Ask Me Anything!

ollowing with a very popular blogging trend, I have opened the lines of anonymous communication with an "Ask Me Anything" feature.

Have a (friendly) question for me that you want to ask anonymously? Click here to do so, and I will share some Q and A with you all as the questions come in. Just be sure to click on the anonymous box if you want to remain anonymous!

It is finally starting to warm up in Regina, and I can sense that spring is not too far away - just the idea of it is making me giddy! I cannot wait to start doing the C25K (couch to 5k) program again. I didn't make it very far this fall, as it started to get too cold. The second the snow starts to melt I am getting my running shoes on! It is so foreign to me to be excited about running, but for some reason I really, really want to run.

Are you a runner? If so, what do you love about it? Did you love it right away? Were you good at it from the start or did you suck like I do now? :-)

My eats this morning were simple, but delicious (and very carb-laden now that I look at the pics). Breakfast was a lovely bowl of banana and coffee oats topped with almond butter and maple flakes:





The maple flakes are SO good. I am not a huge fan of maple flavour typically, but I love these. They add a little crunch too.

Lunch was leftover spaghetti and meatballs, and an orange:



My water bottle is SO dented (from dropping it constantly) that people at work were making fun of it. Hehe. One of them said it looked melted. I don't think you can melt metal that easily, but who knows. It does get HOT in Regina in the summer time.

For dinner I made chicken chow mein:



I plan on having some fruit or veggies as a snack and curling up with the hubby to watch some American Idol! I just love that Ellen is the new judge!!

G'nite.

Got a question for me?

Good evening bloggy faces. Can you believe it is already November! Where has the year gone!? I have really found that as I get older, the time seems to fly by faster and faster. It seems like we just had Christmas, and now I am already looking forward to another Christmas season - but I am not complaining - I LOVE Christmas!!

I was in the mall this past weekend looking for Halloween stuff, when I noticed that the shelves were bare of Halloween products and were starting to fill up with Christmas chocolates, gifts, and wrap. I must admit - it made me giddy! I cannot wait to start Christmas shopping, and baking, and decorating!! Ooooooh, there is nothing better in my opinion! When do you start getting in the Christmas spirit? For me, it is right after Halloween!

This morning for breakfast I had mocha, banana oats:



- 1/4 cup chocolate milk, 1/4 cup coffee, 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1 pureed banana
- coconut and Chia seeds sprinkled on top



Lunch was leftover mac and cheese from supper last night:



And an apple:

This evening for dinner I had a Banquet for my professional confederation and union. I did not feel like it was appropriate for me to take a photo of my dinner in front of all my superintendents, etc. - you understand :-)

This is what I ate:

• 2 slices roast beef
• 1/2 cup mashed potato
• 1/4 of a bun with margarine
• 1/4 cup garden salad with Italian dressing
• 3 T pasta salad
• 1/2 a small cabbage roll
• 1 glass red wine
• 1 mini brownie

The hubby has been busy working in our basement lately - painting baseboards, and putting them on, putting together our built-in computer desk, installing the suspended ceiling etc.. I look forward to the day (in the VERY near future) when I can have my hubby back! (And to when I can show you all the before and after pics!!!!)

Fortunately he just asked if I wanted to watch a show with him :-) We love catching up on our PVR'd shows! Which shows do you PVR? or TIVO? Or Tape?

Vegetarian Meal #8 of 10

Okay ... after reading your comments to yesterday's post, I totally feel boring in the popcorn department! You guys put some crazy, yet interesting things on your popcorn! What I am wondering is, what made you want to try new flavourings for the first time?? Are you really that adventurous!? I am a chicken, and never venture beyond the butter or margarine world. Hence, my boring popcorn last night:

You know how a few weeks ago I woke up to snow ...
Well that is all gone now. It was nearly hot last weekend.
And this morning I woke up to pouring rain! This is Saskatchewan weather for ya!

So when it is pouring rain, and cool, and dark, breakfast can only be one thing ...
OATS!



(1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond breeze, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup oats, homemade pumpkin butter, and pumpkin seeds)

I had a mid-morning glo-bar snack:



Then for lunch I had perogies:



And the terrible two:


(old Cheddar and pears go fabulously together).

I have had more of an appetite than usual today, and by 3:30 I was haaaaaangry!
I had my 2nd LARA Bar:



This one was even more delicious than the last. I am so happy I finally tried these bars.
They are a little on the sweet side, and since I don't have a sweet tooth, I can only eat about 1/2 at a time - but I do love 'em.

