Mmmmmango!

You knew it was coming. I bought 7 mangoes. Now what to do with them? Here are only a couple of the multiple mango meals I’ve consumed (and have yet to consume) this week….they’re still ripening, so as of today, I’ve only cut into 3. That means 4 to go…and I am SO up for the challenge!

I’m not posting all of my mango mania in one post, I want to space it out…so for today we’ll go with yesterday’s breakfast and lunch.

Yesterday’s breakfast was a mango-strawberry SIAB. Here’s how that one went down. I microwaved 3/4 cup frozen strawberries for 30 seconds, just to thaw every-so-slightly, for easier blending. I hadn’t planned to repeat this trick with the 1/2 cup frozen mango chunks, but they were ROCK-solid, so I had to nuke them a bit just to get them out of the container. I put my partially thawed fruit into the blender with 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, a splash of vanilla and a touch of Splenda then blended away. The mix went into a bowl, and was topped with the usual suspects: 1/3 cup of Greek yogurt blobs (a great flavour/texture contrast) and 1/2 cup of my old standby: Costco cereal. A couple pieces of the mango didn’t blend in smoothly, but i actually enjoyed the few chunks as a textural contrast. Mmmm…what a great way to start my day! Side note: I know my breakfast photos aren’t always the greatest, but when I’m getting ready to go out the door to school, optimal photography is not a priority. It’s more like, make breakfast, get the food in my face, and try to grab a photo that at least illustrates what I ate. So, sorry, but you’ll have to take what you get!

Onto lunch….oh lunch, SO good. I made this salad the night before (naturally), and was so excited to eat it (you know you’re a nerdy healthy food blogger when you get super-excited about a salad you packed in your lunch). This baby did not disappoint.  The photos just do not do it justice. See this salad? It had loads of veggies (lettuce, broccoli slaw, white and green onion, bell peppers, celery, broccoli…think that was it) and mango chunks, and diced deli turkey….and I topped it off with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. It definitely generated some buzz (and I think maybe even salad envy) in the staff room yesterday. You know, as a supply teacher, that you have a good lunch when teachers who you don’t even know are commenting about it.

The salad was enjoyed with a cheese string (first nutrition break snack), and then another 1/2 cup mango chunks (why not, right?) and 2 tropical yogurts…perfect compliment to the fresh mango.

I wish that cases of mangoes were $4.99 more often…but then again, they wouldn’t be such a treat if that was the norm. I’ve got more mango meals to post, and more I want to try out….I’m thinking they’d be great in a sweet and sour stir fry, or mixed into salsa as a topping for chicken? Again, if you’ve got any great mango ideas….post ‘em for me! Like I said, 3 down, 4 to go!

Smooth Saturday

I decided to continue with my “days of the week alliteration” post title theme …but this one makes sense too, trust me! Inspired by the deliciousness over on RFKW,  (and Katie was inspired by some other delicious healthy-eating blogs like KERF, I believe) I decided to take the plunge and try the smoothie in a bowl trend for yesterday’s breakfast. That’s one thing I LOVE about blogs and blogging….there are always fresh ideas out there…other bloggers have new and different ideas for ingredients you may have never tried, or they just re-imagine things I have/use daily, but put them together in a way I never would have thought of. Case in point: the SIAB. Now of course I’ve made a smoothie before (haven’t we all?), but never would have thought to eat it from a bowl, with some delicious toppings mixed in.

Here’s how I made my SIAB. My fruit was some of my frozen berries (about 3/4 cup strawberries and 1/2 cup blueberries), thawed in the microwave for one minute. This is a trick I like when using frozen fruit….I find that if it is frozen solid, I have to add more liquid than I would like, but if you thaw it all the way, you have to add a ton of ice. Giving it a quick zap for a minute warms it up just enough that it blends easily, and I can add in a bit more ice if I need a thicker smoothie. I blended together the berries, one cup unsweetened almond milk, a splash of vanilla, a touch of Splenda (I need to cut back, I know!) and 2 or 3 ice cubes. I poured the smoothie into a bowl and got to topping. My add-ins were 1/3 cup yogurt (mostly Greek, but I was a bit short, so had to add in a bit of my mom’s blueberry yogurt) and 1/2 cup of my yummy Costco cereal.

The verdict on my first SIAB attempt? Success! I loved the mix of textures…the cereal gave it a nice crunch, and I loved the creamy, tart blobs of yogurt. I will definitely make more SIABs, particularly as the weather heats up. I definitely see them as more of a warm weather breakfast, but since we’re a few weeks into spring and summer’s around the corner, that’s no problem. I can’t wait to experiment with different fruit combos depending on what’s in season.

After fuelling with my SIAB, I headed off to the gym for military tone (since I got my long run done on Wednesday)….I was definitely feeling the burn! I guess since I haven’t been going much lately? Corry shows no mercy, so even though I’m tired after, I’m glad to push it to the limit and know I’ve worked my hardest.

