3 Meals, 3 Photos

Good morning, loyal readers! Sorry for the lack of meal post last night. I was organizing photos on my computer, but yet didn’t feel like getting up for my camera to add a few more!

Yesterday’s oat-y breakfast

That’s crumbled banana bread on top. Not sure I’m a fan of that… just because it’s soft and the oatmeal’s soft. I think I would prefer cereal/flakes.

Yesterday’s dinner

Carbonade flamande that we made Sunday and wine – no, not the bottle! Just a glass.
(FYI: Graham didn’t use a recipe… he just sort of knew how to make it. This was the first one that appeared when I Googled it this morning…) 

Today’s breakfast

Purple oats!

Question for my loyal readers: if you eat oatmeal for breakfast, what is your favourite topping – one that I must try? 

Leave me a comment and I will try it on future bowls of oats!

Have a great Tuesday!

Oh the weather outside is frightful…

It really is! My Friday has been pretty low key, but I’ve been outside a few times and the snow just keeps piling up!

Breakfast…

Making my list, while on the computer and eating my “regular” weekday breakfast. I set out for Yorkdale soon after… where I managed to get pants and a shirt for myself. How does that happen?!?

Then I came back home to drop off my bags and set out for the grocery store and a few other stops.

Lunch…

That’s PB&B (peanut butter and banana), along with a clementine. I also had some Goldfish as I made this…

Mighty tasty! The recipe is here. 

Had a few more errands and now I am in for the night. Graham made it home safe and sound, but is eating at his parents’, so I’m alone for dinner. I had grand plans for the two of us, but they don’t really suit 1… guess I will just make a sandwich, or something.

I have cookie dough chilling, so that’s next on the list!

Ta ta for now!

Breakfast, finally!

Phew, three posts back to back! Lots to say and do. Here’s breakfast…

Again, somewhat boring because it’s only me. I had some yogurt and berries on the side because I haven’t had much dairy lately.

Ok, gotta get moving! Lots still to do around here. I probably won’t post next til tomorrow because I’m heading out to Mississauga for a haircut at 3, then to my parents and to the party.

Have a great Saturday!

Rest of my Friday

Sorry! The day just got away from me and I haven’t had time to post! So, here goes, from the morning…

I got up around 7:45 (what a nice sleep-in!) and went downstairs to the gym at 8. I did 4 miles on the treadmill, while watching Food Network. That’s definitely the advantage to the gym in the building. I like watching tv while I run.

Breakfast was a weekday breakfast! I wasn’t going to make something fancy just for me…

I did have hot chocolate, so that was a nice change!

The morning was busy… had something to do for work, then went to Yorkdale. I was semi-successful, getting new hand towels for the bathroom (I’ll take a picture in the light tomorrow), but that was about it. I do have some good Christmas ideas now, though… After that, I was off to Bulk Barn and Walmart, where I got mostly baking stuff.

Lunch was simple…

I think I’ve told you this before, but when we were young, we used to have “reading lunches” when the three of us (my mum, my sister and me) all had good books. I ended up finishing my book over lunch – I recommend it for a light read, but not much more than that…

I went back out shopping again after lunch, and got Graham’s Secret Santa gift for the party tomorrow night (guess it’s not so secret!) and also got gifts for his nephews. 

Then, it was off to Twilight! I felt like a big nerd because I was the only one there by myself. I think I fell asleep for a few minutes in the middle, but overall, it was a really captivating movie! My co-worker doesn’t like Edward (thinks that the actor wasn’t the “to die for” Edward from the book…), but I liked him! I wonder when the next film will come out…

I was home around 6:30 and cleaned up – I had stuff everywhere after all my errands. I made gingerbread for the party tomorrow, but no pictures yet… I’ll wait til better light tomorrow. I’ll also post the recipe, because it’s so easy and tasty!

I made a fast and easy dinner: shrimp with veggies and couscous.

After the photo, I mixed it all together and added some soy sauce. Oh, and I couldn’t resist a beer on a Friday night.

Speaking of Friday nights… Graham’s not coming home til tomorrow. We’ll meet in Mississauga and go right to the Christmas party. So, I’m alone! As soon as I finish this post, I’m going to make tea and cut a piece of gingerbread and settle in to Lipstick Jungle.

Hope your Friday night is as relaxing as mine is!

