Repurposing leftovers, part 671

April 4, 2009February 6, 201511 Comments

I was in no rush for breakfast this morning after yesterday’s expansion-fest, so a leisurely breakfast experiment was in order. I worked on a pot of Berry [much needed] Detox tea throughout the process.

“Worked on” was an appropriate phrase to use, as it turned out, because it was hard work to choke this thing down. I’m usually a fan of sweet and spicy combos, but anything berry-flavored should not be setting my throat on fire! I think the culprit was some rooibos in the blend — I really can’t stand that flavor. On the flip side, however, the teabag managed to break open in the pot, and I kind of enjoyed chomping on the little bits of orange peel that accompanied every sip.

Anyway, the experiment:

First, I mixed 1/2 cup of protein porridge with about 1 tbsp of Newman’s dried berry blend. Next, I smeared a bit of canola on the bottom of a pie plate and pressed the porridge blend onto the plate in a thin, flat strip. I baked for 20 minutes at 375, used a spatula to flip, and baked for another 20. Here’s what I came out with:

Doesn’t look like much, does it? BUT I mashed 1/2 an overripe banana (thanks to roommate Tara for donating her aging bananas and strawberries to me!) with 1 tbsp of PB2 and spread that onto my protein porridge berry flatbread. With a sprinkle of cardamom:

Yum! I enjoyed this experiment. It will have to happen again.

On the side, I chopped the rest of the banana into the 1/2 cup fruit salad from work yesterday. The lucky fruit salad got a topping of 1/4 cup healthy cream cheese icing and a drizzle of lemon curd.

I probably also had 4-5 smarties from yesterday’s shower favors:

I started to think about lunch around 2, even though I wasn’t nearly hungry yet. I’ve seen this tasty-looking asparagus recipe popping up over the past week courtesy of Michelle and Heather. Since I just happened to have a stash of fresh asparagus (and two giant portabello mushrooms caps) in the crisper, I decided that now was the time to jump on the curry butter train! I followed the recipe exactly, except that I added in those portabello caps.

When I got hungry (closer to 4), I ate 1/2 cup of the finished product on top of a pile of the salad that I brought home from work yesterday. Also involved in the salad were a ring of tamale slices with a little bit of guac pizzazz (and freshly grated parm and ground pepp):

A better view of the pizzazz:

Reminder: the Bob’s Red Mill giveaway ends tomorrow at noon. Get your entries in!

Also, go check the giveaway at N Her Shoes! You don’t have to enter, though, because I really need some new workout gear for ME 😛

Elastic waistband, please

April 3, 2009February 6, 201524 Comments

By the time I got home from work today, my pants no longer fit! I can’t believe I’m showing you this picture, but I feel like it’s important I accurately represent myself when I say I feel expanded. I’m not talking about: Oh, I’m so bad. I ate two cookies today. (P.S. If you’ve been reading along, you know I would never say that anyway!) I’m talking about: Ohhh, I really enjoyed my food today … but maybe too much because now I feel decidedly uncomfortable!

The day began with another bowl of black and white protein porridge since it was such a hit on Wednesday:

I can’t get over the contrast:

Now, I want the real deal!

Once at work, I opened up the next flavor of Newman’s Own Organics breath fresheners. I think I ate four of these peppermints over the course of the day.

Today was another brown bag staff lunch. I ate the collard greens, vegetarian baked beans, and cornbread that I packed:

Plus 1/2 cup cooked spiced apples with 1/2 cup healthy cream cheese icing and a sprinkling of golean crunch:

And then it was time for communal treats: fruit salad and pecan pie!!!

Obviously, I had seconds:

I took that picture of plate #2 in the elevator, and a woman in there asked, Oh, are you documenting your lunch? I said, Yes, I am … and every other meal, too!

After lunch, Mildred, Jessica, and I got to work decorating the nursery room for Heather’s surprise baby shower.