Once class was over, I headed straight to the grocery store to pick up the few things we needed. I was greeted by a nice surprise in the produce section: $4.99 cases of mangoes!  

Since reading about Katie’s ban-ango soft serve, I’ve been having mango envy. I even thought of stopping by Costco when I was in London on Friday, because I thought my local Superstore wasn’t likely to have whole cases for cheap,  but I was too tired. So, needless to say, I was SO happy to see these babies for $4.99!

Just look at them…there are 7 in the case….so if you ask me, that’s quite a steal for five dollars! The only downside is that none of them were ripe enough to use right away ….they’ll need minimum two days, I think. I’ve got big plans for them though. I plan to take some time at night (was going to be on the weekend, but I can’t since they’re not ripe yet) prepping the mangoes – peeling and chopping, so they’ll be ready to be thrown into meals (especially breakfasts) during the week. Expect to see these guys make SIAB appearances, mixed into my yogurt (will be nice to have a break from cooked apples/thawed frozen berries), in salads at lunch, OF COURSE ban-ango soft serve…I’m even thinking that slice mango would make a tasty panini with melted brie! Does that sound crazy? At the very least, I may try re-creating that pear/brie/chocolate dessert with mango.  And I think there’s a salad recipe with mango in my new HG cookbook, so I might give that a whirl too. What do you think? Any mango ideas/fav mango recipes for me? I’ve got 7 mangoes to experiment with.

The rest of my Saturday was spent doing (mostly) things I love: blogging, reading other blogs, a small bit of yardwork (that’s the part I don’t love so much), cooking (another new HG cookbook recipe for lunch and pizza for supper since I missed my usual Friday pizza night…posts to come on that), soaking in the tub while reading magazines, and catching up on a BUNCH of DVR’ed shows (Food Network Canada released several new shows this week, so of course I had to record them all to see if I like them, on top of the usual DVR suspects).

So stay tuned for HHH’s Mango Madness this week!

Half and Half

So…first of all to explain the title. I did my weekly long run yesterday, and I reached my peak distance before I start to decrease in my “tapering” leading up to the race (only 3 weeks from Sunday!)…this peak distance was 13 miles, also known as a half marathon. So that’s the first half…the other half comes from the fact that I only worked a half day today…hence why I had the time to run so far in the middle of the week.

I chose to do the long run yesterday so it would be out of the way for the weekend. It’s not that I really mind the long runs (well sometimes I do, depends on my mood), but they are, well, LONG…especially for someone like me who is not-so-speedy (I did my 13 miles in about 2 hours 40 minutes…so I’m expecting to finish the half around that time…I would LOVE to get 2 and a half hours, but don’t know if that’s gonna happen). It just frees up my Saturday a bit, allows me to go to Military Tone at the gym, and, since I’ll be out all day Friday, I don’t need to worry about getting to bed in good time.

The weather yesterday was supposed to be about 7 degrees with light rain, if my memory serves me correctly. Well, it certainly felt cooler than that, and although the first part of my run was precipitation-free, I was greeted with a lovely rain/snow mix for the second half . Other than the weather, the run went pretty well…I did a 7 mile loop then the same 6 mile loop I did for my 12 miler. I discovered again why I love mapymyrun so much. I went on the verify my 6 mile loop and to create a 7 mile run, but then discovered that I had created one last summer…and it was saved for me…so easy! If you are a runner and haven’t checked out this site, go now! It is so helpful if you need to figure out distances for runs (and you can do either miles or kilometres).

I was working today at a school about 30 minutes away, and had to be there for 11:45. So I got up a bit before 7, had the fibre one 100 cal bar and a glass of water (it worked last time, so if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it), left just after 7 and got back about 9:45. I did the usual stretch, Epsom salt soak and A5-35 rub, but I had to sort of rush through them since I was heading to work. This may be why I felt stiffer than I have been on the last couple of runs. I was actually so sore at school that when I had a 20 minute break, I went into the staff room and stretched again (I was REALLY glad no one walked in to see my stretching in my argyle sweater and dress pants).

I decided to structure my “eats” for the day as follows, given my schedule: eat a big breakfast/brunch after my bath (1round 10:30), take an apple to eat after school (they have their lunch early, so it was already over when I got there) while getting my snow tires off (yay!) and then have another snack when I got home before supper. So what did I eat for my post-run brunch? SO glad you asked!

I decided to jump on the “overnight oats” bandwagon that I’ve seen all over the blog world. For those of you who are new to this craze, over night oats are made by combining raw oats with a mixture of liquid ingredients and then refrigerating overnight for a delicious, cold version of oatmeal. Instructions for my version are below. I also had a salad with one of my quickie vinaigrettes (balsamic vinegar, flax oil (any oil will work, I just bought this ‘cause I felt like it was healthy), Dijon mustard, fat-free Italian dressing, a pinch of sweetener – combine all in a container and shake) that I had made the night before and an egg substitute omelette (instructions below as well).

