Detox Day 2 Part II

Finished with day 2--not sure if I'm feeling "detoxified" but I am definatly not feeling stuffed after dinner or "blah" mid-way through the day (even without my 3 cups of coffee) so that's a start right?!

Lunch was a nice little mix of veggies (califlower, broccoli, shredded carrots) mixed with sunflower seeds, golden raisins, and currants topped off with just a squeeze of lemon juice--it's really good!

Whole Foods makes a salad similar to this called the Detox Salad and I've had it before and thought, why pay $7.99 a pound I'm sure someone has copied this and listed what all is in it....low and behold Google came through with my answer!

I found the "re-make" of this salad on Oh She Glows though I did take out the parsley (I'm not a huge fan) and also the kelp (because I couldn't find it) and added in some wheat germ and chia seeds for a little extra different texture. The salad is great and crunchy and a little sweet and perfect for mid-day!

And I followed it up with a second glass of my green juice from this morning -- you'd be surprised at the looks you get in the office drinking a green something.

For dinner we went with a simple little stirfry of veggies and quinoa instead of rice (added protein).  The only downfall today was that I know I didn't drink enough water, I only made it one large glass of the way into the cold detox tea (recipe here) and was just bogged down with work throughout the day and kept putting off drinking/refilling my glass.

And believe it or not I was actually able to go to the gym tonight and NOT have to wait in a huge line for a machine--this may be the first time ever that I've gone to the gym after the new year and not seen 500 people wanting to "start the year off right", but this made me think....what does that say for today's world?  Does the resolution of getting into better shape no longer top the list? And if not, what does that say about how our society has changed....something to ponder!

To Dos for the Weekend

 I know it's New Years weekend-but lets be honest....between working and school Rene and I really just look forward to lazy weekends and this is just like the rest!  Though we did grab 2 bottles of bubbles to celebrate the new year.  Fun fact--enough New Years Eve back at UCF was really the start of our relationship when we rang in the new year together in 2006! So this marks the 6 year mark of our relationship too!

Anyhow...I've created a bit of a crafty to do list of things that I want to make/try this weekend.

First and foremost if you remember a previous post Pinteresting Thursday on a Friday I had 2 items that I wanted to make. 1. the cape and 2. the little Christmas trees made from holiday cards--both of these will be made this weekend (hopefully)...

Next up is a little treat for New Years eve....Pizza Monkey Bread...yes another Pinterest find!

Doesn't it look tasty?

I'll also be trying my hand at homemade pasta tonight compliments of my new pasta maker from Rene!

Get ready for some follow up posts this weekend about all these great little creations!

Happy Friday!

Re-Invent Thanksgiving Leftovers

Lets be honest you can only have so many turkey sandwiches after turkey day...so I always try to come up with some easy ideas to re-invent and re-use those turkey leftovers!

This year we did a whole lot of reinventing! I must apologize though I forgot to snap pictures of a couple of the items.

First off here was our Thanksgiving Dinner--lots of food = lots of leftovers!Re-invention #1 - Sausage Egg and Cheese "muffins"
First take a muffin pan and put a little of the stuffing in the bottom (we used our apple and sausage stuffing) next pour a little egg white or whole egg onto the top and bake approx. 12 minutes at 350 degrees-top with a little cheese and melt. Quick and easy breakfast/brunch!

Next up? #2 - Turkey and Noodles (no picture sorry)
Take turkey bones, sage, and thyme and create a delish stock-simmer at least 2 hours!
Add in some veggies we used carrots, onion, peas, and corn
Next add in your shredded turkey (light and dark meat)
Simmer and then add in your noodles. The longer you cook the noodles the thicker everything becomes rather than a soup it's like a little turkey and "dumplings"

Re-invention #3- Turkey Nachos!
For anyone who has ever been to an Ale House this is a play on their Chicken Nachos

Super simple! Layer tortilla chips, then cheese, turkey, more cheese, jaleponos (optional) and bake!
Serve with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole!

#4 --Cranberry Almond and White Chocolate Chip Pancakes!
(sorry no picture)
Make a basic pancake mix, add in cranberry almond sauce and some white chocolate chips! Delish!

