BAKE FOR THE CURE

On Wednesday, I am hosting a Bake Sale at work to raise funds for the America Cancer Society Breast Cancer walk, we are taking part in on Saturday.

I am so excited, I am going to make cupcakes and rice crispy treats and want to find a couple "healthy" items too! And of course I wont be eating any of the batter. 

My slogan is "Don't be Shitty, Save a Titty."  - Its really catchy with the youngin's at the office, everyone who donated last week with no incentive received a small slip of paper - they can trade that in for a treat at the bake sale! 

Let me know if you have any great recipe ideas for this - if i have time I am going to try and experiment with fondant! 

Here's our walk info: Making Strides against Breast Cancer

Sundays - no day of rest.

Well, according to my boyfriend and I am sure most men in America, Sunday's are for football. I don't mind that one bit because that means for me... Sundays are for the girls and getting ready for the week!


We had our last wedding to attend of the year over the weekend, when we got back yesterday we both felt "ugh." I have to admit, I have not been practicing all that I preach with my workouts and portions - and well he never really did, but we decided to take the plunge (again) together. That will make cooking EASY this week :) 


I went to the store and shopped like I was shopping for just my self, which was nice, and then also getting him a few "goodies"


My List:
Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts - about 2.5 lbs (that will be around 10 4oz servings, 5 of those being my lunch)
White Fish - 1lb, 4 servings
Frozen Spinach to heat for meals and add to my eggs in the morning
Two dozen eggs - which Ill prlly have to go back and get more!
Frozen squash to add to meals so he doesn't know hes eating it
Almonds
Sweet Potatoes
Microwaveable Broccoli steamer bags
Avocados
Fresh Lemon
Ground Bison


For him:
Baby Carrots

Hummus

First, I froze half the fish and two chicken breasts - leaving one part of fish in the fridge for Tuesday and prepping and baking the rest of the chicken. I split the chicken into two baking dishes - one spicy with cayenne pepper and one just peppered with chopped sweet bell peppers. 

For the sweet potatoes, I cleaned them up and divided them into 5 separate servings (one for each lunch for me) - wrapped them in foil and baked for an hour on 375. 

Now that the chicken and the sweet potatoes are done, lunch is also. I will pre-pack the chicken and potatoes into Tupperware and grab a bag of broccoli when I am on my way out the door. I usually keep three of the meals in the fridge and the last two in the freezer and take them out the night before. :)


Rough Dinner Menu This week:
Monday - 1 Breast of the "spicy" chicken on top of a salad with avocado, lemon, onions and balsamic vinegar - maybe I'll whip up some Veggie soup too!


Tuesday - White Fish with steamed veggies/spinach


Wednesday - Thaw frozen chicken, stuffed with tofu-ricotta (see lasagna post) and homemade red sauce, steamed veggies/spinach


Thursday - Bison Burgers 


Friday - peppered chicken breasts with salad for me, pasta and red sauce for him

No Bitchin' Lasagna: my Trick AND Treat

While on my new budget (and new healthy non-smoking life) I decided in the spirit of Halloween I would Trick AND Treat my boyfriend... Inspired by reading skinny bitch for the 5th time (NO, I will not ever go Vegan) I wanted some comfort food without the un-comfort after. The Trick? He has no idea this meal is basically Vegan. The Treat? He LOVED it. 

So, first on the menu this week we have the Lynsanity version of Skinny Bitch "East Coast Lasagna"  - the downside of Skinny Bitch is that 1) many of their required ingredients are a little out of this world and 2) they don't specify serving sizes in their recipes! 

No Bitchin' Lasagna

Serves: 8?

Cook time: 2hrs or less

Ingredients:

(a la Skinny B)

1lb whole wheat or brown rice lasagna noodles

5c basic "red sauce"

4c Tofu "ricotta"

12-14oz vegan ground beef (I used left over chicken)

10oz vegan mozzarella

FYI - I only used 9 noodles, the red sauce recipe makes 7c and I only used 3 in the lasagna. There was leftovers too of the Tofu and I can tell you now its sooooooo good I can't wait to stuff some shells or just eat it plain! I did a miz of Veggie shreds and skim mozzarella.  If you have left over steamed veggies, I threw those in the food processor and mixed it in with the tofu - so good.

Sauce -

2tbs e.v. olive oil

1 onion, diced

8-10 cloves of garlic

2 28oz (salt/sugar free) crushed tomatoes

1 6oz can tomato paste

1/4c red wine (optional - I used it. duh.)

2 tbs finely chopped basil

1tbs oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp hot sauce (optional)

1tbs agave nectar (optional)

Heat oil and in 4-6quart pot, medium/low heat, add onions - cook till clear, not brown! Add garlic cook 1 min. Sirt in tomatoes and paste, increase heat and bring to a boil, turn down low and add the remainder - add the hot sauce or agave last based on how you think the sauce tastes. We ended up adding more garlic and hot sauce.

Tofu "ricotta" - 

14-16oz Extra Firm tofu

3 cloves garlic

2tbs e.v. olive oil

1tbs fried oregano

Combine ingredients in food processor - voila! Ricotta! (I added the veggies to my mix)

Now lasagna directions:

Pre-Heat oven 350. Cook Noodles as directed, add salt for a bit of flavor and for less sticky noodles, I also added some chili powder, yum! When the noodles are done, lay flat on foil or parchment paper till ready for use. Layer one is about 3/4-1c of sauce, then noodles (I fit 3 in a row) scoop in a thin layer of ricotta, then chicken than cheese then sauce, then noodles and repeat until you get to the top. Final layer cheese and sauce! Bake 60-75min until piping hot. 

