Fashion Friday #11

Jun 292012

Hi everyone! Guess where I’m writing this post from? My cube? Nope. Not this girl. I am actually sitting at home resting on the couch. Why, you ask? Oh you know, because I didn’t leave work until 11:45 p.m. last night. Yes I said p.m. Meaning I worked six extra hours. Ugh! But, it did mean I got to sleep in for two extra hours this morning and leave two hours early. Plus I still get some overtime, so it’s not too bad! Also, my team really needed my help with a new business proposal and all of the senior level staff stayed late too. Sometimes you just gotta take one for the team- literally!

So anyway, I need to get a few things finished around the apartment before the official start of my weekend, so I will keep this post brief. First things first though, let’s get to today’s Fashion Friday outfit!

T-shirt: Nordstrom Rack

Skirt: Urban Outfitters

Shoes: Nordstrom Rack

I actually had a really cute new maxi dress that I planned to wear today with a jean jacket, but as soon as I stepped outside for my morning run I knew that wasn’t happening. I don’t know what the weather is like near you, but in DC it is hot. Like, seriously, unbearably hot. I was sweating my face off just walking to the metro! Therefore, I figured a long maxi dress and a jean jacket would have been horrible. Maybe next week!

Edited to add: Sheesh I just looked at the actual temperature on my phone. 104 and feels like 112?! Is this a joke?

Ah! Soooo hot!

Anyway, I have a lot on the agenda for this afternoon so I’d better sign off! My friend Catrina is coming down from New York so I need to do paint my nails, vacuum, and take out the trash. Plus I have three bananas that are on their last legs, so I’m looking to do some baking this afternoon. I promise to share the recipe if it turns out well!

Have a great weekend!

Interesting reads:

Cauliflower “Fried Rice”

Recipes 8 Responses »

Jun 282012

First of all, I’d like to point out that I’ve added some new features to the site. Up at the top menu I’ve added a tab for “Fun Stuff.” In this tab I’ve added a page to round up all of my book reviews, my What I Ate Wednesdays, and a list of my favorite things from around the blog (i.e. all time favorite posts, pictures, recipes, etc.). I’ve been meaning to add this page for a while but I ~~was lazy~~ wanted to wait until I had enough content to make it sufficient. After all, I just started this blog in April! It’s practically still a baby! Anyway, I hope you like the new tab and hopefully as my blog continues to grow I can post some other fun content for you guys along the way. Yay!

Anyway, here’s the site that greeted me as I rose up out of the metro yesterday after work:

The Clarendon Farmer’s Market!! Usually when I get home from work I get off at the Court House metro stop because it’s the one closest to my apartment. However, the Clarendon stop is closest to the dog park, so occasionally if I get out of work late I will get off there and meet Fabio (or my friends, when they used to live there. Wah!) at the dog park. That’s what I did yesterday, and I totally forgot it was Wednesday and that the Farmer’s Market would be open! Hooray!

Last time I was there I bought my basil plant (still alive) and my cilantro plant (dead) so I was itching to get my hands on more produce. Then I unfortunately remembered that Living Social deal that I just bought which is supposed to deliver a huge box of farm-fresh produce to me next week. Plus I just went grocery shopping on Monday and have a ton of produce already in my refrigerator. Sheepishly (and grumpily, if I’m being honest) I stuffed my wallet back into my purse and continued walking to the dog park without buying a thing. I knew Fabio would kill me if I bought MORE veggies (“We threw so many away last time !!”) so I resisted temptation. But the green beans!! The tomatoes!! The peppers!! Gah. Next time green beans, I will get you.

Workout

My workouts this week have been going great! Every morning I’ve woken up and run with Jack (except for Tuesday, when I didn’t have any water) and then completed either all or part of an Insanity DVD. This morning, for example, I completed the warm up of Insanity and then did an amazing leg workout using my ankle weights. The leg workout originally came from this YouTube video, which I have since completed so many times that I have it memorized (apparently I like doing workout videos on repeat- i.e. Insanity & this one! But why mess with a good thing, right?). This YouTube channel has a ton of other great workout videos so be sure to check it out! This gave me a good strength workout to balance out my usual cardio (although Insanity does have a lot of strength exercises as well) and I was happy for the switch up. Hooray!

Recipe

After seeing all those luscious veggies at the Farmer’s Market, I decided should make something for dinner that used up the veggies that I already had in the fridge so that maybe next time I can purchase a few fresh ones from the market. Maybe.

I realized the best way to do that was to use up not only the veggies I have in my produce drawer, but to also make a dent in the awkward frozen veggies that were either bought on sale or given to me when my grandma cleaned out her freezer last (sadly, this is true). With this variety of veggies to work with, I pulled out the cauliflower from my produce drawer and a bag of frozen mixed veggies from the freezer and threw together some cauliflower “fried rice,” based on this recipe that I found through a Google search.

This dish came together so well and was full of Asian flavor! It seriously tasted a lot like regular fried rice only it was made 100% with vegetables! I also didn’t use any oil in the recipe. Woohoo! Even Fabio, who was wrinkling his nose skeptically when I told him my plan, said he thought it tasted exactly the same as regular fried rice. Win! Here’s how it came together…

First I cooked two pieces of turkey bacon until they were nice and crispy. Then I removed them from the pan and set them aside.

