My original plan was to finally make this week’s CEiMB recipe for panzanella with chicken sausage which was featured by Pantry Revisited (recipe here)… but something told me that didn’t qualify. In fact, Adam told me if I hesitated to answer whether this was a man meal or not, that meant that it wasn’t. I guess that’s true. I also purchased some fresh corn on the cob at the farmers market on Friday. Corn is best in the very first few days after being picked so that had to be featured for dinner. After a quick brainstorming session we had dinner which qualified as a man meal but also satisfied this girl. I love my man meals just a little fancier.

Italian style chicken sausage on a whole wheat bun with tomato/cucumber/basil “relish” (based on Ellie’s panzanella salad)

Lemon-garlic glazed corn on the cob (recipe here)

This meal really came together. The salad added lots of freshness and the corn recipe was definitely a winner. I’ve never cooked corn on the cob on the skillet but now I’m a believer. It basically steamed with butter/EVOO/garlic + lemon mixture (I used a little less than the recipe called for) which infused it during the cooking process, and then it was finished with the reduced sauce. Lovely. Adam said this was the best corn on the cob he’s had at home (the one from Toro taking first place so far – I am going to attempt recreating that next time).

Working backwards… lunch

Hummus/smoked gouda/capers/ tomato and spicy mustard panini

This wasn’t just any old hummus – I made EDBV white bean hummus with thyme and fresh basil last Sunday (recipe here) and have been enjoying it in a variety of ways. This is a really fantastic dip – there is so much depth of flavor with dijon mustard, garlic, red wine vinegar and all the fresh herbs. I was in love from the first spoonful. I highly recommend it (don’t worry, it’s not too “herby”).

This panini was another great lunch. The combination of a very flavorful hummus with the creamy cheese, a little pickled flavor from the capers and the freshness of tomatoes was absolutely amazing. The hot mustard gave a kick right at the end. Yum!

A few hours later I made this instant blueberry oatmeal snack. I am actually not a fan of this particular oatmeal flavoring but topped with Barney Butter and fresh blueberries, this was quite satisfying. I got these blueberries at the farmers market on Friday – they are SO sweet. I’m so happy I got 2 containers because every time I pack some, a few jump into my mouth (and I have no problem with that at all. lol)

I also had one breakfast cookie before bootcamp in the morning (for visual, see previous post), an iced coffee with soy milk mid-day and at night- an apple, a serving of dry roasted almonds and some fudge when my sweet tooth hit (sorry, no picture – it was quite ugly so I didn’t bother). As previously mentioned, 3-2-1 is going really well. I feel stronger, lighter and overall a lot healthier. That’s a lot to accomplish in a week.

I’m off to work……story of my life.

BREAKFAST

FFL english muffin with crunchy Barney Butter and fresh local strawberries + coffee (of course)

Mmm, these guys were so sweet! Produce really is so much better during peak season. I’m eating as many strawberries as I can these days because in a few weeks there won’t be much of these berries at the farmers market. PS – english muffin + almond butter + any fruit is a great combo… and I mean ANY. Try it!

WORKOUT

Abs + spin classes. My abs were on fire (and somehow I did more today – I don’t learn! ). I had 2 almond stuffed medjool dates before my workout. Dates are a great pre-workout fuel!

LUNCH

Leftover pasta with roasted tomatoes, garlic and white beans. It was a bit better the next day, I guess the flavors developed.

Since it was July 3rd and our office was looking pretty dead, I left around 3 to hit up the farmers market and do other grocery shopping before the long weekend. Eventually hunger hit…

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK

TJ’s Tuscan Pane with Samira’s Homemade baba ganoush and roasted beets

You know all about my obsession with all of the above ingredients so I won’t bore you.

DINNER!

This was my favorite meal of the day. I just love having a grill and the best part about it is that I still get to cook something special. We don’t just throw premade patties on the grill and call it a day.

On the menu for this Friday night, we had a “man meal” as per Adam’s request. I interpret it as pizza, steak & cheese subs or burgers. Last night it wasn’t just any burger though – we made spicy poblano burgers with chipotle cream (recipe here, I didn’t make the pickled onions for obvious reasons ).

