Black Beans, Roasted Veggies & Quinoa

This is a gluten free and quick alternative to black beans & rice. Of course rice is gluten free, but I prefer the light fluffy texture of quinoa plus it cooks much faster! For this simple meal I cooked the quinoa to package instructions. Then in a skillet I cooked some frozen onion and pepper mixture, and added some roasted corn. Then I rinsed and drained a can of black beans and warmed them in the skillet with the veggies. Mix the veggie, black beans and quinoa all together and add some Cumin, Chili Powder, Crushed Red Pepper and Garlic Powder to taste. Sometimes I like to top it of with a big dallop of Greek yogurt or sour cream and salsa. Today I had it just as it. Delicious, light, fluffy and full of protein.

Enjoy!

Celebrate Earth Day Everyday!

Isn't this a great planet we live on! Think outside your neighborhood, outside your community, outside your city, outside your country. Think globally! What a wonderful world be are blessed to exist in!

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Today is the 40th anniversary of the very first Earth Day! While today we are more likely to celebrate Earth Day by carrying a reusable bag or reducing water usage, 40 years ago today one of the largest national protest occurred as college students flooded the streets over clean air and water issues. Their protest have definitely made a huge difference in our world. You've probably already seen lots of tips on how you can be more green. I personally try to incorporate being green on a daily basis. Here are a few of those tips and how I use them in my daily live. 

• Reduce the use of plastic bag 
• I always bring my own grocery bags. I also avoid using produce bags unless it's something like green beans that I can't just throw in my cart.  I try not to use plastic baggies or ziplocks and use reusable containers instead. When I do use ziplocks, I like to wash them and reuse them. They're so expensive anyway!
• I always keep one of these in my purse. These are perfect for all those non-grocery trips you don't think carry a bag. Guilty trips for me include: Target, Marshall's, and TJ Maxx. With this little guy, I'm never without a bag.

•  Buy Local, Buy Organic, Buy in Bulk, Buy Meats that are not Factory Farmed
•  Buying local is not always an easy thing here in Las Vegas, but I've done some research and try my best to buy local produce. Good thing California the agricultural mecca is right next door to my state. Buying organic means no pesticides - I'm in! I'm okay with spots on my apples. Buying in bulk means less packaging. And lastly, while I never think I could become a full on vegetarian, I do limit my meat consumption. I eat many vegitarian meals because the animal farming process is so bad for the environment and bad for you. Farm raised animals are packed full of antibiotics - not good! The more natural, the better, so splurge on quality grass feed, free ranged meats. 
• Adjust Your Theromstat
• In the winter I keep my thermostat at 60 when I'm gone and 68 when home. If I'm cold, I grab a blanket! In the summer I keep my thermostat at a constant 78. This is because I live in Vegas and if I let it heat up in the house, it will never cool back down. I do have sunscreens on all my windows which does make an amazing difference in keeping the house cool!
• Reduce Fuel Usage
• Okay, so I'll admit I could be better with this one, I live 1.9 miles door-to-door from my home to my office. I wear a lot of dresses so riding a bike doesn't work well. I could walk which would add a whole hour of exercise each day, but then on my 30 minute lunch breaks I would stuck in my florescent lighted cubicle. I love being able to drive home and make something great for lunch and sit on the patio each day. Maybe I could try switching this up some and ride my bike or walk 2-3 times a week. Something better than nothing, right.
• I make sure my tire pressure and rotate my tires every 5,000. This helps reduce fuel wastage. 
• When I'm at home, I refuse to drive the .5 miles to the grocery store. I grab my reusable bags and walk unless it's dark out. I also have to drive to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, but I try to incorporate them into different trips to reduce driving. 
•  Turn Off Electronics
• Another thing I could be better about. Did you know leaving your phone charger plugged in even when you're not charging sucks up power? If it wasn't in a difficult place to reach behind my bed I swear I'd unplug it more. I need to work on this one. 
• TV's, DVD players, stereos, etc all pull electricity even when they are not on. Since I only use these devices on occasion, I keep them on a power surge which I can turn off and keep them from drawing electricity when not in use. 
• Water Usage
• I replaced my old shower head with a water reducing shower head. 
•  I turn off the water when I brush my teeth.
• I don't turn my drip water system on until it gets HOT and I fix any that wasting water.
• Not necessarily related to water usage, but I was all my clothes in cold water which not only keeps my clothes looking nice and fitting well, but saves a ton of energy by not using hot water.  

So there are some fun tips for this Earth Day but remember that every day should be Earth Day! I also love this book! It's full with fun little tips and easy to read.

Now for yesterdays eats!

I ended up staying with friends after our fun Tuesday night excursion and had a slice of cold pizza for breakfast. :-) 

For lunch I went home and made a similar salad to Mondays post.  My camera was dead but it had Romain lettuce, salsa, greek yogurt, black bean & corn dip, and topped off with leftover peppers, onions, and beef fajitas, sans guac this time. 

