Can Salad... and can you make chickpeas taste like cookies?

Hey, what's up?

Hungry?

I'm not.  Because I ate a delicious salad.  I call it "Can Salad" because it requires the opening of a lot of cans.  I used to call it Steak Salad and I still could call it that, but I feel like the new and improved "Can Salad" title is much more fitting.  Because essentially, you can open up cans of whatever you have and put it in your salad.  I'm made this steak salad so many times that I don't even follow the original recipe.  This time, I used:

• Romaine Lettuce
• Chickpeas
• White kidney beans
• Red Kidney beans
• Chopped cucumbers
• Chopped tomatoes
• Broken up pieces of whole wheat pita chips
• Steak (cooked on the stove, seasoned to your liking)
• I know what you're thinking now.  Julie, you eat a lot of red meat.  You're so right, reader.  And I rarely eat red meat and never order it in a restaurant.  I just happened to pick two recipes with steak and blogged about cow parts two days in a row.  I blame the quinoa.  Please forgive me?  I'll make it up to you tomorrow, I promise.  Okay great thanks.

Dressing: Sweet Relish.  I do not like pickles and I love this relish stuff.  Perfect light dressing.  Even MJ only used the Relish as dressing without adding anything else.  If that's not enough for you though, you can add EVOO or some red wine vinegar.  Or both.  Or make up your own dressing.  You, too, can ignore a recipe just like I have done many times!

I'm pretty sure the recipe is also supposed to call for corn, but after I opened the three cans, MJ said we had enough and we will save the corn for something else.  Any ideas?

my beautiful Can Salad!

Speaking of too many beans, we have a very large amount of left overs.  Most of the beans, veggies and meat we will use for lunch or left over salads, but I saw this recipe on pinterest for chickpea cookie dough, so the remaining chickpeas are definitely going to sacrificed for the sake of science... aka I'm dying to see if you can really make chickpeas taste like cookies.  Please stay tuned.

Beef and Quinoa Sautee

I made another delicious, healthy, new meal.

Want to hear about it?

Great!

This recipes comes from The Best of Clean Eating - Book 2.  The sequel to my first meal plan adventure. MJ got me Book 2 for my birthday.  Lame gift right?  

But then he proposed.  MJ for the win.

Book 2 is like the ugly step sister to my original bible/book because there is no meal plan in the back.  I was surprised and disappointed and relieved to see there wasn't another meal plan included, because I wasn't sure I had it in me to commit to the full Julie/Julia style system again but wouldn't have be able to turn it down if there was.  So I've just be trying recipes as though Book 2 were just a regular cook book.  Which it is.  So this is normal.

So here's your first Book 2 Recipe:

Book 2 names this recipe "Beef Stir-Fry" which is so smothered in boring that I was required to rename it "Beef and Quinoa Sautee."  Much better, right?

Here's what you do:

1. Cook 1 cup quinoa, according to package directions.  Set aside.
2. On a wok, heat 1 Tbsp oil.
3. Add 1 cup chopped onion and 3 cloves of minced garlic.  Heat for 2/3 minutes.
4. Add 1 chopped red pepper, 1 chopped orange pepper, and 1 chopped green pepper. (I used 1 red and 2 orange.  Sue me).  Also add 1 cup chopped roasted red pepper.  Stir for 2 more minutes
5. Add 1 lb of beef, trimmed of fat and cut into this strips.  Stir for 2 minutes.
6. Add 1 cup low sodium beef broth.  Simmer for 2 minutes until steak is cooked through.
7. Remove from heat. season with basil, salt and pepper.
8. Serve over quinoa.
9. Enjoy immensely.

As you may have gathered by this recipe, you are going to spend a lot of prep time chopping away.  I enlisted the help of Sous Chef Jordan and I'm sure he'd be happy to come to your house and help you chop vegetables... as long as you feed him.

Book 2 claims this meal serves 4 and is 377 calories per serving.  We both ate seconds and had a ton of left overs, so this is a great meal to make if you don't feel like cooking the next day or later in the week.

Finally, Book 2 has an image of chopsticks next to their much prettier picture of their boring-titled "Beef-Stir Fry."  If you plan on using chopsticks, I wish you luck.  We opted for forks.

Best Meals Yet and Week of April 11th Preview

Avid readers,
Sorry my posts have been so far apart.  This week I ate some really great foods and I'm very excited to share them with you!

DAY 80

Today I had my Go-To breakfast with 1 cup of skim milk.  Are we allowed to call it skim milk anymore?  Only non-fat?  I remember as a kid despising skim milk.  Now I can't fathom drinking anything else!
For lunch I had leftovers from our delish beef and broccoli stir fry.
During the day I snacked on:

• 1 cheese stick
• laughing cow spreadable cheese on 3 rykrisp crackers
• 1 vitamuffin top
• 3/4 cup blueberry kefir
• zumba gym class.

For dinner we had a chicken and toasted peanut "toss" which basically means stir fry.  They recipe only called for cooking the veggies for 3 minutes, which basically meant they were still raw, and Michael Jordan and I really prefer the veggies (esp onions) to be cooked.  I ended up cooking them up more before we packed them away for leftovers.  This dish was supposed to be made with pork, but we replaced the pork with chicken.  Served with brown rice.  There's also a ginger sauce that goes on it, that I thought called for WAY too much ginger and really didn't like it.

