What I ate Wednesday September 26, 2012

Since it’s Wednesday, I’m linking up with Jenn again, for What I ate Wednesday: Fall into Good Habits.

Before I talk about today’s eats, here is a little recap of dinner last night: We ate some more of my leftover cheesy pasta bake with a peach and walnut salad mixed with a little feta cheese, dried cherries, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I finally remembered to take a picture!

Our delicious and quick dinner last night!

Since Keenan had swim class this morning, we ate a quick breakfast, but I managed to do something different today! We had my own creation of egg florentine (in a mug) with egg whites and some slices of strawberries on the side (of course, I also had a latte that my husband so kindly made for me!). Breakfast was good and most importantly, Keenan enjoyed it, too! It was a nice change from yogurt and a great way to get some extra veggies. We will definitely be doing this again! Below is my recipe.

My delicious egg white florentine creation, though it doesn’t look that appetizing!

Egg White Florentine in a Mug (serves 1):

– 3/4 cup egg whites

– 1/2 cup – 3/4 cup chopped fresh spinach

– 2 Tbsp feta cheese (crumbled)

– 1 tsp Italian seasoning

– 1 Tsp no-salt garlic mixed seasoning from Costco

– pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Spray a small ramekin or microwave-safe glass bowl with olive oil or cooking spray.

2. Pour egg whites into bowl and mix in spinach, spices and cheese.

3. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir and cook in the microwave for an additional minute, or until egg whites puff up and are fully cooked (no liquid is present). Top with salsa or pasta sauce (if desired) and enjoy!

Notes: Depending on the size of your bowl, add more or less spinach. I added as much spinach as I could possibly fit! You can also make this without cheese and it still tastes good!

The line-up that went into the egg whites.

My breakfast with a little pasta sauce on top of my egg whites.

Keenan’s breakfast.

After breakfast, we headed to swim class at the Y and then home. My mom came over for a short visit after we got back from the Y. Keenan was SUPER excited to see her! They played while I did some laundry and prepared a yellow bean salad for part of our dinner tonight. We are having the last of the cheesy pasta bake with a yellow bean salad mixed with tomatoes, feta cheese and roasted walnuts. I actually haven’t eaten yellow beans, but when we saw them at our farmer’s market last Saturday, I thought they would be fun to try! I’ve only had green beans, so I’m curious if the yellow ones taste different. Here is the recipe for my salad:

The final product before going into the fridge.

Yellow or Green Bean Salad: (serves 3-4)

Ingredients:

– 1 1/2 pounds green or yellow beans (cut in half)

– 4 fresh tomatoes (chopped)

– 1/2 chopped walnuts

– 1/4 cup feta cheese (crumbled)

– 2 Tbsp olive oil

– 3-4 Tbsp red wine vingar

– pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Steam beans either stove top or in the microwave. Once steamed, let cool and set aside.

2. Chop tomatoes and place in a large bowl. Add cooled beans and rest of the ingredients.

3. Mix well, cover and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving (so flavors meld together).

Notes: To steam the beans in the microwave: place them in a microwave-safe dish with a 1/4 cup of  water and cover. Microwave on high for 6-8 minutes, or until they are tender. To make this a one-pot meal, add some chopped chicken.

Once Keenan wakes up from his nap, we are heading to CrossFit, as usual. Yesterday’s WOD was short and sweet. It was 3 rounds of 7 deadlifts (women weight: 145 lbs) and 21 over-the-bar lateral burpees for time. I finished in 5 minutes and 16 seconds, the third best girl time, not too bad. I was hoping to finish in under 5 minutes. I love when the workouts are short because you just go as fast as you can and power through them. You can do anything for 5 to 10 minutes, right? It is the long WODs of 20 minutes or more that are difficult. You have to stay focused and find a good pace (not too fast, but not slow) to get through it (at least for me!).

Anyhow, I have a board meeting tonight for my MOMs Club, so I’m glad dinner is already done. My husband will be on Keenan duty tonight! Have a great afternoon!

Question: What have you eaten today? Have you tried cooking any new vegetables lately? If so, what have you tried?

Healthy Living Tuesday September 25, 2012

It was nice to get up early again this morning and have a little bit of quiet time checking emails before Keenan woke-up. I’m really liking this, but we’ll see how long it lasts!

Before I forget, since it is the last Tuesday of the month, I am linking up with Healthy Living Blogs today for Healthy Living Tuesdays with my article that I posted a couple of weeks ago: Health Lessons Learned Lately: “We eat our way, the way that works for us.” If you haven’t checked it out, I encourage you to do so!

Keenan woke up a little after 7:00 a.m. this morning and was in a silly mood! He asked me to get in his crib with him and go “sleepy sleep!” We also read a couple of stories. My husband climbed into his crib a couple of weeks ago, after he woke up from his nap, and Keenan loved it! Since then, he loves having us climb in with him and pretend to sleep or just read stories; it is too cute! Next time, I will have to take a picture!

