Candy Corn On The Brain

Okay, I’ll try to keep you awake with my dazzling personality, but food-wise, you may be bored to tears!  I’m still trying to get my creativity act together for some exciting meals.  Thanks for all your comments about meal planning!  Nice to see that many of you do consider planning ahead essential and an important tool in staying on the healthy eating road.

Here’s my “semi-planned” day…

I knew I had a full morning of errands, so I made sure to fuel up properly before hitting the gym.  I have been craving carbs like a mother the past few days, so I toasted up a whole wheat cinnamon raisin english muffin and topped it with PB & Co. Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Peanut Butter.  Oh my greatness…

Then, I was off to the gym with a vengeance.  Gotta burn off those freakin’  full of sugar- made by the devil-have to keep eating til the whole dish is practically gone- tempted to buy more to fill the bowl- CANDY CORN.  I hit up The Arc Trainer for 30 minutes of hill intervals with alternating incline and resistance which was, dare I say, kinda fun?  I moved on to some arm and ab work on the weight machines for another 25 minutes.  I worked them pretty well;  my arms were all wobbly when I was done!  Be gone, CANDY CORN!!!

I spent the rest of the morning in chicken-with –head- cut –off mode.  I got in some grocery shopping, too, where I picked up a variety of meats and other things that I have no idea what I am going to do with whatsoever.  Hey, but at least I have some stuff to start with!!!  Is it possible that CANDY CORN can damage your brain somehow that you can’t think properly or concentrate?  Like it has some mind numbing properties in it that render you brainless after eating it?  No?  Okay, just checking.  Then, it’s gotta be the kids.  Always their fault ;)  I digress…

I came home with my random bags of groceries and unloaded, then looked around for an interesting lunch.  Uh………….Or as my Dad would say, “BOH”, which is his Italian version of  “uh”.  I finally decided on a can of Trader Joe’s Organic Lentil Soup.  Pay close attention.  This is a very difficult recipe… 

• take can out of kitchen cabinet (careful!  It’s a bit heavy and if you accidentally drop it on your foot, it’s a very bad thing.  Trust me.  I know.)
• using a non-rusted can opener, open can.  Again, carefully.  You can cut yourself on the sharp edges of the can top.  Trust me.  I know.
• pour contents of can into a saucepan (if you’re feeling fancy) or just stick it in a bowl and nuke away.
• eat and enjoy.  But, don’t overheat it and dive in out of starvation because you can burn the bejesus out of your tongue.  Trust me.  Yeah, I know.

The end result is this fabulous bowl of soup…

Served with a handful of nice cool grapes to put out the fire that you may have set in your mouth if you weren’t careful…

During the homework tackling frenzy, I munched on a good handful of mixed nuts…

and a few more cashew that I fished out of the container.  They’re my fave :)

I had some ground beef defrosting and planned on making Barbeque Meatloaf for dinner.  Yay for a plan!  I mixed 96% lean ground beef with an egg, some bread crumbs and 1/4 c. barbeque sauce.  I formed it into a loaf, topped it with another 2 tbsp. of barbeque sauce and baked at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.  I served it with a side of Green Giant Immune Blend Veggies mixed with some corn and a side of whole wheat orzo…

The husband and one daughter loved it and declared it the best dinner ever.  Hmmmm….they must want something…

I won’t get into the histrionics that ensued with the other daughter who shall remain little daughter nameless little daughter.  Suffice it to say, meatloaf is not her favorite.

I ended the night with a few more handfuls of crack candy corn.  Yes, yes I did.  I did not learn my crack lesson and ventured over to the dark side again.  Did you know that there is no such thing as CANDY CORN ANONYMOUS?  Seriously, I looked and looked, but there is no support group for this addiction.  How can this be??  Very sad.  Many people could benefit from this, I think :)

Have a great, candy corn-less, day!!

ONE GOOD THING:  The candy corn is almost gone ;P

Question of the Day:  What is the one food you can’t have in the house/office because it’s too tempting?

Cooking In The Infirmary

The infirmary is open.  The husband and daughters are sneezing and snotting all over the place.  Won.der.ful.  Big daughter stayed home from school, but since the husband was home, I was able to get in a quick stint at the gym.  Before I left, I grabbed breakfast to-go:  Banana Walnut Breakfast Cookie topped with PB2…

I came up with the cookie recipe the other day and tried it out on the daughters.  They were a big hit;  big daughter ate 2!  They are quite large and very hearty.  I can’t share the recipe with you, yet.  You’ll have to wait to “buy the book” –LOL!  I’m submitting it for Jen’s awesome e-cookbook that she’s putting together for charity, so stay tuned for more info!

After munching down my cookie, I headed straight for the elliptical for a decent 15 minutes.  My friend, Coleen, wanted to bravely try out another contraption, so I went along for the ride.  And a ride it was… The Arc Trainer!!  I have aptly renamed it The Brutalizer.  It is one tough workout.  I did 20 minutes on it and was dripping with sweat.  It was great!  Definitely my new favorite machine.  I threw in a couple sets of lower body exercises with the weights and I started home to the infirmary.  Hack, hack, sniffle, sneeze.  UGH!  On the way, I couldn’t shake a strong craving for an old friend…Starbucks!  I know I shouldn’t have…I really, really shouldn’t…been doing so great being “off” coffee.  But, the Pumpkin Spice Latte was just too hard to resist…

I missed it sooooo much…

Yes, I realize that when you kiss your coffee cup, it’s 1) extremely weird and 2) a sign you have a major problem.  *cue Amy Winehouse*  I don’t want to go to rehab, I say noooo, nooooo, noooo.  :)  It was so good!  I spread the happiness by bringing big daughter a Mocha Frappuccino for her sore throat and she was thrilled!  See?  Spreading the love….

So, when I am stuck in the house with a bunch of sickies, what do I do??  Cook.  And Eat.  But, I mainly chose cook  and I decided it would be healthy, so that’s a step in the right direction!  Ever since seeing this amazing recipe for Big Batch Bulgur Chili on Just Sweet Enough’s blog,  I knew I had to try it.  It was easy, delicious and made a ton!

I had a hearty bowl for lunch…

with a side of Barbeque POPchips …

Yum!  And I have plenty left over that I portioned out for quick heat and eat lunches or dinners…

Little daughter had dance class in the afternoon, so dinner was a crockpot concoction.  I never have much luck with my crockpot meals (too dry/overdone), but I thought I’d try it again.  I pre-browned some chicken thighs and placed it in the crockpot with a little white wine, chicken broth, garlic, lemon zest, s +p and some chopped red peppers.  It was all ready when we got home.  I nuked up a steamer bag of red potatoes and organic corn and dinner was done!

My plate…

And again, I have some leftovers for another time when I don’t feel like cooking.  Which might be sooner rather than later because I think they got me.  The sickies.  I’m feeling a little…ACHOOOOO!  Boo :(

ONE GOOD THING:  Making extra food and freezing it leaves me with lots of good, healthy options for times I don’t feel like cooking or just need to grab something quick.

Question of the Day:  What are your favorite “cook and freeze” meals?