Monthly Archives: June 2012

Jun 28 2012

Black Bean Burgers

Posted on by

I accomplished another one of my June goals, guys. Look at me go! That’s my second in a week.

This time, I decided to try out a new recipe. Now, I’ve always liked black bean burgers. They’re a nice alternative to meat if you’re not into that kinda thing (which I am, but I do like my options). I had a really delicious black bean burger at a local cafe last week, and I couldn’t get it out of my mind.

So I went searching for a recipe. I wanted needed to make my own.

I used this recipe from The Foodie Physician blog for inspiration, but ended up changing quite a few of the measurements and dropping some of the ingredients. Here’s my version:

Black Bean Burgers
1/2 cup quinoa
1 teasespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 egg
2/3 cup cooked corn (I used canned)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 1/2 teasespoon cumin
1 cup rolled oats, ground up

Bring one cup of water to a boil, and then add the quinoa. Let it cook and absorb all of the water and then take it off of the burner. While that’s happening, pour one and a half cans of black beans into a bowl and mash it all up into a paste (that’s an arm workout, FYI).

Sautee the garlic in the olive oil (I used extra virgin), and then dump that into the black bean paste. Mash that up some more, for good measure. Then throw in the remaining half can of black beans. Mash again. Then add in the tomato paste, egg, corn, cilantro, and cumin.

Then guess what? You’re going to stir it up. The next two things to go in the bowl are the cooked quinoa and the ground up oats. Then stir some more, and shape the concoction into six (monstrous) patties.

I stuck them in the fridge for two hours, and then baked them in the oven at 400 degrees F. Since I made 6 large burgers instead of 8 or 10 smaller ones, these needed more time than I originally planned. But I ended up baking them for 15 minutes, flipped them, and went for another 15. They turned out well … and really held together better than any other burger I’ve attemped. I recommend giving this recipe I try :)

After I made them, I realized I didn’t have any hamburger buns/english muffins to put the patties in (whoops!), so I compromised.

I put a poached egg on one:

And I crumbled leftovers into a tortilla with jalapeno Greek yogurt dip and cheese (this was SO GOOD):

Yayyyyy for accomplishing goals! I’m kicking June’s butt ;) Have a wonderful Thursday!

Jun 26 2012

All Over The Place

Posted on by

Hi!

You are about to feast (see what I did there?) your eyes on another What I Ate Wednesday. Lucky you, right? :)

This month, the lovely Jenn’s theme is healthy snacks. I actually remembered to take pictures of snacks this week. And a whole bunch of other things I’ve eaten since Sunday, too. So this week’s WIAW isn’t focusing on one day of food. No, this post is all over the place. Here we go!

Chicken breast + roasted veggies + peanut butter toast, in front of last week’s episode of Teen Mom (can’t STAND Farrah):

A really gross photo of a sweet potato with peanut butter + tuna salad (made with Greek yogurt, of course):

Egg white oatmeal + chocolate protein powder + mango/berries:

Salmon fillet + roasted veggies, in front of Easy A (great movie, LOVE Emma Stone):

A whole wheat tortilla containing two eggs + chia seeds + cheese + lots and lots of pepper + turkey, with a banana + peanut butter:

A (very ugly) microwave egg puff, containing two eggs + chia seeds + lots of hot sauce (like, I drank 3 glasses of water after):

And the snacks! In the mix: carrots + jalapeno Greek yogurt dip (new obsession), carrot cake granola (!!!), dried mango slices, pistachios, and a white chocolate frappucino with raspberry syrup … which was delicious.

Make sure you head over to Peas and Crayons to see some other wonderful dishes! Enjoy your Wednesday!

Jun 25 2012

I Did It

Posted on by

Happy Monday! Now, I don’t ever usually go into Monday with a cheerful attitude …

but I’m still smiling after accomplishing one of my June goals this weekend.

I ran 5K on the treadmill!

It wasn’t that fast, but getting this done was a big deal for me. I’ve never really enjoyed running. Give me a stationary bike and I’ll pedal until the cows come home … but running? Gross.

But now, ladies and gentleman, I think I’ve found something I like. Love, even :)

I can’t wait to do another one!

Jun 23 2012

What’s This?

Posted on by

… a blog post? On a Saturday? I don’t know if I’ve ever posted on a weekend.

But I suppose there’s a first time for everything, right?!

