Spring Fever

What a beautiful weekend!  This weather is making me excited about spring days, flip-flops, cute dresses, reading on the beach, longer days, and enjoying dinner on the deck.  Don't get me wrong,  it's not that I don't love the other seasons equally as much, I think I just really love the changing seasons and the perks of all of them.  I look forward to what each time of year has to offer. 

Unfortunately, I don't think winter is ready to be on its way just yet.  But for now, I'll savor the 70 degree weather.

William and I spent the latter part of the afternoon outside on the patio.

Finn ran back and forth chasing birds.  His tail never stopped wagging.  I think he, too, is looking forward to spring.

I enjoyed, what Kath calls, a "mocktale" of club soda and a splash of cranberry pomegranate juice.  It was so refreshing.  Of course I used a Jimmy Buffett turvis tumbler.  :)

William serenaded me with Ryan Adams, Bob Marley, and the Eagles.  This is one of my favorite things about him!  He's GREAT on the guitar.  I love it!

What more could a girl ask for?  I am blessed.  Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful day!

Reflections

After seven days of blogging, sometimes twice a day, I took a short break to collect my thoughts.  Have no fear, I'm back.

I've kept food journals in the past....sometimes while trying to drop a few pounds and sometimes while trying to add a little variety in my meals.  While working on my Master's degree, I worked as a nutrition counselor for a year at a local weight loss clinic.  Each and every client kept a food diary.  They were both helpful and mundane.

I must say, this seven day challenge of photographing and blogging my meals was different, challenging, and enlightening.

Here's what I learned:
1.  I eat A LOT of the same things.  I tried to change it up, slightly, and not be so boring, but what can I say, I like my egg sandwiches.
2.  When I committed to taking pictures of my food, it forced me to want to add COLOR!  Think juicy oranges, bright green spinach, and deep red tomato soup.
3.  Having my camera attached to me at all times adds weight to my purse as well as opportunities to capture a picture of Finn running in circles, my nephew's smile, or the glorious moon on the way to dinner.
4.  People look at you strangely when taking pictures of your food in public places. 
5.  Sometimes you just want to eat; you're hungry.  You don't care how it looks, and you don't want to take a picture.  But I made the commitment, so I stopped to snap the photo.
6.  Treats happen.
7.  Looking back, visually, over the course of the day, really allowed me to reflect on my eating habits.  I learned areas where I could improve and make a better choice, and saw areas where I did just fine.

 Food is supposed to bring pleasure: it brings people together, allows us to take risks and explore new ideas, textures, and combinations of flavors, and nourishes our bodies to do the things we truly love.  I think it's about tapping into these pleasures and experiences, not about being perfect.

Day 7: I made it!

Today was a day about me.  I had a holiday from work in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr., and I decided to spend it doing whatever I wanted to do.

I could have gone to the gym this morning; I had plenty of time.  But, I wanted to lounge in my PJ's, drink coffee with William, and read a plethora of magazines that my Sissy brought for me last night.

I had an egg sandwich with low sugar jam for breakfast.

I showered late in the morning and headed out for some "me" time at Starbucks.  This 45 minutes or so included a non-fat cappuccino, a new Health magazine, and my journal.  Perfect!

My mom and I ran errands and ate lunch together this afternoon.  We went to Atlanta Bread Company.  I enjoyed a half salad and half sandwich.

The salad had tomatoes, dried cranberries, almonds, green apples, blue cheese, and red onions on a spring mix with balsamic dressing.  It was wonderful!  I love sweet and salty mixed.

My sandwich was turkey, brie cheese, lettuce, tomato, and berry jam on focacia bread.  Yum.

I didn't eat the side baguette. 

We shared a toffee chocolate chunk cookie.

William and I had plans to grill a steak for him and chicken for me, but the rain never let up.  We decided on a quick trip to Moe's, where I enjoyed a burrito junior, on a whole wheat tortilla.  My burrito was filled with chicken, lettuce, pico, salsa, black beans and guacamole.  It was just okay. 