‘Twas the day before Friday…

Happy Thursday, everyone! This was the scene in Mississauga today…

Quite a nice morning! I had the doctor at 9:15 [who sent me for an x-ray and told me to see a physio for my hip] and the dentist at 11 [just a cleaning]. I high-tailed it back to the apartment to work from home for the afternoon.

Here was my lunch…

That’s 1/2 c. oatmeal with 1/2 c. milk, 1/2 c. water. 1/2 a banana mixed in with cinnamon and walnuts, then peanut butter on top. The verdict? Not my favourite! Couldn’t finish it, to be honest. I found it too sweet with the PB, I think. I’m not sure I’m really able to eat oats anymore…

Sidenote: Sarah tends to eat things so often that she gets sick of them. And then cannot eat them anymore. This happened with peanut butter in high school. This happened with Quaker Maple & Brown Sugar oatmeal during the first two years of university. This now has happened with oats/banana/cinnamon combination after eating that nearly everyday last year, from about September to May.

It pains me to say this, since Tina, Kath and Rose – all well known for their love of oats – all adore the oats and PB combo. Just not for me, I say!

My afternoon went ok… had the snow tires put on, read some of my book. Oh yeah, worked too! I snacked on crackers and some w.w. chips throughout the afternoon – not too much, though. Before I knew it, it was 7:35. I made a quick, if slightly less than satisfying, dinner…

And then, the most satisfying part of the meal…

So satisfying, I might have had a 2nd (smaller!) bowl.

Now, I am mid-way through CSI, tea in hand. I wanted to get a good post in before it got too late and I got too lazy.

The plan for the weekend? Graham comes home tomorrow – yay! We are going up to the cottage Saturday – Sunday. It’s supposed to be -6 in Huntsville. The cabin is heated by wood stove. BRRR!

What about you? Any great weekend plans? I hope so!

Night night!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone is having a great long weekend!

Saturday

I went for a really fast run right after waking up, and then we had breakfast. I love waffles! Such a nice weekend breakfast.

Took us awhile, but we finally got up north. The traffic was brutal, and we also had to make a stop. We tried to get out campsite reserved, but the Parks person had gone for lunch. We had our lunch in the parking lot!

This is “cheese concoction” – Graham’s dad’s favourite lunch. It’s sour cream and feta, with herbs like chives or parsley. We had some multigrain Tostitos too.

Here are some scenery shots…

On to dinner. That’s why we made chili and pear-cranberry crisp the night before – so that we could have a tasty meal while camping!

Cool, eh? We actually ended up moving the pot down closer into the fire, but it was cute how he rigged it up.

I had broccoli too, but ate it all before the chili. That’s what the little green flecks are.

We ate the crisp right from the pot.

Sunday

It was so cold when we woke up and I’d been needing to go to the bathroom all night… miserable!

We got everything cleaned up, ate first, then motored back to the marina. 

Graham’s parents drove up and we helped them to get the boat ready for winter. We left the marina around 2:30 and headed for home.

Last night was dinner with my parents, grandparents, sister and her bf.

Half the family at the table. I don’t think my grandfather will be reading Hare and Tortoise anytime soon, so he won’t see his photo! We had a very tasty dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, peas, carrots, stuffing and gravy. For dessert, we had a crisp and pumpkin-chocolate torte, courtesy of my mother and my sister, respectively. Dinner was so good, but I was really full after. Over-ate for sure. Probably didn’t help that I also ate some lime Tostitos before dinner, as well as some candy. Ayayaye!

Monday

So, that brings us to today! We are going to Graham’s parents’ house for lunch with everyone. His dad and his sister’s family (the one with the 4 month old) are going to Czech Republic tonight for a week, so that’s why we’re having lunch. I still feel full from yesterday!

For breakfast, we went light today.

Just felt like instant oatmeal, for speed and lightness. Hopefully I will be hungry by noon!

Sorry for the monster post! I will report back tonight with the rest of the day’s activities. See you then!

Ugh

My day started off well. I had two packages of the instant oatmeal again, and took a photo!

Here is the box, so you can see which one I am having.

Pretty soon after that, my day headed down the terrible path. The kind of day where you just want to bury your head in the sand (or hide under the covers). But you know if you do that, your problems will be one hundred times bigger when you resurface. I pretty much felt tense and nervous all day. And am still feeling that way.

