The Gift of Massage

With the long weekend now behind me (not that I got Monday off!) it was back to regular ol’ eating around my place.  No more fancy French Toast breakfasts come Tuesday morning. :(

I did bring something new to the breakfast table for a change though.  Cottage cheese with BC blueberries and banana.

I was worried about what I’d do for a healthy lunch because I didn’t really bother to do a proper grocery shop for the week, but when I opened the fridge I was reminded that I’d saved a few of the ingredients from the salad I made on Sunday night.

Like that fancy bowl?  You too can have one just like it the next time you buy a container of pre-washed mixed baby greens. :)  Just add carrots, radishes, yellow pepper, tomatoes and blue cheese dressing and you are good to go.

To bulk up lunch I followed up my salad with toast with almond butter and honey. Sorry Squirrelly Bread, but Wheat Berry & Honey was on sale!

Not quite my favourite Trader Joe’s crack almond butter, but almost as good.  Especially since it was a surprise giftie!  Thanks Ibby!!!

Afternoon snackeroo…more deeeelish BC cherries. 

I don’t have dinner pictures because I decided to leave my camera at home while enjoying dinner with good friends visiting from out of town.  I enjoyed a big bowl of spaghetti with brown butter and Mizithra cheese at The Old Spaghetti Factory and didn’t feel bad about it at all.  :)

What I do have to share with you is this:

Remember I mentioned that Michael had treated me to an in-home chair massage?  Well I had it yesterday and it was quite the treat!  Although I do feel like I was cheating on my friend and usual RMT, Laura!!  xoxo

Andrea from Interlude Massage had her chair set up in my dining room in mere moments.  I found it really comfy and actually much easier on my stupid blown disc issue than laying on a flat bed.  She worked for a full 30 minutes and I really did feel great when she was done.  Every massage therapist I have worked with has had a different method so I’m always quite leery to try someone new but I had nothing to worry about.

How this came about is that she does work in offices around the city, including Michael’s.  If you work in an office setting this would be a very cool thing to provide for your staff or team!  Or…you know…your very appreciative girlfriend! 

:)

Carb on Carb

The leftover focaccia and olive oil dip was calling my name before I was even awake this morning, I swear.

Knowing I would be indulging in the carb fest all day long I decided breakfast better be simple and healthy…and free from bread or pasta.  Yogurt and fruit to the rescue.

Coffee also rescued me during my weekly staff meeting.

When the meeting was over it was already lunch time.  I probably should have made salad but this one last leftover bowl of turkey soup was more appealing.  Besides I could dip bread in the soup. :)

My late afternoon was spent getting a massage.  I’m trying to get one per month and I was glad I had this one booked because I’ve been feeling the signs of my bulging disk thinking about rearing it’s head. 

On the way home in the dreary weather I couldn’t resist a half price tea latte.  It’s decaf so it counts as post-massage hydration, right?

And then…heaven on a plate.  I think I’ve consumed about a week’s worth of olive oil servings and healthy fats buy quintuple dipping the bread in the dip.  Good thing I ran out of olive oil.

It almost cast a shadow on my dinner of last night’s leftovers. Almost.

The leftovers include cheese.  Cheese trumps most anything.

And apparently a brie baker also works as an individual casserole dish. 

Now I’m craving the veggies that have been missing all day.  Maybe I’ll go chew on a carrot stick.  Or, you know, make hot chocolate.

Family Jules

Yesterday seemed to be a mad dash all day long.  Well as much of a mad dash as can be with a bad hip. :)

Typical of all Wednesdays my day started out with a conference call.  Instead of trying to sneak off my headset for a second cup of coffee I just poured the whole Bodum-full into my Ireland mug.

So big you can’t even read it.

After the call it was time for breakfast. I headed into the kitchen to make oatmeal but when I opened the fridge I spotted the Liberte Coconut Yogurt and couldn’t resist.  Then I saw the big container of fresh dates on the counter.  We have a match!

Coconut, chopped fresh date, sliced banana and warm toasted walnuts.

Hell yes. Soooo good! 

Pretty decent staying power too.  It was ages before I thought about lunch.  After a while I thought I should probably eat even if just to make sure I’d digested before heading to my afternoon massage appointment.

Enchilada fixings make excellent salads!  In the big silver bowl: fresh spinach, black beans, tomatoes, orange peppers, shredded chicken breast, shredded cheese, salsa and sour cream.

After hustling to get as much work done as possible, I headed off to see my friend Laura for a massage.  When I have seen her in the past she really understood the issues I’m having with my back and nerve pain so I knew she would be able to work around it without messing up my physiotherapy progress.

I just really needed my shoulders and neck worked on…everything has been devoted to my stupid pain in the ass for so long my upper body has been neglected.  I’d been sporting a headache for like 5 days!

