Tag Archives: stir fry

What a long weekend.

Not what a long weekend, but rather WHAT a long weekend. One solid track of celebrations, complete with copious amounts of cupcakes, decent amounts of dancing, and devilish amounts of drinks (Slight exaggeration. It was all good times but all decently tame. I’m too old and crotchety for that party animal lifestyle! Har Har). Something about long weekends that just makes everyone want to nonstop celebrate.

Thursday there was a night out reunion with a group of old high school gals. We’ve lived in different cities for school but they’ve all finally trickled back in for the summer and it was time to reconvene. Drinks and singing along to cheesy Glee tunes beforehand; drinks, dresses and dancing at a bar to finish it off.

(weheartit)

I rarely actually drink fruity drinks but they sure do look suave.

Friday was a buddy’s birthday, complete with breast-studded cupcakes delivered in a shoebox to his delighted hands. There were several big hungry men at this birthday and they were all more than excited about the brownie-bottomed treats, topped with chocolate womanly bits. The way to a man’s heart…

Said birthday began at the house, then continued on to two different bars. It was a Bud Light and antojitos (Stuffed with MANGO. Absolutely delicious) kind of night.

(google)

Saturday was the craziest one yet! Okay…no it wasn’t. Highlights included going to work, running, eating a salad and a lot of bean salad, updating my Ipod and going to bed early. Hey, I needed a break! I told you, old and crotchety.

Sunday was good for some tame tanning time during the day (I got some nice colour and a good dose of the natural Vit D) and some retro moves and grooves at a bar at night. The best thing about going out on a long weekend Sunday is running into faces you rarely see. I love my long-lost acquaintances.

A whole weekend of late nights left me run right down though. I actually half napped today and I NEVER nap. It was lovely.

Aside from cupcakes, non-fruity beverages and low levels of sleep, how else did I fuel this long weekend?

A LOT of greens. Green smoothies are my breakfast of choice these days, now that the weather has really warmed up.

ONE of these was stuffed not with spinach but with collard greens. It needed a bit more sweetener but I kind of liked the slightly earthier taste the collards added.

Considering how darn cool it is to blend your spinach into your smoothie… how about topping your spinach with your smoothie?

Yup, I did it.

Yup, I ate it.

Yup, I ate it all.

Creepy? Weird? Unnecessary? All of the above. But it wasn’t half bad. And I’d do it again.

I also ate a lot of salads. What else is new?

Salad topped buffalo-chicken style (cooked chicken;dressing of light source cream, dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar; Frank’s buffalo sauce)

Salad topped plain style – veg and honey mustard dressing with rye and cottage cheese on the side.

Salad topped taco style – seasoned ground beef, bean salad, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, cheddar

Salad topped tuna style – tuna mixed with sour cream, dijon mustard, worcheshire sauce and pepper

And some odd balls

Italian "Pizza Cheese” made with cashews

Chicken-stuffed Enchiladas. Hideous but delicious.

Red fiesta with red peppers, red salsa on crackers, red ketchup on egg whites

Collard greens, broccoli, zucchini and mushrooms stir-fried in a curry mayo sauce (light mayo + curry powder + splash of milk) with a side of mashed cauliflower

Strawberries topped with coconut/cocoa powder yogurt and sesame brittle

More berries

And more berries

And even more berries – accompanying leftover carrot cake of course.

And to wash it all down? A nice big glass of Crystal Light blended with water, carbonated lemon water, ice, frozen raspberries and frozen mango chunks.

SO. Refreshing.

And now I just got asked to go out AGAIN. This long weekend is over, how do people do it? And more importantly, why am I actually considering it? Oy vey!

No More Brains

January 21, 2010

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And now the term actually begins.
My first test of it today, the lovely biopsychology, was a bomb. I am no science student and although the “science” of this course is probably laughable to those who actually understand brain functions, connections and all that hoopla, this course isn’t making my brain connections jump and jive. More like shrivel and wilt. Not such a fan.

I spent a good chunk of the morning hours getting my cram on with a vanillafied iced coffee (vanilla protein powder, vanilla extract, splash of french vanilla creamer + milk + ice + stevia + coffee of course) and a slightly haphazard fruit platter.

I broke a little while later to give my oven (my kitchen’s and my body’s!) some squash lovin. Roasted kabocha, spinach, carrots, honey mustard dressing. That’s a whole lotta love.

