Caroline Dines

Well it was bound to happen at somepoint. I had been doing so well with the whole “eating mindfully” thing and trying hard not to indulge in late night sweets at my job. Then, this past weekend, I went to Maine for my cousin’s graduation, and ended up going a wee bit crazy on the sweets! As you may remember my Mom’s family is pretty famous for their sweet tooth and they know how to do it when it comes to desserts! My aunt and uncle invited us all back to their house after the ceremony for dessert (lunch was provided by the school and was delicious!). In keeping with the Swedish tradition of serving 7 desserts, my aunt prepared all of my cousin’s favorites for us all to enjoy. I will admit it was very tough to walk into a room with a table full of beautiful homemade desserts and not go crazy. In hindsight I suppose I exercised some restraint and for that I am proud. However, far too much sugar was ingested which actually left me with a terrible “sugar hang-over” the next day. I considered not blogging this because it’s actually a little painful to look at the pictures after over-doing it so much.  Although I realized that these desserts were just too beautiful not to share and it is always good to be honest with yourself. Perhaps being open about my behavior will help stop me from repeating this display in the future!

So without further ado, I bring you the seven deadly sins…

Homemade Blueberry Pop-Tarts

Mmmmhmmmm….they were as delicious as that sounds for any of you that are pop-tart fans from way back! I certainly am but never, ever eat them anymore because of all the awful ingredients (plus they don’t really get me going in the morning like a green monster does!).  I had heard a lot about these and was dying to try them. They were lightly iced and topped with rainbow sprinkles to add a little pop of color.

These were just too good to resist and I *think* I ended up having 3! The inside was filled with blueberry jam (a very fruity jam I might add not very sugary tasting) and while I hear they are unbelievable out of the oven (just like the toaster!) they were delicious room temperature as well.  It just may have been the sprinkles that threw me over the top, I have a serious love for sprinkles.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

I actually had a hand in this one so I couldn’t NOT try it right? My aunt Jane and I made two of these cakes the night before and were both worried about the end result since we had to bring them to the event without sampling. I have to say it couldn’t have come out any better!

The cake base came out perfectly and had a subtle flavor of buttermilk, while the pineapples and cherries on top were carmelized with brown sugar and butter. I added a dollop of homemade whipped cream and enjoyed every bite of this slice (and another!) thoroughly!

Ghiradelli Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

Now, these were from a box but you couldn’t tell at all! They were so moist and flavorful I sampled 2 over the afternoon. Not my typical pick but they were quite appealing being mini and so tasty!

Toblerone Chocolates

Thankfully I had enough sense to realize that I could eat these any day and didn’t have one! I saved room for the homemade goodies. I did think it was a cute addition to the spread since the logo is a mountain and my cousin is taking a year off to hike the Appalachian Trail!

Ina Garten’s Lemon Loaf

I only had a half a slice of this even though I LOVE lemon flavored things. The icing was awesome and the loaf part super moist. If I hadn’t been so full from other goodies, I would have gladly eaten more!

Molasses Cookies

While these were the least decadent of the spread, they are one of my favorite cookies and I had two! My aunt Laurie did an awesome job of making them soft and chewy, just how I like them.

Sugar Cookie Fruit Pizzas

I split one of these and loved the “light” texture of the sugar cookie paired with the creamy  topping, it wasn’t overly sweet.

So if you were counting, I think we can all agree that there was quite a bit too much sugar taken in over the course of the afternoon. The good news is that I rebounded quite well and have been back on track ever since. The lesson learned? Moderation is key! Don’t over do it on anything (even delicious homemade desserts) or you will be sick and pay the price. Luckily I think it all balances out because for the past two days I have not even THOUGHT about sugar!

