Friday, December 23, 2011

I Ran AWAY!

HI everyone! I have changed addresses. I'll keep this open for a while but eventually will get rid of this blog address.

The new address is:

Same me, just a new home. 

Come see me! 

Monday, August 8, 2011

Cheesy Stuffed Pasta Shells...shhhh (they're healthy)

Don't be scared. 
It's okay, just trust me on this. I wouldn't steer you wrong. 

You should make these stuffed Manicotti's for someone you love. 
But don't tell them the secret. That they're made with...tofu. Gasp! I know! Whaaat?!?! Seriously, just make them and wait to tell them after they sing your praises because these babies are good! Hopefully by then they will be so impressed that you made the tofu taste creamy and delicious like real cheese, they'll forget you just served them tofu.

*Please disregard the poor lighting in my kitchen. 

Spinach and Tofu Stuffed Shells
Adapted from: Fresh Tastes
Serves 2-3
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano
16 ounces extra firm tofu
2 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast*
1 Tablespoon Parmesan Cheese
3 cups chopped fresh spinach
Your favorite shells to stuff (8 Manicotti is what I used)
1 jar marinara sauce

Drain tofu and pat dry with paper towels. Crumble into the bowl with olive oil, salt, oregano, garlic, nutritional yeast and parmesan cheese. Transfer to food processor or blender.   If you chose to use your blender you should do this in batches so you don't throw the blender through the window. Process on high until smooth. 
If you used your blender transfer mixture to bowl and add spinach. If you used the food processor just throw the spinach in and mix together. 
Cook shells in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and let cool slightly. 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour 1/2 cup pasta sauce into bottom of 9 x 13 inch pan. 
I put the tofu mixture into a large plastic bag and cut the tip off one of the corners. However you choose to stuff the shells just roll with it. 
Fill the shells with tofu mixture and place in pan seam side down. 
Repeat until all shells have been stuffed. 
Pour remaining pasta sauce over shells, sprinkle with parmesan cheese. 
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. 

*Nutritional yeast is a complete protein packed with B vitamins. It has a cheese like flavor and can be used as a topping on all sorts of stuff. I found mine in the bulk section of my local grocery store. If you don't want to use it, you can just substitute Parmesan or another dried cheese. 

Enjoy!

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Thirsty Thursday at the Ballpark

This week the mister and I went to a baseball game. Here in Eugene we have a single A farm team for the San Diego Padres. We used to go a lot when they were at their old stadium, but even though their new stadium is within walking distance we never went before last week. 

There was something magical about watching a game at Civic Stadium. It was an old ball park with a wooden grandstand that always felt like it was going to fall down at any moment. You knew the game would be horrible but it was okay because you got to look out over the beautiful south hills of Eugene and watch the sunset. Plus, beer was cheep and they brought it to you. 
 Last game at Civic Stadium, September 2009


Now they play at the ballpark that was made for the new U of O baseball team. One of the perks of having an alum like Phil Knight (who is the CEO and founder of Nike) is that we have some pretty amazing sports facilities. In the past two years he has donated a new basketball arena, Matthew Knight Arena, and PK Park, the new baseball stadium. It's a beautiful stadium, everything is brand new and shiny, it's just not the same. And they don't bring you beer. Seriously? I mean, this is baseball! Seriously. Get it together people.

 Walking up to the stadium, which is in the parking lot of Autzen, the football stadium. We like to keep it simple.

Waiting in the beer line. Obviously the mister is super happy about it. 


 Mister and his friend James, this was right before the third base coach got thrown out. 

Nachos on a hot dog? Okay. Why not?

At least there are still the sunsets. 





Thursday, August 4, 2011

S'Mores Sandwich Cookies

This is my friend Ira:

He's just started enjoying my S'mores Sandwich Cookies. You see that beautiful thing in his hand there, that's pretty much the most amazing thing I've ever made in my entire life. And since I'm such a nice person I'm sharing it with you. 


First make a batch of Chewy Graham Cookies
     *Hint: keep your cookie sheets lined and at the ready. You can reuse them for this recipe. 

