I Heart Plantains!

Hello bloggies!

The boys family is visiting for a couple of days but they're otherwise occupied at the moment. Which means I'm free to update you on yesterday's eats. :o)

Breakie yesterday was my traditional Green Monster. I thought I would change things up this time by showing you what everything looks like in the blender.

As you can see I really pile things into my blender. There's so much good stuff in there that I'm always full from my breakfasts! So much more than before I discovered Green Monsters.

Yesterday's lunch was an uber-yummy sandwich on a whole wheat bread. The fillings were tomatoes, red onions, pesto, lettuce, goat's milk feta and avocado. Yummers! After my lunch time walk I sat down to enjoy my lunch and read my Fitness magazine.


Welcome to my office btw! :o) That's a small section of it. It's actually rather large and filled with lots and lots of files. I keep really busy at work which helps me to appreciate my down time and my exercise time all the more!

Dinner was a total change-up. The end results may seem a little strange but I had a serious craving for ethnic food!!! You see I was born in El Salvador where we eat plantains. We wait until they're black on the outside (super ripe) and then we cut them up into long slices and cook them in a little bit of oil. Their ripeness gives them an intensely sweet flavour!

But don't be fooled. They're not dessert. We often eat them with breakfast. I used to like mine with a crusty bun and beans. lol Oh my yummy ethnic food . . .

Here in the British Columbia Rockies I can't find plantains. So I tried the same cooking method with bananas and came up with this:


I paired my wannabee plantains with a slice of avocado, a piece of goat's milk feta, half a whole wheat tortilla, and two poached eggs. It was good but nowhere near the beauty of a real plantain.

I highly recommend it bloggies - just keep your plantain until it's black on the outside and then cook them up. Eat them as dessert if you'd like. They're delicious!

Oh and could you do me a favour? Have an extra piece for me! :o)


Today's Workout

1) I woke up this morning and did A.M. Yoga

2) I skipped my lunch walk but walked back and forth to court several times

3) Unfortunately I couldn't run. :o( My calves have seized up and they feel like two little balls of solid pain! I'm off running until I can get them to release. For now I alternate heat and cold.

4) To try to relax the calf muscles I'll likely do more yoga before bed

A Blogger Bake Sale

Top of the morning to you bloggies! This morning's post will be a quick one and I promise to return later with a recap of yesterday's eats!

But first let's talk baking . . .

As some of you may know a couple of months ago Meghan of "The Inner Workings of a College Graduate" held an incredibly profitable bake sale with the proceeds going to her efforts towards the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training.

Well it's that time again - Meghan has announced the bake sale is back!!! Woohoo - I missed out on participating in the first one as I was new to the whole food blogging thing back then. But there's no way I'm missing out this time.

And this time Canadians can participate too! In fact the sale will be sectioned off for Canadian goodies and American ones. That way there will be no worries of baked goods unable to cross the border. It seems last time there were a lot of disappointed Canadians.

Won't you consider participating? All it would involve would be a donation of time and baked goods. It would benefit a great cause and support a fellow blogger!

And if you're not into baking you could always bid on a baked good. Yummy eats for charity! Sounds good to me! :o)

I intend to participate but my question to you out there is: What would you like to see in the bake sale?

I can try to modify a recipe or bake a classic. I'm quite proud of my baking skills but tend to avoid baking too much because it tempts me so. Any ideas?


And in parting, yesterday's workout:

1) I woke up and did A.M. yoga (calves began to tighten)

2) At lunch I went for a short walk

3) I did Day 1 of my circuit training

4) I attempted an interval run but by this point my calves were crazy tight. I could barely stand up straight. So I had to pull up and call it a day.



PS: I made those Linzer cookies two Christmases ago

Conflict Resolution

To be fashionable? To be fit? To be fashionable? To be Fit . . . . you get the idea!

I was a conflicted bloggie earlier this week. I was weighing a big purchase. You see I had been admiring a super girly and fun designer bag. I was all ready to purchase my purse when out of nowhere a good little angel came and sat on my shoulder.

And then it hit me - with the money I was going to spend on the bag I could supplement the remainder of my work fitness allowance (as per the Great $1000 Fitness Dilemma) and get something awesome towards a home-gym.

So off I went a newly opened fitness store . . . .

In the end I gave up the Coach Op Art Sabrina bag:

For a pair of the Bowlfex Selecttech 552 dumbbells:

I can always get the bag later right!? But for now fitness is my priority! :o)

Raw Almond Macaroons - An Oven Variation

It's that time bloggies - raw almond macaroon time! Woohoo!!

So how about we quickly cover today's eats so we can get to the good stuff?

Breakie this morning consisted of a Green Monster with the usual suspects (mixed berries, yogurt, almond breeze, spinach, kale, banana, and flax seeds). I accompanied this yummy drink with two coconut macaroons. Oh how I tease! :oP lol They were yummers though!

I then headed to work fully revitalized by both my morning eats and my A.M Yoga session with Rodney Yee. In fact even I was surprised by how chipper I was amidst the mountains of files.