 

DAY 81

For breakfast today I had eggwhites and mozz cheese.  And it tasted like ginger from the sauce we made last night.  I lodged a complaint with my maid/MJ.  He apologized.
I actually took my egg "on the go" with me by wrapping it in foil and carrying it along with me.  That's when I realized I wasn't the only one who walks and eats breakfast.  The problem is that the other two people I saw walking with their breakfasts were eating Doritos.  Wow unhealthy.  It wasn't even 9am.  So sad.

For lunch I had left overs from our chicken/peanut toss.  They were better with the more-cooked veggies.

I snacked on: 

• 60 cal raspberry yogurt
• go to snack
• apple
• mini twix and milkyway bar
• coffee!

At work they got a new coffee machine with a new type of coffee that is SO much better than the burnt junk they used to have.  This is a dangerous new development.  


For dinner we tried this delicious new recipe!  It's called a southwest turkey bake.


You mix up some lean, ground turkey (cook on pan until no longer pink) and then add black beans, salsa, cumin and red pepper.  We found this great natural salsa where I recognize all the ingredients and it actually tastes really good!  Mix those together and then fill a 13 x 9 pan.  Separately mix cornbread mix (we used whole wheat corn bread) with an egg and low sodium chicken broth.  Pour over the turkey mix and bake for 15 - 20 minutes at 400º.  (Your are supposed to top it with Mexican cheese, but we skipped that step).
IT WAS SO GOOD!  MJ ate double what we were supposed to.  Seriously YUMMMMMY - you should try this!!!!

first piece never comes out pretty

a flawless second piece!

sideview

Today I also decided to try out dessert since we haven't done more than the occasional cookie or vitamuffintop.  

I made dessert nachos!  You cut up a whole wheat tortilla, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Serve with low-fat yogurt, fruit and chocolate chips!  Huge success!  So easy and can be changed to include whatever fruits/toppings you like!

 

DAY 82 

Today I had my go-to breakfast for breakfast.  With a coffee.
For lunch I had leftovers from my turkey bake.  MJ brought two portions for his lunch as well!  
I was pretty good about not snacking today, and I'm not sure how/why that happened.

For dinner, I used what we had around the kitchen to make a meal.  I had planned on making this recipe that called for butternut squash and replacing it with sweet potatoes, but upon further investigation, I realized it really wasn't possible.  Instead I peeled the sweet potatoes and sliced them like thin potatoes chips, seasoned them to taste and baked them for 8 minutes on each side.  Meanwhile, I baked some chicken and sauteed some broccoli and green onions.  The end result was a nice meal that turned out pretty good.  We tried some hawaiian teriyaki sauce on the side (about the size of a quarter) to give the chicken some flavor.

I had some fun with the plating... serve irish flag style...

or serve bulls-eye style!

After dinner we went out with some of our friends and I order my vodka gimlet.  The server called me an "advanced drinker."  I was very proud.  Then I almost got some late night falafel, but didn't give in to the peer pressure.  I was very proud.  

DAY 83

Today I tried another Amy's Organic breakfast.  This time, I tried the Mexican tofu scramble.  It was SO good!  I almost couldn't believe it.  I immediately added it to next week's shopping list.
For lunch I used some of the leftover plain chicken from dinner to make a salad - adding lettuce, craisins, pistachios and a light sesame ginger dressing.

For dinner we had another banquet to attend for work.  The good news is we got a free meal and I didn't have to cook.  There's no bad news.  I ate a salad, a roll, and the main course was chicken with asparagus (3 spears) and some mashed potatoes.  I, of course, ate the slice of cheese cake and berries for dessert.  And drank the free wine.  And then switched to free vodka gimlets.  Thank you, work function.  

DAY 84

This morning I made eggs with onions and a scoop of salsa.  I guess I enjoy the Mexican flavoring in my breakfast foods.  Okay let's be serious, in all my foods.  I love avocados too.  mMmmm that sounds good.  I'll need to add some avocados to our lineup next week.

I snacked on a chewy mocha brownie cookie (fresh from the freezer - that's right, they're still good!) and a 100 calorie pack of cheese.

For lunch I had a leftover portion of the turkey bake.   Still good.  I'm sad it's all gone.   MJ ate all our leftover couscous tilipia too.  We did a good job of getting rid of stuff we had in the fridge this week!

MJ snacked on an Amy's Organic Black Bean Veggie Burrito.  He gave it a big stamp of approval but declined the option of writing a guest post.  Mabye next time.

For dinner, we met up with some friends who cooked us rice with sauteed peppers and tofu.  It was served with a peanut sauce and I think it came out well and looked really easy to make.  They also had some corn chips/tortillas and this delicious bean dip out, that MJ and I devoured.  Apparently they bought it at a farmer's market, so now I'm working on convincing MJ to attend said farmer's market so that we too can purchase this bean dip.  

So that's all in our fantastic week of cooking!  Michael Jordan said it was probably our best week of meals to date.  

Week of April 11th

Coming up this week, we've decided to make:

1. Spanish Style Chicken with Mango Salsa 
2. Mediterranean Veggies with Navy Bean Penne (vegetarian)
3. Fish Tacos
4. Leftovers 

We only actually need to cook 3 meals this week because then we'll be heading home where Mama Chickpeas will take over the cooking!  Don't worry, the blog will continue from the Chickpea home!

What are you making this week? Need other suggestions?