And if that wasn’t filling enough, I also opted for a white yogurt mix (plain and vanilla, fancy schmancy) with frozen mango and frozen strawberries. Good but too cold. Good thing I had my trusty space heater running at my feet throughout the entire consumption ordeal.

Then eventually I got out of my sweats and dragged my tush to school to write the darn test. Medullas, ganglia… who needs this stuff anyway? Hm.. I guess we all do, don’t we. Darn.

I came home and comforted my unscientific self with some dinner. No spinal cord diagrams to be seen! Just mounds of egg beaters on toasted multigrain bread (it’s under there, I swear!) and topped with salsa, spinach and sour cream mixed with sriracha + some squash and a bit of my mom’s premade linguine meal on the side.

Now I’m doing more studying. (Actually that’s a lie, I was studying but now I’m clearly writing on here). Studying while sitting on the floor does not do wonders for my derriere, I am sore. I need a giant floor pillow.

And YOU need a recap. Of the rest of my eats from the week so far. Actually you probably don’t need that but I’m going to throw it out there anyway.

Tuesday

It was a dark and early morning and I had an early morning class. Gotta love those… which is why I love coffee. And fruit with yogurt. I’ve been really cramming in the fruit lately. Don’t know why, I guess we’ve had lots around – fresh blueberries, fresh grapes, clems, apples, bananas… I’m not complaining!

I got home after class starving, which lead to a snacky day. Super early breakfasts always make me snacky. A few of them:

Defrosted Apple Banana Bread with red pepper jelly (try your hardest to ignore my wrinkly sandpaper old lady hands)

Carrots and mushrooms with roasted red pepper hummus and sweet onion relish dippers

Sugar Free Creme Brulee Jello Rice Pudding with blueberries. A teeny bit too sweet but ridiculously good.

The rest of Tuesday was fairly simple. Class, studying, workout, eating. The uje.

At one point while “studying’”, I saw some sauteed slaw goodness going on on April’s blog and thus dinner was born.
A hot sauté of slaw, broccoli, spinach and squash with some rando stir fry sauce I found in the fridge, rice vinegar, sriracha and goat cheese.

And then I drank the greatest beverage of life. The greatest iced coffee smoothie ever. Thank you to the star players, my new purchases of xanthan and guar gum. I finally broke down after lusting after them for a little too long. Kinda pricey but so worth it.

The mix (I have no measurements, I just threw it all in there!)
- Cold coffee
- Skim milk
- Ice
- Cocoa powder
- Mint extract
- Vanilla protein powder
- Stevia
- Xanthan + Guar Gum

This got me through a night of studying. Happy happy joy joy.

Monday

…was apparently forgettable? I don’t know what I was doing that day but all I managed to get pictures of was this salad (with leftover turkey enchilada casserole you will see further down in a minute)…

…and my nighttime latte in a packet. Mmm.

WEEKEND

I worked

Saturday

Before I worked: I ate overnight oats with banana, strawberry, yogurt, peanut butter… It was a mishmash really. A mishmash that tasted like morning delight.

While I worked: I ate salad with tuna and a maple dipped doughnut. I don’t really like doughnuts all that much unless they’re covered in maple (or icing sugar) and stuffed with custard (or jelly). My broski and dadski shared the dipped doozer with me. I also ate things like apples but they’re not quite as fun subjects as doughnuts. At least not that day.

After I worked: I ate a veg and honey mustard dressing-filled salad and several mounds of couscous and chicken with curry sauce. So good, so creamy, so addicting.

I also drank an iced coffee. I don’t know how I’m drinking these things when I’m freezing 24/7. Not that smart. But I just can’t help it. Cold creamy caffeiny coffee…

And I munched on nachos while watching Kate and Leopold with my mom. Solid Saturday night.

Sunday

was a little more exciting.
Why?
Because of this:

That’s right. I finally made it to the bottom of a honking sized jar of almond butter (thanks Costco), and what better way to celebrate than with oat bran in a jar. Like there was even a choice.

The best bites of the batch. It may not look like much but let me assure you, this was alllll almond butter.

The excitement continued on with a grocery store trip (when is food shopping not exciting, am I right?!), but not before a workout and a refuelling of epically colourful proportions.

Tomatoes, red peppers, carrots, spinach, mushrooms, falafel balls (Another thanks to Costco for the club pack), honey mustard dressing.