As I filled the goodie bags, some of the candy that was supposed to go into the bag went into my belly:

And then it was time for the shower! Myrna finally managed to get Heather down into the room sometime around 3:30. We surprised her … but not enough to make her go into labor (phew):

Here’s the “snack” spread with Maria’s green salad and pasta, Mildred and Myrna’s chicken and cheese empanadas, tamales, myrna’s flan pudding, Inginia’s guacamole, tortilla chips, Deborah’s fruit salad, mini-quiches and jalapeno poppers:

My plate — a big one this time — with (clockwise from top) pasta salad, fruit salad, empanada with green sauce, tortilla chips, guacamole, 1/2 tamale, and flan pudding:

I had another plate just like it.

Plus two bowls of salad like this:

And Myrna’s homemade pina coladas made a repeat appearance, yum!

Beryl led us in some games — I won a bar of soap because I remembered all my nursery rhymes! — and then it was time for dessert 😀

Look at the magnificence:

I had a bowl with one slice of chocolate mousse cake:

And one slice of custard fruit tart (my favorite dessert!):

I had another slice of fruit tart after that 😀

After we packed up all the leftovers, I somehow wound up coming home with a ton of food, including 11 empanadas (now in my freezer), 4 tamale halves, 4 cups of green salad, 2 cups of pasta salad, 1/2 cup fruit salad, 1/2 cup guacamole, and 1 cup of flan pudding. How did that happen?? 😛

I turned the flan pudding into my Friday night project. When I got home, I mixed the pudding with two cups of healthy cream cheese icing and two eggs. I put the mix to the side and then pressed a bunch of crumbled graham sticks (that have been in my freezer since some time in January) into the bottom of a pie plate with a bit of millet (for crunch) and canola (for glue and nonstick-ness). I baked the crust for 10 minutes at 450. Before and after:

Next, I poured the batter on top:

I baked for one hour at 375 and then turned the oven off, cracked the door, and let it sit in there for another hour:

(That dark spot is a raisin from the cream cheese icing. It’s not an ant. In case you were wondering.)

And now I have a beautiful and healthy(er) cheesecake. I sliced it into 12 pieces and put it in a container for the freezer (because I do not need any more dessert right now)!

There were crumbs left in the pie plate. I obviously ate them:

And now I really wish my leg would let me run!! The weather was beautiful earlier this evening (before the flood started), and I was so jealous of all the runners out for their dusky jogs. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’m at least elliptical-ready by Monday!

I’m also not sure if I’ll ever be hungry again (I know, I say that all the time), but I guess we’ll find out about that soon enough.

When will YOU be hungry again?

And if you haven’t entered the giveaway yet, hurry up because there are just two days left!

Bits ‘n’ pieces

April 2, 2009February 6, 201524 Comments

***giveaway giveaway giveaway giveaway giveaway giveaway giveaway giveaway***

I’ve got to say that I’m feeling the lack of exercise this week. The regular cheery Sarah keeps disappearing! Maybe there really is something to that whole endorphins thing 😛

I got up at 7:30 this morning (because Thursday is my leisurely class day) and worked for two straight hours on some work homework that was supposed to be done yesterday, ack! At 9:30, I realized I had to leave for class in 30 minutes, so I heated breakfast and got ready fast fast fast.

Breakfast today was the same protein porridge mix I had on Monday, with apples and bananas mixed in, yogurt on the side, and PB2 poured over the top:

Mmmmm:

Since I ate that around 10, moments before I walked out the door, I didn’t bother bringing a full lunch to class — just a couple snackies to get me through.

Chopped apple and spices on the bottom with lemon curd + healthy cream cheese icing and golean crunch on the top:

And a chocolate chip Z-bar:

I also finished a sleeve of my Newman’s Ginger Mints when I was bored during class. They set my mouth on fire, but I liked it!

On my way home from the subway station, I stopped into Ladybird for a sample of carrot muffin:

(It was so sunny out!)

Lunch main course was an entire plate full of the fancy apps from last night’s re-enactment:

(That’s a lot of tuna I think. I don’t mess around.)