Laura fixed me up fabulously. :)

I had to race home from my appointment to finish work, make and eat dinner, plus shower and redo my hair and make-up to head out for cocktails.  I had about 2 hours to accomplish this all.  Thankfully dinner was supah easy…

While my hair started to air dry and I tackled my last 20 minutes of work, I reheated another enchilada and steamed up some broccoli.  (And took time to freeze the remaining enchiladas…three days in a row is my max!)

Admittedly this plate moved to the bathroom counter and I ate as I blow-dried.  Managed to eat about half before I had to race out the door.

Couldn’t possibly be late for cocktails you know! :)

Two drinky-poos out on the town, then back home and tucked into bed with a midnight bowl of Kashi cereal to calm my hungry tummy.  I can’t sleep when my stomach is reminding me I didn’t finish my dinner.

Who’s watching Cougar Town?  Have you noticed how each week they add to the title of the show poking fun at their own stupid show name?  Love it!

[source]

Chicken and White Bean Salad

Weeeeeha!  I finally got my desktop computer out of it's box and set up on my shiny new desk.  Today I get to work in comfort with a real keyboard and my lovely large 22" monitor.

 

And now have a beautifully cleared and polished dining room table that will no longer function as my office.  It's like a grown up lives here!

Close up of the thoughtful and cute housewarming giftie from my friend Ingmarie.  She's so creative when it comes to this stuff!

I should probably chill that wine, but it's so cute in it's little basket. :)

Anywho...back to yesterday...

Coffeeeeee....

Starbies Denver mug courtesy of my coworker Michelle who was living there for a few months.

Breakie....

Shocker.  More Squirrelly toast with PB and Supercrack.  Anyone know where to buy Crofters Supercrack Spread in Victoria? I need to restock on the other flavours.

My Mom brought me these tasty little LaCalera oranges...they've been hanging out in my fruit bowl and I almost forgot about them.  Kinda like a clementine or mandarin but firmer.

Lunchie...

Pickles wrapped in turkey, wheat crackers, grapes, and Wensleydale cheese...

I didn't know it could happen...but I think I met a cheese I don't really like.  Firmness and texture is lovely but taste is kinda bland and pasty.  Too bad!  I very much enjoyed the Wensleydale with blueberries that Miss Marie served me...must need the fruit!

It was good if I paired it with the grapes.  I'll eat it up but it won't make my shopping basket in the future.

After lunch I took another trip to my new massage therapist.  We have now assessed that we think all of my glute/leg pain may actually be stemming from either my hip or my pelvis so I'm going to see a chiropractor today.  The massage is totally helping but if it's actually an alignment issue one or two treatments may cure the problem.  Let's hope!

Afternoon snackie...

I can't wait to have time and ingredients to bake some of my own healthy snacks...but Kashi is a good holdover. :)

Deeeelish Dinner...

Another yummy recipe from Eating Well magazine.  You may likely see quite a number of recipes pop up here because I flagged a bunch to try!  Chicken and White Bean Salad...

So fresh and fiberific!  This salad was really all about the dressing for me.  They refer to it as their All Purpose Vinaigrette which I'm not sure I would agree with as it wouldn't suit all dishes, but the zing from the orange juice and garlic went incredibly well with the chicken and white beans.

Vinaigrette: (I halved this)

• 1 medium clove garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 tablespoons fresh orange juice, plus more to taste (I used Tropicana)
• 1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Peel the garlic and smash with the side of a chef’s knife (I just grated mine using my microplane). Using a fork, mash the garlic with salt in a small bowl to form a coarse paste. Whisk in oil. Add orange juice, vinegar and mustard; whisk until well blended. Taste and whisk in up to 4 tablespoons more juice to mellow the flavour; season with more salt, if desired. Set aside at room temperature.

It is pretty tart straight up out of the bowl, but I added a little extra OJ to smooth it out...then once mixed with the salad it was just right!  Especially with the fresh basil in the actual salad.

For the salad itself I followed the magazine recipe pretty much to the letter.  I used white kidney beans, goat feta in place of the haloumi and romaine instead of escarole...and only made a half batch.  It's a bit of work getting everything all chopped up, but once you do it's easy from there.  :)

I let the chicken, veggies, beans and cheese marinate in the dressing for about 30 minutes in the fridge...then mixed up the romaine and radicchio when I was ready to eat.

I love that the chicken makes it feel hearty, but the veggies and zingy dressing keep it fresh and crunchy.  The beans are a healthy added protein...and the cheese is just plain tasty.  :)  This salad would lend itself well to lots of modifications...I can see shredded carrots or beets!  Whatever you like really.  Let me know if you give it a whirl.

I'm betting my bowl of leftovers will be even better with 24 hours of marinating in the vinaigrette. mmmmmmmm.

After that tasty meal I got to work on setting up my computer...snacked on some Goldfish crackers...drank a lot of water (massage day must do!)...then called it a fairly early evening.

I satisfied my sweet tooth with these fun organic gummy worms I found hiding out in my road trip snack bag (which I finally just unpacked!).  Tasted like real juice!  But still felt like a sneaky treat!  :)

nom. nom. nom.