My Glo-Bars are Here!!!!!!!!

I was so excited last night to be able to go to the post office to pick up my Glo-bars! Angela packs them so nicely in the cutest little box with green crinkle paper (like in Easter baskets) in the bottom. She also included a hand written thank-you card. How sweet :-)

So this morning for breakfast, I obviously had a Glo-Bar:

And a pear too:

My dad picked me up and took me to "The Bushwakker" for lunch. I had a roasted veggie wrap (about 2/3 of it) and a small handful of fries. After lunch I helped my dad spend his money to get a bunch of new appliances etc. for his house. He is doing major renos too.

The hubby and I did a lot of work around our house this afternoon/ evening. We needed a quick dinner so we could keep working. I made some Lipton chicken soup, and grilled cheese:

Later on in the evening we went bowling with some friends. It was fun! I did pretty well, and even got a strike! Around 11:00 the pizza came!!

I had 2 squares of veggie pizza, and a Caesar (far right of the pic).

Some of our friends were going out after the bowling, but the hubby and I are both with colds now ... so we decided to call it a night.

Whew - long day! I am SO glad it is the weekend!

Here are my eats from the day:

Breakfast was a GM and a slice of rye toast with margarine:

Lunch was my favourite frozen entree, Thai Chicken:

It is really healthy too :-)

I also had an orange, pear, and piece of cheese:

And throughout the day I had 2 cups of coffee, and a bunch of H2O:

I can't live without my to-go mug, and my water bottle. I need them, and they need me.

After work I came home and worked on organizing/ purging the boxes of stuff that used to be in our basement, and have been in our garage for months while our basement was being finished.

We finally got around to eating by about 8 pm. We went to a local pasta restaurant and I had the meatball Florentine (spinach meatballs, with a tomato basil sauce on noodles):

I only ate one slice of the garlic toast (without the crust, because I think crusts are yuck).

Now I am going to watch last nights Grey's and Survivor!

Happy Friday!

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!

Thoughts on Whole Living

This evening neither the hubby nor I felt like cooking, so we ordered in Thai food! We rarely order in, but I am not feeling up to going out.

I ordered shrimp and pork fresh roles:

(I only ate one of them).

I also had the chicken Pad Thai (minus MSG)
(I had half the order, and will take the other half for lunch tomorrow):

After dinner I had a bath with Epsom salts, and a drizzle of thyme serum.
I soaked with a cup of tea and a magazine - "Body and Soul."

I would like to share "10 Thoughts on Whole Living" that I read in Body and Soul:

1) Find a few minutes each day to unplug.

2) Giving to others is the most powerful thing we can do for ourselves.

3) See physical fitness as a practice, not a goal.

4) This fall, make it a point to heed your need for solitude.

5) The secret to beautiful skin starts with what you put inside your body.

6) Try doing even the most menial tasks mindfully and with grace.

7) The quality of your connections with other people will carry you further than you think.

8) Just because a no-frills home remedy is simple doesn't mean it won't work.

9) If you want to eat healthier, try giving yourself the benefit of better choices.

10) Home isn't a place. It is a state of mind.

I think I need to work on #1, 3, 4 and 6. What about you?

My own personal whole living philosophy includes the following:

1) The amount of time you spend on doing things you WANT to do should outweigh the time spent on doing things that you HAVE to do. (I really need to work on this).

2) You should not put anything on your body that you can't eat. I am very picky when it comes to putting things on my skin in terms of creams/ lotions/ sunscreen. I have a big problem with putting chemicals and ingredients I don't recognize on my largest organ. Our skin is full of pores, and all things that you put onto yours skin soak into your skin. Where do you think they go? I DO use products, but I choose ones that are 100% organic, paraban, artificial ingredient and completely SLS free.

3) Do not put garbage into your body. As you may have noticed, I don't eat a lot of "junk" including soft drinks, candy, fast food, artificial sweeteners, and highly processed food. I am not saying that I never have these things, but I do my best to avoid them - and I definitely do not miss them at all. I enjoy putting foods that have only 1 ingredient into my body (spinach, nuts, chicken, beans, rice, etc.) I do this as much as I can, but I still enjoy life and will indulge in French fries, or potato chips here and there too :-)

What do you include in your whole living philosophy?

