It's Been a While!

I can honestly say that I have no idea when my last post was.  Sure, I could look. But I won't, because it's only going to say what I already know: it's been a while.

I've been away because I was sick, busy, busy being sick and out of town.  I got that nasty cold that went around, but it's all cleared up and my hip pain has diminished enough that I've started pounding pavement again. To catch you up: in an attempt to 'cram' for my first 15k I ran 9 miles the weekend before the race 'cold-turkey' and in doing so I stressed something in my hip that was aggravated with every run.  So I had to hang up the sneaks for a bit.

Last week I decided I was going to get back to it.  I decided on a plan that starts with a 10 minute run and adds two minutes each consecutive run after that.  Today was a 16 minuter and no hip pain yet.  Hopefully I'm out of the woods.

As for food? I'm in a total cooking funk! Everything I make is just not quite right. Thus I don't have anything fabulous to post.  I did hit up Costco yesterday and found some sweet new snack items and I will post a peak into my lunch box soon.

Other than failing to post anything I have been eating out a lot and trying to stay within my guidelines and doing an OK job at it.  My favorite thing at a restaurant recently? Mousse-style pate at a french restaurant in Walla Walla and Angry Orchard hard cider at a beer festival in Leavenworth. So delicious. The cider is dangerous because it's so stinkin' refreshing you'd think it was apple juice!

Now that you're all caught up I swear I will start posting more regularly both on here and to my Flickr stream.

Until then!

Shrimp Stir-Fry!

Fruit flies are the worst. We have them at work and as I type this I am shooshing one exceptionally rude fly away from my banana. Gross. So glad we don't have them at home. With all the produce I buy you'd think we should! But, thankfully, no.

Ran another mile+ last night. My hip started hurting me on an incline. Bummer. I fought the urge to press on a little further and turned around. It's so annoying to be distracted by aches and pains. Especially because this pain is an overuse injury - meaning I was doing something wrong when I hurt it.  Double bummer.

*SHOO FLY! GIT OUTTA HERE!* Stupid fruit flies! Ugh.

Anyhow, last night I made a super easy stir-fry that can be made with whatever you have on hand. The veggies I used were just what I happened to have in my fridge.

The trick, for me, to getting great tasting stir-fry is using coconut oil.  The flavor is light and oh so authentic. I put a couple of spoonfuls in a pan over medium high to melt.

Like I said, the veggies I used were just what I had on hand.  This can truly be a 'garbage' meal - all those odds-n-ends you need to use up before they go bad.  For mine I used, onion, zucchini, carrot and celery. For me, celery is a MUST. The flavor is just so killer! I even use the leaves - don't throw those away!

Before I add the veggies to my frypan I add a big spoonful of minced garlic.  This pre-chopped stuff saves so much time and it lasts forever. Well worth the price (<$10 I believe).  After the veggies are in the pan I hit them with salt and lots of black pepper.

I start with the hard veggies that take longer to cook.  In this case, all but the zucchini. Cook on med-hi until wilted (a few minutes). Make sure you either stir or flip the pan to keep from your meal from burning.

The meat I had to use was half a bag of frozen, wild caught shrimp (a Costco purchase).  They have their tails on but once I run them under cold water to thaw (I know you're not supposed to, but whatever) the tails pop off with a pinch at their bases.

Adding the zucchini to get it rolling...

At the last minute I threw the shrimp in a pan with some melted coconut oil, salt and pepper until they turned pink.  Shrimp is so easy like that! When they're pink, they're done. Boom.

The finished product! So good, it needs no sauce!

powered by Funnel

My Red Sauce!

I went for a run last night.  Eep!  My hip has been hurting like crazy since my first 9 mile run this year.  It felt better before my last race, but was aggravated again and hurt for weeks.  I think it was the increase in distance mixed with incline.  So I gave it a rest for a while, got some new shoes, and took them for a spin last night.  Only did a mile and a half - my plan is to start slow and regain trust that the pain won't come back. My fingers are crossed.  I have to remember to go slow, however.  I kept looking down at my garmin and speeding up to keep at 10 min/mi pace - unnecessary since I don't actually compete and would like to run an ultra.  Someday. I hope.

