Look at me I'm Sandy D.....

Hello Everyone!!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! If you're someone who will be affected by the suspected wrath of hurricane Sandy, I hope that you are taking the appropriate measures to ensure  your safety!!

I saw this on Facebook yesterday, and I found it absolutely hysterical and ironically pretty accurate! As someone who lives right outside New York City, my Hurricane prep looks fairly consistent with the above listed New York "safety measures".  I will add to my hurricane preparation list " order takeout from every local restaurant to ensure I have whatever food I'm in the mood for in the event of  restaurant closures or power outages". Now, if we lose power and I can't keep this takeout in the fride, I'm lucky enough to have a bunch of friends in walking distance who can trek over and eat it with me! Last night, I ordered 1 pizza, 1 calzone, a pasta dish, sushi, and druken noodles. I also hit the market to get water, a frozen pizza, ingredients to make tacos, and soup. PJ headed out for beer and vino, and we made sure to get the Tobster some extra food! Done! My plan for the day includes catching up on work, cleaning, a little working out, some cooking, and perhaps rekindling my love affair with knitting!!



I am sad to say that not much has been going on here in cooking department. Saturday night, I made a simple dinner of  spaghetti squash with pesto and sauteed tofu with a side salad. It was quick, delicious, and filling! Yum!



Hurricane Sarah and PJ hit Jersey City on Saturday evening. We planned on having a quiet night in, but clearly our plans changed!

Back to the hurricane prep- my friends went to Target to get candles, and these were the cheapest ones they could get! I don't know how I feel about these... haha.

Toby can't wait for Sandy to hit. For him, this means we stay in doors and snuggle with him.

Ok kids, have a safe and snuggly day!

xo

Sarah

Roman Nose

Hi There!

It's the weekend...WHEEEE!!! I hope you all had a fantastic week. The end of my week turned out much better than the begininning did (thank goodness)! I  have a couple of food related goodies to share with you all on this fine Saturday morning! First, let's discuss Wednesday night's dinner.

Here we have a lovely, roasted and stuffed tomato. This dish came to be due to PJ's complaining about all the random frozen meals packed in our freezer. Recently, I've been making an effort to freeze leftovers from the dinners I make for PJ and I during the week. In the past, I haven't really been a big fan of freezing because I'm just not to keen on leftovers; however ,through some convos with my mama, I realized that freezing not only helps to reduce food waste, but it also aids in the process of putting a nutritious dinner on the table quickly! Score. Last night, I made stuffed peppers for PJ using leftover turkey stuffing from the fabulous stuffed peppers I made a few months back. For my meal, I wanted to try replicating a dish I sampled at the Solae event  that I attended which utilized veggie crumbles. I decided to adapt the Solae dish, and instead I made a stuffing using the veggie crumbles! It ROCKED. If you're not sure what veggie crumbles are, they're essentially a soy based, vegetarian ground meat. They're awesome in chili and tacos as well!

I sautéed some onions, garlic, peppers, chili peppers, mexican spice blend, and veggie crumbles. The veggie crumbles are pre-cooked, so I tossed them into the mix last so they would soak up some of the other flavors in the pot! I hollowed out a beefsteak tomato, stuffed it with the mixture, and baked it in the over for about 20 minutes. I took it out at about 15 minutes into the baking time and sprinkled the tomato with some Monterey jack Daiya vegan cheese. Let me state that Daiya is phenomenal; even PJ liked it!

Daiya comes in other flavors as well. My co-worker said her mom loves the cheddar version.

Sticking with the vegan cheese theme, I whipped up this eggalicious wonder for brekkie on Thursday AM: 1 egg, 2 egg whites, spinach, tomatoes, and Daiya cheese. I enjoyed a crack apple on the side. YUM. Retrospectively, I should have added some nut butter to the apple because my tummy was grumblin' about an hour and a half after this breakfast. I find that if I don't combine fruit with a nut or protein, it leaves me feeling immediately hungry.