Running, An Early Seder (Passover Preview) and a Delicious Stir Fry (Days 78 and 79)

DAY 78

Michael Jordan and I woke up very early today to go for a run together.  I've mentioned running a few times before, and how much I enjoy running with MJ because we get to spend time together.  Let's be clear that I have not always been a runner.  In fact, this time last year I HATED running.  It was boring, hurt my knees, and I always got cramps.  MJ started running last spring when the weather got nice and I went with him one time.  We probably ran a half of a mile and I stopped more than 10 times.  It was bad.  Really bad.  After the "Julie Loop," MJ ran another 2 miles before calling it a day while I stayed in and cried about how horrible it was.  But I tried it again and only stopped 5 times.  And then could run the whole "Julie Loop" without stopping.  Then the loop got bigger, and then doubled in size.  And I liked it.  We were probably running about 3 miles then, and we decided to sign up for a 5K (3.1 miles).  I ran the whole 5K without stopping and set a time of 31:51 - beating my goal of "under 40 minutes."  We ran another 5K later in the fall and plan on running in more this spring.  

So today we went for a run before work and we ran 4.4 miles!  That's my longest run to date.  I was confused because my fitbit told me we ran about 5.2 miles, so I wonder if I just took a lot of steps, which made the miles seem longer?  Not sure.  Maybe I just misread it before we started running.  Either way, it felt great to achieve my longest run and get so many steps in before even going to work!

We got back and I did my Monday Morning Weigh In.  I'm down 2 pounds from last week, so only 3.5 more to go to get to my goal weight!  That's only 1 pound above my lowest point so far on this clean eating meal plan.  Meanwhile, if you're keeping score, MJ hasn't gained a pound.

For breakfast I broke out of my routine of eating my go-to english muffin breakfast and whipped up some eggs.  2 egg whites with onions, tomatoes, and part-skim mozz cheese to be exact.

For lunch, I tried Annie Chuns's Chinese Chicken Soup Bowl, that was located in the organic section of the supermarket.  I picked this soup because:

1. It looked yummy
2. It looked easy
3. I did not have to keep it refrigerated/frozen
4. I could recognize all the ingredients on the back of the box.

Well I was right on 3 of the 4 above.  The last three.  This soup was not yummy.  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, but it was not "yummy."  I'd probably compare it to a healthier version of cup of noodle soup.  That's not a good thing.  Coincidentally, MJ also tried this soup for dinner, and agreed that it was disappointing and not worth repeating. 

The only good thing is that there's a coupon for Annie's products inside the label!  Looking at the Annie Chun's website now, there are definitely other products that look good and that I'd be willing to try.  Maybe I'm just not an instant soup fan?

For snacks today, I had 1 health valley chocolate granola bar and 1 90 calorie special K bar.  I'm not thrilled with either one, but I will say that I won't be purchasing the 90 calorie special K bars again because I can't recognize a thing on the box.  I'm sure this sounds like old news to you, but I was persuaded by the packaging and "chocolatey chip cookie flavor" that was promised.  After all, we all know I'm a sucker for cookies.
I also had 5 french fries (stolen from a friend) and some tam tams (a Passover cracker, similar to matzah) and salsa.

Some of you may now be thinking something along the lines of.... "WHAT?  What's a tam tam?  Where did this matzah talk come from?  It's not passover, is it?  Since when is Julie Jewish? Are we about to learn something personal about Julie beyond the anonymous pen name??" 

Well avid readers, after 78 days I'm pleased to share with you that I am Jewish.  If you notice, there's no pork, ham, bacon, or sausage posts.  I don't eat piggies. Oink oink.  You're welcome, Wilbur. 

"But Julie, you ate shrimp!  Can you eat shrimp?"  Very astute observation, blog reader.  I did/do eat shrimp.  No, I'm not supposed to.  It's not kosher.  I make my mom sad every time I cook shrimp.  (Sorry mom!) But I make my own rules and do allow an exception to be made for shrimp.  


I do tend to refrain from mixing meat and dairy products together.  I have separate plates and silverware for meat and dairy foods. 99% of the meals I cook are Kosher-style.  If you have any questions about keeping Kosher, let me know.


Anyway, you're still right - it's not Passover and Passover doesn't start for another two weeks, so what's the deal with the tam tams? 


Well, a few coworkers decided to put together a model seder to help teach both Jewish and non-Jewish colleagues about Passover.  So I attended a seder, even though I have 2 weeks to eat regular foods before Passover begins.


"WHAT?  Julie you are going to have MORE dietary restrictions?"  Yup.  During Passover I can't eat anything with leavening in it, including, but not limited to, wheat, barley, oats, rye, and spelt.  I'll explain a lot more about Passover in 2 weeks when the holiday begins, since I will be cooking/eating only foods that are Kosher for Passover.

So anyway, back to my story.  I went to a model seder, and at the model seder I ate:

• a few bites of matzah
• chicken (probably 4 ounces)
• 1 slice of brisket 
• 5 bites of roasted potatoes
• grilled veggies
• 1/2 bite of a cookie
• Wine!

The best part about passover is that you get to drink a lot of wine.  That definitely makes the amount of foods you can't eat more bearable.  I hope you are now all sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for my Passover posts.

After dinner I watched a horrible horrible game between UConn and Butler.  Sigh.

DAY 79

Once again, I decided to make eggs for breakfast.  Exactly the same as I did yesterday, so I put them on a different colored plate so you would know I really did eat them two days in a row and didn't just recycle pictures.  Would I do that to you, avid reader?  

At work I had a cup of coffee.  And a free (delicious, unhealthy) blueberry muffin.  And another cup of coffee.  What, the first one was bad.  And cold.