But, along to lunch. I had a smoked salmon wrap, with a smear of avocado, lettuce, green pepper and cherry tomatoes. I also had plain yogurt with raspberries and a little honey. So tasty! I took a photo, but it was absolutely terrible. Sorry.

Now, on to my snack. I discovered Heather and Mark’s blog, Hangry Pants, and while reading it, came across this post. Heather was talking about snacking and her great readers were giving great advice. It’s something I’ve been thinking about lately. If I am running or going to spinning after work, I will sometimes have a snack (banana or something) mid-afternoon. Then I might have something when I get home. If I’m not working out, I will come home and eat, eat, eat, pretty much. If I’m in the apartment after work and before dinner, I just can’t help myself. A great tip that I saw from one of the comments was to leave your snack out so when you’re home, it’s right there. Pre-portioned. I think that’s a really good idea! I didn’t really practice this today, but I do intend to start doing that. Today, I had a banana around 3:15, then this snack when I got home…

That’s Trader Joe’s Simply Almonds, Cashews and Cranberries Trail Mix. Graham and I are going out for a run soon, so that’s enough for now.

I’ll be back after dinner… see you then!

Twist on a burger

Finally – photos for you!

This morning, for breakfast, I had Quaker instant oatmeal (2 packages of apple cinnamon), as well as a latte. I actually really enjoyed the instant oatmeal, although I would say that it doesn’t get as hot as real oats. I tried to take a photo of my breakfast, but my camera wouldn’t turn on. I was getting really worried, because I thought the battery was charged. I charged it after work, and now it works just fine.

So, on to dinner!

Apple-Cheddar Turkey Burgers
Rachael Ray – September
Serves 4 

2 lbs ground turkey breast
4 scallions, finely chopped **I used celery, for crunch
1/2c. chopped flat leafed parsley
1 tbsp. grill seasoning **I used Old Bay
1 tsp. poultry seasoning **I added salt and pepper instead
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 apple, such as granny smith, cut into 12 slices 
8 slices extra sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 c. whole berry cranberry sauce
2 tbsp. grainy mustard
4 sandwich-size english muffins, split and toasted
8 leaves red- or green-leaf lettuce

1. In a bowl, combine the turkey, scallions, parsley, grill seasoning and poultry seasoning. Form into 4 patties, pressing your thumb into the centre of each to prevent it from bulging.
2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the patties and cook for 6 minutes on each side for medium. Top each with 3 apple slices and 2 cheese slices, tent the pan with foil and cook until the cheese melts, 1-2 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the cranberry sauce and mustard; slather on the muffin tops. Pile 2 lettuce leaves on each muffin bottom, top with the patties and set the muffin tops into place.

On the side, we had a spinach salad with oranges, apple cubes and slivered almonds. Sorry – I was so into the burger, I didn’t get a photo of the salad!

I’m watching Cash Cab now. I’ve never seen it before, but it’s really entertaining! I’m going to clean up a little, read my book and enjoy tea and the last brownie. Enjoy your evening!

Slow Saturday

Graham’s off at the library and I am just getting the shopping list organized.

This morning we had crepes! Yum…

We don’t have much in the house for lunch, so for a little pick-me-up, I made myself a bowl of oats. On the stovetop! Very tasty, with banana, vanilla and a little brown sugar. 

I’m going out for an afternoon of shopping. See ya!

Full day’s worth

Of posts, that is!

This morning I gave oats a go and had a very tasty bowl! (or square glass container, actually…)

1/2 c. oats
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. milk
1/2 banana
1 peach
sprinkle of TJ’s granola

I microwaved the oats, water and milk for the first minute, then added the banana and microwaved for another nearly 2 minutes (the container was large, so that’s why it needed even more time). Then I added the peach and granola.

It doesn’t look all that creamy, but trust me, it was – compared to normal microwaved oatmeal, at least. A very nice way to start the day.

Moving right along to dinner… beef bourguignon! This is what we made on Sunday/Monday. We had it with toasted focaccia… yum! And now I am having a small piece of peach tart. Excellent meal!

*Sorry, the light has reflected into both pictures!

Up for tomorrow? Well, work! And spinning. And then we’ll see after that. I have something planned for dinner, but it’s sort of an experiment, so we’ll see how it goes! Night!