Tag Archives: quinoa

Feb 26 2013

An Anniversary!

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Happy Wednesday! Happy WIAW! And … it’s also a Happy Anniversary (to me)! I’ve been blogging for more than a year :)

The magical date was last week, but I missed it while on vacation. I’m so grateful that people continue to visit Yellow Haired Girl everyday and read the nonsense that I have to say. I’m happy to have been able to connect with so many people over the last year. xoxoxo!

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Onto more delicious things. Thanks, Jenn, for hosting this weekly party!

My eats are boring this week. I’ve been trying to get back on track following my free for all eating extravaganza while on holidays. This week is also really crazy for me, so a lot of my meals were made ahead of time so I can grab them on my way out the door!

Breakfast:

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Oatmeal, baby. This is a 1/2 cup of oats + 1 cup of water + 1 scoop of Jillian Michael’s chocolate protein powder (still my fave) + a handful of thawed out berries. I love when the juice gets all pretty like that :)

Lunch:

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Eaten while tearing my hair out at work (seriously, you should see what I looked like by the end of the day). I’m working on editing the final two episodes of my series. I’m in the home stretch! I made several containers of this salad on the weekend, and have been topping with various things all week long. Sometimes hummus, sometimes salsa, sometimes Italian dressing. The possibilities are endless. In the salad: quinoa + roasted squash + corn, + chia seeds + edamame + lentils. I think I put salsa on this one? I almost forgot to photograph it … so sorry for the mostly empty container. Also pictured: carrots + my jug of water. That thing is larger than my head.

Snack:

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I’ve been eating this, out of the family sized tub, almost constantly. I’m an animal. If it’s lemon/citrus flavored, I’ll destroy it.

Supper:

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Because I don’t care, I had the same thing for supper as lunch. I wish I was more exciting for y’all. I added cheese this time though! Cheese makes things prettier, right?

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Jan 29 2013

I Remembered!

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Hello! Guess who remembered to take photos for What I Ate Wednesday? THIS GIRL! That never happens.

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(Thanks, Jenn. You rock.)

Here’s what I ate on Wednesday Monday …

Breakfast:

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I’ve jumped back on the overnight oats train! This bowl was 1/2 cup of oats + an unmeasured amount of chia seeds + 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder + an unmeasured amount of chocolate almond milk. I let it sit in the fridge overnight, and then added more milk + crunchy peanut butter in the morning. Plus black coffee, of course.

Lunch:

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Another WIAW, another Subway picture. I’m just so dang predictable. Turkey on whole wheat + every vegetable on the counter. Deeeeelicious.

Snack:

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I dove into the stash of homemade trail mix that I keep in my desk. In the mix: dried cranberries, cashews, almonds, yogurt covered raisins, and pumpkin seeds. There might be plain peanuts in there too. I can’t remember.

Supper:

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I was miserable when I got home from work on Monday. Just the grumpiest person on the planet. I wanted something nourishing and super comforting … and that meant dinner in Tupperware ;) It’s nostalgic and reminds me of my childhood! I also needed some fuel to work on Zumba choreography … once Biggest Loser was over, of course. Who says I don’t have priorities?! In the container: quinoa, edamame, chia seeds, olives, red lentils and grilled chicken breast. I melted some cheese on top too … added comfort (or something). I topped this with mustard and salsa (I know it’s a weird combo). I couldn’t eat all of this. I made way too much. But it made excellent leftovers for Tuesday!

There you have it! Thanks again for hosting this weekly partayyyy, Jenn!

Jan 28 2013

Superhero Sunday

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I usually like to have a relaxing Sunday before I kick off the work week. That wasn’t the case yesterday! Not. At. All.

I stayed in on Saturday night, lounged on the couch, watched my favorite hockey team and read a few magazines. It was some spectacular alone time, something I feel like I haven’t had much of lately. After such a low key evening, I woke up yesterday morning (after 10.5 hours of sleep, whaaaaat?!) and was ready to take on the day.

I downloaded a couple new episodes of the Josh and Ross podcast. If you’re a Chelsea Lately fan, I definitely recommend it. Those two are hilarious! I put my headphones in and before I knew it, I had spent two hours cleaning my apartment. I didn’t even know it needed two hours of dedicated time! ;)

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Then I headed to the gym. Since I’ve been spending so much of my “exercise time” working on Zumba (only 8 days until I start teaching!!!!), I haven’t been there that often. I climbed 50 flights on the StairMaster, and then did a serious upper body workout. My shoulders were screamiiiiiiiiiing at me. Love that.

