Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Pocahontas has nothing on me

Even though I work in a not-so-great suburb, there is a nice bike trail that runs through some woods not far from my building.  Last week the sun was out and I was feeling ambitious, so I powered through a 3-mile walk over my lunch break.  I wish I would've brought a Tupperware container with me because I discovered tons of wild blackberry bushes along the path. 
So there you have it.  If I had to fend for myself out in nature, I could totally survive on berries.  At least for a few days. 

The Perfect Suburban Couple Date

Monday through Thursday I am ripe with ideas of fun dates for the weekend. 

But then a funny thing happens come Friday-

I get tired.

My husband gets tired.

And TV is easy. 

So it did us some good when we decided to drive over to a brand new Whole Foods a couple suburbs over.  I mean, who doesn't love overpriced organic stuff?

I was nicely surprised though, as the prices were pretty reasonable.  My favorite thing about the store was the ginormous wall of bulk bins right when you walk in.  Just a sampling of what I picked out...

1. Tri-colored quinoa
2. Barley flakes (to be used in place of regular oats)
3. Hulled barley (I love me some whole grains)
4. Multi-colored popcorn

We also bought some of this scary stuff:

I guess it's powdered grass and other healthy-ish herbs and whatnot.  I usually pass on funky stuff like that.  I don't need no stinkin' fruit/veggie concentrate- I'd rather eat actual fruits/veggies.  But when in Whole Foods, buy like the Whole Foodies.  I haven't even tried it yet, but given my husband's, ah, extra propulsion in his step, I think it's the kind of healthy-GI-promoting-stuff I'm into. 

Who knows- maybe this coming Friday we'll do something even more exciting, like go to Costco!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Things I Make That I Don't Even Like

I really want to like pickles.

I mean, it's a classic All-American food, right?

For the record, I do not like mustard or ketchup all that much either.

Not a fan of the condiments.

But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy making pickles.

Easy Refrigerator Pickles
10-12 small pickling cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise
1 1/3 cups white wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 sprigs fresh dill
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 jalapeno, seeded (optional)

Bring vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, and peppercorns to a low boil.  Remove from heat.  Pour into a jar.  Place pickles, dill, and jalapeno in mixture as well.  Seal and refrigerate overnight.






How many calories in the entire jar?  About 50.  Knock yourself out.  Just don't expect me to have any.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Great Outdoors: Part Deux

Hey remember that one time that I said I would finish a post the very next day?  Ummm.  Five days later, here ya are-

 I was really on a roll this weekend.  Between the blueberry French toast and the grilled chicken dinner on Sunday night, we ate well.  Er, minus the homemade flaxseed protein bars I attempted.  But hey, we need to replace a paver brick on our patio anyway, so all is not wasted.

Homemade barbecue sauce: nice.

It wasn't even difficult.  Honest.  I'm not much of a sauce person, which is just one more reason my husband compares me to Larry David.
You know, besides the baldness and Jewish faith, we are one and the same.

 But this is good stuff- a little sweet, a little spicy, a little tangy, and ready in under 10 minutes.





Grilled Chicken with Homemade Honey BBQ Sauce
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup minced shallots (those tiny oniony-looking things)
1/2 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
3 teaspoons cider vinegar
Pinch of mustard seeds (or 1/2 tsp dry mustard)
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8 chicken thighs or 4 bone-in leg quarters
Cooking spray

1. Coat the grill rack with the cooking spray, THEN go light it up.  Please don't try this in reverse order and set yourself on fire.  Self-barbecuing is not the goal.
2. Heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add oil; swirl to coat.  Add shallots and saute 2 minutes or until tender.  Add mustard seeds.  Cook 1 more minute.  Stir in ketchup, honey, vinegar, chipotle powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The mixture will thicken up. 
3. Combine remaining seasonigs and sprinkle over chicken.  Grill chicken 15 minutes on each side or until internal temp is 160 degrees or higher.  Brush chicken generously with sauce; turn over, grill 1 minute.  Brush again, grill 1 minute, and serve with remaining sauce.

Makes 4 servings.  Per serving (sauce plus chicken): 275 calories, 10 g fat, 26 g protein

I agree, L.D.

Monday, July 8, 2013

WiFi totally counts as the Great Outdoors

My husband and I took a trip out to my parents' cabin for the weekend.

It's not that rustic of a place.

I mean, if there's an essay taped to the remotes explaining how to use the BluRay, Roku, and WiFi, it's not exactly roughing it.

So when Saturday morning rolled around all gray and rainy, it was TGF-Netflix.  And blueberry baked French toast.

Blueberry Baked French Toast makes 4 servings
7 slices 100% whole grain bread
5 eggs
1/2 cup 2% milk
2 tsp vanilla
3 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp white granulated sugar
3 cups frozen (or fresh) blueberries
2 teaspoons corn starch
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1/3 cup orange juice

If your bread isn't slightly stale, you'll want to pop it in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes, or until it's slightly dried out and rough.
Yes, I used 8 slices, but then realized I only needed 7.

Spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and tear up your bread into 2"-ish pieces.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, 3 tsp sugar, cinnamon, milk, and vanilla.  Pour over bread chunks.  Add 1 cup blueberries and using a large spoon, gently toss the pieces to distribute both egg mix and blueberries.  Cover tight with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  This allows adequate time to let the egg soak into the bread.