For lunch I tried Amy's Organic Cheese Burrito.  It was pretty good, but I didn't heat it up enough so the middle wasn't hot.  That's my fault, not yours, Amy.  I see on the website that Amy's Organic makes low sodium burritos also, so I'll have to look for those next time I am in the store.

For snacks I had my go-to almond butter snack, 1 apple, 1 cheese stick, 2 rye krisp crackers and 3 cheese cubes.

For dinner, I made a DELICIOUS DELICIOUS Beef and Broccoli Orange Stir Fry from the Best of Clean Eating Magazine Cookbook!

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces soba noodles (TOO MANY - 4 ounces uncooked is enough)
• 1 lb lean round steak, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness and sliced into strips 
• 1/2 cup white onion diced
• 2 cups fresh broccoli florets 
• 1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
• 2 tbsp low-sodium tamari soy sauce
• juice 1 medium orange  
• 2 gloves garlic 
• 2 tsp raw organic honey
• 2 tsp whole-wheat flour

Recipe:

1. Cook noodles according to package. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat large skillet over high for 1 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high, mist with cooking spray and saute steak for 5 minutes or until cooked through. Remove steak, leave juices in pan.
3. Add onion, broccoli, and pepper, saute for 5 minutes.
4. In medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, orange juice, garlic, and honey.
5. Add steak back to pan and pour in mixture. Saute until heated through then whisk in flour to thicken. Add noodles to pan and cook until warmed. 
6. 1 serving = 1 cup = 257 calories

The only thing I really changed was the amount of noodles (less) and the amount of veggies (more).  It was really easy and turned out great.  MJ helped himself to thirds! The meal says it serves 6, but I really think it would only serve 4.    

Let me know if you try out the beef and orange stir fry!

Tourists, Bridal Luncheons, Traveling, and a Light Meal (Days 75 - 77)

Hello my blog readers.  All 3,500 of you!  I can't believe my personal little blog project has been read by over 3,500 people.  I appreciate that my blog is being followed and read by so many people.  Please continue to read!

DAY 75

Breakfast - go to breakfast.  As per usual.  

Today I took off the morning from work to be a tourist in my own town.  MJ and I are planning on moving in about 4 months and I created a bucket list of things that I must do in this city before I leave.  Today I went to a top tourist site with Mrs. Jordan.  Without ruining the anonymity of this blog, I'll just say that we did a lot of walking.  So much so that my fitbit total for the day was 16,182 without going to the gym or actively exercising!!!

  

After being tourists in our own city, Mrs. Jordan and I went out for lunch at a hot spot in the city.  The place was packed by 11:30am!  Luckily we got a table without a wait (the last one!) and enjoyed a delicious lunch.  I had two small slices of bread with butter, and the special of the day: chicken with stir fry veggies, rice, and a sweet teriyaki/cherry sauce.  It was delicious and I basically ate the entire thing.  I also had a diet coke so I'd have enough caffeine to have a productive day at work for the rest of the afternoon!

I don't remember what snacks I ate for the rest of the day, but I think it's safe to say I had a cheese stick.

For dinner, I met up with a few friends from high school at this Italian restaurant.  WHAT?  Out to eat TWICE in one day??? I know, right?  Bad choices.  


But I still tried to be good!  I picked a whole wheat pasta with shrimp and veggies in it, topped with a light lobster sauce.  I also had two slices of bread with that and some wine.  Then MJ and I split some chocolate mousse for dessert.


I'm glad that I had a high-scoring fitbit day in lieu of my not so great meal choices.    Sorry I have no pictures to share with you from today.

DAY 76

Breakfast - go to breakfast.  As per usual.  Again.

Today I happily attended my friend's bridal shower luncheon.  There was a pre-selected menu for us with a few different options.  I picked a potato leek soup (very good), a grilled chicken caesar salad, and some vanilla and chocolate haagen dazs ice cream.  How could anyone say no to haagen dazs??  Picking the grilled chicken was definitely a good choice, and the salad was very lightly dressed so I think I did fairly well considering we were out at a restaurant!

After the bridal luncheon, MJ and I hopped in the car and headed to the beach to see my college roommates: Annabelle, Tiffany and Desiree.  And all of their respective boyfriends.  I was really good not to snack in the car.

For dinner, we had some homemade burgers and veggie kabobs that Annabelle's boyfriend grilled for us on the BBQ.  I limited myself to 1 burger + bun + ketchup and as many veggies as my heart desires!  I also had some bites of a yummy potato salad.  And one slice of American cheese.  Just because I missed it.  Processed American cheese is NOT included on the recommended clean eating food list!  

After dinner I had a few drinks.  When my friends went out for late night snacks I caved and got 3 chicken fingers.  Which was really only 1.5 chicken fingers because MJ ate half of them.  Which was really about 6 bites of chicken.  I know that eating late at night is bad for you.  So is eating fried chicken strips.  I recognize that most late night food options are really unhealthy, but I think chicken fingers may be the lesser of the evils.  No, I don't think chicken fingers are healthy.  But I ate them.  They weren't good.  

However, the plus side for my horrible late night eating is that after midnight and before I went to bed, I had 5600 steps (dancing) on my fitbit.  Quite an impressive way to start a day.          

