Jerusalem: Falafel

These were delicious, but so hard to form and cook. Very crumbly. 

TWD Gingersnaps

These were not winners.

Jerusalem Turkey and Zucchini Burgers with Green Onion and Cumin

TWD Challah

TWD Double Chocolate Cookies

These puppies were like a beautiful chocolate cookie/brownie hybrids. They are dangerous and must be rationed.

I was starving when I got home, even though I had an apple at work. See, that donut didn't do much for me.

While I was cooking dinner I had some cranberries and pecans.

Dinner was burnt teriyaki pork chop and broccoli. Ugh I feel like I always burn this kind of stuff. It's the sauce!

Now having some sugar free cocoa before bed.

Overnight Oats

Overnight oats taste like when you get a yogurt and granola parfait that has been premade and all the granola is mushy. Actually I hate it when that happens, but these are pretty great. You get the oatmeal taste, but the yogurt is there too.

Before:

The weird thing about this is that most recipes I found online did not really suggest heating it up in the morning. I don’t want to eat cold oatmeal, even if it does taste like a parfait. I heated mine up for one minute this morning and might heat it longer next time.

Dinner last night and lunch today was chicken stew, which I didn’t realize that I forgot to photograph until right now. Another Ghirardelli square for dessert.

I also had a Krispy Kreme donut at a meeting. I sort of regret that, even though I should still be within my calorie goals. Since I cut out caffeine, I can really feel the effects of sugar and even fat. It’s probably just not the best idea, even though it’s delicious.

Gotta Remember

I am definitely not as good at the photos-of-food thing as I used to be.

Snack in the afternoon yesterday:

Note to self, find a better PM snack for work. These I got because I had a "free" $5 for the cafeteria so I stocked up on granola bars.

Dinner by Gus's request was tomato soup and grilled cheese. This is my standby recipe for tomato soup, but this time I used crushed tomatoes instead of whole and it really threw off the texture. Too thick.

I got this baby in my Birch Box. One square gone. Like a Thin Mint. Yummmmmmm.

Went to the gym this morning. I really need to figure out a good oatmeal routine for breakfast. I made a really sad version this morning and then went the gym to renew my membership. That workout felt really good. I did 30 minutes on elliptical and then some arm weights.

Work lunches are so dangerous. I got a chef salad from a catered lunch and ate most of it, but only about a tablespoon of the ranch dressing, none of the other. There was also a brownie involved...

I’m feeling pretty good today. I’m trying to force myself to drink a lot of water, but I’m so bad at it. Work doesn't like it when we have drinks out on our desks, but I always do anyway, unless there’s an inspection going on or something. The joys of working in a hospital.

I switched my calorie goals to stay stagnant and not flex with fitness. I don’t think it’s doing me any favors to be eating all of the calories that I burn. I need a deficit. 

Fresh Start

I almost completely abandon this blog so often, it's amazing that I don't just start over again. But I think it's time to roll it out and start over with what I had started with: documenting my eating and lifestyle, making myself accountable, and being able to look at what I am doing and hopefully see progress.

I started this blog in 2009 because I wanted to lose 7 pounds. I was 137 pounds and wanted to get down to 130. Reading this now is almost a smack in the face, as 137 is the goal that Spark has now set for me to achieve as my ultimate weight loss goal.

I got married in June and my weight was the highest it has ever been at 160. The whole thing is frustrating to me because you're supposed to lose weight for your wedding. Well, I was way too stressed to lose weight or care about the weight that was piling on. But as soon as I got back from our honeymoon, I realized that this is a huge problem and I seriously needed to lose about 20 pounds. I've lost about 5 pounds since August, but it's still not enough.

I got some lab results back last week and my LDL is high. This really freaked me out. I still think of myself as healthy, but now I feel like I'm not and I need more work. It's a total wake up call.

I've been tracking my calories and workouts on Spark, but like I said, it's not enough. I need to get nitty gritty and start posting everything and holding myself accountable. I need to rejoin the gym and stop lying to myself that 30 minute walks with the dog are enough.

