So yeah, obviously I wasn’t able to feel confident right then and there but I did think about all the times and situations when I do in fact feel pretty confident. I feel confident at work; I feel confident when I put on a workout top that accentuates my muscular shoulders; I feel confident when I put some time into my outfit and do my hair… and I know I look good. So now is your turn – when do you most feel confident?

BREAKFAST

Banana oats with TJ’s nutty’s American trek mix + coffee

Bananas really MAKE oats! Ok, so does a little chocolate on top.

MID-MORNING SNACK

Chocolate peanut butter granola bar

WORKOUT

A very sweaty spin class. I am beyond sore today so I took it easier on the resistance but definitely made up for it in speed. Love this Wednesday class. The instructor is really the best (the instructor is key in spin!!).

LUNCH

I’m super proud of this one – we had nearly no food left in the fridge but I still pulled out this amazing lunch.

TJ’s ww tortillas with Cedar’s hummus, 1 turkey slice, Neiman Ranch ham, grape tomatoes and pickles + fresh carrots

All rolled up:

… and cut for ease of eating and blogging purposes :grinL

SO crazy delicious and also crazy filling. This guy filled me up for 6+ hours.

EARLY EVENING SNACK

DINNER

Post grocery trip meal – a giant salad! I had a little help from the Whole Foods salad bar where I bought a few pieces of roasted peppers, zucchini, eggplant and 2 tofu cubes. The rest of the salad included: mixed greens, heirloom grape tomatoes, goat cheese and tamari roasted chickpeas.

The tamari-roasted chickpeas recipe came from my new cookbook. Recipe can also be found on Dreena’s blog here. I used dark soy sauce instead of tamari and thyme instead of rosemary but anyways, I loved them. The smell of coconut oil while the chickpeas were roasting was intoxicating!!!

Awesome salad!

Dessert (my treat of the day): the last raspberry square.

Today was much better if you haven’t noticed already. How was your day? We’re over the week’s hump… I’m ready for the weekend already!

Let’s remind ourselves what the kitchen looked like before:

That hole on the left wall is the opening to the living room.

Oh yeah, 1980′s all the way!

And now the after pics.

Can you see how open it is now to the living room?

It’s looking a little bare right now. I can’t wait to put all of our stuff back in and make it really ours. For now, it just feels like we are in someone else’s (nicer looking) house. We couldn’t be happier!!

What do you think? How did we do?

I broke out the new stove by making a… wait for it…. frozen pizza! Hehe, we had no groceries and I actually wasn’t sure that the kitchen was going to be done today. It’s been going to be done “today” for over a week now.

TJ’s wild mushroom black truffle flatbread – my favorite!

I had 1/2 of this. Good thing I’m a good wife because I easily could have eaten the whole thing but I left the rest for Adam.

Adam was a good husband too. He brought me cookies that I “urgently” requested. Sometimes a girl just needs cookies.

I’m just a model of health here today, aren’t I? I figured it was better to satisfy my craving than eat everything else in the house.

The rest of today’s eats…

2 mini cinnamon buns from Holey Donuts

Instant blueberry oats, 1/2 banana, Barney Butter and cherry preserves

Very sweet but oh so good.

Mixed greens, grilled chicken, dried figs, cucumbers, pears and goat cheese

The pear slices were by far the best part of the salad!

Clif Mojo mountain mix bar

Smartfood popcorn clusters

Too much sugar, not enough fruits and veggies. Oh well. Everyday can’t be perfect, right?

We’re taking my parents out to dinner tomorrow night to celebrate my promotion and the new kitchen, so my next post will be a dinner recap (I have a pizza lunch tomorrow at work – not exactly exciting stuff).

The kitchen is done!!!!!! Sorry, I just had to say it one more time. Weeeeeeee

Anyways, before the stupid binge (which included a bunch of pecans, a Mojo mountain mix bar, chocolate covered edamame and chips!! <– I never want those!) my eats were super delicious. Let’s review, shall we?

BREAKFAST

Overnight oats with banana slices, Kashi Golean cereal, walnuts and raisins + coffee

Looks pretty but it wasn’t that exciting. I think overnight oats are just not for me. I’d rather have yogurt straight up… or hot oats. That’s just me

[398 calories]

The perfect bite!

