I Went There-Pasta Edition

I haven't done this in about seven years:

Plain spaghetti,plain bottled sauce and white hamburger bun garlic bread-no veggies,no fiber,no protein! A nutritional nightmare for sure-but completely necessary today! After a little too much wine last night(oops!),I wanted carbtastical meals all day today! So I did. That is how you know when you are getting old-3 glasses of wine put you under for a full 24 hours and you are truly and deeply ashamed that you didn't eat any veggies at dinner!

In unrelated news I just watched a stand up comedian on Comedy Central On Demand-Iliza Shlesinger-so funny! I am actually a huge comedy fan-not smart comedy either-dumb,raunchy and stupid is what I like. It is a guilty pleasure of mine-kinda like my pasta dinner-some days are like that!

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"On The Go" Drinks

"On the go" drinks seem to be getting very popular these days. They are a good idea-less paper cups and plastic bottles for one thing! Let's take a look at two different ones I tried this week:

Starbucks Vias are little packets of instant coffee that you just add water to. I was SUPER excited about these because everyone knows I am a coffee freak :). I know instant coffee gets a bad rap-I mean that stuff hasn't had any new advances since Folger's Crystals in the seventies right? I figured that Starbucks would pull through and make some amazing product that actually tastes like the real thing. Unfortunately I was wrong! I tried the Italian Roast flavor and it was a muddy murky and bitter mess. Super sad too-I really thought I was going to be able to get my Starbucks fix any time I pleased. Boo. Well it might be okay if you are camping and need to get caffeinated quickly-but I think you would be better bringing tea bags and going that route. It didn't dissolve all the way either-there were little coffee dust specks all over my mug.

Next up-Crystal Light Pure Fitness Water-grape flavor.

Usually during my workout I would drink a liter of plain water and a liter of Powerade Zero. I LOVE the Powerade but it was getting a little expensive having one everyday! Plus I needed some type of fitness drink-I usually work out at least 90 minutes so I feel like it gives me some boost. Well I have just finished my first box of this-10 in all-and I really love it. I tastes wonderful-is somewhat more naturally sweetened-and it is much cheaper to buy a box of this for about $2 than a $1 Powerade everyday. It dissolved completely and wasn't sticky or sugary tasting at all. I recommend it-it is exactly what it claims to be. I plan on trying more flavors!

All in all,I think "on the go" drinks are a great idea-environmentally they make sense,you don't have to lug cases of anything in the house when you get home from the store(one of my little pet peeves) and it is much cheaper. A lot of times you are paying for plain water with some other stuff added. Make it yourself and save some money!

Me Being Yucky

Prepare yourselves for a gross picture of me post-workout! I like how I hardly post pictures of myself on here yet I feel the need to share this atrocity haha:

I figured if everyone else was doing it then it was only fair I did too. And no I generally don't wear makeup to work out but I had been out and about-usually I look MUCH more disgusting if that is at all possible!

After my hour of circuit training I was too warm for my usual oatmeal breakfast so I prepared this delicious concoction:

• silk plain yogurt


• strawberries microwaved with some jam


• kashi heart to heart cereal

So good! I was so happy to find a big tub of that yogurt-only $3.79! That is one thing I have missed since going vegan-and it gives me a nice protein boost! And yes I always eat out of those Pyrex measuring cups-it is nothing to be ashamed of!

Nuts 'N Berries Dessert Tea

In an unplanned yet beautiful string of events I ended up with this concoction which tasted just like a nuts and berries drink. The drink usually has Frangelico hazelnut liqueur,Chambord raspberry liqueur and cream in it-delicious yet alcoholic and definitely not vegan. What happened is I brewed up some of this:

and I just so happened to find some of this on sale at Peter's Cornucopia(hazelnut flavor):

With a packet of Sugar In The Raw it was heaven in a mug! I highly suggest this combo. I actually bought the Celestial Tea Fruit Sampler which also contains Country Peach flavor-I see peach cobbler tea in my near future! You should try it-not to mention it tamed my sweet tooth for about 40 calories. If you can think of any other combos make 'em known!