Then I whisked an egg with some salt and pepper in a small bowl and added it to the pan I had just used to cook the turkey bacon. Basically I just made a really small one-egg omelet.

As soon as it was done cooking, I removed the egg and placed it on the same plate as the bacon. Then I chopped them both into bite-size pieces and set them aside.

Using the same pan, I sauteed half a chopped onion for a few minutes until the onion pieces started getting tender. Then I added in the frozen bag of mixed veggies and mixed them together with the onions. Once everything was warmed through, I added some salt, pepper, and ginger to the pan and continued cooking until the veggies started to get soft.

While the veggies were cooking, I used my Slap Chop to cut up half a head of cauliflower into really tiny pieces. If you don’t have a Slap Chop, a food processor will also work (I just didn’t feel like lugging mine out since it’s heavy haha).

As soon as the cauliflower was chopped, I added it to the pan with veggies and seasoned it all with more salt and pepper.

Then I covered the pan and allowed the cauliflower to cook for about 5 minutes until it was soft and brown and started to resemble fried rice. At this point, I added in about a teaspoon of my favorite stir-fry sauce to give it an Asian flavor. You can either make your own sauce or use store-bought one. Even soy sauce would probably be fine!

At this point I added the egg and turkey bacon back into the “rice” and mixed everything up.

Then it was time to serve!

Then you have delicious, decadent “fried rice” made 100% from veggies (well, with the addition of an egg and some turkey bacon). It was seriously so tasty!

I served it with some home-made orange chicken (recipe to come soon!)

It was amazing! You seriously have to try this recipe. I feel like I will never use brown rice again!

Cauliflower “Fried Rice”

Recipe type: Side dish

Author: Chelsea @ Chelsea Eats Treats

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 3

This “fried rice” tastes just like the real thing but is made with cauliflower instead of rice!

Ingredients

2 slices of turkey bacon
1 egg
1/2 onion, diced
1 1/2 cups mixed veggies (can be frozen)
1 tbsp. ground ginger
1/2 head cauliflower
1 tsp. of your favorite Asian stir-fry flavoring
Salt
Pepper

Instructions

Cook turkey bacon slices in a large skillet until crsipy. Remove from heat, chop into bite-size pieces, and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk egg with salt and pepper. Cook in the same pan you used for the bacon, just until the egg is cooked. Remove from heat, chop into bite-size pieces, and set aside.
Add diced onion to the same pan and cook until it becomes tender.
Add in mixed veggies and cook until almost tender (about 3 minutes)
Season veggies with salt, pepper, and ginger.
In a food processor or using a Slap Chop, pulse cauliflower until florets are reduced to tiny pieces.
Add cauliflower to pan with veggies, mix, and allow to cook for about 5 minutes more.
Season with more salt and pepper, and add Asian flavoring.
Add in eggs and turkey bacon and mix to combine.
Serve!

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This dish is seriously tasty and if you are craving Asian food I definitely recommend it. Plus now I can be happy that I used up some of the veggies in my fridge. Progress!

So tell me, what’s your favorite thing to get from an Asian restaurant? I love egg drop soup, any kind of pot stickers, and of course, sushi! Spicy tuna is my favorite

Book Review: Drop Dead Healthy

Book Club 6 Responses »

Jun 272012

Hey everyone! I hope you are having a relaxing evening. I just finished cooking dinner (a delicious new Asian recipe to come tomorrow!) and now I’m watching the Olympic Swimming Trials on the couch. I figured this is the perfect time to finally write the Drop Dead Healthy book review as part of Julie’s book club. I really enjoyed this book and have already recommended it to a ton of my friends, so even if you don’t normally read my book reviews you should read this one!

Drop Dead Healthy follows the popular writer A. J. Jacobs on his mission to become the world’s healthiest man. As a writer for Esquire, Jacobs is no rookie at documenting crazy journeys like this one. He first began writing these types of books when he tried to become the world’s smartest man by reading an entire set of encyclopedias. He then moved on to attempt becoming the world’s most biblical man by trying to live his life completely by the bible. This time around, Jacobs aimed to be the world’s healthiest man by dedicating a chapter of his book to each body part and trying to make it as healthy as possible. Jacobs focuses on the normal aspects of a healthy lifestyle, like being more active and maintaining a balanced diet, however he also spends time talking about your ears, eyes, skin, fingers, etc. He interviews A-list doctors and world-renowned health experts on their opinions on how to be extraordinarily healthy. He tries out crazy fads like juice cleanses and caveman workouts and provides his own down-to-earth perspective on each.

Jacobs’ sense of humor makes this book a fun read, and he does a great job at taking all of the advice he receives with a grain of salt, so to speak. He often interviews experts with conflicting opinions (i.e. a germaphobe and a germ-embracer) and whittles it all down into advice you could actually follow. His dedication to the project is admirable and Jacobs is not afraid to try any healthy activity, no matter how crazy it might sound. By the end of the book, Jacobs provides an overview of the most important things he has learned through his journey and highlights the activities he plans to maintain in the long run.