MID-MORNING SNACK

[168 calories]

LUNCH

I was pretty proud of this one! It was so fresh and SO delicious (thanks to the sauce).  Spinach, broccoli, snow peas, shredded carrots, TJ’s organic savory baked tofu + almonds in Jenna’s spicy sesame noodle sauce (I made it ages ago).

The sauce recipe made like a gallon and the stuff is caloric so I’ve been using only a tablespoon or 2 at a time.  I have been keeping the sauce in a Nalgene bottle and it was as fresh tasting yesterday as it was a year ago. Just opening the sauce bottle in the morning got me super excited about lunch! The sauce aroma is amazing – tahini + sesame oil really are a match made in heaven.

Saucy lunch…

Brownie anyone?

[all together ~ 515 calories]

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK

PURE cherry cashew bar – love them!

[200 calories]

DINNER

Another amazing meal – seriously prior to my binge I was eating like a queen!! Apple chicken sausage “dog” with honey mustard, pumpkin butter and fresh pear slices + baby carrots

The star of the show… the perfect balance between sweet and savory.

Before reading food blogs (and of course writing one), I would have never thought I’d like something like this. Good thing I’m more adventurous now – it was an incredible combination of flavors!!

The only thing that got documented as I was eating my weight in food…

KITCHEN REMODEL UPDATE

Our walls and ceiling are closed!! I can actually picture what the kitchen will look like now. It’s so open – I love it! We have less than a week left for it to be done (fingers crossed)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any fun plans for Valentine’s day? I think we’re going to wake up to the oh so romantic sound of kitchen remodeling.

So here is the deal – I’m stress eating veggies right now. I guess it could be worse!

Adam and I just got back from a really awesome dinner (guess what kind? haha) and a few moments after plopping myself on the couch, I went back for the leftovers. So good! I’ll post about dinner separately. The pictures came out too good to be buried in this monster of a post you’re about to read (hopefully, lol).

So let’s go back to my reason for stress eating… prior to dinner we went to a tile store to pick out the back splash for our kitchen. We actually knew exactly what we wanted to see (saw pictures online, fell in love with them, basically planned the rest of our kitchen around them) and wanted to see the tiles in real life before forking over the big bucks. Here is what we came to see (the tile on the left)…

The 3 little squares on the wood (which is a model cabinet door of our kitchen) are the countertop colors we were trying to pick out. We loved the different colors all combined together in a tile mosaic, but I thought the brown in the tiles looked too cold compared to the warm cherry wood cabinets. Starting over…

Tiles, tiles, everywhere!

Which one would you choose?

We finally picked the tile in the middle (the monochromatic look actually looked super sleek!) but it looked light blue in the store and looks lifeless in my pics! What we actually thought we picked out looked more like this (but a little lighter)…

Blue-ish gray, right? Well in real life it looked super blue (too blue!!). I’m freaked out. Did my camera capture the wrong light or is the lighting in that store completely distorted? The tile we picked out was called “gray” but it looked blue-ish in the showroom. Will it actually look like boring gray in our house? Ok so basically that’s why I’m freaking out and eating veggies. Yeah, you don’t want to be in my head sometimes!

KITCHEN REMODEL UPDATE PICS

There was more improvement on the kitchen than just me confusing the hell of myself and Adam trying not to get too frustrated with my indecisiveness. We now have recessed lights!!

And the light switches have been relocated. Awesomeness!

We also have our electricity back! Oh the simple things in life…

FOOD

Aside from reading a little more about dSLRs…

Yes, I am a digital SLR dummy! … I’ve also been eating. I’ve been eating some handmade chocolate truffles…

Chocolate coconut macaroons (ok, actually one macarooN)..

… and (whoa) real food too! Note: this is food from the last 2 days.

BREAKFAST

Yesterday: yogurt with oats, banana slices, pomegranate seeds and pecans + coffee

This morning: Au Bon Pain whole grain bagel with sundried tomato cream cheese and tomato + coffee

I haven’t had a bagel in ages. This tasted like heaven!