Just as one of my favorite Dave Matthews Band song says,

“sugar ain’t poison
but sugar will kill you
too much of a good thing
maybe not so sweet”

I woke up this morning knowing it was going to be an absolute scorcher out. Normally on these types of days I would literally RUN to the nearest body of water and try to keep cool. Since it was Tuesday, and Tuesday is my day at the Re-Vision Urban Farm, I ran to the farm and worked the fields in the heat! For breakfast I focused on fueling myself up so that I wouldn’t get hungry during my time at the farm. Of course I incorporated a giant Green Monster smoothie into my breakfast (what better when the weather is sooo hot?) but on the side I had something a little different than normal.

Yesterday I picked up a bag of these TJ’s Ciabatta Rolls for our dinner. I had one left over and decided to toast it and spread a small amount of Organic Whipped Light Cream Cheese and Homemade Strawberry Jam! Cream Cheese and Jam is one of my all time favorite combos and brings me right back to childhood. The strawberry jam (Thanks Mom!) also made me feel so summery this morning (as if I didn’t feel it enough already with the 90 degree heat!). This breakfast was FILLING but in a good way!

I have been back at the farm for a few weeks now and I was so happy that today we actually got out of here…

And got our hands dirty out here!

I don’t think I could have handled working IN the green house today. Instead I spent the morning working with a wonderful group of volunteers from the University of Maryland.They helped out immensely and we got a really hard job done in no time! We basically created 10 beds for growing Tomatoes. These beds had to be measured, dug, weeded, fertilized, raked, irrigated, and finally covered with plastic. Here’s a bit of the process:

We all made sure to stay really hydrated and took breaks in the shade from time to time.

Again, it was so nice to have such a great “community” feel at the farm today. Even though these individuals were from far away they had the same ideas about the state of our food, issues around hunger and access to good food, and in general a positive work ethic! It was a wonderful morning. Around 12:00 I grabbed this apple from my bag. It tasted a little bit like hot apple pie to me (minus the crust) because it had literally been baking in the sun! Ooops! Still good though.

My run this morning to the farm was trying so I knew that by mid-day running home would be brutal. I started out ambitious and quickly realized that it would be smarter and safer to take the bus!

Thank goodness for Charlie cards!!! I always make sure to have mine on long runs, just in case!

When I arrived home, I took the quickest shower possible (I was covered with dirt from the farm!) and made myself a big lunch! All the components were superstars but I just had to highlight these Dr. Kracker Crackers because I can’t believe how awesome the stats are!

Besides the great ingredients and health components, the taste is incredible. Seriously, they are worth every bit of the $4.39!

With the heat I was craving lots of vegetables and cold food. I think I was also in need of salt because I was totally into this pickle! However, when I am NOT into pickles?

The plate was made up of a pickle, Ful Medammes, Grape Tomatoes, Carrots, Watermelon, Dr. Kracker Cracker, homemade broco-slaw and a few mozzarella pearls. These are by far my favorite types of lunches, all the different tastes and textures keep my mouth so happy!

While I was sitting staring at my beautiful new herbs on my window sill I felt that I just had to add a little bit of fresh mint to my watermelon. I didn’t eat it but just the smell made the whole dish that much more enjoyable.

Tomorrow I am happy to report that Meg C. and I are heading OUT of the city and will be spending the day on the South Shore at the beach!!! I can’t wait. Summer is here!

Hellooooo…It has been way too long since I have blogged and I am really starting to miss it! I had a bit of a busy stretch there with school work but now that I have successfully finished my two science classes, and am ready to start my Nutrition program in July, I think I can commit to some more regular blogging…at least I am hoping too!

Lately I have been more mindful with my eating habits. I have been trying to cut out the “bored” snacking and the late night sweet treats that I usually indulge in while at work. So far it has been two weeks and I have to say that I enjoy the “in control” feeling and the fact that my pants are a little looser is just an added bonus! I haven’t really changed what I am eating but more how, when and why I am eating it. I am really listening to my body and fueling it with what it is craving and not eating when I am not actually hungry. Sounds pretty easy but as many of you know it’s easier said than done! With that said, here are some new treats that are making their way into my daily repertoire.