Dinner was Vegetarian Meal #8 of 10

Red Tofu and Bean Chili

Ingredients:

- 2 t olive oil
- 3 cups chopped onion
- 1/4 cup chili powder
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 3 cups veggie stock
- 1 can kidney beans, drained
- 1 can black beans, drained
- 1 can chopped tomatoes, drained
- 1 can mushrooms
- 1/2 block extra firm tofu
- Cheddar cheese to sprinkle on before serving

Directions:

• Heat oil, add onion, saute 5 min.
• Add spices, and saute 30 seconds
• Add stock, beans, tomatoes, bring to a boil
• Add tofu and mushrooms
• Simmer about 45 min. or 1 hr.
• Sprinkle shredded cheese on top before serving

I just realized that I didn't eat very many fruits/ veggies today. Guess that means I should have a GM tomorrow morning.

I really try to get my veggies in everyday, but some days (like today) I realize that it just didn't happen. No sweat. I will just have more tomorrow :-)

How do you maintain balance in your diet? Do you strive for a certain # of servings of the different food groups, or just eat what you feel like eating?

Vegetarian Meal #6 of 10 and Introducing ...

For the first time on EverydayFoodie ... Oats in a Jar!

This is definitely a favourite in the blogosphere ... and I finally tried it for breakfast today! I used what was left of my almond butter, and threw in 1 T unsweetened coconut, and 1 tsp mini chocolate chips. It was excellent.

Lunch was leftover Pad Thai of course:

And also the perfect pair:

No pun intended :-)

After a great day at work, and coaching a v-ball game, I came home famished! I snacked on the 2nd fresh roll from last night while whipping up Vegetarian Meal #6 of 10.

Zucchini Lasagna (sans noodles):

In this dish, the zucchini takes the place of the noodles. I found this recipe in a book, but altered it a bit to make it more protein rich, and awesome.

Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 lbs zucchini, cut into thin strips lengthwise
- 1 3/4 cups bread crumbs
- 2 T butter
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 5 shallots, chopped coarsely
- 2 carrots, diced
- 8 oz chopped asparagus
- 3/4 cup cream
- sprinkle of Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup or more of hemp seeds (for protein)

Directions:

- Put some oil in a pan and sautee the zucchini for a couple minutes, then set aside
- Heat 1 T of butter and brown the garlic and then add the bread crumbs and brown a bit, then set aside

- Saute the shallots and carrots in the remaining oil until lightly browned. Add the asparagus and cream and cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt. Dump in 1/2 cup hemp seeds and stir.

- Line the baking dish with 1 layer of zucchini, then a layer of the asparagus mixture, then some bread crumbs. Repeat, ending with breadcrumbs. Toss a little parm on top.

- Bake for 15 - 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

- Gobble down

After dinner I made a run to the post office to pick this up!

A FREE popcorn maker! I won this in a contest on Gareth's blog: Stumptown Savoury. Sawwweeeet!

I also made a run to Wal-Mart to buy a bunch of big tupperware for organizing our basement!
It is almost done. Before and after pictures will be within the next couple weeks.

I am headed to bed peeps.
G'night!

Birthday Oats and Snow.

Something miraculous and unexplainable has happened folks.

When I went to bed I was 26 years old ... and when I woke up, I was 27.

I thought they said sleep helps to keep you young - liars!

I decided there is nothing I can do about it. So I made myself a drink.

Just kidding ...

It is just some antioxidants. You know - to stop the aging process in its tracks.

I also made my favourite oats.

Mocha Coconut Oats





1/2 cup coffee, 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond breeze, 1/2 cup quick oats
Sprinkle of unsweetened organic coconut, and mini chocolate chips (you know - for the antioxidants).

I also woke up to this lovely gift from mother nature:



Luckily it is supposed to be +15 degrees Celsius on Saturday, so this should all melt away.

Does it snow where you live?

Have a great day everyone!

Oats and a Little about Me

This morning I woke up and made some lovely, colourful oats. I used 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond breeze, and 1/2 cup of quick oats. I topped them with blackberries, strawberries, and pineapple.

I received a couple of questions in my comments section yesterday/ this morning, and instead of replying in the comments or privately, I thought I would post the answers here in case any one else is wondering the same thing.

Anais asked: Are you doing a masters?

No - I am not doing a masters, yet. I finished my BEd degree in 2004 and became a teacher. I immediately started my BA in Psychology, and finished all the requirements for that in Dec. 08. I discovered at the last minute that I only had 3 classes left and I would have an honours degree in Psych., so I canceled my graduation, and am finishing the last of those 3 classes right now. I will be done my BA Honours this Dec., and then I am going to take a semester off for the first time in 9 years, and just relax and enjoy life. In the fall of 2010 I may do something else with school, but I am not sure yet. I have done 2 masters classes, but I am not in the program. If I do apply and get in, I can use them as credit at that time.

SimplyLife asked: What are you writing your thesis about?

I am doing my honours thesis in the cognitive psychology area. I am looking at whether or not a participants perception can be influenced by the order in which information is presented. More specifically, how the primacy and recency bias influence participants judgment of the mean size of a set of circles. I am keeping this brief, so as not to bore you to death.

I am off to do a workout and them have a light lunch in a couple hours.
Have a great day peeps.