I Think I'll Quit my Jobs

OK...Not really. I do still need to pay the bills and everything but I have thoroughly enjoyed having two completely free days off this week. They have been blissful! I'm sure I would hit some level of depression if I didn't have at least one job to feel accomplished and responsible. At least I think I would.... :)

Dinner was excellent. Enchiladas, mixed green salad with avocado and romas, sauteed zucchini and a few fresh blueberries on the side.

I will admit that I had another small portion of enchiladas and salad after polishing off this plate.

Dinner was some leftover frozen yogurt with fruit on top. Yum!

I planned to play some tennis with my brother Blake tonight but he ended up having a late business meeting so the plans got nixed. Up until today, we have been really good about playing once a week. It's such great exercise and oh so fun!

Instead I rode a bike around a little bit to get some activity in. It's been a long long time since I've ridden one but they do say it's something you never forget. So I got on and what do you know!  it was just like riding a bike... I remembered! :)

The plan tomorrow is to meet up with some friends and head out to Venice beach for some paddle-boarding. I've never done it before but I've wanted to try it since I first saw people doing it. We'll see how it goes, should be great fun!

I HAVE to remember to take my camera. I'm going to put it in my bag right now.

Friday!

Good morning!

It's been a while since I last posted but not to worry. There wasn't anything exciting to write about much less take pictures of. Just work and home. The food wasn't exciting either. You didn't miss much.

I am NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, a morning person. As  a result, I skip breakfast more often than I don't and it's something I desperately need to work on. How can I ever justify counseling patients on healthy eating if I don't practice it myself?

So today I started out right.

Greek yogurt, sliced strawberries and a handful of kashi clusters.

I have to be honest, my meal list of late has been horrifyingly bad. I won't share the gory details but I've had my fill of fatty, salty foods this week. Time for a change. Of course it's always easier to eat right when you have the time. :)

My sister's stay was a night longer than originally planned but still so short. It's always hard to kiss that baby girl of hers goodbye. Before bedtime on Tuesday my brother and sister chased a June Bug down and shared it with Katelyn. Curiosity is such a cute expression on a little face.

Have a great afternoon!

Girl's Night In

My mom and I had a pretty easy time for the rest of the day. We treated ourselves to mani-pedis and then I did some browsing through Cost Plus World Market. That is such a fun store to walk through. I picked up some charming sodas and sparkling juices that caught my fancy but I resisted the basil infused olive oil.

Since it has been such a nice day, Mom and I decided to finish off our girl's day with a lovely dinner outside. I can't take credit for this colorful plate. We stopped by our nearby Panera.

I ended up with a Poppy seed salad with strawberries, pineapple and manderin oranges on top of romaine. I normally don't go for pecans but these were just the perfect topping. I saved half of it for tomorrow before putting any dressing on it. To top it all off, a grilled Turkey panini with smoked cheddar, and sun-dried tomato mustard on focaccia. I added the nectarine which was another perfectly ripe fruit from the farmer's market.

With the warm summer weather I felt there was no better time to try out the first of my novelty juices.

We tried out this one. It definitely tasted like peach soda but it was a little two sweet for my liking. It was  nonetheless enjoyable. Mom and I split it so we had about 1/2 a serving of juice and I still felt like I could have had less. Just don't plan on drinking the whole bottle in one sitting if you don't want to feel insulin surging through you. :) Notice the 100% fruit juice? woohoo!

If today's weather and the day off was any indication of how I will be enjoying this summer... I'm eagerly awaiting the rest of it.

My sister and her family got here late tonight so baby girl was sound asleep. I can't wait to see her sweet face tomorrow morning. Speaking of which, morning is already here and I need sleep so that better be my next plan of action.

Goodnight to all!

My Day Off: Part 1

I started my day off by getting new tires. Exciting right? That's ok, it needed to be done and I got to sleep in before that so it's all a-okay. I enjoyed 25 minutes outside as I waited for my new tires. Another beautiful summer day to revel in. So now my car drives nice and smooth. The wobbly back tire was getting worrisome on top of annoying so I'm glad I can check that off my list.

Lunch was simple but yummy. A turkey w/ provolone sandwich, fresh home-grown blackberries and watermelon. (Did I mention I love summer produce?)

I'm not completely sure what I'm doing with the rest of my day but I'm sure whatever it is, it will involve time outside. Maybe some shopping...?

Summer is Here! and so is the Family

Happy Fathers day! We had an awesome day here in SoCal. Beautiful weather, great food and good laughs.

Blake and I pulled of a pretty successful BBQ lunch despite my procrastination. I decided to make grilled zucchini spears,  fruit salad and a french fry recipe I've been wanting to try. Paired with the tasty burgers  and onions that Blake grilled up, it was a pretty yummy lunch menu. It turned out to be 12 instead of 18 that we were cooking for which was a nice downsize since we could all sit and eat at one table. I was a little disappointed with my french fry trial but I did have to triple the recipe so that might have had something to do with the result since I didn't make very accurate adjustments.

Here's the experiment:

Slice up large baking potatoes like so and pat dry with a towel. Whip up 2 egg whites until they are frothy/foamy and then toss the potatoes in the egg whites. Here's my favorite part... spices!!!!

Toss together:
4 tsp of breadcrumbs (I used pank0)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Toss the potatoes in the with the spices and shake around until they're coated. Spread them out on a baking sheet or pan in one layer, spray with cooking spray or Olive Oil and bake for about 20 mins. @ 400 F.

Done!

The rest was pretty simple and basic. The zuchini I cut into quarters lengthwise and sprinkled with olive oil, garlic powder and italian seasoning and tossed them on the grill with the burgers for about 6-8 minutes. I brushed them with balsamic right after I pulled them off for a little extra flavor. Of course my brother was grill master and camera shy so I only got apicture of the grill chalk full of goodness.

 

My beautiful niece helped me finish the fresh fruit salad.

Time to sit down and eat! I requested a small burger so I could feel justified in eating the whole thing and still fill up my plate with the other yummies.

Look at those excellent grilled onions. They tasted even better than they look!

I made sure to fill half my plate with fruits and vegetables (fruit salad and  the zucchini hiding behind it) because that's what I tell my students day in and day out. :)

Tomorrow is my day off. The first real full day off I've had in quite a long time so I'm very excited. I have no plans and I'm relishing that fact. My sister and brother-in-law and my adorable niece are coming into town tomorrow and staying the night. I can't wait to see them and give that baby girl a squeeze.

Good night!