After we both got out of the crib and I changed Keenan, we headed down stairs to have a quick breakfast of our “usual,” Fage Greek yogurt with strawberries, chia seeds, flaxseed and Kashi cereal. I don’t know why, but I have craved yogurt the past few days! But, I have something different in mind for tomorrow’s breakfast, so I think we will change it up a bit!

After breakfast, I took my latte to go and we headed to our local firehouse for a tour, an outing that was planned through my MOMs Club. I told Keenan about this yesterday and he was SUPER excited, especially since he is all about being our little “Firefigther” these days! During breakfast, I asked him if he remembered where we were going today and he quickly replied in a loud voice, “The Firehouse!” He was SO excited that he ate his breakfast in record speed and was ready to get dressed and head out the door (with his fire hat and boots on!) quicker than I’ve ever seen him!

My little Firefighter!

Buddies!

As soon as we got to the firehouse, he was excited, but apprehensive. At first, he didn’t want to walk, he wanted me to carry him and he wasn’t sure of getting into the fire trucks. I’m not sure why he acted that way, especially since he loves everything that has to do with Firefighters! Since there were a lot of kids there, I think he might have felt a little overwhelmed. As soon as he climbed into the Fire Truck with his friend, he was all smiles! He listened intently to what the Fire Captain said and took everything in. But, as soon as the Fire Captain slid down the fire pole, Keenan started crying. I’m not sure what made him scared! After that, he didn’t want to take a picture with the Fire Captain, he only wanted to give him a high five (with me carrying him). All, in all, it was a great experience (I even learned something!) and Keenan definitely enjoyed himself, because on the way home and during lunch, he only wanted to talk about the firehouse!

For lunch, I made Keenan his favorite: peanut butter, honey and banana sandwich with some applesauce and a glass of milk. He devoured everything in minutes; he was hungry! I made myself a turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato and some yogurt jalapeno dip from Costco (they finally have it again!). In addition, I had some baby snap peas, carrots and a small peach. It was very satisfying!

Once Keenan wakes up from his nap, we are heading to CrossFit (they moved into their new space today, so it will be great to have more room!). Yesterday, we had a challenging, but good WOD. I surprised myself on how well I did! The WOD consisted of: run 400 m, 21 chest-to-bar pullups (I was finally able to string 5 in a row!), 15 thrusters, run 400 m, 15 chest-to-bar pullups, 12 thrusters, run 400 m, 9 chest-to-bar pullups and 9 thrusters. The prescribed weight for women was 65 lbs and the time cap was 16 minutes. I completed it as prescribed in 14 minutes and 8 seconds! I was so thrilled! It was probably one of my best WODs! So, we’ll see how today goes!

After CrossFit, we are heading home for dinner of leftover cheesy pasta bake with a salad. After Keenan goes to bed, my husband and I have a date on the couch to catch-up on a few of our favorite TV shows!  As promised, the recipe for my cheesy pasta bake is below. I think this was the best batch that I have made because it was so gooey and flavorful (even my husband agreed!). Keenan even loved it because he ate all of his portion in minutes! Sorry, we were so hungry that I forgot to take a picture of it, after it came out of the oven!

This is the cheesy pasta bake (prior to being baked) that I made for a mom in my MOMs Club who recently had a baby.

Cheesy Pasta Bake (serves 6):

Ingredients:

– 1 box of whole wheat or brown rice rotini or elbow noodles

– 6 Italian pre-cooked sausages (diced)

– 5 roma tomatoes (diced)

– 3 cups spinach

– 2 cups mozzarella cheese

– 1/2 cup feta cheese

– 1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)

– 4 Tbsp garlic no-salt seasoning from Costco

– 2 Tbsp Italian seasoning

– 1 tsp pepper

– pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9X13 glass dish with olive oil or cooking spray.

2. Cook pasta according to package, making sure to add a pinch of salt to the boiling water. Once cooked, drain and place into a large bowl.

3. Add all ingredients, except for bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, to the pasta and mix well.

4. Place pasta mixture into prepared dish.

5. Mix bread crumbs with Parmesan cheese and sprinkle on top of the pasta mixture.

6. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until brown on top and bubbly.

Notes: If you don’t have fresh tomatoes, you can use two small cans of diced tomatoes. You can also use different seasonings, especially if you don’t have Costco’s garlic no-salt seasoning. If you want to store this meal for later, you can prepare it as directed above, cover it with plastic wrap, then foil and freeze until ready to bake. When you are ready to bake it, take the plastic wrap off, but leave it covered with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Lower the temperature to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes, uncovering it the last 15 minutes so it can brown.

Question: What health lessons have you learned lately?