I made the patties, Adam did the grilling. The burgers were expertly grilled. He’s becoming good

Instead of pickled onions, I topped my burger with sauerkraut.

Wow, this was one good burger! A little spicy from the roasted poblano peppers, nice and moist from the addition of soft bread and smoky and hot from the chipotle cream. The chipotle cream is $$$, I tell ya.

Corn on the cob, just simply grilled. For some things, simple is best.

Dinner all together. This was an awesome man meal that can be enjoyed by a lady like myself.

After dinner our friends came over for a few drinks on our patio. The weather was gorgeous! I had 2 glasses of the Perducci sustainable white.

This is a great general white – pretty smooth and not very sweet. I’m a fan.

Lastly, no day can be complete without dessert. Tiffany requested chocolate mint ice cream which I attempted to lighten up by using 2% milk and half-and-half instead of whole milk and heavy cream, but for some reason it wouldn’t harden. Does anyone know why? Instead, we had chocolate mint milkshakes with oreo cookie pieces. And yes, we spiked them up with a bit of Bailey’s mint.

It was one good night.

All right, the boys are getting rowdy in the pool so before this post costs me my laptop, I’m going to sigh off. Have a great weekend everyone!!!

I was feeling a little anxious at work. It was about 3pm on Friday and I just wanted to go home. Instantly my body reacted by “craving” cookies (how is that a normal response to such situations I still don’t know). I also was really tempted to skip my after work workout because I knew I still needed to unpack and it was bothering me. Just the thought of skipping my workout brought so much guilt that the cookie cravings intensified even further. I haven’t had a good sweaty workout in over a week and I needed it… yet I was trying to sabotage myself. In my heart and mind I knew I was being irrational, so I started thinking about some Fit from Within tips that would put me in the right mindset.

Take the responsibility, not the blame

I had too much sugar the day before and really wanted to eat cleaner today, but I wanted cookies. I was feeling guilty just about this desire before I even “acted on it.” So I changed my attitude. Blame is demeaning, responsibility is empowering. Instead of blaming myself about my food choices the day before (something I cannot change), I chose to do something about my choices today! Instead of prohibiting myself from buying cookies (punishment), I chose to think about how I can have something much smaller that will not weigh me down and will allow for a great workout I really needed (a much better mentality).

This made all the difference. I didn’t really want the cookies anyway. I just needed a quick escape from work. This 100 calorie dark chocolate bar was sweet and chocolaty – exactly what I wanted without all the calories, fat and guilt from Paradise Bakery cookies.

Alter your definition of success

I had ambitious plans for my workout – it’s been so long, I wanted to make it count. Instead of setting high expectations for myself that just made me want to quit before I even started, I allowed myself to be proud of just going to the gym. It’s not easy for me to go after work. If I can’t make it there during lunch, the probability of me going really diminishes… especially on a Friday. I ended up having an amazing workout after all – I ran 3 miles hard, followed by 20 minutes on the elliptical + some stretching. I felt radiant for the rest of the night. Success!

PS- the gym brought even more inspiration. From the locker room board:

All right, so here are the rest of yesterday’s eats…

BREAKFAST

Ww tortilla, Barney Butter, oikos, 1/2 banana, Zoe’s granola & dried bing cherries + coffee

Breakfast pizza!

LUNCH

2 zucchini roll-ups

+ a fantastic salad!!

Arugula, grilled zucchini, cherry tomatoes, roasted red peppers, cannelini beans, pumpkin seeds and goat cheese – dressed in lemon juice and balsamic vinegar

All together, with water

This lunch made me so happy – so many flavors and textures. I just love grilled veggies with goat cheese and seeds. Mmmm

SNACKS

DINNER

If we stay in on Friday night, I always try to make something a little more special for Adam, aka a “man meal.” These smothered steak burgers from Cooking Light fit the bill.

I followed the recipe to the T, except omitted the shallots. The mushroom mixture was definitely the highlight. The burgers turned out quite juicy as well. I served mine on a Food for Life bun – so hearty. Mid-way I also added a pickle and some ketchup.

Delicious dinner. I already have plans for the leftovers too

What’s your definition of success?

- Because he’s a fun guy! (funghi – get it?)