It's time to buckle down. Here it goes...

Espresso Profiteroles

Blueberry muffins

Johnnycake Cobbler

TWD: Rustic Potato Loaves

TWD: Madeleines

Thai Honey Peanut Chicken

Orecchiette with White Beans and Chard

Thai Curry Shrimp

TWD: Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies

Kale, bean, sausage stew

Greek style shrimp

Baked potato soup

TWD: Croissants

These took about a total of 24 hours to make. I was really hoping that these would turn out and be delicious so that I didn't put so much time into them for nothing.

Oh boy, did they ever turn out. These babies are dangerous.

Shrimp tacos

Peppery pasta with poached egg

Veggie stir fry

Chicken Noodle Soup

This is my go-to chicken noodle soup recipe. We also get to adding matzo balls to it, too. Easy and fast and barely any hands on time.

TWD: Boca Negra Fiasco

This was one of the biggest disasters that I have made. Totally undercooked (which is partially my fault) so it fell apart instantly. Also, I'm not too crazy about the booze/chocolate combo. Oh well.

Pork Ragu over Polenta

I loved reading Dinner a Love Story. It was a perfect blend of novel and cookbook and I felt really comfortable and trusting of all of Jenny’s recipes. She talks about this Pork Ragu a lot, so I knew I needed to try it. It really is a winner. Easy (except that I set my kitchen on fire when I broke a dish over the stove, my fault) and delicious. Perfect Sunday food.

Artichoke, Spinach, and Feta Stuffed Shells

Here’s a terrible picture of some Artichoke, Spinach, Feta Stuffed Shells. I liked these, but they didn’t go over the best with the whole apartment (read: I was the only one who ate these and they are now frozen and waiting for other days).

Pinkadilly Tea

My friend and I had a fantastically wonderful time at Pinkadilly Tea last weekend. I love afternoon tea. I think I would do it all the time except it would probably make me gain a million pounds.

Our teas were wonderful, but of course it’s all about the food. We got little finger sandwiches, scones, pastries, and so much more. We loved everything and were so full and had to pee so much when it was all over. 

Plus you get to wear hats.

Chicken Tamale Casserole

I will make pretty much any recipe that has corn bread in it. Sometimes this works out better than others. Last night it worked out very well in my eyes.

Chicken Tamale Casserole was a hit here. I don’t think I've ever had a real tamale, so I can’t say that these are especially authentic, but they taste good and that’s all that matters to me. The only problem that I had with this is that my cornbread layer took about 25 minutes to bake instead of the suggested 15. 

Dinner A Love Story's Pork Dumplings

Happy Chinese New Year! I decided to get festive and make a million dumplings for the two of us. Ok, like 40. It felt like a lot. I think the best part of this was that I got to do my shopping at my long lost love, Wegmans, while I was up in Fredericksburg. I need to do that more often.

These were from the book version of this recipe, which is almost identical.

I liked them a lot, but I think I like steamed dumplings a little more. I also think I put them in the food processor for too long because the pork was a little gritty in texture. 

Chicken Pot Pie

This is one of my favorite recipes to make during the winter. If you can only wait for 10 minutes before you serve it, like me, because you are hungry and want to eat it NOW, it will look like this:

Not exactly beautiful, but tasty.

Hello Again

My life is very different now than it was the last time that I had been blogging consistently.

We moved from Baltimore to Richmond, VA.

I changed jobs from working in a huge, world-renowned hospital to a tiny community hospital.

We are engaged :)

G started medical school.

Along with all of the little things that have come along with those huge things. I started blogging more recently, just to document the meals that we are having and making a virtual menu of sorts so that I can force  help G figure out what he wants for dinners for the week. Along with that, I have been feeling like writing again and exploring food the way that I used to. I think I'd like to start now.

Flatlander Chili

Spiced Lentils with Poached Eggs

TWD: Focaccia

Roasted Salmon

Giada's Chicken Picatta