Here are the before and after photos of my overnight oats, as well as the how-to. I’m calling them overnight pear oats because, like my clever fellow bloggers, I want to give them a cute acronym: OPO…I started with Pear Overnight Oats, but didn’t really like the way that acronym came out (you figure it out )!

Overnight Pear Oats (OPO)

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/4 cup fat-free plain yogurt

1 pear (I used Bosc, they’re my fav), grated on the coarse side of a box grater

1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

Splash vanilla

A couple shakes of cinnamon and Epicure Gingerbread Spice

A dash of brown sugar twin (or your choice of sweetener)

Combine all ingredients in a cereal bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Open your fridge in the morning, remove plastic wrap and enjoy…you have no breakfast prep to do!

I thought this turned out pretty well, but I want to play a bit with the ingredients/combinations/proportions. What I did like about the OPO was the lack of A.M. prep….if I hadn’t just run 13 miles, this would be enough for me as a breakfast on its own, especially on a morning when I was in a rush and didn’t have time to make breakfast. But, since I had just run 13 miles, I made the omelette you’ll read about below…I am more of a sweet breakfast gal, so I don’t make omelettes that often, but when I do, they’re some variation on this recipe.

Veggie and Cheese Omelette

Sauté veggies of your choice (this time it was broccoli, onion and red pepper) in a small non-stick frying pan that has been preheated to medium-high and sprayed with cooking spray, until tender-crisp (3 to 5 minutes), season with salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to medium-high. Pour in half a cup of fat-free liquid egg substitute (this time, it was Southwestern egg substitute, I always buy plain, but my mom was doing the shopping and she bought this stuff by accident…it’s actually pretty good though). Add a bit more salt and pepper, cook until partially set, then flip. Sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of light cheese (Tex-Mex this time), then cover the pan and let the omelette cook through and cheese melt (another 2 or 3 minutes).

I will say that I am by NO MEANS an omelette chef. I haven’t mastered the art of the graceful flip, and my omelettes certainly wouldn’t win any beauty contests…but they taste good, so that works for me. This meal did the trick in satisfying the half marathon hunger. It had a nice combo of protein, fat and carbs, and I really wasn’t that hungry for the rest of the day (I was a little hungry right after I ate, but was less so as the day went on…does that ever happen to anyone else?

Have you ever tried overnight oats? Any tips and tricks for me? What’s your go-to post-workout meal?

Abort Mission

So yesterday, I did something I’ve never done before….I shortened a training run. I’ve run through incredible blister pain, gone barefoot on the the sand, run in the dark, run in the snow. So why did I bail yesterday? It wasn’t raining, it wasn’t snowing, it wasn’t even that cold. In fact, the weather was gorgeous! I felt fine, no blister or muscle pain in sight. So why the shorter route? Well, in short, I just wasn’t feeling it.

For one thing, I went out much later than usual…I started out for what I planned to be an eight mile run around 12:15….every time I exercise at a time other than the morning, I am reminded how much I like running/exercising in the morning…I like to get up and go and just have my workout out of the way for the day. So I was already dreading the run before I started out, since it was later in the day.

I was also kind of hungry. Since I’m not used to running in the middle of the day, I’m not used to eating/fuelling my body at that time of day…does that make any sense? Although I did eat a good breakfast (more on that below), my tummy was rumbling during my run.

Now…before I conclude this post-run analysis, this run wasn’t an epic failure or anything. I had planned to run 8 miles, and I ended up doing about 6. I was still out there for over an hour. Plus, I completely made up my half training plan. I used 8 miles as the distance for the “shorter long runs” because that’s what I did for my full marathon. But I feel like if 8 is good for a full, 6 is more than enough for a half, right? Plus, it’s not like I totally skipped a workout or anything. I’m trying to get better at the whole “listen to your body” thing….so I feel like it’s all part of the journey…and I’m feeling no guilt at all!

Onto the eats… my mom requested a breakfast from my new Hungry Girl Cookbook, and I delivered with 2 Crunchy Beefy Taco Egg Mugs (actually made in bowls). Here’s how to make ‘em.

Crunchy Beefy Taco Egg Mug – from Hungry Girl: 300 under 300

1/4 cup frozen ground beef-style soy crumbles

1/4 teaspoon taco seasoning mix (which I did not have on hand, so I substituted some Epicure seasonings and cumin)

3/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute

1 tbsp low fat or fat-free cheddar cheese (I used Tex-Mex blend…it’s what I had)

4 low-fat baked tortilla chips, roughly crushed (mine were blue, hence the colour in the photo)

1 tbsp salsa

1 tbsp fat-free sour cream (I substituted Greek yogurt)

….after typing out this recipe, I realize how much I substitute in recipes and don’t even realize it!

