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More Veggie Eats

July 9, 2010 by 3 Comments

TGIF! I feel like I haven’t caught up from being out of town yet. I need a weekend stat. Our  laundry has been sitting in the dryer for days because I have no time to sort it. If I can’t see it, it’s like it’s not there, right?

Exercise odds and ends–My hips, glutes, and legs are hurtin’. Not sure if it’s sore pain or bad pain yet. I think I’m going to look at new tennis shoes and maybe try a different brand. Next week, my Crossfit gym will be closed, so I will be restructuring my exercises for the week. Can anyone recommend a yoga podcast (vinyasa power flow and free cost preferably) that I can do at home one morning? 60 minutes would be great.

Calling photo experts: I think I need some tips about using the settings on my Canon Point and Shoot camera. I have a PowerShot SD 1200 IS. They look ok on the screen, but then grainy on the computer. And I can’t size them any bigger than they appear on the blog. Anyone out there? I’ll pay you in homemade food.

Eat your veggies. Here are a few pictures of another day of veggie eats. This has been a good week to try some non-meat lunch and dinner options, because I have not had time to cook, and turkey for lunch has gotten repetitive. I really enjoy making good use of cheeses and beans this week, and hope to try more with tofu (don’t gasp, I have ideas…) and maybe lentils (!) when I have time.

Breakfast was two thawed out pieces of Strawberry Walnut loaf plus 2 hard boiled egg whites and side of cantaloupe. Almost out of my loaf and time to bake something new, hopefully this weekend! This breakfast is a regular in my kitchen when I don’t have a lot of time because the loaf is frozen in ready-to-eat pieces, and I can hard boil eggs in under 10 minutes 6 at a time and have for 3 days.

This lunch was similar to dinner from two nights before. Lettuce, cherry tomatoes, carrots, orange peppers, snap peas, great northern beans, and feta cheese. Side was cup of berries, crackers, and hummus. Isn’t it pretty colors? 

Snack was a 4 oz Vanilla Oikos and a banana. And some crackers, I should have brought granola. Do you know how long these 4 pack 4 oz Vanilla flavors have been out of stock at my Whole Foods?! Why are they so popular? They aren’t my secret anymore. I finally found them on Monday morning when I went at 8 a.m. I guess everyone else gets them immediately too!

Dinner was for work, so no pictures, but here’s another lunch from a different day. Spinach, orange peppers, carrots, feta, 1/2 avocado mashed on an Oroweat Sandwich Thin (so good!), with a side of more veggies with hummus and fruit. And take a look at my cool new orange spreader. I’ll get a better picture to show you. It’s not a knife, just a cool spreader for hummus and dips.

Filed Under: Breakfast, Daily Update, Lunch, Snacks · Tagged With: ,

Vegetarian for a Day

July 8, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Lately I’ve been trying to challenge myself to have some meat-free meals, so this day is a meat-free day. I hope to have more like it! It really made me focus on alternative proteins, and filling up on fruits and vegetables. It was a very colorful day and no cookware involved.

Breakfast was not creative because I had no food in the house after getting home at midnight from vacation. And if you ever have no food, going to Whole Foods at 8:01 a.m. when they open at 8 a.m. is a good idea! Lots of food, no crowds, fresh stock!

On the exercise front, I ran 3 slow and not great miles on the treadmill today after an almost 10 day break. I had a great week before that doing a 4.5 mile run and 6.2 mile run in the same week. Then my calf started hurting, hip pain, heat, and vacation, and there was no running going on. I still did other activities, but the pain after two medium length runs still concerns me for stepping up the distance in the near future.

The Daily Eats:

I had a Chobani Vanilla with blueberries (bought at Whole Foods and taken to work), and a cup of Fiber One/Kashi Go Lean Crunch (I never run out of that at home).

I also picked up my lunch from Whole Foods while I was there. A big salad of lettuce, cherry tomatoes, carrots, cabbage slaw, red pepper, lentils with cranberries and feta (the star of the meal–need to try lentils at home), jicama, edamame. Also bought a bag of cherries and hummus. And then I munched on Cinnamon Lucy’s Cookies that I bought.

My snack was more hummus and cherries, and a Doctor Kracker seedy cracker. I’ll do a formal review with some new products later this week. Good with hummus, probably better with Laughing Cow cheese!