This joke is brought to you by my husband. He came up with this brilliancy while I was cooking up mushrooms/funghi for dinner and saying how much I love them. He plans on going on tour with this one as his opening joke. I was laughing hysterically, mostly at how silly my husband is. lol

So now that we got some silliness out of the way, I need to share with you that over the last few days, I’ve gotten back to some bad old habits. After dinner I’ve been craving cookies, but since we don’t have any, I’ve been trying to fill the void with just random stuff in the house – even though this was putting me above my calorie allowance. What’s the point of carefully counting all day if at the end I just blow it for no reason?! The magic of calorie counting seized to work and I need to do something about it. It’s time to bring back a daily treat! This will screw up my pretty numbers, but I don’t care. It’s about finding the right balance, and I’m determined to get there. Let’s see if it helps. Of course I’ll keep you guys posted!

[Still laughing about the joke above...]

BREAKFAST

Banana oats (1/2 cup dry) topped with Barney Butter, banana slices (the other half of the banana) and dried cherries

Man, I hate the lighting in my house!! This picture looks so sad. Do you think a fancy SLR would help the situation??

LUNCH

UFood UBistro salad with chicken – organic mixed greens, tomatoes, feta, walnuts, cranberries, chicken + blueberry-pomegranate vinaigrette

Not bad for a healthy lunch on the go. I was actually going to get their falafel wrap that sounded amazing (and I’ve been on a falafel kick since trying Oleana’s spinach falafel) but at 730 calories, I said no thanks!

SNACKS

Plain oikos, grapes + Nature’s Path pumpkin flax plus granola

So delicious, healthy + filling!

A little wrinkly apple in the work library…

DINNER

The kitchen remodel is officially starting on Monday, so last night I made Adam one of his “man meals” before he takes matters into his own hands and goes out to buy something like that. I made his absolute favorite – a steak and cheese sub, but on my own terms – healthy and natural.

We used a lean cut of grass fed beef, mushrooms, organic baguette (unfortunately getting whole wheat was a definitely no-go with Adam) + American cheese. Everything was bought at WF – nice and fresh!

The baguette was actually warm when we picked it up. Just look at this gorgeous crust!! This dinner was amazing – super flavorful without the grease you get at sub shops.  (I cooked the meat and the mushrooms on the skillet with a non-stick spray, then added them to a baguette, topped with cheese and broiled the open-faced sandwich in the toaster oven).

After dinner I ate 2 clementines, some pecans from their bag, a spoonful of Barney Butter (straight from the container) and then decided to stop the madness and made a few cookies (from this cookie dough).

x 2

I was definitely boredom eating and even gave myself a bit of a stomachache. Let’s hope a yummy cookie earlier in the day will make for a more satisfying evening – sans random snacking!

What are your post dinner rituals?

The post today is a little bit more “serious.” Naturally with the year nearly ending I’ve been doing lots of reflecting. Yes, I’ve grown a lot over the year, but I’m not finished yet. The holiday season set me back once again (I talked about it here, did better the next day, and went back to my old bad habits the day after that). I just haven’t been very happy with myself lately and I know the reason is too many mindless bites (that I cannot seem to avoid no matter how hard I try or how motivated I am!) which often lead to sub-par workouts (or none at all if I’m too full – today was exhibit A of such behavior). So for one millionth time this season I mentioned it to my husband. He can tell I haven’t been myself/100% happy, even if I try to hide it. It’s hard because usually there isn’t much he can say to “make it better,” but for some reason today his suggestion worked (at least in theory). So here it is… I didn’t want to do this, but I’m desperate and I think this will do the trick – I’m temporarily going back to calorie counting. I know I can eat intuitively and maintain my weight, but for some reason I’ve gotten way off track and can’t bring myself back to only eating intuitively (and not stuffing my face with chocolate and random snacks). Calorie counting will be a bit of a shock to my system, a shock that I think I very much need. It won’t be about severe restriction, although I will cut down a bit since those 6+ holiday pounds I’ve gained must go! I will try this for the month of January, and see if this is enough to get the old Elina back.

Now let’s see what today’s eats looked like…

BREAKFAST

1 FFL english muffin with Barney Butter and 1/2 banana + coffee

I woke up starving but for some reason this breakfast really filled me up. I was actually sick for hours after eating it as if I went overboard at an unlimited food buffet. Not sure what’s up with that but it was not a good time

“SNACKS”

1 real snack – this orange was beyond sweet and juicy. Yum!