Spray a large microwave-safe mug (or a bowl) with non-stick spray. Add frozen crumbles and microwave for 45 seconds, or until thawed.

Add taco seasoning and mix well. Add egg substitute, stir, and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes.

Gently stir and then sprinkle with cheese. Microwave for 1 minute, or until scramble is just set. Top with tortilla chips, salsa and sour cream.

We enjoyed these with sliced pears on the side, and I also made an almond milk “latte” (not pictured).

The post-run lunch was also quite a treat. I had part of an avocado leftover in the fridge from my BLTA Club so I put it to good use: a Southwestern Avocado cheeseburger (my own delicious creation). I simply smeared 1/4 of an avocado over one half of a thin bun. I melted one Velveeta slice over a veggie burger (one of my Buffalo Bocas), put it on top of the Avocado-topped bun, and topped with salsa and sliced onion). OH YUM! I heart avocado. Would certainly make this one again. The veggies you see on the side are an eclectic mix of what I had in my fridge/needed to use up, sautéed in one tsp olive oil, and the seasonings are salt, pepper, lemon zest and juice, and garlic. I finished up the meal with an HG Raspberry Mocha. More  HG: 300 under 300 recipes will be coming up this week…so I hope you don’t get sick of them!

Have you ever bailed/shortened a planned workout or training run and why? And…do you make a lot of substitutions when you cook/bake? Any favourites?

A bran new day

I don’t know if you remember (it’s okay if you don’t 🙂 ) but in my Thursday night confessional a week and a half ago, I said I had a healthy breakfast the next day to get myself back on track that I would share with you…I haven’t forgotten, there’s just been a lot of other stuff going on since then (Trop Swap, dinners out, cross-border shopping)! I have saved this post for you…that’s the beauty of the digital photography age…snap a picture when the inspiration hits, save it on your computer, and it’s there when you need it.

Inspired by this post I read last month (you should read the whole thing ,there are some great ideas there), I decided to give Oat Bran a try. I picked some up at the grocery store, and the first day I tried it was the snowy Friday morning before March Break. I used the same basic method/measurements/proportions as for my apple cinnamon oats (1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/3 cup oat bran instead of oatmeal, vanilla, Brown sugar twin, cinnamon) and cooked the apple on the side in the usual way. I found that the oat bran cooked much quicker, which is a huge plus for rushed weekday mornings. Another note, it says on the box that it will thicken as it cools, which I found to be true, so you can pull the pot a bit before you think it’s hit the consistency you want.

Loved this breakfast! It was super-satisfying, and, as I mentioned, quicker than oatmeal. It was also a different texture…sort of reminded me of cream of wheat, which I ate a lot growing up. The only problem is that it was so hot, it was difficult to eat quickly (and I was in sort of a rush that morning)…not a huge deal though.

I tried oat bran again in another way during March Break…with blueberries (isn’t that a cool photo with the sunlight streaming in and framing my beautiful breakfast?)! I used the same measurements as above, omitting the apple and throwing in 1 cup of frozen blueberries during the cook time. It may look a little scary, but this version was quite tasty as well. I have lots of frozen berries in my freezer, as I like to freeze them when they’re at their peak (and much lower in price) during the summer. So much better than those berries imported from halfway around the world that you buy in the grocery store at this time of year. The texture of the berries wasn’t amazing, but they were a little freezer-burned….a hazard of thawing frozen fruit. Still a good breakfast though!

Have you ever tried oat bran? Do you have any swaps for your usual foods that you use to switch things up a bit?

Making the best

So….my March Break adventures were so numerous that a single post could not encompass them all. So I give you, March Break eats: part II (if you missed part I, catch up here). The title of this post refers to food choices. Sometimes (well, often) when you’re out and about and out of your own kitchen, the food available to you is not your first choice (both calorie and taste-wise). As delicious and wonderful as the food we had Tuesday night was, sadly, all of Wednesday’s options were not as tasty (and not always so healthy either). The old, diet-mentality Hilary would have gotten stressed-out and miserable when the only food available was unhealthy fare. Instead, I chose to make the best choices I could under the circumstances. Here’s how it all went down.

