WIAW~ October 21, 2015

It’s that Happy time of week when we get together over at Peas & Crayons and talk about what we’ve been eating all week.  It’s What I Ate Wednesday!  When you’re finished here, be sure to stop over there to see what everyone’s been munching on all week long!

I’m always up for a breakfast at the diner.  My best friend Gail and I took our other best friend Alice and Gail’s brother, Ray to the airport for a flight to Florida.  No problem except that we had to leave at 4:30 am!!  Again, no problem, but we wanted to go to breakfast and contrary to what we thought, all of the local diners are Not open at 5 am! We went to one that had recently reopened after renovations.  It looked nice but this was 5 am.  There were only 2 other people in the diner and we had to wait almost 25 minutes for our food.  It wasn’t that great when we finally got it.

But it was better than some early diner breakfasts I’ve had.  We headed to the gym afterwards to work it off.

I got a better breakfast at home on another day.  I like trying unique things with omelettes.

Not the prettiest photo but very tasty.  Egg beaters and egg whites seasoned with Mrs. Dash and chipotle powder.  Inside chopped broccoli, 2% cheese and a quarter cup of black beans.  Topped with Cholula hot sauce, my new favorite.  The small addition of the quarter cup of black beans makes this extremely filling.  I add them in whenever I have the home-made beans in the fridge.

Sometimes I’ll take a little shortcut.  Ralph brought home a salad from a local convenience store labeled “super food” salad.  It was made with kale, slivered almonds and chopped apples.

I added some chopped spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, black beans, 2 % cheese and light balsamic vinaigrette.  It was delicious!  It’s nice to take a little help when you can.  I love doing that with store-bought salads.  I can always find a way to make them more substantial or add some protein.

One more salad.  Ralph and I went to one of our favorite restaurants on Monday afternoon.  In line with my continued efforts to get back on and stay on track with my food choices, I had already decided what I would have before we got there.  When the server brought the menu, I left it on the table and didn’t even look.  I didn’t want to be tempted to stray from my plan.

This restaurant has the best Greek Salad I’ve ever tried.  It looked better but I started to poke around at it.  I forgot that I’m blogging again and needed a nice photo!  Regardless, I think it’s beautiful and I know it was delicious.  I also asked for only one roll with it, that way I wouldn’t be tempted by an entire basket.  I keep trying!

That’s What I Ate Wednesday for me this week.  I need to get back to doing more cooking and coming up with some unique things.  We’ll see how I do.  Whatever I come up with, you can be sure I’ll be back here next Wednesday.  Be sure to stop over at Peas & Crayons to check out the other linkers!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

 

Strange But Good~That’s A Weird Breakfast!

It’s been a few weeks since I joined in on Strange But Good hostessed by Laura at Sprint 2 The Table so I thought I’d join the party!  There are always so many crazy good food ideas there.  Be sure to check it out.

I started out the week making a crock pot full of one of my favorite things…Lentils.  Everything was going smoothly.  After that I started on a pot of my Weight Watchers Veggie Soup.  In the midst of making the soup, I suddenly realized that I’d made a mistake with the lentils.  Usually, I put in a cup of dried lentils into my small crock pot with onion, garlic and seasoning.  As I was throwing scraps into the trash can I noticed the bag from the lentils…I had put in the Entire Bag!!

I ended up having to move the lentils from one crock pot to another, which in the end was almost too small.  I also ended up with a huge amount of cooked lentils.  I use a cup of them each time I eat the soup which is not usually a problem but I was left with double my usual stash.  I had to think of other ways to use them

Often on BCDC I talk about foods that are not attractive but tasty.  This dish certainly fits into that description.

 

To my usual mixture of egg substitute and egg whites, I added a quarter cup of my cooked lentils.  I also added in some Mrs. Dash and crushed red pepper flakes.   Not pretty in the measuring cup.

 

Not pretty when mixed in with the egg substitute.

 

Not really all that pretty as a finished omelette.  I added some shredded 2% cheese inside and on top.   Not photogenic, true.  But really, really good!  Almost more importantly, it was also extremely filling.  When I have a regular omelette, I start to feel hungry in a couple of hours.  This kept me satisfied almost until lunch time.  I eat pretty early so this was an accomplishment.  It also gave me a nice protein boost of 4.5 extra grams over the regular omelette.  I’m pretty excited that I tried this and I’ve tried it again since I first figured it out.  Sounds weird I know, but give it a try!

