People Who Photograph Their Food

People who photograph their food? What, what? People like that exist?? Yep, and I'm one of them.

The New York Times had an interesting article this week about people who photograph their food. Being pretty much brand spanking new to the food photographing world, I'm just barely starting to come out of my food blogging closet. By now, most of my close friends and family know what I've been up to, but there's still a lot of people I have yet to tell. I'm sure my coworkers have seriously began to question my sanity when I'm taking pictures of yogurt each morning, but so far this has been a fun little hobby.

The truth is I've always been a bit obsessed with food. I love food! It's one of the great pleasures in life and can be linked to many happy times and memories. Looking back over the years I've realized that I've always been a foodie. Not only am I a foodie, but most of my friends and family are foodies too! (Some might also consider us winos). We love to cook, we love to go out to eat, we talk about our favorite meals, we discuss that awesome dinner we had 2 years ago like the flavors are still lingering on our tongue, we like to take food adventures, and we love unique food combination.

Not everything I eat is 100% healthy and nutritious, and I will never say it is. I love diving into a huge plate of nachos with friends and margaritas, but I also thoroughly enjoy lots and lots of fresh veggies! This blog serves as my outlet to share my great meals with my friends and family and anyone else who cares to read. And hopefully gives you some ideas on how to find balance in your life as well.

Now for my eats!

Breakfast yesterday I had 6 (six!) deviled eggs and a side of pineapple. To keep the calorie load under control, but maximize the amount of intake, I used only 2 egg yolks mixed with a big dollop of Greek yogurt and a dab of Dijon mustard and used that mixture to fill my 6 egg halves.

Back at the office I was hungry mid-morning. I'm usually a 3 square meals with slight possibility of an afternoon snack kind of gal, but this week I've just been hungry! I snacked on this Just a Handful snack of cashews, almonds and dried cranberries from Trader Joe's.

For lunch I went home and mixed up this salad. An everything but the kitchen sink salad. It had romaine lettuce, baby spinach, roasted veggies - sweet potatoes, eggplant, and asparagus, corn, black beans, a diced up tic-tac-toe potato, and some 6 bean medley. For the dressing I mixed up some Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, honey, rice vinegar and little evoo. Quite tasty!!

and then I had one of these vegan chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.

After work I hit up the grocery store which I found was entirely too much exercise for my little boo-boo! For a 1" incision, this bugger really hurts, or I should say annoying! It feels like a lobster has clamped down on my side and won't let go. I've been self medicating with wine. :-) Grocery trip today included: chicken broth, organic milk, frozen spinach, frozen artichoke hearts, a big artichoke (only $1.99 at Trader Joe's vs. $3.99 at Albertson's yesterday!), Super Green Drink Mix (which I'm hoping is comparable to Green Superfood), 3 Larabars, Morning Star Buffalo nuggets - been dying to try these!, English muffins, kalamata olives, 2 bottles of Sauvignon Blanc, 2 cans crushed tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, and cherry tomatoes. Whopping total of $70! Whoowie!

This Sauvignon Blanc is fabulous by the way and only $5.99. I suggest you hurry your butt over to Trader Joe's and stock up because last year once they sold out, it never came back!

I also had this small grocery trip yesterday. Big artichoke (cooking), 2 cans garbanzo beans, 2 cans beets, goat cheese, nail files and tongs. $22.79. My grocery bill so far this month is right around $93. Let's see if I can keep it under $150 this month. I am traveling next week so that should be pretty easy. :-)

The lady at the grocery store thought I was super cute and loved that I was "green" and brought my own bag. Doesn't everyone do this??

First before I started dinner, I just had to try these Morning Star Buffalo nuggets. Pretty good!!

Dinner was use up all the veggies in the fridge night so I made some primavera pasta. In the mix were yellow squash, zucchini, onions, red pepper, and mushrooms cooked in chicken stock with basil and oregano. Also sliced some grape tomatoes and some "shaved" squash and zucchini for aesthetics.

