Cauliflower Power...

Little Miss. Sneaky Sunshine is hiding from me again. It's another grey, damp and gloomy day here in fabulous and exciting Ohio. I'm stuck inside with no plans, no tasks and no real ambition to do much of anything. On one had this is magnificent. On the other hand, I'm also trapped with Monster Hunter.

(proof.... he had no idea I was taking pictures.... I'm so sneaky....)


The Mr. has been playing it nonstop. Granted that I play on the computer all day, but somehow, that's just different. You guys feel me right? Watching him all day is like a slow and agonizing eternity spent in sword yielding hell. Someone come and rescue me. Take me away from all of this senseless dragon murder. HA!

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 11:00am. (I slept in and LOVED it!!)

I had the tastiest little breakfast wrap. I stuffed a multi grain FlatOut with spinach, sprouts, 4 egg whites (seasoned with S+P), hummus and Sriracha. Seriously messy and seriously delicious.


Enjoyed with my new favorite coffee, Archer Farms coconut macaroon. It's AMAZING people. Go get some!


And yes, it was a doggy-dog kind of day. This cup just seemed perfect. Makes me laugh every time I drink out of it. I don't even know why I got it. I'm a cat person. I haven't owned a dog since I was like 6. HA! ????

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

I had an eggplant sandwich on toasted wheat bread with mozarella and spinach. On the side I had some acorn squash, sugar snap peas and tomatoes.


Delicious! Yeah!

The rest of my afternoon was spent being lazy. Lounging on the couch. Reading blogs. Playing on Facebook. Sipping on way too many cup of delicious coffee. You know, really serious and important business! ;)

SNACK (meal #3) at 6:00pm.

I was craving something sweet and this strawberry Dannon yogurt was on its last leg. I HAD TO RESCUE IT! Enjoyed with banana slices and a sprinkle of Udi's granola and cinnamon.


DINNER (meal #4) at 8:30pm.

NEW TO ME RECIPE! I came across this in BlogLand and immediately became intrigued. Mock pizza crust made with cauliflower and fat free Mozarella cheese? YES PLEASE!

The steps seemed easy enough. Add a head of raw cauliflower into the food processor using the shredder blade. It should somewhat resemble the size of "rice". Microwave the shredded cauliflower (I covered my bowl with a barely damp paper towel) for 5 minutes. Stir with 1 cup of fat free Mozarella cheese, 1 egg, one wedge of light Laughing Cow Cheese and season with garlic salt, pepper, Italian seasoning blend and oregano.

I sprayed a cookie sheet with Pam and formed the mixture into a "pizza crust". I baked it at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Once the crust looked nice and golden, I topped it with a bit of Bertolli Arrabbiata red sauce mixed with tomato paste, onion, yellow, orange and red tomato slices, eggplant, green olives and acorn squash. I topped it all with a bit more Mozarella, red pepper flakes and Parmesan. I popped it back into the oven for maybe 10 more minutes. Just until everything heated through and cheese got nice and bubbly. (Sorry for the bad pictures. Nighttime lighting in the house sucks a whole lot...)


AHHHHHHHH! SUPER TASTY! My life is complete now. I can have "pretend" pizza again. With no guilt. Granted the texture and flavor wasn't ANYTHING like real pizza, but it was damn delicious! I love you BlogLand. I love you so much!

We're about to watch Red Cliff. I love Asian movies and I love John Woo. This one looks amazing. Very visual. Have a great night. It's back to the grind tomorrow. BAH!

XOXO
Ildie

The Need to Feed....

No "office" or "work" talk today. I promise.

Let's instead discuss my foodie desires. Also known as my uncontrollable NEED TO FEED. AHHH!!! I'm having one of those very tricky to control "hungry" days. I've kept it at bay with lots of water, coffee and deep meditative breathing. HA! DISASTER AVERTED for now! DA DA DAAAA... I can't be messing around and slacking! Tomorrow morning I partake in my weekly battle with Mr. Scale. No stuffing of the face will be allowed!!

It all started innocently enough with a tasty bowl of dark cocoa oats.

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

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1 tbs unsweetened dark cocoa
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• dash pumpkin pie spice
• pinch salt
• (Microwaved and topped with 1 tbs ground flax, 2 tbs sugar free raspberry preserves (Smucker's) and 1 tbs Better N' Peanut Butter.)

I inhaled this. There was now slow savoring of each bite going on this morning. NOPE, not today. And when it was all gone, I starred at the caked on remnants of the dried on oatmeal in horror. I wanted more. MORE! I immediately downed a 24oz bottle of water and sipped on some coffee! It helped mask the cravings but they never truly went away. I barely hung on until lunchtime.

LUNCH (meal #2) at 12:30pm.

I dove into my lunch bag like a maniac. Like a rabid animal I picked at the zipper, desperately trying to get at the goods inside! I rolled my tasty treat together and devoured it with a smile. Mmmm. Delicious eggy perfection!

I had breakfast wrap in a honey wheat Flat out with 5 egg whites + spinach + Sriracha.