There’s still a ton of tuna left, so I bit the bullet and put the whole container in the freezer. It’s half raw anyway, so I figure it will freeze fine, and I can just cook it all the way through when I’m ready to use it again.

I had way more work homework to do, and I comforted myself about that by finishing the bag of white cheddar soy crisps:

With salsa:

And then some Newman’s Own Organics dried berries, apricots, and prunes:

Once again, who knew Newman’s made dried fruit?? I thought it was all salad dressings and Ginger-Os!

I also had half a chocolate rugelach and a piece of oatmeal chocolate chip cookie from the freezer cookie bag:

Two more hours later, I had finally gotten all my work done. I struck out to do some errands. Obviously, I stopped into Union Market while out to have sample gouda and cheddar cheese cubes and these sample pieces of pecan pie and fudge pie:

When I got home, I prepped food for tomorrow, which meant more bites of protein porridge, yogurt, cream cheese icing, fruit, baked beans, etc.

Finally, I was able to settle down for a(nother) nice little desserty treat:

A scoop of healthy cream cheese icing “ice cream,” a scoop of raw chocolate mousse “ice cream,” hot apple topping, a sprinkling of pb2 powder, and graham cracker crumbs.

Mmmmm. I’m so sleepy. I hope I can go to bed soon!

Does your mood change when you’re not working out?

FYI, Becca’s giving away some SERIOUS goodies from the CIA!!! (Intrigued? Go check it out!)

All-in-one

March 26, 2009February 6, 201518 Comments

Well, I suppose it’s time to get moving on a recap of the entire day! Seriously, where does the time go??

I got back into the cardio groove this morning (thank goodness because my body was craving some sweat action) with a solid run around the park. Stats: 4.2 miles, 41 minutes, 380 calories, average heart rate 160, max 173. Despite the cloudy chill outside, the air sort of smelled like spring. Do you know what I mean? And I saw a few little yellow daffodil buds peeking out on the side of the road. Very exciting!

I got crafty for breakfast. Last night, I mixed 1/4 cup of my spinach oatmeal blend with 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats and spread it on a plate to set in the fridge breakfast cookie-style. This morning:

Because the cookie behaved so well, I smothered it with 1/3 cup of modified healthy cream cheese icing: nonfat Greek yogurt, part-skim ricotta, cinnamon, vanilla, and 1 tsp each of lemon curd and goat cheese. You may be skeptical of the goat cheese-in-a-sweet-meal combo you’ve been seeing on here lately, but believe me when I say it pairs perfectly with the lemon curd!

I topped it all with strawberries, granola/trail mix, and some cocoa-java almonds:

I was running ridiculously late for class, so I ended up rolling the whole thing into a breakfast burrito of sorts and stuffing it into a container so I could enjoy on the train.

And enjoy it I did!

I continued nibbling all throughout class, starting with a sliced apple and my second packet of Barney Butter from the Foods That Fit prize pack.

(Sorry for the recycled picture! I got to class too late to do my usual photo shoot before it started.)

Next was the last two stuffed collard greens:

With a half cup roasted veggies:

And, of course, my colorific tropical fruit salad + yogurt topped with golean crunch:

After all the healthy, I needed chocolate and peanut butter stat. Luckily, Lisa came through with this golden nugget:

When I got back to the Slope later, I popped into the library to return a couple books and pick up my latest reservation, Gastropolis. I’m so excited for this one!

I also stopped into Union Market for samples — a cube of gruyere, two rice crisps, and some marinated mushrooms. I continued the snacking when I got home with 1/3 cup of fruit salad with trail mix and dark chocolate-pomegranate tea (leftover black tea from this morning, a fresh bag of TJ’s pomegranate white tea, 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, splash unsweetened soymilk, spinkle of cinnamon):

(Warning: Before you try this at home, I did not sweeten this tea because I was in the mood for some bitterness. If you’re not into straight unsweetened cocoa powder, you should prob add some sweetness!)