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful strangeness over at Sprint 2 The Table today.

Happy Friday!

WIAW~Along For The Ride

Another What I Ate Wednesday and I feel like I’m just along for the ride.  I have nothing really exciting to share but of course that will never stop me from sharing.  One time I had NO food pictures and still linked up! We are of course talking about the fun link-up hostessed by Jenn at Peas and Crayons. Be sure to stop by there today.

It’s been a weird week in a lot of ways and I’m trying to get myself into a better, healthier routine.

Getting my protein in with an omelette with white beans.

 

Sounds a little strange and I did use if for Strange But Good on Friday.  It was tasty with a good boost of protein.  I like that in a breakfast!  I’ll do this again!

As is almost always my way, there was a crock pot full of Weight Watchers veggie soup cooking on the counter at some point.  This was a particularly good batch.

 

It was good to the last drop.  I had mentioned that I’d never cooked the white beans specifically to use them in the soup.  It was a great idea and I will doing it again.  My favorite meal!

My sister, Ele took a little break on Sunday afternoon.  We went to one of our favorite places, Barnes and Noble.

 

It was an iced passion tea lemonade.  They have an option of having it half sweet, which I’d never heard of before but I took advantage of it.  It was tangy and a little sweet and very refreshing.  I’ll do it again!

I’ve been eating a lot of eggs lately for breakfast.  I do that mostly because I feel that I stay satisfied longer with them.  It’s been a long time since I’ve thought of overnight oats in a jar.  I actually thought in advance yesterday and put some together.

 

Oats, fat-free Greek Yogurt, almond milk, unsweetened apple sauce, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.  Also added a little Truvia because I forgot to add it when I put it together.  I like mine warm so I heat it in the microwave for about 2 minutes.  I know that’s probably considered sacrilege but that’s the way I like it.  You’ll probably take note of the crock pot in the back ground.  Yes, that’s This Weeks batch of Weight Watchers veggie soup. I’m nothing if not predictable.

That’s What I Ate Wednesday for me for today. Be sure to check out the link up at Peas and Crayons for some good ideas.  I always do!  I promise more interesting food next week!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

Strange But Good~Extra Protein

It has been a VERY long time since I joined in on Strange But Good.  That’s the link up hostessed by Laura at Sprint 2 The Table.  This is where we share our strange obsessions with food and our unique ways of combining and preparing it.  I’m glad to be back.  I love being Strange with these crazy people!

As a vegetarian, I’m constantly on the look out for ways to get extra protein into my meals.  I try things.  Sometimes they work, sometimes. they don’t.  Breakfast has recently been my guinea pig…strange for a vegetarian to use that analogy, but it works!

Yesterday, I had cooked up a batch of white beans in the crock pot.  I use them for a lot of things but never thought of using them for breakfast.

 

I use a mix of egg substitute and egg whites plus lots of Mrs. Dash.  Since I had the beans there and ready, I decided this morning I would add a quarter cup of the beans into the mixture.  No Idea how it would turn out.

 

Looks pretty much like a standard omelette.  I sprinkled a little dried basil on top to give it a little color and a little shredded 2% cheese inside.  The beans have a very mild flavor and the next time I might use a bit more spice.  I got 4 extra grams of protein so that was good.

The amazing thing is, it was Extremely Filling.  When I’m finished eating an omelette, I usually feel satisfied.  After this I felt Full.  Such a minor change and it made such a difference.  For me on Weight Watchers it only added one Point so I was pretty happy about this all around.

Be sure to stop by at Sprint 2 The Table to see what other strange things you’ll find.

Happy Friday!

WIAW~She Must Have Eaten Something

Good Morning and welcome to the type of What I Ate Wednesday post that happens once in a while.  The type where I have little or nothing to show in the way of actual food because…I’ll tell the story as I go…which seems to be my routine of late.  Be sure not to miss the chance to visit Jenn and company over at Peas and Crayons!

Since this is hap hazard at best, I’ll at least try to do it in order.  Saturday is always Weight Watchers day around here.  You wouldn’t know that I’ve ever even heard of WW if you saw some of the things I’ve been eating, but trust me it is! I’ve been lonely all summer because my two best friends, Gail and Alice have been away in Maine.  They’re back and we’re back to our routine.  Weight Watchers and then breakfast at the local diner.