My Thoughts

As a person who generally is fascinated by health and is always striving to be as healthy as possible, I found this book very interesting. I was actually shocked by how many unhealthy habits I have that I didn’t even realize. This book definitely made me think twice about wiping the counter down with a sponge or letting my dog sleep on my pillow. It’s filled with a ton of random interesting health tidbits that I never would have known otherwise.

This is definitely one of those books that I couldn’t stop talking about to my friends and family. “Did you know that dolphins sleep with half of their brain awake while the other half sleeps,” I’d say to anyone who would listen, “that way they can come up for air even while they’re sleeping!” These kind of comments would pop out of my mouth at random and I’m sure I drove everyone nuts, but I enjoyed it. I really loved learning so much about the human race and how our bodies have adapted through evolution. It was all really fascinating to me.

Although I learned a lot from this book, some chapters were definitely more interesting than others (finger exercises? Come on…) and I felt like all of the most important ideas were summarized in a bulleted list at the end. After reading that list I kind of thought ok, now why did I just read that whole book? But it was still a fun and interesting read. As I mentioned above, I have already begged a bunch of my friends who are interested in their health to read this book, so I totally think it was worth reading.

Overall the big takeaways that I got from the book were:

Humans were built to walk. Sitting around on your butt all day is horrible for your body, and you can’t counteract it just by exercising for an hour. Walk as much as you can, each and every day. Wear a pedometer to help remind you to keep moving.
Germs are a serious thing and they are everywhere. Wash your hands with soap and warm water more frequently than you think you need to and always be careful not to touch high-traffic areas like light switches in hotels and doorknobs in the bathroom. And always wash your hands after holding the handrail on the subway. Yuck.
Don’t be afraid of the doctor. I know personally, my health insurance card that I use to pay for things like medications and copayments for doctors’ offices just changed and I have been too lazy to look into the new card and set everything up. This is going to change ASAP and I’m going to schedule appointments with the dermatologist, the dentist, and a regular physician. I need to suck it up and go. Period. It’s stupid to ignore my health for such a minor issue.

Anyway, those are the big takeways I got from the book, but there were a ton of other interesting tips and pieces of advice in there. It was a great read for sure!

So tell me, if you read the book, what was your biggest takeaway? What habits will you change after reading this book? What did you find most interesting? Will you ever make a never-ending to-do list like Jacobs did to remember everything you’re supposed to be doing?

WIAW #9

WIAW 5 Responses »

Jun 272012

Hey people! I hope your Wednesday is going well. Mine has been pretty busy but not too crazy, just how I like it! Plus the weather is beautiful, I got a good workout in this morning, and I have some yummy dinner plans for tonight All together I’d have to say my Wednesday is going smoothly!

And, as part of a regular Wednesday tradition around here, it’s time for this weeks What I Ate Wednesday Post (WIAW). Thanks to Jenn from Peas and Crayons for hosting the link up, as always. It’s so fun to participate and I’m glad I can be a part of such a big phenomenon.

Also, for the month of June Jenn wanted us to focus on how we snack healthily (which I have sucked at recently since when I’m busy I don’t snack) but this week I managed to capture at least a couple of my healthy snacks. Progress? Anyway, without further ado, here’s what I ate yesterday!

1. For breakfast I had a failed attempt at overnight oats, although it actually turned out delicious. I wanted to make overnight oats (which usually involves oats, milk, yogurt, and chia seeds mixed up and refrigerated overnight) but I didn’t have any chia seeds on hand. Knowing that chia seeds absorb liquid and were probably essential to overnight oats, I did some research online to see if it would work without them and I found a few people who made overnight oats with just oatmeal, yogurt, and milk. I gave it a try but when I checked on it this morning it was still watery mush. Womp womp. I quickly nuked the “overnight oat-mush” in the microwave until it was cooked just like regular oatmeal (only with the added benefit of yogurt) and threw a few raisins and some peanut butter in for flavor. The oats were really delicious but I was sad that they weren’t the cold refreshing summer breakfast I had planned. Oh well, I will just have to break down and buy chia seeds! Oh, and I had a banana on the side :-p

2. For lunch I headed to Sweet Green, the new salad place near my office, with a coworker. I had a buy-one-get-one-free coupon (and I still have another coupon for a free salad) so it was perfect for a quick , cheap lunch date with my friend. I chose the “June Salad Special” which was made of spinach, goat cheese, peaches, toasted almonds, and grilled chicken. I enjoyed it with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing and it was amazing!!!!

3. When I got home from work I was starving, so I munched on a few raw almonds to tide me over until dinner time. Raw almonds are my favorite and I could literally eat the whole bag in one sitting. Luckily I was careful of my portion size since I knew I’d be eating dinner soon.

4. For dinner I had some spinach ricotta raviolis that we brought back from New York and had in the freezer. They were so delicious! I had them along with some extra spinach, tomato sauce, and grilled chicken. Yum yum yum. Those Italian New Yorkers are geniuses.

5. For dessert I had two spoonfulls of Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Butter Banana Greek FRYO. O M G. This stuff is phenomenal. It’s a delicious banana-flavored Greek froyo with peanut butter swirled throughout. I was originally going to only have one spoonfull but somehow that morphed into two. Two, rather large, spoonfulls, I should add. Oh well, it was so worth it! Yum!!