#5-Spicy Pumpkin Soup
See the pumpkins in the mail photo? We baked our stuffing inside the little pie pumpkins then used them in our soup!
First start with a little chicken stock (about 3 cups) add in onion, and pumpkin flesh. Allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Next add in cayenne pepper, salt, curry, and red pepper flakes to your own taste--continue to simmer another 10 minutes until the pumpkin has started to fall apart.
Next in small batches or large depending on size of your food processor, blend until nice and smooth
Return to stove and add 1 cup of heavy cream, and 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, stir until combined.
Our soup is in the freezer for a nice cold day this winter!

And last but certainly not least! #6 - Turkey and Winter Greens Eggrolls!
We used what remained our our winter greens and mixed them with some shredded light meat turkey and reheated it in a saute pan. Next we then took egg rolls and wrapped the mixture up and brushed with a little melted butter and baked at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes!
Served with a little gravy it was a nice crunchy treat to end out the weekend!


And thankfully we used up almost all of the left overs!

Thanksgiving Menu!

Here it is--the 2011 Blanco Thanksgiving Menu!

Cocktail:

Toasted Walnut Martini

Appetizers:

Mini Cheese Balls with Crackers (almond, chive, paprika)

Fried Brussel Sprouts

Main Course:

Orange and Bourbon brined turkey with chipotle maple butter

Sides:

Wilted Winter Greens

Spice Roasted Cauliflower

Roasted Acorn Squash

Sausage and Apple Stuffing roasted in pumpkin

Chipotle Maple Mashed Sweet potatoes

Dessert:

Pear and Apple Pie

What are you making for Thanksgiving this year?

Coming Soon

This weekend was a busy one! And that means lots of posts to catch you up to speed! I'll admit though that I haven't had a chance to get the details all posted up quite yet but here's a little sneak preview of what's to come!

A trip to Grapefest this past Saturday for lots of Texas Wines

Some cute new wine inspired decor for the apartment

Cooking up a nice easy white bean and ham stew to stash in the freezer.

A delish fall inspired meal from Food Network magazine

Tasty no-cook Oreo dessert - yum!

*can you tell that I was busy cooking after not being able to all week since Rene was out of town?*

Stay tuned!

Weekend Cravings

Typically Rene and I are very healthy eaters. Low carb, organic, lots of fruits and veggies and lean proteins make up them majority of out diet...but don't get me wrong we do our fair share of unhealthy eating too--this weekend we gave into temptation!

This weekend we decided to had a little mix. Friday night we went for a semi healthy vegetarian pizza to get that cheese delicious pizza fix and then also an overly decadent buffalo chicken mac & cheese!
Friday night Mexican pizza!
Ingredients:
Pizza crust
1 can black beans
crushed garlic
Red pepper
green onions
cherry tomatoes
hatch peppers (or jalapenos if you can't get hatch)
Jack cheese
lettuce

1. Combine black beans, garlic and red pepper in food processor and pulse to a smooth spread
2. Chop up your veggies!
3. Spread black bean sauce on the pizza and then add your desired veggies (all except lettuce)
4. Cover with cheese (as much or as little as you like)
5. Back until cheese is melted...approx 10-14 minutes at 350 degrees
6. Sprinkle with shredded lettuce and enjoy

*the beans add protein and fiber, we used a wheat crust so healthy grain, low fat cheese and lots of veggies makes a much healthier option of pizza on Friday night!

Now Saturday was a different non-healthy meal all together!
Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese!

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 pound macaroni (we used quinoa pasta as a bit of a healthy change)
1 cup hot sauce
1 cup half and half or heavy cream
2 Cups mozzarella cheese
3 Cups cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1-2 hot peppers (optional)

1. First grill the chicken and shred!
2. Chop the peppers if you are using them
3. Combine the peppers and chicken in a saute pan and continue to cook/warm
4. Add 1/4 cup of hot sauce to the chicken mixture
5. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a separate saute pan
6. add in 2 tablespoons of flour to the butter
7. Wisk in the cream
8. add 3/4 cup hot sauce to the cream mixture
8. Slowly add the cheese to the cream and flour mixture until smooth
9. At this time also bring your water to a boil and cook pasta to al dente

Now time to build the final product!
First start with a layer of pasta, then add your chicken mixture and then add the second half of the pasta
Then it's time to pour your cheese/hot sauce mixture over top

Add some bread crumbs if desired to add a little crunch.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees (allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving).

I would love to share a picture of the final look, however I didn't get to the stove fast enough as the 10 minute timer went off...Rene had already dug in!