Finally I have been able to post this recipe! I cannot count how many times I've started taking pictures of my method for this sauce but was unable to finish for one reason or another. I must warn you however: I rarely use measurements because, really, they don't matter! I think I have not ever once made this sauce in the same way twice and it's always delicious! Feel free to add or subtract whatever you want/crave.

First, add a layer of olive oil to the bottom of your saucepan and turn the heat to medium. Add a couple handfuls of chopped onion and a spoonful of chopped garlic to the pan and let it bubble and turn slightly brown. Add your ground meat (I most often choose a pound of ground lamb that I get at Safeway), crumble it up and start it browning.

Add sliced mushrooms. I choose shiitake because the flavor is so much richer.

Once the mushrooms have wilted a bit and the meat is almost all browned add 1 can of tomato sauce. I buy the organic canned tomato sauce at Costco. You don't need the fancy stuff with the herbs in it 'cause we are adding our own! Saving $$! Woot! 

I make a pile of dried herbs, salt and pepper that looks proportionate to the amount of sauce (sorry, no measures here - maybe a few tsp each?) then stir it all together. My favorite dried herbs for red sauce are: basil, oregano, chili flakes, rosemary, garlic powder and onion powder. I didn't use the powders this time - didn't feel like it I guess.

Secret ingredient! I add a couple tablespoons of this to deepen the flavor profile of the sauce. I love it!

Stir everything together, cover, turn burner as low as it will go and walk away for at least a half hour. The dried herbs need time to reconstitute and become soft. Stir it every once in a while to release delicious smells into the house!

Boom! Finished. Serve with gf pasta, spaghetti squash, or by itself. This is a thick, hearty meat sauce that is perfect in every way  Eat it up!

powered by Funnel

Weekend Happenings

This weekend was crazy busy. Not so much with scheduled events, but just with cooking and spring cleaning. Even yesterday was busy! That is why I write this on Tuesday during my break at work. I whipped up some fabulous food this weekend and I would like to share it all now that I have a chance to sit still for a second!
.

Saturday morning breakfast: turkey sausage, pancakes (recipe coming soon!), and fruit. Yum-o.

Saturday dinner: pan-seared sea scallops, fried sweet potatoes, and balsamic roasted asparagus. De-lish. Not sure why this photo looks so dreamy... :)

Sunday lunch: whipped up some tuna salad with my homemade mayo (will include step-by-step of what I put in my tuna salad very soon), mango and a pb&j cookie.

Monday lunch: turkey sausage, kiwi and pb&j cookie

Monday is shopping or "gathering day" (as in paleo hunting/gathering. *yuk yuk*) and I found these in the dried fruits section of Costco! They are dried figs - so tasty! Just like a fig Newton cookie, but gluten free! We snacked on some when I got home from shopping.  These will definitely be in my lunches this week!

When I got home yesterday Tom had done some pruning and brought in a bunch of flowers from our garden. I quickly threw this arrangement together and it looks kind of cool, right?

Another of my favorite things at Costco is their organic boneless chicken thighs...

I roast the chicken thighs in the oven with salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder (my super secret seasoning blend) and BOOM nummy protein to match with any fruit and veg! Last nights' dinner had a side salad of kale, maple dressing, raisins, pecans, and fried banana.

Whew! All caught up. Onward towards the remainder of Tuesday!

powered by Funnel

Homemade Paleo Mayo

I love the weekends! So much time to get things done, try new recipes, bake cookies, and relax.

I saw this recipe on theclothesmakethegirl.com and had to try it. Was sooo glad I did. I would highly suggest whipping up a batch and ditching the store-bought stuff that is made from soybean oils and other crap.

Place 1 egg and 2 tbsp lemon juice in the blender and let come to room temp for 45 mins.