 

Obviously, I was too hungry to wait for the photo! Egg beaters and fruit. Gail had a great idea.  We all really wanted pumpkin pancakes.  So we ordered a short stack (3 pancakes) and shared!  We got the taste of pancakes but stayed in control.  We used the sugar-free syrup.  I didn’t have any toast so that made it even better! Pumpkin Everything, Please!

If you’ve visited BCDC before, you know that I am the Crock Pot Queen.  I use them year round, but Fall and Winter is when they get the most use.  Trying to keep myself on track, I was up bright and early Monday morning chopping up the goods for a batch of my version of Weight Watchers veggie soup.

 

Going along with the pumpkin theme, WaWa pumpkin coffee in the wonderful cup sister Ele gave me a few years ago.  I love how they are color coordinated!  Yum to both!

To be perfectly honest and show that I’m not kidding about eating things I shouldn’t…

 

Eggplant parmesan sandwich from the local pizza place. Should I have? No.  Did I? Yes.  Sadly, I also ate way too many french fries along with this.  It’s gone now, it can’t hurt me anymore. I’m back on track.  I promise.  No, Really!!

Being back on track is proven by this next photo.  If it was a piece of art it would be titled White Beans In White Crock Pot.

 

To go along with the WW veggie soup, I started a crock pot of white beans.  Thank goodness I remembered to soak them last night.  I realized I’m down to almost NO dried beans in the pantry.  I have to correct that.  A girl needs her protein!  These will be added to the veggie soup but measured for each serving.  Much easier to track the Points value that way and Boy do I need to get back to tracking the Points value!!

There you have it, What I Ate Wednesday for me this week.  I’m hoping that next week will be much better, actually showing food that I cooked and looking like I’m just the tiniest bit on track with my Weight Watchers plan!

Be sure to stop over to visit all of the fun at Peas and Crayons, you’ll be glad you did!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

WIAW~Food All Over

Here it is Wednesday again and of course time for What I Ate Wednesday hostessed by Jenn at Peas and Crayons.  This lovely young lady knows how to throw a food party so be sure to head over to P & C when you’re finished here to see what everyone else has to share.  Here goes!

I’m still loving my veggies so let’s see what I’ve got…in no particular order.

I love overnight oats but always forget to make them in the evening.  So this morning, when I finished breakfast, I made tomorrows oats! I can be so smart when I work at it!

I know that cabbage gets a bad rap sometimes, but I love it.  This was chopped up with onion, garlic carrots and canned white beans (all that I had on hand) and topped with parmesan cheese.  There’s brown rice hiding underneath.  Very good.

This was a delicious wrap at one of our favorite pizza places.  A spinach wrap with eggplant, spinach and ricotta.  Only thing I would change for the next time is to as them to simply grill the eggplant rather than bread and fry it.  Otherwise delicious!  Of course the chips went to Ralph.

 

As my friend Meghan at Clean Eats, Fast Feets likes to point out, it wouldn’t be WIAW without a diner omelette.  Here’s an especially good one-onion and spinach with of course a side of cottage cheese!

One of my new favorites, Fage Greek yogurt.  I’ve been finding it at Aldi for a much lower price than other stores.  Of course, I’m taking advantage of it!  Great afternoon snack.

One of my favorite meals this week.  I made my usual lentils in the crock pot.  I put a chopped onion, chopped garlic and Mrs. Dash along with 1 cup of rinsed lentil and veggie broth to cover by about an inch.  I cook for several hours, I’m not sure how long because it seems to depend on the day.  Usually about four hours.  I cooked up some whole wheat past and topped it with the lentils and some parmesan cheese.  This was so delicious.  I have enough lentils left for another serving.  That may be tonight’s dinner.

So that’s What I Ate Wednesday for me.  Be sure to check all the fun over at Peas and Crayons.  I always find great ideas and suggestions.

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

Strange But Good~Starting the New Year Right

I have not played along with the Strange But Good gang over at Laura’s Sprint 2 The Table in a while.  I’ve really missed it and I’m glad to be back today.

The old New Year traditions is to eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day to bring you wealth during the coming year.  I tried to convince Ralph that he needed to play along with this but he would Not.  I guess that all of the wealth that comes to me in the New Year will be mine.  I will however be a benevolent ruler…I’ll share with him.  Anything to get out of New Jersey!

