Food Lover On-the-Go

Hiya Pals! The past few weeks have been extremely slow, save for my hoppin’ holidays.

Tuesday, however, was cray (zay). I had several to-do’s planned for the day, so I woke up bright and early at 7 am.  I headed straight for the kitch (I am feeling the abbrevs). It made me realize how unfit for diets I am…

Egg on toast. Yog with pap (Let me clarify for my South African family..."papaya")

Best egg seasoning ever.

 I had my coffee and breakfast and cleaned a little. I realize I say I clean a lot. If you must know, “clean” means tidy, wipe, down, and otherwise “nicer” up the house. When I say, “I spent 2 hours cleaning,” or “I spent a large portion of my day scrubbing,” you know I mean business.

After my food digested, Lucy was literally nudging me toward the door and showcasing her extraordinary ability of whining in the most annoying possible way while managing to still be cute. I decided to bring Max-er with is. What a sucker I am.

I opted for an early lunch. On Monday, I received a package from Gillian's GF foods. 

Gillian's Food

 I tried out the Penne pasta for lunch. Gluten-free pasta is often fragile and doesn't cook very evenly. This pasta, on the other hand, cooked perfectly. It had a great taste, unlike some GF pastas. The only problem I found with this penne was a starchy coating after it was cooked making it stick together. But, it was easy to break the noodles apart and they did not tear or crumble. Super. I give them a 6 out of 10.

Brown Rice Penne

Chicken salad, carrots, and chilled penne with Italian dressing.

Berry tea and vanilla tea. Perfect combo.

 Then I packed some snackies since I knew I would be on the go all day.

Snackies.

Dogs in the background.

Broken New Year's Resolution. Fashion Faux Pas in action. Tea in hand. Hot. 

After lunch, I headed out to college-ville to see one of my besties.

This is Flo-Rida. She is my 83-yr-old bestie/adopted grandmother.

 My other poopers were super excited to see me, since I haven’t been to Journey’s End Animal Sanctuary in about a week (I usually go 2-3 times a week).  Flo-Rida told me I would be accompanying her on some errands. I love hangin’ with her, so I was totally ok with it. We spent the next few hours out on the town, looking for some home-improvement stuffs. Afterward, she bought me some coffee and coffee ice cream. Did I mention how much I love her? I tried to pay for my own treat but harsh words were exchanged. Who knew an 83-yr-old woman could say such things…  

I went to the bank, made some clothing exchanges for Flo-Rida, and headed back to home base. As soon as I got back, I went straight for the Wii Zumba for some supplemental workout. Fast. Fun. Fantastic.

Feeling the need for something fresh, I made myself a hearty salad.

Lettuce, carrots, quinoa, cucumbers, tomatoes, banana peppers, a spritz of Italian dressing, and apple cider vinegar.

 I caught up on my favorite blogs and a sudden urge for croissants. Croissants are possibly one of my favorite foods, but I haven’t had one in over 3 years. I discovered a recipe using rice flour, which is super convenient, considering I just got some from Ener-G. Then I read this post “How to Eat Like a French Woman” from I Made Dinner.  It’s fate! I am beyond excited. Wednesday’s post will tell the tale!

I plan on spending the rest of my night watching Clinton Kelly and Stacey London bash the wardrobes of innocent people. It’s fantastic. Then I will go to bed dreaming of croissants.

 2 days 'til Giveaway!

Why I Quit

     Hi guys. It’s time for some honesty. First of all, I want everyone to know that everything I post on this blog is true and tested by yours truly. I am not one of those bloggers who posts a “You should, do this” and doesn’t follow through with it for myself.

   This is the end of my second day of the Yoplait Light Two Week Tune-Up. My regular day-to-day eating is very healthy (with the occasional naughty, of course). When I heard about the Tune-Up, I was super excited to try something BRAND NEW that would be of interest in the health blogging community. On the first day, I was like one of Pavlov’s dogs salivating over Yoplait’s great flavors. But I quickly began to notice a very sluggish feeling that I attributed to me being attacked by gluten. Then on the following day, the sluggish feeling was accompanied by a headache. My mama was feeling the same way, so I knew it wasn’t just me.