My friends this afternoon are ...

Luckily they are all helping me to feel better.

Lunch today was left over bulgur doused in hot sauce (helped clear my sinuses!):



I also had a pear:

And this little guy:

It seriously takes me like 20 minutes to eat one of those little Babybel. I nibble at it like a mouse and savour every little bit.

Have you had Babybel cheese before? Do you love it?

It used to be more of a Christmas treat in my family growing up - but now I run the show, and have my own house ... so I will eat it whenever I darn well please :-)

Meet my friends this morning ...

I am taking a HEALTH day (aka a sick day), but I prefer to focus on the fact that I am trying to restore my good health.

Last night before bed I had an apple:

Some Mary's Organic Rice crackers with light herb and garlic cream cheese:

And a Hot Toddie ... recommended to me by Maggie from TheSaladGirl. Her dad is one smart man, because this definitely soothed my throat for a while! I didn't have any lemon, but I mixed hot water, honey, cinnamon sticks, and cloves and drank it down. Tasty, and effective!

This morning I slept in until about 10:00, then I got up and made a Green Monster of course. In addition to 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 3 handfuls of spinach and 1 banana, I added:

1 T of Peanut Butter:

And 1 package of wheat grass:

I drank it from a Heineken glass:

The good thing is, I still have my appetite. And I don't have a fever.
This makes me almost certain that I just have a cold.
I have a headache, sore throat (not as bad anymore) and stuffy/ runny nose, with a general tired feeling all over. With this whole H1N1 thing, people are very adamant that if you are SICK, stay HOME. So that is what I am doing.

No matter what I do (eat healthy, eat plenty of fruits and veggies, exercise etc) I still get a cold or two each winter, and usually the flu once. It must be because I am around so many germs all day at work ... I can't figure it out. Do you get a cold every year?

Vegetarian Meal #5 of 10

Today I gargled salt water, loaded up on vitamin D and C, and drank lots of water and tea. Unfortunately, I am not feeling much better - this cold is really trying to get me! I am going to fight back some more this evening (maybe try a hot toddie that Maggie recommended).

Lunch today was some taco beef on brown rice:



With salsa on top:



And a pear:



I had trouble making it through the afternoon at work, as I felt like I wanted to curl up in the corner and go to sleep. I planned for a sub for tomorrow - just in case.

Dinner tonight was Vegetarian Recipe #5 of 10 (I am trying to make 10 new veggie recipes this month). Today was:

Tabouli Salad and Bulgur/ Tofu Stuffed Peppers

• To make the bulgur: add 1 cup to 3 cups water, bring to a boil, and then cover and put on low for 20 minutes or so.
• To make the salad: peel and cut up 1/2 cucumber, add chopped tomatoes, chopped green onion, raisins, 2 T olive oil, and 1 T lemon juice.
  

• Add about 2/3 of a cup of bulgur (cooled) to the salad

• To make the peppers: Cut 2 peppers in half, sprinkle some cheese in the bottom

• Sautee some onions

• Add the onions and some chopped tofu to the pepeprs

• Spoon the cooked bulgur into the peppers and stick a little bit more cheese into the tops

• Bake in the oven for 20 minutes @ 375
  

My portion:



This was my first time trying bulgur, and I absolutely LOVED it! It is a lot like rice, and better than cous cous and quinoa in my opinion - much better.
It was SO easy to make too.

Wikipedia says that, "Bulgur is more nutritious than rice and couscous, because it contains more fiber, more vitamins and minerals, and has a better glycemic index than white rice or couscous."

This was an excellent dinner ... looks like a lot of carbs, but the peppers didn't have much bulgur in them (there is not much room in a pepper), and I only ate 1/2 the salad pictured.

I am going to have a hot shower, make myself a "hot toddie" and curl up on the couch for a little while, before I go to bed early.

I think my body is trying to tell me to s-l-o-w down and take it easy. I have been spreading myself very thin over the last couple of months, and I am starting to feel a little bit worn out.

Do you take on more than you can handle, or do you manage to have a perfect balance in your life?