Second, make some Marshmallow Fluff. Don't be intimidated. This is great when used fresh, but stiffens up a bit when used the next day. It won't be that different, but I think it tasted better a day later. You can also use the stuff from the store, but this is really easy and it tastes a hundred times better. 



Marshmallow Fluff
*Adapted from My Kitchen Addiction


2 egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt

Add a few inches of water to the bottom of a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Combine all ingredients into a metal bowl and place over the simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Beat with an electric hand mixer, it will gradually become fluffy then it will thicken and white and slightly glossy. In reality this should take about 8 minutes, it will feel longer. Sorry about that, but it's sooo worth it. 


Remove the bowl from the water and continue to mix for a few minutes until the fluff thickens a bit more. Allow to cool before spreading. Don't eat all of it while it's waiting to cool. 


If you're not using this immediately transfer to an airtight container. It will keep for 2-3 days, but do you really think it will stick around that long?


Okay, so you have your Cookies and Fluff. 
Next, melt some chocolate chips. You can do this in the microwave or over the stove. You'll be dipping the sandwiches into this, and I just eyeballed the amount of chocolate that I needed. You may as just do a whole 12 oz. bag, I mean who doesn't want melted chocolate lying around? Remember to add a teaspoon of vegetable oil to the chips.
If using a microwave, melt in 15 second intervals.
If using a double boiler, make sure you stir and that your bowl doesn't touch the water. 



Now take the cookies and match them up in pairs by size and shape. Lay them face down on a cookie sheet. 
Grab the Marshmallow Fluff and spread some into the center of one side of the cookies. You can use a piping bag but I just used a spatula. Cause that's how I roll. 
Now make your sandwich! I like to twist the top on so that the fluff spreads evenly around the cookie. 
They should look something like this:


 Next, and finally, dip them in the melted chocolate. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets to set. I put them in the fridge until the chocolate is set, around 30 minutes. When I took these to a BBQ I kept them in the fridge until they were ready to serve because it was hot outside and I didn't want the chocolate to melt. 


ENJOY.
And you're welcome.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Chewy Graham Cookies

A few weeks ago I was craving a Snickerdoodle cookie. This was a problem for a couple of reasons; a) I didn’t have any baking soda and two) I was not willing to go to the store to buy any. Have you ever tried to make cookies without baking soda? Don’t try it, it won’t work. Trust me. No matter what you try or what substitutions you find on the interwebs, it just won’t work. Your cookies will be weird and nobody likes a weird cookie. 

These cookies are not weird.
                 
They are delicious.
                 
They are not Snickerdoodles, they are better.
                  
They’re sweet without being overpowering which means you can eat a ton of them before you realize what you’ve done. Then eat some more.

If you’re dating someone and you like them, make these for him. He will fall in love with you.
                
If you tell someone’s boyfriend that you’ll give his girlfriend the recipe if she hires you at her office,  you may become gainfully employed. Trust me.

They’re that good.

I originally got the recipe from My Kitchen Addiction when I saw them used for a S’mores sandwich cookie. Don’t worry; I’ll share that with you too,come back tomorrow.



                Chewy Graham Cookies
For cookie:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extra
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
For topping:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line some cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
To make cookie dough combine butter, both sugars, honey, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla and salt in bowl and cream together. Add the egg and beat until incorporated into the creamed mixture. Stir in flour.

In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon for topping.

Scoop out rounded tablespoons, the dough will be soft and maybe a little sticky. Roll the dough in the cinnamon-sugar topping and place on lined cookie sheets. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the cookies have just set and slightly golden. DO NOT OVERBAKE!

Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. Try not to eat all the cookies while they are cooling. This recipe makes about 2-3 dozen cookies depending on your version of a tablespoon.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Where I've been and where I'm going...

Hello Peeps! I hope you will forgive me for my recent radio silence. Let me catch you up on what I’ve been up to.

I took a little trip home
In June I went back to Idaho for a week and spent some much needed time with my family. I spent time on beautiful Lake Coeur d’ Alene with my Mom and two Aunts. It was definitely a memorable trip!       
                        

