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

Carbs Smarbs

Happy Sunday my lovelies. This weekend went by way TOO fast. I don't approve!! I'm not ready to end it yet. Maybe I'll stay up super late and drag it out as long as possible. Then again, if I do that I'll be a sleep deprived walking zombie all day at work tomorrow. Which of course will only make the time I spend at work drag on FOREVER! DILEMMA! I better give this more thought!

As soon as I walked downstairs this morning, I had a nice espresso, made with raspberry macadamia flavored coffee and a little sugar free creamer. GOOD!

After feeding my caffeine addition I decided to make a nice bowl of custard oats, minus the usual banana. I've decided to try something different for a few weeks to see if it helps with my weight loss slump. In addition to the NEW PLAN OF ATTACK, I also plan to pick just one carb with each meal. Thanks Janetha! ;) And by the way, this less carb/no carb business is HARD! BAH! The sacrifices we must do to get a smaller ass, I swear! HA!

• 1/2 cup Irish oats
• 1 tbs cracked wheat
• 1 tbs 5 grain cereal
• 1 cup vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1/2 cup water
• dash cinnamon
• dash pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp maple extract
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tbs sugar free cherry preserves

YUM! I devoured this. I didn't miss the banana at all. WHO KNEW! I'm sure it will be a different story when I make oats at work since I can't cook it on the stove or add eggs. SAD SIGH! I also had a cup of green tea with the oats. I'm really starting to enjoy all this tea drinking.


After my creamy feast I ran out to grab a few things from the grocery store. It turns out that shopping on Sunday instead of Friday after work isn't so bad at all. Less people, less traffic and I don't feel as rushed.

Lunch was spent with the Family as usual. I took the leftover spicy Asian broccoli slaw from yesterdays lunch and cooked up some Tofu to toss on top of it. The Tofu was simply seasoned with spray butter, salt, pepper and soy and browned in a frying pan. It was such and easy lunch. I tossed it together in just a few minutes and topped it all off with Sriracha, but of course! I also had a whole grain and flax pita on the side.


I hung out with the folks for most of the afternoon. Relaxing with some green tea, games and good conversation. It was a lovely afternoon.

When I came home at 5:30, my stomach was SCREAMING for food. ???? What the heck is that all about? I quickly made myself a little yogurt mess with Oikos, cinnamon, Natures Path Crunchy Maple Sunrise cereal (LOVE THIS STUFF) and a tablespoon of sugar free blueberry syrup. After my first bite, I immediately knew that I had come up with an amazing combo. I'M BRILLIANT! SO GOOD!


Tonight was my first official NO CARB dinner since I designed my new meals and workouts plan on Friday. I only plan to do this three times a week. I CAN DO THIS! Mahi-Mahi to the rescue. I seasoned four fillets with dill, creole, cayenne and garlic salt. I popped them into a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. While they were baking I sauteed some broccoli, carrots and sugar snap peas in pan with a drizzle of spray butter, cracked black pepper, sweet chili sauce and teriyaki sauce.


Okay, maybe this isn't so hard after all. This was freaking delicious! ;)

Time to veg out for a bit before I call it a night. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Only a few precious hours left.

Hugs!!
Ildie

I got my FIX

Today was such a feel good day. I slept in until 9:30 and woke up feeling refreshed and energized. I made myself a cup of raspberry chocolate flavored coffee and started on my long list of chores. I did 3 loads of laundry, emptied the dishwasher, washed the bed linens, cleaned the tub (HATE IT) and vacuumed up a bit. I love a clean house! After a while I worked up a good appetite. Twas breakfast time! I made open face english muffin sandwiches with egg whites, fat free american cheese and pan seared lean ham.


So tasty! I love breakfast sandwiches.

After I finished my tasty morning treat I finally, FINALLY got caught up on my blog reading. I won't even lie, I was WAY behind. FOR SHAME!

At 1:30 I left to visit the folks for the weekly Sunday shenanigans. As always I packed my own lunch to take with me. This may seem odd but I like having complete control over my eats. It helps me stay focused and on track. The only thing I was craving was oatmeal. So yeah, I had oats for lunch. And you know what? IT WAS GOOD!

Blueberry Banana Custard Oats

• 1/2 cup (almost 1/2 cup) Irish Oats
• dash of 5 grain cereal (maybe 2 tbs)
• 1 cup vanilla Almond Breeze
• dash cinnamon
• splenda to taste
• dash salt
• 1 banana, sliced
• 3 egg whites, whipped
• 1/4 cup frozen blueberries (stirred in at the very end)

Uhm, just as good as yesterday! Maybe even better. I think it actually gets better every time I make it. AMAZING!

After my lunch-breakfast we played a few rounds of Sorry and Yahtzee. Oh how we love our stupid, mindless little games. We always have a blast. ;)

When I got home I found nick in the hallway ripping the scary, dark brown paneling off of the side entrance walls. OMG! It is official. He can NOT be left alone (with tools) at home. Every time I come home he is "working" on something. HA!!! Just kidding. I love that crazy, ambitious man of mine. I just wish he would work on ONE project at a time.

For dinner Nick had the leftover burrito from the other day and I made myself a quick plate of goodness. Edamame seasoned with sea salt and a Morning Star Farms black bean burger on an Ezekiel bun. I topped the patty with spinach, hummus and spicy mustard.


SO GOOD! And SUPER low calorie, which means I get to have a yogurt treat later. And here is a visual of that sweet, SWEET creamy yogurt mess made with Oikos!


Yeah, that's right, I said OIKOS! Ann went out of her way and picked some up on Saturday. I LOVE YOU ANN!

• 4oz Oikos
• 1 banana, sliced
• 2 tbs Pom flax granola
• splash raspberry Codiak Cakes syrup (YUM)
• 1 tbs Chocolate PB

I HAD MY FIX and instantly felt better. Now I can go to sleep in peace. Have a great night!