Although there hasn't been much in the way of exercise this week, Thursday evening I made some time to do a little yoga before I headed out to dinner. As I said in my last post, I have a lot of trouble slowing down and focusing on the present moment. What I love about yoga is it forces me to just "be" with myself and what I'm feeling. I was definitely experiencing a little stress and anxiety on Thursday, so the beginning of my yoga practice was particularly challenging. My mind was filled with all the things I should and could be doing instead of yoga, and I actually considered rolling up the mat and calling it quits. This happens to me from time to time with yoga, and usually these are the times that I need and benefit from yoga the most. I breathed through my anxiety and went on to have a fantastic practice. I'm so happy I pushed myself to sit with my busy mind and complete the practice , because I soon found myself completely engaged in the flow, and I finished feeling renewed and refreshed. In my opinion, that is yoga at it's best.

 

On Thursday evening, my friend Le-La and I headed to a new Italian restaurant in Jersey City called Roman Nose. It's currently a BYOB establishment, but they will unfortunately (fortunately for them!) be obtaining their liquor license in January. I love BYOB because you can bring your favorite wine or beer, and your bill is significantly less than if you were to indulge in wine off the menu. 

This looks about right, dontcha think?! When we sat down, we received the pitcher of water and the four glasses pictured above. Clearly the big glasses were meant for the wine, and the small ones were intended for water, right?! One of the waitors actually came over and offered to get us new glasses as he thought we had mistakenly poured our wine into the oversized water glasses .We assured him that we knew exactly what we were doing. :) Speaking of the staff,  the owner, as well as the wait staff, was extremely friendly and helpful. The owner actually spent some time explaining to LL and I where the restaurant's name Roman Nose originated from and recommended the dishes he thought we might like. He was spot on.

We split the caprese to start.

I enjoyed the pasta Norma. The dish had fresh veggies, oil, and cheese. I substituted whole wheat pasta for traditional white pasta. Roman Nose allows for whole wheat pasta substitutions in place of white pasta for any of their dishes. They also have gluten free and vegan options. Both LL and I LOVED our meals and the ambiance of the restaurant. I will definitely be back to this neighborhood Italian gem very soon!

I found this little muffin later in the evening. My goodness he is handsome:)  PS. I used red eye correction on my eyes and the picture STILL looks like this  haha.

Brekkie yesterday AM consisted of a sprouted grain english muffin topped with pumpkin puree, sunflower seed butter, and chia seed. I have been eating this breakfast almost every day for the past month. It's super quick to put together, and I'm mildly obsessed with the combo. I paired my pumpkin muffins with some soy bacon. I'm really loving soy bacon these days!

After work, I hung out for the remainder of the evening.

There was some of this....

Alot of this...

And more importantly.... THIS!! (Val.. this is for you xo !)

Today I'm kinda bummed out because my parents were supposed be visiting this weekend . Since hurricane Sandy (biatch!) and my parents unfortunately scheduled their arrivals simultaneously, Sandy won and my parents have resorted to rescheduling their visit. Bummer.  I decided to treat myself to a massage for later in the day at a place  in Jersey City that I haven't yet tried ( I will let you all know how it is). Ok, my friends! I'm off to do some yoga, followed by cleaning and grocery shopping. I hope you all have a fantastic Saturday!

Something to check out:

My friend Katie wrote a fabulous article that was published on Mind Body Green about how to eat healthy while traveling. You all know how I just LOVE Mind, Body, Green!  Check out Katie's piece here.

The Disorganized Perfectionist...

Hey Kids!

Long time no chat. I've been feeling a bit under the weather for the past few days, so I chose to refrain from blogging as I didn't feel that my fabulous readers would relish in the goory details of my illness. With that said, today was a pretty standard day; wake up ,drink copious amounts of coffee, eat brekkie, and then head off to work only to realize your car has been towed from your street due to the unfortunate oversight of the DO NOT PARK HERE sign stapled to tree next to said vehicle.  Approximately $150 dollars and 6 gazillion tears later, I headed off to work. Thank goodness my wonderful boyfriend accompanied me to the tow pound to shield the innocent workers from my crying rage.



Despite this morning's rocky start, the day turned out to be pretty great. During the day, I started thinking about my past two-week hiatus from blogging and how I was going to succinctly share some of the cool things I cooked and did during my absence. I decided I am just going to do a random photo roll at the end of one of my next posts so that you can happily creep on my recent activities. Sound good?

I'll give ya a quick update on some things I did (and ate!) this weekend. 

