Judging by the amount of unfamiliar food on the shopping list for this Clean Eating challenge, I'm guessing there will be some amusing moments over the next few days. So, I guess I should blog about it!
I don't have my recipes for tomorrow yet, but I went to the store to pick up the stuff on the shopping list (except the salmon and can of beets I refuse to eat). I had to ask where a few things were and had to buy the biggest bag of Kale ever, that's all the store had. Hope I like Kale!!
Shop Rite is a nice store, but they arrange things oddly. The organize the food by what you are probably making, not keeping like items together. So, I had a hard time finding things like sesame oil, which is with the ethnic foods, not the other oils. And agave nectar was only in the organic section, not with the honey or other sweeteners.
Not sure what people do with ginger root, but I have some now. I bought the smallest piece I could find.
I can't imagine how I'm going to actually eat all of the vegetables I bought. It wasn't cheap either, though I have to remind myself that I won't be buying any breakfast or lunch this week. That will save some money.
Oh, and zucchini/green squash and cucumber look awfully similar, hope I remember which is which.
Part 2
I got my Day 1 menu and have started cooking.
Realization #1 - I'm going to have to eat breakfast at home before leaving for work. That means I have to get up earlier. Hmmm....
Here's the menu for the day, I'll add the actual recipes after I try them (and only if I like them)
Breakfast: Whole Wheat waffles (frozen) with greek yogurt, agave, strawberries and walnuts (sounds good to me!)
Lunch: Zucchini and Spinach Soup (smells good cooking, we'll see) - Bonus: I get to use my hand mixer for the first time! I've only had it for 4 yrs.
Snack: 1 Apple and 1 T peanut butter
Dinner: Citrus Salmon Salad. You may notice that I'm already going to be cheating on day 1 since I did not buy the salmon, I'm just going to substitute a chicken breast, so it's only a small cheat.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Winter-time fun!
Yesterday was a friend's birthday and she invited us out for a day of fun!
We went ice skating at Bear Mountain State Park. I don't ice skate much so I'm not very good at it, but I can make it around the rink without holding on to the wall, and I managed to not fall at all. So I call that a successful venture.
After skating we had dinner at Lucky Buddha in Thornwood. Before checking the site I thought it was Indian food, but it's actually Japanese - Hibachi.
The food was good, the chef guy was amusing. However, he did almost butcher B when doing the knife tossing - one got loose. And he (or who ever set up his cart) forgot J's salmon. Thankfully they remembered before we were done and got J some food so he didn't go hungry.
In his defense, we had a group of 12 people which is kind of a lot to keep straight at a table like that.
We went ice skating at Bear Mountain State Park. I don't ice skate much so I'm not very good at it, but I can make it around the rink without holding on to the wall, and I managed to not fall at all. So I call that a successful venture.
.jpg) | ||||
| See? I stayed on my feet. But do have a bit of a wide-arm technique going. |
 |
| Most of our little group. |
After skating we had dinner at Lucky Buddha in Thornwood. Before checking the site I thought it was Indian food, but it's actually Japanese - Hibachi.
The food was good, the chef guy was amusing. However, he did almost butcher B when doing the knife tossing - one got loose. And he (or who ever set up his cart) forgot J's salmon. Thankfully they remembered before we were done and got J some food so he didn't go hungry.
In his defense, we had a group of 12 people which is kind of a lot to keep straight at a table like that.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Fun 'n Games
Parties aren't only about food, you have to actually do something too!
We and are friends are big into "game nights" lately, so I thought I'd share some of our favorites in case anyone is looking for a new, fun game.
1. The newest addition to our repertoire, thanks to R & C, is Wits & Wagers.
R&C randomly found this game in a store and, since our group likes betting on things (yup, big group of gamblers), they decided to bring it to the New Years Eve party to give it a try.
In this game you respond to trivia questions and then bet on who gave the best answer. All questions have numerical answers and the game follows "Price Is Right" rules of closest without going over.
Good times!
2. A great game for a large group, whether they know each other well or not, is Things.
The website for this game gives you an idea of how it works. Everyone answers an open ended question like "what shouldn't you keep in your pockets." The moderator then reads the answers and people take turns trying to guess who wrote which answer. The person who guesses right the most winds. You get some interesting insight into your friends new and old!