Monday, Monday September 24, 2012

“Monday, monday (ba-da ba-da-da-da)
So good to me (ba-daba-da-da-da)
Monday mornin, it was all I hoped it would be…”

Since I’m up early this morning, the song, “Monday, Monday” by The Mamas and The Papas, popped into my head. I’m not sure why I thought of this, but I think it’s appropriate for today. My husband had to get up early and be out of the house by 6:00 a.m. today to head to San Francisco. He is taking an exam to be able to move up in rank and pay in his job. Since he was anxious and a little nervous about today, we both didn’t sleep well last night (even though we went to bed early). So, instead of lying in bed and trying to fall back to sleep, I decided to get up with him and write my post (at least try to write it before Keenan wakes up). It is actually kind of nice writing this while drinking my latte when everything is quiet. I might have to do this more often…

My morning latte in my favorite mug!

Anyhow, before I forget, I have to tell you about the peach cobbler that I made Saturday night. It was really good! My husband really liked it, so that is a HUGE plus! The texture was slightly grainy, due to the almond flour, but the flavor was great! The Xylitol worked very well, in fact, it was the perfect sweetness (not overly sweet). I will definitely make this again and use other fruit when peaches are not in season. But, I would like to try making it with whole wheat flour next time, to see the difference in texture. Also, it was SUPER easy to make, since you pretty much mix everything together, put your fruit on top and bake!

Yummy peach cobbler! Sorry for the poor quality picture; I took it with my phone.

Almost Paleo Peach (or any fruit) Cobbler:
Adapted from my grandma

Ingredients:

– 1/2 cup butter (melted)

– 1/2 cup Xylitol *You can use plain sugar or another sugar alternative

– 1 cup almond flour

– 2 tsp baking powder

– 1/2 tsp salt

– 1/2 cup milk *You can use any kind of milk, i.e. almond, coconut, etc.

– 7 medium peaches (sliced)

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Mix all ingredients, except for fruit, to form the batter.

3. Spread the batter in the bottom of an 8X8″ pan or glass dish.

4. Microwave sliced peaches in a microwavable-safe dish for 5-6 minutes, until bubbly and there is a lot of juice.

5. Place fruit (with all of the juice) over batter.

6. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with a dollop of ice cream or eat plain!

Before the cobbler went into the oven.

Yesterday, we enjoyed a lazy, but productive day at home. For breakfast, we ate some leftover peach cobbler with eggs scrambled with spinach and of course, my husband and I had lattes. After breakfast, I made my cheesy pasta bake for a mom in my MOMs Club, who recently had a baby. I also made one for us that we are going to have for dinner tonight. While I cooked, Keenan played in his sandbox and my husband studied for his exam. After cooking and cleaning-up, I was able to get our laundry done (folded and put away) and all of our bedding changed (ours, Keenan’s and the guest bed). While Keenan napped, I paid bills, got caught-up on a few things that have been on my to-do list for a while and managed to do a little online shopping! I ordered some TOMs and a pair of the Reebox Nano 2.0! I’m so excited for my new shoes! I have been wanting TOMs for a while now and finally was able to get them, since they were on sale! Since I attended the CrossFit Level 1 Trainer Course last weekend, I received a discount to use at the CrossFit/Reebok store, so I was able to save some money on the Nano 2.0! I just love shopping when things are on sale or extremely discounted!!

Oh, and I made a delicious chocolate peanut butter milkshake (minus the milk) for a late lunch/snack yesterday. I’m definitely making this again! Sorry, once again, I forgot to snap a picture.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Milkshake (minus the milk):
Adapted from Megan from Detoxinista

– 1 frozen banana

– 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter

– 1/2 cup non-fat milk

– 2 tsp maple syrup

– 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

– 1 tsp vanilla

– pinch of salt

– handful crushed ice

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Enjoy!

Note: To add more nutrition, I might add chia and flaxseeds next time!

For dinner last night, I made roasted broccoli with a red onion, some tomatoes and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, along with quinoa mixed with Italian sausage, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, Kalamata olives and feta cheese. It was delish! Sorry, I completely forgot to take a picture (once again)!

This morning, we are headed to Keenan’s music class, and on the way, we are delivering the cheesy pasta bake. We have a few errands to run after his class, then home for lunch and Keenan’s nap. I have a lot of things that I need to get done while he sleeps, so I hope he takes a long nap today! Yesterday, he slept for 2 and a half hours, so hopefully, he is getting back into his normal sleeping habits! This afternoon, we are going to CrossFit and then home for dinner to enjoy our cheesy pasta bake and a salad (look for my cheesy pasta bake recipe tomorrow!). Have a great Monday!

My little Fire Fighter eating his breakfast this morning with his monkey cup!

Question: How do you like to start your week? I love having a nice warm latte, checking some emails, listening to the news and looking at my calendar to plan for the week ahead.