 

Then dinner was really good of all vegetables and beans. We really needed something light–a weekend in Vegas isn’t good for skin, stomach, or wallet. So I made a big salad of romaine and spinach, 1/2 avocado, few strips yellow bell pepper, carrots, ~1/2 C Great Northern Beans, steamed and chopped snap peas, and the star–Athenos Tomato Basil Feta Cheese. Really tasty, flavorful, and was a perfect topper to my salad. Thanks Caitlin for blogging about it this month!

Then dessert was celery with Peanut Butter and Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams. So tasty! And you get a vegetable for dessert! And I’m really not just being healthy and saying it’s good. And I had more PB than pictured.

Filed Under: Breakfast, Daily Update, Dessert, Dinner, Exercise, Lunch, Running, Snacks, Vegetarian · Tagged With: ,

Houston Restaurant Reviews and Gym Triathlon

June 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment

On Friday night, we tried a new (opened in April) Houston restaurant in the Heights called Zelko Bistro with another couple. Zelko is very small–we counted 12 tables inside and 5 outside. We waited about an hour and it was a hot wait! There was an inside bar, but it was very small too. Small is fine and cozy, but Zelko is so popular that people were standing on the grass in front of the restaurant because the place was so packed. We thought the service was very good, the restaurant was had quaint finishes with mason jar light fixtures, water served out of carafes on the table, and minimalist decor. The menu focused on Southern foods at a very affordable price.

First they brought little bread bites that looked like scraps. A little strange, but we were hungry! Then we started with the fried pickles and parmesan french fries. Delicious and crispy! The pickles were spears, not just little bites.

Then I ordered the crabcake as my dinner. It would have been better with a little more salad under the cake, but the crabcake itself was very good and sauce was too. Two others ordered the fried chicken (two large chicken breasts with mashed potatoes and green beans)–excellent and an obvious menu favorite, and one ordered a cheeseburger.

Dessert was a lemon icebox pie and funnel cake. The pie was creamy, pretty, and tasty since we were still hot! And the funnel cake with a side of honey was tasty too.

We will come back on a weeknight or wait until the Fall to dodge the wait and the heat.

Saturday started with a delicious breakfast for me. I had a piece of my Blueberry Orange loaf (this is so good, one of my new favorite recipes) with a two egg white omelet and fruit. The eggs were literally just two egg whites with salt and pepper. A fast and easy way to add protein to any breakfast.

It must have been a good breakfast, because then I did a Treadmill 10K at the gym. I ran 6.2 great miles with varying speeds between 5.2 to 6.0. Ended up taking 1 hr 8 minutes, which is two minutes faster than my race 10K from May. A success in my book! I know treadmill does not equal road, but we’ll work on that later.

On Saturday night we went to Grotto with family for Amy G’s birthday. Grotto is always crowded with friendly service, and consistently good food. A tip about Grotto is that you can order any pasta dish with spinach instead of pasta, and order half instead of the full order. Not on the menu, but they welcome that accomodation. Thanks, Julia, for the tip!

I had the Pasta Grotto with the modification–calamari, shrimp with pesto sauce over spinach. Delicious!

Subbing spinach doesn’t even start to make up for the rest of the carb loading you eat here–great bread basket, pizzas, and desserts. Happy birthday Amy!

On Sunday, I had another gym workout but tried something new. I went to the pool before spin class and swam for about 15 minutes. Since I knew I had a short time, I made it speedy and did front stroke the whole time trying to minimize my breaks. It was very crowded, I shared a lane for the first time, but definitely thought it was a good, fast sprint workout.

Then was an hour of spin. So I did my own little gym triathlon throughout the weekend!

And two more cute pictures from the weekend.

Filed Under: Breakfast, Daily Update, Dinner, Exercise, Houston, Lily, Restaurants, Running, Swimming · Tagged With: , , , , ,

Daily Recap 6/16 and swimming tips

June 17, 2010 by 7 Comments

First of all–I updated my Blogroll, About Me page, and Fun Pictures page. Be sure to check them all out for great people to follow, and an update about me! And my Recipes page is updated every time I post a new recipe.

Second–this morning (Thursday), I went swimming. I swam laps for a little under one hour. Now I need some beginner swimmer tips from my smart blog readers. How long do you swim? Do you stop after each lap for a few seconds? Why do people wear a swim cap if they go shower right after?

Next is Wednesday’s workout–Let’s talk about doing a workout that sounds really terrible and being very proud and happy when it’s done. I’m talking about 80 pushups, 70 lunge walks, 60 kettlebell swings, 50 squats, 40 burpees, and then a short run on wobbly legs. 20+ minutes later, it is over, and I am on with my day! You can do more with your body weight to get a good workout than you realize. Just takes a little push. And maybe a buddy to suffer with you.