And then night fell and dinner was to be made. This is where the Turkey Enchilada Casserole comes in. I liked it, I didn’t love it. I’d go easier on the enchilada sauce and throw some salsa into the mix.

I still managed to snack on plenty of the leftovers though… ehem.

And I concluded this hugely exciting day with a hugely exciting night out for some retro dancing. Alright so it wasn’t quite hugely exciting but it was pretty darn fun. You’d think I’d get tired of it since I go nearly every Sunday night but I just can’t resist those 80s tunes…and the dancing… and the dranks… and the stench of the dirty hole bar that this place is… ~~It’s practically like a second home!~~ Yikes.

And on that note, it’s about time I put an end to this beast. Lengthy much? I am le tired.
I can’t believe this week is almost over already. It’s FLOWN by. And this weekend I’m heading out of town to visit a friend a few hours away. Never been to visit before! And never traveled by bus before… I’m so sheltered. Should be an experience. I’m excited!
Happy rest of the week!

And on the most exciting note of all:
A Chocolate-Covered VITA-MIX Giveaway? Yes PLEASE!

RIP Topaz

September 5, 2009

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This Tuesday I experienced a small tragedy.
My car was killed.

I was driving home from work. There was a variety store on the corner. Two cars up from me, the driver decided last minute to turn into the parking lot of said store. He stopped fairly quickly, as did the van behind him, as did I behind the van. We were all good.

The guy in the rusty brute of a Dodge Ram behind me, however, seemed to temporarily forget the location of his brake pedal. Screeching tires and my brother’s swearing tipped me off just early enough to glance into my rear view mirror to see his front barrelling forward before making contact with my bumper. I slammed on my brakes to just barely avoiding hitting the van in front of me as my entire car was jolted forward.

The whole back end was pushed in so that even the back car door couldn’t be opened. Luckily the car was still driveable so we took it to the garage down the road of a guy my dad knows. They took a look underneath.

The entire underframe was bent. In other words, not fixable. In other words, “Your car is done.”

So, I had to bid a sorrow goodbye to my precious pimpmobile, my little thunderbolt with its luscious burgundy interiors and flame decals on the side.

RIP my wee 93 Mercury Topaz. We had a good run. I won’t forget you!

I hardly had time to be upset about the fact that I no longer had a car though, as the garage guy immediately informed me of one he had for sale at an amazing deal that I basically couldn’t afford not to accept. So dead car one day, new car practically the next. I have now advanced eight years to a 2001 Black Nissan Sentra. I picked it up yesterday. I think I’m in love.

—————————————-

Alright, enough car banter for the moment. I’ve been all over the place this week and thus so have my meals. Many more than usual have been eaten out and therefore many are MIA. When I have been at home though I’ve been eating the same old shiz.

Random salads loaded with leftovers and cabbage slaw bowls

Dates topped with… rice pudding! Oh yeah.

Overnight oats (soaked overnight in almond milk, water, plain yogurt, pineapple, banana and flax, splashed with almond milk in the morning) alongside plenty o’ cafe.

Raw veggers (especially baby carrots in mass consumption) and rice crackers + wilted spinach mixed with salsa and topped with nutritional yeast.

Pumpkin mixed with PB2 and rice pudding. Double oh yeah.

Green Blended Oats – quick oats cooked with banana, almond milk and spinach then Bulleted to smooth breakfast perfection.

Backyard Tuna Bowl!

Dreams of Dark Chocolate filling the bodies of banana and date.

Egg white wrap with salsa and ricotta

One baking venture this week resulted in Oatmeal Whole Wheat Quick Bread! Fresh bread that requires no yeast and only 20 minutes of baking time? My perfect loaf. I wouldn’t use it for sandwiches but as a snack bread topped with jam, nut butters or even just on it’s own? Definitely. I’ve made quite a dent in this baby this week.

Bread for breakfast, with grapes and liquid greens (my most green tasting smoothie yet as this was more water and spinach than banana and almond milk. A little less delicious than usual but still pretty tasty).

A plate of fried stir with a side of more quick bread obviously.

Which brings me to this morning – Oats. With almond milk + water, banana, flax and PB2 stirred right in (GOOD idea). A bit of homemade jelly (mystery flavour – the stuff has been in the fridge for a while) to top it off. Combo delicioso.

I have a day of maybe some shopping but definitely some car cleaning ahead of me. My new ride is a bit of a filth rag at the moment. It’ll be squeaky gorgeous by the end of the day though.