Our hotel included free breakfast, so I was not about to turn that down (side note: scary story – we arrived at the hotel, which was fully booked, and they could not find our reservation! Thank goodness for the wireless internet and my ipod touch, I could check my Expedia reservation and get the confirmation number….they had it with my middle name as my last name…so it was there all along…phew!). Our breakfast option was the buffet: pancakes and syrup, bacon, scrambled eggs (plain or with ham and cheese) and bread/English muffins with jam and butter. I knew I needed protein (after all, I had just completed a tough treadmill workout) so I opted for the ham and cheese eggs (plain scrambled eggs don’t really excite me), I took a small helping of hash browns, avoided the bacon and pancakes (I am pretty picky about pancakes, and these ones didn’t really look all that special, so not worth it for me) and toasted a slice of rye bread. I enjoyed the toast with butter and blackberry jam (two things that are never part of my regular breakfast routine, so a tasty treat). The eggs were not super hot and kind of greasy, but tasted ok, and the hash browns were pretty cold. So, not the best breakfast (nutritionally or taste-wise), but not as bad as it could have been.

I was pretty proud of the decisions I made at lunch time. I was tempted to splurge a little bit more since it was a “vacation” day. In fact, my sister and I had considered going for burgers. But after the heavy breakfast which lacked fruit, we were both really craving some produce. Did you know that any Subway sandwich can be ordered as a salad? It’s true! I opted for a ham salad with fat-free Ranch dressing. I was saying to my sister, I’ve only recently discovered a love for Ranch. It’s not something we had growing up, but I really like it – and the whole packet only had 60 calories! I also tried a couple of pieces of Catherine’s mango cucumber sushi (I’ve said many a time, I’m not a fish person, but I’ve been wanting to try vegetarian sushi for a while now). It wasn’t bad at all. I don’t know if you can see it in the background, but I also bought a couple packages of Brothers Fruit Crisps (freeze-dried fruit) in apple and strawberry banana. We both love this stuff! It’s sweet and crunchy, and way better for you than dried fruit, since there’s no sugar added.

During the afternoon, we enjoyed a couple of shopping treats. Have you ever heard of/tried Dippin’ Dots? My sister has a weird fascination/obsession with them (I like them too…it’s ice cream after all). Basically it’s a bunch of tiny little dots of ice cream…according to the website  it is “cryogenically frozen” and they “flash freeze it into little beads.” See picture for close up of texture (note: special thanks to my sister for her help in photographing our culinary adventures and also for getting a picture of me so you can see the human behind the food 🙂 ). I got chocolate cookie dough was quite pleased with the dough-to-ice cream-ratio. 🙂 Catherine got chocolate mint. Another afternoon treat were the numerous food samples enjoyed at Le Gourmet Chef (it seems like they’re always sampling the same things when we go…we never buy, but always eat)!

We were both pretty tired, so opted for an early dinner (as in 4:15…we felt like old people). We had previously dined at Bravo and really enjoyed it. Plus, they have half-priced appetizers in the bar (which we had eaten before) so we decided to go there for a cheap option. Bravo really let us down this time. I’m not even going to bother posting all of the pictures I took because honestly it wasn’t that fabulous. We had rosemary bread with a sundried tomato dip (complimentary, of course) which was good and then ordered the Italian Wedding Soup, which was fabulous last time, bur sort of run-of-the-mill this time. The appetizers we got were a mushroom/Boursin bruschetta, shrimp Napoli and a baked ravioli with cream sauce…none were bad, just not that good. The meal left meal feeling sort of gross, but unsatisfied…does that make any sense at all? I find it frustrating when you spend extra money (and calories) on dining out, then get food that’s just so-so.

Since I felt unsatisfied, I made some poor choices later in the evening…I ate an apple while at the grocery store (separate post to come on that later), then was so overcome by a sweet craving I ate a fibre one bar in my purse…but then also purchased 2 peanut butter cups in the bulk section (I figured that would be wisest, so I wouldn’t have more around than I needed). At the bookstore on the way home from Buffalo, I got some sort of raspberry mocha drink (I did go fat and sugar free and held the whipped cream)…but then ate a free brownie sample and a drink sample, which did have whipped cream. And then when I dropped my sister off I had 2 caramels from her candy jar and when I got home, I snacked a bit on some of the food I bought.

So, all in all Wednesday had its ups and downs. I made some smarter choices, some not-so-smart, some things were in my control, some out of my control. Some splurges were so worth it (hello, Dippin’ Dots), some not (appetizers). Live and learn, I guess. But although the food was not always fabulous, the company was divine. I love my sister and any time we hang out together is a good time. 🙂

How do you handle it when food choices are out of your control?

Adventures with Quinoa

You’ve already read about my love for Quinoa. I heard somewhere last week (I can’t remember for sure, but I think it was a guest on the Rachael Ray Show….I can’t remember who though) say that you can cook a big pot of quinoa on the weekend and use it during the week. I guess I “knew” this before, but had never really thought about it. But after hearing this, I thought it was a great idea, as when I cook quinoa, it’s normally in really small amounts and it’s difficult to get it just right. So on Sunday, I cooked a whole cup of the stuff dry, which made a sizeable amount. At first, I wondered if I could put all of that grainy goodness to use. I need not have worried…I’ve used lots of the quinoa so far for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Read on to see what I (and you) can do with it!

