Cannon Balls and Chicken Stix

Monday is ovah!! But to back up to Monday for a second...I didn't get a chance to go to the grocery store Sunday, so while I had things for snacks - I decided to pick up my favorite sandwich for lunch.

Veggie Sandwich from Catonsville Gourmet. I have never gotten anything else here because I love this sandwich so much. Grilled Veggie Burger w/ cucumbers, tomato, lettuce, sprouts, and wasabi mayo on whole wheat toast. Now I hate mayo, but they barely put any on and I really only taste the wasabi kick. The veggie burger has that grilled flavor that I adore.

After work, I came home to some FUN mail from Kristina @ Stonyfield. Coupons for Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt, some information about their product and a reusable bag!

I actually tried to cash in these coupons at the grocery store last night, but they were SOLD OUT of the Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt, so I will have to pick it up next time!

Last night, I wasn't in the mood to spin, so instead I spent 45 mins on the Arc Trainer and my legs were burning. Felt great.

After the gym, Kevin and I headed to the grocery store and we were RAVENOUS. We split up and sped through our shopping, although a bag of Pirates Cannon Balls was opened during our shopping because we just couldn't wait.

Coming home, I had a quick and easy Tofu Stir-Fry planned, but while the tofu was pressing, I remembered I had stashed these beauties in the freezer for a rainy day.

2 stix = 100 calories, 4.5g fat, 5g protein

We baked the entire box in 12 mins flat and I ate 4 - they were incredible. I was in a zone and couldn't be stopped.
The dipping sauce we used is actually a salad dressing we picked up at the store. Makoto Honey Ginger Dressing.

It tastes like the dressing on the salads at sushi restaurants. I am picky about salad dressings and I could eat this with a spoon. I tried to get a picture of the nutrition facts, but it came out blurry. (Website link: here, if you want the info.)

By the time dinner was served, I was full of Balls and Stix. Super nutritious, I know.
I ate a few bites of Tofu Stir-fry and was FULL.


Do you usually have a snack while you are making dinner? If so, what is your go-to snack?


My favorite light post-gym/pre-dinner snacks are either sliced zucchini w/ hummus or a handful of roasted peanuts.


*Coming Soon*

• Apricot Oatmeal/Coconut Bar recipe from mom
• ...and I was tagged to write about My Favorite Things. I am going to do a food themed list. :)

See ya later!

Disappearing Act

I disappeared for the weekend again! But, I did manage to snap a good amount of photos...for your viewing pleasure. :)

Friday PM

We had some of Kevin's friends over for happy hour at the house before heading out in Canton square. I stuck with some simple appetizers.

Two types of hummus. Original sprinkled with cumin...

and Edamame hummus (I know it looks a little scary, but please rush to trader joes and buy this - you will not be disappointed)

Carrots and multi-grain pita chips for dipping.

Roasted Plantain chips (also from Trader Joes - these are my favorite things EVAH)

Asiago and Sharp Cheddar Cheese w/ grapes

Crackers and french baguette

Crab Dip!! I used the fresh crab meat I picked the night prior and threw a bunch of stuff together, loosely based on a few different recipes. People were all around when I pulled it out of the oven, so I forgot to snap a picture! I think it was a hit because it went fast.

Kevin's friend works for Magic Hat and brought over the new summer seasonal beer for us to try - WACKO. It has beet juice in it, so it is a bright, reddish color. It was light and delish!

So, I basically forgot to get photos of the two coolest things - crab dip and beet juice colored beer. Sorry! After a "few" drinks and birthday shots, we headed to the square and had a fun time out with friends!

Saturday

Most of Saturday morning was spent sleeping, but I did wake up and have some PB puffins at one point. :)

I even managed to fit in Jillian Michael's Quick 40 min Trouble Zones workout. Felt good to sweat.

Saturday evening I headed to Abbey Burger Bistro in Federal Hill for a friend's Surprise Going Away party. I ordered the Veggie Burger which came with avocado, lettuce, sprouts, and an herb yogurt. I thought it was just OK. The burger was a little mushy for my liking, so after eating half, I was done. Maybe I should have ordered it well-done?

Our group ordered huge trays of waffle fry nachos and sweet potato fries for all to share, so I made sure to sample each of those. They did not disappoint.

Sunday

I woke up and knew immediately that I wanted oats. I broke down and bought normal oats even though I havent finished the steel cut ones. I missed them! This bowl contained oats, skim milk, blueberries, cinnamon, honey, bee pollen, chopped pecans, and a spoonful of almond butter.

After a rainy start to the day, it turned into a gorgeous afternoon and Oscar and I took a long walk in the park where it actually felt hot outside!