I fell off the blogging grid a little bit over the last couple of days. Life has been crazy. I haven’t taken a proper lunch break most of the week. I’ve been sleeping less. I had a weird throat thing going on (not good when you talk for a living!). I haven’t been to the gym since Friday.

Wah, wah, wah. I’m such a complainer ;)

I haven’t been living by the whole “my body is a temple” motto. Now, I don’t ever say that phrase. But when you think about it, I really do try to live that way. I tend to eat as healthfully as possible – but I haven’t been on my game this week. Not that I don’t typically indulge (and think it’s important that you should!), I just let convenience get in the way over the last several days. And I may have celebrated kicking ass at work on Thursday by having too many beers. Then this happened last night:

That, my friends, is heaven butter chicken poutine. It’s what dreams are made of. I shared that appetizer with a friend at dinner. Genius (and yes, I said appetizer … I ate a meal after that).

Needless to say, this week hasn’t been the healthiest for me. And I am not saying I regret it. I enjoyed every bite and every sip of everything. But my body is feeling a little bit … bleck. And I know that comes from taking a week off from the gym, too. So I’m turning things around today! I’m going for a run and it’s going to feel so good. Ever since I read Tina’s post this week on the return of DOMS in her life, I’ve been craving that “hurt so good” feeling.

So, here’s to a healthier day! I have dinner plans and drink plans tonight, but I’m going to get myself to the gym today since I am finally free of my cold and am well rested after going to bed early last night.

Baby steps ;)

I can’t wait to *feel* lighter after working out. I’ve missed it!

Jun 20 2012

My Weight In Fruit

Posted on by

Hey guys! It’s Wednesday, thank the freakin’ heavens. I’m ready for the week to be over. I still have a lot to get accomplished at work before Friday, but I’m totally in denial about the work load. If I pretend like I don’t have to do it, it’s like it doesn’t really exist … right? ;)

Another rendition of What I Ate Wednesday is a welcome distraction though. Thanks to Jenn for hosting this shindig!

This month’s theme is healthy snacking. Something I failed at on Monday. Big time. You’ll see.

Breakfast:

I had oodles of fruit salad left from my birthday BBQ on the weekend, and knew I needed to have some to prevent sugar withdrawls so it wouldn’t go bad. I had a big pile of it along with a breakfast wrap. Inside that roma tomato tortilla (which I bought at Superstore, some of you have been asking) is two eggs and some cheese.

Lunch:

I also had leftover burgers from Saturday, so that played a part in Monday’s lunch. I downed a burger with carrots, grapes, and a bit of potato salad (more leftovers). Super simple, super tasty.

Snack #1: I had an unpictured piece of chocolate ice cream cake. Another piece of leftover food from Saturday, and unhealthy snack number one.

Snack #2: I had errands to run after work, so was starving by the time I finally got home. I definitely grabbed another burger from the fridge and ate it, sans bun. Cold. Unhealthy snack number two.

Supper:

While I may have had two unhealthy snacks on Monday, I did seem to eat my weight in fruit. I added more fruit to my supper, in the form of toppings on (not so) overnight oats. I mixed together mango/orange juice, Greek yogurt, chia seeds, and oats together … let them chill for a little while in the fridge and then dumped as much fruit on top as I possibly could.

And there you go! Not the healthiest example when it comes to snacking … but the rest of this week will be much more balanced. Indulging keeps life interesting :)

Enjoy your day!

Jun 19 2012

Talking To Myself In The Mirror

Posted on by

It’s been six weeks since I took the training to become a Zumba instructor, and I have to be honest … I’m not where I want to be with it.

I had pictured myself teaching by now. I really wanted to be teaching by now. The course was expensive. It was nine hours of pretty hard work. I had to drive two hours for it. And, most importantly of all, I LOVE ZUMBA AND WANT TO TEACH IT.

Source 

But life has been getting in the way, unfortunately. I am nowhere near being able to teach yet. My schedule has been quite packed, and I haven’t allowed much time to work on the dances. I’ve made a few attempts, but it’s rare I have enough time to seriously consider the materials and absorb what I’m doing.

I have been making contact with gyms in town, and actually hope to meet with a fitness class coordinator at a senior’s fitness centre in a couple of weeks. So that’s promising. Originally, I wanted to have my first set of choreography ready for June 1st. Obviously that didn’t happen. Now, I think I need to line up a couple of classes and give myself a deadline in order to get my butt in gear. I’ll get there. I know I will :) it’s just going to take longer than I thought.

