A Spin on Mexican

Today was  a normal October Tuesday.  I began with a cold breakfast of cinnamon raisin granola.

Plus some chai on the side.

I had 2/3 cup granola, 6-8 Kashi Island Vanilla Wheat Puffs, a handful of frozen blueberries, 3/4 cup of lowfat milk, and a sprinkle of ground flaxseed.

As I have been the past two Tuesdays, I attended a workshop away from my school campus.  Again lunch was provided.  I chose the roast beef on wheat.  It came with chips, a cookie, and an apple.

I also had some milky way bite size chocolates.  The apple was saved for a snack when I got home.

With some peanut butter in the middle for dipping.  I was having a bit too much fun practicing my photography skills using the corner of one of hub’s garden boxes for scenery.

After unloading the dishwasher, folding laundry, and a bit of Oprah I got started on dinner.  At the grocery on Sunday I picked up some chicken breasts since they were buy 1, get 1 free.  I also purchased a jar of Peach Salsa and Gouda cheese.  That is where the Mexican comes in.  I simply baked the chicken at 350* after topping it with salt, pepper, and the salsa.  After 35 minutes I added some thin strips of Gouda (some went in my tummy on spot) and stuck the chicken back in the oven for five more minutes. 

For a side dish, I roasted some butternut squash by cutting it in half, scooping out the seeds and pulp, and baking at 400* for an hour.  In keeping with Mexican, I used a spice common of the culture for flavoring—cumin.  In addition to cumin, I seasoned the squash with salt, pepper, and cinnamon after basting it in olive oil.

Dinner was delightfully flavorful although the salsa lacked in the peach department.  I couldn’t hardly taste any peach, just a slightly sweet flavored salsa.  The squash was tender and flavored well.

The squash tasted much like a sweet potato.

As for the chicken and being a cheese lover, it was cheesy and tasty, but it was somewhat overcooked.  I always worry about undercooking poultry so often tend to overcook it causing dryness.

My belly is full after eating the majority of this (and sharing a few bites of chicken with the pups)!  It was simple to put this meal together, but it does take some time to cook so I got other chores done in the meantime. 

Now I’m relaxing watching Biggest Loser and about to get back to washing and folding the massive amounts of laundry I desperately need to catch up on.  I don’t get to watch too much TV lately, but have some shows I like including CSI, 48 Hours, Biggest Loser, So You Think You Can Dance, and Real Housewives, and of course all things Food Network. 🙂

What are your favorite television shows?

Peanut, Peanut Butter, & Jelly & Jelly

Yes, it is lame I know, but my brain can’t think right now.  Today has been a long day without fruits and vegetables until dinner so my eats are not very colorful; nonetheless, they did serve the purpose.

Breakfast was cold cinnamon raison granola and Kashi Island Vanilla Puffs with some cinnamon almonds and low fat milk.

It does not look like that much, but I had 1/3 c granola, 10 puffs, and 10 almonds, plus 2/3 c milk, but that is plenty enough calories, fats, proteins, and carbs for a sustaining breakfast.

I had some chai on side.

Lunch was just as plain—peanut butter and grape jelly on whole wheat with a side of Fage Greek yogurt with honey (my fave greek yogurt by the way).

Sometimes peanut butter and jelly just really hits the spot.  Again not much, but lots of protein, heart-healthy fats, and whole grains.

After work today, I made my way to the gym.  I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and 20 minutes on the bike.  My protein packed lunch kept me full until I was leaving the gym around 5:30.  So I texted the hub to see if he wanted Chinese or a homemade meal from Come Back Inn.  He chose Chinese of course. 

Beef and Broccoli for hub and mixed veggies for me.

Thankful for veggies in my life.  I also had some egg drop soup (which was overly salty, but I managed to consume it all anyway).

 

With crispy wontons that I ate the majority of on the way home and topped the rest on my soup. 

I also had two fortune cookies.  One had some meaning to it–“Good things come to those who wait.  Be patient!”

I may have some type of sweet snack before the night ends; perhaps my last pumpkin chocolate chip muffin, but I haven’t decided yet.  Now I’m off to do laundry and watch Grey’s Anatomy—my husband got me hooked on this show, but I have not watched it in quite some time.  Are there any other Grey’s fans out there?

We’re Going Downtown

On Saturday, I started my day with a delicious breakfast of an egg, 2 slices turkey bacon, and laughing cow light cheese wedge on a sandwich thin.  On the  side I enjoyed a luscious plum.

Egg Over Medium with Yolky Goodness

Ripe Plum

Yesterday afternoon Mom and I had plans to have lunch and to  take a ride downtown.  All I knew is that we were headed to a jewelry store, and I was not told why.  Because it was a SURPRISE from her and her boyfriend!

For lunch, we dined at one of our usual places near Mom’s work—La Madeleine.  I had a small spinach salad, a french onion soup with cheese, and two slices fresh wheat bread with butter and jam.  I also ate a couple bites of Mom’s pasta salad.

I was a bit disappointed with my salad.  If you’ve never been to La Madeleine, you walk in and pick up a tray for your eats.  If you want a salad, you tell the salad chef right at the beginning of the counter and she makes it right before you in a large wooden bowl to  be plated and passed over the counter to be put on your tray just before placing any hot orders,  soup orders, and checking out at the cashier.   Well, as she began making my salad, two other women walked up and requested the same spinach salad.  So to my salad bowl, the cook added two more servings to mix the salad with the balsamic vinaigrette.  I received mine and headed to eat.

As I began eating I noticed I was only given one small slice of mushroom and one small slice of red bell pepper; obviously the other two women received all of my veggies that were supposed to be included in my salad.  I ate it, nonetheless, but I felt that I got gypped!

After lunch, Mom and I headed to downtown New Orleans.

This is a streetcar, which is powered by the electric lines along its route.  The streetcars will bring you from uptown New Orleans on St. Charles Ave. to downtown New Orleans on Canal St. for a small fee.

Once downtown Mom led me to Jack Sutton’s Jewelry Store.  When we walked in, Mom pulled out a box and told the jeweler that we were there to get some watches sized.  To my surprise, I was given a very NICE (and expensive) watch with a mother of pearl dial and diamond bezel on a white gold band.  This watch is a timeless classic that I will have forever.  Unfortunately I won’t get it until Wednesday or Thursday because the watch was not functioning properly.  Once it is set it is supposed to be powered while being worn, but for some reason it would not work.  I am so thankful for my gift and it is something I would never have been able to purchase on my own.

To end our day together, Mom took me to Tutti Frutti for some dessert.  We bypassed the mini-lemon tarts earlier at La Madeleine and both agreed froyo would be worth the wait.

My froyo flavors of choice were cake batter, coconut, and cafe au lait.  I added mochi, cheesecake, coconut, a few cookie dough pieces, mango, pineapple, and kiwi.  Honestly, I could have done without the cafe au lait; it didn’t go very well with my toppings.  But I did stick to three flavors this time—that’s a good thing.

Later on at home I heated up some black beans with a tad of water, cumin, chili powder, garlic salt, and onion powder.  I topped a whole wheat tortilla with the mashed beans, half avocado, salsa, and a dollop of sour cream.

After this I still had the munchies, so I ate a bowl of granola with skim milk.

This satisfied my hunger for the night.

Question of the night:  When you’ve already eaten dinner and you are still hungry, what is your go-to food?