On Friday night, PJ and I grabbed a late and fantastic dinner at a new restaurant in Jersey City called Razza. Razza is an amazing brick oven pizzeria. What I love about Razza's menu is that the offerings listed are limited which results in quality food options, wines, and beers. There is nothing on their menu that wasn't well thought out, created, and taste tested! In my opinion, whether you're creating pizza or a line of makeup, doing a few things wonderfully instead of churning out a number of things that are just so-so wins every time. Quality over quantity, my friends!

 

Entryway decor.

Brick Oven.

Apps.

 

PJ and I split the delectable Mushroom Pizza (with some other good stuff on it). I'm a sucker for mushroom pizzas, and PJ is a sucker for any type of pizza. Score for me.  If you live in the Jersey City/Hoboken area, definitely go to Razza for amazing pizza, wine, beer, and ambiance!

There hasn't been much new here on the creative food or exercise front. As I said, I haven't been feeling great so working out hasn't really happened. With that said, I haven't been in the mood to putter around the kitchen and try out new recipes either. Hey, it happens, but it definitely results in a lackluster blog post!

On Saturday morning, I did make a variation of my previously posted banana pancakes and instead whipped up a batch of pumpkin protein pancakes. Both recipes I adapted from the blog Peanut Butter Fingers, which for the record , I LOVE.

Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

(adapted from PB Fingers)

Serves one (makes three medium-sized pancakes)

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup old fashioned oats


• 1/4 cup cottage cheese (or greek yogurt!)


• 1 small scoop of protein powder


• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin


• 1 egg


• 1 egg white


• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


• 1 tablespoon honey


• 1 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

• Spray pan with cooking spray and heat to a medium heat


• Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and blend with an immersion blender until batter is relatively smooth and all ingredients are fully mixed


• Pour batter onto the warm pan to form three medium-sized pancakes


• Allow to cook until edges start to harden, about three minutes


• Flip pancakes and allow to cook until batter is no longer runny, about two more minutes


• Top with syrup, nutmeg or desired toppings and enjoy

**Note** I used a small scoop of the vanilla protein below:



These pancakes are phenomenal for all you pumpkin' lovers out there! The protein from the egg, cottage cheese, and protein powder result in a "stick to your ribs" brekkie!

On another note, today I finally made it back to el gimnasio and completed the following interval workout which I also snagged from Peanut Butter Fingers.



This bad boy is NO JOKE. It goes by super-duper quick, but it will leave you schweaty and  feelin' strong when you complete it!  I followed this up with a few upper body strength moves. It felt pretty awesome to get back to movin' the bod.

So, I'm sure at this point you're all wondering what the heck title of my post has to do with anything I've written about above. As I was driving around today, I started to think about stress out about the many "incomplete tasks" on my to- do list. I'm definitely a perfectionist when it comes to excelling in my career and maintaing relationships with the people in my life. I loathe disappointing people, and I simply can't stand the thought of not completing an assigned task for work "perfectly". Now, I know perfection is not possible, but I can't help the way I'm wired. Despite these perfectionist tendencies, there are areas of my life where I am completely disorganized. I tend to have trouble slowing down to think about how to appropriately and effectively complete a task. I rush around like a chicken with my head cut off leaving loose ends all over the place! All of these loose ends and uncompleted tasks cause me unnecessary anxiety and stress that I carry with me all day long. Now, I know that I can't plan my life away, and I certainly don't intend to. However, my goal for the next year is to create a plan to organize myself which will allow me to A) complete more of the items on my to-do list and B) save me from some of my mental chaos! About a year ago, I read Maria Menounous' book The Everygirl's Guide to Life. I absolutely loved Maria's approach to getting what you want out of life. She is one uber-organized chick!The book is practical, girly, inspirational, and thought provoking. Plus, that Maria (who is a Boston native might I add!) is just too adorable! Maria says in her book that the key to happiness is organization. Now, I think to most this might sound like a rather pathetic definition of the key to happiness; however, when I really sat and thought about her statement, I realized that on some level, girlfriend is spot on. When I feel my absolute best, confident, and happy, I usually have "all my ducks in a row". I feel more grounded in the present moment because my attention is not being pulled to the "you should's"  or "you didn't do's".  Makes sense, right? If you have a chance to pick up Maria's book, do it. It's a quick read, but there are definitely some tricks and tips worth noting.



Something to think about: Do you feel like you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off? Do you ever feel like you are so organized in certain areas of your life but totally discombobulated in others? Are there organizational processes you can implement that will slow you down and make you more present in your life?

