Bits of Bites

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So many of you have been kindly asking how Stacy is doing since her surgery on Friday so I will provide you with a brief update. Her surgery was 6 hours long and everything went very well and according to the doctors' plans. She was in severe pain on Saturday, but, by the afternoon was feeling a little better. Stacy came home yesterday and is happy to be out of the hospital. I want to thank everyone who has reached out since reading the blog post last week. I have no doubt in my mind that the positive thoughts, vibes, and prayers that you sent through helped her get through this very difficult procedure. It is greatly appreciated by our entire family.

This blog post is going to be a bit disjointed, but, I have a lot to talk about!

The other big, big thing that happened this weekend was Jenn & Brett's wedding! It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and could not have gone more perfectly. It was truly incredible and I could not be more excited for Jenn & Brett! They are an amazing couple. I'll post a "life lately" post soon and update more photos, etc.

So, I'm starting a new series tonight "Bits of Bites". I've been asked so many times (especially since the Sugar-Free Challenge) to post meal ideas besides just dinner. Most health/fitness bloggers do post "weekly eats" or something similar, but, I didn't think you'd all want to look at my ugly food pictures. Well, I'm caving. The pictures won't be as attractive as my perfectly lit dinner posts, but, hopefully it will provide you all with some food ideas for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and super-fast dinners that can be made on the fly. Oh, and I won't show every meal, don't worry.

Locally grown strawberries I ate in about two sittings. (I eat a lot of fruit, especially berries)

This "smoothie bowl" consisted of raw peanut butter (about 2 tbs), frozen organic berries (cup or so), ground flax (tbs or so), chia seeds (tsp or so), shakes of cinnamon, and water (enough to blend). This was a breakfast last week. 

This was a Saturday morning breakfast consisting of organic buckwheat berry waffles from Whole Foods topped with a little bit of organic butter (no syrup even though I love syrup). Sliced kiwi and mango-ginger juice -- I just blended frozen mango with ginger and cinnamon with a lot of water. I don't own a juicer.

Lunch: Organic egg, organic raspberries, sugar snap peas, avocado, and goji berry nut mixture from Whole Foods.

Dinner: lettuce from my garden, sliced radishes, organic grape tomatoes, feta, sunflower seeds, grilled organic chicken, grilled peaches, avocado, topped with extra virgin o/o and lime juice.

Another typical lunch: half an avocado, 2 organic eggs, organic raspberries, sugar snap peas, pecans/cashews, and I think I ate that entire bag of GMO free popcorn by the time work was over, whoops!

Dinner: Chicken, Broccoli, artichokes, and Quinoa gluten-free pasta, meh.... I'll go back to Barilla Protein Plus. The pasta wasn't terrible, but, it wasn't great either. Oh and a glass or two of vino.

Lunch: I got creative at work and mashed together a half an avocado and leftover grilled organic chicken and put it on a toasted gluten-free english muffin with some salt and grapes. Pretty good!

Ok I think that about does it for tonight. My shopping list always has avocados, organic eggs, fresh and frozen organic fruit, and organic chicken. Right now, I'm loving my garden veggies!

Hope you all have a great week! xo

Easy Grilled Chicken & Bacon Asparagus

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For my sugar-free challenge friends... I have a dinner for you. The best part? It's easy to make and apparently it tastes pretty damn good. Rob gave a lot of praise to this one tonight... #win.

Sooo... how's everyone doing with the sugar-free? Getting easier? Not craving it as much? I'm a convert. I'll never go 100% sugar-free as I think it's important to 'treat yoself', but, I have much more energy during the week and overall feel better. Anddd, I think I'm a little trimmer, too. The pants are feeling a tad looser. That was NOT the goal with this challenge, but, I'll take it!

So, I've been reading up a lot (like, A LOT) on more on sugar-free, gluten-free, lower carb, etc health benefits. Partly because of this challenge and my new found happiness sans sugar, but, also for something else that I'll touch on at a later date. Now, more than ever, I'm eating as healthy as I possibly can and doing a TON of research. (that's part of the reason you haven't heard from me in a while).

Anywayyy... tonight's dinner was simple. Here we go...

Need:

- 1 package of organic, nitrate-free bacon (can be found at whole foods - have had a hard time finding this anywhere else)
- Organic chicken breasts (can be found at most supermarkets, however, I find the most bang for your buck at Whole Foods)
- Organic asparagus
- Extra Virgin OO
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- Salt, Crushed Red Pepper, Parsley (fresh or dried)
- Organic mayo
- Organic honey
- Yellow mustard

Marinate the chicken breasts in the lemon juice, extra virgin, salt, crushed red pepper, parsley, and garlic. Set aside for an hour or so (the longer the better).

Next

- Wrap 4 asparagus with 1 slice of bacon, repeat as many times as needed to feed who you are with (I ate 2 groups - 8 pieces of asparagus, Rob got 3, so 12)
- Drizzle with evoo & a little crushed red pepper
- Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, then, throw it on the grill or grill pan for another 5 on each side to crisp it up
- Set it to the side with tin foil over it


- While the asparagus are cooking - Mix together 1.5 parts yellow mustard, 1 part organic mayo, and 1/4 parts honey in a small bowl and set aside (this is the dipping sauce)

Next

- Wipe the grill pan clean but leave a little bacon grease :)
- Toss the marinated chicken breast on the hot pan and let it cook 60% through
-  Flip them and cook through
- Let them rest for 2-5 minutes

Plate and serve! (With a glass of Underwood Pinot... perfect for a night watching 'House of Cards' with Mr. Frank and Claire Underwood themselves...)

Have a wonderful weekend! xo

Asian Noodle Bowl

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As mentioned, a couple weeks ago I made my way to Blue Dragon with Rae & Becca. The three of us were sitting there trying to dissect each ingredient in our delicious noodle bowls. I hadn't cooked an Asian meal in a reallllly long time so I decided that I'd give it a whirl the following Friday night. We knew we tasted chives, garlic, definitely some chili oil, vinegar, and ginger. I picked up what I already didn't own and also some pine nuts and a red curry paste. Figured it wouldn't hurt...

I told Rob... "I have no idea how this is going to come out... be warned"...  he assured me he was confident (so nice). Anyway, so I chopped up a couple cloves of garlic, the chives, pea pods, and grated ginger. 

In a separate pan - I quickly toasted the pine nuts to bring out the flavor. Then, I started sauteing all of the ingredients:

- Couple cloves of garlic
-  Chopped chives
- Crushed red pepper
- Tsp of chili paste
- Grated ginger
- Rice vinegar (I just kept adding it and letting it burn off)
- Pea pods
- Walnut oil

Then, I boiled the shrimp separately (next time I'll just toss them right in this pan).

I boiled the pasta in salted water (I used papardelle noodles because I had them in my cabinet - an Asian noodle would make more sense, but, these were delish).

Separately, I made the deviled eggs as snack. You can find my simple recipe for them here.

Finally, I tossed it all together and served it. I must admit that I kind of nailed it. The flavors were so powerful and tasty. I love experimenting in the kitchen and this was one of my most favorite experiments in a long time. A long time ago, I learned that tasting the food while you cook is essential for any meal you put together. I don't think there is much better advice. You don't need recipes... do what works for you! 

Question of the day! What have you made recently that surprised you?

Hope you're all having a great week! xo