Shamrock Shake, wedding dresses and kale chips

I made it to the gym yesterday evening and had a great round of elliptical (25 minutes) and a rocking legs workout. I headed to the grocery store after that and loaded up with some good eats. I was HANGRY by the time I made it home so I snacked on Kashi TLC Toasted Asiago crackers and Cabot 50% reduced cheddar cheese.



As I snacked, I baked my first batch of kale chips! These babies are all over the blogosphere, so I decided I needed to try them out. I love all dark leafy greens, so I didn't have any doubt that I would be a fan.

I washed the leaves and removed the stems. I tossed them in olive oil, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese and spread them out on a cookie sheet.

The kale chips baked at 375 degrees for about 18 minutes, they get crispy and slightly brown on the edges when they are done. And they rocked! Of course paired with leftover eggplant, my dinner alone was awesome. I had some wine and ice cream later in the night. The fiance' was spending the evening with his buddies and their baseball draft, so I had the house to myself! Sometimes that's really nice....

As I ate my vegetarian dinner, I watched Julie & Julia. I HEART this movie! One of the best movies I have ever seen! I think I could watch it over and over and over. Love love love.

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Come to think of it, I didn't eat meat at all yesterday. Sometimes I think meat eaters need a day or two of just veggies. I ended up having kale chips and eggplant again for lunch today, but the fiance' is making Cornish hens for dinner, so I'll be a carnivore today. And because the fiance' is feeling a little hungover today, he had McDonald's for lunch - I broke down and ordered a small Shamrock Shake. Holy yum. They are so good. I didn't drink the whole thing, there is still a little leftover in the fridge for tonight. That will make a nice dessert!

It's off to the gym for cardio and back, then cleaning the casa, then to the mall for some new workout clothes!!!

I've been obsessed with looking at wedding dresses online. I've made 3 appointments at 3 different boutiques for next week. Oh Lawd! Am I crazy? But I'm getting a little nervous because as of today - I'm getting married in exactly 6 months!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! However every dress that I look at, I compare to the one dress from last week. I have to comparison shop, but I can easily see myself going back to that dress for my wedding. :) Happy Sunday. Tata.

A Long 2 Days

After the longest 2 days ever - I finally got to sleep in!!!!! Thank goodness. I ate a whole bunch of crappppp over the past 2 days. Thursday I was at the Hamilton Mall by 9am (I have an hour commute) and proceeded to ask people to donate their hard-earned money to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. It was a great event for the 2 days that we solicited our listeners and we raised over $85,000 for the hospital!! SO AMAZING!

I ate nothing but crap for the 2 days. Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, Subway for lunch (my only savior) and pizza for dinner. There were snacks, candies and cookies EVERYWHERE!!! I had a McDonald's McNuggets Happy Meal for dinner yesterday, (skipped the pizza) I cant tell you the last time I had a Happy Meal!

It was really good and pretty filling. I DO NOT need a full value meal from McDonald's. Next time I will order a Happy Meal. It really is a good hangover cure. :)

After the radiothon was over (around 10-ish Friday night) we headed over to Chili's for some drinks and apps. I devoured some boneless buffalo wings and a glass of pinot grigio. Even though I order a pinot nior... I was too tired to argue. I got home around 12:30am and fell asleep on the couch literally the instant that I walked through the door. I woke up an hour later and washed my face and shuffled to the bedroom. And........

I didn't wake up until 11am!!!!!! I wasn't even the slightest bit hungry. I had some coffee and then around 1-ish I heated up some leftover eggplant on a wrap (that got crunchy in the microwave, so I only ate the soggy bottom!!!) I added a little bit of lettuce and TONS of fruit. I need some real food in my life!! I'm about to make some hot tea and tackle some laundry and eventually make it to the gym. Tata.

Maybe MIA

I'm doing a radiothon at work for the next couple of days, so I might be MIA for a while......follow along at http://www.catcountry1073.com/. Call in and become a Partner in Hope!!

My future husband is a chef

My fiance could be a chef. He's awesome. Eggplant lasagna was on the menu tonight. Holy yum!! He doesn't use recipes, never looks at a cookbook, he just throws things together that sound good. Tonight's dinner was a perfect example.


Results were fabulous. Fab-u-lous! Eggplant-y and cheese-y. BTW, I keep thinking about the wedding dresses that I tried on last night and I can't get the one out of my head! I want so badly to post the pictures or at the very least show my future husband, but I can't!!! Sorry! I'm headed out next Tuesday to do some more dress shopping, I can't wait! I'm glad that I am finally enjoying this part of the wedding planning....like I said, my first experience with dresses was not a great one. I feel relieved!!

