My strategy, as always, was to to make the healthiest choices possible, but still including wiggle room to have a few treats. On Friday night, we enjoyed a casual dinner at Jason's Deli. I ordered half a Zucchini Grillini sandwich, which is a yummy combo of veggies, cheese, & hummus. On the side, I had a cup of Southwest Chicken Chili, and some fruit.
Confession: I have not been doing what I always talk about on this blog- planning meals and being prepared. I have found myself "grabbing" lunch or dinner in way too many situations. Living alone and cooking meals for myself has not gone as well as I had hoped. This weekend, my parents were here in Charlotte to visit, and unfortunately my fridge was in its usual state of emptiness.
My strategy, as always, was to to make the healthiest choices possible, but still including wiggle room to have a few treats. On Friday night, we enjoyed a casual dinner at Jason's Deli. I ordered half a Zucchini Grillini sandwich, which is a yummy combo of veggies, cheese, & hummus. On the side, I had a cup of Southwest Chicken Chili, and some fruit.
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A lot of times when I am thinking about what to make for dinner, I think about recent restaurant meals I've liked and how I can recreate them at home. Over the Christmas holiday, I had some delicious lettuce wraps during a lunch at Houlihan's. The problem is that the Houlihan's lettuce wraps are chicken-based, and as a flexitarian I don't usually prepare meat for myself at home. The solution? Use tofu & lots of veggies.
You can see my ingredients below: tofu, veggies, lettuce, brown rice, stuff for easy Thai peanut sauce. You guys know I am obsessed with my peanut sauce, and even entered it into a recipe contest (which I didn't win, but that's besides the point, right?). Hello friends! Everyone knows I love the beach, and I found out that I can still enjoy the beach even when it is freezing cold out. I spent the weekend with my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, and their dog Skittles; my parents are renting a house at Tybee Island, GA, and asked us to join them for the weekend. I was glad to see everyone, but I was not glad that it was a high of about 45 degrees on Saturday. I swear the cold weather follows me around. I know- my friends up north probably think I'm crazy for complaining about 45 degrees in January- but it's the beach you guys! In Georgia! Shouldn't it be warmer?
Despite the deep freeze in the south, I still managed to get some outdoor exercise over the weekend. I bundled up and went on a couple walks, and then I rode my mom's rented bike around town. I loved the bike rides- I can't wait until the day comes that I'm not living in a tiny apartment with zero storage space so I can get a bike of my own. On the healthy eating front- I think I got a grade of about a C when it came to meal choices. The great thing about staying in rental houses on vacation is that it's easy to pack healthy breakfast choices. Oatmeal + banana + peanut butter + honey= my usual microwave banana oatmeal. Delicious as always. After eating out every single day during last week's trip to Portland, I knew that I needed to do some really healthy eating over the weekend. After all, I have my Biggest Loser weigh in every Monday! If you are just now catching up, I signed up for an office Biggest Loser challenge to help me lose my holiday weight.
Unfortunately, this is what found when I opened my fridge: Happy Saturday! I spent my week visiting Portland, Oregon for work. I was tied up during the day with meetings, but in the evening I had time to unwind and hit the town a bit. I wish that I was visiting at a different time of year, by the time I was done with my workday it was dark out and I couldn't see the sights of the city as much as I would have liked. Bleh. I did still manage to try some really delicious restaurants though! As always, I tried to have a good balance of "healthy" and "yummy." Full disclosure: I didn't photograph every meal I ate of course. When I don't photograph my food it's usually because I'm eating with colleagues, and it seems super awkward to break out my cell phone and photograph food during a business meal. Any other bloggers have this problem? As usual, a trip begins with some sort of meal at the airport. During my layover in Dallas, I ate a Thai Peanut Chicken wrap from Au Bon Pain. It was pretty good, not amazing, but just fine for airport food. And the good news about Au Bon Pain is that they post the calorie count directly on the menu, so it was easy to make a wise choice. I would definitely hit up Au Bon Pain at an airport again.
Ahh, the new year. A time of new beginnings! After spending 2 weeks in Pennsylvania for the holidays, I am back in Charlotte to start what should be a fabulous year. My 2 weeks in PA had ups and downs.
The good: I got to relax, I got to spend a lot of time with my family, and I was reunited with my doggy Sadie. Happy New Year! Hope everyone's 2013 was amazing. I love setting goals for each year, so I will write about my 2014 goals shortly. But first- I had to share this delicious egg dish that I made last week.
I have always wanted to make a strata- for those of you who haven't made one either, a strata is an egg, bread, & milk concoction. I have read about different versions of strata- savory, sweet, with meat, with veggies, this is a really versatile dish. After my meat overload during Christmas, I knew that I wanted to make my strata with lots of vegetables. You guys- if you resolved to eat more vegetables this year, this is a great way to sneak some in! |