It's always a bit hit and plenty of left overs for lunch, and in Rene's case breakfast on Sunday!

Tasty Salad Options

While Rene is out of town typically my meals consist of salads for lunch and mainly salads or veggies for dinner with some occasional chicken thrown into the mix.

Well we are back into week #1 of his travel and I am over salads already! Mainly because that's what I have been eating for lunch for the past few months because it's easier that most other options.

Today I came across a post of 101 summer salad options.

*photo credit New York Times*

This got me excited to reinvent my salad routine! I will be trying out some of these for sure, if nothing else because the pictures just look delish!

Almost there....Vacation

We are t-minus 4 days before the Napa trip starts! We fly out of DFW on Tuesday morning and I’ve made 4 vineyard visits that required reservations to start out the trip. One vineyard each day – but of course I am sure that we will make our way to various tastings but we are going for a nice relaxing vacation this time, it’s a bit of a change compared to when we go to Disney when we are up early every day.

We are staying at the Embassy Suites in Napa Valley, CA which is right down the street from the cute little downtown area so we’ll have plenty of things to see and do without much travel!

First stop after we arrive at the San Francisco International Airport will be a drive about 1.5 hours into Napa and then to theClo Du Bois for a tasting. Rene is excited about this location! While there we will be doing the Marlstone Experience.

“Join us for a stroll through our demonstration vineyard as we share the story of Marlstone, the signature wine of Clos du Bois Winery. Following the visit to the vineyard, you will experience a blending seminar comprised of the five varietals found Marlstone, our Bordeaux style blend. We will explain the importance of each varietal on the finished wine and invite you to make a blend of your own.” This location allows us to taste from the bottle as well and afterward I have a coupon for a “2 for 1” premier tasting as well.

We also have reservations at Morimoto'srestaurant in Napa where we plan on over indulging and more than likely over spending on the tasting menu and sushi from the Iron Chef himself for Rene’s birthday dinner!

Day 2 and our second stop will be Del Dotto Vineyards.
I saw an article in Food and Wine Magazine about this location so I knew we should go! We will be doing the Cave Experience & Barrel Tasting.
“Come and experience wines thieved right out of the barrels! Taste the difference between barrels made from the great forests of the world, up to 45 different flavors of highly rated wines. Voted #1 wine tasting by world wine critics!”

“Cave Experience and Barrel Tasting includes barrel tasting in the cave out of several types of different oak barrels. Following the barrel tasting you will sample select bottled wines along with handmade chocolate truffles and cheese. Finishing off with a sampling of our ports. The experience lasts about an hour”.
It looks amazing and I am looking forward to the option to taste right out of the barrel! They will even call you when they bottle the wine that you have tasted if you want to buy them.

1 Week All Raw?

This week I have switched up my daily routine in terms of eating to try something "different". I started a different workout program about 3 weeks ago which incorporated circuit and weights...well I must say that while I know the muscle is supposed to slim you down and burn more calories than fat, its not very exciting to see the scale go UP and feel like you aren't losing any weight or inches....even though my wonderful husband says that I look great...

So this week I have decided to eat raw....nothing but veggies (raw of course) and some raw almonds will make up my diet (mainly)....I couldn't figure out what to eat for breakfast so 1 egg with spinach is my only protein and cooked item all day.

Lets just say that after day 1 and only eating this.....



I could really go for "something" else (like tuna or cheese) and I'm a bit hungry but hopefully this bit of a raw-cleanse will do some good. If nothing else at least I know that I got a weeks worth of veggies!
I guess we'll just see how things turn out at the end of the week...if I make it that long :)

Angry Dinner

Tonight we had a delicious dinner compliments of Rene! On one of the episodes of "Best Thing I Ever Ate" on the FoodNetwork we saw an episode about bacon. Rene was quite excited about the angry mussels that were shown with bacon and jalapenos.

We decided to make our own version of angry mussels tonight.

Ingredients:
about 6 pieces of bacon (cut into 1/2 inch sections)
1 link of chorizo *this was Rene's addition to the original ingredient*
2 Tablespoons of minced garlic
1 cup of water
1-1 1/2 cups of white wine
1 Jalapeno
3 Serrano Peppers
2lbs fresh mussels

Directions:
Add the bacon, chorizo and garlic to a pan and allow to cook down
Then add the wine and water and allow to reduce to about 2/3 of the original volume
Add in the peppers cook 2-3 minutes
Toss in the cleaned mussels and cover
Cooke between 2-4 minutes until all mussels have opened and then add to a large bowl for serving.
Serve with a crusty bread

It was amazing!