What To Do With TVP Nuggets

TVP,when prepared just right can be really delicious! The granules are easy-tacos,sloppy joes,meaty pasta sauce-basically just sub for ground beef. The chunks however-are a little trickier.I actually used to hate them until I learned how to make them right! These chunks(for lack of a more appetizing word-nuggets maybe?)taste just like the beef in beef and broccoli. First-get a pot of water boiling and add 2 cups of the dried TVP nuggets:

Be careful because these LOVE boiling over! Simmer for about 10 minutes and check for doneness. They should be soft and moist throughout-if they are still hard in the middle let it go a bit longer. Drain.

Gather the ingredients for the marinade:

• 1/2 cup mirin


• 3Tbs. soy sauce


• 2 cloves minced garlic(or 1 tsp. minced)


• 1 tsp. sesame oil


• 2 tsp. chili paste


• 1 Tbs. vinegar


• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger(I forgot to put that in the pic-oops)

Whisk all ingredients together and stir in TVP nuggets. Marinate for a few hours,stirring occasionally. When you are ready:

Heat up about 1 Tbs. of olive oil and dump everything in the pan. Fry,stirring around often until the nuggets start to brown. They should soak up all the marinade after a bit. Add a little water to deglaze the pan and cook until browned to your liking.

Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the finished product! I served it on a bed of couscous laced with olives,lemon and olive oil,broccoli and green salad. Really delicious dinner! I am thinking of doing skewers of them at our next BBQ.

How Lucky Am I?

Look what I have in my fridge! A whole carton of iced Panera coffee! This could be dangerous...but at least it saves me a little bit of money. Every afternoon I get a major jones for some coffee-especially when it's hot-I want iced coffee! I just put some cubes in it,some soymilk and stevia and I am a really happy girl :)

On to the pizza...

Check out this vegan Italiano masterpiece! We used a Spano crust,fra diavolo sauce,olives,banana peppers,spinach and mushrooms. I will even reveal my "big secret" to making vegan pizza taste so good-even to meat eaters. Fennel seed! It gives it a "meaty" taste-sausage usually has  fennel in it so it gives it that illusion. Everyone who tastes our homemade pizza is surprised how good it is. Another secret-we serve it with Kraft Creamy Italian Dressing for dipping-yup-it's vegan!

I Have A Sauce Addiction!

Okay-again with this sauce! I am ADDICTED to it! Ryan's sister got this for us and I have been putting it on everything. This is how it is described on Pampered Chef's website:

Red raspberries and habanero peppers create a unique, sweet and hot sauce. Add a kick to grilled, broiled or roasted meats, such as duck, lamb and poultry. Pour it over cream cheese or warm Brie, or mix it in a vinaigrette for salad.

I am definitely going to try the salad dressing idea-perhaps with some walnut oil?

Brand New Shiny Mat!

Look what I FINALLY broke down and bought today! The pink one was just about dead. Every time I worked out there were bits every where. I got my use out of it though-I have used it almost every day since September so I can't complain! The purple one is actually the same mat,just different color. They are the plain jane Danskin ones-I am curious if the more expensive ones are worth it-are they?

On another note-I happened to be at Wal-Mart today for my eye appointment($176 for contacts-PUKE!)-and I thought I would pick up a few cucumbers for a salad tonight-none to be found! Weird. Also no zucchini-there must have been a mad rush or something.

What kind of mat do you use? Are the expensive ones worth the money?

Yoga Pup

Mulder loves yoga-we once watched a Martha segment on working out with your dog and he has been wanting to do it ever since-lol.

Dinner was spinach,salad,sweet potatoes and tofu fingers with a new sauce Ryan's sister got us from Pampered Chef-Raspberry Habenero-OH EM GEE delicious! Sweet and really different-weirdly addictive.

Olive Hummus

I apologize in advance for the lack of amounts in this recipe-I just wung it! I was bored,snacky and ended up with a gem.

• Toast 1 cup of sesame seeds in a dry pan. I did JUST until I saw they started to release oil. DON"T BROWN THEM! And keep a close eye-they can go too far in a second-I know this from experience.


