Organic Black Beans and Brown Rice

Bonjour! This is last night's post for a snack and dinner... I fell asleep watching Veronica Mars on Netflix.  At the Retreat someone said to turn off the TV and avoid electronics for at least 1 hour before bed.  I am SO bad at that!


Eats

Dinner

Organic Black Beans and Brown Rice.

Beans and rice make a great, nutritious and delicious meal.  Cheap and easy to make too!

Ingredients:

• 1 can of organic black beans (I purchase Organic Black Beans in a can from Publix, the GreenWise brand.)
• 1/2 to 1 cup of dry rice (One of my favorite brands of rice is Lundberg Wild Blend.  It's a little pricey, but the flavor can't be beat. Organic brown rice is a good alternative.)
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup organic apple cider vinegar
• 1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• seasonings to taste
• vegetable and cheese toppings of choice

Directions:

• Cook rice according to package directions.
• When rice has about 10-15 minutes left, you can start the beans.  Heat olive oil in pan.  Open the can, do not drain, and empty the contents into a pan.
• Add apple cider vinegar and seasonings.  Cook beans until boiling, reduce to simmer.
• Chop vegetable toppings.  I like to use tomatoes, onions, garlic, jalapeno, and spinach.
• Shred cheddar cheese and get sour cream or Greek yogurt ready for toppings.
• Serve beans over rice in a bowl and each person can customize their meal with toppings they enjoy.

Snack

Organic Gala Apple with a spoon of PB.

Dessert

Oh yeah, I almost forgot... I did eat a 100 calorie Klondike bar too.  That's probably why I felt so run down this morning, even after almost 8 hours of sleep.  Dessert right before bed is a no no!


Healthy Habits

Body Care
Magnesium Oil: topically

Nourishment
Fruits: 1 servings
Veggies: 2 servings
Water: 1 liter


I did OK on meeting my goals today...

• Wake up a bit early -- done!
• Exercise upon rising -- done!
• Complete healthy habits -- skipped body brushing, oil pulling and a mag soak... will do better tomorrow.
• Make and drink a green smoothie -- done!
• Skip the sweets (including wine) -- messed up and ate dessert when I knew better.
• Bring lunch to the office -- done!
• Experiment with a new butternut squash recipe -- found some great ones today from WFM!
• Try 2/day blog posting (noon and evening) -- Well, it kinda worked
• Use the Rebel for photos -- done!

Au revoir!
 

Organic Blueberry Spring Mix Smoothie

Bonjour! Well, I didn't get a chance to post last night... fell asleep too soon again. Here ya go...

Tuesday's Eats

Brekkie

Purple smoothie!

• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 2 cups fresh organic spring mix
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 3 Tbsp Chobani 0% Plain yogurt
• 1 tsp local bee pollen

Put all ingredients in a blender. Blend. Done! Drink and enjoy.

And once I got to work I snacked on the rest of the Chocolate Cherry Almond Balls. Yum!

Lunch

We decided to get lunch from Taste Safety Harbor.

Pumpkin Curry Soup and a Meddie Veggie Wrap.

Honestly, this was the WORST $9.00 lunch in the history of lunches.  I ate 1/2 of the wrap and less than 1/2 of the soup.  The flavors were so off and sadly, the pumpkin soup didn't taste like it did last year.  I love Taste for wine, but not their food. Bleh!!!  The only thing that I like there is the hummus...and my homemade version is better in my opinion.

Snack

Veggie chips!

Dinner

Wild Coho Salmon with WW Pasta, Spinach, Broccoli, Tomatoes and Bread Stick.

Healthy Habits

Body Care

Skipped everything good for me today...

Nourishment
Fruits: 2 servings
Veggies: 4 servings
Water: 2 liters

Supplements
Alfalfa: 6 caps
Pyruvyl Glycine: 12 sprays
Vitamin D3: 8 sprays

Au revoir!

Let there be toast... and Giant Ezekiel Tacos!

It's Friiiiday!

Let there be toast... and Giant Ezekiel Tacos!

Healthy Habits

Body Care
Body Brushing & Oil Pulling - check!
Workout/Exercise - walked around the block with the pup, stretched out

Nourishment
Fruits:1.5 servings today.
Veggies: 6 servings today.
Water: about 1.5 liters... will drink more before bed for sure!

Supplements
Alfalfa: 6 caps


Eats

Brekkie

Food for Life 7 Sprouted Grain Cinnamon Raisin toast with Organic Almond Butter.