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Then, after a long walk to Starbucks to have coffee with a couple of friends (it’s amazing how sleepy the fresh air made me on the walk home!), I tackled seven million a few loads of laundry. And prepped some food for the week! I’ve been getting into a habit of making a big pot of quinoa (I add it into soups/my daily breakfast wraps/whatever else happens to come along) and a pot of red lentils (I like adding them to soups and pasta) lately. It really makes my life easier during the week.

Then more Zumba prep! And finally, Girls.

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What. A. Day. And incredibly active, when you consider gym + walk + Zumba. My to do list didn’t know what hit it (and yes, I make at least one to do list each day).

Did you spend yesterday relaxing? Or was it a superhero Sunday like mine?

Jan 22 2013

WIAW Party Time!

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Hello lovelies! It’s Wednesdaaaaaaay! And that means What I Ate Wednesday, thanks to the lovely Jenn at Peas and Crayons (love her, love WIAW).

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My pictures are pretty sporadic. What else is new, right? I can never remember to take pictures of everything I eat in one day … so here’s little snippets from the last several days.

Breakfast wrap:

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This was a loaded one. And a delicious one. I made a big breakfast for my man friend and I on the weekend (I regret not taking a photo of the kick ass eggs benedict I made) … and ended up with leftover hashbrowns. So I added them to my usual daily breakfast wrap, with two eggs, ham, chia seeds, hummus, and a bit of cheese. I was full after inhaling this bad boy.

Pistachios:

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WHY DO I KEEP BUYING THESE? I can’t stop. I snack on them while I cook.

Dinner mess:

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I’m starting to think my life wouldn’t go on without quinoa or lentils. This plateful is lentils + quinoa + chia seeds + fried tuna (I put it in a pan with EVOO until it gets all crispy, and I in turn fall in love). I threw some mustard on there (don’t wrinkle your nose in disgust, please) and mixed it all up after.

Necessary snack:

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Banana + peanut butter. Crunchy, obviously. Don’t you bring smooth near me.

Soup time:

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This was Mediterranean Vegetable and Pasta soup + quinoa + lentils. I threw cheese on top. I always do that :) I like to add stuff to my soup … much more filling that way.

My usual Subway:

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After a massage on Monday night, I was so sleepy and drowsy. The last thing I wanted to do was cook, so I stopped at Subway. That’s a Subway Melt (not the healthiest choice, so sue me) with every vegetable they have. Eaten in front of The Biggest Loser. It was a goooooood night.

Happy Wednesday! What’s the best thing you’ve eaten this week?

Nov 30 2012

A Little PSA

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Hey everyone! Fancy seeing you here. Maybe you’ve noticed … maybe you haven’t … but I’ve been blogging less lately. I think I’ve decided to commit to a Monday/Wednesday/Friday sort of deal on YHG. I hate not posting more often, but it works better with my terribly important and busy life.

I’m completely kidding about the terribly important part ;)

Now that we have that little PSA out of the way … let’s chat! What’s up, guys?! Fill a sister in. Here’s some of the random and useless things happening in my life:

- I leave for Las Vegas on Wednesday. Excuse me, whaaaaaat? How did that sneak up so fast? So excited. I have so much to do before I leave. So much. But then I’ll be IN VEGAS with my best friend from college and we’re going to see Tim McGraw and Faith Hill on Friday night. How spectacular is that? Eeeeeeeeek.

- My Christmas party is next Saturday. I’m looking forward to getting all fancy pantsed and celebrating with some of my favorite people (I have some really great friends at work). I will pretty much fly in from Vegas, drive to my house, put on my dress, and leave for the party … but I can’t wait!

- After both of those wonderful points listed above … I’m really pumped for sleeping all day on Sunday ;) Hahaha.

Hmmm. What else has been happening?

- I can’t stop eating quinoa + red lentils. Like, actually CAN’T STOP. For lunch and supper almost everyday.

- Have I ever told you that I go for supper with one of my friends every Friday night? I think I’ve mentioned it, but I definitely can’t remember. We call it Friday Night Supper Club (and we know that’s super original, and also sounds like we are members of the Golden Girls). Well, we’re broke today. So guess where Friday Night Supper Club is? Costco! :)

- I’m putting my Christmas tree up tonight (with the same friend, after our fine dining experience at Costco). This is the first tree I’ve ever owned for myself, my own tiny little thing in my own tiny little apartment. The last several years I just went without. But this year, the holidays will be bumping in my living room! It’s early for me … my family doesn’t usually put up the tree until the 18th or so. When do you typically put up yours?

- I’m pretty sure Ellen’s 12 Days of Giveaways starts next week and that makes me giddy. Ellen’s holiday giveaways > Oprah’s holiday giveaways.

