Seven Days Later

Well I’m definitely less grumpy, less melted down, and feeling less sorry for myself this week.  Not sure I’m more motivated, but the plan I laid out worked so that’s a step in the right direction.

Eating the same thing for lunch all week was no big deal at all.  In fact, it was good enough that I just made another batch for this week.

Quinoa with roasted veggies, steamed spinach and goat cheese.  Easy peasy.

The fun part of the week was trying out new smoothies every morning.  I got into the routine of deciding what kind I was making the night before (while laying in bed), whipping it up after walking my dog, taking it to work to stash in the freezer for half an hour, then sipping on it for an hour or so. 

A little weird to break out the frosty breakfast at the same time as I had to start scraping ice off my car windows, but tasty nonetheless.

(I posted all of my smoothie creations on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter).

The biggest helper was involving the girls I share office space with.  Letting them know that I was determined to avoid snacks that I didn’t pack or plan really made life easier.  I felt supported and at ease when presented with potential sabotage.

• On the very first day some generous jerk left Tim Horton’s muffins up for grabs in our coffee room.  There was a salted something chocolate or other in there and I just stared at it with disdain.  Then high-fived my office mate when we didn’t cave. 
• The next day a meeting got cancelled so they put the deli trays out for the whole office.  My favourite egg salad on squishy white bread tried to call my name, but I mentally punched it in the throat.  The delicious bakery cookies got themselves a dropkick in my brain too.  Another high-five.

Overall I’m really happy with how everything went down and I’m just going to head into this next week with a similar plan and thought process.  My birthday is on Thursday so Michael is going to take me out for dinner, and while I don’t want to deprive myself on a lovely date dinner I’ll try not to throw myself into a massive dish of creamy pasta or a steak & potato the size of my face.

A buttercream topped cupcake I would gladly faceplant into though. :)

A huge shout out to all of you that left me supportive comments, tweets, likes and messages.  I miss the old days of blogging where we all chit-chatted and shared our struggles.  Sometimes the whiney blog posts are the best ones!

Healthy Homemade Recipe Roundup

Back in the fall I spent a little time deciding what I wanted this blog to become if I kept it going. 

• I didn’t want to to be a daily ‘chore’ anymore
• I didn’t want it to be a boring tell-all of everything I do every day
• I didn’t want it to be restaurant reviews that only mean something to local friends and readers.

So what did I want it to be then?

First and foremost I wanted it to be something fun and motivating for ME!  And along with that hopefully it would be fun and motivating for YOU!

To make that happen I decided that I would still talk about working out, fun with friends, personal anecdotes and other randomness, but my main focus would be on food and recipes.  Sometimes healthy, sometimes not.  But always simple, fresh, economical and hopefully super tasty!

While I have posted a couple of over-the-top decadent desserts over the past few months (Maple Bacon Sticky Buns anyone?) I am pretty pleased with the collection of healthy options I’ve presented too.  Here’s a list of those recipes from the first quarter of 2012…

Fast n’ Fresh Simple Slaw

Wild Nettle-kopita Hand Pies

Shrimp and Pesto Quiche

Quinoa with Roasted Beets, Goat Cheese & Honey Vinaigrette

Creamy Spinach, Caramelized Onion and Yogurt Dip with Roasted Garlic

Make your own Taco Seasoning

Creamy Coconut Cauliflower Soup

Crispy Corn Flake Chicken Strips

Clementine Guacamole

Roasted Butternut Squash Chowder

Kale and Almond Pesto

Roasted Garlic White Bean Dip

Butternut Tart with Chorizo and Goat Cheese

Egg White Frittata with Smoked Salmon and Capers

Ooooh, just collecting these up has set me on a path for next week’s shopping list.  It’s so easy to forget to make old favourites again when there are so many new things to try.  But next week I see those deeeelish chicken fingers in my belly.  :)

Roasted Beet Quinoa with Honey Vinaigrette

Now that Spring is trying to show it’s face around here I’m wondering if my current obsession with roasted vegetables will start to slow down.  I am so in love with roasted veggies I don’t know if I’ll just let them go as the weather gets warmer or if I will tough out having the oven on no matter what.  Hmmm.

I suppose time will tell!  Until then, here’s another recipe with my favourite roasted vegetable…beets.  This one is easy, nutritious, tasty and can work as either a side dish or a meal.  Personally I just heaped a bunch into a bowl and called it dinner. 

While writing this I’m trying to decide if this should be called a salad?  or more likely it’s a pilaf?  No, I mixed leafy greens into it?  That makes it a salad doesn’t it?  Can pilaf have leafy greens?