And that’s all I had to eat yesterday! I had originally packed myself some strawberries to munch on at work, but I was too busy and forgot to eat them. Luckily they were still there this morning and I am devouring them right now. Strawberries are on sale and SO GOOD right now! Hooray!

So, what did you guys eat this week? Did you try anything new? The new-to-me Ben & Jerry’s was totally the highlight of my eats yesterday and I’m already looking forward to having more for dessert tonight. I’ve heard the other Greek FROYO flavors are good too but I haven’t tried them yet!

Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Recipes 6 Responses »

Jun 262012

Hey people! How is your Tuesday going? I personally had another super busy day at work, despite my initial assessment that it was going to be slow. Boy was I wrong. My day was filled with a ton of pointless meetings that sucked away all my time and soon I realized it was 5:00 and I still had a ton of stuff left on my to-do list

Worst feeling ever! Luckily I sped through my afternoon and got out of there by six. Thank goodness!

Anyway, I had a really scary thing happen to me this morning. When I woke up and turned on the sink to brush my teeth, there was no water. As in, not even a drop came out of the faucet. Instead the sink just made a weird noise like water was rushing up into the pipe but nothing came out.

Naturally instead of calmly waiting to see if it would turn back on, I panicked and started getting really concerned about how I was going to wash my face, take a shower, etc. I woke up Fabio in a panic and he told me to go walk Jack and test the water when I came back. I was annoyed about having to walk with Jack, but I didn’t want to risk getting all sweaty from a run in case I couldn’t shower before work.

Of course by the time I got back the water was on (how did Fabio know that would happen?!?) but by then I had already wasted a lot of time and couldn’t squeeze in my run with Jack. At least there was water though! You should have seen how happy I was when I finally got to brush my teeth…

Workout

Despite missing my run with Jack this morning, I was able to complete an Insanity DVD. I was hoping to do the Pure Cardio DVD despite the fact that it has been skipping lately. Unfortunately, when I popped it into the machine it wouldn’t even load! I tried taking it out and putting it back in, but even then it was barely working and the intro froze. Grrrr. I guess I need to ~~illegally download~~ buy a new one.

Once I got the next DVD (Plyometric Circuit) into the machine I was on my way. That makes two consecutive mornings this week completing Insanity so I am off to a good start for the week!

Recipe

After I got home from work yesterday, Fabio and I headed to the grocery store to pick up a few necessities for the kitchen. On my list was one of my favorite vegetables (or tubers?) sweet potatoes! Yum!

I have made a few really delicious sweet potato recipes (like ones that are stuffed with feta) but I realized I don’t have my recipe for sweet potato fries on the blog. That had to be fixed immediately! These get so crispy in the oven, have a great spicy/sweet flavor, and don’t use any oil! My secret ingredient? Egg whites! Here’s how they come together…

First I preheated the oven to 450 degrees. Then I placed one large sweet potato in a microwave-safe bowl and heated it for two minutes until the sweet potato was partially-cooked and a little easier to cut into.

Then I cut both pointy ends off my sweet potato and cut it into french fry-size wedges.

Then in a separate bowl I mixed together a bit of salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and paprika with an egg white. I whisked this mixture until the egg white started to froth.

Then I tossed the sweet potato wedges in the egg white mixture and spread them out evenly on a greased rack on top of a foil-lined cookie sheet. Placing them on the rack allows the hot air to circulate evenly around the wedges so they get crispy on all sides. No one likes a french fry that’s crunchy on one side and mushy on the other! Just make sure to spray the rack with non-stick spray because the egg white will make the potatoes stick.

Then I placed these in the oven for about fifteen minutes until they were fully cooked and started to brown on the top.

Note: I got impatient at the end and turned the oven up to broil because the rest of my food was ready and I didn’t feel like waiting for the potatoes. If you do this they will taste fine but might burn a little at the edges. I don’t mind the taste, so this is a good way to speed up the cooking process if you’re in a rush!

Then I allowed the potatoes to cool for a few minutes before transferring them to my plate.

The egg white makes these fries get much crispier than when you just bake them with oil. I’m not sure why but maybe it’s because of the protein? Sort of like how meringues get crisp in the oven? I’m not exactly sure what the science is behind it, but I am all for it! I have also remade my regular baked french fries with this method and they came out awesome!

I served these with a turkey burger and spinach and had myself a delicious, comforting meal!

Yum! You must try using the egg whites!

Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Recipe type: Side Dish

Author: Chelsea @ Chelsea Eats Treats

Prep time: 4 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 19 mins

Serves: 2

These baked sweet potato fries come out nice and crispy due to their secret ingredient…an egg white!

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato
1 egg white
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Seasoning of choice (I used cayenne pepper and paprika for a sweet/spicy flavor)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Place sweet potato in a microwave-safe container and heat for about two minutes until potato is partially-cooked and easier to cut.
Chop pointy ends off of sweet potato. Slice potato into french fry shaped wedges.
In a separate bowl, whisk egg white, salt, pepper, and seasonings until egg whites start to froth.
Toss potato wedges in egg white mixture and place on a greased rack on top of a foil-lined cookie sheet.
Bake in the oven for fifteen minutes or until sweet potatoes look crispy and begin to brown.