DAY 77

This morning for breakfast I had an egg and cheese sandwich on a croissant and a cup of coffee.  Once again, croissants are not healthy.  I should not have picked a croissant.  However, when faced with a list of 5 unhealthy bread options for a breakfast sandwich, I'm going to select the yummiest one every time, and the yummiest one is definitely a croissant.  And it was yummy.

Then I said goodbye to my college roommates and drove back home with MJ.  Again, on this car ride home we were very good about not snacking.  

For lunch, we got deli sandwiches on kaiser roles (again, not healthy.  I miss you wheat bread!!!).  I had half of a turkey, lettuce, tomato and mayo (GASP) sandwich.  I know, I know.  How horrible could I possible be in one 24 hour period?  Pretty horrible.  

When we got back home I felt that I needed to cleanse myself of my junk food habits and cook a good, clean eating meal for dinner.  Before dinner, I snacked on one cheese stick.  Then I planned out our meals for the week and took Michael Jordan to the grocery store with me to get everything we needed.  We also saved over $20 by buying things that were on sale and using coupons!  


For dinner I made a tilapia citrus couscous from the best of clean eating cookbook!  

This was really easy to make:

Step 1: Cook 1 dry cup whole wheat couscous

Step 2: Chop up 2 carrots, celery (I skipped this because I don't like celery), 1/2 red pepper, 1 medium yellow onion.

Step 3: Cook 4 tilapia fillets on a pan - 2 minutes per side.

Step 4: Make a dressing from the juice of 1 lime  + zest, the juice of 1/2 lemon + zest, 1/2 tsp dijon mustard, 1 tbls evoo, 2 tbsl dried parsley flakes, 1 clove garlic - minced.

Step 5: Add everything in a big bowl

Step 6: Eat!  1 cup = 1 serving = 154 calories!

MJ and I agreed this meal was light, healthy, and easy!  In the future, we might try to marinate the tilapia before hand or cook up the veggies to give a fuller taste.  Let me know if you try out this recipe!

Days 73 and 74

Day 73

Hello readers!  Today I had my go-to breakfast to start off my day.  And a few sips of coffee, but not a full one.  My sister-in-law (Bethany) emailed me to say that she tried my amazing go-to breakfast:

subject: mmmmmm

email: just tried your english muffin with pb and banana... so good!!!! yum best easiest breakfast ever!! xoxo

Need I say more?  Go try it!  Then post a comment! And email me!  I'll post your rave reviews!  We can start a WWEMw/PB&B fan club!  Total group membership: 3 (and counting).

For lunch, I threw some chicken nuggets in a salad.  If you're going to eat nuggets, you might as well throw them on some romaine, right??

During the day, I snacked on 1 cheese stick and 1 cup non-fat plain yogurt chock full of fresh blueberries and 1/4 cup granola.  Extremely tasty.  Go try that too.  

For dinner I went back to my planned list for the week and cooked up from steak salad.  I bought the steak already cut up at the grocery store and broiled it in the oven.  I probably over cooked it, but I never said I was Betty Crocker - I'm still learning!  Also in the steak salad was corn, red beans, and lettuce.  It just now occurred tome that I forgot to add tomato.  Whoops!!  

As a dressing I made a mix using Evoo, Red Wine vinegar, and sweet relish! 

Last time I made this salad, it was much prettier.  And I added a lot more veggies. 

 

For dessert I ate 1 chewy mocha brownie cookie.  Bet you forgot about those!?  They're still kickin in the freezer!!

Day 74

I started my day with my.... GO TO BREAKFAST!!! What a surprise!!!!! I bet you had NO idea! 

Seriously - try it.  Write to me about it.  You're welcome. 

I got to work early enough to get a skinny caramel mach. before my 9am meeting.  Smart choice for a smart woman.  

Lunch today was some leftover steak salad.  Hooray for eating leftovers!  My only regret was not bringing my own silverware to work, because cutting little cubes of steak with a plastic knife does not a good time make. 

Today I had a "go to snack," compliments of Chef MJ.  I also ate one apple and one cheese stick.  Are you sensing a pattern yet?


For dinner, we replaced the eggplant/kale/penne dish with the definition of a pot luck dinner - we used all the fresh veggies we had in the fridge (corn, broccoli and snap peas) and added whole wheat pasta and chopped up 2 veggie burgers (1 each).  I added some low fat mozzarella cheese to mine and MJ added tomato sauce to his.  A true mishmosh of food.  Here is the final result:

Days 61 - 63

Hello all!  This Saturday I had a huge event for work, which is why I've been exhausted all week and not eating my best.  Here's how the weekend played out, clean eating wise:

DAY 61

For breakfast I had a cup of Blueberry Kefir.  Kefir reminds me of those drinkable yogurts I used to have as a kid.  Gogurt I think it was called. Was there another kind?  Mom feel free to comment if you remember!


I honestly can't remember what I ate for lunch.  I'm 90% sure I had my "go to" snack of almond butter on whole wheat bread, but I can't say for sure.  Sorry :(

For dinner, we had a "kickoff" cocktail hour for the big event.  At the cocktail hour I had some wine, some bites of cheese (I love brie cheese!), 1 beef satay stick, 1 coconut shrimp, 1 mini chicken empanada, and some pita chips with artichoke dip (not very good).  


After the kickoff cocktail hour, we stayed at work until past 11 working to finalize things for the big event.  I ate a twix bar.  It was 100% necessary.  One of those "In case of emergency, break glass" type of things.  You understand, right?  Great, thanks!

