Simple Monday

After a weekend of throwing caution and healthy ideas to the wind I just could not face meal planning on a Monday morning.  Instead I just decided to work with what was on hand and go with the flow.

Toasted English muffin with light Laughing Cow, bacon jam, and tomato.

While in Nanaimo this past weekend I got my hands on some slightly more reasonably priced Liberte Greek yogurt.  Date & Fig if you please!

With sliced banana and a sprinkle of hemp seeds.

Mother’s Day’s lazy dinner just keeps on giving.  Leftover chicken strips and potato wedges…

With veggies, hummus, and plain Greek yogurt for dipping.

Slightly healthified. :)

I squeezed in an afternoon cardio session and a post hockey game nap.  (Our Canucks have made Round Three!!!)  Spent the evening working on some contract work, sipping tea, and biting the heads off the last of the Aussie gingerbread babies.

Today I restock the produce drawer.

Monday Meals

Another Monday.  Another new meal plan.  Another attempt at balance.

Meal plan said to eat up the yogurt and strawberries that are still kicking around.  So I did!

Meal plan also said that the English muffins aren’t getting any fresher so I’d better eat up the last one.

So I did.  “Bacon” and egger with light Laughing Cow.  Deeeelish.

Carrot and apple slices on the side.

Afternoon tea.

Pre-gym protein.  Half scoop of Amazing Grass SuperFood, 1 tbsp Trader Joe’s flaxerific almond butter, and 1 cup vanilla soy milk.  Shake shake shake!

For the first time in a couple of weeks I decided to show my bad back who’s boss and headed for the gym after work.  The only way to make this thing better is to strengthen it up, even if it hurts like bejesus.

According to MyFitnessPal I burned 555 calories between cardio, strength training and doggie walking.  Word.

Meal plan told me to eat mucho veggies in the form of a bigass salad…  Well OK!

In the big silver bowl: spinach, cucumber, red pepper, red onion, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, and these handy dandy radishes I found.  Dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.

6oz chicken breast marinated with honey, garlic, parsley, s&p, and olive oil.  Cooked up on The Griddler… I ate half.

Nom nom nom.

All those burned calories accommodated some after dinner snackeroos.  Yummy old white cheddar (weighed 1oz) with the rest of my lunchtime apple.

And the best 100 calorie snack in the house.  Popchips!

I just updated my Facebook status: “Jaime has taken the first steps to getting her good triceps, back and waist back. Look out.”  I guess I’m on the hook now, eh? :) 

A Rolls-Royce and Salad Rolls

The horror!  I went to prepare the coffee pot last night and I was out of coffeeeeeee!  Noooooooooo!  So this morning after Chibi and I had our “business walk” around the block we hopped in the car to retrieve caffeine.

Back at home I discovered that I’m also out of a few main smoothie ingredients…but I made it work.  This orange was the star of the smoothie show.

In the KA: 1/2 frozen banana, chopped navel orange, 1/4 cup oats, flax meal, chia, Dreamsicle Amazing Grass (that’s why it’s green!), 3/4 cup UVAB. 

Today’s bigass salad was brought to you by every last item in the vegetable crisper.

Romaine, broccoli, orange pepper and celery dressed with balsamic & olive oil.

Topped with “bacon” and eggs.  A little bacon jam and parmesan melted nicely into the over-medium yolks.

Cheese straws that taste like cheesy shortbread cookies on the side.

Afternoon sweet tooth.

Post-work race to get to IMAX on time.  Momentarily distracted by John Lennon’s Yellow Submarine in the museum lobby. 

Whenever we are out to eat my friends never get their faces on the blog because I’m too busy drooling focusing on the food.  So I made Ray pose in the window tonight.  I know, I know…feel free to shake your head.  He did.

We watched crazy cavers repel into bigass caves all over the world.  500 feet into a recently formed ice cave that could spontaneously collapse any moment?  Um, no thanks.

I’d rather eat Vietnamese food!  So off to Green Leaf it was. Yummers.

The salad rolls were just as fresh and delicious as I remember…and yup, I would still gladly swim in the peanut sauce.

Because we couldn’t make up our minds we opted to share a couple of dishes.  Rare Beef Pho. 

Fresh, hot, flavourful and the beef was just right.

Pork Vermicelli with crispy pork spring roll.

All oh so good!  We demolished the pork plate.  I have had that dish at other Vietnamese restaurants but this one was particularly fresh, tender and tasty. 

And the best part?  I got the leftover soup and salad rolls!!  Weeeeeha!!

Good thing because my fridge is so bare I might even clean it.  Whoa.

Bacon Jam

Lookie here, I’m only one day behind now!  Of course, the weekend is basically upon so I suspect the randomness will start all over again. :)

Recently it seems I’ve acquired new local readers via Twitter and there has been a lot of chat about green smoothies.  Glad that more and more folks are willing to give the spinach in there a try!!

In my KA: ice, 1/2 banana, 2 bigass handfuls baby spinach, 1/4 cup whole oats, flax meal, chia, Dreamsicle Amazing Grass, and UVAB.

Maybe one of you adventurous readers will try kale in your glass one day??!!  That’s more hardcore than I’ve ever been willing to go.

While downtown the other day I finally remembered to pop into Feys & Hobbs Fort Street store to cash in my SwarmJam coupon (like Groupon) for Bacon Jam.

Yes, that says BACON. JAM.  Word to that.

It’s somewhat chutney-like in texture and style…but the bacon is definitely there!

What better way to enjoy bacon than with eggs?

I had one slice of bacon left in the fridge so I opted to make a BLT salad to go with my “bacon” and eggs.

Pretty darn delicious!

Afternoon sweet tooth.  Fruit helps cut the chocolate calories, right?

Tide me over.  Last night’s dinner date with Bachelor #6 wasn’t until 7:30 so I didn’t want to gnaw my arm off before then.

Dinner was at Canoe Brewpub.  Espresso Stout – check.  Good conversation – check.  Mediocre pasta dish – check.  Canoe is such a great location, ambience, and brewery…why does their food always leave me feeling “meh”?

Fun date anecdote:  I got home and realized I was missing one of my cute dangly earrings.  I texted the bachelor.  As I was driving back down to the restaurant in the POURING EFFING RAIN he texted back to tell me he’d gone back to look.  Sweet, right?  So ya, there we both were scouring the sidewalks…absolutely drenched. 

Sadly, no earring.

(Before you get all excited, please remember Bachelor #5 seemed pretty sweet and awesome after our second date…but became a douche overnight.  Practice dating caution.  LOL.)