3. Apples to Apples.
This is an oldie but a goodie. Another good one for larger groups of people.
Each player gets seven "red apple" cards; on each card is printed a noun or noun phrase.
The "it" player for that round draws a "green apple" card which has an adjective printed on it., and places it face-up on the table for everybody to see or reads it out loud.
Then each player chooses a card that they think is the best match for the green apple card, and places it face-down. The judge shuffles the red apple cards, reads them aloud, and decides which noun is the best match for the adjective based on whatever criteria they want.
This one is a bit easier if you know each other but can be played by groups of new friends too.
4. A simple, but effective, game - again good for groups (the bigger the better) is Left Right Center.
Each player receives three chips (we usually use dollar bills to make it more interesting).
Players take it in turn to roll the six-sided dice, each of which is marked with "L", "C", "R" on one side, and a single dot on the three remaining sides.
For each "L" or "R" thrown, the player must pass one chip to the player to his left or right, respectively.
A "C" indicates a chip to the center pot.
A dot means you keep that chip/dollar.
If a player has fewer than three chips left he is still in the game but his number of chips is the number of dice he rolls on his turn, rather than rolling all three.
No player is ever "out" (even when they have no chips) because one of the other players may have to pass their chips to them bringing them back in the mix.
The winner is the last player with chips left.
These are the games we've been playing most often lately. There are others we like (Cranium, Jenga, dominoes, Taboo) too, but for whatever reason we haven't played these much lately.
What are your favorites? We're always up for some new games to try!
We and are friends are big into "game nights" lately, so I thought I'd share some of our favorites in case anyone is looking for a new, fun game.
1. The newest addition to our repertoire, thanks to R & C, is Wits & Wagers.
R&C randomly found this game in a store and, since our group likes betting on things (yup, big group of gamblers), they decided to bring it to the New Years Eve party to give it a try.
In this game you respond to trivia questions and then bet on who gave the best answer. All questions have numerical answers and the game follows "Price Is Right" rules of closest without going over.
Good times!
2. A great game for a large group, whether they know each other well or not, is Things.
The website for this game gives you an idea of how it works. Everyone answers an open ended question like "what shouldn't you keep in your pockets." The moderator then reads the answers and people take turns trying to guess who wrote which answer. The person who guesses right the most winds. You get some interesting insight into your friends new and old!
3. Apples to Apples.
This is an oldie but a goodie. Another good one for larger groups of people.
Each player gets seven "red apple" cards; on each card is printed a noun or noun phrase.
The "it" player for that round draws a "green apple" card which has an adjective printed on it., and places it face-up on the table for everybody to see or reads it out loud.
Then each player chooses a card that they think is the best match for the green apple card, and places it face-down. The judge shuffles the red apple cards, reads them aloud, and decides which noun is the best match for the adjective based on whatever criteria they want.
This one is a bit easier if you know each other but can be played by groups of new friends too.
4. A simple, but effective, game - again good for groups (the bigger the better) is Left Right Center.
Each player receives three chips (we usually use dollar bills to make it more interesting).
Players take it in turn to roll the six-sided dice, each of which is marked with "L", "C", "R" on one side, and a single dot on the three remaining sides.
For each "L" or "R" thrown, the player must pass one chip to the player to his left or right, respectively.
A "C" indicates a chip to the center pot.
A dot means you keep that chip/dollar.
If a player has fewer than three chips left he is still in the game but his number of chips is the number of dice he rolls on his turn, rather than rolling all three.
No player is ever "out" (even when they have no chips) because one of the other players may have to pass their chips to them bringing them back in the mix.
The winner is the last player with chips left.
These are the games we've been playing most often lately. There are others we like (Cranium, Jenga, dominoes, Taboo) too, but for whatever reason we haven't played these much lately.
What are your favorites? We're always up for some new games to try!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
New Year's Resolutions
So - what is your New Year's Resoluation for 2013? Have you broken it yet?
My resolution is really the same as last year - to be healthier and happier and take better care of myself. It's super broad, I know, but I did pretty well with it last year.
