Healthy and Sane » crock pot meals

Productivity can lead to work satisfaction?

Elina — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 03:01:13 +0000

How many of you guys are sneaking around at work and reading blogs? Sometime last week I realized I had a little problem. I was opening up my google reader not only during my lunch break but every time I needed a little mental break. Sure, all the guys around me are reading sports and other “man magazines,” but regardless – I wasn’t feeling comfortable with my little addiction of blog reading in between reports and meetings. So I did something that changed my work productivity drastically! I downloaded LeachBlock and blocked google reader from 9-12 and 1-5. This way I can still enjoy a little reading on my lunch break, but during any other time, it’s all work. I’ve been feeling SO much more productive and it’s making me so happy. Every day by 5pm, I feel like I’ve done 10 hours of work. I’ve been just flying through stuff. It’s been awesome. Who knew that work satisfaction was achievable by doing more work? PS – Healthy and Sane of course should be excluded from any blocked blogs.

Anyways, just wanted to share this little tidbit with you – moving on to today’s eats…

BREAKFAST

Banana walnut muffin

So much nutty goodness

Plain oikos with chia seeds

2 clementines (eek, these guys look veiny)

LUNCH

Leftover scallops with champagne mushroom sauce and orzo

+ roasted broccoli (coconut oil + S&P, roasted at 425* for 40 minutes)

Most delicious lunch I’ve had in a while. So so satisfying!!!

SNACKS

Packed for work, all consumed

DINNER

A few days ago I asked Adam if he had any requests for this week’s menu. He asked that we have some red meat soon. I decided to cook some up today by utilizing our crock pot once again since I had my photography class at night. Guys, the crock pot is quickly becoming my favorite kitchen gadget. It’s so perfect for busy nights!

I followed this recipe for slow cooker Cuban braised beef and peppers, using organic grass-fed sirloin and omitting the onions. I served this deliciousness over whole wheat couscous and a few lime wedges. The beef was incredibly tender and the tomatoes basically melted and kept everything super juicy. Another winner!

I also had 1/2 banana bread larabar during photography class, which was really informative. I actually understand shutter speed, aperture and ISO now. The instructor said that we won’t be allowed to shoot in automatic after next week. Scary and exciting!

And once again it’s past my bedtime…. See you later, kiddos. Thanks for reading. You guys are the best!

Question of the day: how many hours a day/week, do you spend on blog reading?

Eating intuitively vs. eating “whatever you want”

Elina — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 05:17:46 +0000

I’ve been feeling under the weather the past few days. Although I am thankful that I am getting it “out of my system” before our vacation (going to Aruba next Friday!!!), it is really throwing me off my intuitive eating “game.” I feel crappy and hungry… and I’ve fallen into the trap of eating junk “because I can.” I am not judging myself for this but I would like to change it. In my opinion, there is a big difference between eating whatever I want and eating intuitively. My “sensors” for what I truly want are still screwed up. I am used to emotional eating and with my guard down due to my cold, I am giving in to those urges. I know I’m eating too much sugar – my body doesn’t need or really want it but I keep reaching for more! I hope once my throat doesn’t feel like someone stuck a fist in it and won’t let go, everything will be back to normal. I’m fighting for it.

To help me fight this cold, I have been eating clementines and oranges like it’s been my job. I’ve been obsessed with oranges lately. Just can’t get their sweet juices out of my mind! I also finally had a chance to try the Simply Orange juice. I received a free coupon from the company to taste and review it on the blog. I very rarely drink fruit juices but this one came at the right time. I need all the vitamin C I can get. Simply Orange juice is made of 100% orange juice – that’s it! That’s my kind of ingredients list.

Unfortunately, although I love oranges, orange juice is too sweet for me. See the tiny glass I poured myself? I had to choke it down – it was way too sweet. I think Simply Orange needs to use less sweet oranges. Ok, that’s a joke. Adam drinks OJ on a daily basis and really liked this one. I’ll stick to whole oranges myself. The rest of today’s breakfast…

Plain oikos, 2 clementines, 1 banana walnut muffin, TJ’s nutty American trek mix + coffee

To help me get out of my funk, I’ve also been trying to cook some healthy meals. Yesterday’s dinner (also known as today’s lunch) could not be more simple. I know I need my energy so in 5 minutes of prep (and 7 hours in the crock pot), we had a nutritious meal of peppers stuffed with rice, beans, corn, cheese and salsa (recipe can be found here. Thanks, Travis! ).