This post is pretty much a way to reassure myself that it’s okay that I haven’t started teaching yet. Sometimes I freak myself out and get down on myself for not accomplishing something the way I planned. I’m trying to get better at that. This is the blog version of talking to myself in the mirror and psyching myself up ;) don’t pretend you don’t do that. I do it allllll the time. Plus, I thought some of you might be wondering what the Zumba status was. I haven’t talked about it in a little while.

Now you know!

On a final (and completely unrelated and trivial) note, I am no longer watching The Bachelorette. Emily, you bore me to tears.

Source 

I’ll be back next season :) Enjoy your day!

Jun 18 2012

I’m 22!

Posted on by

I had an absolutely wonderful weekend. It was my birthday yesterday, and while I’m not usually one of those people that declares a “birthday week” or has several parties … I did celebrate for most of the weekend. And if calories mean happiness, then my life was like Disneyland, Christmas, and the last day of school combined ;) I will say that I spent Saturday evening with the greatest group of friends that one could possibly have. If my 22nd year is anything like Saturday night … it’s going to be my best year yet! And it was so great to be able to celebrate my birthday and Father’s Day all rolled into one yesterday, too. Even though I may have had the worst hangover of my life. Whoopsie.

Pictures are usually better than me blabbing, so here’s some of the snapshots from the weekend.

Friday night dinner, where the overindulging began. I was okay with it :)  Broccoli cheese soup in a bread bowl + spinach dip/pita chips + cookie dough cheesecake. Yum.

Some parts of Saturday … I won’t lie, not a lot of photos were taken because I usually had a drink in my hand. I had about 15 friends over to celebrate my birthday (and my friend’s birthday, which is tomorrow). We barbequed burgers, and had loads of salads, dips, and appys. We even had an ice cream cake sitting in the freezer AND WE FORGOT ABOUT IT. I know. I don’t how that happened. I made my go-to dish, fruit salad. One of my best friends made Jello shots. God love her.

My headache and I went out to my parent’s house yesterday for a birthday/Father’s Day dinner. Steaks + roasted veggies + a cake my sister made using one of Katie’s recipes (I’m not sure which one, sorry). Plus presents … which included a Costco membership and a Scentsy burner! I’m spoiled :)

That’s just a tiny little glimpse into a truly fantastic weekend. I’m very lucky to have the people in my life that I do. I have a feeling this year is going to be freakin’ awesome.

How did you spend you weekend?!

Jun 15 2012

Like Monica Geller

Posted on by

Source 

I have looked like that most nights this week. I’ve never cleaned so much in my entire life. I even bought new rubber gloves. I don’t wear rubber gloves. But I did several nights this week, and it feels goooooood to have my apartment this sparkling clean. I like to call it spring cleaning, several weeks late. Jeez, it feels great. I know it’s impossible but I swear I can see my reflection in my shower’s white walls.

On a related note, how great does it feel to take a shower right after it gets cleaned?  A simple pleasure.

*****

I got my giveaway prize from Julie’s blog in the mail yesterday! I love this Oiselle shirt. I actually tore open the envelope in the elevator, and tried it on as soon as I walked in the front door.

It says “Fa – a long, long way to run”. I wish I could wear it today … but it’s not really office wear ;)

*****

I have a massage appointment after work today. It’s going to feel awesome, since I’ve been hitting the free weights hard lately. My muscles need some lovin’, especially after my Wednesday morning yoga session. I can’t wait! After my (60 minute!) appointment, I have dinner plans with a friend … and then we’re going to pick up all of the groceries for the BBQ I’m hosting tomorrow night. As part of my excessive Monica Geller cleaning spree this week, I even shined up this bad boy in preparation. You shoulda seen it before … it had the potential to cause nightmares.

Good as new!

*****

As I’ve mentioned before, I am a Subway FANATIC. I’ve been toying with the idea of trying their salads for a long time (I’ve honestly been deliberating … I make my Subway choices really carefully) and finally decided to get one last night. I worked until 7:30, so the last thing I wanted to do was cook.

Source

I turned a 6 inch roasted chicken breast into a salad, with all of the veggies (of course!). My verdict? Awesome! I mean, a little pricey … but Subway isn’t the cheapest to begin with. I’ll definitely have this again though. And let’s face it, probably soon. I eat Subway far more than I should.