• Put in to processor with about 1/4 cup olive oil. Process and scrape down the bowl until it starts to form a paste. Add another 1/4 cup or so of oil and repeat the processing and scraping until nice and smooth.


• Add one can of drained chickpeas. Process,adding touches of oil until you get the texture you want. Thick is nice for spreading in wraps and celery and it uses less oil-that's the route I took :)


• Add lemon juice and salt to taste. I used about 4 Tbs juice and 10-15 grinds of salt.


• Chop up some green olives and stir in. I think sun-dried tomatoes would be KILLER in this.


• ENJOY!

I think what makes this special is the high tahini to chickpea ratio-the hummus we get at our little Lebanese bakery has that same flavor. Not to mention it is less messy because you make it all on one bowl! I do realize that sesame seeds are expensive-we are lucky enough to get them really cheap through a friend's bakery. If it is cheaper for you to buy tahini then use that instead. Also-remember that if you are adding olives that you won't need to add as much salt to the mixture.

A Day Of Body Building Eats

Today was a beautiful day here! It was much enjoyed after a week straight of rain!

Today I did Chris Freytag's upper body workout on Exercise on Demand-I was kinda disappointed! I am used to doing a lot more between Chady and the FIRM-this was pretty weak. Oh well we gotta try new things-right? I did Yoga Meltdown to make up for the lameness-that workout had TONS of arm work!

Breakfast was my usual-oats,banana and some pb. Lunch was a small sweet potato with some black beans and some cauliflower. The sweet potato and beans were a great combo-especially with some ketchup and hot sauce on top! Dinner was the only sort of interesting meal so here it is:

more mashed cauliflower,tofu fingers,onion,tomato and cuke salad and couscous that I added some lemon zest,chopped olives,dill and olive oil to. Really DELICIOUS. I actually like eating a nice clean diet-I do feel amazing after just two days-less bloat and a ton more energy. This two weeks might not be so bad after all!

Naked Nut Butter

MMMMMMMMM!!!!!! We took our weekly trip to Peter's Cornucopia to stock up on our natural food supplies today. We usually buy our tofu,bulk items(millet,quinoa,cashews) and usually a few new "fun" items to try. Now,I am a DEVOTED fan of Smucker's natural PB-it is extremely roasty tasting for lack of a better word and Ryan is DIE HARD natural Teddy's PB. I just so happened to be out and figured I would just get some at Peter's. I decided to go with the kind you grind yourself-it is only $2.99 /lb. for the PB and $6.99/lb. for the AB. I know I will probably be crucified for this,but I actually prefer peanut butter-I generally don't like the bitter taste in almond butter. Same with these-both are really good-and I like the AB a little more than the jarred-probably because it didn't cost me a bundle! The taste is just pure nut flavor and the texture is slightly grainy which is what I prefer. Creamy PB kinda freaks me out now-lol. I tried that Better 'N Peanut Butter before and the texture almost made me die-weird and gummy-blech. The next thing on my list to try is the PB2 that you just reconstitute with water-it is so expensive with shipping though! I am trying to get Peter's to carry it so I can just scoop it off the shelf and not have to pay shipping.

Check out my fitness challenge page-I have an updated plan that I am starting today. Super clean eating for two weeks!

CSN giveaway at the (never)homemaker

Don't forget that you have until Friday at 9pm EST to enter the CSN Stores $60 giveaway at the (never) homemaker! If you haven't checked out their blog you should-awesome recipes-I know you will fall in love!

Tomato Weenie

Look what I found in the produce section :0

A well endowed tomato! I kept it for as long as possible for the humor factor,but the projection started going soft-no pun intended. Oh well,it made a DELICIOUS salad:

• romaine


• cukes


• red onion


• olives


• tomato

In an effort to painlessly cut calories, I cut my creamy italian dressing 50/50 with some Bragg's apple cider vinegar:

Don't knock it till you try it! 2 tablespoons of the normal stuff has 100 calories-new formula-50. Do that for a week and save 350 calories. That is the kind of thing I am going to be trying to do-what are some of your calorie cutting tricks?