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MY ALARM DID NOT GO OFF THIS MORNING! Or maybe I forgot to turn it on last night.....Either way, I jumped out of bed at 7 AM! Not cool. I had an oil change scheduled at 7:45 AM. Oh, the dealership is an hour away......I hopped in the shower and brushed my teeth and ran out the door. Thankfully I was only 20 minutes late (I definitely could have gotten a speeding ticket) and they took me no questions asked. Thank you Boardwalk Honda! So, in my haste this morning, I didn't pack anything for breakfast or lunch. I did grab some coffee at the dealership. Thankfully I had this Chobani pineapple yogurt in the fridge at work!! Whewww!

Needless to say, by the 11 o'clock, I was starving. I ended up ordering lunch early from Romanelli's on the Greene. Chicken Caprese Sammy with pasta salad. It was delicious! I wrapped up one half of the sandwich to take home. After that we had a lunch meeting where I was, once again, tempted by sweet treats. I may have had a cookie or two.....

And the host of the meeting gave us all little goodie bags full of sweet treats! Ahhhhhhh! I can't escape them today. I will resist. I will make it to the gym today. I'm extra motivated because of my wedding dress shopping trip from last night!!

Dresses and spinach dip

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After wedding dress shopping, my Maid of Honor and future Mom in Law went to Houlihan's for dinner. We started with the face-rocking spinach dip. It's SO good!!

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My salad looked something like this! It was a little different, but nothing too exciting. I packed up most of it and brought home to have for lunch at work today........but.......

Only Tuesday??

I was feeling blah again when I woke up Tuesday morning. Could it be the way I sleep? I had some tea before bed on Monday and some ice cream a few hours before that, so I don't know why I keep waking up with a stomach ache. Blah.


So, I had some tummy mint tea. It definitely helps, but I would rather wake up feeling refreshed! Go Eagles!


I wasn't even hungry until 11:45 AM!! WTH?? I don't eat if I'm not hungry, so I munched on this orange before lunch. Of course I wasn't hungry & then I was famished. Like I hadn't eaten in days....

My lunch totally rocked!! The fiance' had some leftover brown rice, so I added carrots, spinach and grilled chicken. Spiced it up with some soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and fish sauce. It was really good and really filling! I think I will use less fish sauce next time cause it was a little salty. I'm feeling dehydrated today, so I've been trying to pound the water. Coupled with a jazz apple and some water, my lunch was one for the books!

There was no workout yesterday because I went wedding dress shopping!!!!!!!!!!!! I found 3 dresses I really like, I wish I could post the pics, but the fiance' might read this post. :) Tata for now!

Parsnips oh parsnips

Dinner tonight was leftover quesadillas and parsnip fries!! I've never had parsnips before, so I was nervous, but they were awesome! I peeled and cut the parsnips.

I tossed the fries in olive oil and salt & pepper. Then I roasted them at 375 degrees for 30 minutes and flipped them half way through.

Served with leftover whole wheat quesadillas filled with grilled chicken and spinach. Yummo.

I figured I would show you how I keep up with drinking lots of water at work during the day. With my "It's Five O'clock Somewhere" tumbler. This baby is 24 ounces. I try to finish 3 full tumblers a day. Usually I get through 2 and a half....

Lunch today was leftover noodles, some hummus and carrots and cucumbers.

I wasn't hungry until 11:45 this morning! I ate this orange when I finally got hungry. My tummy was a little upset when I woke up, so that is probably why I wasn't hungry. So, instead of my coffee, I opted for some tummy mint tea this AM. Love my cat mug even though it has knicks and dings all over it!

Total points for today are around 19. However there might be some ice cream in my future tonight. :) I was feeling a little lethargic this afternoon, so there was no gym after work. I will wake up extra early tomorrow morning for some yoga because I am going wedding dress shopping tomorrow after work!!!!!!!

Above is the final product! So so so good! You can have a full cup as a serving for 5 points. I had half a cup because we also had some quesadillas as well. Full dinner was probably 8-9 points. I also had a cup of strawberry Chobani with some trail mix added in after an awesome 30 minute treadmill run.

I was in charge of dinner Sunday night. I've made this Cooking Light dish a dozen times and it gets better and better every time I make it. Find the recipe here.

Saute the scallions, ginger and pork until there is no longer any pink. Add the chopped garlic and saute for a few more minutes.

I used regular peanut butter instead of natural, simply because I had the perfect amount of pb to use up. In a small bowl, mix pb, broth, sambal and soy sauce. (I heated up the pb and broth for 30 seconds in the microwave, it makes it easier to combine) Whisk until combined. Add to pork mixture.

Let the mixture thicken. In the meantime, cook the Udon noodles to the package directions.

Drain the noodles and combine with the peanut sauce. The relish combines shredded cucumber and carrots mixed with sesame oil, sugar and salt.

And finally Sunday

I wasn't very hungry when I woke up Sunday morning, so I waited until lunchtime to eat. Turkey and cheese wrap with a jazz apple. Some coffee was consumed as well. The gym will be visited today along with some errands and chores I've been putting off for a while. Gotta run! Dinner is a fabulous Asian pork dish and some quesadillas. Will post pics and recipes later. Ta ta for now!

