A Royal Finish

There are some benefits to waking up at the crack of dawn. It's 6:30 a.m. and I'm dressed and ready for work already. All because I had to see the Royal Wedding live. My alarm went off at 5:00 and I crept out of bed to watch the festivities. I packed this beauty in the meantime:

• frozen pineapple
• vegan corn muffin (baked by the Boo)
• broccoli
• chicken and veggie fried rice

The wedding has been pretty entertaining so far. Well, as entertaining as a royal wedding can be. I'm actually getting kind of sleepy though. I wonder if I can take a nap in my work clothes without wrinkling them too badly. Anyway, have a great weekend!

Once More With Spirit!

Spring is here, but it is slowly trying to kill me. All the pollen in the air has my eyes on fire and I'm sniffling like a drug seeking dog. Ugh, this is the time of year that I'm actually glad I work in hermetically sealed skyscraper where you can't open any windows. Air is my enemy until mid June. Moving on...my old man cooked up another killer meal last night and I reaped benefits again today:

• homemade chicken and veggie fried rice
• vegan corn muffin
• frozen peaches
• grapes
• light cheddar cheese stick

It is gross that I gush so much about Mr. Lovah Lovah? I don't mean to be sappy I just want to make my appreciation known. Also, I kind of want to show the effort it takes to make my lunches everyday. Someone commented that they wanted to know how I find the time to pack a meal (or 2 on a good day) every day. Well, the most important thing is having everything I need in the fridge. About 85-90% of the food me and my bloke eat comes from our own kitchen. This is mainly because we are cheap, and secondly because we like to know what we are putting in our mouths. So, in order to achieve this we do a lot of grocery shopping.

Oh! Speaking of grocery shopping, has anyone seen Extreme Couponing? Sheesh, it makes me feel like I'm throwing money down the toilet when it comes to grocery shopping. I'm taking on a lot of little mini self challenges these days, so I'm not going to start to obsess over coupons, but that show did remind me to stick to our food budget a bit more closely. Anyway, I've comforted myself with the fact that there aren't any coupons for fresh fruit and veggies and that's what we go through the fastest her on the Estate.

I'm looking forward to a quiet night tonight and getting to bed early. I've got a 5:00 a.m. date with my TV. Royal Wedding, y'all!

Let's Hear It For The Boo!

It's been a long day, but I finally made it home in one piece. Let's jump right in. Shall we?

• turkey meatloaf
• roasted potatoes
• red grapes
• broccoli
• light cheddar cheese stick

My main man has been on quite the cooking spree this week. He made another batch of those gorgeous roasted potatoes for dinner last night and they found their way into my lunchbox today. Honestly, sometimes leftovers are the most comfortable and welcomed sight in the morning when I'm figuring out what to make for lunch. Thank goodness he's been in the mood to cook for us this week because I know I sure haven't felt like doing it.

I'm a bit disappointed in myself tonight because I caved and had half of a cupcake tonight at a comedy show. I know in the grand scheme of this is not a big deal at all. In fact, it could even be seen as a triumph since I didn't eat the whole thing, or more than one, for that matter. However, after reading all that stuff about the toxicity of sugar I really wanted to break my cravings for the stuff. I told myself that I was not longer going to have sweets (candy, cakes, ice cream,or sugared drinks, etc.) unless it was a special occasion or "worth it" in some way. I know that's how most healthy eaters operate, but for me that is an extreme lifestyle change. I don't think I've ever gone more than 24 hours without eating something sugary. I'm not kidding. If it's not jam on toast in the morning, it's an "energy bar" (which is basically an overpriced, extra chemicalized candy bar) in the afternoon or vanilla yogurt at night. And that's when I'm trying to be healthy. On a bad day it's nonstop chocolate and cakes. Anyway, that's why that article kind of shook me up. I feel like I have a real problem with sugar so the obvious thing for me to do was cut out sweets. I was doing a pretty good job this week until tonight. Anyway, it's not the end of the world and I'm not going to get diabetes from half a (moist, delicious, creamy, fluffy) cupcake. But, I will have to strengthen my resolve if I'm going to kick this thing. Wish me luck.

Can't Stop, Won't Stop

Hello! Well, I've officially caught stupid royal wedding fever. Ugh, I'm usually immune to bugs like this but not matter how much I tried to steer clear of those who were infected, it still managed to get me, via the TV. I'm sat here on the couch watching some Entertainment Tonight tell me about Kate's floral choices. Yeah, it's got me bad. Anywho, I digress.

• turkey meatloaf
• broccoli
• red grapes
• light cheddar cheese stick
• romaine lettuce, carrots, bell peppers
• balsamic vinaigrette (not shown, I forgot to put it in the picture)

Well, I know I declared that I was allergic to carrots last week, but I really don't think I'm going to stop eating them. They are just too good. I'll limit myself to just 1 a day. That doesn't necessarily mean that I'm going to eat a carrot a day, it just means that I can have one when I want to. I was telling Mr. Man about my carrot rationing this morning and he was not too pleased about it. Especially since I made the morbid joke that the nerdiest way to die is from eating carrots and since I'm probably the nerdiest person alive, it would sort of be a poetic way to go. Anyway, I'm not going to off myself for a bunch of carrots.