- There’s nothing in my fridge. Other than the typical condiments and Bolthouse juices, I have an expired container of Greek yogurt, around 8 eggs, and a half of a spaghetti squash. I’m not going grocery shopping until after my trip. Challenge accepted.

How exciting is my life, guys?! Bahahaha. Do you feel enlightened?

Tell me something entirely random happening in your life today. Or something that happened yesterday. Or something you hope happens tomorrow. I’ll read anything (obviously … I think I follow every tabloid on Twitter).

Happy Friday!

Nov 20 2012

Delicious Day

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Happy Wednesday! And a What I Ate Wednesday to boot? What a terrific day :)

A big ol’ shout out to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting this fabulous WIAW party!

Guess who actually remembered to take photos for the duration of an entire day? This girl. That never happens (*virtual high five*).

Tuesday breakfast:

This was a strange one. Maybe even an ugly one. But it was delicious! I took four egg whites, half of a green pepper, and a bunch of leftover quinoa (that might be one of my “deserted island foods” … anyone else think like that?). I threw it all in the frying pan … and taaa dahhhh! Marvelousness.

Tuesday lunch:

One of these days, I’m going to cut my hand off while splitting a spaghetti squash open. Seriusly, how tough is cutting a squash?! Yikes. Worth it, though. This was spaghetti squash + Wholly Salsa (the obsession continues) + Sabra’s roasted red pepper hummus + too much feta (scratch that … there’s no such thing as too much feta).

Supper:

Supper was the best part of the day. My man friend and I decided to cook together … and made chicken parmigiana with spelt penne + salad + garlic bread. Soooo good. Especially the copious amounts of cheese ;) I took too much food. #sorrynotsorry

Have a wonderful day!

Jun 5 2012

Little Miss Scatterbrain

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Hello!

There really is no theme for today’s post. This has become a regular thing on the blog lately, hey? And honestly, that’s really only a small glimpse into my head.

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Remember those characters? I used to love them as a kid. Little Miss Scatterbrain is the most fitting one for me today. Is there a little Miss Sarcastic? I feel like we’d be buddies on an ordinary day ;)

The first thing on my mind today is the fact that I can’t remember the last time I stayed awake for an entire episode of The Bachelorette. Emily is an incredibly sweet girl, but her soft voice lulls me right into dreamland. I’m pretty sure I fell asleep for the last 5 episodes (at least!) of The Bachelor too. I don’t know what it is. I used to really like it. But now I get some terrific post-dinner naps in on Monday nights.

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I still know what’s going on. I manage to see enough of each episode. I’ve put the pieces together, I know my favorites. I will continue to turn it on … I can’t miss out on any more “quinoa” moments. Anyone else watch and catch that last night? I think we all probably said that word wrong when we first saw it. But I still giggled.

Okay. There’s another thing on my mind today. Warning: this is a huuuuuge #firstworldproblem. If you have a double sink in your kitchen, be grateful. I do not. I live in an itty bitty little apartment. With only one kitchen sink and no dishwasher. I work around it, but it’s a really big nuisance. When I fall asleep in front of the TV after supper have something going on right after dinner and can’t get to the dishes until the next morning, my kitchen turns into the ugliest room in the world. Hate it. I know this is a stupid complaint. But hey, this is my blog. Anyone have any plumber friends who want to give me one of these bad boys for free?

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I have a huge girl crush on Emma Stone. I have for a while. I think she’s just the coolest chick out there. How much I admire her grew even more Sunday night after seeing her accept an award at the MTV Movie Awards.

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I didn’t watch the whole show. I find Russell Brand’s history (alcoholism/sex addiction/general craziness) fascinating … but he’s incredibly annoying. He was hosting the awards, so I didn’t watch much of it. But I’m glad I caught her speech. Emma won the Trailblazer Award, and here’s some of my favorite parts of her speech. What an incredible role model. (Speech from mtv.com):

“I looked up the actual definition of trailblazer, and it means someone who blazes a trail to be followed by others. And that’s an honor to hear you’re being associated with a concept like that.”

“The only thing I can hope that an award inspires is originality, because the trailblazers I’ve looked up to and been inspired by are people like Gilda Radner and Bill Murray and John Candy and Charlie Chaplin and the Beatles and J.D. Salinger. Lorne Michaels, who reminds me the importance of comedy, and Cameron Crowe, whose work consistently reminds me of why I want to be an actor.”

“Those people are my creative trailblazers, but I’m not following any of their paths, and what’s incredible about them is they help make me want to be more myself because they’re all originals. And I hope that you’ll find your trailblazers.”

“…that you’ll continue to harness your own originality and what makes you unique because I know that when you’re a teenager — sometimes when you’re an adult — what sets you apart can sometimes feel like a burden and it’s not.”

