Learning the Ropes

Hey there! I had a really busy weekend so I didn't have much time for blogging :) But sometimes it's good to get away from the computer and enjoy real life!!

I'm still a newbie when it comes to blogging, and as such, I'm learning as I go. I'm also making tons of "rookie" mistakes, such as....

...remembering to take pictures of the food prep, but not the finished product. Duh.

Yeah, this was for Thursday night's dinner. Contrary to appearances, we did not eat a bowl of marinade and 3 sliced avocados. We had Avocado Chimichurri Bruschetta from Vegetarian Times magazine. I think I forgot to take a picture because this is one of our favorite things to eat EVER! I can't even count how many times I've shared this recipe with others. Everyone who tries it LOVES it!! Oh well, I'll have to remember to take a pic next time!!

Another rookie mistake: going out to dinner, but forgetting to take pictures of the food. Double duh. I did remember to take one picture of my hubby enjoying our (shared) flight of beer and veggie calzone Friday night at Mews Tavern:

...but I forgot to change the setting on my camera. So the picture would, you know, come out and all. Silly blogger! And I forgot to take pictures of the rest of our food: sweet potato fries, veggie nachos, and (more) beer. Rest assured...it was all delicious!

I did remember to take a picture of the yummy new snack I picked up at Trader Joe's...

I looooooved this! I love seaweed rice crackers, dulse, arame , and wakame, so I was hoping I'd like these, too. And I did. I'll be buying more next time I'm at TJ's because they're only 99 cents - woo!

I also remembered to take a picture of my newest smoothie creation: Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry!

...but in my zeal to drink this baby, I forgot to add the frozen banana. I was like, WOW, this is really tart. Then I saw my bag of frozen bananas on the counter. Tee hee. I added the frozen banana and it was So.Much.Better! LOL This is what happens when you don't sleep through the night for 2 years.

Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry Smoothie
Makes 1 large serving / 2 small servings

1 cup frozen strawberries
1 large frozen banana
1 1/2 cups water
1 heaping tablespoon raw cacao powder
1 heaping tablespoon raw almond butter
5-6 drops liquid chocolate stevia, or to taste
5-6 ice cubes, to taste

Blend on high until smooth!

Saturday was a busy day with our nephew's birthday party during the early afternoon, and yard work/mowing the lawn in the late afternoon. My hubby and I weren't all that hungry at dinner time, so we decided to just get cleaned up and eat after we put our son to bed. Around 8 pm, we settled in to watch the Red Sox-Yankees baseball game and eat some Amy's frozen meals - I had the Brown Rice, Black-Eyed Peas, & Veggies Bowl, and my hubby had the Black Bean Vegetable Enchiladas. We also noshed on some baby carrots, popcorn, and wasabi peas. We'd both run 5 miles Saturday morning and also each spent 1 hour mowing our lawn (we split it - he did the front, I did the back - but we have a HUGE lawn so it takes 2 hours!!), so we were hungry!

Sunday was a nice, lazy day around the house after church in the morning. Since I had time to cook, I decided to make something new, the Peanut-Lime Tempeh Bowl out of Appetite for Reduction. This is a bowl consisting of cooked quinoa, steamed broccoli, steamed zucchini, shredded raw carrots, shredded cucumber, shredded romaine lettuce, cilantro, and Peanut-Lime Dragon Dressing. I preshredded the carrots and cucumber earlier in the day and stuck them in the fridge...which is why I was halfway through eating dinner when I realized I had forgotten them. *Sigh.*

At least our lunch leftovers had the carrots and cucumber. Good thing, because they made it extra yummy!

I think I'm back on track today. After yoga, I remembered to take a picture of my morning juice:

Mmmm, this may have been my best yet! This one contained a head of organic romaine lettuce, carrots, celery, cucumber, zucchini, ginger, and lemon juice. Definitely NOT hard core...this is a juice even a juice newbie would enjoy!

Later I enjoyed a frosty, delicious Carrot-Ginger Smoothie:

Notice no greens in the carrot smoothie...I was completely out of fresh greens :( Happily, I went grocery shopping this morning so I'm "back in the green!"

Tonight's dinner is an oldie but goodie...a raw soup and salad combo that I've been making for a couple of years now. I love to have raw soup and salad for dinner on Mondays...combined with my morning yoga and juice, it just feels like a nice way to start the week fresh. Especially after a weekend full of beer, fries, nachos, and calzones :) But, hey, I'm a big believer in balance - I can enjoy my occasional beer and pub food because I also have my juices, raw soups, and big salads. Everything in moderation!