And then the junk food raid began… (there is a limitless supply of cookies and chocolates in my office so when I get a craving, it’s way too easy to satisfy it!)

I will say these were very yummy

LUNCH

I ended up having lunch at home, which is always fun. Did I ever show you guys where I often take pictures when I’m home? Yep, that’s our back yard. The lighting in our condo is terrible so when it’s light out (and I decide to brave the cold), I go outside and snap a photo there. Pretty scenic, no?

Brie + green apple and dijon mustard panini + salad with mixed greens, remaining apple and Annie’s goddess dressing

Mmm, melty brie…

Dessert – an almond stuffed date

DINNER

Dinner was definitely a “man meal.” We were able to get some grass fed beef at WF on Sunday, so Adam requested that I cook some sirloin tips for dinner and make fries. Here is what we got…

Grass fed sirloin tips, marinaded in EVOO, balsamic vinegar, garlic and brown sugar (used an Ellie Krieger recipe) for a few hours and grilled for about 10 minutes.

For the fries, I following this recipe for garlic fries from Cooking Light, using fresh thyme instead of parsley (Adam doesn’t like parsley). The fries were beyond amazing! I wish we had more than 1 potato so I could have had more than just a few of these.

Of course veggies are a must. I deviated from my tried and true recipe for parmesan brussels sprouts (from 101 cookbooks) and tried the roasting method by following this recipe from Cooking Light (originally found through A Better Bag of Groceries). Looking good my little babies…

Unfortunately this recipe cannot even compare to our beloved parmesan brussels sprouts, even after I added some shredded parmesan. I think cutting them in half really helps with the texture + brussels sprouts on the stove top take way less time. Heidi’s version definitely wins!

My plate (I only had a few fries so Adam could have them but we had a baked potato in the fridge so I had some of it instead):

Oh yes, while cooking dinner I snacked on some (unpictured) somersaults, fresh cauliflower and roasted almonds which definitely spoiled my appetite! I had maybe 3/4 of the steak…

4 fries + maybe 2 bites of the baked potato

and about 3/4 of the brussels sprouts

What I really wanted was Adam’s fries. SO good!!!!!!!!

The decision to resume counting calories was made after dinner because I was upset with myself for overeating right before it (this has been happening a lot lately). I hope you guys support me in my journey back to what I know has worked in the past and hopefully will work again. My first day should be interesting

What else made me happy today? SUNFLOWERS! They were everywhere at the farmers market and I just had to get a little bouquet. Sunflowers are such happy flowers, don’t you think?

BREAKFAST

2 wildberry waffles with Barney Butter and a bruised apple (still yummy!)

LUNCH

Giant salad: mixed greens, grape tomatoes, leftover steak, mushrooms and peppers, roasted red peppers, and carrots

+ organic red grapes for dessert

SNACKS

Macaun apple (pre-gym snack). At the gym I lifted for 45 minutes and did a bit of foam rolling. My legs are tight!

Sea salt somersaults <3

1/2 FFL english muffin with Nutella (made it instead of buying a pastry – Nutella is no health food but the whole grains in the english muffin definitely made this snack a healthier choice than a cookie)

TJ’s light string cheese

DINNER

Homemade pizza on TJ’s herb/garlic dough (we used 2/3 of the dough for this pie for 2)

Tonight I ate 1/4 of the pizza with tuna and corn for toppings. We used to eat tuna/corn pizzas in Israel all the time, since meat and dairy together isn’t kosher. It may sound strange, but this combo is SO delicious. The corn kernels just pop in your mouth and burst with flavor. Yum yum yum

Oh yeah, I also had a sip of Adam’s glass of pizza wine It was surprisingly sweet – almost like a Riesling. I liked my sip

How do you like that classy $2 price tag right on the bottle?

Do you ever get urges to eat junk, day after day? If so, how do you deal with it?