Halfway through the morning my co-workers came into my office and invited me out for Crackbucks for a Tall Soy London Fog. Super yummy but kind of an expensive habit I need to break before it gets too serious!

Lunch was a total highlight today! I had a selection of veggies (think tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, cauliflower, and broccoli) with a little bit of dressing for dipping. All accompanied by a low-fat Alpine Grain whole-wheat roll. It was yummers!


Wasn't my lunch ridonculously colourful? A little later in the afternoon I snacked on a banana and two strawberries.

Dinner starred one of my new loves - Soyganic Smoked Tofu!!!! :o)


Review: This stuff is amazing! It has a slight smoked ring that makes it super tasty. To be honest it kind of tastes like meat but without the heavy feeling afterwards!

My favourite way to eat it is sauteed with some wilted spinach, tomato, and sometimes mushrooms. I only add a little bit of salt and pepper and we're good to go!


Since the boy is away on vacation I took some "me time" tonight and really enjoyed my meal. I laid out a lovely table and even lit a candle. After I finished dinner I made it a point of reading the last couple of chapters of Sophie Kinsella's "Remember Me?" Total chick-lit! No thinking involved! But totally enjoyable!!


Dessert was . . . you guessed it! A coconut macaroon! And on that note . . .

Raw Macaroons - A Blondie and a Brunette

I first saw this recipe on the Fitnessista website. I googled a bit more and then discovered that it's originally from "Raw Food, Real World" by Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis. Apparently the book is supposed to be awesome (so awesome that I ordered it from Amazon).


Here are the ingredients for my adaptation:

3 cups of dried unsweetened coconut
1 1/2 cups of finely ground almonds (use your food processor to grind them)
1 cup of E.D. Smith Sugar-Free Syrup (variation - real maple syrup)
1/3 cup of non-hydrogenated margarine, melted (variation - coconut oil, melted)
1 tbs of vanilla
1/2 tbs of almond extract
1/2 tsp of Sea Salt

You will note that my version doesn't include coconut oil. Initially I did this because I couldn't find any. When I found some I still chose to stick to non-hydrogenated margarine because it was much lower in fat and calories.

If you choose not to use coconut oil then make sure you use some type of fat or oil that is a solid at room temperature. This is the key in replicating the properties of coconut oil.

I chose Eating Right margarine but you can likely find another brand at your local supermarket.


I began by grinding my almonds in my food processor . . .


I then combined all ingredients in a big metal bowl . . .


With a spatula mix your ingredients until they reach an even consistency . . .


Using an ice cream scoop place your evenly shaped little macaroons on a baking sheet. I like to cover mine with silpat. I get to reuse it time and time again and I don't have to use butter or oil!


For a yummy brunette (i.e.: chocolate) variation I added 1/2 a cup of cocoa powder to half my macaroon batter. For the full recipe use 1 cup of cocoa powder. This will result in an intensely flavour. It won't be sweet so if you wish you can adjust the ingredients accordingly to taste.


And here is the key to this version of raw macaroons - place the pans in an oven preheated to the lowest possible temperature setting. In my oven the lowest setting was 150F - I probably set it slightly above that.


Leave your macaroons in the oven for 7 - 7 1/2 hours. Ideally you want your macaroons to be crispy on the outside but still moist on the inside. Keep in mind that the macaroons will dry out a bit once they are out of the oven!

And there you have it bloggies . . . a RAW Blondie and Brunette Macaroon!

Progress

Today I was a very good girl! I did 20 minutes of yoga, went for a walk at lunch, had a completely meat-free day, and got my butt kicked by Jillian Michaels during 40+ minutes of circuits.

Tomorrow will be a longer yoga and short run day! :o)


In the Blogosphere

Run Mommy is organizing a virtual 4 mile race in honour of a beautiful 3 year-old with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Follow this link to find out more information and register!

The awesome Blender is celebrating her blogiversary with a wonderful giveaway. Follow this link and enter to win a mug, some Barney Butter, and more!

Honey Nut Lo' (I love that name!) is giving away a New Orleans themed lot of goodies. I know I would love to win! If you would too then head to this link to enter!

A.M. Yoga - for my week

Good morning everyone!

I did indeed "bake" my raw macaroons yesterday. I spent my late Sunday evening putting the recipe together and watching the last season of Sex and the City (on DVD). It was a lovely chill way to end my weekend!

But now it's Monday and this week I've decided to change my workouts up a bit . . .

You see lately I've been feeling kind of stressed out. I've been getting some migraines and I feel myself carrying some tension in my shoulders. The Doctor says that it's all related to my work and has nothing to do with my level of health. I'm a lawyer and a criminal one at that. On a daily basis I am faced with all of the bad stuff that most people get to blissfully ignore in their lives. I love my work! But I need to start doing more to release all of the toxins that I accumulate during the day.