Add 1/4 cup light olive oil (I got mine at Costco, of course), 1/2 tsp ground dry mustard, 1/2 tsp salt and blend on low for 30 seconds. With blender still on low add 1 cup more of light olive oil very slowly (should be the slowest drizzle you can manage).

This is the result! 100% identical to store-bought except I know exactly what's inside. Awesomeness for making tuna, chicken, or egg salad!  This was so easy I think I'm going to leave the blender out on the counter to whip up a batch whenever it's needed!

powered by Funnel

Friday Date Night!

I'm so glad its Friday! I couldn't get out of work fast enough! This week has been so uber crazy busy its been hard to keep up on chores and to-do lists which is super frustrating.

This juice keeps me going. With my belated shopping trip this week I ran out of ingredients for a few days and had to go juiceless. Bummer. But I got back in the swing of things this morning and took my miracle elixir to work with me. Better than coffee any day. Plus, no sugar rush/crash!

This week was my week to choose our date location. I like to choose our date restaurants by not only food but by novelty. I decided on Red Hook brewery's restaurant because its fun, has beer flights, and is the last place Tom would have guessed we would go. When we got there, however the restaurant was closed for renovations! Gah! I had to think quick to come up with a plan B. I remembered there is a restaurant next to highway 520 that I see every day but am driving past too quickly to catch the name and have always wondered what it was. We headed over there and discovered Big Fish Grill ( I think that's the name of it? Shoot, already forgot). We ordered the grilled shrimp cocktail and Tom got an oyster shooter.

I ordered the shrimp tacos. The tortillas were corn and I subbed the beans for asparagus. Very filling and a little complex in flavor for my taste, but relatively tummy friendly.

Now we are back home and getting ready to watch Skyfall or Lincoln (or both! You never know!) with a couple glasses of Kestrel chardonnay. Happy Friday!

powered by Funnel

Happy (Belated) Gathering Day!

I think I made a huge mistake. I thought it would be a good idea to add my work email to my phone so I could stay on top of things when I'm not there. Well, I just took a peek at my inbox and my mind is racing. Maybe it really is better to completely disconnect from work at the end of the day...I'm not going to delete the email window, but keep it just to see how full it is.  I still would like to know how busy I'm going to be tomorrow.

Since Monday was Tom's birthday I missed my shopping day as it is normally planned. But I made up for it today! I only needed a fraction of what I normally do since I will be back to Monday shopping next week. With my shiny new phone at the ready I snapped some photos to summarize my Gathering Day excursion.

Cuties mandarins and the produce section. Love. Not a ton of organic produce here but good 'clean' foods like pineapple, mango, grapefruit, onions...sometimes strawberries, but I don't count on it.

I get my carrots here. There are two options for organic carrots: whole or baby peeled. I get the baby carrots because they do double duty with juicing and snacks. However, the babies are twice as expensive.  The price is justified in that they are truly ready to eat: no washing, cutting, peeling, time.  I buy two each week.

The worst part of Costco: the bakery section. So many temptations and smells abound.  Damn you, pastries!

Found these tasty morsels. All real ingredients, no sugar. 100 calories a link. Very tasty! Not organic, but neither is the bacon I get at Safeway.  These will take bacon's place for the week. Man, that was hard to say...

Found this. Going to make my own mayo and make tuna salad!

Tabasco. Enough said.

Loving macadamia nuts at the moment. A little goes long way - only a tiny cup gives you tons of calories, but also hold off my hunger for a long time.  I find these to be quite salty, so a nice side of fresh fruit serves to dampen the salt and fill me up until my next meal!  Highly suggest this little bit of decadence in you day.

All done!

Had to hit Safeway on the way home. $50! Didn't keep the receipt for some reason. Sorry.

And finally dinner of those sausages with sweet potato with Stubbs Natural BBQ sauce (contains sugar, but a girls gotta do...) and fresh pineapple.

powered by Funnel

First BBQ of the year!

Work has been insane. So insane that I've barely had enough time to eat which makes my blood sugar drop and energy drain away. Thankfully I got an invite to a BBQ that would pick my spirits up!