Back to the task at hand.  I’ve had a half bag of black-eyed peas hanging around in my pantry for a while so I knew if I wanted this to happen, I needed to get soaking!  Because of our schedule, I soaked them Monday night.  I was so proud of myself for remembering!

Bright and early Tuesday morning I had my little black-eyed friends in their crock pot bath.

 

I chopped an onion, added pre-chopped garlic and lots of Mrs. Dash.  Covered it all with veggie broth.  I started it on low because I knew we had a breakfast date and I wasn’t sure what time we’d be home.  We got home at about 2 pm and then I turned it to high. They cooked for a few hours more.

New Year’s Day we were going out to lunch so I knew this would be a dinner thing.  Sadly, I never checked my pantry.  Thought I had elbow macaroni.  I did find some tiny shell past that were spelt or something like that.  Someone had given it to me.  It was generally brown before and after cooking.

 

It’s difficult to see, but there ARE black-eyed peas in there.  I topped them with some red pepper flakes and shredded Romano cheese.  This was Very good.  There was plenty of juice left in the BEP’s after cooking to make a saucy thing with the cheese.  Very good.  It was a great way to start off the New Year.  Again, doesn’t look that appealing, but it tasted great.  In fact on this snowy day, if I can find some other kind of pasta in the pantry (I know there’s some hiding in there Somewhere!!)  I’ll have this for dinner today.

That’s it for Strange But Good for me today.  Hope you are all having a wonderful start to your New Year.  Mine is pretty good so far.  I’m keeping a positive attitude and running with the ball!

Be sure to check out some additional strangeness over at Laura’s Sprint 2 The Table!

Happy Friday!!

WIAW~Still Boxed In

I can’t believe that it’s already time for another What I Ate Wednesday!  This week has flown by and as you can see from my recent posts I’m in a bit of a whirlwind here.  The days have passed but I’ve been very productive so I’m happy with that.  I remain boxed in…meaning I’m still working among the boxes and general stuff around here.  The good news is, there are many fewer boxes than there were.  I would have accomplished more if I hadn’t had to clean up water from my leaking air conditioner, but more on that another time.

We’re here to talk about Food!  Thanks to Jenn at Peas & Crayons for as always being our gracious hostess for the Foodie Madness that is WIAW!  Be sure to visit there when you’re finished here.  There’s always something good to eat over there!

Starting with breakfast…in fact this edition of WIAW is pretty breakfast-centric.  At least I’ve been eating breakfast, which I was ignoring for a while.

My recent and current favorite…bran flakes, Fiber One and soy milk.  This is delicious and keeps me satisfied for a long time.  Good thing in a breakfast!

A big salad in my Big Purple Bowl.  Black beans and couscous added to bulk it up.  I need to get back to making grains to add to my salads.  I always enjoy them that way.

Ok…so I didn’t really need to eat this.  French toast and scrambled eggs.  This was delicious and really too much for me to eat.  I did enjoy it and made the concession of having sugar-free syrup with it.  I don’t do this very often.

Another breakfast…

A little more appropriate.  I love ordering oatmeal out.  It just tastes better.  This was actually eaten because my stomach was kind of upset.  You see, I succumbed to pizza on Saturday night and suffered for it on Sunday morning.  Maybe the french toast was part of it too.  I should know better…I’ve been eating so healthy lately that things like pizza just don’t sit well.  I’ve learned my lesson!

Last but not least, back to a Big Purple Bowl salad again.

This time with home cooked pinto beans cooked in the crock pot.  Just love making beans this way.  So yummy.  I’ve even figured out how to reduce the amount of what I cook so I don’t run the risk of them going bad.  I hate to waste food…especially beans!  Also making an appearance here is a treasure found in the cupboard.  Clearing out is a good thing.  I found this great cup with a straw that I used to use when I was working.  Works great for my iced tea.  Less chance I’ll  knock it over and spill it…I’m a bit clumsy!

This post seems rather short this week, but in truth, I’ve got work to do.  As much as I love WIAW, I’ve got to get back to my projects.  I’m feeling so good about all that I’m accomplishing.  I’m going away in two weeks so I need to get as much done as possible.  Then when I’m away, it’s Ralph’s turn to work on projects!

Be sure to visit Peas & Crayons and check out the other bloggers linking up there.  There is quite a crew and remember we all love your comments, so leave a few!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!!