While the Green Monsters aren’t really “new” (I’ve been drinking them for about a 2 months now) they are worth mentioning since they have been a miraculous addition to my diet. Seriously, they keep me full for hours (when paired with some sort of grain and protein on the side) and are exactly what I begin to crave as the weather warms up. I really like the idea of getting a big serving of veggies first thing in the morning and the looks I get from my housemates as I wash out my green blender are just priceless! They’re also just so pretty to look at, maybe that’s just because my favorite color does happen to be green!

If you’re interested, here’s my “go-to” recipe:

• 2 cups or giant handfuls of baby or full leaf spinach (whatever I have on hand)
• 1 large banana (not frozen)
• 8 chunks or so of TJ’s Frozen Mango
• 1 cup of Unsweetened Almond Milk (the 40 calorie one)

The result is pure bliss in my opinion. I have also learned that the longer you blend, the better. I used to leave lots of chunks of spinach in there because I was just too inpatient but realized that it’s so much tastier fully blended. Drinking out of a beer glass at 8:00 a.m. never felt so right!

As I said, I almost always pair my G.M. with a bit of toast or something. I recently discovered these Vita Top Muffins that I had been reading about FOREVER and was very pleased with the product. I have a thing for Corn Muffins and while I could make my own healthy version I just never do. I am certainly not going to eat the huge, bakery style ones so I was hopeful that these might fit the bill. They certainly didn’t disappoint. I popped it in the toaster for a minute or two and then spread a thin layer of Peanut Butter on top and a dollop of jam right in the center for added appeal. I am not going to lie, it was kind of like eating a cupcake with peanut butter frosting! Not really, but you get the idea.

While a breakfast cupcake is very enticing, some mornings you just aren’t craving sweet. This morning was one of those mornings. I think it may have had something to do with the fact that yesterday I found a new food and was dying to try it. While at a Farmer’s Market in downtown Boston, I picked up a tub of this Egyptian dip.

Having never heard of it before, I googled Ful Medammes and found that it’s traditionally eaten at breakfast time in Egypt. Here is a list of the ingredients:

And the nutrition facts:

As you can see it has similar components to hummus but instead of chick peas, fava beans are used. The calories and fat are lower than hummus and the fiber and protein higher. To me the taste was quite hummus-y but less creamy and a bit more like Baba Ganoush without the smoky eggplant flavor. I ate mine with half a pita from the same company.

Trust me, this is worth a try and probably could be recreated at home quite easily. However, I do love supporting local businesses so I may just have to go back to the Farmer’s Market next Thursday. It was a nice change of pace from my normal breakfast.

A little savory dipping action…

After my Egyptian breakfast, I set out to Cambridge for a much needed hair appointment.  Since I am not often in Cambridge, I decided to take a walk down memory lane (literally), and walked through my old neighborhood and around my College campus.

I haven’t been back since I graduated four years ago! It was strange to see all the changes but also fun to think about all the awesome memories. As you may expect a lot of my memories are food related so I took some pictures of my favorite places during my college years:

The 1/2 Shell:

Don’t judge a restaurant by it’s exterior! This place has the best Veggie Burger Sub! It comes with homemade pesto and tons of fresh veggies and is served on a crusty baguette. So simple but so good!

Boca Grande:

Many Colorado Chicken Burrito’s were consumed here. I can still remember how the tortilla sticks to the roof of your mouth, loved it!

And of course Cambridge Common:

We kind of discovered this place senior year (when we were all legal) and I have yet to find better sweet potato fries (C.C. serves the round kind)! Also I can’t forget the Brownie Sundae that would normally appear at our table after a few rounds. Oooops!

