and remake them at home.

The first dish on my list? Mantu. 

Dumplings filled with ground lamb and onions and topped with yogurt and vegetable sauce.

I posted here about enjoying a meal of afghan food at Kabul restaurant a while back. The other day I realized that they have a restaurant in my town. Yay!


So, tomorrow I am heading over to enjoy some mantu and then I will try remaking it on Saturday. Wish me luck!


I hope everyone is having a great Thursday!

Quick and easy

I am really liking the 5 day split routine. Instead of being stuck at the gym forever I can finish my sets of the 4-5 exercises for one body part and be done for the day.

Tuna was on the menu for lunch.

The mix'ns.

I chopped up the celery and pickle and added in 1 teaspon of the greek yogurt and the mustard, garlic powder and black pepper.

The crunch of the celery and the pickle really made this dish. I did also have the rest of the oatmeal (about 1/4 of a cup).

Today was my leg day - it will be painful to walk tomorrow I can tell...

Buffalo chili

So, I went to the store and all I could think about was turkey chili.

But then I saw what amounts to seeing a Passenger pigeon in the middle of Safeway. Something you think is extinct and you will never see again.

Antibiotic free, hormone free ground bison.

And the plan got changed.


Bison chili it would be.


And it all started with a pot of beans.

Then queue the bit players.

I would include a recipe but you can find a billion recipes for chili on any internet search and they are all essentially the same and everyone tweaks them to their tastes.

And it is Friday and I am feeling lazy.


The whole batch simmered for an hour and was incredibly delicious.

A dollop of greek yogurt and fresh chopped cilantro.

I am very full and it is getting late. I think all I will have for dinner is some flavored popcorn with a movie on TV.

Happy Friday everyone! Night all!

Citrus and tea towels

I am still working on the kitchen.

If you picture me working with sustained industry, you would be greatly mistaken. 

I find endless ways to procrastinate. I walk by the kitchen and stare at the job ahead of me (Believe me, my kitchen isn't all that awful, I just really hate organizing).

But, wait, look there - the garbage can is full. Well, I must take that out to the trash bin before I can even contemplate starting on the kitchen.

You can imagine the rest. So, although I am doing things that do need to get done, hardly any of them have had anything to do with the kitchen.


This was my lunch.

I still have most of the box of clementines left. 

Note to self: try to exhibit self control when passing bright and delightfully cute little globes of citrus - especially when it is a whole box of them and you live alone and don't plan to start a roadside fruit stand anytime soon.

Some juicy blueberries on top.

As I plod my way through this kitchen project, I realized I need new dish towels/tea towels. Anyone have a suggestion for some really cute ones I can buy to reward myself for all this hard work?


And I am going to try to find a creative way to use up a bunch of the clementines when I cook dinner.
 

Rain = fruit

Rain, rain and more rain :-(

The white blobs in the photo are sheets of rain coming down.

With the dreary weather outside, I wanted something bright and cheery for breakfast.

What does that mean? Fruit, fruit and more fruit!

Oranges, apples, bananas all piled on top of a bed of vanilla flavored Oikos yogurt.

And I am happy to report another successful day on my yoga challenge. Today I did 30 minutes of sun salutations and standing poses. 

Muscle memory is a great thing. After just a couple of days of heading back into my yoga practice, I am starting to feel stronger and much less trembly when I do planks.

Caffeine did make an appearance this morning.

Tea of course!

I am going to work on my html skills today. Project of the day? Try to change the borders on my blog.


Wish me luck!


Happy Friday everyone!
 

A day of firsts and resolutions

I used to have a very dedicated yoga practice but I had to put it on hold when the trouble with my feet started.

I woke up today in a funky mood. Rather than depending on caffeine to boost my attitude I decided to just get up and do some sun salutations. 

Within 20 minutes I was sweating profusely, most of my muscles were trembling with fatigue and I felt much happier. 

So, today was a first. I chose a much healthier alternative to mood management and I made a resolution. For the next 30 days I am going to start the day with yoga.

Oh, yeah, and after yoga I did have coffee - I don't plan on cutting out caffeine - just not rushing to it as a first choice.

Greek yogurt, muesli, slivered almonds, apple and a dollop of raspberry jam.

Coffee.

I am going to see Black Swan this afternoon. I will let you know if it is any good :-)

Breakfast Act 1

Even though I slept 8+ hours last night - I still woke up exhausted((

I had a little bit of yogurt left so I mixed up this:

Greek yogurt with muesli, blueberries and a drizzle of honey.

And of course tea!

I have a little something cooking on the stove.

Breakfast Act 2 coming soon...

Smoothies and toothaches

A certain fuzzy girl was up all night with a toothache (((

Poor Abby. 

Recently, at her yearly checkup, the vet noticed that one of her canines was chipped and part of the root may be exposed. It hadn't been bothering her - until last night.

And this is Abby after finding out I will have to make a dental appointment for her.

So, suffering from exhaustion, I assembled the ingredients for a smoothie.

I blended up a handful of blueberries, some red leaf lettuce, 1/2 a banana, a scoop of Amazing Grass - Green Super Food, 1 Tablespoon of Udo's oil and 2 Tablespoons of apple sauce.

Nope, it is not pretty - but it tasted great.

The dogs treat:

This is one of my favorite mixes to give the dogs: Kyo-green + yogurt + Udo's oil. The yogurt aids in digestion (if given in small quantities), the healthy greens in the Kyo-Green makes the pigments in the dogs coats really pop and the EFA's in the Udo's oil helps give them a glossy coat. 

That is nutritional info - but as anyone can tell you - presentation is everything...

I am not looking forward to a day filled with errands - or making the call for Abby's dental appointment...

Slow and easy

There was a short break in the rain so I decided to take the dogs out for a 2 mile walk.

Don't believe me? Well, here is the proof!

After my porcine rich breakfast - I needed a palate cleansing lunch.

A refreshing mix of applesauce on one side - greek yogurt on the other and a generous portion of luscious blueberries for a burst of sweetness and apple pieces for crunch. 


The dogs had a few blueberries too :-)


I found a use for the leeks I bought at the farm stand on Friday - check back later to see what it is!