Ok, my friends. Time to shower, finish up some work, and get ready for American Horror Story!!!Wheee.

xo

Sarah

I'm BACK!!

Hi There!!!

I sincerely apologize for my recent absence, but BOTH of my computers decided to kick the bucket on me at the same time! Ironic? I think not.  I have thoroughly missed blogging,  and  the act of sitting down to compose this post is bring up some anxiety as I just don't know where to start! The past two weeks have been jam-packed with work obligations interspersed with some fun activities with friends. I unfortunately ceased my paparazzi- like tendency to chronicle each event via photo as I knew I wouldn't be able to share it all in one blog post. Retrospectively, I wish I captured more of the yummy food I ate and events I attended so that I could have sporadically shared them over the next week. Oh well! Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda, Right?

This week was particularly hectic for me as I was in Pittsburgh for business Monday and Tuesday, and both Tuesday night and Wednesday night I had events to attend. Wednesday after work, I battled rush-hour traffic and headed across the city to enjoy a dinner for Solae, which is the world leader in developing soy based technologies and ingredients. As someone who has significantly decreased meat consumption through substituting soy protein, I was pretty psyched to attend this dinner and learn some new and innovate ways of incorporating soy protein into my diet. I was shocked to learn how many of the products that I currently purchase utilize Solae's soy protein! For example:

I am a big fan of adding this protein powder to my green smoothies, protein pancakes, or even oatmeal! I have it in my pantry as we speak!

 LOVE this soymilk!

 

So, Let's get to the good stuff: THE DINNER!

The meal started with hors d'hourves- each containing soy protein.

Soy bacon (AMAZING!) lettuce wraps. I will be buying soy bacon stat! The bacon in this appetizer is by Morningstar Farms.

Bad pic, but in my defense I was juggling the appetizer, my iphone, and paperwork. This is a soy nugget (also Morningstar Farms) with some type of phenomenal aioli. Delish.

Beautiful table setting.

The FABULOUS dinner was created by chef Peter Berley, who is the author of The Flexitarian Table (which I scored a copy of! Wheee!) . I love the concept of Peter's book as it completely aligns with my philosophy of eating. While I have cut down on my meat consumption, I won't refer to myself as a vegetarian. I eat meat and fish in moderation. Similarly, I enjoy dairy such as cottage cheese and greek yogurt, but I also regularly purchase almond and soy milk. If you are a flexitarian and you want to learn more about Peter, you can check out his website here. 

Ok, back to the wonderful chef himself. First off,  Peter is one hell of a chef. Each dish he created for the dinner was expertly prepared and presented. Secondly, he is such a down to earth and personable guy; a fantastic combination if I do say so myself! Part of what made the Solae event so unique and fun was Peter's invitation to help him create some of the recipes we would be sampling. Here I am (not my best photo!) sauteing veggies for the chili!

This was the menu.

First Course: Lemon Tofu Ricotta with Parmesan Mint

Second Course: Romaine Hearts with Creamy Miso vinaigrette.

Main Course:  Three Bean and Bell Pepper Chili with Chipotle Soy Sour Cream

This dish was amazing. It did contain meat, but Peter substituted half the meat with Morningstar Farms veggie crumbles. Seriously, this dish could fool even the most carnivorous person you know (aka my boyfriend!). The beauty of substituting half the meat for the veggie crumbles (soy protein) is that you still get the great chili flavor and consistency, but you cut down on the fat! SCORE. I will definitely be making this soon!

My camera died after the main course, so I wasn't able to photograph the dessert. I promise, it was equally fantastic.

Here I am getting my cookbook signed while clearly trying to charm the chef juding by my batting eyelashes. Do you think it worked? 

I also scored this awesome swag bag from Solae (pardon my leg in the photo!). It's packed with some VERY awesome goodies, including a copy of The Flexitarian Table :) . Please keep your eyes peeled over the next week as I will mostly likely be doing a giveaway of this wonderful bag!

I do have to share a pic of the most adorable thumb drive that I received in the Solae bag! It's in the shape of an edamame.... I mean, come on....could a flash drive possibly BE any cuter? I think not.

In summary, the event was completely awesome. I learned some new facts about soy, picked up a few new recipes, met an awesome chef, and feasted on some exceptional food. It was SOYYYY delicious ! Ok.. bad play on words. I'm guilty.