Speaking of my big hunk o' man, he made that there turkey meatloaf and it was another humdinger. Oh, that reminds me. Here is the recipe for the garlic chicken he always makes:

Garlic Chicken

• 1 chicken, 3-4 lbs cut into 8 serving pieces (trimmed of excess fat)
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 heads of garlic, separated in cloves
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or any herb)
  

Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Working in batches if necessary, add the chicken and cook, turning frequently, until well browned. 7-10 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat in the pan. Add the garlic cloves and saute over medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Pour in the wine and deglaze the pan, stirring and scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

Transfer chicken to a slow cooker. Sprinkle with thyme and add the garlic mixture. Cove and cook until the chicken is tender and opaque throughout, 3 hours on the low-heat setting.

The recipe comes from Williams Sonoma Essentials of Slow Cooking.

If you try it out let me know. I'm sure you'll see it here again sometime soon.

Last Night Remembered

Another Monday, another Sunday dinner for lunch:

• frozen peaches and pineapples
• broccoli
• roast potatoes
• salmon with chimichuri sauce
  

Guess what? The smell of microwaved salmon is not a favorite among the people in my office. Oh well, they were just jealous that they didn't have a fabulous lunch like mine. The highlight were the scrumptious roasted potatoes that my fella made. All he did was peel and slice some potatoes and sprinkle them with salt, pepper, garlic and paprika and then bung them in the oven at 425F for 30 minutes. Oh boy, were they tasty!

I read this great article about sugar last week it's been weighing on me a lot. It discusses the idea that sugar is not merely empty calories that make you put on weight, but it's actually a lethal poison that is slowly killing the Western world. I even watched the hour and a half seminar video outlining the science behind the theory. So now what? It's a compelling argument and I especially like the chemical and impact comparison of ethanol (booze) to fructose (sugar). Everyone who has ever eaten a slice of cake knows that too much sugar is never enough, but is it really poisonous? Food for thought. Unsweetened food, obviously.

Orange You Glad It's Saturday?

This week was quite a whopper! To say that the highlight was a trip to the dentist is an understatement. The food highlights were, sadly, once again, mainly chocolate based and should never have passed my lips. But, I did my best to keep lunch as healthy and filling as possible without being too boring. I ran through and entire bag of Mineolas along the way.

• chicken sausage with peppers and onions in a whole wheat wrap (sorry, no pic, just take my word for it)
• carrots
• lots of Mineola oranges

• turkey bologna, light provolone cheese, lettuce on Ezekiel bread
• carrots
• light cheddar cheese stick
• sliced red bell peppers
  
• balsamic vinaigrette dipper (I forgot to take the lid off, oops!)
• more Mineola ora
  

• another turkey bologna and light provolone sandwich
• Mineola oranges, for the last time
• carrots
• broccoli
  

So, it was a very orange week, what with the Mineolas and the carrots. Also, I think I am finally defeated and have to admit that I am allergic to carrots. This pains me to no end because I really love carrots. I looked it up and it is similar to my allergy to apples. The experts say that if the carrots, or fruit, is cooked the allergy symptoms won't appear. Unfortunately for me, I have a MAJOR food aversion to cooked fruit and especially cooked carrots. So I guess I'm a cooked goose! Obviously, I could try to get over all these stupid food aversions and attempt to eat mushy fruit and cooked (mushy/orange/terrifying) carrots. But that would take maturity and mental stability, two things I have a very low supply of this week.

Now, I'm finally enjoying my weekend. I'm off to take a 2 hour spinning class in an attempt to redeem myself from all that chocolate this week. If I make it out alive I promise to eat like a saint all next week. Well, a saint that sins a lot anyway.

A Toothsome Bunch

What a day! Lots to do and plenty to eat.

• 2 clementines
• sauteed spinach with mushrooms, onions, garlic and red pepper flakes
• roasted tiny potatoes
• 4 oz. of roasted lamb
• strawberries

We are sick of chicken here at the Estate. So, I decided to make lamb for our Sunday dinner this week. I threw it into my cart without a care in the world and when I got to the checkout I was horrified to discovery that the blasted thing cost a whopping $22! I was too smitten with the idea of a lamb feast on a spring night to put it back so I'm stretching it as far as I can. It was delicious on Sunday, but it's gotten a bit rubbery now. Lots of chewing. As it would happen, I got a last minute dentist appointment tonight after work and the hygienist gave my teeth a good working over. Now my gums are swollen and my stomach is grumbling. I think I'll leave the rest of the lamb for the Hungry Man of the house and I'll have a smoothie for dinner.