LUNCH

Yesterday: Niman Ranch ham, cucumbers and hummus on TJ’s whole wheat Tuscan Pane + baby carrots

This sandwich was the bomb! Cucumbers and hummus are amazing together. I can picture little tea sandwiches on soft bread with just cucs and hummus. Mmm…

Today’s lunch: 

I put this together with food that was rescued from our backyard after our fridge was working again (Adam took all the food outside in the cold last night since it was colder there than in our apt). Not sure if I was brave or stupid to do this. Still tasted great!

brown rice + pinto beans + Niman Ranch ham

and grape tomatoes + cucumbers in nonfat yogurt, S&P (this is a Russian classic, typically made with sour cream. The yogurt works great too!)

SNACKS

Can you say food porn? 1/2 banana with Barney Butter

Clif zbar chocolate brownie

It was actually REALLY good! A little small though, so I’m calling it a snack instead of dinner.

DINNER

Horrible pictures – delicious food! This is a few bites I got at Samurai last night.

Ika sansai: squid salad with mango, mountain string beans and vinegar

This was so incredibly flavorful! The squid was marinated with lots of ginger and lemon. I actually couldn’t taste the mango but seriously – the squid was the best!

Sunomono – seaweed and cucumbers served in lightly seasoned rice vinegar

As you can see, I ordered it with seafood, which was very lightly grilled (basically raw). This was NOT seaweed and I did not enjoy whatever veggie it was because of the weird rice vinegar but the fish was great. I love sushi!!

So that’s my past 2 days in a nutshell (except for tonight’s dinner which you’ll see tomorrow). I was working until nearly midnight last night (with that short break for dinner) so I am definitely ready for bed tonight.

Sorry for the information overload here. What can I say, I like to “talk.” Who’s ready for the weekend?!!!

BREAKFAST

I tried to start the morning with some overnight oats, except later in the day I realized that what I prepared last night was just yogurt with oats… you need milk for overnight oats. Hey, it still tasted pretty yummy!

In the mix – 1/3 c rolled oats, 1/2 cup nonfat yogurt, Zoe’s granola, fresh mango, 1 medjool date and walnut pieces. Sweet and tart – delicious.

[422 calories with coffee]

MID-MORNING SNACK

Fresh banana bread (from the office)

[~200 calories?]

LUNCH

Mixed greens, grape tomatoes, 1/4 avocado, pinto beans + meat from 1.5 chicken drumsticks, dressed in 1T of Annie’s balsamic vinaigrette

So much delicious healthy fat – the avocado + pinto beans were super creamy and the chicken tasted extra buttery (no butter there, just dark meat which I rarely eat).

[306 calories]

WORKOUT

I ran outside today!! I received an email from my sister today telling me she ran outside at 6 am this morning. I was so impressed that I decided to go for a run outside myself… and I even found a buddy to go with me. A girl that works at my gym is training for a half marathon right now. We snuck out of work mid-day for a 40 minute run. I didn’t start my garmin right away, but I think we held an 8:30 minute pace (it was hard!!!) and ran for about 4.5 miles. The cooldown walk never felt so good (even though it was freezing and windy out)!!

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK

Blueberry mango cranberry bran muffin

[220 calories]

DINNER

Late night at work calls for super easy dinners – this is V8 tomato soup + a toast with organic cheddar

The soup was a little sweet on its own, but the cheddar toasts balanced it out really well.

Mmm, who doesn’t love grilled cheese dipped in tomato soup? This soup even had other hidden veggies (like zucchini). Love that!

[349 calories]

[100 calories] – This cookie is nothing special.

POST-WORK SNACK

A few spoonfuls of pomegranate seeds… I love how they burst in your mouth!

Total calories consumed: 1622 + pomegranate seeds (can’t find their nutritionals right now)

How do you balance out your meals + snacks? Do you include dessert with a meal or eat it as a snack (if at all)? I usually prefer sweeter snacks over savory ones, but once in a while I crave pickles or hummus.

- 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?

BREAKFAST

Banana oatmeal with PB&J + coffee

The “J” was actually cranberry sauce from last night’s Thanksgiving dinner. I could really taste the dried cherries in it today. Delicious!!