With that said, I'm off to dinner with PJ. I'll be back tomorrow to update you all (y'all... ughh how I want it to be ok for me to say this!) on a few other things that have been happenin' over the past couple of weeks!

Ciao!

xo

Sarah

Monday and Macaroons!

Happy Monday!

I hope you all had an easy and pleasant start to your week.  My Monday was pretty standard; however, I had mixed feelings about the weather. If you couldn't tell, I am very sensitive to changes in the climate! The air had that crispness to it that comes with the onset of the fall, but it was unfortunately gray and gloomy. Womp. Womp. I decided that an afternoon cup-o-joe might perk me up, but after paying  a whopping $5.18 for my double tall nonfat carmel macchiato (damn you, Starbucks!), I was served what tasted like a cup of straight carmel. It hurt my teeth. I slugged a bit of it to reap the caffeine bennies, but then disposed of my overpriced coffee. This seriously bummed me out.

Okay, enough complained from me!  I'll update you on the events of my day ( an a few from yesterday!).

Yesterday morning I walked the Brooklyn Bridge. It's something I have always wanted to do, but I  just never got around to actually planning a trip. I enjoyed everything about the experience except for the biker that shouted and almost creamed me while I was sauntering down the bike lane (oops!). . What can I say? I was lost in conversation, which come to think of it tends to happen to me quite often! :)

Last night, I wanted something sweet REALLY bad. You know when you think you might die if you don't get a piece of chocolate in your mouth? Ok, I'm being dramatic, but I really had my sweet tooth goin' on. I had no dark chocolate on hand (bummer!), so I decided to whip up a batch of raw cocoa macaroons. Brilliant. I realize in the above photo my macaroons slightly resemble little terds, but I can assure you they taste like heaven and take only 5 minutes to make from start to finish! I had a few of these little guys last night, and they totally hit the spot!

Raw Cocoa Macaroons

(adapted from Dandelions on the Wall)

1 heaping cup of unsweetened shredded coconut

1/4 cup coconut oil

5 Tbsp cocoa powder

2 Tbsp maple syrup (you should get REAL maple syrup, but I admit I used Aunt Jemima because it's what I had !)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract
To Make:
Add coconut to your food processor, cover, and pulse several times to further break up the coconut.
Add the remaining ingredients, cover, and run the processor again to mix completely. Scrape down the sides if necessary.
Working quickly (coconut oil melts very rapidly in your hands!), roll the mixture into small balls and place in a dish lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate immediately, allowing the macaroons to set up, then cover and store in your fridge or freezer.Makes 10-15 macaroons, depending on size.

I hit up the farmer's market today, and I picked up a couple of gourds and a teenie weenie pumpkin :) I. Love. Fall.

I also picked up more crack apples. Chomp, chomp,chomp.These things are seriously like drugs! I spend eight bucks on five apples, and I don't think twice! Addict? I think so. :)

Before dinner,  I hit up the gym to do another circuit workout! Wheeee. I warmed up with 10 minutes on the treadmill and then I got to work. 

I found this workout on Peanut Butter Fingers, I loved this circuit. The time flew by, and I was SCHWEATY when it was over.

I followed up the cardio circuit with yet another circuit! This workout is not only quick , but I'm guessing it is quite effective judging by the fact that my arms are already sore!

After workin' it out, I made a fantastic dinner which I will share tomorrow. I'm off to relax, but check out some fun and interesting goodies below!

Something Adorable.

Enough said.

Something Fun.

Mug my green tea was served in at my sushi lunch last week.

Something Creative

Something Inspiring

Nicole Sherzinger has admitted to an 8 year battle with an eating disorder. Sherzinger, who is among the handful of celebrities who have recently come forward to share their personal struggles with disordered eating, has played an important role in shining light on the unhealthy cultural perception that thin equals beauty. It is important for us to understand that those in the public eye face an overwhelming pressure to portray an unrealistic picture of perfection. We admire this "perfection" and fail to realize that many of these  individuals resort to extreme measures to achieve this esteemed state of beauty. I find it refreshing that as of late, many in the public eye have openly rejected this unattainable and shallow measure of beauty. These admissions will hopefully help us to slowly relieve some of the pressure we put on ourselves to look the way we think we "should".  Check out this link  to read Nicole's story.

 

XO

Sarah