Onto breakfast!

There is no way I can eat a hot breakfast after sweating a puddle, so I planned for overnight oats. This is getting to be my favorite breakfast of summer! In my bowl the night before:

1/2 C oats

1/2 C water

1/2 C vanilla Oikos yogurt

sprinkle cacao nibs

added in the morning: handful mixed berries, VitaTop Chocolate muffin.

Really refreshing, filling, and tasty. And chocolate for breakfast!

Lunch:

Classic Tuna Salad Salad

The salad part of my lunch was lettuce, tomato, and carrots. The tuna salad part was 4 oz cup Chicken of the Sea Tuna in water, blob of yellow mustard, 1/2 chopped up celery stick, 1 hard boiled egg white, salt and pepper.

I had hummus on the side for dipping.

And a banana with Maranatha Creamy peanut butter.

Dinner:

I had leftovers from the night before–brussels sprouts and roasted peppers with baked beans. And added a piece of cinnamon raisin toast with jam.

Dessert:

I had a banana chocolate bite with Crofter’s jam.

Then Lily and I went to Book Club. We read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, but I didn’t read it, so I don’t have a report yet!

Filed Under: Breakfast, Daily Update, Dessert, Dinner, Exercise, Lunch · Tagged With:

Great Lunch and Treadmill Workout

June 16, 2010 by 4 Comments

On Tuesday morning at the gym, I tried a treadmill variation from Tina’s blog at Carrots n’ Cake. I actually like the treadmill (controlled temperature, I can watch TV, good people watching of what new Lululemon outfits I want), but it’s good to change up a long run or a standard walk.

I did the walk option of this workout, and it was very steep and very tough!  I ended up going 2.73 miles in 45 minutes. I don’t think I have ever done a level 10 incline on the treadmill before, but it was nice to have a change every few minutes and really focus on hills. If you do this, challenge yourself to not hold on! I stuck with the inclines the whole time, but didn’t do the speeds as written for the post 4.0 mph.

I was also very happy with food I packed for breakfast, lunch, and my snack on Tuesday.

Breakfast:

2 hard boiled egg whites, homemade blueberry banana muffin (frozen from pre-blogging days, recipe to come next time I make them), 1/2 banana

Lunch:

This is where I have been getting creative in changing it up, and this lunch was one of my best lately. It was a turkey sandwich with fruit, but even simple things can be tasteless or boring.

Turkey Sandwich–1 Oroweat Sandwich Thin (half spread with hummus, half with 1/4 avocado), Spinach, 1 small tomato, Turkey breast

On the side I had some extra vegetables–rest of a tomato not in sandwich, carrot sticks, and a few cut up green beans from Sunday’s dinner.

And on the side of that, I had a cup of fruit–cherries, mango chunks, blueberries.

It was so colorful together. Remember how we’re supposed to eat the rainbow?

Snack:

Cup of Oikos Vanilla yogurt with Kashi Go Lean Crunch

Marci’s Dinner:

A quick mix of roasted brussels sprouts, red and orange pepper, small sweet potato, and vegetarian baked beans. This is a great almost no-cook dinner of things you can buy and keep for a few days.

Jeffrey’s Dinner:

Nothing in the above picture would go down Jeffrey’s mouth, so he made an egg scramble of 2 eggs + 1 egg white, red onion, yellow pepper, basil, salt and pepper. With bacon and a bagel and cream cheese. Two separate dinners for two people who don’t eat the same makes for a happy marriage!

Dessert:

Why didn’t I think of this before? Celery sticks with Chocolate Peanut Butter! Mmmm. I think there were two servings of this. How bad can celery be?

Filed Under: Daily Update, Dessert, Dinner, Exercise, Lunch · Tagged With:

New Things–BLD

June 11, 2010 by 3 Comments

That stands for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Here’s what I had and what was new!

This day started off with 6 a.m. CrossFit. It was one of those classes that if I had known the workout, I may not have come! Have you ever done Shuttle Runs? Google it. It’s fast short sprints 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, repeat over and over.  I was feeling dizzy, and that was just the warm up!

Breakfast:

I had two hard boiled egg whites, a few chunks of canteloupe, and two pieces of Strawberry Walnut Bread. I haven’t posted this recipe yet, but I will. It is leftover in the freezer from the last time I made it. Delicious all together.