DAY 62

Today was the day of the "big event".  In the morning, I wanted my "go to" breakfast, but we didn't have any bananas, so I settled for a whole wheat english muffin with peanut butter only.  I also had a huge coffee.


During the day, I only ate 1 granola bar and 1/4 whole wheat bagel.


Next thing I knew it was 6pm and the event was finally over and I was ravenous!  I had some chips and bean dip, and then we went out for Spanish Tapas to celebrate a successful event. 
I had a few bites of the following items:

 

We also order Sangria, and then we went out drinking.  I allowed myself to have beer.  Partly because I knew I had eaten so few carbs that having beer really wouldn't matter, and partly because I just really wanted to, and I make my own rules!

DAY 63

HOOORAY!  For the first time in a LONG time I could sleep in today!  And then, I had absolutely no plans.  Probably the best day ever.  Mr. Jordan and I decided to start our day with a nice run, and then to end at our favorite bagel place (where the owner knows us by name and has 2 waters ready for us as soon as he sees us!)  The run was great - I surely missed the warm weather and I like spending that quality time with MJ.  When we go to the gym together, MJ is in the "big boy" room with all the weights, while I usually just go to a class.  

For brunch at the bagel place I had a whole wheat bagel scooped out with chicken salad, lettuce, tomatoes and onions.  It was delicious.  They use cranberries in their chicken salad so it reminds me of thanksgiving!  

After we ran/walked back home, I check my FITBIT STATS and found that we had taken over 7,000 steps and traveled about 5 miles.   I didn't look at the exact mileage before we left, so that's an approximate guess. 

In the afternoon, I ate a health valley granola bar and a little bit of thai food leftovers.  


Since it's March Madness, and there are few things in life I enjoy more than March Madness, MJ and I made some homemade guacamole and homemade pita chips as a snack to enjoy the basketball games.  Delish!  

homemade guacamole!

homemade pita chips!

For dinner, I made a quick and easy salmon with cauliflower.  Just broiled in the oven for 10 minutes.  We weren't really hungry, so it was the perfect, light dinner to end our relaxing, pleasant day.

 
Only bad part about today was that my basketball team lost.  Time to start rooting for the underdog!!

Week 3, Thursday (Day 25)

25 days in!  I can't believe I've been committed for this long. Michael Jordan asked me if I thought I would still be following the meal plan were it not for this blog.  I think my honest answer is no. I would have given up.  I would have done some of the snacks and eventually forgotten.  Maybe tried some of the recipes but really not cared.  I would have eaten a LOT of cookies.  But here we are on day 25 and I'm still going strong.  Thank you, chickpeasandcottagecheese blog.  


Breakfast: 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 cup low-fat milk, 1/2 cup dried apricots - halved, 1 small sliced banana
Oatmeal is MJ's speciality.  Kinda pathetic, right?  I mean..... thanks babe!  MJ made me my 1/2 cup of oatmeal and I probably ate about half of the dried apricots.  They made the oaty-mush taste much better.  1 cup of milk is AMAZING.  I love that they allowed me to drink so much milk today!  I brought my banana to work and ate it as an early morning snack.  Based on what was on today's menu, I thought for sure I would starve.  


Snack 1: 2 clementines, 5 carrot sticks, 1 handful unsalted almonds
I only ended up eating 1 clementine today based on the timing of all my meetings.  I forgot to bring the carrot sticks to work, and then forgot to eat them when I got home, but I really don't think 5 carrot sticks would have changed anything about my day.  I did eat 12 cocoa almonds.  I'm almost done with the container!  Thank you Bethany and Jason!!


Lunch: 1 cups low-sodium tomato soup, 1 cup chopped apple with 1 oz walnuts
I can honestly say I've never purchased or chosen to eat tomato soup before, but I like it.  I chose the healthiest looking can that was about 1 serving size.  I ate my almonds at about the same time, which reminded me or a butternut squash type soup.  I also didn't chop my apple because who wants to waste their time with that?  I ate it whole.  


Snack 2: 2 stalks celery with 2 tbsp peanut butter and 1 oz raisins
Yuck.  No celery or raisins for this girl.  I replaced this snack with 1 slice of whole wheat bread and almond butter.  Major upgrade.  By far my favorite snack.  


Dinner: DELICIOUS Steak Salad (1/2 cup of: red beans, whole kernal corn, chopped tomatoes, chopped cucumber, and sliced carrots, 4 oz steak, 3 cups lettuce; dressing: 1 tsp evoo, 2 tsp red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp organic sweet relish)
This salad was amazing, and filling, and so easy to make.  And it was beautiful:

MJ said we should add this meal to our list of favorites.  Neither of us were able to finish our salads - they were so filling!  I also want to add this to a list of meals that are so easy, a boy can make them.  I think I will add new sections of my blog to keep track of things like that.  What do you think?


After dinner I met up with some coworkers and ordered my standard vodka gimlet.  Overall, I thought today's meal plan would be awful, but I was pleasantly surprised that everything was pretty good.  You won this one, Clean Eating Editors.

Days 20 and 21

I was off of the meal plans this weekend because I had a lot of leftovers to eat.  I was also conducting interviews all weekend, so I was not home for any meal except dinner.

DAY 20

On Friday night I threw all of my "to go" snacks into a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY bag.  It is not my birthday, not even close.  I just needed a good sized bag to carry all my snacks.  The unintended effect of using a happy birthday bag is that I was really happy when I saw it.  Perhaps subconsciously my brain associated birthdays with good things and so my snacks became good things.