This was the easiest meal I’ve made in ages. I loved that you didn’t even need to cook the rice – the crockpot took care of it all! As for the taste – it wasn’t bad but nothing earth shattering either. I used a fraction of the cheese, extra corn and nonfat greek yogurt instead of sour cream. I’d probably make this again just because of how easy this was.

Tonight’s dinner was a bit more complex and it was amazing!!! I started with this recipe from Cooking Light for scallops in champagne mushroom sauce. I planned on serving it with some roasted broccoli but Adam and I were so hungry we couldn’t wait for it. So yeah, instead of waiting for 40 minutes for broccoli, I boiled some orzo (took 10 minutes!) and massaged some kale with EVOO, lemon juice, and S&P.

OMG – SOOOOO good! The scallops were perfectly seared (I made sure to really pat them dry and then didn’t move them around the pan) and the mushroom sauce was so incredibly creamy and flavorful. By the way, I cooked 1lb of scallops and then doubled the amount of sauce (although probably only used 1.5x sour cream). The lemony kale also went really nice with the scallops. Best homemade dinner I’ve made in a while, in my opinion. Definitely guest-worthy!

Since we opened a bottle of sparkling wine to cook with, I also poured myself a little glass to have with dinner (I probably had 1/2 of this). Not a bad way to end the night if I say so myself

Oh and here is some evidence of the clementines I’ve been consuming…

And there was a lot more delicious junk that we’ll just quickly run through…

Um, the above container was purchased tonight!

Surprisingly, all this junk did not even make me feel sick. I’m am thankful for that. Tomorrow I plan on kicking it up a notch in the fruit and veggie department. We went grocery shopping tonight before dinner so our fridge is fully stocked.

Do you believe there is a difference between eating intuitively and eating whatever you want? Do they ever become one in the same?

The kitchen is closing early tonight

Elina — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:30:34 +0000

It’s a little before 6pm on Monday and I’m closing my kitchen for the day! On Monday nights, I’m trying to take the Sweat Box class offered at my gym at 7:30 pm. This makes for a bit of a strange eating schedule, but is so worth it – this class rocks!

I typically eat breakfast before work, then a snack around 11, workout at noon, lunch after that, mid-afternoon snack and dinner later at night. On Mondays, it’s all out of whack. My mid-morning snack usually gets eliminated as I patiently wait for lunch (if I bring it to work, I often dig in around 11:30) and then dinner is super early so I can digest before class. Today I went home for lunch to assemble a crock pot dinner, so it was ready for me at 5:20 when I got home. I hope it digests quickly – I got some sweating to do soon

BREAKFAST

A maple cranberry goat cheese filled muffin (say that 10 times fast ), 1/2 cup of 4% cottage cheese and a sweet ripe persimmon + coffee

[408 calories]

LUNCH

TJ’s whole grain flax seed wrap with Laughing Cow wedge, 2 turkey slices and red grapes + fresh cauliflower, baby carrots and a few extra grapes

[271 calories]

Wrap close-up… I love this combo! Sweet + savory = delish

Today’s photo-set up…

Hardcore, I know!

SNACKS

A handful of raisins from this little box

[~42 calories]

Hershey’s chocolate snacksters (from a very old stash – still good though )

[100 calories, duh]

DINNER

Star ingredient: grass fed beef chuck stew meat

I did a little research for crock pot recipes and found this one from Cooking Light for beef daube provencal. This recipe was featured on their “All Time Best Recipes.” Sounded promising There was quite a bit of prep-work but then I could leave for work and it cooked itself. Perfect!

The beef was super tender. I liked this… I don’t know about the best recipe ever, but both Adam and I enjoyed it

Dessert – 3 squares of the dark chocolate bar filled pear caramel (from my xmas stocking )

+ a little pack of roasted almonds (I think you’ve seen enough pics of them, right? )

[dinner = ~600 calories, all together]

Total calories consumed today: ~ 1500

Time to kick some butt!!!! What’s your favorite crock pot recipe? Hook me up, peeps!