Much to Mulder's dismay I am going to post this picture of him:

Aunt Jemima! Actually Muldee hates pancake syrup-he much prefers the real stuff.

Perfect Summer Lunch!

Today is a BEAUTIFUL summer day! I had some running around to do and the whole time this lunch was on my mind:

A smoothie with:

• 1/2 cup frozen raspberries


• 1/2 frozen banana


• 1 heaping Tbs rice protein


• 1 Tbs cocoa


• 1 cup soy milk


• 1 packet Sugar in the Raw

and a packet of pistachios. Something about the salty and sweet combo and the fact that I didn't have to cook made it extra delicious ;).

On another subject, I did the FIRM parts upper body and Jillian's Yoga Meltdown this morning. I wanted to do some cardio,so I tried the Jay's Bootcamp on Exercise on Demand and I thought it SUCKED! First off,this in not a cardio workout at all,you do more resting then anything. Second of all,the guy seems so fake and full of himself. I did not enjoy this AT ALL. If you haven't tried it,don't waste your time and if you have, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Now I am off to spend the day with my little beast!

I love my little maniac.

Attack of the Sunday Snackies

Today was one of those crazy days where I just want to MUNCH! It all started out innocent enough with breakfast:

• 1/2 cup oats


• small apple chopped


• 2T. PB


• sprinkle of cinnamon

About 3 hours later-lunch:

• jalapeno bean burger


• flatout wrap


• Dinosaur BBQ sauce


• 1/2 cup quinoa-chickpea creation


• 7 mini oreo-ish sandwich cookies

About 3 hours later-chocolate attack! I went to the drug store for the "Sunday paper" and bought a chocolate bar-a HUGEY!

Promptly eaten on the way home with a lemon-lime powerade zero-I was trying to reason that I was so hungry because of dehydration. I think I just wanted to try the powerade-it was yummy =). Lets see-then 7 of Ryan's Swedish Fish. Then off to make dinner:

• salad with olives,cukes and scallions


• homemade balsamic(a little dijon that was left with some vinegar,EVOO and salt and pepper-shaken up in the bottle)


• steamed cauliflower mashed with salt and lemon juice


• another jalapeno bean burger

After dinner called for dessert of course-the other half of the chocolate bar and 14 almonds. Depending on how late I stay up,the hunger bug may strike again-today is one of those days where I just listened to my hunger cues and ate what I wanted. I am usually not a snacker or a grazer so my body must need the calories. I am thinking it could be because I have upped my cardio-does that happen? I upped it to burn calories but it seems my body just isn't having it right now!

Working Out Barefoot

If you haven't read this post by Ashley on running barefoot,you should. Very eye opening! I am always hurting my knees during lunges and squats. Also,my knees haven't been feeling the greatest after all the plyo in my Jillian Michaels workouts! I am going to start slow but definitely going to try it! If you ever see pictures of Arnold and Franco Columbu lifting back in the day,they were always barefoot-they were trailblazers!

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Tofu Fingers and Cruise Ins

The motivation continued this morning as I did my new Jillian Michaels Banish Fat and Boost Metabolism that I bought yesterday and then did my Chady bicep and tricep workout. I felt great and I am so happy that I am enjoying my workouts again. Following my workout session I had my usual oats with PB except I was out of bananas so I stirred in 1/2 a cup of blueberries-what a nice change. Utterly delicious as Martha would say lol.

I did my yardwork duties of picking up pine cones,weeding the hostas and I trimmed up a bush that had gone crazy.Then we took puppy-doo for a walk-It was a gorgeous day-77 degrees and sunny- no humidity.

For dinner:

TOFU FINGERS! So yummy-I drained and pressed some firm tofu and cut into sticks. I marinated for 4 hours in a blend of GOYA Mojo marinade,Kikkoman and a dash of liquid smoke. I roasted on a pan with a thin layer of olive oil at 400 degrees for 20 minutes,flipped and did 10 minutes more. Crunchy and perfect. I served with a quinoa creation from last nights dinner and some salad with vegan ranch(both recipes coming soon!).