So, this year my resolution is to do better.
I'm doing a 7 Day Clean Eating Challenge through the same Health Coach I mentioned above. It starts January 7th, so if I'm crabby next week it's because I'm hungry!
I've raised my workout goal for my massage reward. Before I just counted the days I worked out and had a running tally (massage is now scheduled for Sat January 5th, can't wait!). Going forward I'm counting "successful" weeks. To schedule my next appointment I need 12 weeks in which I do CrossFit at least twice and run at least once. My goal is to have a massage quarterly, so if I stick to it, this should work out.
Since I'm planning to run in the NJ Half Marathon again in May I REALLY need to step up my running!
Technically this was in 2012 but I spent a TON of time cleaning and organizing the condo over the holidays. I desperately need to take a trip to Goodwill and our storage unit to drop off bags of stuff. I fell off the binder bandwagon for a while but I updated it and am trying to get back on track.
The positivity thing is still super hard. I'm trying, I promise, but the "external partners" I work with are not cooperating. People can be such jerks. Oh, and I live in New York, not exactly known for being the friendliest place on Earth (which I recently learned is Canada).
Share your goals!!
My resolution is really the same as last year - to be healthier and happier and take better care of myself. It's super broad, I know, but I did pretty well with it last year.
- I expanded the foods I eat, mostly by adding vegetables and a ton more variety overall.
- I was more consistent with my workouts (yay Crossfit!).
- I focused more on my organizational skills and purging the extras I don't need and created a binder to keep everything in one place. (and check out the bullets!!)
- I worked with a Health & Lifestyle Coach who was awesome (not a paid advertisement, I swear).
- I've worked on being more positive, friendlier, more optimistic. This is hard!
So, this year my resolution is to do better.
I'm doing a 7 Day Clean Eating Challenge through the same Health Coach I mentioned above. It starts January 7th, so if I'm crabby next week it's because I'm hungry!
I've raised my workout goal for my massage reward. Before I just counted the days I worked out and had a running tally (massage is now scheduled for Sat January 5th, can't wait!). Going forward I'm counting "successful" weeks. To schedule my next appointment I need 12 weeks in which I do CrossFit at least twice and run at least once. My goal is to have a massage quarterly, so if I stick to it, this should work out.
Since I'm planning to run in the NJ Half Marathon again in May I REALLY need to step up my running!
Technically this was in 2012 but I spent a TON of time cleaning and organizing the condo over the holidays. I desperately need to take a trip to Goodwill and our storage unit to drop off bags of stuff. I fell off the binder bandwagon for a while but I updated it and am trying to get back on track.
The positivity thing is still super hard. I'm trying, I promise, but the "external partners" I work with are not cooperating. People can be such jerks. Oh, and I live in New York, not exactly known for being the friendliest place on Earth (which I recently learned is Canada).
Share your goals!!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Grilled Cheese and Apples
I'm all about the quick and easy foods - probably because I'm super impatient and generally always hungry.
My newest discovery - Grilled cheese with apples! I used some pepperjack cheese for a kick, mozzarella to balance the kick (and because it melts so nicely), and Granny Smith apples. The apples are on the sour side, but it all works together nicely.
And, I used sandwich thins for the bread.
These taste yummy but it's a little awkward grilling them without all of the apples falling out. Guess I'll have to practice. Might try adding some more stuff to it too, maybe bacon? Hmm...any other ideas?
My newest discovery - Grilled cheese with apples! I used some pepperjack cheese for a kick, mozzarella to balance the kick (and because it melts so nicely), and Granny Smith apples. The apples are on the sour side, but it all works together nicely.
And, I used sandwich thins for the bread.
These taste yummy but it's a little awkward grilling them without all of the apples falling out. Guess I'll have to practice. Might try adding some more stuff to it too, maybe bacon? Hmm...any other ideas?
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
For the home...
I saw this on Pinterest (seriously addicted)...LOVE it. So prefect for my ridiculously small kitchen. I'm always looking for way to get stuff off my counters, this is brilliant.
Guess I'm going to be searching for wall mounted magazine racks for my kitchen!
Guess I'm going to be searching for wall mounted magazine racks for my kitchen!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)