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These are so easy and delicious, you gotta try ‘em!

So tell me, do you have any horror stories with your water or power not working? I was envisioning nightmare situations such as washing my hair in the sink at work if the water didn’t come on, but thankfully that didn’t happen! Phew!

A Weekend Visiting my Family and a Trip to the ER

Random 2 Responses »

Jun 252012

Hi guys! I had a super fun weekend but now it’s back to the daily grind. But first, I’d like to share a recap with you all. I have a lot of pictures to share so let’s get started!

[Rewind to Friday night]

I got out of work on Friday shortly after posting my Fashion Friday post, which means that it was 5:30 and I actually got out of work on time for once. Usually on Fridays I need to send a bunch of weekly reports over to our clients and they all need approval from various senior-level employees before they can be sent, so a lot of times I’m stuck in the office until at least 6 or 6:30 on Fridays. Which. Sucks. But not this week!

After being released from ~~hell~~ work, I sprinted home and packed up my things and took Jack with me over to my mom’s house where we enjoyed a relaxing evening outside.

My mom cooked up a fabulous dinner and we sat around enjoying chilled white wine on the patio. It was super relaxing and I had a great night with my family.

Jack was confused by the outdoor lights…

…but he definitely had the most fun romping around my mom’s backyard and playing with her three German Short-haired Pointers. Jack loves going over to my mom’s house for this reason Then after a bit too much wine, we called it a night

Saturday morning I woke up nice and early to this beautiful sight:

A cloudless summer day with an empty pool = heaven in my book.

I spent the day lounging by the pool with my mom catching up and reading books. I finished this month’s June book club selection a while ago and spent Saturday finishing the next book I had started, Insurgent. It was a really great book and picked up right where it’s prequel, Divergent, left off. I owe you guys two book reviews now! I’ll have to get those started this week

When I wasn’t reading, my mom showed me around her vegetable garden and I oohed and ahhed at her new plants. This year they are enormous and she has a ton of tomatoes that will be ready soon!

She also has a boatload of basil, and some pretty roses that are blooming.

Here’s a view of some of her plants from the other side of the pool:

Soooo many plants! Now do you see why after living in NYC for a summer I really missed grass and trees? I grew up surrounded by green!

After laying around for a bit and relaxing, my mom cooked us up some lunch. Homemade white pizza with garlic, cheese, and basil, all cooked on the grill…yes please!

After lunch, I quickly showered and said goodbye to my mom and stepdad and drove ten minutes away to my dad’s house. I love that they live so close together.

When I arrived, my sister and I decided to take Jack and Max (my dad’s dog) on a nice long walk through the park. I didn’t remember to turn on my MapMyRun app until we had already been walking for about 10 minutes, so we probably actually walked for about 2.5 miles.

Walking with a seven-year old and two dogs who stop to sniff does not equal a quick pace so this was a very slooooow walk. It was fun though!

That evening we hung around the house, ate dinner, and got some soft-serve ice cream at Jimmy Cone, a local ice cream place. It was packed! My sister, dad, and I all picked vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. So delicious!

When we got home I played with my sister (who wanted to write letters to her favorite toys- don’t ask me why) and watched TV with the family.

Then on Sunday I played outside with my sister and Jack for a while before eventually heading back home. But not before Jack explored the trampoline.

Or found awkward places to rest.

Then I returned home where Fabio greeted me after spending four days in Ocean City with his friends.

I was so happy to see him, but not so happy to see the cut on his finger which was deep enough that it needed medical attention. We then spent the rest of the afternoon in urgency care getting it looked at.

He cut his finger somehow while romping around with the boys in Ocean City and it was just deep enough that he thought he better have it looked at. He also got a tetnis shot just in case any nasty bacteria was lingering. The doctor wanted to cauterize it with silver nitrate (which sounded extremely painful) but luckily it stopped bleeding so she decided it wasn’t necessary. Phew!

After we got home from the doctor, we watched the Olympic diving trials (awesome) and Sherlock Holmes 2, which we both fell asleep during haha. We are going to re-watch the second half of it tonight!

So, how were your weekends? Do anything fun? Did you spend lots of time with family? Or maybe you have a funny ER experience to share lol.

Fashion Friday #10

Fashion Fridays No Responses »

Jun 222012

Hello everyone!! Happy Friday!! Not only is it a) Friday and b) summer, but I got this post up really late today which means it’s already almost time to go home! Yowza, the day has flown right by. So, without further ado, shall I share my outfit for another Fashion Friday??

Dress: Target

Shoes: Target (my friend Megan works at Target so I can practically see her rolling her eyes)

Jean jacket: Gap

Speaking of Jack-like things, Jack was clearly a fan of this outfit since he decided to be a part of today’s Fashion Friday picture. This was after chasing him around the apartment this morning with his rope and tennis balls. What, isn’t that how everyone starts their morning? No? Ok, moving on.

I also had on these snazzy earrings that my mom brought me back from her recent trip to Italy. Thanks, Mom!

