Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

I have to start this post with a picture of Nicco (Binky) because I think he is adorable, not good or well behaved but adorable.

When Dan got home from work on Friday he told me that he needed to go to the office one day over the weekend which was a serious let down for me. Since I was only getting one day with my sweetie I decided to not blog that day and then Sunday got away from me. Monday we were planning to go back to the gym before work which meant I needed to get off the computer early. I was so engrossed in the book I was reading combined with the time change meant no time to post. Sorry about that I had planned to have something up on Sunday but it wasn’t in the cards.

Friday:

My breakfast was a salad with walnut dressing (walnuts, water, fresh ginger and a little white miso), oranges and black berries.

After breakfast I ran my errands, checked on my parents and headed home. Here is the latest group of items from the library. I know you are wondering how I get through all the books that I read and listen to and sometimes I wonder the same thing. ;-)

Then I had signed up for a webinar which I listened to. I also chatted with my friend Joy on the phone and it was finally time for lunch.

Today I made myself a bowl of the soup leftover from earlier in the week. Soup is one of those things that always works extremely well as a leftover which is why I like to have it on hand.

I had leftover quinoa and Sicilian artichokes for dinner. It was definitely a no cooking day for me. There are definitely times when I am not in the mood to cook and I seem to be in one of those now.

Saturday:

This was my day to spend with Dan this weekend. We had a good time hanging out together like always. One of the things we did today was watch the DVD which arrived on Friday “From Oil to Nuts”. Both Dan and I thought it was well done. I will be writing a review of this very soon.

Breakfast for me was savory oatmeal which contained: oats, water, wheat germ freshly ground flaxseeds, cumin, oregano, no-salt seasoning, nutritional yeast, artichokes, broccoli, salsa and raw pumpkin seeds. Dan had his usual wild blueberry oatmeal with walnuts.

For lunch with my parents I made tapas inspired by our recent trip to Jaleo. I didn’t measure but will describe what I did. I made oven roasted fingerling potatoes (white and purple) that we dipped into a dried tomato sauce. The sauce included tomatoes, sherry vinegar, garlic, smoked paprika, cumin and water. The mushrooms were cooked in lemon juice and water and flavored with lemon zest, smoked paprika, garlic and parsley. The green beans were lightly steamed. To the beans I added roasted onion, golden raisins, a little lemon and smoked paprika and sliced almonds. For the artichoke dish I added dill to artichokes and let them marinate in the refrigerator which was inspired by Ian. I served everything at room temperature to maximize the flavor.

To accompany the tapas I made a simple salad of: mesclun, thinly shaved raw beet, orange segments and dressed that with balsamic vinegar and walnuts.

Dinner was leftover soup from earlier in the week this time with fresh lemon juice and parsley. Are you starting to notice how much mileage I get out of my leftovers? That is the reason I like to make large portions of soup, it comes in very handy later.

Sunday:

Our morning started with a trip to Whole Foods. I always marvel at how beautiful the produce is at that store. We needed kale (4 bunches), cilantro, wheat germ, apples, and green onions, all organic of course. ;-)

Breakfast was a green smoothie since we had kale again. My smoothie included: kale, frozen banana, wheat germ, freshly ground flaxseeds, cinnamon, powdered ginger, water and stevia. Dan’s smoothie also had walnuts and an additional banana for extra calories.

Dan and I talked, drank green and white tea and caught up before he headed downtown. Fortunately he got into his office before the St. Patty’s Day parade started. Above is the picture he emailed me from work. How did we ever stay in touch before cell phones with cameras and texting? Hard to imagine how we survived back in the old days.

Lunch was the end of the soup I made earlier in the week topped with the mushrooms from Saturday and parsley. Adding the mushrooms made the soup just different enough to be interesting.

Since I had time to burn I made some sprouted soymilk, got more soybeans soaking for more milk, and pressure cooked some chickpeas and made Moroccan chickpea stew which is a Dan favorite. I didn’t measure the stew ingredients but it was approximately this recipe only no oil or salt (which also means no preserved lemon I substituted fresh)

Later I took some time to watch the DVD from the Great Courses on “The Human Body: How We Fail, How We Heal”. I have been very impressed with the quality of this course on DVD. If you are an information junkie like me you may want to buy a course and see what you think.

Dinner was two small bowls of the Moroccan chickpea stew that I made earlier in the day. Dan had a large bowl that also included quinoa.

Happy Thoughts:

• I am thankful to Lea for recommending the DVD “From Oil to Nuts”. It is always good to hear or read different views on nutrition. While I don’t agree with everything on the DVD yet, it does give me additional information to research and consider since I am always open to new ideas.

• It was nice to spend some time getting to know my new friend Joy. I can always use more healthy friends in my life.

• Dan and I had a good Saturday and a nice Sunday morning. I would have liked more time with Dan but am thankful for the time I had.

• My felines are so precious. It goes without saying that I am thankful for their existence in our lives. They are an integral part of our family. Dan and I both adore the fur babies in case you hadn't noticed.  ;-)

• The weather this morning is seriously looking like spring and I could not be happier about that. Temperatures on Friday are predicted to get into the 70’s. Wow!

Signing Out:

Today I have been ridiculously unproductive. While I have been enjoying the health DVD from The Great Courses it has taken up a lot of my time today. I need to get moving and get productive before Dan gets home. I hope you had a great weekend and that Monday has treated you well. Talk to you again soon which should mean tomorrow unless something unexpected comes up.