Later on, Oscar and I headed over to my grandparent's house to hang out with them and my parents. He loves car rides, especially when it is warm enough to have his head out the window...

Oscar got another walk with his best pal, Max, my parent's dog and then, my mom and I did a 30 min run around the neighborhood. She is training for the Zooma Annapolis 10k on May 31st which my sister and I are running also!


For dinner, we ordered the crab cakes from this local place - Scoozi's Family Restaurant. They are very, very good - maybe the best I have had? Huge lumps of backfin, with barely any filler.But first, I had a small salad and half a baked potato.

I only managed to eat half of one of the crab cakes, but Kevin was happy because he got to enjoy the other half when I got home.

My mom made these Apricot Oatmeal/Coconut Bars for dessert and I ate about 3 - they are addicting!!!! (Recipe will be coming soon...)

Monday AM

This morning, I made another bowl of oats.

This bowl contained oats, skim milk, cinnamon, honey, blueberries, almond butter and crumbled cinnamon/sugar pita chips. Great Crunch!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I cant wait to catch up on all of your blogs...

Other News

Rose @ OnALobsterPlacemat is organizing a Baltimore Blogger Meetup on Thursday, April 16th at Abbey Burger Bistro in Federal Hill. Meet @ 6pm.

Please RSVP to onalobsterplacemat@gmail.com by April 15th, so that there is enough seating reserved. I hope to see you there!

Steamed Crabs = Birthday Celebration

My boyfriend's birthday is today...Happy Birthday Kevin!


What did the birthday boy, born and raised in Maryland, request? STEAMED CRABS.

We headed down to Canton Dockside since we think they have the best crabs within a few miles from us. If you are downtown - this is the place to go. While our crabs were steaming, we each ordered soup since I was about to eat the sugar packets on the table. I was starving.

Cup of Cream of Crab

Cup of Maryland Crab

Both soups had a ton of flavor and big chunks of crab. The crabs came and they were huge, so we were HAPPY.

This girl could use some sun.

Beer is a necessity while picking crabs. My girly beer of choice - Bud Light w/ Lime.After I was filled to the brim with crab meat - I started making a pile. The waitress came over and asked me if I wanted to come work in the back.

Here is a close-up to make you crab lovers drool. All that meat is going to be used to make a delicious appetizer for later tonight. Some friends are coming over for happy hour before we go out to celebrate the birth of my boyfriend.

When we got home, Oscar had a field day with my hands. He is a licker - it is his one downfall.

We needed something sweet after dinner. Please notice the cut on my thumb - a battle wound from all my crab picking.

Now I am not a big ice cream person, but I could eat this entire pint by myself. It is the best flavor they've got.

Oscar and Lucy wanted to wish Kevin a Happy Birthday!

Oscar and his bear

Lucy with her cute kitty paws...love them.

Hope everyone has a fantastic Friday!

Wait! Question Fun...

Have you ever had steamed crabs? If not, do you want to or does it gross you out?

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds boneless/skinless chicken breasts
  
• 2 cans northern beans
• 1 can hominy
• 1 can chicken broth
  
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 small can mild green chiles
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• sour cream or plain greek yogurt
• scallions, chopped
  
• cheddar or monterey jack cheese, shredded
  

Directions

1. Place raw chicken breasts in the crockpot; add beans and hominy (both w/ juices).
2. In separate bowl, mix broth, soup, chiles, and seasoning. Pour over chicken/bean/hominy mixture in crockpot.
   
3. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
4. Before serving, remove chicken breasts and cut into smaller pieces. Mix back into chili.
5. Top with sour cream/greek yogurt, scallions and shredded cheese.

(Served in one of grandmom's pretty bowls)

Like with most crockpot recipes - this was so easy and had great flavor. It went well with whole wheat beer bread on the side for dipping.


Consider this chili and the bread Grandma and Grandpa approved. And thank you for all the well wishes to my grandmom - she is doing MUCH better.


Have a great night! :)

Whole Wheat Beer Bread

But first, yoga and dinner...


After a number of you suggested yoga to help with my sore muscles, I decided to give it a whirl. I will admit that I have never been a huge yoga person and usually feel awkward when I am doing it.


I decided on the Sunset Yoga with Sara Ivanhoe through Exercise TV because it was described as, "...a calming sequence designed to wind the body down after a hard day."


She moved pretty slow and was very descriptive with each move, which was perfect for me since I am a beginner in every sense of the word. It was tough and I modified some moves since I am not very flexible, but it did feel great to stretch out.