So I hope you liked today’s outfit! And also, since I’m in a good mood, anyone care to see another fun outfit from this week? Do ya?? Ok well even if you don’t, I’ll show you what I wore yesterday because I was a fan of the ensemble.

Dress: Marshall’s (seen again here)

Leopard Belt: J. Crew

Leopard shoes: DSW

Cardigan: Nordstrom Rack (if you couldn’t tell, I have these in a gazillion colors and wear them all the time. They are such a closet staple!)

This was a fun outfit with all the leopard accessories I <3 leopard!

The Truth About Sugar

Yesterday I was checking my email and I came across one of my biweekly newsletters from WebMD. I signed up to receive health/fitness-related WebMD updates in the fall and love looking through them when I’m bored. They always have great articles on what foods you should be eating, what exercises are most efficient, etc. Of course, you can always read similar information from Fitness, Shape, Cooking Light, and other sources, but WebMD does a good job of not only explaining what you should be doing but also telling you why it’s important.

For example, I like knowing that when you’re hungover you should workout to feel better because your body burns off alcohol first, then fat, then muscle. If you don’t work out then you will spend all day burning your alcohol calories and never get down to burning much fat. Obviously I realize this is easier said than done, but isn’t it nice to know?

Anyway, I came across this article yesterday about being addicted to sugar. It talks about all the diets that are hot right now that recommend you completely eliminate sugar from your diet. It explains that sugar gives you a rush at first, but then you will crash and be zapped from all your energy.

Source: WebMD

However, WebMD being the amazing source that it is, recognizes that eliminating anything from your diet forever is not sustainable, and suggests trying to limit sugar in your diet by consuming smaller increments instead (i.e. less in your coffee, skip on dessert). It also suggests getting your sugar fix from fresh fruits instead (yum!).

Of course, sugar can still lead to weight gain so you need to watch your portion sizes, but I love that WebMD gives me good, solid advice that I can stick to and know that it came from a reputable source. Plus this article couldn’t have arrived at a better time for me since I am trying to revamp my healthy eating habits. The science in this article helped to motivate me even more!

So there you have it! I just thought I’d pass along that little nugget of wisdom and recommend you all to one of my favorite health resources!

So tell me, where do you get your health information from??

The Clean-Out-Your-Pantry Salad

Recipes 1 Response »

Jun 212012

Hey people! Sorry for the late post today; work was too crazy for me to get this post finalized during my lunch break like I usually do. You see, each day at work I’m supposed to take an hour lunch break since I’m technically there for nine hours but am only allowed to bill for eight. A forced lunch break is a-okay with me, and I usually use that time to catch up on blogs and finalize whatever post I am working on However, on really busy days like today, I have to work through my lunch and can’t get to the blog. Womp wompp. Oh well, that’s what the evenings are for!

Anyway, now I am sitting comfortably on the couch with Jack and we are having a nice evening bonding since Fabio is at the beach with his friends. Jack is great companion, since sometimes I can freak myself out when I’m home alone (anyone else get like that?). Jack has been coming over to sit next to me and is current;y resting his head on my shoulder because he ~~loves me~~ wants me to throw his tennis ball. This dog never runs out of energy!

Workout

My workouts this week have been really good! After not doing Insanity for a while after Memorial Day, I was feeling incredibly sore after starting it up again earlier this week. My calves were soooo tight and my glutes were painful too! I was especially sore in the mornings so my runs with Jack were pretty painful, but we pushed through them! Plus, after completing a few more Insanity workouts my body has readjusted again and my muscles feel fine now. Phew!

I was planning to add in a few afternoon runs to the dog park in addition to my morning workouts, but with this weather I didn’t think it would be good for Jack (heat warnings being what they are…). Instead I settled for taking him on a long leisurely walk around the neighborhood this afternoon, which he seemed to enjoy.

Recipe

Before Fabio left for his male bonding trip, I cooked us up a dinner that would use up a lot of the veggies we had in the fridge, since I knew I would be eating less by myself for the rest of the week. After looking through the pantry and the fridge, I came up with a delicious orzo salad with chicken sausage and plenty of veggies. This salad recipe is perfect for cleaning out your fridge and pantry because it can be made with whatever you have one hand!

First, I picked a base for my salad. In this case, it was spinach but it could easily have worked with romaine, arugula, spring mix, or whatever greens you have.

Then I picked the protein, which happened to be these delightful chicken sausages made with broccoli that we picked up from an Italian deli in New York.

I cooked them up in a small skillet with some garlic and onions.

While the sausages were cooking, I picked an add-in for my salad. I chose to use up the rest of the orzo that we had on hand from the last orzo salad I made.

FYI, if you’ve ever seen on Pinterest that a wooden spoon will keep a boiling pot from spilling over, it’s true!

While the pasta and the sausages were cooking, I assembled the rest of my add-ins. You could include any veggies or flavors you want here, but I chose to use some tomatoes, steamed brussels sprouts, and basil, since that’s what I had available.

When the pasta was done cooking, I mixed it up with the spinach and vegetables.

Then the sausage was done cooking, so I sliced it up and added that in as well.

When it was all ready to go, I mixed up a quick salad dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper (I made a little extra because I like having it on hand to flavor my veggies).