I got hungry again around 4:00 and decided to just go straight for dinner instead of messing around with some sort of snack endeavor. I made a quick open-faced sandwich with two slices of pumpernickel baguette (from work last week), a smear of goat cheese, slices of radish and granny smith apple (also from work), and two Sweet ‘n’ Spicy Black Bean-Salmon Patties.

In the background, you can see the last 1/3 cup roasted veggies that I tossed in for bulk:

Dessert was brilliantly fun! I heated about 1/2 cup of the Sylvia’s banana bread pudding from work yesteday (thanks again, Pura!) and froyo’d a mix of 1/3 cup Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup part-skim ricotta, 1/2 mashed banana, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tbsp peanut butter, and 1 chopped hershey’s kiss. Here’s the resulting chocolate chocolate chip peanut butter banana ice cream sundae, garnished with sliced strawberries to appease my dad and his brownness-aversion 🙂

And to conclude, I had 1/2 a chocolate rugelach (from the Gastropolis event mentioned above) and two Jasmine Tea Biscotti Bites.

Speaking of the bites, more reviews have been popping up around the blogworld, thanks to Vani and Brandi. Three dozen of these goodies could be all yours on April 6! Make sure you save the date so you remember to bid on these and other treats during Meghann‘s bake sale for a good cause!

kreativ In other exciting news, Dulcie of Daily Dulcie and Leanne of Fuel and Fitness have both awarded me with the Kreativ Blogger award. Thanks, ladies!! This is such a huge compliment coming from bloggers of your “kreativ” caliber 😀

When and where do you feel most creative?

Food, doldrums, and a tale

March 25, 2009February 6, 201510 Comments

Dinner last night was quick and easy because I was rushing to finish up that assignment. I had two more stuffed collard greens leaves:

And two Sweet ‘n’ Spicy Black Bean-Salmon Patties with a thick layer of cinnamon-cayenne peanut butter between them:

I see those weird looks you’re giving me, but come on, you know you want to try it!

Halfway through I remembered about the radishes and lettuce in the fridge I should be using, so they got inserted into the middle. Less pretty but more nutritious:

Dessert was about 1/3 cup of my tropical fruit salad (look at that juice!) with a dollop of part-skim ricotta mixed with lemon curd and a sprinkling of granola/trail mix/cocoa java almonds:

And dessert dessert — the One Lucky Duck blonde macaroon sample from Sunday’s brunch:

This was delicious and made me think about how I really need to get into the macaroon-making business.

This morning, I slept in until 6 and then did the 20-minute Morning Flow #1 yogadownload. On top of feeling achy, I’ve been feeling unmotivated about the gym and just stretched too thin in general all week. The yoga was a good way to combine extra sleep with more gentle exercise … but I also keep finding myself trying to make deals in my head, i.e. you didn’t do cardio this morning, so no cake today if some shows up. I need to stop that!

I’m going to try to find some time this weekend to revamp the exercise routine because I think the biggest problem is that I’m getting bored.

And, of course, spinach oats yet again for breakfast! (Click here for the process.)

Topped with strawberries, homemade almond-cashew butter, granola/trail mix, and unsweetened coconut:

And I’ll leave you this morning with a mini Tale of Expansion from my good friend Wife, who you met in a couple photos here. Wife is in the process of getting her PhD (!!!!!) in Athens, GA, but she recently spent spring break in Tucson with her boyfriend. Here is what she had to say about that:

Ted and I went for high tea at the Tohono Chul Tea Room in Tucson over spring break. Not nearly as official and elaborate as the three tier Harrod’s affair when we were in London, but as you can see the scones still make me go crrrrraaaaaazzzzy.

arizona-march-2009-355

What makes YOU go crrrrraaaaaazzzzy?

Tales of Expansion: Baby Butternut Edition

A Natural(ish) Parenting & Food Blog

Tag: peanut butter

Repurposing leftovers, part 671

Elastic waistband, please

Bits ‘n’ pieces

All-in-one

Food, doldrums, and a tale

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: