By looking through 260+ pictures I took, it looks like this weekend was as crazy busy as ever. But I can assure you – we definitely spent a few hours just sitting on the porch, soaking in the sunshine and catching up on books that have been gathering some dust over the past few weeks. And of course, we also ate well. Very well. Thank you, Jane and Jim, for being such great hosts! (I also cooked one breakfast and one dinner – cooking is what I love!). So how about a recap? Ready?….

We like breaking up trips that are over 2 hours with fun stops. This weekend was my first time in Potsmouth, NH where I finally got to taste the famous Flatbread flatbreads.

This adorable drawing pretty much says it all My choice of the carne special – pepperoncini oil, organic garlic yogurt marinated chicken, baby spinach, whole milk mozzarella, kalamatta olives, feta cheese, artichokes hearts and herbs was a very good choice. I can’t see it on my camera so here is Adam’s pepperoni + mushroom flatbread (also awesome!).

The place itself is also adorable, very fitting for a super cute town. I want to go back to Portsmouth asap!

The real eating commenced upon our arrival in Maine though…

HEALTHY HOME COOKED MEALS (over 4 days, in no particular order)

Ellie Krieger’s tricolore penne pasta with chicken (recipe here)

Stuffed peppers with eggplant (and parmesan cheese) – recipe here. I had no idea these were somewhat healthy. I limited myself to just one. I may need to recreate them soon to make up for lost time. haha

Dark chocolate bark with walnut and dried cherries (and crystallized ginger) – recipe here. I ate my weight in these. Addictive is an understatement.

Broccoli-cheese (and sausage) breakfast casserole – recipe here

Chobani with fresh strawberries, blueberries and mango

Chobani with wild Maine blueberries, fresh mango, Kashi GoLean crunch cereal + mixed nuts

+ some blackberries Adam freshly picked on the side of the road while I was eating breakfast

Breakfast casserole with mushrooms and asparagus (recipe here, I added more cheese, more veggies than the recipe called for + some fresh lemon juice)

Blueberry tea cake (Adam’s mom has been making it for years… from this recipe?)

Apricot-walnut cereal bars (recipe here, the recipe yields a lot more than 10 servings and they are very delicious!!)

Zucchini rice casserole (recipe here, we subbed broccolini for zucchini and corn – this tasted like sinfully creamy risotto – SO good yet healthy, although apparently time consuming. Thanks for making this, Jane!!)

On Monday night I offered to cook dinner (although it ended up being a whole family effort after all). What’s more Maine than lobster? Adam and I decided that we must eat it every time we come. At $4/lb, fresh out of the water, it doesn’t get much better than this!!

Adam’s dad steamed the lobsters…

I made the lima bean/corn/grape tomato and bacon succotash (based on this recipe, I used 6 corn ears, lemon juice and of course lobster!!)

Mmm, so summery… and so Maine

We bought 5 lobsters – Adam took the meat out of the last one and shared it with all of us. Good job, honey! Adam’s mom made this lovely pear tart from Ellie Krieger (recipe here)

Oh yeah, we ate quite well at home!

THE NOT-SO-HEALTHY MEALS OUT

A super special dinner at Primo. We’ve been dying to go ever since seeing Anthony Bordain go there. Vegetables served in the restaurant are home grown in their extensive gardens and meats, seafood and cheese are mostly local (we spotted some Italian cheeses – who can blame them?!).

The atmosphere was very cozy (read dark soft lighting) so my pictures would not do the food and presentation justice. Here is my favorite serving platter at the charcuterie bar.

The charcuterie board with homemade sausages was my favorite! Adam and I shared it as a starter and it set the right tone for what was to come – more delicious eats! This molten chocolate cake did not dissapoint either. Yes, I know – predictable… but I couldn’t help myself!

Pretty much the exact opposite of Primo was a plate of fried clams we got at Kelly’s on the drive back. I don’t know what was up with me – I actually got this craving. Adam and I shared this plate. You know who ate the onion rings.

OPEN FARM DAY

Food, as always, was kind of the main activity (well eating it at least) but the coolest part of the weekend was visiting 5 different farms all over Maine. There were dozens open for visitors this past Sunday. How lucky was I?!! These pictures should say it all…

This afternoon, before going back to Boston, we picked some wild blackberries for the road.

Slim pickings today. Does that mean we should come back in a few weeks?

The loot:

Another amazing weekend. I feel so fortunate!!

I had lots of time to destress and reevaluate my priorities. Some small changes will be coming to Healthy and Sane. Stay tuned.

Ok, so let’s start this post again by saying that I really missed you guys. Did you miss me? Thank you for sticking around with me these past few weeks (I loved reading every comment – reminded me I have a life outside of work too!). It was rough (if you couldn’t tell already) but yeah, it’s all good now. Insert happy dance here. Is there a special smiley face for that? I think the world needs one.

All right, silliness aside, I do have a serious question for you. But first…

BREAKFAST

2 ww waffles with Barney Butter, 2% greek yogurt and fresh blueberries

MID-MORNING SNACK

I went to the kitchen to grab some cottage cheese and dates and ran across some amazingly delicious looking brownies. So I had a brownie instead. No picture. That’s my dessert for the day

LUNCH

Iggy’s tomato mozzarella baguette sandwich. This is a reused photo (I originally was planning on having lunch at home but wanted to crank through work so I grabbed lunch out around 3pm. Yeah, you bet I stuffed it in my mouth as fast as humanly possible. oy)

DINNER

Late (and big) lunch = full stomach for a long time. Also = no workout and dinner almost in the dark. I kept it light…

Mixed greens, 1/4 avocado, chickpeas, rosemary almonds, shredded carrots, goat cheese and a lemon vinaigrette (dressing recipe is from The Best Light Recipe cookbook)

This salad was actually quite fantastic. Soon after I wanted something else though – enter Siggi’s orange & ginger yogurt. Can you see how thick it is?

This was my first time trying this flavor and I am a giant fan. Basically up until now vanilla was my go-to and this awesomely unique flavor is giving it a run for its money. It was decisively orangy with real ginger flakes inside. Tart, a little spicy. Delicious. Try it!

So here is the serious question for you. I read The New Rules of Lifting for Women upon some of your recommendations. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d learn much and I certainly did not want to start another diet. But after hearing about it several times I added it to my library queue and it came up this week. Surprisingly, I was really into it from the very first page. I LOVE lifting and haven’t done enough of it in a long time. Sure I do some lifting at bootcamp (and thankfully I’m still pretty strong) but nothing too pro-longed and nothing that’s just pure lifting. I’d say I didn’t learn much after all, but the idea of concentrating more on lifting again, really excites me. I keep thinking about starting to run again but end up canceling my workouts when they are on the schedule (something always comes up… or am I just subconsciously not into it?) but I am itching now to get to the gym to pump some iron. Workout A has my name on it. Here is my dilemma (3 dilemmas actually)…

1) I do not want to start another diet. I don’t want to count calories or protein grams. I am finally happy with trusting my body. Letting it choose (for the most part) what and how much fuel it needs (of course, don’t forget the treats!). Will this program work without their specific diet?

2) The book is VERY clear about eating a lot of protein. I would estimate it is 2 or even 2.5 times as much protein as I’ve been eating ever since incorporating more vegetarian meals into my diet and letting meat take the back seat. I am very happy with trying to focus on more protein rich foods (see a protein packed siggi’s yogurt as an example for a snack) but I’m on the fence about protein powder. It actually sounds like fun. I can think of all these ways of incorporating it… into smoothies, pancakes, my own protein bars, muffins but is it “real food?” Again, I’ve come a long way from gimmicky diet foods and learned to balance my meals “the right way.” Is protein powder cheating?

3) The book recommends maximum 3 workouts a week. Is that really enough? My instinct is to supplement (the workout don’t seem that tough, maybe I’m being silly right now. I may speak differently once I actually do them). Should I or is my brain getting in the way? Over-training is something they warn about.

Dilemmas, dilemmas. Tell me, blog friends – what are your thoughts on the subject?

PS – as mentioned we are going away for the weekend – there is no cell or internet reception at my PIL’s house so you may not hear from me again until Monday (I may be able to do a quicky post before we leave tomorrow… no promises though. I will be back for real next week). Would LOVE to hear your thoughts. Oh, it’s so good to be back. I’m freeeeeeee.

Except for a brownie there were other eats too, of course!

I got this in Montreal

… but I’m not a fan. It tastes like hemp seeds which I find bitter

Can you guess what I got as a gift in the mail yesterday? That’s some exciting stuff.

PS – I made it to bootcamp today and rocked it again. I’m back to my old self at the gym. I love intense workouts.

All right, I was actually going to go back to the office but I am beat so hopefully I can make up for it tomorrow. 2 more days of madness!!! The last night may be an all nighter, though. eek

Highlights:

- I can’t stay out of the kitchen for too long. Last night I made a recipe that’s been on my list for a whole year. Yes, this one is from July 2009 Cooking Light issue – phyllo pizza with feta, basil and tomatoes (recipe here). It sounded (and looked!) delicious so I thought this would be a perfect dinner to make on a meatless Monday. Now here is the kicker – have you ever worked with phyllo? It was crazy. The sheets of dough were SO thin and they were definitely sticking together and breaking the second I touched them. The recipe said to use one sheet at a time and spray it with EVOO spray (layering it with the cheese mixture every 3 sheets). I fought it for a few rounds and then started grabbing 2-3 at a time. I was nervous that it would result in a rubbery final product but it was one of the best things I’ve made in a long time. So flaky and light, the cheese melted beautifully between all the layers and the super fresh tomatoes enhanced the dish even further. It tasted like a cheat meal but it wasn’t! I will never attempt to make something like this on a weeknight again (especially since work was waiting!) but I think I need to give phyllo another go. It’s too delicious not to.

- The chocolate chip cookies from yesterday’s post were from The Best Light Recipe cookbook. I made them as a thank-you for our neighbors but we never saw them so I brought them to work instead. This cookbook is amazing but I have to say this recipe was just okay. The cookies were a little too crunchy and actually got rock hard after a few hours on a plate. I had to warm them up to bring them to life. Warm cookies are always better!

- No gym today. I get too overwhelmed on Mondays. I feel like I’ll never meet my deadline. Hopefully it will all come together soon (I definitely made a lot of progress over the weekend).

That’s all I’ve got for today. Here is yesterday’s breakfast and lunch (snacks were unphotographed – imagine a breakfast cookie, a serving of almonds and 1 plum).

Cya tonight!

- No doubt dinner at Bombay Club. We had a Groupon for $40 and that almost covered dinner with a half carafe of Pinot Noir! What a deal! Best of all – Bombay Club just made it to the top of our list of Indian restaurants in the area. There were so many creative dishes I’ve never seen before (and a giant selection of vegetarian dishes) that I had a hard time choosing. My final dish – Navrattan Korma (nine select vegetables cooked in a mild cream sauce with almonds and cashews) was really fantastic. The owner even stopped by to chat with us and the whole experience from service to food, price, music was just fantastic. I love Indian food!!

- Getting free basil at the farmers market. I love talking to the farmers!! After buying a bunch of stuff I noticed the basil on the side (which was also on my list). The guy “made” me take 3 bunches and didn’t charge me for it. He wasn’t twisting my arm too hard.

- Getting another sweat sesh in. I am feeling a million times better about my endurance compared to even a week ago. Yesterday was a spin class. My 3-2-1-1 plan is going great!

- Our carpet is 100% dry!! We’re going to have it professionally cleaned next Tuesday. Hopefully that will be the end of this nightmare.

Yesterday in pictures…

Indian pickled veggies – really weird. I think you have to be Indian to like them

Have a great weekend!! I’m off to work (and I already fit a bootcamp class this morning. Weeeee).

- I am not a morning person. No matter how determined I am the night before, waking up in the morning is the hardest thing on earth… especially when I am thoroughly exhausted from the day before. So this morning I hit snooze for another hour. It was much needed.

- Bootcamp class during lunch. I felt a million times better after. Definitely worth taking a little extra time out of my day. Yay for exercise!

- Fresh tomatoes picked that very morning taste like a completely different vegetable (or is it fruit?). I dreamed of cutting one up and enjoying it with hummus all afternoon.

- A venti (read: giant) iced coffee with soy milk held my hunger for 4.5+ hours. The only reason I finally had dinner was because I knew I “needed to.” It was pretty awesome to plow through work without worrying about fighting off hunger. The flip side? Once I started eating, I couldn’t stop. No bueno. I think maybe going back to a medium sized coffee will keep hunger at bay without completely throwing my eating schedule out of whack. You see, I’m learning.

- The carpet in the condo is getting a little drier. Good news.

3:2:1 in photos. My internet is down so I can’t transfer the picture of my giaganto coffee but I’m guessing you know what that pretty much looks like.

*I also had the leftover Thai red curry stir-fry after finishing the brownie. PS – that was heavenly. Best Carly creation for sure!

How are you, guys?

As you may have guessed, we spent most of the afternoon/evening trying to clean up the mess. We extracted over 10 gallons of water just out of our carpet in the hallway. Thankfully Adam built up this little barricade between the living room and hallway so at least it prevented the water from going too far into the rest of the place (our bedrooms are dry). Our living room floors are 100% okay (we are still trying to figure out whether there is a risk of mold growing under there, but the carpet is soaking wet days later. The shop vac is unable to extract that much water at this point so we’re not sure what to do.

Anyways, we’ll get through it, I’m sure. Maybe we’ll at least become friends with our new neighbors out of this. They were extremely helpful – unclogged the sewer drain, brought lots of towels and around 7pm on Saturday even brought us dinner, fresh out of their oven. How incredibly nice is that?!!!

We weren’t going to stop until the mess was cleaned up, but when she came over with a hot pan of lasagna and meatballs, we realized we were actually starving. Talk about a random act of kindness. Adam and I couldn’t get over this. Definitely one of the nicest things a stranger has ever done for either one of us.

By the way, my laptop charger got submerged in water and is not currently working so I’m using Adam’s laptop which is painful (switching from a mac to a pc is not as easy as one might think), so I’ll try to keep it brief. Basically, this whole flood in our condo is a metaphor for my life. It been ridiculous at work, I feel like I can’t catch up with anything at home and the last drop in the bucket which I can’t ignore is that I gained so much weight recently that it’s affecting everything from how my clothes fit to my fitness level at the gym and how I generally feel about myself. I stepped on the scale last week and let’s just say that I haven’t seen that number in 4 years (!!!). I’ve been ignoring this issue since then but it’s time to clean up the flood mess!! I am not going to feel bad about myself, I’m going to do something about it. The plan of attack:

- Plan meals for the week and stick to the plan!! It’s ok to make minor adjustments based on taste preferences at the moment but I will stick to 3 meals + 2 snacks + 1 dessert (in moderation) equation until some progress is made in the weight dept.

- No mindless snacking/eating. My hours at home are going to get all out of whack over the next few weeks as I spend majority of my time in the office. That usually means stress eating. As mentioned above, I will make sure to stick to the pre-planned meals and snacks only. When life gets crazy like this, structure should be a good thing. I can do this!!!

- Continue making exercise a priority. I’ve been pretty good about this recently. I hope I can continue to keep it up despite the longer hours at work. I usually need a mental break mid-day anyways. A good sweat session should kill 2 birds with 1 stone (or something along those lines that’s less gross ).

How does this sound? I think it sounds good. I did A LOT of prep work last night for the next few days. Hopefully this builds up the momentum I’ll need.

So since I haven’t blogged in a few days, here are the highlights of this weekend’s eats.

Iggy’s ww bagel with olive jalapeno cream cheese and tomatoes

These tasted like sugar cookies with a pomegranate twist. Amazing!!

Beet/pesto/goat cheese and pecan panini + leftover b.good southwestern chicken salad

Spinach/artichoke hearts and mushroom calzone from Mangia (a treat on Friday night)

It was really delicious. We’ll definitely order from that place again!

I had the leftovers for lunch on Saturday. Yum!

+ Carly’s Confection 7 layer bar with a twist. So much white chocolate goodness. Another amazing treat for sure.

Sunday brunch at Sel de la Terre

Virgin bloody mary (I had to go to work!)

I had 2 of these. They weren’t very spicy but were definitely delicious.

Bread basket - I helped myself to a mini cinnamon roll and a cracker

For my entree I ordered the brioche French toast, strawberries, honey roasted almonds and vanilla butter.

It was really fantastic!! I removed that big butter blob and didn’t use any maple syrup because it was already rich and flavorful on its own. The strawberries were amazingly fresh and sweet as well. The sides of the french toast were perfectly grilled and the middle was kind of goey (souffle like) which normally would gross me out but it was so tasty that I didn’t care about texture. I would order this again in a heart beat (I ate half for brunch and then ate the other half later in the day as a “snack”).

Garlic/thyme smothered pork chop over qunoia and roasted rhubarb (adopted from this recipe).

It was great having a home-cooked meal again! Adam and I ate every morsel of our plates and I can’t wait for leftovers which I plan on making into a sandwich tomorrow.

All right, time for work! I apologize in advance for my random blogging schedule. I’m thinking of doing a picture collage at the end of each day and noting how my plan of attack is working so far. What do you think? Are you up for it?

I’ll be back with a bang in a few weeks. I have some giveaways in the works and a few posts that just need a little more research time. Happy Monday!

Funny enough, I was on the receiving end of a random act of kindness that same day when I got a package in the mail from one of my readers, Carly of So I Married a Chef. It included all sorts of amazing baked goods (see bottom of this post for pictures) and the best note!!

Carly probably didn’t even realize how touching this note was. I think with weather getting nicer, people are spending more time outdoors and less time reading blogs. I know it’s not personal but it’s still hard not to evaluate your “performance” given a drop in readership and comments. Her note reminded me of why I blog. Maybe some of you read because you like my meals, some of you feel like you are following a friend’s daily life and some of you feel inspired in other ways. I can’t believe that *I* can inspire and even help with self-acceptance. Seriously, Carly, you made my day. Heck, week/month. It’s been nearly a week and I’m still touched by this note. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! More on Carly’s treats below (yes, it is a food blog. I remember ).

Speaking of food, let’s check out today’s eats.

BREAKFAST

I’ve been waking up every morning this week craving nothing but Barney Butter. So today I doubled up on my serving.

FFL english muffin, 2 tablespoons of Barney Butter and fresh strawberries + coffee

I love this breakfast. FFL english muffins are so hearty and are a perfect vehicle for BB

MID-MORNING SNACK

Don’t worry, I washed it.

WORKOUT

Still going strong on the workouts front. Today was abs + bootcamp day. We had a substitute instructor who wasn’t great but it was still certainly better than nothing. I just hated doing 3 sets of everything. I like variety in my life and my workouts.

LUNCH

So we have a bunch of b.good leftovers at home. This morning I opened the fridge and wasn’t too excited about the possibility of eating the stuff for days. And then lunch time came and my taste buds quickly reminded me of my I love it so much!

Cousin Oliver slider, which I added chipotle cream to (SOOOOO good; I’m obsessed with that stuff)

Sweet potato fries

… and some southwestern chicken salad

I’ve said before that I could eat this stuff every day, and I think I am getting the chance to prove it. This was a fabulous lunch!!

DINNER

The stars: garlic scapes and beet greens

I’ve never heard of garlic scapes until this year and now I’m seeing them all over the blogworld. Have you ever had them? They are the shoots that grow out of garlic bulbs and they taste super galicky. I LOVE garlic so I bought just one of these guys at the farmers market for a little taste.

I took inspiration from this recipe of garlic scape and beet greens bruschetta, and sauteed both (removing the stems) in 2t of EVOO. I also added 1/2 a can of diced tomatoes and S&P to taste. This whole process took less than 5 minutes and the kitchen smelled heavenly. I LOVE the smell of garlic and EVOO!!

Next I topped 2 slices of Iggy’s whole wheat sourdough bread with 1 laughing cow wedge, the greens/scape/tomato mixture and junks of grilled chicken I picked off the b.good southwestern salad we had left.

Voila, dinner was served!

It was so comforting! Adam had a few bites and said it was restaurant quality. I was pretty proud of my little creation, especially since it came together in less than 10 minutes (which is good since I worked late tonight and was starving!).

For dessert, I finally reached into my stash of Carly’s confections.

I wanted to take a little bite of every one but instead settled on the smallest bar which happened to be the butterscotch & toffee blondie.

Wow. That’s kind of all I have. It was decadent and buttery and was even made with wholesome ingredients. Carly sells her baked goods at the Geauga farmers market in Ohio so if you live in the area, I highly recommend that you stop by there and stock up. I haven’t showed you the closeups of rest of the goods yet so be prepared to drool as I eat my way through them. They look absolutely incredible. Thank you, Carly, again! I feel so lucky!!

Unfortunately late nights at the office leave little time for play. I’m off to bed!

When was the last time you performed a random act of kindness? Also, have you ever received a special gift from a fellow blogger? I love how the food blog-world is such a close-knit community. It’s the best!

b.good hooked us up, I tell ya! We had every kind of mini-burger: veggie, turkey, beef and chicken.

Burgers as far as the eye could see…

Everyone waiting patiently for me to take photos

Table #2:

Southwestern chicken salad – my favorite!

Sweet potato fries – these guys went fast!

Fruit shakes: mango and banana/strawberry

Ok…. go!

Brian (Bridget‘s husband) and Alicia

Melissa and Josh

Brian, Lauren, Bridget’s butt (hehe), Shannon and Alicia

My plate:

I finally tried the veggie burger!!! It has onions in it but I couldn’t taste them. I’m super happy about that one because sometimes I really do prefer a black bean burger vs. a meat one. El guapo is my favorite burger combo at b.good.

After eating and chatting, we eventually settled down on the couches. That’s pretty much the only thing I like to do on a full belly.

[Kyle and Tiffany are on the left (I think they're the only ones that I haven't covered yet ) although perhaps Bridget should get a real introduction as well (she's second from the right) ]

Everyone was relaxing… except Adam. He was doing some intense entertainment apparently.

This dinner was a great way to spend some time with my blogger friends. The food was healthy and delicious, we have minimal clean-up (just some wine glasses, oh yeah – I had Yellow + Blue savingon blanc which I liked and some Y+B rosse which I didn’t) and we have plenty of leftovers for the next few days. Now that’s a party that accomplished quite a few things!

Thank you, b.good, again for offering to cater this dinner and thank you Lauren, John, Melissa, Josh, Bridget, Brian, Shannon, Alicia, Tiffany and Kyle for coming!! If you don’t know these awesome bloggers already, check out their blogs (linked above) – they each offer a unique food blogging perspective and even some fashion talk.

And just to make sure we cover all the bases, here are my eats from earlier in the day…

BREAKFAST

Banana oats with Barney Butter and cherry preserves.

Yes I’m crazy. I ate hot oats on a hot summer day. No, you won’t see it again for a while.

WORKOUT

50 min spin + 10 min stretch. I was drenched! I think that means I was using my time wisely.

LUNCH

Mixed greens, tomatoes, roasted beets, CEiMB pesto potato salad, pinto beans and goat cheese + 1T goddess dressing. I could really drink that stuff. Ok, that’s gross…. but I kind of could.

SNACKS

Shelling peas (I ate 1/2 of the bag)

+ banana with Barney Butter (unpictured)

Good day. Time for bed.

Have you ever had a party catered? I could really get used to this kind of luxury.