It’s tossed in vinaigrette so I suppose that solidifies it into the salad category.  Yes, quinoa salad.  We have a winner.

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets, Goat Cheese, and Pine Nuts

Yields 4 side dishes, or 2-3 good sized meals

Ingredients:

• 1 medium beet, peeled, cubed and roasted
• 2 medium carrots, peeled, thickly sliced and roasted
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 6o grams (2 oz) soft goat cheese
• 2 cups assorted leafy greens (arugula and baby spinach are nice)
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• 1 cup dry quinoa, cooked in 1 1/2 cups of water

Honey Vinaigrette:

• 1 1/2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp dill
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Roast your veggies (toss in drizzle of olive oil and roast on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes).  While those are roasting, prepare your quinoa (bring to a boil, reduce to simmer for 10-12 minutes, let stand 5 minutes to absorb all water).
2. In a large bowl whisk all vinaigrette ingredients together.
3. To the bowl add the roasted veggies, then the greens, then the cooked quinoa.  The heat from the veggies and quinoa will help wilt the greens.  Add green onions and small chunks of goat cheese.  Stir carefully, being sure to get all dressing from the bottom of the bowl incorporated throughout the mixture. 
4. Sprinkle with pine nuts and serve.

Since I like it served warm maybe we can call it pilaf salad?  Whatever you call it, enjoy!  MyFitnessPal clocks this in at a lovely 330 calories if you do 4 servings.  So fill up your little blue bowl and go to town.  I sure did.

Do your tastes change with seasons?  Would you abandon your favourite roasted veggies in lieu of something more Summery?

B.L.T. Quinoa Salad

Even stale coffee tastes deeeelish in a cute mug. Yellow makes me smile.

I don’t know how it happened but my fruit bowl is entirely empty.  And I’m unwilling to bust into the frozen blueberries just yet so my waffle found itself paired with a flattened banana today.

And since I was apparently having fun taking pictures of things I was holding this morning, here’s the boiled egg I ate before heading to the gym.

I heard a dirty rumour that today (or possibly Sept-6th…apparently it’s up in the air) is the last day of $1 drinks from McD’s so clearly I had to stop for an iced coffee to mark the occasion.

And paired it with a granola bar because I waited way too late to go the gym and my stomach was screaming for lunch…which I just COULD NOT wait the 5 minutes for.

Awwww yeah.  Fresh veggies!  And another hard boiled egg.  It’s a good thing I live alone.  ;)

My little patio herb planters are chock full of fresh green herby goodness now so I decided to pick a bunch last night and turned it into an easy peasy dip.  Fresh basil for the win!

Fresh Herby Dip:  mix together…

• 3/4 cup light sour cream
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley, basil and chives)
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• juice of half a lemon
• salt & pepper, sprinkle of paprika

I was a bit too heavy handed on the garlic in my batch but overnight the flavours came together quite well.  The lemon really works with the fresh herbs.

Check this dinner out. Genius I tell you. What do you do with a random pack of bacon, a recently unearthed bag of quinoa, and a bounty of cherry tomatoes from your very own patio planter?

Well B.L.T. Quinoa Salad of course!  And just like I’d put on the sandwich, the dressing involves mayo and Dijon.

Ingredients (two servings):

• 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked in 3/4 water, room temperature
• 4 slices bacon, cooked crispy, crumbled
• 12-14 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• optional:  fresh herbs (chives and parsley)

For dressing:

• 1.5 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a large bowl.  Taste and adjust seasoning if desired.
2. Simply add the quinoa, bacon, tomatoes, and herbs to the dressing bowl.  Toss, add the lettuce, toss again.  Serve.

I enjoyed the first bowl so much that I actually went back and hoovered down the second serving I was planning to save for tomorrow’s lunch. Oooops.

This evening I met up with the other Jamie for our traditional coffee date.  I heard a rumour that the new Starbucks finally opened at Uptown and they were giving away free food and drinks in exchange for donations to our local food bank.

Nothing wrong with a Decaf Americano Misto in exchange for a few bucks to The Mustard Seed!

Of course, we also took this opportunity to pop into Cupcakes since it is conveniently located right next door to the new Starbucks.  I hadn’t been there yet and even though I was up to my eyeballs in quinoa salad I couldn’t resist the cupcakey goodness.

Red Velvet.  Sorry local cupcakeries, this mainland chain still wins in the cream cheese frosting department.  So deeeelicious. 

I kind of want to go back for a six pack of day-olds to bring camping this weekend.  What?  It’s RV camping.  There’s internet access.  Cupcakes would be perfectly acceptable.  Honest.

