Chicken Hater

Slow, forever dragging, stupid Mondays. You bother bother me! This past weekend flew by way too fast and I was not ready to deal with grownup reality this morning. The office felt like a frozen morgue again. As is typical for Mondays in our building. I should bring a fluffy blanket or a robe to work and wrap myself up in it while I type away at my desk. I wonder if they would get the hint? Would they even notice?

Moving on.....

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 9:00am.

A steamy bowl of the good stuff, naturally.

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup wheat bran
• 1 1/2 cup water
• tons of cinnamon
• dash apple pie spice
• dash sea salt
• Splenda to taste
• 2 tbs PB2
• Navitas Naturals cacao sweet nibs

While enjoying this tastiness, I found myself browsing hairstyle pictures online. Ann and I have hair appointments on March 5th and I'm not quite sure (other than coloring it dark) what route to go with the cut. I'm thinking DRASTIC! Ann always says I'm the rebel of the family. Perhaps I should prove it! My hair is VERY long (too damn long) right now and I find myself leaning towards the styles below. IF I can manage to grow enough balls by then and actually go through with it.


So uhm yeah... I'm sort of freaking out about it.

Our IT department was ALL over my office today. They decided to rewire the entire building (it's a nightmare) to avoid future issues and crashes etc... I would love to know why they chose to do this on a Monday instead of the weekend. I'm just saying. They're cutting into precious "find hairstyle" time!! Clearly work was on the slow side today.

LUNCH (meal #2) at 12:15pm.

I made a delicious veggie wrap with green and yellow bell peppers, spinach, bread & butter pickles and a wedge of light Laughing Cow swiss cheese. All rolled up into a honey wheat FlatOut.


I also had a Tanjelo and some more veggies on the side. I'm having one of those HUNGRY days again! BEWARE!


We decided not to leave the building for a break today. I spent it sipping green tea in my office while reading blogs and searching for more haircut ideas. I'm clearly going to obsess about this deeply until our appointment. It's a little Birthday treat to myself. I'll be turning the big 3-3 the day after the SCISSOR MADNESS. EEEEK!

SNACK (meal #3) at 4:15pm.

I indulged in a protein and carb packed yogurt mess. I have one more container of my beloved Oikos left at home. I could just cry. CRY!

• 4oz container of plain, 0% Oikos
• 1 banana, sliced
• sprinkle of Navitas Naturals cacao sweet nibs
• 1 tbs of Back to Nature chocolate delight granola

I thought 5:00pm would never arrive today. By the time it did I was already changed for the gym and ready to GO. YAY! (I was excited about getting to leave, not the idea of sweating for the next hour and a half).

WORKOUT!

Seated Chest Press (plate loaded)

60lb x 15

60lb x 15

50lb x 15

High Row (plate loaded)

100lb x 15 (3 sets)

Inclined Chest Press (plate loaded)

30lb x 15

30lb x 15

20lb x 15

Lateral Pulldown with straight bar (cable)

60lb x 15 (3 sets)

Seated Chest Press (cable)

50lb x 15 (3 sets)

Row Machine (cable)

60lb x 15

50lb x 15

50lb x 15

Rotary Torso Machine (cable)

30lb x 15 - per side (2 sets)

Elliptical Cross Trainer, 20 minutes, 1.75 miles, 252 calories

1-2 min., (level 6)

3-4 min., (level 7)

5-6 min., (level 8)

7-8 min., (level 9)

9-10 min., (level 10)

11-12 min., (level 8)

13-14 min., (level 10)

15-16 min., (level 8)

17-18 min., (level 10)

19-20 min., (level 8)

SNACK (meal #4) at 7:15pm.

I decided to try another one of the Jay Robb protein packets that I received last week. They haven't disappointed me yet.

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1 Tropical Dreamsickle flavored Jay Robb protein packet
• 2 cups spinach
• 1/2 cup frozen pineapple
• 1 banana
• 1 packet Splenda

So good, so green, so pretty, so delicious!

Nick was already chilling on the couch waiting on me to get home so we could watch more Dexter. The show is like crack! We were up until 1:00am last night watching it with blood shot eyes. I'm not even sure if I blinked during the last 30 minutes. I was tired as heck but I didn't want to miss anything. HA!

DINNER (meal #5) at 9:00pm.

I haven't cooked chicken in a few weeks. You see, Nick is a self declared chicken hater. I should clarify. He only hates it when it's not deep fried and dripping with grease. HOWEVER, I thought a chicken breast salad sounded really good tonight so he's just going to have to deal with it! ;)

I pan seared the chicken with Pam, black pepper, garlic powder, cayenne and Morrocan seasoning until golden and then popped them into the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 min! They came out juicy and perfect! I sliced the breasts into bite size pieces and lay them on a bed of spinach. I topped it all with cherry tomatoes, creamy avocado, sugar snap peas Kaia Foods sweet curry sunflower seeds and a drizzle of spray butter.