Obviously I’m going to eat (hopefully some super quick meals that are more “assembly” rather than “cooking” will still be satisfying) but exercise is the easiest thing to push off the schedule when life gets in the way. So how do you find time to exercise when it seems like there is no time to spare? My answer for now is going to be “You have to make it a major priority“. My deadlines are not for a few weeks but it’s a lot of work and I have to have the discipline to work with this in mind. The last few days may get tough, but until then I’m willing to do whatever it takes – that may mean waking up early on some days, or working until very late because I want to go to the gym during lunch. I also will try to increase the intensity of my workouts so that less time at the gym still provides me with a quick burn that I crave. Finally, that also means that some other things will have to suffer. I am sure my DVR will miss me dearly (or maybe not, I know I’ll miss it) and as previously mentioned, elaborately cooked meals will be out of the window for the next few weeks. Some healthy take-out once in a while will also give me a little extra time. Lastly weekend work will surely be required. It’s easy to get so stressed out about work that you don’t allow any time for other activities and burn out quickly, but I’m going to attempt to still take care of my body in the meantime. Do you have any other tips?

Onto today’s eats…

BREAKFAST

Raspberry apricot scone, siggi’s vanilla yogurt, fresh raspberries and strawberries

I froze this scone last week and microwaved it for a minute this morning. Unfortunately the microwave totally fried it. This was a little softer than a rock.

MID-MORNING SNACK

I had 1 almond stuffed date form the little batch I made last night. Here is how the whole “process” looks…

(From left to right): whole medjool date, medjool date cut open with pit inside, date stuffed with almonds, date stuffed with pecans, date stuffed with one of each.

A few closeups… easy, right?

So yeah, I had the guy on the left this morning. He tasted oh so sweet.

LUNCH

Leftovers from last night’s dinner at Panza saved me time today as well.

“Free form lasagna” - black pepper pasta sheets, chicken, mushrooms, spinach, plum tomato ricotta sauce (I had mine without the chicken)

Panza was a really great restaurant (casual, yet inviting, great service, delicious unpretentious food) and this dish was fantastic. I loved the fun shapes of the pasta and the chunky tomato ricotta sauce. If I go back there and order this dish again (very likely!), I’m going to ask for extra mushrooms.

After taking this picture, I also added a handful of cannelloni beans for protein. It was a great lunch!

WORKOUT

After all this talk about finding time for exercise, I did in fact find some time for a bootcamp class tonight. I’ve gained weight recently and its impacting my performance at the gym but it’s not going to stop me from keep trying. In fact, I’m using it as a challenge to get back into it and get even better than I was before!

DINNER

Super quick! Beet greens, diced tomatoes, pesto potato salad, roasted beets, goat cheese and pecan fritatta

Quick side note: the pesto potato salad I made for the pool party on Saturday. It’s this week’s CEiMB recipe hosted by The Not So Skinny Kitchen (recipe here). I am not a fan of the mayo-based potato salads but this one was quite delicious. The fresh peppers were an especially delicious addition – they added a great crunch and lots of brightness to this dish. Pics from the pool party set-up…

So yeah, I threw some of the leftover potatoes/peppers into the pan for some extra heft and carbs. I also pre-roasted the beets end of last week (sliced, at 350* for about 20 minutes). Tonight, I sauteed some beet greens in a sprayed skillet, then added 1/2 can of diced tomatoes, roasted beets and potato salad, cracked 2 eggs and finally threw a few pecans in. That was on the stove for a few minutes, then under the broiler for a few more. Done!

Another un-photogenic meal that was really delicious. Obviously beets + goat cheese go well together. The rest of the ingredients enhanced this combo further. Look at all these veggies!!

This was the perfect quick dinner… and the perfect ending to a great day of eats. I will say I’d love something sweet right about now but it’s getting late and I can probably do without. Maybe at least a sweet apple is in my future.

What are your go-to recipes on a super busy night? Mine will have to be sandwiches and stir-fries.

How do you fit exercise in during super busy days/weeks/months? I’m all ears!