I made muffins! No, really! More specifically, these pumpkin quinoa muffins from Carrots ‘n Cake. I gave them all away to a friend, but they looked and smelled amazing (and the batter tasted good ;P)! The muffins also had raisins and nuts (recipe said walnuts, but I had some toasted almonds to use up, so I substituted those). I would really encourage you to try these….it’s a unique mixture of textures and flavours that come together for a healthy muffin (and they got positive reviews from the receiver).

I made salads! Tuesday’s lunch was an AMAZING salad containing 1/2 cup of quinoa, veggies I had in my fridge (I think the mix was cabbage, broccoli slaw, orange pepper, onion, mushrooms), one chopped artichoke heart and an ounce of light feta cheese, crumbled. I added a tsp of olive oil, some fat free Italian dressing, red wine vinegar, and seasoned with garlic salt, pepper, dried basil and cumin. This was SUCH a great mix of flavours! I liked it so much that I prepared a variation for today’s lunch – same dressing/seasoning, but I used spaghetti squash and added some different veggies (now that I have gotten groceries)!

I made a super-yummy side! In the past, I think the only way I have cooked quinoa is as a side-dish for supper. But I think that Monday night’s dish may be my all-time favourite. I sauteed a small onion and an apple in 2 tsp of olive oil. Once they were softened, I added 1 cup cooked quinoa (this made 2 LARGE servings, btw), some leftover cooked squash, diced (probably about a cup), and seasoned with salt, cinnamon and cumin. I love the smoky/sweet combo of cinnamon and cumin…you have to try it sometime! And see that chicken on the side? It was stuffed with leftover mushroom cream cheese and leftover cooked ham…I baked in just a little bit of chicken broth, and topped it with salt, pepper and dill seasoning. It was DELICIOUS….this was a good supper!

I made breakfast (besides the muffins)! I have read on a couple of blogs and in my Biggest Loser cookbook about using quinoa for breakfast (instead of oatmeal), so decided that this would be the perfect time to give a try. I made something I’ll call ABQ – Apple Breakfast Quinoa. 🙂 I cooked the apple as I did in my apple cinnamon oatmeal, then added in half a cup of quinoa at the last minute, cooking until it was heated through. After the quinoa was cooked and in the bowl, I gradually added 1/2 cup of skim milk (which I heated a bit first…don’t know why I’ve never thought of this before wiht oatmeal) and sweetened with Brown Sugar twin. This was yummy! It’s nice to switch it up from oatmeal, and the quinoa lends a different texture to the usual hot breakfast cereal.

I still have a bit of quinoa left in the fridge, so who knows what else I’ll create!? But I know that I will definitely do the big batch quinoa trick again. It has been a time saver, and made me think outside the box a bit…and incorporate more quinoa into my diet, which is a good thing, because it’s SUPER-healthy! Read more about why it’s such a superfood here. What about you…do you eat quinoa? Will you now after reading this post?

Time Warp

Ok…try to keep up with me. I’m writing this post on Wednesday that is going to be posted on Thursday that is about my breakfast on Wednesday and my lunch on Thursday which I made on Wednesday…did you follow all that? That’s one of the wonders of blogging…you can write posts in advance (which is what I often do). That’s why you get new posts coming up during the day when I am working. Sorry if that confused you…now onto the good stuff: food!

Yesterday I worked a half day so I had a bit more time for breakfast…this meant: oatmeal! But not just any oatmeal: chocolate chai pear oatmeal! Oh yeah…and it was as good as it sounds. Here’s how to make it: I did the same basic method as for my apple cinnamon oatmeal, but with a few tweaks. I used chocolate almond milk instead of vanilla. And instead of the water, I used leftover brewed chai tea for the liquid in the oatmeal. Instead of cinnamon, I added Epicure Poudre Douce (LOVE this stuff…it’s got a great spicy/chai flavour…perfect for oatmeal, baking, and it’s great in my pumpkin spice latte) to the oatmeal. I cooked a pear instead of an apple, and I cooked it in chai tea instead of water and again, Poudre Douce instead of cinnamon. I added vanilla to the oatmeal again and also a spoonful of unsweetened cocoa (if you love chocolate, you should really try cocoa powder…it adds a deep chocolate flavour for minimal calories…I use it in lots of drinks (hot and cold), this oatmeal, even mixed into yogurt sometimes (especially good with raspberries)). The result of all this tinkering? A spicy, chocolate-y bowl of oatmeal goodness!