For breakfast Saturday morning I had a whole wheat English muffin with natural peanut butter and a gulp of milk.  I would have had more than just a gulp of milk, but that's all that MJ left for me in the gallon.  I sent him out to buy more.  


When I arrived at the office for interviews, I saw that my team had brought a coffee pot, donuts and munchkins.  Sigh.  When they passed around the donuts, I declined and took out my apple.    Throughout the course of the interviews, I ate:
• 1 low-fat cheese stick
• 1 apple
• 10 snap peas with 2 oz hummus
• 1 whole wheat cracker with spreadable cheese
• 1 cup of coffee (half and half, no sugar)
• 1 almond butter cookie
• 1 glass orange juice
• 4 munchkins


I just found the Dunkin Donuts Nutritional Information and discovered that I ate 215 calories of munchkins.  Oh nooooo!  I had no idea they were that bad for you.  But I am SO glad I didn't have a full donut.  Those things are horrible! And delicious.  But horrible.  

For lunch, I made a salad with red leaf lettuce, white beans, 1/2 avocado, 1/2 cup edamame and 1 hard boiled egg.  The salad was actually very filling and I wasn't even able to finish it.   In the future I would add balsamic vinegar and tomatoes.  My coworkers complimented my salad and my snack bag.  The person who brought the donuts indicated that he would bring healthier snacks for me the next day.


When I got back home I made tilapia with sauteed broccoli and part-skim mozzarella cheese.   The meal was really easy and I had a lot of broccoli left over, so I wasn't hungry enough to eat any carbs.  Which is good because I had 4 munchkins.  

DAY 21

Today was another day of interviews.  For breakfast I cooked up 2 egg whites with mushrooms, low-fat cheddar cheese, 1/2 whole wheat English muffin; 6 ounces orange juice.  I still had that half of an English muffin left over from the time the Clean Eating editors only let me eat half of one.  I love mushrooms and wish they were in more of the meals.  


When I arrived at the interviews, my coworker presented me with a container of sliced strawberries he brought for my healthier alternative to donuts.  I was very appreciative.   During the interviews I ate:
• some sliced strawberries
• 1/2 cup granola
• 10 snap peas with 2 oz hummus
• 100 calorie bag of cheese
• 2 cups coffee (with half and half and 1 splenda each) 
• 2 munchkins (95 calories).
I didn't know yet that the munchkins were that bad for me since I just looked them up now, but luckily I picked less than 100 calories worth of fat.  


For lunch, I had a veggie burger with low-fat mozzarella cheese, 1/2 avocado and lettuce on whole wheat bread.  This made one of my coworkers question whether I was a vegetarian.  I'm not, but I really enjoy veggie burgers.  


Now for the bad part of my day.  Superbowl Sunday. 
We went to MJ's friend's house for the game.  I knew there would be a lot of unhealthy choices there, so I made my all-natural guacamole, which was devoured by the group by the end of the 1st quarter.  I personally ate:
• about 15 blue chips and guacamole, with a little bit of a bean dip
• crab dip served on 3 little toasted bread slices
• 2 beef sliders (no buns) with roasted onions and 1 scoop of mashed potatoes
• 2 brownies
• 1/2 piece of funfetti cake
• 1 light beer (No one noticed I only had one beer the entire game, and I didn't even finish it!)


Sigh.  I was doing well till the brownies came out.  I probably should have passed on dessert but I didn't want to.  Maybe I was rewarding myself for 3 weeks of eating healthy.  Or maybe I was celebrating the Packers' victory.  Or I just really, really, really love chocolate.  I felt bad until one of MJ's friend picked up the remaining tray of brownies and ate them like a slice of pizza.  Always good to keep someone around who will eat more than your daily serving of calories in one sitting.

Week 1, Sunday (Day 7)

Breakfast: 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 cup low fat milk, 1/2 cup raspberries; 3 egg whites
I was running late this morning, so I didn't have time to make the egg whites for breakfast.  I scarfed down the oatmeal and raspberries and ran out the door.    If I had to rank the breakfasts that I've had this week, Wednesday's breakfast wrap would be #1 and Thursday's cottage cheese/cantaloupe would be #7.  But I don't have to rank them, so I won't.  


Snack 1: 3 ounces smoked salmon, 4 whole wheat crackers, 1/2 avocado
This is by far my favorite snack that I've had so far this week.  It was a lot of food and it was really good.  Some friends I was with even commented that my snack looked so good and they wanted to have some.  Nay, friends, these snacks are for me and me alone.  I didn't bring any extra calories to share with you.


Lunch: 1 cup edamame, 1/2 cup brown rice, 2 plums
I would define this lunch as awkward.  Is edamame and brown rice really a "meal"??  I take two bites and then make the executive decision to add in my missing 3 egg whites from breakfast to make another quasi-"fried" rice meal. Except without any soy sauce or asian flavoring it tastes nothing like fried rice.  Plums are out of season and not available in the grocery store, so I skipped this part of the meal.  It's football sunday - I'm sure I'll make up for it later.  
As I ate my awkward meal, my boyfriend took out every leftover we had and made them into a superlunch.  Beef, chicken, eggplant, rice.  Man it looked good.  Especially compared with my pathetic edamame/egg/rice mixture.  I thanked him for not wasting our leftovers and plowed ahead with my meal. 


Snack 2: 3/4 cup kefir, 1/2 cup sliced red grapes and 1 kiwi
I FOUND KEFIR!!!!!!! It was right in the dairy section next to the yogurt. 