LOVE HER. What an important message. That’s a true role model.

Who do you think is a good celebrity role model?

*****

That’s enough scatterbrained stuff for you today. Have any random thoughts floating around today? Here’s your chance … what’s up?!

Apr 10 2012

Messy WIAW

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Okay, first things first.

Do you watch Glee? More specifically, did you watch it last night? I won’t spoil the plot if you haven’t seen it yet. I came across this performance last week (it’s from last night but was pre released) before remembered that the show returned this week. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the original version (sang by Gotye). This version changed my life (maybe because I love Darren Criss and Matt Bomer?), and I’m listening to it on repeat as I write this post. And singing along, of course.

I have thin apartment walls. I bet my neighbours just love me now ;)

Now that I’ve professed my love for that version of the song, it’s time for another What I Ate Wednesday post. Do you love Wednesdays as much as I do? I love being able to drool over the food on other blogger’s WIAW posts, thanks to Jenn over at Peas and Crayons.

I’m proud to say that I didn’t eat ANY Easter candy yesterday. A tough job, I tell you. That stuff is everywhere. I will tell you that I managed to make a mess of myself and everything around me during every meal, though.

Breakfast, for instance, was eaten in front of my computer while I quickly read some blogs before work. I spilled it on my keyboard, like I do two or three times a week.

Overnight oats:

Oats, acai berry juice, plain Greek yogurt, chia seeds, and flax seed oil. Topped with strawberries, peaches, blueberries.

I had intended on going home for lunch (like I do most days), and had even been dreaming about making a particular sandwich with veggies on the side. Would you like to know when I decided I was having a sandwich for lunch? At 9PM the night before. Yeah, I think about food a lot. I had a weird schedule at work yesterday and was unable to get home for my break, so Subway happened. I made a mess again – but I blame my sandwich artist for this one! She was talking to a coworker and (I would assume) became distracted. She cut my foot long into two six inch buns, and then filled them with the toppings after she realized that wasn’t what I ordered. It would have been much less messy if it would have been kept together during the building.

I take the construction of my sandwiches very seriously, obviously.

A foot long ham on whole wheat bread, with lettuce/tomatoes/cucumbers/green peppers/red onion/olives/pickles/Italian dressing/mustard.

For supper, I stuffed a chicken breast with spinach and ate it alongside leftover quinoa and a mixture of red/yellow peppers, asparagus, carrots, and edamame.

It didn't look pretty for long...

There you go! A full day of eats from Tuesday. I’d like to point out that it’s been awhile since I remembered to take photos for an entire day. Usually my posts are a whole bunch of meals taken over the course of a few days.

Five extra cool points for me, right? :)

Have a kick butt day!

Mar 20 2012

The “Is It Friday Yet?” WIAW

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Seriously though, can this week be over? Please?

Remember how I *boom* got a sore throat at the end of the work day on Monday? Well it was still there on Tuesday morning, so I decided to skip the gym and get some more sleep. Aaaannnnnd then I ended up sleeping too late, and had to throw together a really quick breakfast wrap to eat on my way to work. Since there was a lack of time, I didn’t add my usual chia seeds or nutritional yeast. And I spread the cream cheese with a fork since I couldn’t find a knife. And I photographed it rather quickly under my kitchen’s fluorescent light (I hate that thing). What a hectic way to start the day!


Once I got to work (and on time – score!), it was go-go-go all day long. I didn’t get a chance to eat lunch until 2pm, and didn’t have time to run home and make something like I usually do. I was so hungry. Like, starving. Since my stupid sore throat was still lingering, I decided I needed something full of vitamins.

Enter the foot long veggie sub, on 9 grain bread. Toasted, of course :) and inhaled at my desk so I could get back to work.


After an incredibly stressful rest of the day, I got home (after almost running out of gas in my car, Jeez Louise) and collapsed on the couch with sweatpants on and my hair piled on top of my head. Cooking was the absolute LAST THING I WANTED TO DO. And since my throat was still feeling like someone stuffed a sword down there, I wanted comfort food. That meant some quinoa, topped with organic spaghetti sauce and some nutritional yeast. I had a container of lemon Greek yogurt for dessert. No vegetables were included :(


And there you have it, my latest WIAW. It was definitely not a balanced day. I was feeling under the weather, and things tend to slide when I feel like crappola. I need to get better at preparing healthier meals when I’m sick. Is that something you do too?

Thank you to the lovely Jenn for hosting this blast in a glass for all of us every week.

And this means we are one day closer to Friday.

Thank. The. Heavens.

I’m off to check out some other lovely dishes from today’s party :)