Lunch:

I had been reading so much about the new Oroweat Sandwich Thins, and have been trying new ideas for lunches, so this has been on my list to try. At 100 calories per sandwich with 5 g fiber and 1 g fat, they were really delicious. I made mine with spicy mustard, lettuce, tomato, turkey, and cheese. I put extra tomatoes and carrots in my tupperware with a side of hummus for dipping.

Also had a side cup of fruit…and perhaps a Teff Chocolate Chip cookie. Yes, I am still eating my original batch from a month ago.

Snack was an apple with Babybel Cheese

Dinner:

This was my own concoction of chicken stir fry. Very easy to plan ahead for this  meal if necessary.

Ingredients:

Chicken Tenders

Garlic

Can of Bamboo Shoots

Can of Water Chestnuts

Can of corn spears

Fresh Snap Peas

Microwave Brown Rice

Instructions:

I cut up a pack of chicken tenders and sauteed on the stove until browned on both sides with two cloves of chopped garlic. Removed and put on plate. Then added snow peas, can of bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and corn to same pan. I added a store-bought stir fry sauce and let it all cook together and get hot. Then added back the chicken to cook together. Served over 90 second brown rice.

There was not much recipe creation involved here, but simple and tasty. And can be altered for two people or more.

Dessert:

I had one slice of Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin bread from the freezer with a spoonful of Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams. This is maybe my favorite food in the pantry right now.

Then it was TV and telling you about my day. I’ve been writing about so many new discoveries…

what have you found new lately?

Filed Under: Breakfast, Daily Update, Dessert, Dinner, Exercise, Lunch, Product Reviews, Recipes · Tagged With: ,

New Foods Day

May 28, 2010 by 2 Comments

I am so into trying new things and telling you about them. It is like buying new clothes and wearing them for the first time. It’s so exciting and makes the day more fun!

This is a review of my Wednesday. First, I did Crossfit at 6 a.m. and that always leaves me looking beat up and hungry. This week I have been in a little injured exercise funk. One of my orthotics is being modified, so my feet are a little unbalanced. And my shin and hip pain came back quickly. (at least I know the orthotics work when they’re in!) So Wednesday’s workout was not all-out. I swung a 26 lb. kettlebell when I can do a 35 lb. one. Should I be beating myself up over backing off 9 lbs. and listening to my body? No…but I do…because we push ourselves hard there. I was still dripping in sweat after, and it was a good workout, just not my literal strongest regarding weights. Onto food…

For breakfast, I made Overnight Oats a la The Healthy Everythingtarian or Kath Eats Real Food. Pretty common in the food blogging world, but I hadn’t tried it yet. Since I prep my meals the night before and this is a cold breakfast, it is perfect to take to work.

Breakfast Overnight Oats:

1/2 C Quaker Old Fashioned Oats

1/2 C Oikos Vanilla Greek Yogurt

1/4 C water

sprinkle cinnamon

1 Deep Chocolate Vitatop Muffin added in the morning

Mix first four ingredients together, refrigerate overnight. Crumble in muffin in morning. I estimate the calories around 350 including the muffin.

This could have so many variations of adding peanut butter, berries, banana, milk, nuts, other spices, etc. A new addition to my morning routine!

Product Review: I had not tried the Vitatop Muffin before. Felt like a treat to have chocolate for breakfast and only be 100 calories with 9g fiber and 4g protein packed in. A little sticky on the fingers when crumbling, but overall very good.

Lunch was a new tuna combo too. I forgot where I found it (pre-keeping track of blog recipe days). It was a Tuna Bar-humm-beque Sandwich. You’d think I could Google that and find the right blog, right? Nope.

Tuna Bar-Humm-Beque Sandwich:

One pack Chicken of the Sea 4 oz Tuna

spoonful PitaPal Original Hummus

Blop of BBQ sauce

1 hardboiled egg white, chopped

Salt and Pepper

Mix all together. I would probably add more hummus and BBQ sauce next time. It was very tasty. I didn’t want to overdo it the first time.

I served mine on two slices of Udi’s G-free Wheat Sandwich Bread with a side salad of lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, yellow pepper, and pickles. I kept the tuna separate from the side salad so it didn’t get soggy overnight.

And a side cup of fruit.

Delicious lunch!


Snack was an apple with Babybel cheese. Boring. Sorry. Babybel and Laughing Cow cheeses are owned by the same company. If you haven’t tried them, they are both very good!


Dinner:

I microwaved a sweet potato for four minutes (so much faster than baking, and same result!), sauteed some mixed bell peppers, onion, squash, and zucchini, and heated some Bush’s Vegetarian Baked Beans.

