Saturday, January 31, 2009

Catch Up!

Hello my fellow Bloggers!!!
I am sorry for my absence the past few days, I have been super busy and was not meaning to neglect but had no spare time to post. The main reason I was so occupied is because Sean left this morning :( He is on location on a movie and I was trying to soak him up before he left. I also have been working a lot and needed my rest. But I am back to catch you all up on my weekend. I will be posting today's eats later but for now I have lots to share so get ready foodie brains!!!

I will start with last night, Sean and I went out to dinner and a movie. I was not feeling well early Saturday and we were supposed to go to a Persian Feast with family friends, but I backed out due to my not feeling well. Later we realized we needed a date night before he left and I had a nap so felt better. We decided to try a new restaurant called .akasharestaurant.com/. I would say it is a fusion type restaurant. A mix between American, Indian and Asian I guess?? We started with the Seeded Bread and butter, I had a nibble not much:




These pics are not great because I forgot my camera and used my Blackberry :) I had a glass of Merlot and Sean had a beer:

The menu was a very wide range of prices and tastes! I was torn between the Red Quinoa with Smoked Tofu and Market Vegetables, Mung Beans with Vegetables, or the Organic Turkey Burger. I chose the Red Quinoa and boy was I happy!!!!! It was super tasty!!!


The veggies were steamed spinach, curried cauliflower, white roasted carrots, and green beans!!! So good, the Tofu was perfectly seasoned and cooked, nice an soft like I like it!



Sean had the Lamb Sliders and the Organic Mac and cheese!!!


I had a bite of his Mac and cheese of course! So creamy!!!
Ok no onto Friday: I had Blueberry Oats with Vanilla Whey protein powder, raisins, Craisins, and peanuts:
For my mid morning snack I had this bar:


Before lunch I had this apple and the same on Saturday:

For lunch I made a Turkey Red Pepper Hummus Wrap with Sugar snap peas and Baby Carrots:


When I got home I had a Fage 0% bowl with some T,F,C, peanuts and Dried Tamarind with Agave:

I took off to Whole Foods for some relaxing shopping, food shopping is like retail therapy for me!

Here are the stars!

More yummy treats:

I have never seen these brownie bars and I can't wait to try them!


This is the back on one:

At Whole Foods there was a Larabar rep!! I talked her up and got some free stickers!

I HAD to try this new yogurt!!! It is AMAZING! There is a yummy texture like Brown Cow yogurt but with out the fat and it has added Probiotics! .rachelsdairy.com/

Spoon savor stretch sigh- a sang on the package!

Later for dinner I dove into the kitchen to get cookin' on dinner!! I have not yet made this dish on the blog so I am giving ya'll the recipe and steps to complete this meal, even though it is turning out to be the longest blog ever!


Baked Tempeh and Kale
  • 1 package of 8 oz Tempeh ( mine was flax), sliced thinly into desired widths
  • 2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp tamari
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp fresh lemon or lime juice
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • pinch of cayenne
  • 1/4 cup water
  • black pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice tempeh as desired (for baking, try first slicing across the depth of the tempeh cake once or twice, to yield two or three thin full sized rectangles that can be cut into smaller pieces. Thinner sliced absorb more sauce. Place sliced tempeh on rimmed baking sheet or 9"x11" pyrex pan. Spread chopped ginger over top. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over the tempeh, or use a spray bottle to apply. Bake uncovered for 30-40 minuets, turning once to allow for browning on both sides. Delicious!

Makes 3-4 servings







For the Kale:
I strip the kale stems of their leafs and then chop both separately:
chop garlic and put in hot pan with 1 tbsp olive oil:
Add stems first and quick fry for 2 min:
Add chopped leaves and cover with 1/4 cup water and 2 tbsp soy sauce:
Cover and steam for 5 min, add more water if needed:
I ate my Tempeh and Kale with Buckwheat Soba noodles:
Now for dessert!!!!! I bought this new product:
I followed the instructions on the package:
Mochi is puffed rice and the added chocolate is so interesting!!!
This is my plate!! I had these yummy squares with a spoon of Almond Butter:
They were great! Not too sweet and very low in calories and fat! The almond butter was a nice touch like frosting on my little cakes!
This went perfectly with a small glass of skim:
Saturday Bfast; I had cereal with a banana and my usual dried fruit and nuts:

I am not done with the Saturday eats and will post the rest with my Sunday eats!

Sorry for the delayed post and hope you enjoy the recipe!!

C

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Another One Bites the Dust

Yes indeed this day has come to an end with no exercise and I am not in the best mood. So I will try to be brief. Bfast: Bowl of cereal with 1 cup Twigs, Flakes and Clusters, 3/4 cup Kashi Sunshine, 1.5 cup skim with 1/2 scoop protein powder in Vanilla, 1 shot blueberries, 1 small sliced banana, 1/2 shot sunflower seeds, 1/2 shot raisins and a smile on my face (this morning):
I had this bar (very tasty, but wolfed it down before really getting to enjoy it) for my mid morning snack:

This was my lunch I packed for work; 1 serving of TJ's Rice Mac and Cheese with a dash of cayenne, chili powder and pepper with a salad on the side of spring mix with raw broccoli, red bell, Persian cucumber and a dash of Goddess dressing:
At work I had another Green Tea Frappe (obsessed) and when I got home I had this Itty Bitty Apple:
Later when I found out Sean would be home in time for a late-ish dinner I had this Soy Joy bar in mango, my consensus: bad, like a stale cookie and the flavor was weak and almost rancid -ewwww!
Plus it didn't hold me at all, so I went to the fridge to have the rest if the Mac and Cheese. I felt better and full so I was not tempted to eat as I cooked and not tempted to eat all the Mashed potatoes I was making for Sean! No picture of the rice and cheese but it was just like lunches sans salad.
For dinner I wanted to make a nice meal with my tip money! So I bought some New York Strip Steaks, potatoes to mash (Sean's fave) and artichokes!
Here are the green flowers of the earth! I steamed them:
The meal turned out just ok. I was unhappy with how the steaks turned out. I am really no expert on cooking steak, I have only ever cooked them ONCE! Sean usually BBQ's or broils them. I tried to Pan Fry them. They were over cooked and tough and too much like the steak in Napoleon Dynamite- HAHA~!
We had a a glass of wine with dinner from our case of Mystery wine and some Red pepper hummus and Goddess for dipping (but neither of us ended up dipping). I ate all of my artichoke but only had a spoon cleaning's worth of mashed taters.
Here is my steak- boo not so pretty I know:
I ate 1/4 of it and then said "the heck with this" Sean ate all of his (good sport) I must be spoiled because I don't really like steak to begin with unless it is very good quality and perfectly cooked!
Oh well! The best part of dinner was the artichoke heart~!!!!!!!! I love these guys, difficult to get to but so worth it!
Well now I am still not in the best of moods. I am always better after a post! I will catch up with you all tomorrow for FRIDAY! Have a good night!
C