You can make the blueberry sauce the night prior to serving as well.  In a small saucepan, whisk together corn starch with sugar.  Stir in orange juice.  Add remaining blueberries.  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  As sauce begins bubbling, it will thicken.  Remove from heat.

To bake the French toast, preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake uncovered for 40-50 minutes, or until top is nicely browned and the bottom is no longer soggy.  Serve with blueberry sauce. Per serving: 368 calories, 7 g fiber, 15 g protein.  Not necessarily meant to be an everyday breakfast, but good for special occasions.


Ok, so awesome breakfast and all, but what the heck were we to watch on Netflix?

We decided it was finally time to start watching "Breaking Bad"...you know, 'cause everyone says it's the best.  And also 'cause I'm a leetle bit sick of Real Housewives.   

Three episodes later, the skies finally cleared up a bit and I could go tackle manly cabiny things like fishing.
Half cool, half ew.

Tomorrow I will post the weekend wrap-up Sunday dinner recipe.  'Til then, time for more Jesse Pinkman.


Friday, July 5, 2013

Happy 4th Weekend!

Boo to being at work today, but yay for having a great 4th. 



 We spent the day at my husband's parents' lake house and did all things American- floating, drinking, and eating.
Um why wouldn't I make the dog wear a festive tutu? 
"I'm so tired from swimming I can't even keep my tongue inside my mouth."

Being in a festive spirit, I decided to try a new idea.  I am sure I'm not the first person to think of this, but as usual, I will claim this as my own.

Homemade Bomb Pops makes 6 popsicles
1 16-oz bottle lemonade (I used "Simply Lemonade")
3/4 frozen blueberries (or fresh)
3/4 cup frozen strawberries (or fresh)
Popsicle molds

Ya like that ingredient list?  Yeah, me too.

Combine strawberries and 1/3rd of the lemonade in a blender.  Blend on high until smooth.  Pour evenly into the bottoms of the popsicle molds, aiming to fill each mold 1/3rd full.  I was a little messy when pouring, so I went back with a little piece of paper towel to wipe the insides of each mold.  Having strawberry puree on the sides will mess up the pretty factor when you're done.

Go freeze that for an hour.

Pour plain lemonade over the frozen strawberry portion, filling to the 2/3rds of the popsicle mold.  Go freeze that for an hour.

Lastly, blend the blueberries with the remaining lemonade, and pour over the frozen molds.  Go freeze for 20 minutes.  Put the stick portion of the popsicle into the molds.  Freeze again for an hour.

To unmold popsicles, run under hot water for a few seconds.


Mmm...you could just stop at this point and drink this up.
Yeah, I wasn't thinking and accidentally made all of mine upside down.  It's supposed to go red-white-then blue. Good thing it still tastes exactly the same.

So yes, good times were had by all.  I hope to continue the summer funtivities this weekend.  As you can see in the background, I think the dog might want to continue wearing her tutu. I approve.






Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Come and knock on our door...

...tofu's waiting for you!

I thought I'd post this pic of a dinner I made last week.  Definitely the most dietitian-y meal I've ever subjected us to.


Ah that would be plants, fermented soy, and baked seed dough.

Or more appetizingly called mixed green salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and vinaigrette, barbecued tofu, and 9 whole grains bread.

This is why we don't invite you over for dinner.  And also why you don't want us to start. 

Monday, July 1, 2013

Sunday Funday

Whoah.  I have been busy.  So busy that my weekend felt like an episode of “24”…although “48” would be more accurate.  No bomb-wielding terrorists to fight, but otherwise I am JUSTLIKE Jack Bauer. 

Saturday was the more domestic day.  Weeding, cleaning, and general manual labor. 

Sunday was fun-to-the-max, starting off with an early breakfast at Victor’s 1959 cafĂ© in South Minneapolis.  It’s a hole-in-the-wall restaurant with Cuban food.  Hellooooo guava juice.


I ordered a Cuban breakfast sandwich.  Which came with a salad.  Lettuce and I are barely friends anyway, so lettuce at 9 a.m. definitely did not happen.

Then it was on to the farmer’s market.  The most plentiful item was Minnesota-grown strawberries. 



We were there to buy pickling cucumbers.  I found a recipe for homemade pickles that we are going to try soon.  And by “we” I mean my husband.  

Shout out to my index finger, making a rare appearance.

Breakfast #2 for the husband was a sausage and egg burrito at the breakfast stand.  

I am more interested in the ginormous cinnamon rolls.  I may have had one or five of these over the past few years. 


Midday we packed up the poochies and headed over to the in-laws’ lake home for some boating and relaxing.  Turns out the chunky one can swim.  Buoyancy at its best.


On our way back home we swung by the 2nd annual Food Trust Festival in Uptown.  It…was…a…mess.  I felt like I was Where’s Waldo in a sea of two thousand hipsters.   


 We ended up eating from the food truck with the shortest line- the Blue Door Pub.  They were serving “blucy’s”- blue cheese stuffed sliders.  Pretty decent.  Not sure I’m down with jelly and PB as condiments though.




And then it was home for vegging out time.  Weekends take it out of ya.  Good thing I was in bed by 9. 
Yeah, definitely not like Jack Bauer.