The salad was delicious! Nick enjoyed it too. Operation Chicken Hater, Annihilater is in full effect. The second phase shall commence sometime next week. Details to follow.

Alright my lovelies, time go hang with my other man (Dexter) now. Have a great night!

XO
Ildie

A momentous occasion!

Have Valentines Day my lovelies.

Double date Sushi last night was absolutely brilliant!


We don't go out to eat often so I savor these decadent little moments. The restaurant was overflowing with sushi loving dolled up couples! I'm so glad I made reservations! I ordered a green tea as soon as we sat down to warm up.


Nick and I went wild when ordering. We got their deluxe sushi dinner (5 rolls, 2 soups, 2 salads) AND ordered another "special" roll on top of that. SOOOO GOOD!


Spicy salmon...


Spicy crab...


Eel...


Philadelphia...


California...


Green hat... (deep fried salmon, white tuna, crab, cream cheese & avocado topped with tobiko, eel sauce and wasabi mayo)


I can't explain how it's even possible, but we finished every last bite. Oh Sushi, I adore you SO much! We let the food settle for a bit and spent a good hour chatting after dinner. Good times! ;)

After dinner we came home and cuddled on the couch while watching a "new to me show" (Dexter). I LOVE it!!! What a great premise and idea. I'm completely hooked! All in all it was a busy, long, fun, delicious and awesome day.

................

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 9:30am.

I was craving custard oats this morning. Naturally I went straight to work and made a creamy bowl of goodness.

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1/2 cup water
• Tons of cinnamon
• Dash apple pie spice
• Dash sea salt
• Splenda to taste
• 2 whipped egg whites (stirred in at the end and cooked for maybe 1 min)

Topped with cacao sweet nibs from Navitas Naturals and a tablespoon of superfruit preserves. Enjoyed with a nice hazelnut espresso with cream.


Enjoyed in my Cutie Pie bowl in honor of V'day, of course! ;)


I received a lovely package from Navitas Naturals earlier in the week to review and I haven't had a chance to post on it yet. I was so excited to receive these goodies! They were nice enough to send me a bag of dried mulberries, wakame flakes, acai powder, cacao sweet nibs and an adorable baby water bottle.


Here is a little info off of their website. (Navitas Naturals is proud to be a green business, supporting fair-trade policies and sustainable agriculture. Our power foods are certified organic, gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, raw, and certified kosher.)

The cacao nibs were crunchy with a mellow dark chocolate infused flavor and aroma. They paired perfectly with the hot oatmeal. I give them an 8 out of 10. I wish they melted more easily in the oatmeal though.


LUNCH (meal #2) at 1:00pm.

Lunch was spent at Mama and Papa Babushka's house this afternoon. I had a nice pile of sauteed veggies (broccoli, green beans, mushrooms & sugar snap peas), a Tilapia fillet and a small pile of spinach. All sprinkled with sprouted sweet curry sunflower seeds.


After lunch we partook in the usual battle of board games (we're all fiercely competitive!!) and chatted over coffee and green tea. Lovely.... Lovely....


We also discovered something AMAZING during our visit. Ann's very first little grey hair. HAHAHA! I told her I would post about this and she's going to kill me. I LOVE YOU ANN! Welcome to your 30's baby! ;)


My Mama yanked it right off her skull. While I was making sure to document this momentous occasion, she was making sure to make fun of my ONE wrinkle (next to my mouth due to my crooked smile, exactly where she is pointing on her face). HA! You little B$%#!


SNACK (meal #3) at 5:00pm.

When I got home I made a quick snack. A Fuji apple, two tablespoons of PB2 and a few pretzel rods.


Nick and I cozied up on the couch to watch more episodes of Dexter. I'm completely hooked on his sexy, crazy ass. LOVE! We watched three more episodes back to back. I swear it just keeps getting better and better.

DINNER (meal #4) at 8:00pm.

My Mama sent nick some deep fried chicken tenders and roasted potatoes for dinner. Naturally I was not interested in this grease laden goodness. I opted for a healthy burrito instead. I sauteed some green & yellow bell peppers and a small white onion in spray butter and taco seasoning. I loaded the veggies into a honey wheat FlatOut with a serving of Morning Star Farms grounds and a slice of provolone cheese. I seared the wrap for a few seconds on both sides to get it nice and toasty. Topped it with the rest of the pepper/onion mix, pineapple salsa, jalapeno slices and taco sauce.


Yeah, it tasted even better than it looked. SO GOOD! I estimate this at roughly 350 calories. Amazing right?

Well, I wont even lie about it. I'm going to wrap this up now I can watch even MORE Dexter. He's the most adorable murderer I've ever seen! I need more!!!

Enjoy the rest of your precious weekend hours.

HUGS!!
Ildie