Oh college. Somehow, I resisted the urge to get a sandwich or burrito and ended my walk in Harvard Square. I was parched by this point and stopped into Tea Luxe to see what Iced Tea they were offering. To my delight they had a coconut one on tap! To be more specific this tea was called Royal Coconut and is described as: “Pouchong tea with fresh Coconut flavor”. I don’t know if I was just really thirsty or if this truly was one of the best Iced Teas I have ever had, I think the later, but in any case this stuff was heaven on earth.

I am such an iced tea lover! I couldn’t even think of putting a sweetener in this one either, it was so subtly sweet yet robust on it’s own!

Surprisingly I wasn’t hungry for lunch today so I didn’t eat anything other than a Kashi Bar (not pictured). And after hot yoga, my appetite was only slightly there. I kept dinner on the light side but made sure to include plenty of healthy ingredients!

Smoked salmon piled high on a slice of Rye toast, a smear of organic light whipped cream cheese, baby spinach and topped off with a dill pickle slice. I have a serious love for smoked salmon and was pleased to find it highlighted in my latest Runner’s World.

“These fish (Wild Alaskan Salmon) are rich in protein, vitamin D, and inflammation-reducing omega-3’s.”

I knew this before, but sometimes it helps to see it in print and recommended to you as a runner!

For a little added nutrition and crunch, I piled some carrots and grape tomatoes that were just a little wrinkly!

So congrats if your still reading! I apologize for the monster post but I just had so much to share today! Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend!

Good morning! It’s a bright, sunny, cold day here in Boston and although I have a to-do list a mile long I felt like blogging this morning. This urge may have had something to do with the fact that I when I arrived home in Boston on Saturday I found a package from Blue Diamond (I won a giveaway on Travel Eat Love a month ago) and was totally inspired to try their crunchy almond butter. I was super impressed with their ingredient list which was simply: almonds and sea salt. I think I may even like this brand better than Barney Butter because it doesn’t contain any sweetener. The taste was nutty and rich, the way almond butter should taste in my opinion. While it’s nice to have something sweet every now and then I don’t really want to start my day off with a sweetened nut butter.

Speaking of sweet, I cut up an orange and ate half of it as part of my “balanced breakfast”. I kind of forgot how good a ripe orange can be; wow, this guy was juicy and flavorful!

I also was tempted by the new hazelnut coffee I got for Darin and brewed myself a mug in our Keurig single cup coffee maker. As it was brewing, I realized I didn’t have any almond milk which brought on a little bit of a panic. I told myself that I would “try” it black and if it was horrible I would make some tea. I never put sugar in my coffee (which I drink very sporadically), just milk and at that usually almond milk. Darin always drinks his coffee black and I am usually freaked out by this but for some reason I was feeling gutsy today. I think the hazelnut flavor helped but I am happy to report that I may be a convert! The black coffee wasn’t all that strong and went down pretty smooth.  I really needed the extra caffeine this morning since I have a complete overhaul of the apartment scheduled!

And if I am being completely honest here, the lovely new dishes that I received from Darin’s parents and the placemats I received from my Aunt for Christmas totally made me want to take pictures of my breakfast! I love having pretty new things to eat out of or on!

We awoke this morning to find that winter was about to hit Boston hard. A huge storm was making its way up the east coast and was predicted to hit us by 9 p.m. tonight. We are slated to get anywhere from 7-15 inches of snow over the course of the storm which should end mid-day tomorrow.You can imagine the excitement/panic that was going through my mind. On the one hand I am so excited to be getting snow in Boston but since it is the last weekend before Christmas and we have LOTS to do still, there was no time to be wasted! I made us each some cinnamon sugar toast which I drank with a mug of candy cane green tea. This breakfast reminded me of being a kid, every now and then you need that! Also, we didn’t have ANYTHING else in the house so toast was it!