In reading the nutritional facts of Yoplait Light, I realized that there are not only artificial sweeteners, but also quite a bit of real sugar. Now, don’t get me wrong, I believe that (almost) everything is fine in moderation. BUT, why would I put myself on a Tune-Up that would require me to eat WAY more sugar than I normally consume?

I think the Yoplait Light yogurts are great for a guilt-free afternoon treat when you are craving something sweet. I know I will keep eating them every-so-often! But, for me, having 2 per day as part of breakfast AND lunch is a little much.

Here’s the bottom line folks: I am not going to promote something that I don’t believe in or that I am not doing myself. I am not saying that Yoplait steered my wrong- that is FAR from the truth. Just because it is not right for me, doesn’t mean it’s not right for you! The studies about the Tune-Up showed several very happy participants who lost weight and felt much healthier. But it is never good to assume one diet does not fit all. This just goes to show how important it is to listen to your body. You might be asking, "Why didn't you keep it up for just a little longer?" Basically, if what I’m eating doesn’t make me feel great and healthy, I am going to stop eating it. 

 I do want to give a big thanks to Yoplait for giving me the opportunity to try out the Yoplait Light Two Week Tune-Up.

Starting Fresh in the New Year

Happy New Year Everyone!! I hope you’ve all made some doable resolutions to make you healthier and happier! I have made 3 of them:

They are:

• Dress nicely almost every day- I have all these cute clothes, but end up wearing a boring t-shirt and jeans or workout gear all the time.
• Drink more water- I’ll admit, sometimes I don’t drink quite as much as I should.
• Keep up my fitness- I have never made it through an entire year without some sort of hitch in the workout plan. This year, I want to keep fit and motivated the whole way through.

It’s time for change.

I love kicking off the New Year with something that signifies “turning over a new leaf” (pardon the cliché). My plan for having a clean sheet in 2011 is to do Yoplait Light’s Two Week Tune-Up. Sunday was my first day on the challenge. Ok, it wasn’t much of a challenge, but nonetheless, it is a DIET of sorts. I am not a huge fan of dieting, but I thought, What the hay, I could use the clean out after all of that holiday junk.

I was a little leery when I first heard about the Tune-Up, because as you are well aware, I LOVE food. Love might actually be an understatement. Adore, obsess over, worship, glorify, idolize- those are just some of the words I might use interchangeably…

On Day 1 of the Tune-Up, my breakfast consisted of

• ¾ cup papaya
• 1 slice gluten-free bread (with a super thin layer of cream cheese)
• Yoplait Light Cinnamon Roll yogurt

Can I just tell you how amazing the flavors are? 33 heavenly flavors, to be exact. GLUTEN-FREE cinnamon roll? Yes please! I really tried not to inhale the yogurt. It was delicious. I have no idea how they make the flavors so true to the actual food. It totally filled me up.

After breakfast and a fair amount of nagging, I managed to convince my mom and stepdad to go on the required 30-40 min walk with me. We took all the poopers and enjoyed the perfect Florida winter weather.

After the walk, I was hungry again, of course. The Tune-Up calls for a snack consisting of 2 servings of veggies between lunch and dinner. That’s 2 cups. Why the Hades would I eat 2 cups of vegetables in one sitting? Bearing in mind the complete ridiculousness of this idea, I resolved to “split” the snack into one serving between breakfast and lunch, and one between lunch and dinner. What a smarty pants I am. ;)

Love me some rabbit food.

My mama, Mons, and I made our way to the grocery store to stock up for our joint venture into Yoplait land. We weighed ourselves, just to see if there would be weight loss along the way (I am not planning on losing any weight). Mama and Mons were supposed to start the Tune-Up with me, but alas, these greasy, scrumptious-looking eats led them astray.

Burger and fries. Greasy. Fatty. Terrible. Classic.

 I managed to stay strong and steer clear of this all-American lunch. I settled for my Yoplait meal.

Corn flakes, banana, and yogurt just don't measure up to the aforementioned  foods.

 The Black Forest flavor was incredibly tasty, so I ate up. Little did I know that there was gluten lurking in my food… I checked several of the other containers and assumed that all of the flavors were gluten-free. Obviously I was SORELY mistaken (no pun intended). I began to feel a twinge in my tummy. I was so upset; when I consume gluten, I feel polluted. I quickly gulped down some Gluten-zyme and Pancreatin and drank a ton of water. Luckily, within about an hour, I was back to normal. I did, however, feel sluggish for the rest of the day. Boo.