I started my morning with one of my quick breakfasts (although not portable!) – yogurt parfait. It’s been a while…

BREAKFAST

TJ’s nonfat organic European style yogurt, 1 small apple, fresh local raspberries, stale pb Puffins , Kashi Golean cereal and dry-roasted almonds

Delicious and nutritious

MID-MORNING SNACK

Small apple (you’ll be seeing lots of apples on the blog – I can’t get enough of them!!) + 1/2 Sencha original green tea bar

This fueled me through a 4 mile run, which I stupidly started too fast. After 2.5 miles I was averaging 8:17, then realized I may actually hurt myself right before the race, so I slowed down and completed the last 1.5 miles at a more comfortable pace. My garmin said total average was 8:20 but I know it was off. It gets confused in the city sometimes FIVE DAYS until the half marathon!!!

LUNCH

I had a bunch of cabbage and decided to make Heidi’s Japanese pizza recipe. I substituted rehydrated dried wild mushrooms for the leeks, used 1 whole egg and 1 egg white and nixed the chives. I’m a cabbage fan so I enjoyed this dish, but if you don’t like cabbage, this probably won’t win you over. It was very cabbagy This is 1/2 of the “pizza”:

Dessert – chocolate cheesecake. Yeah, a bit too indulgent for lunch (what was I thinking?!!). I had a stomachache for most of the afternoon after this

DINNER

Homemade steak & cheese with mushrooms, peppers and American cheese on baguette. This is Adam’s favorite meal and it was definitely to please him. We used very lean antibiotic-free meat, so it was pretty healthy too

Unfortunately I ate more unphotographed food. My random snacking habit is coming back in full force and I really need to nip it in the bud before it gets completely out of hand and I gain a substantial amount of weight (oh yes, a few pounds have already resulted from this annoying mindless munching). The aforementioned snacks would include lots of nuts and 2 small cookies. Boo!

What’s your favorite portable breakfast that can be made ahead? Feel free to forward recipes!

We started out by sampling some nachos, which were made with lean turkey, fat free cheddar and lots of fresh tomatoes and peppers.

I had a cheesy helping with some salsa and nonfat greek yogurt. Delicious!!

Next we tried 3 types of wings and 2 different blue cheese sauces. The simple lean turkey breast tenders in a nice marinade were not very “wingy” but delicious nonetheless. Out of the 2 sauces, everyone agreed that the chunkier nonfat greek yogurt with low fat blue cheese crumbles won over the bottled fat free blue cheese dressing.

The oven “fried” breaded wings in a Frank’s hot buffalo sauce were everyone’s favorite. They weren’t as crispy as their fried counterparts, but the flavor was all there. I’d rather have a few extra wings for less calories and significantly less oil then a crunchy exterior. I suggested that this recipe is tested with a more open broiler pan and EVOO spray on the wings. Maybe it would make them a little crispier after all. Saucy…

The third wings were covered in cajun spices and pan fried. I think those were everyone’s least favorite and somehow also escaped my camera. Oops

There there were potato skins with turkey bacon and fat free cheddar.

I had a special serving made with no scallions. Awesome!! I’ve never actually had potato skins and I’m a big potato fan, so I enjoyed these very much. Others mentioned that a little less potato and a little more filling would be good. I’m looking forward to seeing what the final featured recipe looks like on the blog.

Lastly there were pita pizzas: turkey pepperoni, chicken sausage and pepper and bbq chicken. The bbq chicken was the bomb!!

Guess who brought dessert? I stopped by the Flour Bakery on the way over to the party and asked them to give me 1 of each cookie they had. You know I was looking to sampling these!!

Unsurprisingly the 2 cookies with the most chocolate won me over (double chocolate and oreo). Everyone was happy to end the tasting on a sweet note

Side note: While at Flour, I also purchased their granola bar – oats, honey, walnuts, cranberry-apricot-apple jam (don’t be fooled by the healthy name – this is a pastry!). WOW!!!! I’m in love and there was no chocolate in sight.

Adam and I had a great time being guinea pig taste testers! Don’t Look Like a Lineman was launched yesterday. If you like what you see here, check out Don’t Look Like a Lineman for recipes, and if you know any guys that need to be educated in the healthy foods department and may want to drop a few pounds, let them know there is a new blog tailored to their needs.

What’s your favorite game day food? Do you try to “healthify it” or indulge in the “real thing”?