After finalizing our list, we set out to the stores. The malls were crazy of course but we managed to get some things accomplished. The first thing on our list was eating lunch out! I wanted to get a few things “in the bag” first but Darin was hungry and I was easily talked into starting our trip off with a meal. We stopped by Chili Duck on Boylston Street which we had both been to before, but not in a long time. It was a very spur of the moment decision but I was quite pleased with the way it turned out. Chili Duck is located in the basement and so has no windows but ends up feeling rather spacious and cozy due to the decor and mirrors on one side of the wall. I was so bummed when I realized that I forgot my memory card inside my computer at home! I had to rely on my iphone which isn’t as high quality but got the job done I guess.

While looking around, I caught sight of a “specials” board which was advertising “Jungle Curry: A healthy curry made without Coconut Milk”. I was immediately intrigued and knew that I had found a healthy alternative to my typical noodle dish or heavy curry concoction. I was not disappointed with my meal when it came out, in fact I was overwhelmed when they lit the whole thing on fire! It was quite exciting and just added to the enjoyment of it all.

The curry flavor was not very strong since I asked for it to be mildly spiced. Basically the dish was a light broth with strips of chicken, bamboo shoots, peppers, basil, ginger, and other veggies. I ate mine over rice. It ended up turning into more of a soup than anything but I was happy I opted for something light and healthy. I left the restaurant feeling vibrant rather than like I wanted to take a nap!

After we were all “fueled up” we hit the Prudential and Copley Malls. We split up for awhile since Darin had shopping to do for yours truly. Since I was all done with my shopping I browsed and people watched. It didn’t take him all that long (he must have had a plan!) and before I knew it we were walking back home. Since it had warmed up a bit, we opted to walk rather than taking the train. Later on this evening we poured ourselves some wine (with ice, it was warm!).

And had some crackers and cheese. These are the TJ’s Triscuit variety (reduced guilt) and they are delicious with a slice of light havarti.

Since lunch was really dinner and the food is sparse around here, I decided to make myself a little hot dog n’ beans dish. Baked beans are one of my favorite foods that I don’t eat that much anymore because of all the sugar. I treated myself tonight though…oh I am so wild, eating baked beans and hot dogs!

The hot dogs I used were the following:

Just a dollop of mustard on each “dog bite”.

By the way, it would be wrong of me not to mention the fun night out I had with Meg C. We ended up going to The Border Cafe in Harvard Square (Veggie Planet will happen at some point but last night it was just too crowded!). We enjoyed drinks and…

…salsa and chips hot from the oven!

I had a great time talking with her about everything under the sun. It’s so fun when you find someone that you really click with! I can’t wait for our next outing and hope to include Kristine from Purple Pinky Toes and Meg’s sister Anna from Blue Plate Special who will be home from Kenya!

…I just haven’t been documenting as much! With Christmas fast approaching, work and personal business have been taking priority over my daily posts. I have been working extra hours so that I can take a nice long break beginning Christmas Eve all the way through the New Year! I am so excited since I will be heading home to Maine to be with my family and Darin’s family and will be cross country skiing (my favorite form of exercise!), sledding, skating, maybe even snowboarding. So as I said, you can rest assured that I have still been consuming food, (probably too much with all the sweets around here!) but with holiday parties that don’t allow for paparazzi shots I am feeling like quite the neglectful blogger. Either way here are some of my highlights for the past few days.

Breakfast on Wednesday was a lovely Multi-Grain Bruegger’s Bagel which was “scored” from the Community Social at the house which took place on Wednesday instead of it’s normal Tuesday this week. I added Light Herb and Garlic cream cheese to my hollowed out vessel.

After breakfast I hustled off to the Haley House which turned into a very rewarding shift. I had quite a few customers and also some individuals who stopped by to just get warm (I actually gave one a free cup of coffee). Since the Haley House is not JUST a bakery and it’s primary goal is to provide community to individuals in the South End who may not have a home to call their own, I felt really pleased that the regulars were starting to become familiar with my face and felt comfortable talking to me. I put out our fabulous cupcakes as free sample; partly because I wanted to try a bite and also because I knew they would draw people in!

