Sunday, August 30, 2009

Cook me something!

Tuscan White Bean Soup (so yummy!) This is Curtis's plate because I made him a fancy grilled cheese with brie and sun-dried tomato paste.

Butternut Squash roasted in the oven with cinnamon and sugar.

Squash, asparagus and cherry tomatoes with tomato sauce. (My spaghetti)


Zucchini with onions and spinach. Yum!

Friday, August 28, 2009

Cleanse: Day 2

Cleanse is going well. I made it through Day 1 and it was a lot easier than I thought since I actually like vegetables. I was actually feeling motivated to work out last night and so when my neighbor came knocking on my door I quickly dressed in my gear for a nice 30 minute run. I was surprised I had so much energy and it felt good to run again. The last time I ran was Saturday (5 days before). I slept like a baby last night also. That good sleep too - deep REM with lots of dreams about all kinds of things. I'm anxious about this weekend. Weekends are really hard to stick to anything - esp. a diet/cleanse like this.

Day 2 -
Breakfast:
My typical cup of morning coffee
Fruit Naturals Red Grapefruit Cup

Lunch:
Cup steamed broccoli with Bragg's and a tiny bit of soy sauce,
Trader Joe's Organic Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup.

Snacks: (over course of day)
Half a cucumber sliced with 4 tbsp. organic roasted red pepper hummus,
3 organic baby dill pickles (So good! 365 brand from Whole Foods)
Kellogg's Protein Water - Strawberry Kiwi flavor
1 c. seedless watermelon cubed.
6 Triscuits (yeah, yeah...I know)

Dinner:
Yellow squash, asparagus and cherry tomatoes sauteed in garlic and olive oil with tomato sauce.

Snack:
1/2 cucumber with roasted red pepper hummus

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Fruits and Veggies for 10 days...


So, I have to admit when I notice my jeans don't fit like they used to. I post about my food all the time so you know I'm not struggling to eat these days. However, my bad habits are catching up to me. I run and I work out, but I'm not consistent. I need a motivator but I don't want to hire a trainer. I've dabbled in detoxes before. I've done the Master Cleanse - the one with cayenne pepper, lemon juice and Grade B maple syrup. I lasted 3 days. It didn't work at all. Funny, as I write this now I realize how crazy that detox was. I sound like an idiot for attempting it. I know too many people that have done it so I guess their influence rubbed off on me. But now I find myself back in that place where I'm willing to try something drastic to get me the quick results I want. But I need more than spicy lemonade this time.


So, after a lot of research I've opted to do a fruit and vegetable diet for 10 days. It's the healthiest option out there because well...a) you're eating and b) these foods are packed with nutrients. But more over, I'll lose weight quickly and it will motivate me to keep it off. It's the boost I need to put me back on track. But I should point out one distinction- this is not a raw fruit and veggie detox. I will be cooking my veggies and incorporating organic soups and souffles, etc. into this. It's more of like a vegan diet without the bread.
So, why blog about it? I'm sure you are reading this and you think I'm either a) just plain nuts or b) sharing too much of my business. The truth is I know I can't eat stick to a hard core diet like this unless I'm accountable. Just knowing that I'm tracking this on my blog - or my "online journal" makes me feel more accountable. My friend Crystal was losing weight on Weight Watchers and she was blogging about it. I think it's a great motivator. Plus, I'm getting my co-worker on board for this. She is starting hers on Monday so we can motivate each other.


So here we go...Day One:
Breakfast:
Coffee (yeah, yeah I know. But it's only one cup)
Banana
Lunch:
Butternut Squash Souffle. (You can find these in the freezer section of the grocery store. Made by a company called Healthy Delights. Super low cal and really good for you. Made with egg whites and inlcudes 4 grams of fiber!)
.5 L aqua frio (I need to drink more water, so now seems like the time to do it).
Snack:
According to Odwalla's website, the Superfood drink's ingredients are: apple juice, peach, mango, strawberry and banana purees, spirulina, soy lecithin, vitamin c (ascorbic acid), wheat grass, barlet grass, wheat sprouts, jerusalem artichoke, lemon bioflavanoids and nova scotia dulse.
Dinner:
Trader Joe's Organic Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup. (In addition to being organic and vegan this soup is healthy, hearty and tasty.)
Two cups of baby spinach and one zucchini sliced into thin disks sauteed with a little bit of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil and Bragg Liquid Aminos. Incase you don't know-- Bragg Liquid Aminos is a Certified NON-GMO liquid protein concentrate, derived from healthy soybeans, that contains the following Essential and Non-essential Amino Acids in naturally occurring amounts: 16 Amino Acids! (Alanine, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, Glutamic Acid, Glycine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Proline, Serine, Threonine, Tyrosine, Valine, Lysine) It tastes like soy sauce folks!
Snack:
Fruit Naturals Red Grapefruit Cup
Yogi Detox tea - Caffeine-free DeTox Tea uses detoxifying herbs known traditionally as "blood cleansers." Both organic burdock (arctium lappa) and organic dandelion (taraxacum officinale) work together in this tea to facilitate the elimination of toxins.

Monday, August 24, 2009

The meats at Trader Joes are yummy!

Curtis was a happy camper!

Vegetarian-fed organic ribs. Grilled outside. So so so delicious...

The best garlic marinated pork tenderloin! So so so juicy! I recommend! Go buy it!

Thor

eCurtis and I went to The Hotel on Rivington the other night.

Our good buddy Eric was bartending. He made us yummy drinks - the best! Fancy!

I made a new friend - we cut a rug together. ha ha

Friday, August 21, 2009

Korean BBQ

We headed over to Joseph and Alicia's for Korean BBQ Saturday! The boys played ping pong.