Green Monster...

I have yet to fill this green drink container to the brim with a green drink.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh organic spinach
• 1 cup wild blueberries
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1 cup original Almond Breeze

It was seriously lacking some protein!  The toast saved my morning.


Lunch

Leftovers!  Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

Dinner

I made a Giant Ezekiel Taco!

Ingredients:

• 1 Ezekiel wrap
• 1/2 cup all-natural turkey with taco seasoning
• cheddar
• sour cream
• avocado
• cilantro
• green onions
• tomatoes

I toasted the wrap in the oven while I baked some taco shells for the boyfriend.

It came out crispy and perfect!  I sort of folded it up (like in the first picture), then filled it with all the ingredients and folded it all the way over into a taco shape.  Genius!  Will be doing this trade up again next taco night.

Oh, and I drank a Berry LaCroix.

Well... we're heading over to La's house for some Watermelon Margaritas.  I can not wait to try her recipe.  Watch for photos tomorrow!

Adios!

Red Vel-beet Cupcakes

I discovered this fantastic recipe from the blog Coconut Lime and have been meaning to make them for a while now.

Since it was Independence Day and all, I envisioned making red velvet cupcakes with white creamy frosting and blue sprinkles (the whole red, white and blue theme). This idea was totally spontaneous and I made it to the store around 4pm. Not too many holiday choices for decorating cupcakes, so no sprinkles today.

The cupcakes came out beet-ifully! Not as red as I expected, more on the chocolate side (which is fine by me). No food coloring in this recipe!

Also used her icing recipe, but mine didn't really "thicken" up so I added a bunch of powdered sugar and let it cool. I really try to avoid any store-bought icing (its all filled with chemicals). I don't have a mixer either, which would solve a lot of problems. Hand mixing icing burns some calories.

However, I had success with my handmade icing... the day after it had been sitting in the fridge. (Baking Tip from Lolly: Let cupcakes AND icing completely cool, at least 2 hours, before icing.)

 Tonight I made a new batch and added chocolate chips to 1/2 the batter. Super chocolaty!

 This one has the super creamy cool icing. YUM!

Now that I've eaten a few too many of these creations... it's time for another few sets of Hoe Downs before bed.

Au revoir!

P.S. I plan on doing a 45+ minute T-Tapp workout tomorrow to torch the added sugar from my new cupcake addiction.  Tomorrow is also the last day of the 2010 60-Day T-Tapp Challenge!  I can't wait to see everyone's progress.  Good luck!

Aaaahava...

I got a fabulous deal on Ahava Dead Sea Mineral Salts today at TJMaxx! This 5 pound container was only $14.99, normally $25.00. What a steal!

There will be plenty of salt soaks in my near future.


Eats

Snack

Hummus and Whole Grain Pita Chips.

Dinner + Recipe!

Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps with Organic Blue Chips, and Wine.

Ingredients:

• Ground Turkey
• Taco Seasoning
• Organic Salsa
• Chopped Tomato, Green Onion, Garlic (add any other veggies of choice)
  
• Lettuce Leaves
• 1 Tbsp Lowfat Sour Cream (optional)
• Shredded Cheese (optional)
• Organic Blue Chips (optional)
  

Directions:

• Brown turkey, then add taco seasoning and mix well.
  
• Chop veggies and shred cheese.
• Mix together 1/2 cup turkey mixture, chopped veggies of choice, salsa, cheese, and sour cream.
• Add mixture to tops of lettuce leaves and roll up.
• Enjoy!
  

Dessert

Ben & Jerry's Imagine Whirled Peace.

I adore those little peace sign chocolates!

Supplements

Alfalfa: 3 caps
B-12 Plus: 4 sprays
Pyruvyl Glycine: 4 sprays
Vitamin D3: 4 sprays

Water intake today: 2 liters

Veggies today: 5
Fruits today: 1

Au revoir!

Strong and Flexible

Trying this wine tonight! Pretty bottle, huh?

Love my little lunch bag too. It was stuffed with bills and insurance paperwork, but I finally cleaned up my desk and now have a lunch bag again. Yay!

Exercise

Tempo 2 - 8 Reps.

Great workout tonight! I really pushed my form. I feel SO much stronger and more flexible that last week. Dripping sweat, almost like I was in the sauna. I feel smaller too... measuring in the AM.