Then I drizzled a couple of tablespoons over the entire salad and mixed it all together. Then it was time to serve!

Yummmm! It was so good and easy!

So good!

The Clean-Out-Your-Pantry Salad

Assemble the following ingredients based on what you have on hand.

Salad Base (pick one or more)

Spinach leaves
Romaine
Arugula
Mixed greens

Protein (pick one)

Cooked chicken breast
Fish
Ground turkey
Chicken or turkey sausage
Black or red beans
Almonds, walnuts, or other nuts
Fat free Greek yogurt

Add-ins (pick one)

Quinoa
Orzo
Rice
Sunflower seeds
Croutons

Vegetables (pick one or more)

Cut fresh asparagus
Cooked halved baby carrots
Broccoli or cauliflower florets
Steamed, halved brussels sprouts
Quartered mushrooms
Bell peppers
Peas
Corn
Green beans

Flavorings (pick one)

Italian: basil, tomatoes, garlic, balsamic/olive oil dressing

Mexican: salsa, chopped onions, cilantro, cumin

Asian: ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, spicy garlic sauce

Mix everything together in a large bowl and serve! If you’re smart, you’ll make enough to have leftovers for lunch the next day

So tell me, how do you guys use up ingredients in your fridge and pantry? Egg scrambles are another way I like to use up veggies that are on their last legs. These salads are quite tasty though!

Now I’m off to watch some TV, work on a craft project, and hang out with the pup. What the heck do I watch on Wednesdays now that Modern Family is over? When there is no So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Got Talent, or The Bachelorette to watch, I am at a loss. The Choice? Hm. Don’t think so.

WIAW #8

WIAW 2 Responses »

Jun 202012

Hello, everyone! Are you all dying in this heat wave? I wouldn’t know because I’m huddled in a ~~dungeon~~ cube all day, but I have heard that it’s brutally hot outside. My iPhone says it’s 93 degrees but feels like 97. There’s even a heat advisory for the DC area. Tomorrow is supposed to be even worse, around 101 degrees! Bleh! This weather is too hot already!

Anyway, since it’s Wednesday, let’s jump right into my What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW) post. Thanks to Jenn from Peas and Crayons for hosting the link up, like always!

So, here is what I ate yesterday:

1. For breakfast, I had a veggie scramble which included one egg + one egg white + onions + tomatoes + spinach. Yum, yum, yum. I also had half of an English muffin and a small glass of Naked’s Green Machine Juice (which is made of fruits like apples, bananas, kiwis, and strawberries, but also features good-for-you nutrients like broccoli, spinach, wheat grass, and Barley grass). What a fantastic and tasty breakfast!

2. For lunch this week, I have been trying to incorporate more fruits and veggies based on my goals from last week. Therefore, I had the usual sandwich thin with turkey, low fat American cheese, and mustard; but instead of my usual almonds, pretzel twists, and yogurt-covered pretzels as sides, I opted for pretzel twists, kale chips, and prunes. It was a good switch and added some extra nutrients to my diet. Quite delicious.

3. I didn’t finish all my kale chips during lunch (for some reason I get satisfied after only eating a few kale chips- which is awesome) so I munched on the rest of them as a snack a while later. They are so tasty and remind me a bit of Doritos.

4. A few hours later I devoured some sweet watermelon that was left over from last weekend’s BBQ in NY. Watermelon is definitely one of my favorite summer snacks

5. For dinner I had another orzo summer salad only this time it was made with tomatoes, basil, spinach, onions, garlic, Brussels sprouts, and flavorful broccoli chicken sausage. The salad had a tasty balsamic dressing and I will definitely post the recipe soon!

And that’s it! That is everything I ate yesterday. Upon reflection I got a good amount of fruits and veggies in, but there was still a good amount of processed foods and I ultimately would like everything to be fresh. It does seem like I’m making progress though!

One thing that should help me with my goals is this living social deal that I purchased yesterday:

I will get two packages of farm-fresh produce delivered to my house for $50, and then I can also schedule a tour of the farm! It was a great deal and I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

Anyway, enjoy your Wednesday and feel free to share some of your food highlights from the week in the comments below! See ya later alligator

…after a while crocodile. Ok sorry, I’m done now.

No More Excuses & Diet Coke Brownies

Recipes, Workouts 6 Responses »

Jun 192012

I have a confession to make. A shameful, horrible, confession. My diet and exercise goals started slowly slipping away from me last week. You see, to keep me motivated I need a date. I need a benchmark. I need to be able to say, “Yes, I completed my goal on time!” Most recently that goal was Memorial Day Weekend, where I knew I was going to see all of my friends and would be bikini-clad for the entire weekend. Before that it was a trip to Jamaica with my family. Before that, it was other trips or events or parties. But now? There is nothing in my future.

No parties. No trips. Nothing to motivate me and keep me going. I mentioned this last week and said I was trying to keep my motivation up by planning a trip somewhere, but no one wants to actually commit to a vacation so it’s still up in the air. I needed some help. Like serious, inspiring, motivational help.

I tried looking at Pinterest. I browsed through tons of motivational quotes and pictures, but nothing was picking me up.

