Morning!How was everyone’s weekend?It was a little cray cray over here.I’m not joking when I say last week and this week might be the craziest two weeks of my life to date.I’m completely aware that adding children to the mix will bring things to a whole new level, so I’m sure this is good training.
Dove had some good words of wisdom for me when I unwrapped a chocolate yesterday:
So I did J
It felt SO good to just relax last night knowing that anything left on my to-do list could wait until today.Sometimes you just need to take a time out!
On a completely separate note, I am so excited for Patrick to come home so I can fire up my kitchen skills again!He pretty much loves anything I put in front of him, and having your creativity appreciated makes it that much more fun.Until then, eats for one (well, two I guess):
spinach, tomato and goat cheese omelette
I can't take credit here: jerk veggie enchiladas from Cha Cha Chicken - AMAZING
salad w/ baby spinach, strawberries, walnuts, honey goat cheese, champagne viniagrette + white grapefruit & my favorite lara bar
strawberry trick: drizzle with a *small* amount of balsamic vinegar and let sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes before eating. It brings out the sweetness and leaves the strawberries with a syrupy coating without the calories of sugar.
We’re going for a nice long walk before work today.Have a fantastic Monday everyone!
xo Shaina
Something to think about:One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. - Plato
Hey hey!How’s the day going so far?We started out early over here.Got a walk in this morning, followed by an amazing stretch sesh here at home.I love feeling noodly.Breakfast was a quick and easy favorite....that I completely forgot to take a picture of before devouring it. Whoops.
Yogurt, fruit of the day (I rolled with banana), flax seed, raw cashews, raw walnuts, raisins, cinnamon and a little bit of fiber cereal for extra crunch.Usually I use steel cut oats that have been soaked overnight, but I had to improvise this morning.Either way, much healthier than syrup-coated granola.
I love this because you can change it up any way you want. We started calling it Deliciousness a few years ago and the name stuck. This is actually one of Patrick's favorite things to make (he doesn't cook - he only prepares haha....temperature + Patrick = pizza delivery for dinner) so I have a feeling I'll be living on this right after the baby is born. :-) He's also a fantastic smoothie man.
More recent eats:
A completely random schmorgesborg: romaine topped with avocado, tomato, 2 eggs, goat gouda, and a little bit of light dressing – before I drowned it in hot sauce.What can I say? Mama likes spicy and Daddy is Mexican - this baby is a little jalapeño. :-)The tortilla has almond butter and raisins rolled up in there – dessert?
Snack attack: goat gouda, pita crackers, carrots and an almond butter/nutella mixture.
Last night’s dinner: sweet potato with a little bit of earth balance and a sprinkle of brown sugar and cinnamon + roasted brussel sprouts (boil for 3 minutes, cut in half, toss in olive oil/balsalmic/salt/pepper/rosemary, bake at 350⁰ for 30 min)
My personal on-the-go favorite!This one was banana, strawberry, blueberry, pineapple, applesauce, protein powder, almond butter, chocolate chips, OJ and almond milk.Totally random, yet totally delicious.Sorry – can’t give the amounts of ingredients just yet.I was inspired yesterday – should I start a smoothie truck?!Smoothies on wheels = Smooth Moves….haha.It’s an idea.
Speaking of food trucks, Mom flies in today and I’m welcoming her to LA with Lobsta Truck!Food trucks are not something they have anywhere near her on the East Coast, so I thought it would be a fun “locals” welcome.
In other news: we got the townhouse! Waiting on the lease to get emailed to me, but its ours! AND we hit the 3rd trimester today. Baby update coming out after my next doctor's appointment - I promise.
Morning!How was everyone’s Monday?Its definitely a warm beverage kind of morning over here:
half a cup of vanilla VIA drowned with almond milk. Yum.
Yesterday included lots of my favorite things: exercise, shopping, babies and
kale chips! I walked the Rose Bowl (with maybe a couple stretches of jogging in there to shake out the legs), Colleen and I made a trip to lululemon to get some OHmazing pants, and then visited with one of her friends and her two beautiful babies.I *love* snuggling babies – can’t wait until ours makes its debut!
So the kale chips…so easy!Break the leaves off the spine into big chunks.Rinse thoroughly and pat dry with a paper towel.Spray a cookie sheet lightly, dump the kale and spread into a thick layer.(If you cook a whole head, the pieces will overlap.That’s okay.)Dust with a thin layer of olive oil spray, sprinkle some sea salt and cook at 350⁰ for about 10 minutes or until they start to get crispy.
My only problem (if you can even call it that) is that I have to eat the whole batch I just made because I find they don’t store well – they get soggy or wilted.Anyone have a solution for that besides getting a dehydrator and cooking them that way?I actually plan on doing that in the next few months, but I was just curious.
More recent eats:
breakfast burrito with 2 eggs, veganaise, daiya (vegan cheese), greens and copious amounts of hot sauce
BLT wrap (with facon of course) with avocado, veganaise and daiya
half a sweet potato with goat cheese crumbles, roasted broccoli and pasta salad.
Time for some breakfast and then its off to work!xo Shaina
Something to think about (pardon the French, but seriously.....):
Nobody likes to cook dinner for 1 person, I get that.How many recipes can you actually make that don’t give you way more food than you can eat before it goes bad?And who wants to go through all that trouble just for a dinner after a long day?It’s much easier to go to happy hour with friends or stop for take-out on the way home.
Spaghetti squash to the rescue!This is probably one of the easiest things to make, is perfect for 1 dinner plus leftovers for lunch (bonus!) or can easily be a dinner for two.There are a ton of things to do with spaghetti squash, so here are the basics and some fun ideas.
1.Preheat the oven to 375⁰.
2.Cut the squash in half length-wise.Sometimes this isn’t the easiest thing to do, so make sure you have a sharp chef’s knife to work with.Here’s a great video to show you how:
3.Scoop out all the insides – it looks very similar to a pumpkin, but yellow.
4.Place the two halves face down on a cookie sheet that you have sprayed or lightly oiled.
5.Bake for 35-45 minutes.This gives you time to prep whatever else you want with your squash, or go put your feet up and enjoy a glass of wine.JWhen the squash is done, you should be able to squeeze the sides and they will be soft. 35 minutes will make it a little al dente.
6.Remove from the oven and allow to cool.When it’s cool enough to handle, pull the flesh apart with a fork.It will look like really thin noodles!
There are a ton of different ways to eat your squash:
1.Just like a bowl of pasta, with sauce and a little parmesan.
2.Not as healthy, but spaghetti squash casserole can be delish.There are a million different recipes out there.
3.My favorite: sautéed with whatever vegetables you want.Last night, I sautéed baby bok choy and mushrooms in garlic and olive oil.
Once the mushrooms were tender and the bok choy was wilted, I added a little bit of low sodium soy sauce and the spaghetti squash just to mix the flavors.I’ve also done kale, mushrooms and tofu.Whatever you choose, sauté those ingredients until they are done and then add the squash at the last minute and toss everything together.
4.It’s also great as a side to compliment whatever else you want to have for dinner.Add a little salt and pepper - voilá!
The possibilities are endless!I ate about half of the squash and veggies and love that my lunch was ready for me this morning.Anyone out there have a delish way they like to enjoy spaghetti squash?
