Cheering, cheating and choosing

19/1/2015

Cheering

It’s MONDAY! I say this with utter glee and excitement (or maybe just a smidgen of each) because well, even though it’s the first day of the workweek, it’s a day that I am healthy, loved and happy, so that makes it a good one! This past weekend I cooked up a couple of delightful recipes from Oh My Veggies that I am really excited to share! This is what my table looked like as I prepped the veggies for cooking:

The first, a Vegetable Baked Ziti, was a warm, delightful, home-cooked meal that is sure to hold you over until your next feast. I adjusted the recipe a bit by using real cheese (low fat is for suckers) and adding slivered yellow peppers to the mix.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim and I split a container of it as a midnight snack on Saturday and it secured both of our approval! It was so easy to make – I won’t even need the recipe next time. Give it a whirl!

The other recipe I tried was also featured on Oh My Veggies but came out of the recipe book The 30 Minute Vegan Soup’s On! by Mark Reinfeld – African Peanut Soup. Now I’m not sure who of you out there have tried this soup at Pete’s but it is probable as good as soup gets for takeout. The soup I made didn’t turn out exactly the same, it’s more of a pink colour than orange and the coconut flavour is a bit stronger, but it’s still delightful. I blended it all up too, since that’s the way I’m used to having it and I found it brought out the flavours a lot more. I also left out the cilantro because well, I don’t like it too much and I find the flavour way too overpowering. My parent’s visited yesterday and I sent them a container of the stuff. I’m eagerly awaiting my dad’s review!

Chunky or bisque!

Just missing the 4 cups of sweet potato

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another accomplishment this weekend – I bought my first set of weights! Two whole 10 lb weights to struggle with as I build up to the ninja status I’ve always dreamt of achieving. Honestly, after re-watching Kill Bill Vol. 1 this past summer and Battle Royale (amazing) for the first time, I’ve had this giant urge to kick some butt…oh and then Sailor Moon came out with a revamped series this year so yeah, I’m done for. I mean don’t ACTUALLY want to injure someone, but I like the thought of being able to, if I HAD TO (this feeling is strongest when I’m driving). Ok this is getting a bit off topic and seriously, we all know this is the only time I would ever come close to being a ninja:

Cheating

So remember that lovely, well-constructed blog entry I wrote LESS THAN A WEEK AGO – that whole shtick about not eating McDonalds?? Well I am devastated to report that there has been a breach in that personal agreement. At 12:07PM today I SCARFED down six chicken nuggets and a medium McDonalds French fry. At 12:09PM I sat thinking to myself – do I have a valid excuse for doing this? How strict do I want to be with this eating healthier thing?

I was invited out and we had coupons to use… also, my colleague offered to buy. Alright so I could STILL have said no, but I didn’t. I think I kind of ended up following the Scooter mantra anyway of being happy and making others happy because in the end, although my body didn’t necessarily enjoy the empty carbs, I had a lovely lunch with a GREAT person. Next time, with or without coupons, I’ll go for the equally delightful vegetarian wrap and won’t have to embarrass myself like this again (this is what it must feel like when celebrities make mistakes – I totally feel for ya, Justin Bieber)

Choosing

Immediately following the McDonalds incident, I found myself purchasing two GIANT ice cream sandwiches at a local corner store. This behemoth offered two macadamia nut cookies packed with soft ice cream and mini reese’s peanut butter cups – and to top it off, it was dipped in chocolate. I had heart palpitations just writing that sentence! See it for yourself:

Weighing in at 6lbs 5ozs – the homemade ice cream sandwich

I opened the thing up after about an hour of letting it thaw and to my surprise I was absolutely not interested in eating it. It wasn’t a guilt thing; I just plain didn’t want it. Maybe I had already had my fill of the not-so-good-for-you food that day, or maybe I was just stuffed from my lunchtime indulgence – either way, I decided, and this may hurt some of you to hear, to biff the thing in the garbage. A year ago, I would have eaten the whole thing (yes, out of guilt) but not today. It’s a small victory but it will encourage me to make more choices that suit me moving forward. Like watching about fifty episodes of FRIENDS while practicing my ninja moves in the kitchen. Happy Monday, friends!

*******Change is good, Donkey*******