DINNER

For dinner, the turkey leftovers were transformed into Asian wontons, based on the tip from page 74 of the November 2009 Cooking Light issue. I made a mixture of minced turkey, ginger, mushrooms and soy sauce, then Adam stuffed them in Nasoya wonton skins and boiled them in some chicken broth for a few minutes. They were really delicious with TJ’s gyoza sauce (I had about 4 or 5)!

We took the Asian theme a little further and decided to make some hot and sour soup. I followed this recipe from About.com, omitting the pork, the dry lili buds (what are these anyway?) and scallions, used dehydrated black trumpet mushrooms instead of black fungus, 2 cups of chicken broth and 4 cups of water, and a little more rice vinegar than the recipe called for (based on reviewers’ suggestions). I also finished it with 1 teaspoon of chili oil for the whole batch.

This picture doesn’t look like much, but I really felt like I was in a Chinese restaurant, except I’m sure this was way healthier! It tasted very authentic.  The whole meal really hit the spot and took care of my Asian food craving that I didn’t even know I had. SO good! I can’t wait to have it again!

DESSERT

Tonight’s dessert was not Turkey day inspired, but is my CEiMB entry for the week. This week we were allowed to pick our own Ellie Krieger recipe to feature, and I decided to finally make this recipe for cherry almond chocolate clusters my sister told me about nearly a year ago! Chocolate, roasted almonds and dried cherries are probably my 3 favorite things in the world, so I can’t believe it actually took me this long to make these. I’m glad I did, because both Adam and I thought they were incredible and I think will be a great treat to have around when that sweet tooth kicks into high gear.

The key is to definitely use high quality chocolate (I used a mixture of organic Green & Black’s espresso chocolate and Scharffen Berger semisweet chocolate) and I guarantee you’ll fall in love. They’re even pretty healthy (dark chocolate has lots of antioxidants!), as long as you can stop at just 1 I’ve been a good girl so far.

I’m loving this super long weekend! What are your favorite ways to enjoy Thanksgiving leftovers? I’m thinking there is a turkey sandwich and maybe cranberry sauce muffins in my future

Anyways, before the tear jerking pecans jumped into my mouth, the day really was wonderful. Let’s recap, shall we?

BREAKFAST

Banana oats with raisins, walnuts, 2 crumbled apple and carrot shortbread cookies + nonfat yogurt

Breakfast pretty much rocked!

Then Adam and I realized that it was amazing outside, so instead of cleaning we decided to go for a walk. So much more fun! Somehow we ended up in China Town, and decided to grab a little snack/lunch…

LUNCH

We’ve heard that Windsor Dim Sum Cafe is one of the best in Boston for dim sum. It was around 3pm, so we easily were able to get a table. Excellent! The place is quite small with just a few tables and the atmosphere is nothing to write home (err blog) about, but the food made up for it!

We started with some jasmin tea…

… and ordered a few favorites: steamed shrimp dumplings, bbq pork buns and glutinous rice noodles with shrimp

This was on par with the best dim sum we had in Hong Kong!!! The steamed shrimp dumplings were especially incredible – so tender and juicy. I had a 3rd one We’ll definitely be back to Windsor Cafe!

Our adventures around China Town and Boston continued, first with a large supermarket. Adam was in ramen noodle heaven

I couldn’t get over how gorgeous Boston Common looked. Wow, the fall is really here!! The pictures do not do it justice. The park looked breath-taking!

Newbury St had a little chocolate surprise for us…

These free chocolate samples were the perfect post lunch dessert. I took a picture inside but was told that’s not allowed (sorry, I can’t share it with you ). The place IS adorable!!!!

SNACKS

1 blondie + 1/2 brownie with cherries

A persimmon (I ended up eating only half)

3 little endive boats with orange slices, goat cheese and candied walnuts

DINNER

Ham, avocado, grape tomatoes and TJ’s white bean basil hummus in a TJ’s ww wrap + baby carrots

Kick-ass combo, if I do say so myself!! For some reason, though, I was still hungry, so I kept eating…

1 serving of sea salt somersaults

Still obsessed with these babies! So nutty, crunchy and delicious. Worth the shipping price, I promise

And here are the evil maple pecans from Whole Foods. I got a container on Friday night and now it’s gone This handful was just the beginning

Clearly this is a trigger food I can not have in the house. Oh well, you live, you learn.