WIAW~Food Between The Boxes

Silly title, I know, but I really feel that’s what’s been happening around here lately.  I sort and pack boxes and try to fit some food in between.  I suppose I should photograph some of my food ON the boxes…that would be fun.  But no, I don’t think so.

Anyway, It’s time for What I Ate Wednesday hostessed by Jenn at Peas & Crayons.  Be sure to check out the other foodies when you’re finished here at BCDC.  Bet they won’t be whining about boxes over there!

My meals are from all over the place this week.

 

One of my favorite breakfasts…egg substitute, egg whites and garlic chili sauce.  I like this so much that I had eaten half before I remembered to do a photo.  It’s way bigger than this to start.

 

Veggie burger on a salad…Yum!!  I actually had this twice this week…I know what I like.

 

Another favorite this week has been bran flakes and soy milk.  I’m trying to get breakfast in on a more regular basis and I really like this!

 

Fourth of July at Ele’s house!  I made the big salad and brought my own beans.  I had two bowls that looked just like this.  Love Ele’s deviled eggs…Yum!!

 

Ok…so there was Funfetti cake for dessert…so good!  Ele makes the best cakes!

 

Bran flakes and soy milk again…this time with banana! I’m happy that I’ve been doing better with breakfasts lately.

 

Tea for two at the Chinese restaurant…

 

Vegetable lo mein.  I haven’t had it in a long time and I really enjoyed it.

 

Ok…so there Had to be ice cream somewhere this week!  I had rum raisin and Ralph had black cherry.  So good.  We’ve got to make the most of it…they close in September!!

 

…and just to prove my point…one last breakfast.  Scrambled eggs and sliced tomatoes.  Always a winner.

So that’s WIAW for this week.  Be sure to check out the food gang over at Peas & Crayons.  There’s always something to drool over!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

WIAW~Surviving The Week

So many times the food that I eat and post would be forgotten if I didn’t take photos of it.  But what would be the fun of doing a What I Ate Wednesday post if I didn’t have photos?  Well I have done it without photos once when computer demons were wreaking havoc on me, but this week we’re good.

It was a tough week emotionally for me for various reasons, and I will confess that not Everything made it into a photo.  I’m also not proud of everything I ate, but as I like to say, it’s gone and it can’t hurt me anymore.  I am proud that I said “no” to an apple fritter at WaWa at Least 3 times.  Never did have one and that’s Ok by me.

WIAW is of course the baby (soon to get a little sister!) of Jenn at Peas & Crayons.  Be sure to check out all of the fun happening at P & C when you’re finished here.

This isn’t actually Love Your Veggies Month, but I like this logo and I sure have my share of veggies in this post!

After Ralph’s regular doctor’s visit we went to one of our favorite lunch spots.  I got my usual there, the Athenia Burger.

It’s the Greek salad with a substituted  veggie burger on the side.  This is so good.  They cook the veggie burger just right and the Greek salad is just enough.  Yum.

Salad in the Big Purple Bowl with Morningstar Griller chopped up! Very tasty and filling.

This is actually a different salad, this time with canned black beans.  They taste better home-made, but keeping some canned beans in the pantry is such a good idea.  Another thing I’ve been adding lately is a chopped up Gala apple.  So tasty.  I’m getting back on track though and there are some pintos cooking in the crock pot as I type this.  The BPB just loves to be part of  WIAW!

We haven’t gone to Subway in a while and Ralph suggested it one day last week and I said Yes!

Honey wheat bread, pepper jack cheese, spinach, tomatoes, onions, green peppers and black olives with chipotle southwest sauce.  Really tasty.

My reward on Saturday for all of my hard work on the yard sale…

My new favorite combo-black raspberry and peach.  This doesn’t look it, but I was controlling myself and got a small instead of a medium.  So good.

I guess that’s a good place to stop!  As I say, it was not the best food week, but I have no photographic proof so you can believe me or not.  I just like to be honest.  I’m feeling more in control now and  we’ll move on from there.  I’m sure everyone has a week like that now and then, I just haven’t had them lately and it’s a little scary when it happens.  I’m feeling a little closer to the top of my game.  I think the weather has something to do with it.  This rain is putting me in a terrible funk.  How do people live in a place like Seattle where it rains all the time?  Just makes me more determined to get to New Mexico SOON!!

Happy WIAW!!

P.S. It’s Eat Beans Day…DO IT!!