Saturday night dinner with friends

Source. My wonderful fiance' made us breakfast on Saturday morning. Fried eggs and center cut bacon. Yummo.

We're headed to a friend's house for dinner. Pulled pork and coleslaw are on the menu. I won't be taking pictures because I'm still a little uncomfortable with the whole issue. I will get over this!! One day....

Today I am going to head to the gym and then finish up some chores I've putting off for a while. Namely making a registry for our wedding....

Ahh the weekend

Breakfast from Friday was the usual. Coffee and an orange.

Lunch was a great recipe from Hungry-girl. Mac & cheese can be good for you! It was creamy and cheesy. It's not real mac & cheese, but it's a fairly good mock-up.






It's not beautiful, but it was good. It had cauliflower and laughing cow cheese. Find the recipe here. 5 points for 1 cup.





Dinner was a bust! Wings and wine. My 2 nemisisesesesesssss. I had 6 wings and I may or may not have had a bite of a roast beef sandwich. The day ended up being around 25-ish points.

Dinner

We went to a place called The Landmark for dinner (and wine....it is a holiday after all). I debated long and hard about what to get. I really didn't want another salad. I wanted the buffalo chicken fingers. I ended up making an adult decision and getting the chipolte chicken salad. It was good. I didn't snap a picture because I felt uncomfortable at the restaurant. Well, it's really a bar. And their are a lot of college kids that were there, so I felt weird taking a picture. I imagine that will become easier and easier after some time. Anywho here is what the salad looked like for the most part.
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I'm a slacker

I didn't blog last night. Yesterday was "National Drink Wine Day" and the fiance and I went out to celebrate! =) Yummy. So, here are my eats from Thursday.

Breakfast consisted of an orange. Boring again, but so so good. Didn't take a picture, sorry!



















Lunch was once again temptation from another Atlantic City Restaurant week place. I think this plate was from The Taj Mahal. Twas good. And this plate could have been SO MUCH worse!

Leftovers

I finished up the Weight Watchers chili that my (future) sister in law made this past weekend.  It was delicious, just like yesterday.  I took a picture even though you've already seen it.

5 points for a cup (with the cheese).  Total WW points for breakfast, lunch and dinner is right around 18 - 19.  However, I'm not done!  There was ice cream in my future after the chili.

Edy's Yogurt Blend Cappuccino and Chips.  110 calories and 3.5 grams of fat for 1/2 cup.  Totally satisfying.  2 WW points. 

So, my total today was, give or take 22.  I also made it to the gym tonight (despite my best effort) and rocked out on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes.  I'm feeling much better about today!

The temptation begins....

So, now comes the temptation I hinted towards yesterday....it's Atlantic City Restaurant Week and a couple of participating restaurants came to the studio today with loads of goodies. I interviewed Michael Buchanan from Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. I brought my lunch today, it was a romaine salad with sliced steak on top. It's still sitting in the fridge at work! Because this is what I ended up eating for lunch.....it really could have been worse!

Lots of salad, less meat and potatoes.  But dessert was a little more difficult to resist!

The picture doesn't do it justice.  It was a dark chocolate shell with milk chocolate mousse piped inside.  Holy yum!  It was small (thank goodness) and delicious!  So, steak salad from home will be eaten tomorrow for lunch.

Much better than last night!

Breakfast was, of course, winter citrus!!  And some coffee.

Fat Tuesday, really?

How about Fat Georgia?  I was SO good yesterday, at least for breakfast and lunch.  Then came the (future) MIL's Fat Tuesday dinner....  It looked something like this -

 

Now take that photo (source) - which was not my plate because sometimes taking pictures of your food is not in the best taste when others are dining - add some sausage, broccoli, roasted lamb and fried dough and you have what I inhaled last night.  Oh and I didn't just have one piece of fried dough, I had about 6 pieces.  With cheese.  I literally felt sick, I've never had that feeling before.  I always heard that it could happen, but not to me.  Wrong baby wrong.  Multiple Gas X's later I still felt sick.  I didn't feel normal until this morning.  

Do I feel guilty...yes.  Of course I do.  Am I going to let it bother me?  No, I'm not.  I am going to make it to the gym tonight come Hell or high water and work my butt off.  Ok, enough about that. 

Lunchiiii

I'm always surprised by how much chili fills me up.  Seriously one cup doesn't look like a whole lot, but it really does the job!  Especially this chili because it's PACKED with veggies.  Yummo.

 

I apologize for the crappy  Blackberry pictures, I'm at work.  I also apologize for the lovely tupperware, oh well, what can a working gal do?  Check out the recipe here - http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeid=50509

 1 cup with cheese - 5 pts.