Dessert was two Teff Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter cookies from the freezer.

Then the night got fun with 5th row tickets at Taylor Swift! Jeffrey was in 14 year old girl heaven. My favorite line of hers was “I love Houston as much as I love sparkly dresses.” I counted four sparkly dresses throughout the night including red, blue, purple, and silver. She also walked from the back of the arena to the front during the show, and passed right down our aisle, and Jeffrey even touched her! His beautiful wife was like chopped liver when Taylor came by!


Filed Under: Breakfast, Daily Update, Exercise, Injuries, Lunch, Product Reviews, Recipes · Tagged With: , ,

New Things Friday

May 24, 2010 by 6 Comments

Friday was about trying new things. Usually Fridays are a rest day from exercise, but since my week was different, I did Crossfit in the morning. I was not so enthusiastic about going because I was sore from doing it Thursday, but I did it and it was over and I am glad I went!

For breakfast, I did something new too. I made oatmeal to take with me to work. I read a lot about oatmeal for breakfast, but since I eat at my desk, it seems hard to pre-pack it and keep it hot. I usually get my food together the night before so I can grab and go. But Friday, I tried making it before work and taking it to-go.

Banana Oatmeal:

1/2 C Old Fashioned Quaker Oats

1/4 C water

1/4 C milk

small pinch chia seeds

1 banana sliced in

sprinkle salt and cinnamon

I microwaved it in a large bowl for 2:30 minutes, stirring halfway so it doesn’t explode. I also put the banana in about 2/3 way through zapping to try to get it all mixed in. Then I transferred to tupperware. It wasn’t piping hot at work, but it was fine. Very tasty, not as filling as I had hoped. I think this was around 300 calories. Next time I may add peanut butter or yogurt to make it more filling and up the protein. I try to keep breakfast between 300-400 calories. Was hungry 2 hours later and had 2 peanut butter crackers.

My lunch was delicious, homemade, and filling! I have been in a lunch rut lately, so I’ve been blog browsing for new ideas. Today I had a big salad with so many raw vegetables and colors.

Big colorful rainbow salad:

spinach, baby carrots, tomato, yellow pepper, 2 steamed asparagus spears, 1/2 avocado, 1/2 baked sweet potato, 1/3 leftover Barnaby’s Turkey Burger.

small cup of mixed strawberries, blueberries, raspberries

1 small Teff PB Chocolate Chip Cookie (unpictured, from earlier post)

This was really good all together and so colorful.

Snack was not new: apple with 2 Laughing Cow Lite Garlic and Herb Cheese

Dinner was at Niko Niko, and to keep with the theme I had something new to me: Greek salad with falafel (lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, kalamata olives, capers, feta cheese, pita, hummus, tzatziki)

So big that I had it for lunch the next day too!

Dessert was another seasonal Blue Bell flavor called Summer Berries. I bought it only for you, blog readers, to tell you about it. Also a pretty container, very tasty. 1/4 cup has 170 calories. I just had a few spoonfuls. Not very nutritious (has high fructose corn syrup), but very tasty!

Filed Under: Breakfast, Daily Update, Exercise, Lunch, Recipes · Tagged With:

A Day in the Life

May 13, 2010 by 1 Comment

Another recurring blog post will be a list of what I eat and how I workout throughout the day. Don’t you want to know what people eat for lunch? Why are we fascinated by this? I don’t know either.

First was the workout so I can get it overwith! It is already so humid in Houston, so I’m glad it’s done by 7 a.m. Today was Crossfit, workout was called Tabata Something Else. Pullups, Pushups, Situps, Squats. On 20 seconds, rest 10. Repeat 8 times. Then do the next exercise. Then we got to stretch with a buddy. Who doesn’t love a buddy stretching them out. That was great.

Onto breakfast! On Crossfit days I am very hungry so I eat a little more. I would rather eat more in one sitting than get hungry at 11:15 and graze until lunch. And breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? Today was a Breakfast Cookie, inspired by Fitnessista.

My breakfast cookie:

1/3 C Old-Fashioned Quaker Oats

1 T Maranatha Creamy Peanut Butter

1 T raisins

1 T cacao nibs

1/2 smashed banana

1/2 packet Truvia sweetener

splash of milk

mix the oats and peanut butter first, then add the rest. Flatten into a tupperware container or plate, then refrigerate overnight.

I ate mine with two hard boiled egg whites and the other half banana. Definitely kept me full until lunch. As I’ve mentioned before about protein powder, I don’t like the added calories. I get my protein from yogurts or egg whites for breakfast. This meal gives fats, carbs, and protein in good rations in my non-professional opinion!