On a non-food related note, I just caught up on the last few weeks of So You Think You Can Dance. Do any of you watch this show? I used to do ballroom dancing when I was little (and actually for a bit when I was in college), and really miss it watching the show. I wonder if there are any decent classes in Boston. Something to research This show is not only beautiful but also so incredibly inspirational. These dancers transform themselves into stars by working hard and learning from each other. I think it can be applied to other aspects of our lives. I’m really touched by this show. That and the Biggest Loser. What are your favorite shows? Mine also include “How I Met Your Mother”, “The Office,” and “Lost.”

Hope you had a great weekend! Check back soon; I’m posting a giveaway in a bit.

BREAKFAST

Banana pumpkin oats with pumpkin butter, walnuts and autumn olives + coffee

I love the colors! (Also this was very delicious )

LUNCH

Defrosted zucchini ribbon pasta

Note to self: cooked pasta does not freeze well… this was kind of mushy

+ a mini peanut butter & jelly larabar

I’ve been looking for these all over Boston with no luck so I got very excited when I saw that they were given out at the Vegetarian Food Festival that I attended this past weekend. A mini bar is quite small (and I believe around 100 calories)…

The verdict? Not bad but not as incredible as I was hoping it would be. A definite peanut taste (like in the peanut butter cookie larabar) and a definite cherry taste (I LOVE cherries) but I don’t know… maybe it’s the texture. I tried closing my eyes and pretending it was a pb&j sandwich but of course knew it was a larabar

SNACKS

Peanut butter cookie at the office (I just can’t pass up baked goods!!)

100 calorie pack of almonds + walnuts

DINNER

Dinner was another recipe from the Cooking Light Healthy Budget Cooking issue. This time I used this recipe for cornmeal crusted tilapia with tomatilla salsa. I also made some roasted potatoes + steamed green beans for sides (as suggested) and enjoyed a glass of Relax riesling.

Perfectly cooked fish, if I say so myself

The fish was really fresh and well cooked but the crusting was nothing special and neither was the salsa. Both Adam and I thought it was pretty flavorless except for being very spicy. The potatoes were quite the hit though. Duh

My after dinner dessert was the Crazy Camel chocolate mousse hummus.

I loved this stuff when Chuck from the company sent it to me to taste test, and jumped at the chance to buy some at the Vegetarian Food Festival. Their mascot is the cutest, isn’t he?

All right, I’m running late again. I need to get back into blogging at night instead of in the morning before work. Bad Elina, bad! Hope you have a wonderful Thursday. Don’t forget to enter my Nasoya giveaway – you have until tonight only!!

BREAKFAST

I kept my eats as clean as possible today. I felt I needed to detox a bit. Banana oats with unsweetened dried cherries, turkish apricots, flax and almond slivers. Simple and delicious

LUNCH

Tuna/hummus/pickle wrap + baby carrots. If you haven’t tried adding hummus to your tuna yet, you’re missing out. It really makes everything nice and creamy (I used 2T for a can of tuna and with these proportions you don’t actually taste the hummus) – no mayo necessary, and you get some healthy fats

SNACKS

Clearly, I’m obsessed!

This is what 100 calories of nuts looks like, if you’re curious

See the little packets of ketchup in the right top corner? I thought they were so cute so I had to take a picture (this is at work)!! I’m such a dork What’s not cute is the high fructose corn syrup in the ingredients list. We only buy organic Heinz ketchup for the house (same taste, no junk!).

DINNER

Organic chicken and green beans in TJ’s masala simmering sauce + brown rice

This was a quick and easy dinner, but nothing special. We missed the creaminess of the chicken tikka masala you get at restaurants (which unfortunately is full of full fat yogurt and cream).

I baked some pumpkin pie muffins for breakfast tomorrow. I may have to get a little taste test while they’re still warm from the oven

Oh for workout today, I took a crazy abs and spin classes. Lately my workouts have been extra intense. Not sure if it’s me or the instructors   Off to get ready for tomorrow. I’m actually going to attempt to get up early for an pre-work workout. We’ll see how that goes

The winner of the V8 soup giveaway will be announced tomorrow night.