I also got to see some old friends; my oldest friend from back home lives close to my Mom so I skipped down there to meet her husband and catch up. It was the first time in 10 years and I couldn’t believe it had been that long; it was much too short of a visit.

I went to a wedding with the mister’s parents.
       
This was a lot more fun than it sounds. Right after I got back from Idaho the in-loves came for a visit. The girl that was practically his sister got married over July 4th weekend and they came for the festivities. It was a beautiful wedding and I am so happy for Sarah and Brian. 


Congratulations!

(Oh yeah and I caught the bouquet. There is no evidence so you have to take my word for it. But I caught it, no matter what Sarah Marshall says.)

My brain went on vacation.

                The whole point of skipping summer school was to give myself a break before I start at the University in the fall. Well I have definitely given my brain a breather. You know that major heat wave that struck the rest of the country? Yeah, well, it didn’t make it this far.  Our summer just arrived last Friday, seriously. It was pretty bad. I snuck this photo when the sun graced us with her presence one afternoon.


I rediscovered Melrose Place.
               
                The one good thing about the crappy weather is that Netflix added Melrose Place to their Instant Queue.  I’m still in the first season, before Heather Locklear, so it’s been great. I had forgotten how cheesy those first episodes were. Oh the 90’s.  So much drama. Gypsy loved it.



I baked. A LOT.
                There has been a lot of baking and cooking going on up in here. Oh and I found the most amazing cookies ever. EVER. I’m pretty sure they’re the best things I’ve ever made. EVER.
                Don’t worry; I’ll share the recipe soon. But here's a picture, just to tease you. 



I had my orientation day at University of Oregon and registered for my classes. 

               
             Since I read my acceptance letter it never really felt true until I registered for classes. Now it’s real. I’ve taken the official tour, I have my student I.D. (which works, I got to ride the bus for free today. yay!), and I’ve registered for my fall classes. I’ll be taking:

SOCIOLOGY 304: Community, Environment and Society- Interrelationship of social and environmental factors in human communities, processes of community change, impact of environmental change on human communities.
ANTHROPOLOGY 270: Introduction to Biological Anthropology- Examines the biological aspects of the human species from comparative, ecological, and evolutionary perspectives. Explores theoretical and methodological issues in biological anthropology.  
GEOLOGY 308: Geology of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest- The region's geologic and tectonic history and the plate tectonic processes responsible for its evolution.
PLANNING, PUBLIC POLICY & MANAGEMENT 418: Introduction to Public Law- Administrative law, including introduction to legal research, for public administrators. Administrative procedures, implementation of policy through administrative law, judicial review, and practical applications in public agencies.

                I’m such a nerd I get a little giddy when I see my schedule. I know it will be difficult but I am super excited.

I landed a sweet new job.
               
                This is probably the best part of summer, and I actually got the news the day after I registered for class. It couldn’t have been more perfect. My friend and her mom work in this small office and needed some help so they hired me. It was almost too easy so I was a little iffy about it until today when I started. It’s legit. I’ll be working for a paper company that supplies Fraternity and Sororities across the country with stationary. It’s a local company, started by some UO grads. And they’re more than willing to work with my school schedule, so much so that I basically make my own schedule. I’ll be working Tuesday, Thursday and Friday because they wanted to make sure I had the ability to use the tutoring centers and have enough time for studying. It’s basically everything I hoped for.

                So now that you’re pretty much caught up I have lots of new post ideas coming up. I’m pretty excited. You should be too. Seriously.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Leavin' on a jet plane...