Heaven on a plate. I asked Ryan if it was weird that I was sad when I finished eating dinner because it was so good and he said DEFINITELY. LOL.

Best part of the day-Friday night Cruise in! It is rare that it so nice and SUCH a good turn out. Here are some of our favorite rides from the night:

Rat rod with a party trunk-epic!

Twin Chevy pickups in candy colors.

Buick representin'! We are big Buick fans!

Ryan's fave.

All its credentials! It actually  had these on all the windows-very impressive!

My favorite muscle car-the Roadrunner! Meep Meep!

So now it is time to kick back and relax! Season 4 of the Hills from Netflix is calling my name...

Maple Mustard Popcorn

I pretty much eat popcorn for a snack every night-it is easy,not too many calories and really satisfies my need to MUNCH. My problem is I can never just eat it plain,I always have to doctor it up some how.  One of my favorites is cinnamon sugar which is just a bag of popped corn with cinnamon and stevia sprinkled on it. It is great because it satisfies  salty and sweet cravings. I decided to try something a little different tonight,still doing the salty and sweet,just with a little bit different flavors. Maple mustard popcorn!

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Gather up:

• popcorn(I used a bag of microwave popcorn)


• 2 tsp. maple syrup


• 1 tsp. dry mustard


• 1/2 tsp. cumin


• sprinkle salt


• sprinkle pepper

Pop corn as needed. Spread out on cookie sheet. Drizzle syrup over popcorn. Sprinkle remaining ingredients over corn. Bake at 325 for about 6-9 minutes. Pour in bowl and enjoy!

I am enjoying it as I write and I must say-this will be a new favorite! It is a veganized version of this recipe for honey mustard snack mix. They have a ton of good ideas on their site-let me know if you try any!

Cardio Is The Best Medicine

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I know this may sound weird,but every 3 months I get PMS BAD. I just am exhausted,starving,in pain-I feel like hell. I don't know why it hits me so hard every three months,but it has been that way for forever like clockwork. As you know I have been doing the Bikini Body Workout for a few weeks now and it is pretty intense as far as strength moves go. It makes it so you are sore most days and it is really hard so if you are not motivated it is certainly not fun. So I was sitting here this morning not wanting to do it(todays workout included 240 lunges with weights!),I decided that I would go to exercise tv on demand and see if there was anything else I could muster up the ambition to do. I settled on 30 Day Shred, an old favorite of mine and it felt SO GOOD to jump around,sweat and use some light weights. My cramps subsided a little and my headache started clearing. It was fun to do something different and have someone leading the way for me.

This is where it gets crazy-it felt so good I wanted more! So I decided to try the ELLE Cardio Part 2 as well. It was the first time doing this workout and it was just okay,but it kept me sweating and jumping which is just what I needed today.

I guess it really does pay to listen to your body. Yes,it is wonderful to set goals and want to work out hard but if all it does is burn you out then it is time to reevaluate. I don't plan on giving up on my weights,but if my body is screaming for some cardio,yoga or a rest day,I will do it from now on.

Back to Normalcy!

After two days of borderline gluttony due to what we affectionately call P.uppy M.iserable S.yndrome in our house,I got back to eating normal today. Oatmeal with banana and PB for breakfast,protein shake for lunch,tofu,broccoli and salad for dinner and a HUGE bowl of cinnamon sugar popcorn for a snack. Oh yeah and this for my afternoon snack:
The first stone fruits of the season!  A perfect peach and a handful of cherries! I feel so much better-it's really amazing how bad you feel eating  "junk food" when you usually eat so healthy. So it was back to my normal routine today.

Working Out With Glasses

So after last nights fun(I am a complete lightweight!),I fell asleep in my contacts which equals irritated red eyes which equals having to wear glasses all day-GRRR! I like glasses on other people and I don't even really mind the way they look on me,I just REALLY hate the way they feel on my face! It's not just the 2 pairs I have either-it's always been that way-when I have to wear them I am totally bummed. I also have zero motivation to work out because they bounce around,get all sweaty and slippery and trap heat to my face. Now, I know I am sounding like a big whiny baby,which is not my purpose, I just would like to hear you thoughts,tips or experiences with working out with glasses!