Source: Pinterest

Don’t get me wrong, I was doing just fine. I wasn’t putting on weight, I wasn’t eating junk, and I didn’t skip all my workouts; I just wasn’t doing as well as I could have been.

I went from doing five Insanity workouts in a week to doing maybe two. I still ran every morning with Jack, but sometimes I would take a shortcut through my neighborhood so it was only a 3/4 mile run instead of the full mile. My typically small dessert portions were growing bigger and bigger, and I didn’t even care.

I think that’s the hardest part; that I would see myself doing these things and I knew I was going down a slippery slope, but since I had no deadline and no quantifiable goals, I didn’t do anything about it.

Until yesterday. Yesterday I talked with my friend Catrina (who I’ve mentioned in my weight loss story) about this issue. She admitted that she, too, was having similar issues with her diet. She admitted to me that she had somewhat fallen off the wagon since Memorial Day. It amazes me how we are so similar even when we are hundred of miles away from each other and only catch up a few times a week.

We made a pact, right then and there, to hold each other accountable for our actions. No big trip coming up? It doesn’t matter. No event where I will see everyone I know? Not a problem. Catrina is there, in New York, and if she’s going to work hard for me then I’m going to work hard for her too. If I don’t feel like exercising all I have to do is think of her, working her tushie off for me, and I will be motivated to do the same. Sometimes all we need is someone there to support us, and that’s definitely what Catrina is for me.

Workout

Inspired by this new motivation, yesterday evening when I got home from work I busted out an Insanity DVD and did the whole thing from start to finish and you know what? It felt excellent. I loved it. I felt strong, I felt my muscles burning, and I felt proud! Proud that I got out of this slump and stopped it before it became a real problem. Sometimes, taking the first step can be the hardest.

Recipe

So while I’m getting started with this revitalized healthy lifestyle, I have to post this last bad-for-me recipe. While it’s not exactly horrible for you, it’s not the best either. I’m talking like zero nutritional value. But, sometimes you gotta indulge yourself and eat a sweet treat, especially one that is chocolatey, gooey, and low in calories. But be careful of this recipe, it can be dangerous because it is so good, and it’s lightened up so you think, ok, what’s one little bite going to do to me? Well if you keep taking little bites, before you know it the whole thing will be gone and you’ll be on a slippery slope like I was. In fact, I wound up throwing the rest of these away last night because I decided I no longer need tempting desserts sitting around. So for now, I will file this recipe away for a future day when I’ve been working really hard and deserve a little reward. But not before sharing it with you fine people

Ok so, this recipe is really, really easy. And delicious. In fact, it only involves these two ingredients:

Diet coke and brownie mix. Yes, if you browse Pinterest at all I’m sure you’ve seen this a thousand times, but last week when I was in my lazy funk I decided to try it out and let me tell you, it was great! I was skeptical at first because it sounded so weird but after reading posts from a bunch of people who had tried it, I gave it a shot. Wow! You won’t be disappointed. While they don’t taste exactly like regular brownies, they do taste great. They are very moist and just taste more like a fat-free brownie. Which is still a-okay in my book

Anyway, you can use whatever kind of brownie mix you like (I bought this one at CVS so they had a limited selection but Low Fat would have been great!) and you can either use a bottle or a can of any diet soda you want. I chose Diet Coke but Diet Cherry Vanilla Coke or Diet Root Beer would have been interesting!

First I preheated the oven to 350 degrees, which was the temperature recommended on my box. Then I dumped the brownie mix into a large bowl. Next I poured 1 cup of diet soda into the bowl. I read a bunch of different reviews online which recommended various amounts of soda (such as 12 oz. or 6 oz.) so I decided to go with 8 oz. (1 cup) just to play it safe.

Then, I used a whisk to mix everything together until there were no bubbles and everything was well incorporated. Then I poured the mixture into a greased brownie pan.

Next I baked the brownies in the oven for the recommended time (25 minutes) plus an additional 5 minutes, until a toothpick came out clean. I let the brownies cool before cutting them up and serving them with a nice cool glass of skim milk.

Yumm. They were soo good! Plus since the Diet Coke was zero calories, the brownies came out to 118 calories each.

Diet Coke Brownies

Recipe type: Dessert

Author: Chelsea @ Chelsea Eats Treats/Pinterest

Prep time: 2 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 32 mins

Serves: 18 brownies

These two-ingredient brownies are simple to make and are only 110 calories! Plus they are moist and delicious.

Ingredients

8 oz. diet soda
1 package brownie mix

Instructions

Preheat oven according to brownie box directions.
Pour brownie mix and 8 oz. diet soda into a large bowl. Whisk until well-combined.
Pour mix into a greased brownie pan.
Bake in the oven according to package directions, but expect to add a few minutes to cook time (about 5 minutes for me) until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let the brownies cool before serving.

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So, now that that recipe is posted and out of my mind (and kitchen) I feel ready to tackle all my fitness goals again. No more snacking on dessert treats (unless I work hard for them and feel I can eat them without feeling guilty) and no more slacking. It’s time to buckle down.

How do you guys spark your motivation? Do you rely on a friend? The Internet? Yourself? I’d love to hear your tips!