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Posts Tagged ‘spinach’

Work in progress

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Hello, hello! Hope you all had a fantastic 4th o’ July weekend! Along with eating some great food, spending time with our families and shooting a few fireworks, JD and I spent the good part of our three days off getting stuff done in the girl’s nursery. My brother-in-law is an amazing painter, and offered to do the room for the low cost of a BBQ lunch. What a steal, right? So he and my sis — plus my nieces — came over Saturday to paint and hang out. Sarah brought over a huge bin of 0-3 month clothes, so we “awwed” our way through those, and I started the big job of washing everything, plus cutting tags off and laundering her new outfits. I think it was at least 5 loads, and I’m not even done yet! We are having two showers at the end of the month too, so I’m sure more dresses, onesies and footed PJ’s are on the way. She’ll be one well-dressed baby. :)

Did you get a sneak peak at the wall color in the picture? I absolutely love it. It goes beautifully with her bedding, and Terry did such a good job painting. There wasn’t a streak or bubble in sight.

I couldn’t get the best pictures since I didn’t have any natural light, but here’s another picture of the wall color. I’ll have to take some better ones in the daytime. I am absolutely in love with the birdhouse hanging in the corner! We are ordering a wall mural of a tree with birds flying around, and we thought this piece would be so cute with it.

We got the crib bedding washed and put on too. The toys and stuffed animals wanted to crash here for awhile until we find them a new pad. Ha ha!

I wish I could show you the wall art we made for her and hung over the changing table, but since it has her name on it, I’ll have to keep that piece a secret for a few more weeks. :)

The room is definitely a work in progress, but I’m so happy with the way it is turning out. I can’t wait to see it all finished!

It was back to work today, and the husband and I are exhausted after such a busy weekend. He fired up the grill for dinner, and I sauteed some fresh, organic spinach (good source of iron!) to go with our baja citrus chicken and sweet potato chips.

So good!

We took a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood after dinner. Tex was happy to get out and stretch his legs, as was his mom. :)

I’m off to finish cleaning up the kitchen and then it’s lights out for me. Hope you all have a great, healthy week!

Meg Makes It On Monday: Smoooothie

Monday, November 30th, 2009

So, I have a confession to make: I’m a pretty big bore when it comes to breakfast. Did you know this already? :)

If you keep up with my blog, you know I ♥ my yogurt bowls. About 99 percent of the time, my bag of eats that I take to work every day consists of: a banana, a Tupperware of Kashi GoLean cereal and a container of Chobani yogurt. It’s a great blend of protein and carbs and quick to put together when you stay in bed too long like I tend to do. But if variety is the spice of life, I think my a.m. meals need a big heaping spoon dash of salt! :)

So, I decided to be a bit of a copycat and try something I’ve seen on many blogs I read — a protein-packed smoothie. I was a bit hesitant — would thickish liquid truly fill me up? Would I be hungry 20 minutes later and attack the snack machine? Could I go a morning without my beloved Chobani? I’ve had smoothies before, but usually they were the chocolate variety that has a day’s worth of calories in, oh, a couple sips. :) But, no worries. My green-tinted shake kept my tummy full and snarky hunger monster in timeout until lunch. And I may or may not have snuck my favorite yogurt in the mix. :)

Here’s the magic potion:

Eight tablespoons organic Living Harvest Hemp Protein powder

Two more-brown-than-yellow bananas

Two cups Silk soy milk. Regular or Hemp milk could also be used.

Two handfuls of spinach -- couldn't even taste it!

One container Chobani plain yogurt -- old habits die hard. :)

Throw everything into a blender

Done!

A bubbly breakfast delight!

I actually split this into two containers, so I have an extra for tomorrow. Calories equal about 385 for 15 ounces. Delish!

Off to watch “Four Christmases.” I’m a big fan of Reese Witherspoon, so I hope she doesn’t disappoint. :)

What’s your favorite smoothie flavor?

‘It’s kind of like Eggs Benedict…’

Monday, November 30th, 2009

“…but without the sauce. And the English muffin.” That’s what my sweet husband proudly told me Saturday morning after presenting me with this breakfast (after I finished a 30-minute elliptical workout).

One hormone-free egg, piece of Ezekiel toast, leftover Thanksgiving turkey

Let’s forget there is also no Canadian bacon, which would be another main component of said recipe. But hey, when a handsome man makes you a meal, there’s no need to speak up. :) My “eggs benedict” was delicious, and the perfect start to a busy day, along with this half of a grapefruit.

I heart fruit.

JD and I had some important Christmas shopping to do for our three sweet nieces, and a tree to find and decorate! The store aisles were so congested with shoppers, it was hard to look at anything that was left on the shelves after Black Friday madness. We somehow still found some cool gifts for the girls, although the Zhu Zhu hamsters were long gone to other homes. :( What is it with these things?! I mean, it is cheap faux fur that moves. Anyone out there have little ones adding a Zhu to their wish list? Good luck finding one! :)

The perfect present hunt stirred up our appetites, so we headed to Logan’s (a big chain restaurant in our area) for a quick lunch — salad for me, nachos for JD.

Iceberg lettuce, shredded cheese, bit o' bacon bits, tomatoes, egg (I took the yolks out), and two grilled shrimp and veggie skewers. Dressing was bleu cheese on the side.

After refueling, we went out to find a Christmas tree — an artificial one, that is. :) Last year, we opted for three little trees instead of one big one, but this year, I had to have the real deal. Target had the perfect one for us, and we went right home to pull all our decorations out of the attic and decorate it. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas ’round here!

Yes, we have stockings for all our pets. Don't judge...

Makes me want to sing some carols! I love this time of year!

Apparently, our kitty does too! :)

Dinner was more leftover turkey and green bean casserole — all portioned and calorie calculated — and enjoyed in front of the tube and a beautifully lit tree. Happiness.

Sunday’s breakfast was more eggs…my staple on the weekends!

Two free-range eggs, scrambled, with a handful of fresh spinach.

I also had two pieces of Ezekiel toast — the perfect “scoop” for eggs. JD’s family had their annual reunion Sunday, so lunch was a big to-do with tons of food. Chicken fingers, turkey, stuffing, mac n cheese, pie, me oh my! Since I already had my big eating day on Friday, I tried to keep my plate light with small spoons of mostly veggies — green beans, sweet corn, and green and black-eyed peas. I did, however, have a little sample of the mac n cheese, and a two-bite sausage muffin. It was worth all 132 calories! Dessert was a plenty, but I left it off my plate. The muffin was the perfect meal ender all on its own.

When we got home, I did another session with Sassy Sarge. Only this time, I upped it to 40 minutes instead of 30. It was tough, per usual, and I can already tell my legs are going to be sore in the morning. I finished up my workout with two kinds of crunches, and a 20-minute cool down walk with JD and the pooch. Hopefully, that at least erased my muffin. Hee Hee.

Dinner was more leftovers — beef stew and sent-home sandwiches from today’s family lunch. I added spinach to this meal too — I’m trying to eat it up since the expiration date on the bag is fast approaching!

A few crunchy peppers on the side!

It’s getting waaayyy too late, so I guess I better head to bed. I hope everyone has a wonderful, healthy week!

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