The rest of Wednesday was spent working and saying goodbye to a co-worker who is moving to Denver and will be dearly missed. We went out to a local bar called The Mission which had delicious bar food in my opinion. Sadly I have no pictures from the evening but I am sure you can picture in your mind such dishes as Sweet Potato Skins, Mussels, Bruschetta, and a killer Nacho plate. I had a Magner’s Cider with my appetizers which was such a treat since I was actually “working”. The next morning I was craving some fruit and “carby” goodness so I dug into my last ruby red and prepared a peanut butter toast to eat with it. The flavors here weren’t exactly complimentary but it hit my cravings perfectly and provided adequate nutrition I believe.

I’ve been hitting yoga hard this week and after my session on Thursday I came home ravenous. Lucky for me I had a fresh bag of TJ’s Salsa chips and a tub of Sabra Hummus.

I don’t think I have ever tried these chips before but let me just tell you if you have any love for Doritos and just can’t justify eating them anymore, try these! They are not as heavily doused in seasoning but have a great taste which allows the chip to stand alone fine or pair with salsa, hummus or any other dip you can think of.

This morning I woke up thinking about breakfast. This hasn’t happened in awhile (maybe I have been too full from the night before?) so I decided to resurrect an old classic: GREEK YOGURT MESS! This one contained one little tub of Strawberry Oikos, a sprinkle of blueberry muesli, some walnuts, and unsweetened coconut. SOO good and even though it’s not very seasonal the coconut looked like snow so that has to count for something right?

Yoga was another awesome sweat sesh and I came home ravenous. I actually dreamed this sandwich up on my frigid walk home and it came out better than I had expected.

I toasted two slices of my low carb When Pigs Fly bread, smeared one slice with Sabra hummus and the other with TJ’s roasted red pepper spread. Then I cut two slices of cheddar cheese and topped it off with two Claussen sandwich stackers.  Such an awesome sandwich! A good cheese sandwich is sometimes so satisfying in my opinion.

It was “oh so photogenic” too, don’t you think?

And I would be remiss if I didn’t include the dessert from last night since a bite or two of it did make it’s way past my lips today. I had a full “tree” last night and was able to photograph them without many questions since I just said in front of the families that they were too cute not to picture. After all they ARE too cute! They are a brownie base with green colored frosting, m+m’s for decoration and a candy cane trunk., They’re supposed to be Christmas Trees if you couldn’t tell!

After a long week I am so ready to be done with work related stuff. Luckily I have plans to meet up with Meg C. for a vegan dinner at Veggie Planet in Harvard Square and hopefully some drinks afterwards. Happy Friday everyone!

Happy Monday Everyone! Are you all ready for another week? I don’t think I am but mine is already in full swing since my work week begins Sunday night. I have a little bit of catching up to do with all the amazing food I have been documenting for you all. However, since my breakfast yesterday was more exciting than normal I thought a dedicated post to document it was in order. I always try to take advantage of having a “good” breakfast when I am away for the weekend, since my kitchen is shared I don’t often cook breakfast but miss things like pancakes, French toast and eggs. Sunday morning was the perfect opportunity for a real home cooked breakfast and what could be better than Rhode Island Jo’nny Cakes and crispy bacon.

As you may remember, I spend a lot of time in Little Compton Rhode Island. Whenever we are in town there is always a group of us who go out to breakfast and get Jo’nny Cakes at the local eatery, The Commons Lunch. This was the first time that I have attempted making them at home and the whole process gave me a lot of respect for the cooks at the Commons. Making Jo’nny Cakes is hard work! First of all, the batter is quite important. You need to start off with the right kind of corn meal meaning it needs to be ground the correct way and stored properly. The best brand in my family’s opinion is ground by Morgan’s Mills in Maine but uses Rhode Island white flint corn meal,and is stone ground by water power. Adding liquid is also tricky and all up to your preference of how thin or thick you like your cakes. We all like the super thin, lacy edged ones, so we added lots of milk.

We stirred vigorously to ensure an extra smooth batter.