Vegan Reuben and Magic Hat!

In the midst of a lovely and rare night off with my honey! We had a coffee date,trip to the natural food store and now we are in for a night of Reubens and Magic Hat.

In these delightful sandwiches would be:

• Panera Rye Miche


• Tofurky Philly Style Meat Slices


• Sauerkraut


• Margarine


• Raw Cashew Cheese


• Easy Vegan 1000 Island Dressing(Veganaise,Organic Ketchup and Dill Relish)

We rarely eat so many proccessed foods but tonight was a rare "cheat night" of sorts-once in a blue moon!

Now we are enjoying some delicious Magic Hat brews. Magic Hat is an awesome brewery out of South Burlington Vermont that does a lot of unique specialty beers. Tonight we are enjoying one of their variety packs, the Summer Scene :

Wacko Summer Seasonal: described as a "crisp summer beer"-and it is a perfect description. Light and refreshing-a good basic beer to relax and enjoy with friends. Not to mention it has a really pretty pink hue provided by all natural beet juice-highly recommended by me and Ryan.

Odd Notion Summer '10: Odd notion are their mystery beers of sorts.  Named odd notion cause they are random limited batch offerings.  Much to my surprise odd notion '10 is a fine ale brewed with Ginger, which is one of mine (Ryan's) absolute favorite flavors.  They offer  a different odd notion every season and you can rate them at www.oddnotion.magichat.net

So we are off to relax,listen to some Danzig and enjoy this summer evening. See you tomorrow!

6am WalMart Wakeup Call!

I must be crazy. I REALLY had run out of groceries-even tp and dish soap and couldn't wait another day to grocery shop. I actually really like grocery shopping if I can do it not surrounded by crazies and jerks,so obviously Sunday is not the best time to go. And it doesn't help that I have recently started doing my staple-type shopping at Walmart instead of my cushy Hannaford to save money(yes I REALLY hate myself over it too-but I do my secondary shopping at a little natural foods shop in my area called Peter's Cornucopia if it helps). So I figure if we want to eat I better go today. I woke up at 6 and was out the door by 6:40 list in hand. I haven't been up that early in over a month and I forgot that yeah,I feel great in the morning but nauseated and dead to the world by 5. Anyways, I was home and had the groceries put away by 8:10-pretty unheard of for a grocery trip-it was actually kind of worth it to avoid the crowds and nutsies! So yeah I am rambling(this is me tired-pretty bad I know). I will be posting a hot sauce review and my jalapeno bean burger recipe tomorrow so see you then!

Wussing Out!

Okay so I am wussing out on the bikini pics. I took some pictures in my workout clothes this morning and they are not something I am comfortable showing. I didn't realize how THICK I look. It is a little frustrating because I work out hard almost everyday and eat a healthy vegan diet and I still don't look like I want. I have a lot of muscle and even a little layer of fat makes me look hefty. Time to amp up the cardio I guess! I took it out on my (very grungy looking,sorry) yoga mat:

In other news, I made raw cashew cheese last night. Here is the recipe(modified from the "Real Food Daily" cookbook):

• 1.5 c. Raw Unsalted Cashews


• 2 Tbs. Lemon Juice


• .5 tsp. Salt

Soak cashews in cold water for 2 hours. Drain and place in processor with 1/3 cup water,juice and salt. Blend for about 5 minutes,scraping the sides as needed. Place in bowl and cover-leave at room temp for 24 hours. Refrigerate-will last 5 days covered in fridge.

Oh,so delicious! It is mild and creamy with a little tang from the lemon. I used it on my bean burger(recipe soon!) that I had for dinner tonight:

Along with some broccoli and salad-YUMMY!

I also learned not to clean your puppy's dirty face with a scented baby wipe because it may give him an allergic reaction and make him look like he got punched in the eye. My poor tender baby. I gave him some Benedryl and gonna pamper him with love now and hopefully he will feel much better in the morning.