Later, while looking over the Tune-Up for the millionth time, I discovered that you are supposed to fit in 3 ADDITIONAL servings of dairy on top of the Yoplaits that you are consuming at breakfast and lunch. When I realized I was allowed to eat even more food, I rejoiced. Food makes me excited. I had a serving of dairy with my afternoon snackie.

1 cup chopped broccoli. Cottage cheese with cumin, chili powder, and Louisiana Hot Sauce.

 The cottage cheese mixture soundss gross, but it’s not. I come up with crazy concoctions sometimes, but this one was a definite winner. If you’re not a fan of cottage cheese, just blend it up and you have buffalo ranch dressing. Perfect for veggie dip or atop a salad.

I realized I am in desperate need of going back to school, because all I do these days is work out, think about food, blog, eat, and think about food. The other 5% of my time is spent meandering around the house and otherwise wasting time.

I chose to spend my afternoon doing just that. Time seemed to fly by and dinner time came. I had my 2 servings of veggies and 6 oz of lean protein. Great success (said in Borat voice).

Tuna salad. Lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrots, banana peppers, tuna, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, and a squeeze of lemon.

 I think this Tune-Up is totally doable. I'm currently drinking another serving of dairy... This is a perfect way to start the New Year!

What are your New Year’s resolutions? How do you plan on staying healthy this year?

Don’t forget to enter the Tune-Up Giveaway! Only 5 days left!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are so easy and so delicious. My family and I devour them in a heartbeat. Beware- You can't ever eat just one. Following the steps is important (You know how I hate to follow steps)! If you don't, it won't mix properly.

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2 eggs+1 egg white
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups gluten-free oats
• 3/4 to 1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350. Blend together brown sugar and peanut butter. Blend in eggs. Stir in vanilla extract and baking powder. Pour in oats and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon a tbsp of mixture onto ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.

They flatten on their own. Cook for 8-10 minutes. Enjoy!

Christmas Cheer Brings… Dance Revolution??

Happy New Year Everyone! Here's my first post of the 2011:

For the past two years, I have been in South Africa for Christmas, so I figured it would be a good idea to spend my last Christmas before I move with my family. Nothing beats an American Christmas. However, my family’s holiday gatherings are not what you would call the typical or traditional in any sense of the words.

This year, the most festive day of the year started out normal- tranquil and cozy- with baking, a toasty fire, and a beautiful tree.

Mons making deviled eggs.

Jelly-filled cookies

 Then the family began arriving… I had the brilliant idea of having all finger foods instead of a big sit-down dinner (we usually make a gigantic pot of paella). We grazed at the table the whole day, probably consuming way more calories than we would have otherwise. But who cares?

Finger food-ville

 We worked off some of those spinach dip and little sausage calories with a Spanish dance contest that my grandfather concocted.

The day turned into evening, and I decided it was time to speak to my Hot Soccer Player. I emerged from my room I stumbled upon this:

Since an alien abduction is highly unlikely, I’m satisfied with conclusion that there had been a Bollywood invasion. All we needed was a villain emerging from a tree somewhere…

This scene was a result of courtesy Wii Let’s Dance 2. It’s a blast. We danced for 2 more hours after that.

I suppose you could call Thursday night our pre-New Year’s Eve parteezy. Three of my cousins spent the night, and guess what they happened to bring along with them- Let’s Dance 2. We couldn’t help ourselves.

Loving the face on my cuz.

On New Year’s Eve, mom, stepdad, cousins, and I went to the mall, shopped around a little and bought Wii Zumba!

Buy Zumba on Amazon!

 A few of our relations joined us for dinner, and we had some delicious Mexican eats.

Picked over food

Mexican Bean Soup

 Immediately after we ate, we ran straight for the Wii remotes. It was a horrible idea since I felt sick afterward. But it was a total blast. Great way to spend New Year’s Eve. 

Wishing this cookie was my honey.

Obsessing over peanut butter chocolate chip cookies in between songs.

I think this could be a new way of life for the New Year. I am obsessed. A dance revolution has begun.