Sparrow Me the Quinoa

As you can see I got a lot of productive things done on my day off yesterday.  Painting my nails was actually written on my to-do list. :)

I slept in (duh), walked the pupper to Starbucks (duh), played around on the internet and read blogs (duh), read some more Castle (duh), oh…and vacuumed (odd).

While putting together my own blog post about the weekend I was inspired to make another yummy salad with apple and fresh squeeeezed lime…

…and since that package of bacon got opened I just had to have some in my salad.

The manicure process was a wee bit lengthy, but turned out great!  For those of you that care (hello, anyone?)…I have really nice, strong nails that grow quickly and in a great shape.  I’m quite lucky.  About once a week I trim and file them but I rarely ever polish them myself…

For the price of a good manicure I was able to buy three new OPI polishes so I figured it was a fun holiday thing to do for myself! 

I know Shatter polish has been around for a while now but I was excited to try it when I found it in silver!  Part of OPI’s newest collection: Pirates of the Caribbean.  :)  I also got Sparrow Me the Drama (pink, shown) and Mermaid Tears (green, not tried yet).

Two coats of the pink…let dry for HOURS…then topped with one coat of the magic Shatter polish and top coat.  It was really quite cool to see the Shatter in action…and it seems to be holding up very well. :)

All that business kept me busy most of the day so when dinner time rolled around I wanted something simple but tasty.  I found just enough quinoa in the cupboard to make a fabulous creation.

While the quinoa cooked I emailed my friend Tia and asked her for her quinoa salad recipe.  She brought it to a potluck once and it was amazing so I really wanted to make something similar.  Just as I was pulling the quinoa from the heat on the stove she emailed me back…I had all of the dressing ingredients on hand…perfect!

From Tia:  "I eyeball this whole recipe but the dressing is about 1 tbsp of Dijon, a splash of soy sauce, sesame oil, balsamic or white or red wine vinegar, s & p, about 1.5 tsp of honey and canola whisked to emulsify. Oh, the key too is to make the dressing in the bowl and toss in the still warm cooked quinoa while you chop the rest of the veggies, it kind of soaks into the quinoa that way.”

I did exactly as she instructed and mixed it with 1 cup cooked quinoa, 1 cup white kidney beans, 1/2 an avocado, green onion, diced cherry tomatoes, orange pepper, sunflower seeds and fresh flat leaf parsley.

At the last minute I added a squeeze of lemon juice just for fun.  Stirred it all up and let sit about 15 minutes before devouring a big bowl.

It’s really all about the dressing.  Use the sesame oil VERY sparingly but don’t be afraid of the Dijon! :)  Thanks Tia.  Loved it!

For dessert the last of the Bacon Cookies.

After dinner I did the Shatter part of my manicure then finished a few more things from my to-do list and then actually took myself to bed relatively early. 

Of course I then proceeded to stay up until the wee hours watching more Dawson’s Creek.  The show actually annoys me to death but here I am on Season 5: The College Years…which should also be known as The Dark Years.  At least Dawson finally cut his hair and Joey is wearing pants that fit. :)

April Shower

Yesterday my friends Ingmarie and Jessica hosted a baby shower for our friend Angela…her baby is due in late May.

As with any gathering of woman we needed food! :)

Angela is one of those lucky folks who is not only has a gluten intolerance but she can’t have eggs or dairy either!!  So we decided to make all of our snackies gluten/egg/dairy free just to make it easy for her to partake.

My offering: Lemony Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa cooked with 2 cups of water
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, pan toasted
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. When the quinoa has cooked, let stand for a few minutes until all water has absorbed.  Fluff with a fork and let cool to room temperature.
2. Add all ingredients and stir to combine.
3. Taste and season with salt if desired.
4. Can be refrigerated until ready to serve, but is best served room temp.

At the party we had all kinds of goodies to eat!

Fresh fruit salsa with cinnamon sugar gluten-free tortillas…

Chicken satay with peanut dipping sauce…

Rice crackers with goat cheese, capers, salmon & dill…

Not to mention veggies, fruits, homemade guacamole, Rice Krispie Treats, and amazing Chocolate Quinoa Cupcakes from Bubby Rose’s Bakery that somehow escaped my camera.

The girls kept it simple with two fun (food related!) shower games.

The whole “poopy diaper” situation where I guessed 3 of the 5 melted chocolate bars.

And the baby food tasting…at which I thought I had guessed poorly but turned out I got 5 1/2 out of 8!  The creamed corn was AWFUL.

All in all a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  Angela made off with a pretty good haul of baby stuff and we had lots of good girl talk.

As an added bonus, many of the menfolk decided to make themselves scarce by washing their cars…and a couple of us whining girls managed to get ours washed too. :)  Score!

Thanks everyone for being such fabulous hosts!