I bought the blueberry flavor - but it also comes in plain and strawberry.  It was SO good!  I would definitely replace every morning that I'm supposed to have a  smoothie with this liquid yogurt.  Again, I skipped the (seeded) grapes and kiwi because I knew I would be tempted by junk food when watching football.


Dinner: Spice Roasted Vegetables; 4 ounces baked chicken
Dinner was supposed to be some awkward root vegetable meal with a minimal amount of chicken.  
Instead, I sat watching football surrounded by many temptations: Tostitos, salsa, guacamole (out of a bag, definitely not homemade), pretzel twists, sunchips, carrots, hummus, and butterfingers.  On a normal sunday, I probably would have finished 13 mini butterfingers and then have 59 chips with salsa.  But not today!  Today I was on good behavior and had a minimal amount of snacks: about 4 carrots with hummus and maybe 5 chips with the not-as-good-as-my-own-guacamole.
For dinner I got a salad from Potbellys.  I checked the calories online when I got home and was really sad to figure out that getting their "Skinny" turkey sandwich, or even their Regular sandwich would have been less calories than the salad.  However, I figured with the upcoming travel this week I'd be eating plenty of turkey sandwiches and I honestly don't think I'm ready to order a turkey sandwich without mayo.  
Then came dessert.  We were offered some type of pudding/oreo mixture and brownies.  Boyfriend swooped in and saved the day, offering to "share" a dessert with me.  This really means that I have one bite and then he eats the rest and everyone is happy.  I promised myself an almond butter cookie when i got home to reward my good behavior for the evening, but I know the reward is really not having the extra cookie calories, so I just wrote this blog and went to bed.  


One week in.  I feel pretty successful and wonder if the scale (or ski pants) will show any change from just this week.  Either way, I'm ready to continue on this journey for week 2.

Week 1, Saturday (Day 6)

Breakfast: Smoothie and a handful of almonds

Smoothie again?  I still don't have any yogurt.  And I still don't like smoothies.  

Replacement breakfast:  Week 2's Monday breakfast: 1 whole wheat English muffin, 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter, 1 banana

Yum!  This was a personal favorite breakfast of mine from even before I started this meal plan.  I think this was a fair substitution for today's smoothie.  But who's really going to tell me I'm doing this wrong, right?

Snack 1: 4 dried apricots, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup granola

Naw.  I don't do dried fruit.  And cottage cheese?  I only bought one portion that I ate already, so that's a no.  Replacement: low fat string cheese.  Yum.  I also ate my granola, which tasted good and lasted a while.  Almost like eating a bowl of M&Ms.  Almost.  

Lunch: Whole wheat wrap with tofu, low sodium black beans, low sodium salsa, 1/2 oz jalapeno cheese

This was a pretty good lunch.  I couldn't find jalapeno cheese in the store, so I made the smart decision to get a single, 1 ounce pepperjack cheese stick.  Hooray for not having extra food rotting away in the fridge!  One small victory for mankind this week.

I made a major upgrade to this dish though.  I have no idea how to purchase, cook, or eat tofu, so I made the executive decision to nix the tofu and replace it with mushrooms (3 calories per ounce) and 2 slices of cooked eggplant (left over from lunch earlier this week).  

Snack 2: skipped

I skipped this afternoon's snack because we are having some friends over tonight and I know I will be snacking later and consuming alcoholic calories.  I was trying to make a proactive good decision before my impending bad decision.

Dinner: Easy and Elegant Salmon with fennel, carrots, and 1 pear

Easy and Elegant?  Come on.  Here are 4 reasons why I can't make this dinner:

1) That salmon you made me buy on Sunday?  Well now it's been 6 days and that salmon has gone bad.  Thanks for wasting my money.

2) Fennel?  I don't know what that is.  I don't really want to go to the store again.  Please don't make me

3) I'm supposed to make this on parchment paper?  When was I supposed to get that?  That wasn't on my shopping list.  Jerk.

4) A pear?  You want me to eat that pear I threw out yesterday because it was rotting?  No dice.

So no go on the salmon.  It does sound really good and I do plan on trying it, but instead we ate leftover "fried" rice.  My boyfriend added the left over beef to make his meal twice as yummy and filling as mine.  

Bonus Snack: Guacamole and home made pita chips

I decided to serve homemade guacamole - made from avocados, onions, tomatoes, and lime juice.  I love guacamole, and it's made from all natural ingredients, which has to be better for me than eating cookies.  I served chips with them, and also made my own chips.  We cut up some whole wheat pita and  baked them for a few minutes in the oven.  Instant, yummy, healthier chip.  

My boyfriend also wanted to serve cookies, but I asked him not to buy them, knowing that I would be unable to resist and we'd then have them sitting around the house, taunting me.  Calling my name.  Demanding that I eat them all immediately.  

I only had sangria to drink, and I really don't know if it was healthy or sugary at all.  This is probably the biggest "cheating" I have done.  But it's only cheating if this were a diet, which it isn't.  So there.

Week 2 Preview:

This next week is going to be challenging.  I will not be home for dinner until next Friday, and will be traveling as well.  Hopefully I can try to eat my healthy snacks and meals as much as possible.  I'm not upset about this glitch in my meal plan because I want to be able to live my usual life.  I want this type of life style to work for me - it's not a crash course diet like some other people try and then can't realistically follow because they can only eat oatmeal.  That could never work for me.

Wish me luck.