On the side I enjoyed a few slices of the sweetest cantaloupe ever! It was like honey. SO so good!


This kept me full, but for HOW LONG was the question. I distracted my brain with a break away from the office with sis-sis (Annie-Boo). We went to the park and chatted. It was nice to get away. 10 hours at the office yesterday with no break was WAY TOO LONG! Oops, I forgot, NO OFFICE TALK ALLOWED! I apologize!

I may or may not have been caught clapping while giggling as I prepped my afternoon snack. :-O

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

• Plain Dannon Greek Yogurt
• 1 Braeburn apple
• Udi's vanilla granola
• Cinnamon

Plain Greek Yogurt makes me so happy. Sometimes you'll catch me eating a flavored one, however, plain will always have my heart.

After work it was off the gym. I was able to leave work ON time. YAY!

WORKOUT!

Tricep pulldown (cable with straight bar)
90lb x 8
80lb x 15
70lb x 15
70lb x 15
(Plie Squat with a 12.5lb dumbbell)
Bicep Curls (barbell)
45lb x 8
40lb x 15
35lb x 15
35lb x 15
(Plie Squat with a 12.5lb dumbbell)
Skull Crusher (barbell)
25lb x 15 (3 sets)
(Plie Squat with a 12.5lb dumbbell) (and THIS is the moment where I pulled something in my inner thigh va-jay-jay area. IT HURT)
21's (barbell)
25lb x 21 (3 sets)
Tricep Extension (dumbbell)
12.5lb x 15 (3 sets)
Hammer Curls (dumbbell)
15lb x 15
15lb x 15
12.5lb x 15
Elliptical Cross Trainer
30 minutes, 2.67 miles, Intervals at levels 6 & 8

Total time at the gym = 1:13
Max HR = 164
Average HR = 136
Total Calories burned = 571

Like I said above, I pulled something "delicate" while doing a squat. NO idea how it happened. I do squats all the time. I guess sometimes it takes nothing at all to easily hurt yourself. I walked around for a bit and it got a little better. Magically I was still able to get on the elliptical, which made me happy since I missed my workout yesterday. Tomorrow is a rest day and hopefully I'll be back to 100% by Saturday.

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

I refueled with a simple shake when I got home to feed my starving little muscles. 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze + 1 scoop chocolate peanut butter whey protein + 1 tbs sugar free chocolae Torani syrup + dash cinnamon + ice.


Nick just made a "top secret" phone call upstairs to GameStop. I have NO idea what is going on but he just ran out to "pick something up". PEOPLE... I am seriously praying that it's not a new video game which will haunt me for the next few weeks to come. I'm still dealing with the daily trauma of Call Of Duty:Modern Warfare 2. I HOPE HE WENT TO GET A BOARD GAME INSTEAD. I love board games. Do they even sell board games? (I'm scared) Video games are such life and soul sucking entertainment. HAHAHA!

And now we are CURRENT! While Nick is out, I'm going to sneak in a bath and start on dinner. Be back in a FLASH!
...............................................

Aaaaaaaaaand I'm back. So is Nick. AHHHHH! That crazy sexy man of mine went and got a WII. You know, cuz we didn't already have enough electronic "toys" in the house.


Now don't get me wrong, this is exciting because they make a lot of fun games for the WII. ONES EVEN I WOULD PLAY! However, this is also extremely scary because he picked it up for a specific game that he is obsessed with. It's not even out yet!!! And you can BET that when it does come out, I will get the MAD PLEASURE of watching him play it for hours upon hours on his down time. HA! MEN!!!!!!!!

DINNER (meal #5) at 9:30pm.

It was a quick one. I had a veggie burger (Morning Star Farms black bean burger + Ezekiel whole wheat wun + FF Miracle Whip + bread & butter pickles + spinach) and a small side salad (spinach + bread & butter pickles + garlic & sea salt sunflower seeds).


I also had a SUPER tasty bowl of sweet pineapple and cantaloupe for dessert.


Yum Yummers!!!

Time to go play with the WII. The Mr. is getting all sorts of into it. He's currently yelling at the television and waving a "sword" around. In a way, men are like kids, with money, real cars and MORE toys. If he reads this I'm going to get it!! HA! :)

Tomorrow morning is weigh in (AKA Scale Wars). Wish me luck with Mr. Scale. I'm not sure how it'll go. This week has been a bit "iffy".

XOXO
Ildie

Rocky, you so Bossy

With a wicked smile
Sassy mad style
I stepped on Mr. Scale
I WILL PREVAIL
I lost the pound I gained
Reputation regained
I win again, call me Rocky
Ayeo Adrian, I'm feelin bossy!

HAHAHA! I little tribute to the ongoing scale wars that I'm winning. TAKE THAT!!! Current weight loss remains at 46.8 pounds total.

Friday is here. Finally!! I can't wait to get the weekend started!

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 9:15am.

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp apple pie spice
• pinch salt
• Splenda to taste
• (Microwaved and topped with ground flax, 2 tbs sugar free cherry preserves, 1 tbs Better N' Peanut Butter and one headless sugar free Peeps chick)

Hello there little chicketty.