GeoTagged, [N45.58667, E122.59244]

I'm traveling. It's 6 am and I've already been up for 2 hours after only sleeping for 2 hours. Having to be at the airport at the ungodly hour of 4:30 am will do that.
Am I the only person that likes airports? I've always found them fascinating. Morf so when you could actually go to the gate with your loved ones. Where else could you see people so happy next to people so sad? I guess the hospital, but who likes to go there?
Anyway, I'm heading "home" to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho for a week. Time to see my mom and aunties and maybe catch up with a few friends. The first few days we'll be staying on the lake and I am so very ready for some relaxation by the water.
Alright they're calling my flight. Have a great day peeps!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Easy Like Sunday Morning Pancakes





Who doesn't love Pancakes on Sunday morning? I mean really, what else is there to eat for breakfast than pancakes with syrup and butter. Yummm....syrup. 

Unfortunately syrup and butter slathered disks of carbohydrates are not on my diet. Luckily for me I am sometimes rather creative and when I want something bad enough I will find a way to eat it. So I set out on a quest for healthy pancakes and found a recipe for Oatmeal Pancakes and thought with a few tweaks it could be awesomely yummy and healthy at the same time. 
I was right.
Hellooo...Oatmeal Pancakes. 
Let's be friends.

These were soft and fluffy with a  bit of sweetness. I'm in love. I adapted this recipe found on Tastepotting


Easy Oatmeal Pancakes:

1 cup oats (quick style is fine)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
2 Tbls. Stevia (or sugar substitute or even real sugar gasp!)
2 teas. Baking Powder
1 teas. Salt
3 Tbls. Egg White (one eggs worth)
1 Whole Egg
1 1/2 Cups Milk (I used low fat because that's what I had. Almond milk would be good)
1/4 Cup. Canola Oil

Mix together oats, flours, stevia, baking powder and salt in mixing bowl. Combine eggs, milk and oil in separate bowl and mix well. Add milk and egg mixture to dry mixture and stir until just combined. Pour batter by 1/4 to 1/3 scoops onto greased hot griddle or skillet. Turn when bubbles appear on top of pancakes. Flip and continue. Rinse and repeat. 

I had mine with a scant amount of butter, fresh raspberries and honey. They were delicious. 

Friday, June 10, 2011

Week/End Update!

Hi all! It's the weekend! I am done with school for the summer. Well, almost. I have a few hours of my internship to finish up next week and then I am done! And with the completetion of those I will also be completely finished at Lane and ready to move on to the big-kids-school! The start of summer also means that I have more time on my hands so that means I'll actually have time to blog again. So get used to me folks! I'm back!

I wanted to give you an update on the weight loss project. It's been a pretty terrible week to be on a diet. It was finals week, so pretty much everything except school ceased to exist. That means I didn't go to the store, I didn't plan my meals, I didn't work out, but I did try my best. I ate every three to four hours and I kept to the plan for the most part. I did stray a little the day I was done and have more of a cheat afternoon than a single cheat meal. Apparently, cheese and beer, then a taco salad followed by a giant frozen yogurt with 5 different toppings for dessert is not a thing I should do every week. Or at least not the day after pizza. Or the day before I weigh myself. 

I also wanted to share some progress pictures. I don't really think there is a difference but I'm hoping that in a few weeks it will look like something is different!

Here's where I started:
 This photo was taken on my field trip three days after deciding to change my weight. I was 203 pounds.
 Here's week one:

 Sorry for the bitch-face...it's just the way my face is sometimes. 

Here I weighed: 196 lbs.
Body Fat: 34%
Lean Body Mass: 129 lbs.
Body Fat (lbs): 67 lbs.

My measurements were:
Neck: 14"
Waist: 40.5" 
Hip: 46"
Thigh: 28"


I don't have a picture for last week, but it's okay because there really wasn't a change between last week and this week. Except that I gained a pound. And it was probably in frozen yogurt. Damn you Yogurt Extreme!

Weight: 194 lbs 
Body Fat: 33.5%
Lean Body Mass: 129 lbs
Body Fat: 65 lbs

Measurements:
Neck: 14"
Waist: 37"
Hip: 46"
Thigh: 26"

In total I've lost: 
Weight: 9 lbs
Body Fat: .5%
Lean Body Mass:none
Body Fat: 2 lbs


Every day is a new day. And I'm ready to get back in the swing of things this week! 


Have a great weekend!