Back in the office I chugged down one of these.

And snacked on this later in the afternoon.

For some reason - reality because of really bad math - I ended up working 9.5 hours. I need to put in 8.5 but somewhere messed that up so I didn't end up leaving until almost 7:00pm. I came home and decided I would do some p90x, only I was starving so I grabbed the first thing in the fridge. Leftover Artichoke Dip from Monday nights Bunco. I grabbed a big scoop and ate a bite...

Then I looked at the label, Yikes!!

And then I threw it away! Or I should say put it down the disposal and rinsed the container for recycling. :-) Go me! It's always hard for me to throw food away because I hate wasting but.... I really don't want to be putting that into my body either so dumping and recycling was the right choice. 

At this point I decided to fore go working out and just make dinner. I was just hungry. I pulled this out of the freezer and tossed the leftover broccoli, cauliflower and carrots from Monday's veggie plate with evoo and sprinkled them with curry.

Add a little feta to make it betta and 40 minutes later I had this!

I find that I can't ever make myself do work out videos at home! I have to go out for a run or to the gym. Even if I do start a video, I often get bored within a couple minutes. I get bored in classes at the gym too, but since I'm with a group I won't just quite and walk out. Can you stay motivated for workouts at home? What are your favorite workouts?

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?

Weighing In

Now I know a majority of the people out there don't believe in scales. And I know many weight loss programs, trainers, dietitians, and bloggers say to only weigh yourself once a week or to not weigh yourself at all and let your clothes tell you your size. However, I always have and always will be a daily weigher. I'm not obsessed and there are always day(s) that I forget or weeks when I'm traveling when I'm not able to, but as part of my daily morning routine, I like to step on the scale.

For me, stepping on the scale helps me to monitor my day to day eating and exercising habits. I have a range that my weight will fluctuate within on a daily basis, and if I happen to be on the high end, I know I need to monitor my food intake for the next 24-48 hours. I know this because I know my body. I know my body can gain 5 lbs just looking at a carrot cake. Lucky for me, I don't have much of a sweet tooth. On the other hand, I can't stay away from salty foods and sometimes high fat foods. Basically what I'm trying to say here is just that I use the scale as a healthy way to keep balance in my life.

Unfortunately, the scale is not always my friend. When I stepped on this morning, my weight was 4 lbs beyond the high end of my normal range! How is this possible?!

Well, looking back on my eating habits over the past week, they haven't been the greatest. I did eat a lot of food with no health content and drink alcohol quite a bit the week before my half marathon. But I also had a lot of healthy foods in there too! I did eat extra calories over the weekend. But I also burned 1500 on Saturday and probably another 400+ on my hike/walk Sunday. And I did have uncontrollable hunger all day yesterday. I kept telling myself to drink more water (and I had lots) but I was still hungry, so I ate. But I can't go back in time I can only move forward. The weight on the scale is there and it's up to me to make the correct eating and exercise choices to get me back to my right weight. I know my body best and let's just say sometimes my pounds don't just come and go. Sometimes they like to stay for a season or two. Let's just hope the weight rebounds in a week and these pounds aren't stickers!


On to my eats! Yesterdays breakfast was plain yogurt with a banana, big spoonful of ground flax seed, and 1/4 c. granola.

For lunch I had this big salad with Goddess dressing. I usually make my own dressing, but mom bought this while she was in town so I figured I would it! Salad had romaine lettuce, spinach, black beans, corn, onion, tomato, leftover roasted veggies - sweet potatoes, eggplant and asparagus, and half an avocado.

And then I finished off the last 4 Peeps! No more candy in the house! Whoo-hoo!

Back at the office (like 5 mins after I got there) I had this as a snack. Ten Wisecrackers and a Laughing Cow wedge.

And still hungry a little later I had 100 calorie pack of popcorn. It didn't pop very well, and it was burnt. Good think I like burnt popcorn!

After work I came home still hungry (wtf?). So I snacked on half this leftover tic-tac-toe potato with the yogurt/dill dip. and then I finished the other half as well.

And then I had one of these cookies my mom left behind. and I had 2 more that I didn't photo. Told you I had a raging appetite yesterday!

 After my snacks I made a valiant effort to do Yoga for Runners I downloaded from yogadownload.com. About 10 minutes into it I stopped paying attention and became thoroughly confused as to what position I was suppose to be in. I pushed "stop" to the gentle voice that was guiding me and just did some yoga stretching on my own. I actually feel great today with virtually no soreness left from the race! Woo-hooo! I might even go for a run this evening.

For dinner I made the same thing I had for lunch. Pretty much the same salad with the same dressing with slight variations like arugula instead of romaine. 

And then I had another one of these guys... Just one this time!

And one of the eggs I had just finished boiling.

And then I had my bedtime tea, bubble bath and bed. :-)

Question for today: Do you use a scale to monitor weight? Or do you just go by how your clothes fit? Do you have days where you just feel absolutely ravenous?

Have a good Tuesday!