The cooking process was by far the most tedious. Getting the pan perfectly hot, perfectly greased and having the patience to wait until the edges started to brown was terribly difficult but worth it in the end. I had 3 cakes with a few slices of bacon.

Speaking of Bacon, my Uncle Rob cooks it on a cookie sheet with wax paper (or parchment, I can’t remember!). This seems to be the best way to get each piece equally crisp. The other benefit is that much of the grease collects on the paper and not in your belly! Just take a look at this stack. Unbelievable right?

This breakfast was ideal in my opinion. It was served in good company and at a leisurely pace. I was able to sip my tea and catch up on the Globe’s comic section which I never have the chance to do.

The snowy scene out the back was hard to beat as well. I hope you all had a relaxing and fun weekend!

This is kind of the way our car ride went this morning. Every other station that Darin turned to was some Christmas song and I just wasn’t having it. His face kind of lit up with the sounds of Bing Crosby, Andy Williams and especially when Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmas Time” came on. It was hard to say no, but I have to stick to my guns. For me Christmas is such a special time of year. I feel that if I start listening to the music and decorating early (before Thanksgiving) then it will lose it’s sacredness and become ordinary. I understand that so many people start listening earlier and earlier each year because it is simply fun, but for me I have to keep Christmas relegated to November 28th through January 1st. On another note, Darin was pretty good and sick this morning which prompted me to walk to CVS to restock our Comtrex supply. On the way back I thought it would be nice to surpirse him with a breakfast sandwich from Bruegger’s, plus I was craving this irresistable combo.

A pumpernickle bagel toasted with light garden veggie cream cheese. A little Sunday treat for myself and boy was it ever worth it. We ate our bagel delights while watching Season 7 of Curb Your Enthusiasm. We’re about 5 episodes in and it’s starting to get really good with the whole plot revolving around a Seinfeld Reunion! Seinfeld is probably my top show of all time. I could watch re-reuns every day and it would still never get old.

The day was spent cleaning, writing, reading, and a little more t.v. watching. I put together this re-run of last night’s Indian food for lunch. A little bit of everything, but this time placed on a bed of baby spinach for some extra GREEN.

Since my mouth was still craving more after the Indian Salad, I gave in to a Cranberry Vanilla Pudding. This one was almost all Cranberrry sauce which I didn’t mind at all

So far I haven’t gotten hungry for dinner. I had this perfectly ripe and juicy pear at 6:00 p.m and am still waiting for the real hunger to kick in. I think tonight might end up being cereal since I had more of a “dinner” meal for lunch.

First, I want to thank all of you for your helpful tips, suggestions and words of kindness last night. I am still feeling under the weather but am thinking this is just a full blown cold and nothing more. Plus after you read this post you’ll understand why my sickness has taken a back seat.

Last night as I was closing up, I went into the kitchen to wash my tea mug before bringing my purse back to the apartment. The next thing I knew I was on the kitchen floor in excruciating pain. What happened was pretty stupid. I fell on the slippery tile, partly due to my footwear, and partly because the floor was wet after cleaning up the curry sauce that had spilled. My ankle was twisted in the exact same position as this summer and I knew immediately that I couldn’t put any weight on it. Lucky for my pride, nobody was out there. I scooted my way into the office and grabbed the phone to call Darin, who quickly came out and gathered my purse, my lone shoe, and the mug that had gone flying. He brought me out the crutches from last time and helped me onto the bed to elevate with ice. I couldn’t believe it. In fact I am still in disbelief that I am back in the same position I was this August. Here is a picture from last night. I wanted to document how swollen it was right after so that I could see what progress I am making. (I have what you might call “wide” feet naturally but you can still tell the left is quite puffed up)

And here is a picture from this morning. The good news is that it doesn’t look AS bad as last time and this time I have all the equipment (ice packs, air cast, crutches) so I don’t have to deal with the E.R.