Theme/Challenge this week: Champagne Taste, PBR Budget

My mom always said that I have champagne taste on a coors light budget. Okay, maybe those weren't her words exactly, but its TRUE!! I am constantly in a financial uphill battle, I just like nice things! 


A few weeks ago, in my delirious-sickness I decided I want to own a home. At home point in my life, I will buy a house.  I WILL. This also lead to a series of part-time applications and opening a high interest bank account, for my direct deposit when I get that part-time gig. For now, I stick to what I know - feeding my man. I canceled a surprise I had planned for him due to "tightening the belt" and he laughed and said OK, no more $5 avocados then.. we have groceries here! By groceries he meant, canned tuna, frozen salmon and some year old mint-and-chip ice cream sandwiches. I'm sorry - you may be 30 and be okay with eating like a college boy, but I will not! Also, this is HIS pantry not mine, although mine isn't much better - I am not one to stock up on items, I buy mostly fresh - spices included and try and stay away from canned and processed goods. If I don't shop on Sunday, I would just about starve. BUT this got me thinking - OK, we're gonna save - then let's have that champagne taste on a PBR budget (we are in San Francisco after all) 


Here are some tips I found by Googling (oh how I love G...) "calorie counting on a budget"

Here are ways to cut calories and your budget:

• Limit pre-packaged diet foods. If you have been relying on foods like frozen diet meals that do the calorie counting for you, you may save money by cooking at home and calculating the calories in your dishes yourself. All you have to do is add up the calories in each ingredient and divide the total by the number of portions the recipe makes.
• Buy fresh fruits and vegetables in season. Whether you shop at the supermarket or the farmer’s market, seasonal, local produce is often the better deal. If you’re craving a dish that calls for out-of-season produce, use frozen — it’s cheaper and whatever you don’t use will keep for a later date.
• Make beans and rice a protein substitute. Beans and rice are affordable, especially if you buy them dry and prepare them yourself. Stick with half a cup serving. It goes from being a high-fiber, nutritious food to being high-calorie very quickly.
• Do the prep work yourself. The more preparation that has gone into your food before you buy it, the more it will cost. You can save a lot by buying fresh greens instead of bagged salad and whole chicken instead of boneless breasts (always remove the skin).
• Maximize the value of your meals. When you cook a dish, make enough to freeze servings for other meals. Apply the same approach when you treat yourself to a meal out: Veteran calorie-counters know restaurant portions are too big, so consider your splurge to be dinner plus lunch tomorrow and take home half in a doggy bag.
• Plan ahead with healthy snacks. If you know snacking is a weak spot for you midday at work, plan ahead. Packing a snack you make at home will save money and calories. Also keep in mind that a container of raw veggies or melon chunks is more budget-friendly than the box of cookies or bag of chips you used to buy.

I found this at EveryDayHealth.com

No cooking this week...

On vacation.

taco thursday

I have been so crazy busy with work - and life- and getting ready for my VACATION woo hoo! I just really have not been properly taking care of myself and I am feeeeling it. UGH. 


Last night I had this great recipe planned - wrap some spinach, quinoa and shrimp in foil - bake it add some mango and avo and yumm... well when I got to the store for the Mango and Avo - none were ripe, I refuse to buy pre-made guac and the mango salsa all looked like it was about to go bad. I almost had a melt down (that's how I know I am tired) My boyfriend said - OK well its Tuesday! Lets make Tacos! [Insert slight roll of the eyes] Fine, I sighed. SO here goes... Taco Thursday - like the name? I came up with it myself. My boyfriends roommate was home so we invited him to join us, family style! 




Shrimp tacos for 3! (or 4)
Serves 6-8 tacos


Ingredients
Shrimp - how ever many you like
Cilantro bunch - chopped, divided in two
Half onion chopped
Two roma tomatoes chopped
1/4c. Plain Greek yogurt (for toppings)
Sm can of green chilies
Yellow corn tortillas
Fat-Free refried black beans
Quinoa (instead of rice)
Lime
Garlic powder
Pepper
Jalapeno sliced




Directions: As always, 1tbs Olive Oil in a pan and add half the chopped cilantro, lime juice and jalapeno. Prep and clean shrimp and add to the pan. Cook on low - until shrimp is pink and set aside. Place the other half of chopped cilantro in a bowl, chop 1/2 onion and place in separate bowl, and chop tomatoes... you guessed it, place in separate bowl. 
I take the can of beans and place it in a pot, add 1/2 can of water and bring to a boil - lots of pepper, and then simmer so it thickens. Prepare quinoa with a little bit of garlic powder for flavor. I heat the corn tortillas -one by one - on the pan after the shrimp was cooked.  and serve family style! 

Maintaining while on vacation!

I am traveling this weekend - and it will be the first time I have traveled for leisure since I have started this journey. I have flown home a few times, but its easy to eat well when you're staying at your Mom's (especially when she is also health conscious.) 


This weekend I will be on a girls trip - hello cookies and "drink of the day!" In an effort to avoid binges and overeating or snacking while away, I am going to be packing a few items in my checked luggage and following these traveling tips -Eating Healthy while on the plane. Luckily, the other girls joining me are also somewhat healthy - one used to be a model (where's my moo-moo?), one is a personal trainer (she'll keep me motivated) and the other is my one of my best friends, who will remind me to relax and have a drink. 


Here is what I am thinking:
Lara Bars
Fiber One cereal
Almonds
Instant Organic Oatmeal for a quick snack before our morning work out. 


Have the cab stop at a grocer before we hit the hotel (or after) and pick up a case of water and some fruits and veggies to snack on...


OH I can't wait I can feel the sunshine now...