First Feast of the Season

I was having this really weird dream through the night that I was having back surgery that I was AWAKE for and when I woke up my back was killing me. How strange is that?? Sheesh!
-1 cup water
-1/3 cup Windy Hill flax seed porridge
-cinnamon
-banana
-raisins
-chopped hazelnuts
I’m so glad I brought bananas back into my life. I’m hoping to have a bit of time to bake with them this week, too.

I took one look at our schedule for the evenings this week and knew right away that the gym was out for today. I really need to get my ass into gear and get some Christmas shopping done so I hoofed it up to the mall. Along the way I ate a vegan energy bar to give me some strength to endure the crowd.
And boy was it busy for a Monday at noon! I ended up having to abandon my place in line at one store so that I could make it back to work on time. I didn’t even get a chance to grab a treat at Starbuck’s! The horror! :D Let me tell you though how easily a person can drop $250.00 in less than a half hour! Yikes!

Lunch was easy peasy today. I made some broccoli soup in the Magic Bullet this morning. Into the cup went 2 cups leftover steamed broccoli, 1 cup chicken stock, a LC cheese wedge, cumin, chili powder, salt & pepper. It blended up beautifully!
On the side were a few Triscuit crackers;
And lunch dessert was this pint of blueberries!
They were on sale 3/$5 on the weekend so I took advantage.

The afternoon dragged on a bit but that was just because I was super excited for my dinner plans! It was our annual Christmas dinner at my supervisor’s house and she is one fantastic cook! Last year’s dinner had an Asian flair to it. You can see what we ate right here. Tonight’s menu was fabulous! We started out with some raspberry walnut brie and crackers;

Then we had a fantastic spinach & shrimp salad;

The main course was Cornish hens, rice, stir fried veggies and a great orange infused gravy;

Dessert was a rich, creamy Lindt cheesecake with a tart cherry sauce!

I was definitely full after this meal! D lives about 45 minutes away and this is the first in 4 years that we’ve made the drive in good weather. Usually it’s freezing and snowing. One year it was so bad that she brought all the food to work and we had a luncheon at the office instead! I heard on the news today that the last time we had no snow in November was 1937. WOW!

Anyways, it’s quite late now so I must sign off and get my booty to bed! It’s December tomorrow!

Bye for now!!

Menu Planning with a Twist-Week 5

This morning was a pretty laid back one. Before getting my breakfast together I baked up another batch of Vegan Energy Bars;

The first batch was done with a 1/4 cup chocolate chips and a 1/4 cup of cinnamon chips because DD dislikes raisins. I shared this batch with Manon and her family so I followed the recipe and used the raisins this time. I enjoy both versions!

I bought a big bag of bananas that were reduced for quick sale yesterday so I mushed one up into my oats today;

• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup Quaker oats
• cinnamon
• PB2
• banana
• carob & walnuts

We had to be on the road for DS’s game by noon so I took a few minutes after breakfast to get some lunches prepared for the drive. I made myself a simple tuna sandwich. The tuna was mixed with some dill pickle, mayo and Dijon. That got put onto a bun with a LC cheese wedge and lettuce;

I also packed a raw cinnamon flaxseed “bagel” courtesy of Manon;

I’m starting to think that she should start her own raw food blog! Everything recipe that she’s made (or that I’ve tried, I should say) has been nothing short of spectacular. I believe the only ingredients that went into these was flax, cinnamon, raisins and agave. Simple, yet SO tasty!

AND…I made myself a pumpkin spice latte for the road that included 1 cup USVAB, I cup of water and a Tim Horton's pumpkin spice tea bag. I brought it all to a boil, then let it steep for 5 mins.

The boys lost their game 4-3, but played very well. They sure gave the other team a run for their money!!! :D We arrived home with just enough time for me to change into my comfy clothes and relax for a 1/2 hour before getting on to dinner.

And din-din was easy peasy tonight! I baked some fresh haddock and served it with steamed veg and mac & cheese (for the fam)

I kept my plate light as I wasn’t too hungry. But I did find room for some dessert! And it was another winner from Manon!! Raw carrot cake;

I think that this is my favourite of all the goodies I’ve tried so far. I like texture in my food and this had loads of it. Crunch from almonds, slightly crisp from the carrots and smooth for the “cream cheese” which I believe was made with cashews.

Now on to week 5 of my meal planning! I mentioned that this week would have a twist and that it does. First off, it will only include Tuesday-Thursday because Monday I’ll be having our department Christmas dinner at my supervisors house and DS is in a hockey tournament all day Friday and I’m not sure what time we’ll be home at so I left it open. And for the fun part….I’ll be cooking the 3 meals using recipes from Rachael Ray’s new cookbook, Book of 10!!!

I’m pretty excited about the 3 recipes I chose! They’re simple, quick to prepare and use ingredients that I pretty much already had on hand.

Week 5

Monday - Dinner at D’s & Dance (6-6:45)
-Family free night

Tuesday - Pilate’s (6:15-7:15)
-Sweet & Spicy Pineapple Pork (pg 60)

Wednesday - Hockey (4:30-5:20) & Swimming (7-8)
-Taco Stoup (pg 251

Thursday - Skating (5:30-6:20)
-Indian Summer Turkey Chilli (pg 45)

Friday - Out of town hockey
-open

What do you think????

I’m finally tucked in with a hot mug of tea to watch the Amazing Race!

I’m really digging this coconut rum tea. I just add a small squirt of agave to make it perfect. What is your favourite tea and what do you add (or maybe it’s nothing at all) to make it perfect?

Bye for now!!

Simple Saturday

Happy Saturday! I enjoyed a nice sleep in today. I just love not having to set my alarm! And being able to enjoy a leisurely breakfast.

• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup PC 5 grain cereal
• cinnamon
• raisins
• almond butter
• chocolate honey

After breakfast I got some housework done. Unfortunately, my vacuum broke half way through using it. Ugh. I packed everything up, checked the flyers, found a decent looking vacuum on sale and dragged the kids out to buy it. What fun. We also did the groceries so I now have a fridge full of groceries. While putting the food away I snacked on a piece of raw walnut brownie from Manon;

This was amazingly smooth and reminded me of cake batter. Mmmmmm. DD ate the other piece and she really like it, too.

Lunch for the kids had to be right at noon because we had to leave at 1pm for DS’s out of town 3pm game. I wasn’t hungry, so I packed mine to go;

I put some goat’s brie on a flatout and set it under the broiler until melted. Then I added some sliced gala apple and toasted it up for another few minutes. I folded it sandwich-like before eating it. Very good stuff!

The game was only a few minutes away from Whole Foods so I convinced my hubby that we needed to stop there before going home. I’m sure the lure of samples didn’t hurt! I didn’t buy a whole lot…ground bison, frozen, chopped kale, Sahale nut mix in macadamia nut/hazelnut. My hubby bought some guac, chips, sesame snaps and we got the kids some cheese buns to eat on the ride home. I ate the last pumpkin nut muffin on the drive,

It was dark enough at 5pm to need the flash. So sad.

The muffin ruined my dinner appetite , so I ate a bowl of cereal for supper. Here’s the kind I chose.

I dished out a bit more than a cup and poured some USVAB over it;

I imagine I’ll be making a big mug of tea in a bit. First I’m gonna test drive the new vacuum! My hubby brought home the 2012 movie for us to watch tonight. Anybody seen that yet?

I plan on baking some more vegan energy bars in the morning, then we have yet another out of town game. We lost again today so keep your fingers crossed for a win! :D

Bye for now!!

You Asked, I Answered

Not much excitement surrounded me today so I decided it would be the perfect time to answer all your questions that you asked abut me. You’ll find a Q&A between photos of my eats. ENJOY!! (And feel free to ask me more if you’d like!)

VeggieGirl

Question for you - what is one activity that you've been dying to try?

After spending as much time as I have been at the rink, I really have an urge to try hockey. I mean, REALLY. Too bad I can hardly skate! The boys (and my hubby) make it look so easy and fun. One of the other Mom’s on the team just started playing net on a team this year and I’m so jealous…although net would be dead last on which position I would want to play!

Breakfast

-1 cup coffee
-1/3 cup sunrise blend with quinoa
-pumpkin puree
-raisins
-cashew butter
-carob chips
-cinnamon sugar

Anon
when did your weight loss journey begin, and how is it juggling two young kids and a hubby?

I never had an issue maintaining a healthy wait until I had a hysterectomy almost 5 years ago. Very shortly afterwards I realized that my weight had gone up about 10lbs and I was starting to develop an unsightly “roll” around my abdomen that was much different from the after effects of giving birth. I vowed then (in the summer of 2005) that I would do what it took to get back into shape. I had gotten a treadmill for Christmas the year before and started using it every night. I also starting following Weight Watchers although I never officially “joined”. It took 9 months to get the weight off and I’ve pretty much kept it all off. AND I’m in great shape now….better than I’ve ever been. In order to not take time away from my family I always hopped on the treadmill or went for a walk after the kids went to bed. Now I use the office gym over my lunch hour to get it done. Sometimes when the weather is nice and I feel like a run, I’ll take the kids with me on their bikes. Where there is a will, there is a way!

Morning Snack
Cookies & Cream Luna bar
Now my favourite of all the Luna flavours I’ve tried. This was exactly like an Oreo cookie!!

Cassie

I was wondering what your growing up situation was--did you have brothers/sisters..and what did you participate in during high school

I am the oldest of 3 siblings. I have one brother who is 4 years younger than me and a sister who is 11.5yrs younger than me! I was definitely more athletic in high school than I was “brainy” and played volleyball and soccer and was on the cycling team. I tried cheerleading in grade 9 and quickly realized that it was NOT my cup of tea!

GYM

Time: 45 minutes
Avg Hr: 166
Max Hr: 185
Calories Torched: 483
Distance: 4.4 mile on the treadmill

Lunch (sad as it was!)
All I could scrounge up in our next to empty fridge was leftover barley, peas and the carrots. Thank God I’m grocery shopping tomorrow!! Somehow a few of these made it past my lips, too!

Faith

what's your favourite dish (to make or eat)?, and what would you do if you could do anything for a day

I don’t really have a favourite dish to eat, but I do like to make lasagna. I like all the different steps involved in the process because cooking/baking is a huge stress reliever for me. Being in the kitchen always relaxes and calms me.

Afternoon Snack
GRAPES! I’ve been seriously lacking in the produce area of my eats but I think I made up for it today!!! :D

Julie

I wanna know how you and your hubs met

Well, let see….I met him in the earlier part of January 1995 through a friend that I worked with. I had a BF at the time and it turned out that he started dating said BF’s sister. We got to know each other better and soon ditched the “others” and started dating by the end of March. I know, it didn’t take long at all! :D The following year (July 1996) we moved in together and then we got married in May of ’98. We were both 24….

Dinner
I roasted up a pork tenderloin and served it with some edamame and leftover jade grain blend. There’s also some Ted Readers peach bourbon sauce for dipping.

I bought a new tea the other night that I wanted to share with you.

It’s coconut rum….how could I leave that in the store??? And it’s very, very good!

I hope you enjoyed this Q&A post! I’ll leave you with a picture of the necklace I wore to work today. It’s one of my favourite ones to wear in the colder seasons;

Bye for now!!

Lunch Time Treats

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all my American friends!!! I hope that you are all pleasantly stuffed with your food of choice. I know I’m looking forward to seeing and reading about all the scrumptiousness on your blogs. Is anyone planning on walking your meals off while shopping on Black Friday? I have some crazy co-workers who brave the line ups (and the border) to catch some great deals.

My morning started out early as the babes had appointments to get their immunizations. DD got the regular flu shot and poor DS got the second half of the H1N1 in one arm and the flu shot in the other. What a trooper. I had no time for oats so I made a quick bowl of cereal. So quick, in fact, that I forgot to take a picture of it! Luckily, I still have the boxes. I had 1 cup of this one;
½ cup of that one;

And a good pour or two of this;

Fabulous!

Seeing as breakfast came an hour early, snack time did, too! I brought a Pumpkin Nut Muffin along to enjoy with my morning Stash.
I always keep snacks on the lighter side for Thursday’s because I know I can’t get into the gym for a sweat sesh at lunch.

Speaking of lunch, guess what I did on mine today? BAKE! Yup, you read that right! I’ve wanted to make Mama Peas Vegan Energy Bars for a while now and decided I had enough time to get it done in my allotted hour.
See? Don’t they look mouth watering??? I also put some turkey sausages and barley into the crock pot for dinner tonight. I reasoned that working until 4:30 and then having to leave the house at 5:10 for skating lessons wouldn’t leave a whole lot of time for cooking dinner. And DS had to be on the ice at 5 so my hubby couldn’t help out.

While busy doing all this, my lunch was busy getting toasty AND melty in the oven! I topped 2 slices of sun dried tomato bread with goat’s milk brie and popped it in the oven with the bars.
On the side was some cottage cheese mixed with pumpkin puree, cinnamon and agave;
All together it made for a fab, filling lunch!

And you bet that I ate an energy bar as an afternoon pick me up seeing as I knew dinner would be late and all!

These were a HUGE hit with the fam. By the time I got home from work all the centre pieces were a thing of the past! (I cut the batch into 12 squares). DS told me that the energy they gave him made him “super fast” at practice. LOL!!

I ate my dinner after skating lessons. Just a turkey sausage and some barely because we are all out of veggies!! I’m not happy about that but I’ll be doing groceries this weekend so I’ll be stocking up big time. Anyways, here’s my monochromatic plate;

I had a piece of Endangered Species chocolate for a sweet end.

I’ll soon be settling in to watch CSI and The Vampire Diaries. Looking forward to the relaxation.

Bye for now!!