Friday, June 3, 2011

The Worst Four Letter Word: the D Word.

Let's talk about that dreaded thing that no woman likes to talk about.Let's just get it all out on the table.and talk about what is constantly on any woman's mind:
Diet AND Weight.
Yeah I said it.

About a month ago I went to the doctor where I got weighed, and when I did I looked at the nice nurse lady and said, "uh..is that right? Can we do this again?" She was very sweet and told me that yes the scale was correct and then sweetly asked if that number was higher than I expected. Well yes, nice-nurse-lady it was higher than I expected.Way higher.Like 20-freaking-pounds higher!

So I did what any normal woman would do when faced with the fact that she is currently 50 pounds over her goal weight. I went and had drinks with my best girlfriend. And then I went home and cried to my mister. 
Note to self: When coming home from a doctor's visit, try to tell your mister what is wrong before helplessly falling into his arms and then crying like a baby. He may assume that there is something seriously wrong with you. He may even assume that you were just given a death sentence by your doctor and if he really likes you this may make him very worried. Mine was very worried. I think he likes me. 

And after I wallowed for a respectable amount of time I decided to go on a diet. And I cut my calories down while not really changing my eating habits. I quickly lost 4 pounds but I felt like, well, I felt like crap. All the time. I was constantly hungry. I was cranky and moody. I was so tired all I wanted to do was sleep. I couldn't concentrate on anything which made school very annoying which only added to my crankiness. One day, about a week in, I was at school and stood up only to get so dizzy that I almost had to sit back down in my seat. That day I knew this wasn't going to work so I started searching for a diet plan. 

Let's get one thing straight. I don't like diets. I don't think they work, I think they're unhealthy and unnatural. I grew up watching the women of my family try almost every diet on the planet. They would go on the diet and lose weight, then they would go off it and gain it all back. I didn't want that. I wanted something that was going to teach me healthy eating habits give me the tools to not only lose the extra weight I had on me now, but be able to easily maintain the loss once I got there. I also want to say that I don't think I am fat, I am one of the lucky women that gains weight in all the right places.You know, my curves just get more pronounced. This is one of the reasons I didn't think I had gained the amount of weight that I had. And I don't have any dreams of being stick thin, I just want to be healthy. Is that so much to ask?!?! 

So after some research, which may or may not have included watching an episode of Chelsea Lately.I decided to go with this diet:


 
 I actually bought the book on Kindle because it was cheaper, and then had it sent overnight to my house after reading about half of it in one night. What he says makes sense. All my meals are balanced between protein, fats and carbs and I eat every 3-4 hours.The entire diet is focused on changing my metabolism and focuses more on losing body fat then what my weight is. I've been doing this for two weeks now, and I just finished the ten-day jump start, where I didn't eat bread or dairy and had only high-quality meat and food. My energy has increased, my sugar cravings have almost completely gone away and I generally just feel better. I've also lost some weight. Oh, you want to know how much?

For the case of full disclousure when I went to the doctor I weighed 203 pounds. This was on May 4th. 

When I officially started the Body Confidence diet I weighed 199 pounds, that was on May 23rd. 
When I finally got my fat calipers (something every woman wants to buy) and could take my body fat measurement I weighed 196 pounds, and that was on May 26th. 

Here's my progress:
Week One (5/26):

Weight: 196
Body Fat %: 34%
Lean Body Mass: 129 lbs
Body Fat: 67 lbs
Body Part Measurements:
Neck: 14"
Waist: 40.5"
Hip: 46"
Thigh: 28" 

Week Two (6/2):  

Weight: 193 (- 3 lbs)
Body Fat %: 33% (- 1%)
Lean Body Mass: 130 lbs (+ 1 lb)
Body Fat: 63 lbs (- 4 lbs)
Body Part Measurements:
Neck: 14"
Waist: 38" (- 2.5")
Hip: 45" (- 1")
Thigh:  26" (- 2")
I'd say that's pretty good progress! So far I've lost 10 pounds total and that makes me very happy!

Tomorrow I'll post my progress pictures. 
Have a good night everyone!