Afterwards, I whipped up an orange & green dinner.
Let's Dish Garlic/Herb Salmon. Roasted Asparagus. Parsnip/Carrot Mash.


Asparagus: drizzled with a teensy bit of olive oil, sea salt, lots of pepper. Roasted at 425 for 10-15 mins. Topped w/ juice from 1/2 fresh lemon.


Parsnip/Carrot Mash: Peel and coarsely chop parsnips (2) and carrots (4). Steam until soft. Mash with spoonful of greek yogurt. Season to taste w/ sea salt, pepper, parsley. This was a spur of a moment creation and surprisingly - I think it worked.


Whole Wheat Beer Bread


I have been looking for a simple bread recipe and think I finally found it. I made a few slight tweaks to a recipe I found on allrecipes.com. (Original recipe can be found HERE)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can of Bud Light
• 3 tablespoons light butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan w/ non-stick cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar.

Pour in beer (take a sip if you are thirsty) and stir until a stiff batter is formed. Scrape dough into prepared loaf pan. Melt butter and pour over dough.

Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.

The top of the bread has a slight crunch, but the inside is dense and moist. The prep time for this bread took maybe 10 mins. Very easy!I plan to serve this bread with White Chicken Chili that is simmering in my crock pot as I type this. I have had a handwritten recipe for this chili since last fall. We had it at a party and I couldn't get enough, so I asked for the recipe.

The bread and chili are being delivered to my grandparents tonight after work. I know they wont mind I tested out the bread to make sure it was edible. I didn't mention it before, but Sunday afternoon, my grandmom fell and dislocated her shoulder pretty badly. After a loooong time spent in the ER (we got her home after midnight), she is resting comfortably, but will be recovering for awhile.

Will be sure to share the chili recipe with pictures later on!

Rockburn Reloaded Mountain Bike Race, 3.22.2009

Pre-Race Eats


Sunday morning, I woke up and had a great pre-race bowl of steel cut oats.

The race didn't begin until 10am, so we had time to digest a bigger breakfastSteel cut oats, banana, coconut, pecans, honey, and the last of the almond butter.


The Race (10 miles total; 2 five mile loops)


After checking in to get our bibs and markings, Kevin and I got on all our gear and went for a quick ride to warm up. It was a lot colder than I expected and I felt under-dressed.


We lined up according to our category group and I noticed there were only about 10 women in the beginner category. I also noticed that most everyone had clipless/platform pedals. I knew that would make it harder for me to keep up since the clipless pedals are much more efficient.


As I watched the two male groups go before us - I vowed to myself: Dont be the last woman and pass some men!


Classic newbie mistake: I started out waaay too fast. Meaning that after a few climbs - I thought I was going to die. You know the feeling in your throat when you sprint or go hard - its like a horrible knot in your throat and you feel like you may throw up? Yup - had that...for most of the first loop.


I tried to calm myself down, but found myself pushing harder since I didn't want people passing me. There weren't many log jumps, which was good for me because I am still learning how to clear those. About halfway through the first loop, I came around one corner and see Kevin sitting there with his bike. He had started 2 groups ahead of me, so I knew something was wrong. He cracked the chain ring on his bike - his day was over. Poor guy.

At that point - I was cursing myself for only riding once before this and was wondering if I would be able to breathe/make it through the second loop. Kevin, my sister, my niece and nephew were there cheering me on as I finished the first loop so that helped give me the adrenaline push I needed to keep going. The second loop felt slightly easier and I could mostly breathe again. I guess because I knew what to expect and was able to save myself for some of the more difficult sections. I even caught up to and passed a few men which gave me more confidence. The list at the end of the race said I was the sixth woman to finish out of ten. I am happy with that! I think I finished in 1 hr, 20 mins because the sport category race began at 11:30am and I came in before they started. (It was a pretty low-key event, so they didn't have anyone timing the race)

While I managed to smile in the picture above - my legs were wobbly and my entire body felt exhausted. A slug probably would have beat me in a walking race. But, I felt happy to have finished and feel that it was just the practice (wake-up call) I needed for the Adventure Race in a month!

Post-Race Nourishment

We headed over to Donna's Cafe/Coffee/Bar in Columbia to get some lunch after the race. This is a local chain that has a Mediterranean flair with a ton of great, healthier choices. Coffee was ordered immediately.

I decided on the Veggie Burger with sweet potato fries. The fries were great, but then again, I dont think I have met a fry I didnt like. Unfortunately, the veggie burger had a strong black olive flavor and since I don't like olives, this didn't sit well with me. I managed to eat half and then picked off of Kevin's salad.