I also used my extra time on my morning off to make today’s lunch (well, as I’m typing this, it’s tomorrow’s, but it will be today’s when you read this…confused yet?). I wish I’d taken a better picture to capture this amazing salad I made…I’m so excited to eat it! Here’s what went in (it’s a long list): spinach, green beans, red onion, mushrooms, rainbow mini tomatoes, red pepper, 4 slices diced light deli ham, a handful of broccoli slaw and two of my funky canned favourites: capers and artichoke hearts. Doesn’t that sound yummy? I sprinkled it all with dill seasoning, salt and pepper. My dressing is a combo of olive oil, fat-free Italian dressing, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar and just a touch of Splenda. I know it’s a salad…but like I said…I’m excited to eat it (does that mean I need a life?)! To accompany this healthy deliciousness, I packed a cheese string, 100 calorie fibre one bar and 2 Source yogurts (from the super fruits collection)….wouldn’t it be great if eating super fruits gave you super powers? 😀

What are your favourite packed lunches? If time was no object, what would you make for your lunch box? I don’t eat a lot of salads in the winter (they make me cold), so I hope it’s not too chilly outside today/I don’t have outdoor yard duty! 😛

On the bright side…

Friday was a snowy day in Simcoe. But apparently it wasn’t snowy enough for school to be canceled. However, I do not like taking chances with winter driving, and since the job I was scheduled for was a 40 minute drive away (on a highway where my family had previously been in an accident), I canceled my job. Bad news = I didn’t make any money on Friday (and I already had to cancel one day this week since I was sick 😦 ). Good news = I had extra time on my house, time enough to fit in an extra class at the gym and make 3 delicious meals. 🙂 Allow me to share what I enjoyed on a day when I had the luxury of time to make whatever I wanted.

For breakfast, I enjoyed a delicious bowl of oatmeal. I used to eat oatmeal on a semi-regular basis, but had sort of gotten out of it. Tina (and lots of other healthy-living bloggers) makes all sorts of creative oatmeal creations. I’ve enjoyed this oatmeal breakfast a few times in the last couple of weeks. Since I cook the oats on the stovetop, this breakfast is not an ideal weekday option, but for weekends or mornings when you have a bit more time, this oatmeal is the way to go, especially during these cold winter months. Here’s what I did: In a small pot, combine 1/3 cup old fashioned oats (go for the old-fashioned – they have WAY more texture than quick or instant oats), 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup water, a few dashes cinnamon, Brown Sugar Twin to taste and a splash of vanilla. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until liquid is mostly absorbed. In the meantime, chop up an apple and cook in a saucepan with water, cinnamon and Brown sugar twin until tender. When oatmeal and apple are done, combine the two and serve in a bowl. The drink on the side of my oatmeal is 1/2 cup almond milk, vanilla extract, Splenda and chai tea. I made this oatmeal after my run last weekend and it was just what I needed to warm me up.

Lunch was equally delicious…and a vegetarian delight! Inspired by this recipe I saw in Rachael Ray Magazine in an article featuring hearty vegetarian entrees (and by the piece of eggplant in my fridge), I created a stuffed eggplant dish by baking a chunk of eggplant at 450 for 20 to 30 minutes (seasoned with salt and pepper). The filling was a mix of 1/4 cup ricotta cheese, chopped spinach, Dijon mustard, garlic salt and pepper. I made a quick tomato sauce (garlic and chili flakes sauteed in 1 tsp olive oil, then added a handful of cheery tomatoes and some canned tomatoes and simmered). I used a bit of the tomato sauce to cover the eggplant (after I cut it in half and stuffed it), then baked it for another 10 minutes. I put the rest of the sauce on a dish of Hungry Girl-fredo, mixed with steamed broccoli rabe and spinach and one portabello mushroom cap I broiled with garlic seasoning. The result of this combination? A delectable Italian-style totally filling and satisfying vegetarian lunch! I had an apple for dessert and later on as a snack, a delicious mint chocolate mocha drink I whipped up.

On to supper….Friday night = pizza! 😀 I was super-stoked to try the new President’s Choice Blue Menu Light Brie Cheese I bought…which I did. I LOVE brie and I was SO EXCITED when I saw that a light option was available! Another winning pizza creation! The crust was my standard crispy thin tortilla crust. And the toppings were: 1 wedge the Laughing Cow Light cheese, spread over the crust; 1/2 onion and few handfuls mushrooms, sauteed in 1 tsp olive oil; thinly sliced apple (lovin’ the apples on pizza these days); 2 slices diced lean deli ham; salt and pepper; a sprinkle of dried thyme and an ounce of the above-mentioned brie. YUM-town! It was soooo tasty! What about the brie? It didn’t really make or break the pizza. What I had was good, but there wasn’t enough on there to really make a difference. The flavour was good, but the texture wasn’t the same as full-fat brie (not that I expected it to be). The salad in the background was spinach, the rest of the apple, sliced red onion, a little bit of cooked butternut squash, sprouts, 6 chopped roasted almonds (doesn’t sound like a lot, but the toasty flavour makes a little go a long way)! For a change, I made a creamy yogurt dressing (sort of inspired by the one on this salad ) out of fat free plain yogurt, white wine vinegar, fat free Italian salad dressing, a dash of cinnamon, chipotle chili powder, Brown sugar twin, and just a touch of apple butter (it really added something)!