So here's the plan for this week:


1 - I will wake up every morning and do Rodney Yee's "A.M. Yoga for your week" - there are five, 20-minute morning yoga sessions that should help to limber me up and get on with my day

2 - I will go out for walks during my lunch - no more nibbling on eats while I work on files

3 - I will track all of my workouts here! If you don't see them then harass me - feel free to keep me accountable!

4 - I will up the intensity of all of my workouts

5 - I will not skip my workouts

So there you have it! :o) Now if you excuse me I have to go downward dog! Make sure to check back later for the macaroon recipe - Happy Monday!

A Cliff Hanger

Hello bloggies! I hope your weekend was wonderful!

I had some good eats (and some not so good eats) but unfortunately my camera isn't cooperating. Rather, it seems like its on the last leg and so it decided to eat my yummy food pictures. Either that or it completely bleached some out (like most of the ones from today). Clearly, this calls for a new camera in the near future.

Thankfully I managed to save some pictures from my breakfast - a beloved Green Monster:


Today I tried to make my Green Monster especially smooth! For two people I used one banana, about 4 inches of a cucumber, one tablespoon of flax seeds, two cups of Almond Breeze, a heaping handful of kale, and another heaping handful of spinach, topped off with about 1 1/2 cups of slightly defrosted mango.

After a couple of minutes of blending my wonderful Green Monster looked like this:


I thought it looked wonderful and tasted especially fresh. :o) And that's when the boy dropped a bombshell - he does not like cucumbers!!!

I was shocked! We've been together for two and a half years, we eat together everyday, I cook for the both of us. And this is the first I've heard of a dislike for cucumbers! In fact he dislikes them so much that this was the first Green Monster that go no love from the boy. To remedy the situation I added 1/3 of a cup of fat-free plain yogurt and one tablespoon of honey. I then re-mixed all of the ingredients and everyone was happy!

Much of the day was spent waiting for the boy's parents and nephew to arrive. They were picking him up on their way to visit the boy's brother in Alberta. Unfortunately they were delayed by avalanches (!!) and a serious accident on the highway.

Of course the boy and I were waiting for them to show up and started to get quite worried. We were originally supposed to have eaten lunch together but somehow the boy talked me into going into KFC. I had their grilled chicken burger. In the end I ate only the bottom later of bread with what looked to be about 1/5 of a chicken breast.

Needless to say I was mungry! So when the boy's family suggested that we drive to a ski resort town (over an hour away) to eat at one of my favourite restaurant's, I jumped at the chance. Except that when we got there it was closed! :o( So the boy and his family headed back to Alberta and I drove back the other way towards home.

As it turns out there was basically nowhere to eat. By this point it was 5pm and all I'd eaten during the day was a Green Monster and about 1/5 of a chicken breast. Eventually I started to hiccup (I hiccup when I'm really hungry - lol :oP). The first restaurant I hit was a Chinese buffet place so I went in. There was very little I could eat there so I filled up on a plateful of asparagus in black bean sauce, steamed broccoli, tomatoes, and about 1/3 of a cup of fried rice.

So unfortunately my eating day wasn't the best but I'm going to make up for it!!!

How you ask? By adapting The Fitnessista's Almond Macaroon recipe!

I tried it earlier in the week and they turned out wonderful! Want a preview?


If like me, you don't have a dehydrator and can't find coconut oil then this one's for you!!! Stay tuned for the recipe tomorrow . . .

Nighty night bloggies - and here's to a wonderful week with lots of yummy food pics! :o)

The Grocery Challenge: Making the Most of your Money

Hello world!

This morning's post will be another quickie. I went to sleep at about 1am and I'm up very early getting ready to head to work to finish my research before driving a couple of hours to court. I've earned my weekend bloggies! :o)

On to the post . . .

As most of you know for a little while now I've tried my best to stretch my grocery-shopping dollar. While the boy and I are blessed to have good secure jobs there is no doubt that in this economy (the r-word) we should all try to be a little wiser with our money.

Getting more bang for your buck is particularly high given rising grocery prices. And it's not only in my neck of the woods (Canada); recently Zesty of Zesty Cook wrote a post entitled "Are Grocery Prices Over the Top?" Most readers stated that they too have seen prices increase. From bread, to milk, to eggs . . . everything is more expensive!

And so I have challenged myself! Every week I read all of the local grocery store adverts and make an effort to shop sales whenever possible. I am also avoiding going to the grocery store as often as before. When I shop I also go with a list - that way I only leave with what I intended to get!

Want to see this week's haul?


Grand Total? $61.09!! Not bad at all! :o)


That total includes: 1.5kg of beef (I'm cooking it pot-au-feu style in the slow cooker - I'll get several meals out of this), Almond Breeze, Yogi Kombucha Green Tea, thyme, smoked tofu (a new and much loved discovery), three garlic heads, mushrooms, 5kg of gala apples, yogurt, two cans of diced tomatoes, two massive bunches of bananas, about 7 small carrots, one bag of whole-wheat flour, a large bag of frozen mangoes, two massive bunches of kale, and one large bag of spinach.


How about you? Have you also noticed grocery prices increasing? How are you coping? Do you find yourself going vegetarian as a result?