Suntan update...

Well I can say that at least my arm and my collarbone area are both a bit toned down thanks to the gel that I bought yesterday....however the right side of my face is still very pink, so I'll have to grab some green powder tonight at Target to tone things down before work tomorrow.

I would highly suggest the gel that I mentioned yesterday though from Korres it makes it a whole lot more comfortable if you get a little red in the sun!!

Also dinner last night was quit delish! Though I must admit that I had a chocolate milkshake before dinner which sort of filled me up. But the Mahi was perfectly cooked on the grill and the black quinoa was a little more crunchy than normal quinoa but delicious nonetheless. I cooked it in a little chicken broth and fresh garlic to give it a little more flavor and it will be great to add some veggies to for a quick lunch later this week at work!

Now it's time to go grab a sandwich from PotBelly's (with my free gift card thanks to a survey they sent me) for a late lunch. Dinner tonight? Asian Chicken Salad Yum!

SPF is supposed to not make you burn right?

Well as mentioned in a previous post I was uber excited to hang out by the pool a bit and get rid on my whiteness and start getting a bit of a tan...well today was my day! The weather was great and after a quick jog and re-signing our lease Rene and I headed out to the pool for a bit before he went to private golf lesson that I bought him for Valentine's Day.

Rene left around 12:30 and I stayed out by the pool reading accounting homework for another hour or so...what I didn't know was that I was turning into a lobster!

I don't remember that last time that I got a sun burn, typically I get a little red but it never hurts and then it's brown overnight....not today I'm afraid.

And the strange part is that since I made the promise to Rene that I would stop using the tanning bed (last year) I even started using actual sunscreen vs. the "dark tanning oil" or "tanning accelerator" that I typically use. I went to Target and got Banana Boat Dark Tanning Spay Oil SPF 4
Ok yes, I know that SPF 4 isn't really and SPF but this is a big step for the girl who all through high school and college pretty much tanned 4-6 days a week in a fake baker!

Fear not, I also typically wear at least an SPF 15 on my face daily. Though I forgot to re-apply after my jog which at least explains why my face is the color of a tomato!

I am all red in random places (across my collar bone, my top of my right arm and spots around my hips) but only on the front where I actually put on the tanning oil and re-applied every time I turned over...on my back where I didn't even spray anything at all and I got at least an hour of sun on my back is white as ever! I am at a loss for words as to what happened and why in the world I am red but hopefully it won't last too long.

To help combat my sunburn I knew that Clinique and Clarins both had after sun lotions so over to the mall we went. I found out however 2 things that were news to me. #1 Clarins was not in stock at Sephora or Dillards and #2 apparently the Clinique brand has lots of nasty chemicals....

So I am trying something new recommended to me as "so much better" than any of the others at Sephora....Korres Yoghurt Cooling Gel

The brand uses age old Greek remedies to create beauty products and everything is all natural. The guy at the store slathered some on my arm and it made a huge difference in the soreness and cooled the radiating heat. I was sold and purchased one right away! I'll be sure to let you know how it works out!

Now time to go help make sure Rene doesn't ruin dinner for tonight...Mahi Mahi and black quinoa yum!

Going Organic

This year I have slowly started to integrate more “green” items into our apartment (changing light bulbs, changing cleaning products ect) as well as trying to add in slowly organic foods. Yesterday I started thinking about going as Organic as possible for the next 3 weeks at the Blanco house.

I don’t think that this will really be a huge change from our typical “menu” but it will of course more than likely increase the amount spent each week. But with all of the benefits that you can find now about eating organic it is hard to really deny the benefits outweigh the costs of changing our lifestyle.

Everything that I have heard about the ways to look for cheaper options for organic foods is to get away from the typical grocery store that you usually use. The main reason is that the costs of the organics are generally almost as high as 2 times more at the general grocery store compared to a store that stocks a large number of organic or non-processed foods (ex. Whole Foods, Farmers Markets, and Central Market).

So that being said Rene and I are going to be starting our organic menu this coming Monday for about 3 weeks to see how things change.