They made it interesting by throwing like 5 balls on the table. Silly boys.

Joe and Joe. Cooking up the chicken.

Spare ribs marinated in a pear sauce. All homemade too.

My partner in crime, Zoe.

Curtis and Eric learning how to share.

Only at a Korean BBQ do you get white rice with your meat. haha. I had a spare rib, a piece of grilled chiken with some kind of spicy rub and onions and a piece of pork belly. My favorite was the pork belly. Mmm.... Oh, also salad with carrot ginger dressing. Go Joseph!

All our friends at one long table in the backyard. So much fun!

Brama beer got dubbed Obama beer that afternoon.

By the nights end, we were all full and sleepy. :)

Vino please!

I've had these pictures on my desk top for ages. I've been meaning to blog about some wines for awhile but I haven't gotten around to it. I think I bought both of these from Trader Joes. (TJ's is my go to for all things wine.

This bad boy is super cheap and really good. What the label says, “Made only with the Nero d’Avola grapes, this is a great wine with a beautiful rich, bright garnered colour and full bouquet redolent of berries, cherries and spices. The flavour is clear-cut, full-bodied and elegant. Perfect with grilled red meats and game." I love a full bodied wine and this one is a steal for around $6.

The Brooks 2007 Pinot Noir is an very light Pinot.(Both in alcohol content and by how it hold up alone). You need to pair it with some grub to really highlight it's flavors. In the glass, it's very light red. On the nose, you get muted fruit with hints of mint. In the mouth, this wine delivered very modest fruit, bright acidity, and a long finish that at times offered prominent cherry notes.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Eat up!

Tacos el Pastor. Curtis made these spicy pork tacos and they were delish! He made them with fresh pineapple (grilled), fresh cilantro, cotija cheese and diced red onion.

Fried cabbage with yellow onion and pan fried tofu.

Itzocan

Curtis and I had a sweet date the other night and we dined at this restaurant in our hood called Itzocan. One word: Wow! I WISHED I had my camera on me -- it was an amazing meal. The sangria was probably the BEST sangria I've ever had in my life. Amazing. Yes, that's right. I used a stock photo of sangria for my post. But this sangria was off the chain! It had peppermint leaves in it! Would you have ever thought to use peppermint leaves in sangria? Well guess what -- I'm using them from now on. It was delicious! We both split the fried goat cheese ravioli - a special for the day. I had the mussels - spicy yummy broth I could have drank the whole bowl and I also had the chicken tamale appetizer wrapped in a banana leaf. It was perfection. Curtis had the shell steak and it came with chorizo hash. It was also really good. For dessert we had the blue corn crepes with carameled goat cheese. People - do not be fooled by the appearance of this little place. It's a hidden gem! Go check it out over on 9th between 1st and A. You won't be disappointed! I wasn't!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Fridays are for Friends!

I had Alicia and Joe over for dinner the other night. It's been awhile since I've seen my good friends so the chiller was definitely over do. I made dinner, we conversed and drank wine. (All things I do quite well I might add...) It was lovely...a lovely evening spent with lovely people. Ok so about the dinner...I started off with a Greek salad.

Nicely diced veggies: peppers, cucumber, onion, tomato. With feta, Italian herbs and extra virgin olive oil. Magnificent.

So I got a little creative with dinner. I made ricotta meatballs. First, you beat 2 eggs and then add ricotta. I added the whole container...Oops. It was only supposed to be like half that.

Parmesan, Italian herbs, garlic. Mix it.

Came out looking like a mousse or pate. I spooned it out into little balls like they were cookies and said a prayer. They actually came out decent. I served them with tomato sauce. Kind of like noodle-free spaghetti.

Italian bread with sun-dried tomato paste.

Topped with prosciutto and goat cheese. Baked off in the oven for a crunchy crust. YUM!

Curtis looks possessed.

Why did Curtis have to put his hand all up in my picture?!

Alicia hiding from the camera. Notice the blanket. hahaha We were snuggling.

I am so happy. YAY!

Happy Couple Number One.

Happy Couple Number Two.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Cooking with Tofu!

I made dinner tonight in about 10 minutes...seriously. And it was healthy. I bought this stir fry and it had asparagus in it. It was yummy!

I have never seen this before. I saw it in the store and thought...what the hay?! I actually liked it a lot. Yum-O! I pan fried it and it was perfect. I will buy it again for sure!

Viola! Dinner in 10 minutes! You can make this with or without rice. I grabbed the Uncle Ben's 90 second brown rice bag. Curtis likes rice with his stir fry. :)

That's a lot of artichokes!

I also made veal scallopini with white wine and artichokes. I bought frozen artichokes. Gross. They were all mushy and they had zero flavor. I served it with tofu shaped fettuccine noodles. The noodles were the best part. On the side, a Greek salad. My fave - chopped veggies and no lettuce. Just veggies and extra virgin olive oil. Mmm...

Monday, August 3, 2009

Dinner at my house...

I had friends over on Sunday night for dinner. It was a random planning that kind of just happened, but it was fun- as always...my friends rule! We grilled out some chicken breasts and some Boca burgers (for our vegetarian eaters) and had yummy salad and corn on the cob - Cajun style. These were my pre-dinner hor devours. I also made mini pastries (not shown) filled with feta and topped with caramelized onion. (Well, I baked them but Trader Joes made them.)

Kurt, Terence and Curt. Watching Ghostbusters and drinking Pinot.

Brandi and I.

Drinking Pinot on the couch. Happy! :)

Got these two bottles from this place on 8th St between Ave B and Ave C called Brix. Super nice lady named Beatrice runs the shop and they do wine tastings every Friday. I may be back! :)