My first meal of the day: macadamia nuts and Clementine's. Unfortunately the oranges had gone bad after being in my lunch box for a few days. Oops.

Small meal #2: kiwi and a hard boiled egg.

I met up with friends and had a lovely evening. The thing with parties that I forget is that not everyone eats like me. I think I'll try to bring veggies for dips instead of using the chips or bread that is offered. Once I start eating chips I just can't stop! And although it is delicious, it gives me such a headache! Worth it.

That being said,  I ate a ton of pita chips and hummus, a cheeseburger  pasta salad, green salad and teriyaki chicken and pineapple kebabs.  All very delish, but so not Paleo.  I vow to be better prepared next time! My problem is that I will not ever say no to food offered.  I'm like an alcoholic, but with food! Just say no. The truly sad thing is that I know exactly how each food is going to make my body react and I STILL eat it.  Happily. Until the next day. Ouch/Itch City. 

Going grocery shopping tomorrow afternoon and will stock up on all the regular Paleo-ness I typically buy and will be taking photos (if I can remember to) along the way.  I found a fancy new grocery app that I am going to try for the first time and am super-stoked about it.  More details tomorrow.

powered by Funnel

Birthday!

We visited I Love Sushi in Bellevue last night. Japanese food can be tricky when it comes to avoiding soy, but I find that I can get away with most things unscathed at higher end sushi places. I loved it here! The service was awesome! The dressing in their salad was phenomenal. They even brought Tom ice cream with a candle (we decided against desert in lieu of 1 piece of tuna belly for Tom. He said it was better than cake). We will definitely go back.

The dressing in this salad was amazing!

Salmon, tempura veggies, sauce and rice

Toms sushi dinner.

One bite of fatty, melty tuna belly

And a candle to boot!

Did I mention the salad dressing?

powered by Funnel

Super Easy PB&J Cookies

WooHoo! It's almost Friday! I'm so ready for the weekend.

Last night Tom and I went to a local bar and grill to watch WSU play UW in men's basketball. If you missed it, it was a really good game!  When we eat out I try to eat according to what will least make by belly hurt, but sometimes my eyes are more powerful than my brain and I end up ordering what looks good without regard for my tum-tum.  I ordered myself a pair of super-tasty (breaded and fried) fish tacos. I almost always get them and they almost always hurt my belly. I know it's the damn sauce they put on them: a spicy ranch-style sauce.   But it's sooooooo good! I know that most restaurant sauces inevitably contain milk, soy or both. I've worked in food service enough to know this well.  I also know that soy turns me inside out.  It's the devil incarnate. Does that stop me from ordering those delicious saucy tacos (this needs to be the name of a taco truck, stat)? No. Needless to say I'll be taking a few probiotic capsules to get my gut back into shape. I'm in ouch-town. Boo.

Anywho, gut problems aside, one thing I've been trying to master is tummy-friendly desserts.  Not just any desserts though: EASY desserts.  I'm talking only a few ingredients, minimal steps and few dishes to clean.  I am far to lazy for complicated recipes, as you may have noticed.

A few weeks ago I spotted a pin for peanut butter cookies and decided to fiddle with it.  After three attempts I got it mastered, taste-test approved and ready to share.

Here's how it goes:

In a medium bowl add: 1 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup maple syrup and 1 egg. Mix with spoon (or whatever).

My favorite peanut butter is Adams crunchy.  It is less viscous and has a great, clean flavor.

Add 1 teaspoon baking soda.  Stir it up.

This addition/tweak makes all the difference: add 1/2 cup raisins. Stir.  They add a freshness to the cookie that is awesome! Almost PB&J-like.

Scoop out onto foil-lined cookie sheet one heaping tablespoon at a time. No oil/grease needed.  I always use foil to minimize dish washing. Again, I am lazy as all get-out. Shortcuts are my friend. 

Put on top rack in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Let cool completely before removing from pan.

This recipe yields 12 cookies that are light, slightly chewy, cakey and fully addictive. So stinkin' easy to make! Seriously. Make these now. You can thank me later.