Eats

Snack

The last of the Chocolate Delight Granola.

Dinner

Chickpea with Veggies and Brown & Wild Rice.

So pretty!

Organic Chickpea and Veggies with Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 can organic chickpeas
• chopped purple cabbage, carrots, green onions, tomato
  
• a little broth (chicken, veggie or beef)
• a little red wine (optional)
  
• desired seasonings
  
• baked sweet potato
• cooked brown and wild rice
  

I cooked the chickpeas and veggies in chicken broth (you could use veggie) with a splash of red wine and seasonings (garlic powder, pepper, a little sea salt). Baked the sweet potato at 350-degrees for about 50 minutes while the rice was cooking... and that's it!

It turned out to be pretty yummy!


Plus, a glass of wine...

Supplements

Alfalfa: 3 caps
B-12 Plus: 4 sprays
nutraMetrix® Glucosatrin Bone & Joint Formula: 1 cap
Pyruvyl Glycine: 10 sprays
Vitamin D3: 4 sprays

Water intake today: 2 liters

Veggies today: 5
Fruits today: 1.5

Au revoir!

Salt Soak Time

Time for a salt soak in the garden tub...

Exercise

Face/Body Brushing.


Eats

Snack

Chobani 0% Raspberry with Chocolate Delight Granola.




Dinner

Tuna Macaroni Lettuce Wraps.





Ingredients:

• White Albacore Tuna packet
• 2 cups cooked whole wheat veggie pasta
  
• 3 Tbsp light mayo
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
  
• 2 chopped organic celery sticks
• 1 shredded organic carrot
• 2 chopped green onions
• garlic powder, BVI seasoning, pepper
• organic romaine leaves for wrapping

Chop, shred, mix, done!


Dessert

Candied Ginger Pieces.


Supplements

Alfalfa: 3 caps
B-12 Plus: 4 sprays
Cellfood: 8 drops
nutraMetrix® Glucosatrin Bone & Joint Formula: 1 cap
Pyruvyl Glycine: 8 sprays
Vitamin D3: 4 sprays

Water intake today: 2.5 liters

Veggies today: 5.5
Fruits today: 2


Aah, it's already 10:30pm... time for bed!

Au revoir!

Recipe: Organic Chicken Chili

The weather got chilly again yesterday and I thought it would be an excellent evening for Organic Chicken Chili! We were all out of chili seasoning, so I made my own from scratch. I love this dish... it's comfort food!


Organic Chicken Chili

Ingredients

• 1 lb Organic Ground Chicken
• 1 cup Organic Spinach
  
• 1 Organic Green Bell Pepper
  
• 1/2 Organic Purple Onion
• A few Organic Garlic Cloves
  
• 1 can Organic Kidney Beans
• 1 can Organic Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
• 1 Tbsp Cumin
• 1/2 Tbsp Coriander
  
• 1 Tbsp Dried Oregano
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Optional toppings: Jalapeno Pepper, Cheddar Cheese, Lowfat Sour Cream.
Served with Saltine Crackers.


Directions

1. Brown the Organic Ground Chicken in a pan. Drain liquid and set aside.
2. Chop Green Bell Pepper and Purple Onion into small pieces. Mince the Garlic.
   
3. Heat 1 Tbsp EVOO in same pan. Add chopped Green Bell Pepper, Purple Onion, Spinach and minced Garlic. Cook about 5 minutes until veggies are soft.
4. Add the Ground Chicken, Kidney Beans, Crushed Tomatoes and all seasonings. Mix well. Reheat until mixture is bubbling, stirring occasionally.
5. Top with Jalapeno Pepper, Cheddar Cheese, Lowfat Sour Cream and serve with Saltine Crackers.
6. Enjoy!

Au revoir!

Midnight Snack: Whole Grain Waffles

Two glasses of wine and a light veggie-based dinner last night apparently wasn't enough. I made some crispy Whole Grain Waffles from Nature's Path Organic Buttermilk Pancake Mix around midnight. They have a special recipe for waffles on the packaging.

These waffles, made on the George Foreman, are huge! I topped them with sliced almonds, coconut flakes and organic maple syrup.

I ate 2 waffles with a glass of Vanilla Almond Breeze. I really like this mix because the only ingredients you need are milk or water and a vegetable oil of your choice.

I used Vanilla Almond Breeze and added Vanilla Extract and Cinnamon to the batter.

Mmm... delicious waffles.

Au revoir!