We had a football game later that afternoon and my plan was to cheer everyone on with a beer in hand. Unfortunately for me, we were short on women, so I had to play some of the game. My legs ached like I had just run a marathon.

Monday, it was mainly my shins, triceps and back that hurt the most. I managed to take a walk in the park with Oscar but just laid around for the rest of the night to try and let my body recover. Tonight, I hope to do a light workout - just not sure what that is yet.

Anyone know a light, recovery workout that is good for loosening up sore muscles?

Trail Run

Saturday AM was spent running a 10k loop in Patapsco State Park. It was a chilly 32 degrees when we started. Hello...spring? you there?!

I was able to use this iPhone application - Trail Guru - which tracked our distance, pace, stopped time, elevation, and other stuff as we ran. Kind of a pain to run with my phone, but since I was wearing a jacket - it fit nicely in one of the zipper pockets.

• Mileage: 6.17 (.03 away from the full 10k, but I am a rounder)
• Time: 1hr,5mins that includes 2 mins stopped time.
  

Around 5 miles, we stopped to admire this beautiful stream.

Then, we walked over this swinging bridge before running the mile back to our starting point.

Near our car, Kevin spotted a huge set of old stairs to explore, so up we went. I was a tad freaked out because the steps looked overgrown and creepy, plus they were reeeally stEEp.

When we got to the top, there was a large flat area, full of bricks and stones. Must have been the remnants of an old building - maybe a mansion. I wished that Doc and Marty would show up and take me for a quick ride back to check it out. ;)

I thought this piece looked cool and regret not snagging it.

There is so much more I need to fill you in on - namely, my first mountain bike race (!!), but I didn't get a chance to download the pics yet. Sorry!

I will say that today is definitely a REST DAY for me. My muscles are currently screaming at me...asking me why I would think they were ready for a mountain bike race after only going out for one ride prior. Clearly, I am a newbie to this mountain bike racing stuff. More on that later.

Try to enjoy your Monday and I hope to catch up on all of your blogs as soon as possible!

The Dogwood: Baltimore, MD (Hampden)

Friday night, Kevin and I wanted a healthy dinner out. Since my weekends are usually where I slip up eating-wise, I googled "Healthy Restaurants in Baltimore". A few cool places popped up, but we ended up choosing The Dogwood because of the way it was summarized on the website and I have heard a few good things about it.

The Dogwood: Neighborhood Gourmet.

The Dogwood offers you a neighborhood gourmet experience, down-to-earth elegance that welcomes and nourishes you from start to finish. Our menus, featuring what is freshest and most breathtaking in each season, invite you to celebrate the farmers, the fishing boats, our chefs’ working hands.

This restaurant is located in the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore city, which is a cool, eclectic area with a ton of interesting shops and restaurants. The front of the restaurant is not visually appealing at all and I was a little worried.

But, as soon as we walked through the doors, it led us down a long downward walkway into a great space, so all was OK. Water glasses were promptly filled and I made sure to get a picture because I love different-looking water glasses. In the background, you can see my boyfriend's dimple-face which equals happiness.

The homemade Irish Brown Bread with Mango-chutney butter was quickly gobbled up. Very dense and moist bread.

To start, I ordered the Warm Fig - Goat Cheese Strudel baked in phyllo dough served over baby greens with a pumpkin seed - honey granola and madras spice oil.

I guess I am not as "figged out" as I had mentioned a few days ago because I ate every single bite.

Kevin ordered the Pan Seared Sea Scallops to start which came served with house-made chorizo, caramelized pineapple and spicy grits.

Perfectly cooked and it was topped with the fancy "foam stuff" that one guy from top chef used to do all the time. Marcel, right?

After much discussion, we both ordered the same entree. Yes, it sounded THAT good. Pan Seared Rockfish with a pumpkin seed crust, grilled polenta-root vegetable hash, tomato and pasilla pepper molasses.More "foam-stuff" that I will admit - weirds me out slightly since it closely resembles spit, but it sure was tasty spit. The fish was cooked perfectly - more perfectly than anything I can explain. And the polenta-vegetable hash with that sauce - I am running out of descriptive food words that do it justice.

No dessert since we were pretty stuffed, but the choices sounded great. I specifically remember seeing a Chocolate Pot de Creme that I would love to try next time.

While we decided to go the entree route this time, but next time I go, I would love to order a few of the small plates to be able to try more things. The great thing about this restaurant is that they had a ton of choices that would be great for a lighter meal. Lighter on the wallet and stomach.

Our waitress told us the chef is working on his spring menu, so we will definitely be going back to check that out!