Have you ever tried a Subway salad? What veggies do you get on your sub? I always say “all of the above!” and the sandwich maker looks at me like a crazy person. Probably because I’m so enthusiastic about my greens ;)

Jun 14 2012

Whazzzup?!

Posted on by

Remember the “Whazzzup?!” Budweiser commercials? Yeah, my coworkers and I watched them at work yesterday morning. And I laughed just as hard as the first time I saw them. It was a nice trip down pop culture memory lane ;)

Anyway, there isn’t a lot going on in my life this week … therefore, I don’t have a lot to blog about. I’m pretty distracted by work and my upcoming birthday celebration, so I feel like my attention span is so far gone. It happens. So I thought I’d check in and let you all know whazzzup with me (see what I did there?).

1. I can’t stop eating cherries. I bought a big bag of them on Monday (you may have seen them in my latest WIAW post). I rinsed them off and filled my kitchen table fruit bowl with them. It’s impossible to walk through the kitchen without grabbing a handful. No complaints. It’s fruit, so that’s good right?!

2. I have slightly less time for my Wednesday morning workouts, because instead of having to be at work at 8:30 … I go get my hairstyled at 8AM. It’s kind of a nice perk of my job. I look forward to that one day a week where I don’t have to deal with my blonde mop. It’s getting long! Like way past my shoulders. Aaaaand I’m getting off topic. Wednesday morning workouts. They’re shorter than the rest, so sometimes I’ll stay home and do a DVD instead. Yesterday I chose Jillian Michael’s Yoga Meltdown.  My shoulders were screamin’ at me by the time the DVD was done. It may have been because I did some downward dogs and dolphins in front of the TV Tuesday night, but I don’t know. Whatever the reason, my shoulders know what’s up now.

Source (original)

3. I’ve always been a country music fan, but there’s something about summertime that reinforces my love. I don’t know what it is! It happens to me every year. This song (by Florida Georgia Line) in particular isso good. I can’t stop listening to it. I was in the office by myself on Monday … I listed to it on repeat for hours. I bet I listened to it 60+ times. Seriously.

Okay. That’s all you get today … sorry for the lack of quality posts :( but I promise I have a couple of good ones planned for next week. Here’s hoping today goes by quickly. Come onnnnnnnn Friday!

Jun 12 2012

Sometimes A Girl Just Wants A Sandwich

Posted on by

Hi there! It’s time for another edition of What I Ate Wednesday, hosted by the wonderful Jenn at Peas and Crayons. This month is all about sensible snacking … and while I’m not a huge snacker, one of my meals on Monday (the day I’m featuring in today’s post) felt like one giant snack fest.

Monday’s breakfast:

I tried something new! I guess I could count this as achieving one of my goals for June, but it’s not much of a recipe, so I’m not sure if I will or not. I made egg white oats, after my sister raved about it to me on the weekend. I cooked 1/2 cup of oats (with just over 1 cup of water) in the microwave, and then stirred in 2 egg whites before microwaving for another 45 seconds. Then I stirred in a spoonful of chocolate protein powder, and kah blam, a protein packed breakfast. And so voluminous with the egg whites in there! This will be making regular appearances. I had it on Tuesday, too :)

Monday’s lunch:

This is the snacky meal I mentioned earlier. I wanted so many different things, so I just piled ‘em all onto one plate. I microwaved a sweet potato, and since I couldn’t decided toppings, I covered one half with plain Greek yogurt and the other half with crunchy peanut butter (I’m so glad I finally decided to try that combo one day). With that, I had a handful of carrots with this fabulous new Greek yogurt dip I found, and some cherries. I always know summer has officially arrived when I can start buying cherries again!

Monday’s supper:

I had half of a spaghetti squash sitting in my fridge, and that was the plan for dinner. But … sometimes a girl just wants a sandwich. And that’s what this girl was craving for dinner when she walked in the door after work. It had been a hot day, so I wanted something cold and quick. In that tomato tortilla is two eggs (with a little bit of cheese), sliced turkey breast, and a bit cream cheese as the glue to hold it all together. I had some steamed veggies on the side with mustard on top. It looks a little gross … you make think it’s a little gross … but I do it all the time!

There! Done like dinner :) Enjoy your Wednesday – don’t forget to check out some other WIAW’s!