Lunch:

Lunch is my most boring meal of the day, usually eaten at my desk. Today was a salad with Pita Pal Original Hummus and a cup of mixed berries.

Salad was lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, yellow pepper, roasted turkey (from Whole Foods deli counter), 1 piece Jarlsberg cheese.

Then I had one of my Teff Chocolate Peanut Butter cookies. I have them in the freezer so I can eat them one at a time and they are so good. Great recipe!

Dinner:

I had roasted brussel sprouts and red peppers, a small sweet potato, and leftover grilled salmon in a small salad (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots) from a restaurant the night before. Does salmon really fit here? I don’t know, but it was good. I really like roasting vegetables at the beginning of the week to have for a few days. Makes lunches so much better, and always goes with anything. My plate is a mess. I promise to work on food photography if you keep reading.

Dessert:

A piece of Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin bread with Crofter’s Superfruit Jam.

I usually have a snack in the afternoon, but didn’t feel like it today. Weird!

 

Filed Under: Breakfast, Daily Update, Dessert, Dinner, Exercise, Lunch, Recipes ·

Mother’s Day Weekend Eats

May 10, 2010 by 2 Comments

It seemed that this weekend was all about cooking and eating! This post will have recipes for a Green Monster, Blueberry Orange Muffins, and a Tex-Mex soup that is the soup version of a “junk salad.” (A junk salad is a salad that is a bunch of miscellaneous ingredients tossed in a bowl to make a salad.)

In preparation of next week’s 10K and my questionable right leg, I needed to try a run to see what my current situation was. I should have practiced outside, but I didn’t want to get too far from home if I really needed to stop. So onto the treadmill. The goal was 3 miles at a slow steady pace, and I ended up going 5! I was surprised and thankful that something I have been doing this last week is working.

I have told you I am a slow runner, but I ran 5 miles in 55 minutes, which is actually faster than my usual pace. I will keep up with the icing and stretching, and hope that next week goes well! At least I have a little more confidence than the last few days. Sunday I did a spinning class to rest my legs from the pounding.

Onto the eats! After the 5 miles on Saturday morning, I was starving by noon. Like could have eaten anything put in front of me. So I made a Green Monster and a PB&J Sandwich. It hit the spot! My green monster was basic and filling:

Green Monster:

1 banana

lots of spinach (2-3 cups?)

3/4 C milk (i didn’t measure)

1/2 Truvia sweetener

2 strawberries

handful of ice

blend away! it was thick and very tasty. If you have not had a Green Monster and are scared by the green, just try it! It tastes like banana, not spinach. And if you add berries, the smoothie turns purple.

The PB&J was Maranatha Creamy  PB, Crofter’s Superfruit Jam, and  Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin bread.

I will get better at picture taking.

Onto the next baking adventure:

For Mother’s Day brunch, I made Blueberry Orange muffins by Ingredients Inc.

Blueberry-Orange Muffins
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Yield: 16 servings
Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat or all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar, divided
11/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
3/4 cup orange juice (about 1 large orange)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups coarsely chopped fresh blueberries or cranberries (about 8 ounces)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted
Cooking spray
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Set aside 1 tablespoon sugar. Combine flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.

3. Combine orange rind, juice, oil, and egg in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in blueberries and nuts. Spoon batter into 16 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with reserved sugar. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until the muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Run a knife or spatula around outer edge of each muffin cup. Carefully remove each muffin; place on a wire rack.

These muffins were very tasty and had a strong orange flavor. Good strong. The batter was very thick, and they did make exactly 16 muffins. I made them Saturday and served them on Sunday. I thought by Sunday they were a little sticky, but they still got eaten. I have made other baked goods from this website and always freeze them to eat for breakfast. That definitely helps toughen up the muffin or loaf, so I will try that with these leftovers.

The last meal was Sunday night dinner for two. It was a Tex-Mex soup. I almost feel embarrassed to serve this because it requires no effort. A great way to empty your pantry!

Tex-Mex Soup:

2 cans Great Northern Beans

2 cans Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles

1 can corn

1 onion

1 tsp cumin

handful cilantro

1 package ranch dressing mix

1/2 pack taco seasoning mix

cheese and tortilla chips for topping

2 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded

Cook chicken first, then mix everything else in soup pot and let simmer until ready to eat. Very spicy!

I served with side salad.

A few other pictures from the weekend:

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