Breakfast: yogurt with 1/2 peach, Maine blueberries, Kashi GoLean cereal and Zoe’s granola. Isn’t this plate gorgeous? I brought a bunch of antique plates from my grandma. They make me happy

Pre-workout snack: 1/2 FFL english muffin with Barney Butter and 1/2 peach

Workout: 4.15 mile run at 8:17 mpm average speed. The run felt pretty rough. I wonder if my cold was coming on already and I didn’t even know it

Lunch: peach and cheddar cheese panini

The secret ingredient:

This was a really fun lunch! The sweetness of the peach was perfectly complemented by the sharp cheddar and the spicy mustard. I loved it!

Something sweet: 2 Israeli cookies + wild berry tea (included in my giveaway package)

Dinner was a stuffed burger inspired by this recipe from Cooking Light. I made a bunch of modifications based on our preferences and what we had on hand. I of course omitted the onions, replaced the pancetta with kalamata olives (4 olives per burger), omitted the pesto mayo and served mine on a FFL whole grain english muffin. So at the end, dinner was a black olive/cheddar stuffed burger:

All right, I’m going back to bed. Hope your weekend is a little more exciting than mine!

1) I learned that I use food to deal with my emotions. I know many people that lose weight when going through a tough period in their life because food just doesn’t seem appealing to them. I’m the opposite – I reach for food. It’s comforting. It fills the void. I got some very scary news about my aunt yesterday morning (she was hospitalized, etc. can’t get into too many details) and every time I thought about it, I got the urge to eat. I fought this urge because I knew this wasn’t about food and that me eating would not make my aunt feel any better. But eventually I ate a cookie (which I planned on having later in the afternoon so that’s why I was ok with it) but I didn’t even taste it. It was almost robotic if that makes any sense. The same happened with lunch. Later in the afternoon I got the urge for more food. I wasn’t hungry. Again I knew it was about something else. This time it was work. I am stressed out and overwhelmed just thinking about everything I have to do. I fought the urge to eat again but eventually made a snack (yogurt – see below). I’m not upset about what I ate but don’t like this need to eat to deal with my feelings. Do you eat instead of dealing with your feelings sometime? How do you change this behavior when the instinct is to reach for a cookie or even a healthy snack? Knowing that I’m eating for the wrong reasons still doesn’t prevent me from doing it!

2) On a less “deep note” hehe – I need to buy some new lotions. I’m looking for a night cream, an eye cream and maybe some shampoo and conditioner. I like this website that tells you about all the toxins in many products. The problem is that many of the better products are from obscure brands so I don’t know if they are any good. This is why I’m coming to you. Do you have any natural/chemical free creams and shampoos that you love? Do share with us here!

Yesterday’s eats…

Banana oats with Barney Butter, apple butter + cacao nibs. I’m still not really crazy about this cacao nibs. They’re a bit bitter for me. Gotta bake with them asap

Tom’s Mom’s chocolate chip cookie. This is the cookie referenced above (and the one I saved on Friday). I liked the chocolate part but the actual cookie dough was nothing special. I ate it anyway.

Lunch- random leftovers.

Italian side: Sunday’s dinner

Southern side: Friday’s dinner

Oikos with fresh blueberries, cantaloupe and 1 medjool date:

Dinner was fantastic! I watched Bobby’s Flays Throwdown on green chili burgers and was inspired to make my own simple version. This burger was made with grass fed lean ground beef with 1 slice of American cheese and some green chilis – on a Food for Life english muffin. On the side I had some super cool farmers market carrots. Adam said this was the best burger he’s ever had and apparently from now on we have to always have green chilis on all of our burgers

The carrots are so pretty

Dessert was a sample I got at Whole Foods earlier in the night.

This was just ok. Very sweet. I guess I’m not really a kettle corn fan.  I ate it anyway (with some help from Adam)

I also ate some roasted almonds and 2 cookie topped brownies. I definitely had more than 1 treat during the day but it was a rough day. I needed to just let go at the end of the night and it wasn’t in an abusive way either. I enjoyed those treats throughout the night while hanging out with my husband. The second brownie was honestly eaten because it was the last one in the container. Stupid reason but I’m being honest. I’ll try to eat a little cleaner today to balance things out. No sweat

Hope you have a fabulous Tuesday!