Next up:  all that I learned from a 7 day picture food journal.  :)



Day 6

I was out of English Muffins, so for breakfast, I had an egg sandwich on flat bread.

Lunch was more flat bread.  I enjoyed a turkey, laughing cow, and taboule sandwich with baby carrots, celery, and half of an orange.

A yummy snickerdoodle for dessert.

We had a slight change of dinner plans tonight.  We ended up grilling hamburgers with my family at our house.  It was a joint effort and was a lot of fun! 

Since I'd already had two sandwich type meals, I decided to make my burger a "lettuce burger."  Instead of flat bread for my bun, I used two large lettuce leaves.  I also had homemade sweet potato fries.

Kristen and Tony made chocolate covered strawberries and pineapple for dessert.  Oh my goodness!  These were amazing!

Last day of daily meal posting is right around the corner!  I learned a lot during this process, and I blogged everyday.  Yay!



Snickerdoodles

These Snickerdoodles came from Better Home and Garden's Limited Edition "Celebrating the Promise" cookbook.  This, too, was a Christmas present from my parents a few years back.  Maybe they were trying to tell me something?

These are the ingredients I used.  The recipe called for 1/4 teaspoon of Cream of Tartar.  What in the world is Cream of Tartar?  I ignored this ingredient.  It sounds like Tartar Sauce, and I don't think that goes well with cookies.

I blended 1 stick of softened butter, 1 cup of sugar, 1 egg, 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.

Then, I added 1 and 1/2 cups of all purpose flour and blended again.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE my mixer?  :)

The dough was a little thicker than normal cookie dough.  I refrigerated it for an hour.

I mixed together 2 Tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.  I rolled the dough into balls and covered them in this mixture.

 

I baked them on 375 degrees for 10 minutes. 

This was a great, easy, quick cookie to make.  The edges were crunchy, and the inside was warm and chewy.  I WILL be making these again.

Our football dinner consisted of raw carrots and celery, William's famous wings, and pizza!

Unfortunately, the Falcons didn't pull through a win.  Sad.

This was my first plate.  I snacked on a large handful of baby carrots before dinner.

Of course, I went back for more pizza and a couple more wings. :)  The wings may have been William's best ever!



Day 5

After last night's dinner and in anticipation of tonight's football dinner, I needed some veggies in my life.  I decided to make an omelet for breakfast in honor of "Saturday Morning Omelets" my dad used to make every Saturday growing up. 

I chopped these veggies to load it up!

I'm usually pretty good at these.  I did learn from the pro while watching him every Saturday for years.  However, this morning, my omelet had a mind of its own.  It was tasty but not very pretty.

I used 1 egg and 1 egg white, plus my veggies, and 1 slice of low-fat cheese.

Lunch was hummus and taboule on 1/2 of a whole wheat pita and an orange.  I snacked on some trail mix for dessert.

Remember me???



I busted this bad boy out and made Snickerdoodles for tonight's Falcons vs. Packers playoff game.  They're Matt Ryan's favorite.

Just kidding; I made that up.

I will post the details plus dinner later.  Go Falcons! 

Moondream Truths

Only because "the truth shall set you free."  And in the spirit of the 7 day health challenge (that allows for treats, clearly), I've heard it's "healthy" to laugh at yourself.

1.  If I could, I wouldn't shower for days.  Sometimes, William refers to me, affectionally, as Tarzan.
2.  If I hear a joke, I always laugh, yet there's a 95% chance I didn't get it and have no clue why everyone, including myself, is laughing.
3.  I wanted to name Finn, Puddin, after my childhood baby doll.
4.  I ONLY watch the same 5-7 movies, over and over.
5.  I once left the gym, before getting the chance to workout, because the Chick-fil-A mascot was present and scared me.
6.  I have a reoccurring nightmare of getting trapped in Alice's Wonderland and kidnapped by the Mad Hatter.  My sister has the same dream.
7.  I strongly believe milk tastes better directly out of the milk jug.
8.  Sometimes, I go to bed at 7:30 pm.  My poor husband. 
9.  I hoard magazines.
10.  I have a crush on Jimmy Buffett. 