Have a superb weekend :)

“Morning” Workouts and Different Breakfast Routes

August 21, 2009

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I love working out in the morning. It is SO nice to get it out of the way and to feel refreshed and energized for the day. By morning though… I mean like 11. I’m not some crazy who’s able to wake up at 5 in the morning, drag myself out of bed and be ready to sweat. I guess I’d do it if it were my only option but I’m taking advantage of my leisurely days right now and waking up via internal alarm clock, enjoying my breakfast, chilling out for a bit and then finally feeling pumped up and ready to work it!

Today I did a speedy and sweaty 25 minute treadmill run and then another 45 minute session with Mr. Billy Blanks. Love it.

Prior to, I ate this slice of toast with hummus and tomato. That bread has literally been in my freezer for probably a year. Not so good defrosted (hello freezer burn) but a little toasting and we’re good to go.

My breakfast was much bigger than this as I also had some cottage cheese, blueberries and coffee but you know, some things just aren’t meant to be pictured.

Yesterday

Yesterday (as in Thursday) I went to work for the day (I usually work Saturdays but switched it up this week). Prior to I had another savoury-based breakfast. Why the switch? Well, A – I’ve been eating way too much sugar lately and I’d really like to cut back a wee bit (wait til you see my breakfast from Wednesday). So I figured a few less sugary breakfasts sprinkled here and there was a start. Plus, I had this intense craving for savoury oats. Who knows?

Oats, spinach, salsa, spoonful of cottage cheese, spoonful of garden vegetable cream cheese, oregano, garlic powder, chili powder.

But inevitably sweet had to follow so a nice big foamy iced coffee solved that problem.

During the work day we went out for lunch to a place called Angel’s Diner, a little 50s decor greasy spoon and has a menu that includes everything and yet at the same time very little in terms of healthy choices. Their “Low Cal Options” section included grilled chicken and veggies… with ranch dressing, and a chicken wrap… with two kinds of cheeses. A for effort?

I ended up ordering a lunch special of chicken souvlaki – a chicken skewer with tzatziki sauce, greek salad, rice and home fries. Check out this monster of a dish:

I ate all of the salad and chicken, a few bites of the rice and a few home fries. The upper half of the plate was pretty darn good at least.

When I got home by dinner time I was greeted by more rice as my mom had made stir fry. At least this one included a good chunk of veggies in the mix.

Rice with soy and hot chili sauce, broccoli, mushrooms and red peppers + a side of spinach and zucchini with balsamic vinaigrette.

We had some crazy weather warnings last night including tornado warnings. Gah! They missed us but there were several cities close by that got hit by torrential downpours and mild tornadoes. We don’t get tornadoes much in these parts, it’s freaky business!

I calmed my nerves with some yogurt, cinnamon and banana slices. Cinnamon and yogurt is a brilliant combo!

Alright alright, I wasn’t calming my nerves I was calming my sweet tooth…
… which is why I also may have dug into the butter pecan ice cream container a bit too. Shhh.

The Day Before Yesterday

(Aka Wednesday)

This is the breakfast that made me think I needed some savoury breakfasts for a few mornings.

Yogurt, blueberries and… whaaa? Many many crumbled of super sweet and sugary lemon pound cake. It was just sitting there in the fridge, looking so tempting, just begging to be chopped up and stirred into a creamy bowl of yogurt. So I had a bit of a field day with it and ate much more than my fair share of the stuff. Sugar. Overkill.

You bet it was good though.

I think Wednesday was pretty uneventful. I hung around, did some reading, ate some food, you know the drill.

It was a lovely day though so lunch needed to be eaten in the backyard obviously.
A Mess of a salad with spinach, tomatoes, baby carrots, mushrooms, steamed broccoli and a light sour cream/dijon/balsamic dressing
+
Rice crackers, clockwise from top: tuna salad, spinach dip, sundried tomato caponata.
Ridiculously good.

And to end the madness? Puffins, melty half frozen banana and chocolate PB2.

Dinner was kinda rushied cause, I dunno really, I was feeling lazy.
Zucchini slices with hummus and salsa + toasted english muffin half with hummus and the last of my spinach dip.
Looks kinda small but I was snacking on a bunch of zucchini and hummus in the process of making it so my appetite was dulled by the time I actually started plating the meal.

Anywho, my tasks for the day may involve some groceries and dropping off an application for a parking pass for the school year and then possibly some grooving tonight.
Say Hey to the WEEKEND!