For dessert, I enjoyed a chocolate and a couple of these meringues I made for my mom (she was having a business dinner on the weekend and wanted something light for dessert). Meringues are light as air (and gluten-free, for all you avoiders out there) and fat-free….you can eat 2 of these things for less than 50 calories…score! Another bonus? 4 ingredients and so simple to make! The recipe was so easy that I can type it from memory.

Chocolate Meringues – adapted from The Betty Crocker Cookbook

3 egg whites

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

2/3 cup white sugar

2 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking cocoa

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy (you want an electric mixer for this…it will take forever to do with a whisk, but my hat is off to you if you want to try:) ). Beat in sugar 1 tbsp at a time. Continue beating until mixture is stiff and glossy (you should be able to remove the beaters and the meringue will form peaks that hold their shape). Fold in the cocoa with a spatula (there will still be a few streaks).

Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a spoon to drop the meringue on the cookie sheets – makes about 2 dozen cookies. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely then store in an airtight container.

Light as air and chocolate too…YUM!

So not bad for a day’s work, eh? I don’t eat like this every day (I wish I could)…but this is how I like to eat when I have the time. What would you make to eat if time was no object?

P.S….I remembered that my lunch was not completely vegetarian. After my extra workout at the gym and an hour and a half running errands, I was HUNGRY…I needed a protein boost while I was putting away groceries and making lunch….so I spread 2 slices lean deli ham with a wedge of Laughing Cow light and a touch of Dijon mustard. I topped this with spinach and rolled them up….yummy and oh-so-satisfying. This is great to pack in lunches, or any time you need a quick hit of protein. Even if you just do the ham and cheese it is delicious. 🙂

These muffins are Tops!

Remember the muffin tops I bought at Costco? I promised an entire post devoted to my love for Vitatops, and after over a month, it’s finally here! I can’t believe I waited so long to tell you more about these things. I love them so much that I’ve decided they merit a favourite things post of their own! I discovered VitaTops thanks to Hungry Girl a couple of years ago, and now they’re a regular part of my diet. Vitalicious makes several flavours of muffins and muffin tops (sadly, they’ve cut back on what is offered in Canada, so I can no longer get my beloved chocolate peanut butter chip) but the best by far (of what’s available in Canada) is the Deep Chocolate VitaTop (and fortunately, it’s the flavour that’s the most readily available). You can also get flavours like cran bran, apple crumble, golden corn and pumpkin spice (the newest flavour…still haven’t tried it yet). They’re all good, but chocolate’s my favourite, hands-down.

Now, where do you get these things? The good news is they’re getting easier to find all the time. My grocery store stocks 4 packs of the deep chocolate in the breakfast freezer section. Many Costco stores also have 12 packs available (a great deal) in the frozen section. Or you can order online(sign up for their emails, they send out lots of coupons for free shipping and discounts). Now that you know where to find them, what do you do with a VitaTop?

More like, what don’t you do with a VitaTop? Hungry Girl is so mad about them, she devoted an entire chapter to VitaTops in one of her cookbooks! Before I get carried away, let me mention that you can keep these things in the freezer for months…so don’t worry about ordering large quantities. I microwave mine for 30 seconds, then I’m good to to. First off, I love these babies for breakfast. I typically pair a VitaTop with 1/2 cup plain fat free yogurt mixed with fruit (whatever’s in season) and Splenda. In the winter months it’s usually a sauteed apple or pear with some cinnamon, but there’s a lot more to choose from. I sometimes add vanilla extract to the mix to switch it up. I also enjoy either one of my cafe mocha drinks (sometimes change the flavour by adding either cinnamon or some sort of extract) or a pumpkin spice latte. This breakfast never gets old (after all, there are lots of ways to switch it up). Side note – I don’t know if you can read it in the photo, but I love what this mug says: “I’d give up chocolate – but I’m no quitter.” 😀

But these muffins go waaaay beyond breakfast. They make a great quick snack on their own or spread with a little pb. Or cut one in half, stuff with a little frozen yogurt for your own (HUGE) guilt-free ice cream sandwich. Or crumble it in some sugar-free pudding. Top it with ice cream and sauce for a brownie sundae. Hungry Girl’s recipe for a frozen pumpkin whoopie pie is one of my personal favs.

The sky’s the limit with these things…are you getting the idea? I’m sure I’m forgetting some ways to use these versatile Vitas, as I’ve done so much with them in the past. Have you ever tried VitaTops? Do you have any creative ideas for using them? Please share!