Wow!  Now that it's out there, I feel so much better.  :)

Day Four: Far from Light

I thought today would be a "lighter" day, but I was wrong.  I was hungry, and it's Friday, and the Pioneer Woman inspired me. 

Breakfast was Greek yogurt with a Kashi bar crumbled inside.  The protein in the Greek yogurt definitely helps me stay full longer!

I also had a grande coffee from Starbucks.  Told you it was Friday. :)

Lunch was supposed to be this.  But, our principal ordered Chick-fil-A in honor of the holiday weekend.  I enjoyed a chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomato, kettle chips, and a brownie.  This lovely lean cuisine will have to wait until Monday.

Back to the Pioneer Woman.  My dad's cousin, Sissy, turned us on to the Pioneer Woman one weekend at Land's End.  My mom bought her cookbook for me for Christmas.  She is wonderful!  All of her recipes give step-by-step instructions with pictures.  Perfect for trying new dishes.  On top of her insane skills in the kitchen, which she didn't always have by the way, she has a beautiful love story with her "cowboy."  That's all I need to know.  I'm hooked. 

Appetizers were an assortment of cheese for William and hummus and Taboule for me.

Dinner tonight, thanks to the Pioneer Woman, was Mushroom Swiss Sliders.

I started with the ground sirloin.  The pioneer woman called for ground beef, but this was what I had.  I added sea salt, Worcestershire, ground pepper, and the secret ingredient: 2 Tablespoons of half and half.  I was nervous.  But the pioneer woman said to trust her on this one.  I did what she said.

Her special "fry" sauce is nothing more than mayonnaise, ketchup, and cayenne pepper.  I knew William would love this.

I chopped the mushrooms and the onion.

I sauteed the onion in two Tablespoons of butter.

Then added the mushrooms.

I put those to the side and began cooking the meat.  I put it in the skillet and let it cook on the first side for 4 minutes, or so.  William had to help me with this part. 

I flipped them over and cooked for another minute or so.  Then, I added the onion and mushroom mixture to the top of each little burger.

Topped with Swiss cheese for the final touch.

I toasted potato rolls for about 3 minutes on 400 degrees.

Topped them with the special sauce. 

And enjoyed two of these with a handful of baked sweet potato fries.  I bought the frozen version of sweet potato fries tonight, but usually I make my own.  I only wanted to have to concentrate on one part of the meal.  :)

This was actually William's plate.  His sliders were prettier than mine.  I had mushrooms and onions escaping all over the plate. 

I have to admit, I impressed myself a little tonight.  These were really good.  Of course, simplified, they are just burgers, but I'd like to think they're much more.  And besides, honestly, I've never been the one cooking the burgers.  Ever. 

The pioneer woman is a great teacher!  I think William was impressed, too.  He said this was the "best first time meal you've ever made."  Whatever that means.  I think he was implying that, typically, my first shot at a new recipe is just mediocre.  It takes practice.  And sometimes, he never wants me to practice it, again.  But, this time was different.  These "left no room for improvement," he said. 

So much for a "lighter" day.  But, I feel great about tonight's accomplishment.  I think I'll stick with it!  One point for Team Moondream!





Dinner

We loved visiting with family last night!  :)

For appetizers, we snacked on hummus and pita bread and crackers with seafood dip.  Yum.

I enjoyed two glasses of chardonnay. 

Dinner was amazing.  Lee made chicken cordon bleu with chicken, ham, Swiss cheese, and panko bread crumbs.  We had Chasity's brown rice specialty and asparagus.  All of it was delicious. 



Garrett and I enjoyed playing in his Christmas Tee-Pee. 

Today's meals will be a little lighter, and a gym workout needs to happen before the weekend festivities begin.  I'm still full.  See you soon.