For those of you that may be thinking about eating more organic and are worried about a huge increase in your budget for food start slowly. We started with little things. Coffee is apparently one of the most laden with pesticides and chemicals so switch to an organic type, while you are at it why no swap out the creamer to an organic half and half or milk as well? Dairy products are another grouping of foods that should be switched out to organic. We added organic/non-processed yogurt to our list because it is a staple for me.

Next on the line would be to switch to organic meats. This is generally the most costly but to put it simple chicken with a bunch of hormones and additives make the chicken fatter, what makes you think that it won’t do the same to you?

Then fruits and vegetables swap these that you eat a lot out to organic as well. Most important are those that do not have a thick skin or a rind that you do not eat. Those fruits that have thick skin (if the skin is discarded) are a bit more protected by their skin from some of the pesticides.

So there’s the basics of what we are hoping for and our new little mission is to eat organic from here on out…I’ll keep you posted on how things go and post some ideas along the way as well!

Have a great weekend!

Need an Idea for Tonight's Dinner?

Since my wonderful fiance has been working late during his "busy season" needless to say dinners have been me eating alone most of the week since he has not been home before 10pm every night...

I combed through a couple of different recipes and decided to make my paella from a mix of one found on TheStoneSoup and also Food Network.

I will say I did use a couple of *cheats* in terms of some things to make it a bit cheaper (ie. pre-packaged saffron yellow rice instead of saffron threads and white rice, and also I used a pre-cooked mussel rather than fresh raw).

So I decided to get brave and do a first attempt at authentic Spanish paella! Everything I have ever read said that you needed Spanish Paprika to make it "authentic"...so I made a stop at Central Market (much like Whole Foods but apparently it's a Texas thing). Low and behold there in the bulk salts and seasonings of the world section I found Spanish Paprika. So I gathered up the rest of the essential ingrediants and decided it was now or never!



What you will need:
Protein option of your choice (chicken,pork --or you can skip this completely)
Shellfish of choice (I used shrimp and mussels)
Chorizo (spicy sausage)
1/2t cayenne pepper
4T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4t Spanish smoky paprika (hot or sweet --your choice)
1 large red onion
3 medium tomatoes
2 Fresh Jalapenos
1T minced garlic in olive oil
1 large red peper
300g package of yellow rice with saffron seasoning
1/2 C dry white wine
4C low sodium chicken broth
1/4 lb of small salad shrimp
1lb pre-cooked frozen mussels
Lemon (garnish)


Now the fun starts. If you choose to use chicken start with browning it in a bit of EVOO and a dash of cayenne pepper and 1/4t of paprika. If not you can start off by adding 1T of EVOO into a large pot and adding the crumbled chorizo to the hot oil. cook for 5-8 minutes or until cooked through.


While cooking add the chicken broth to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Keep warm on the burner.

Take the shrimp and add 2T EVOO and 2t of paprika in a bowl and mix. Once coated add the shrimp to the pot with the chorizo and mix. Allow to cook another 5-8 minutes while working on cutting vegetables.

Cut up the red onion, tomatoes, and red paper. I found that it works best to coarsely chop the tomatoes, dice the onion, and cut the red pepper into thin strips.

Now that the proteins are cooked remove with a slotted spoon and place aside.

Add the onion to the pot and cook 5 minutes until they start to soften. Once soft, add peppers, tomatoes, and the garlic. Add in the remaining cayenne pepper, EVOO, and Spanish Paprika. Cook together for a couple of minutes until the vegetable mixture begins to soften.


Next add in the wine and mix to glaze the pot and pull in all of the seasoning. Rain in the saffron rice and stir.

Return the chorizo and shrimp to the mixture. Add in 3C of the hot chicken broth and stir. Allow to come to a boil and then lower heat and allow to simmer briskly for about 10 minutes. Shake the pot occasionally while cooking but do not stir.

Lower the heat and continue to simmer slowly for 20 minutes.

As the rice starts to cook and soften add additional chicken broth as needed to avoid the mixture drying out.

At this point I used the pre-cooked and frozen mussels which required 6 minutes of cooking in the steamer bag in the microwave.

Once done I added them onto the top of the cooking mixture added a couple of dashes of cayenne pepper an additional 1/4C of chicken broth over the top of the mussels and continued to cook 10 additional minutes.

Total cooking and prep time for this is about 1 hour and makes about 6 generous servings.

Spoon into a bowl and garnish with a couple slices of lemon...Delish!