CHOMP!


Delicious!


And then it happened, one of my coworkers called me "thin". Though I HIGHLY prefer the word healthy, I gladly accepted her clearly brilliant and accurate assessment. HA! Feelin good, feelin good! I'm all sorts of smiles today.

LUNCH (meal #2) at 12:20pm.

I whipped up a quick egg white scramble last night and brought it to work today. I stuffed into a whole grain and flax FlatOut with some spinach, a wedge of light Swiss Laughing Cow Cheese and a drizzle of Sriracha. Delicious and jam packed with protein. Had me full for hours.


I managed to get all of my grocery shopping done on my lunch break today. Though sunny, it was still in the 30's which meant that I could keep all of the food in my trunk without having to worry about it until I got home. I usually spend a fortune on groceries. I guess I have exquisite taste? Last week I managed to buckle down and only spent $43. That is INSANE for me! Did I manage to pull it off again? NOPE! I spent $78. Trust me, this is still stellar for me! I was blowing $100 every single week without exception there for a while. I'm finally starting to pay more attention to what I've got at home, rotting in my cupboards and my freezer. I'm also making better choices at the store. HEY, I NEED VACATION MONEY!

SNACK (meal #3) at 4:00pm.

I indulged in a sweet little treat today instead of my usual yogurt mess. First of all, I had a second cup of coffee. I'M SUCH A REBEL! Hey, it's Friday. I'm allowed a treat! I've been a GOOD GIRL (mostly)!!


I also devoured a tasty raw mint chip macaroon that I received from Emmy's Organics a few days ago to sample. Holy my goodness was this good! Minty, fresh, subtly sweet with great dense texture and coconut flavor. I love coconuts so much! This tasty little bite was vegan, raw and gluten free.

Thanks Emmy's! I loved it! This gets a 10 out of 10! :)

And finally to top it all off, I devoured (murdered) another little chick and took the rest of my supplements for the day. Quite the "fulfilling" line of goodies no? CLEARLY not as nutritious as my afternoon snacks usually are but I just felt like having a sweet little treat.


After work I braved the rush hour block party and snailed home. Put my groceries away and realized I had a lovely package waiting for me from Udi's. The lovely Heather sent me 4 bags of their fantastic granolas to sample.


I won't even lie, I was looking VERY forward to this package and I can't WAIT to dig in.

I received a bag of Vanilla granola,

Cranberry granola,

Original granola,

and Au Naturel granola.

They all sound delicious and are dairy, soy, gluten and egg free. All are made with thick-cut rolled oats and wild flower honey. Divine! Thanks Heather! ;)

As soon as I managed to finally sit and relax for a bit, Nick and I instantly started discussing vacation again. We've got one thing on the brain and one thing only. NO, not THAT you pervs!!! A BREAK AWAY FROM WORK AND LIFE! We both need it! I think I need it more than he does. I'm very delicate, you see. HA!

We're now pondering over Outer Banks, NC. You can rent a house at a reasonable rate ON the beach AND I would have access to a full kitchen all week. WIN-WIN! The final decision is still a work in progress though. I just like talking about it. CAN YOU TELL!?

DINNER (meal #4) at 9:00pm.

I picked up a head of cabbage at the store today and I just knew that I had to include it in tonight's dinner. I love cabbage! I decided to make a veggie loaded chicken stir fry.

• 1/2 head of cabbage, chopped fine
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into thin rounds
• Broccoli
• Green pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 tbs hot Thai chili paste
• 2 tbs Teriyaki sauce
• 2 tbs Soy sauce
• 1 tbs Fish sauce
• Fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 tbs Better N' Peanut Butter
• 5 ounce chicken breast cut into small strips

I sauteed the above in my biggest pan until everything got nice and tender. While the goodies were simmering away, I also cooked up some Thai Rice Noodles. Once everything was done I tossed it all together and topped it with a bit of teriyaki sunflower seeds for some crunch. I didn't have sesame seeds or regular nuts so I improvised. It was amazing!


Now it's time for a bit of a snack (AKA Meal #5) I'm feelin snacky!

some tea....


Some Newman's Own Organic salted pretzel sticks....


And rest and relaxation.... I got a LOT going on tomorrow.

1. Laundry
2. Clean house up a bit (it's not bad)
3. Gym
4. Help Ann organize and arrange items in her new apartment (I LOVE DECORATING)
5. Cooking something tasty for lunch
6. POSSIBLY some baking... NOT SURE YET! I ALWAYS BURN STUFF! (This might not happen till Sunday!!)
7. Dinner out for a friends "BIG 30th" Birthday (Middle Eastern food, I can't wait!)

Yep, that about wraps it up. WHEW, this has been a long post, no?

Questions:

1. Are you planning a trip anywhere this year? Do you go crazy with the planning and the details like I do?

2. Have any low calorie, healthy baking recipes to share? Be it cookies or granola bars. DO SHARE! SIMPLE BEING KEY HERE. I AM NOT A BAKER!

XOXO
Ildie

I LOVE FRIDAYS!