For the sauce I used about a cup of chicken stock, cup of milk and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and whisked it together.

Then I added the sauce and the pasta to veggies and mixed it all up and let it sit for a few minutes allowing the sauce to thicken. Final result looked something like this! Yummy and filling! I was going to add shrimp but I forgot!

Do you ever wonder what to do with leftover chicken stock? Try freezing it! Pour the extra into ice cube trays. Once frozen transfer to a zip-lock bag, then you'll always have some chicken stock on hand!

I hate wasting food! Anyone else hate wasting food? What kind of tricks of the trade do you have for preserving food?

Getting serious about summer!

With yesterdays weigh in and all the nice weather lately (everywhere but Vegas it seems...), it makes me realize that bikini season is right around the corner! Now I don't have an unreal expectation of my body, we've been friends for the past 30 years and I know that no amount of dieting and exercise will ever make me look like Gisele Bundchen. But there are little improvements I can make and a little toning here and there that will increase my confidence this pool season.

So today kicks off Operation [Real Women] Bikini Bod! I've got  a friend on board and together we plan to keep each other motivated! Now I already have a few road blocks right in front me. 1. I'm having minor surgery today and will have a few stitches and have been advised to avoid a lot of movement for the next 7-10 days until the stitches come out. 2. I'm traveling for 8 days next week which involves lots of eating on the go and not a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. However, I'm motivated and going to work through these challenges! And I'm happy to report my weight scare from yesterday is under control. :-)

 Now for my eats! 

Breakfast yesterday was deviled eggs. I took 2 eggs and mixed the yolk with a dollop of Greek yogurt, a dab of Dijon mustard and mixed it together. I topped them with hot sauce since I was lacking paprika. :-) Since I'm watching the L.B.S. the next few weeks and tracking my food I'll include my calorie intake.

200 calories, 15g fat, 3g carb, 14g protein

I also had a side of pineapple.

82 calories, 0g fat, 22g carb, 1 protein

For lunch I came home to grab some leftover yellow curry and munched on this Vegan cookie on the way back to work.

140 calories, 7g fat, 19 carb, 1 protein

Lunch was the yellow curry from last Friday before my big race. It had potatoes, carrots, onions, and 5 large shrimp served over 2/3 c. brown rice with the yellow curry sauce.

447 calories, 12g fat, 66g carb, 20g protein

Since I had no soreness left from my half marathon, I figured I was ready for an afternoon run. I headed out to the park after work and made it about 2 miles (210 calories burned) before my muscles started screaming! So I slowed my paced and speed walked for another 3 miles (180 calories burned). When I got home I was craving pizza! So I threw together these little pita pizzas. One had onions, mushrooms, and olives, while the other one just had pineapple, and then I topped them both with cheese.

While I was waiting for my pizzas to toast I had this salad. One cup of spinach topped with onions, roasted veggies- sweet potatoes, eggplant, and asparagus, 6 bean medley, and 1/4 avocado with Goddess dressing.

289 calories, 20g fat, 23g carb, 6g protein

When the pizzas were finished they looked like this. Yum. They hit the spot and satisfied my pizza craving. Although I'm feeling I might be having the same thing for dinner again tonight! :-)

398 calories, 17g fat, 46g carb, 19g protein

After dinner I had another cookie and a glass of soy milk. Good news - there are only 2 of these cookies left in the house! I don't have much of a sweet tooth but these cookies are awesome! They're Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip from Trader Joe's and they have coconut in them and are so soft and chewy. Yum! So I find it's best for me just not to keep sweet stuff in the house and then I don't crave it.

 

200 calories, 9g fat, 26g carb, 5g protein

Day Total: 1756 calories, 80g fat, 26g carb, 66g protein - minus 390 calories burned exercise = Net 1,366 calories

What types of food do you get cravings for? Are there any foods you don't keep in the house to avoid the munchies?