I am sorry to be such a downer but there was no way I couldn’t mention it on here since I will likely be using crutches for the next couple days and people might wonder why I am not doing my normal routine. An ankle injury means no running (of course) and no walking at this point so my food consumption will decrease quite a bit. Laying in bed doesn’t require many calories. I will try and do some exercises if I can to stay a little active (probably after I fight this cold off). Last time, I actually posted about this (this was one of my early posts, don’t judge the small pictures!) I ate a bowl of Barbara’s Shredded Spoonfuls this morning (with Almond Milk) in bed. It was delicious and I enjoyed every bite! I think I might like the Shredded Spoonfuls even better than the Shredded Oats last week!

I had a small Mac apple around 10:30 because I bought a huge bag yesterday and don’t want them to go bad! Also I was craving a little fruit.

On a much happier note, I received my free business cards yesterday from Moo.com (as a Foodbuzz Featured Publisher you get 100 free cards to start, thanks Meghan for the tip!) They are the mini moo cards and I couldn’t be happier. They come in this cute little box that fits perfectly inside your purse and even has dividers to organize your cards, and the cards you receive.

The front of the cards are all different but all very unique and fun images of food and beverages, perfect for the foodie!

And the information printed on the back came out perfect. They give you a little template and it has to say Foodbuzz on t, but I was really excited to see my name in print! Have any of you got these neat little cards yet?

I am thinking of repeating yesterday’s lunch (minus the apple since I already ate it!). Since it might be a task just to get lunch I don’t think I will be photographing it so I’ll give you one of the pics I didn’t use from yesterday’s just so you remember . Alright, now I am really getting that feeling of déjà vu.

After a speedy yoga session, I returned home with plans to bake. I have tons of this Almond Flour in my fridge and thought that making a good “healthy” dessert for myself was in order since I more likely to eat that instead of the  junk around here. Plus this Chips Ahoy package has been catching my attention for the past few nights (I haven’t had any). For some reason Chips Ahoy will always have a special place in my heart. As a kid we never had junk around (which I thank my Mom for now) and it was always exciting when there was a school party or something that had all the “good stuff” like chips ahoy. Now I know better and can appreciate a good cookie but every now and then I still find myself wanting a taste. Therefore I decided to bake chocolate chip cookies, the Almond Flour way, loaded with protein and good fat!

• 2 1/2 c. Almond Flour
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1 T. vanilla
• 1/4 c. grape seed oil
• 1/4 c. agave nectar
  
• 1 egg
• 1/3 c. unsweetened coconut
• 1/3 c. semi sweet chocolate chips

This recipe made approx. 21 cookies (I made them pretty small). Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until they are golden on the top and bottom. Use parchment paper to prevent burning and so you don’t need cooking spray.

So I ask you: would you rather eat this?

Or that?

That’s what I thought!

I ate 2 cookies warm out of the oven (the best way) and the rest are in tupperwear containers where I will be less likely to just grab one. I do feel better about eating these cookies though because of the good ingredients. Perfect energy for pre or post run in my opinion.

Dinner was Breakfast tonight. We haven’t done this in awhile and I had a craving for eggs so I went with it. These eggs made the meal. I purchased them at the Farmer’s Market last week for 2 bucks! Just a little comparison I was shopping for our house dinner tonight and picked up some cage free organic eggs that were 4 dollars. This is an area where you totally can save a ton of money if you have access to local eggs.

I used spinach and feta in the omelets to bulk them up. What a great combo. It would have been better with fresh tomato but still the flavor was there. We also had real bacon (no nitrites, natural, all that jazz…) and Eziekeil Bread toast on the side. I slathered mine up with some Apple Butter (sadly this is almost gone!).

I had two more mini cookies with a nice cold glass of milk….ahhhhhh… Did I mention it’s hard taking pretty pictures at work when it’s completely pitch black outside and there is always a bunch of stuff in the background! Oh well at least my job allows me to TAKE pictures.