2010 July | Healthy and Sane

Tuesday recap: new brownie love

July 20th, 2010

11.5 hours at work today. I’m keeping it short and SWEET. Yes sweet, because I have a new sweet love – a chocolate chip brownie Larabar. Have you seen these guys with little cute dots on the package? I wasn’t in the market for a new bar but couldn’t resist these when I saw them at Whole Foods yesterday. So glad I did because these things are the bomb. Seriously. If you’ve tried Larabar’s jocolat line and wasn’t impressed, try this one. It did not taste like dates or bitter chocolate but really did taste like a sweet moist brownie with real chocolate chips in it. So sinful yet good for you?! That was definitely the highlight of my day. How was yours?

Except for a brownie there were other eats too, of course!

I got this in Montreal

… but I’m not a fan. It tastes like hemp seeds which I find bitter

Can you guess what I got as a gift in the mail yesterday? That’s some exciting stuff.

PS – I made it to bootcamp today and rocked it again. I’m back to my old self at the gym. I love intense workouts.

All right, I was actually going to go back to the office but I am beat so hopefully I can make up for it tomorrow. 2 more days of madness!!! The last night may be an all nighter, though. eek

Meatless Monday: you phyllo me?

July 20th, 2010

Hehe, I couldn’t help myself with that title. Dork alert.

Highlights:

- I can’t stay out of the kitchen for too long. Last night I made a recipe that’s been on my list for a whole year. Yes, this one is from July 2009 Cooking Light issue – phyllo pizza with feta, basil and tomatoes (recipe here). It sounded (and looked!) delicious so I thought this would be a perfect dinner to make on a meatless Monday. Now here is the kicker – have you ever worked with phyllo? It was crazy. The sheets of dough were SO thin and they were definitely sticking together and breaking the second I touched them. The recipe said to use one sheet at a time and spray it with EVOO spray (layering it with the cheese mixture every 3 sheets). I fought it for a few rounds and then started grabbing 2-3 at a time. I was nervous that it would result in a rubbery final product but it was one of the best things I’ve made in a long time. So flaky and light, the cheese melted beautifully between all the layers and the super fresh tomatoes enhanced the dish even further. It tasted like a cheat meal but it wasn’t! I will never attempt to make something like this on a weeknight again (especially since work was waiting!) but I think I need to give phyllo another go. It’s too delicious not to.

- The chocolate chip cookies from yesterday’s post were from The Best Light Recipe cookbook. I made them as a thank-you for our neighbors but we never saw them so I brought them to work instead. This cookbook is amazing but I have to say this recipe was just okay. The cookies were a little too crunchy and actually got rock hard after a few hours on a plate. I had to warm them up to bring them to life. Warm cookies are always better!

- No gym today. I get too overwhelmed on Mondays. I feel like I’ll never meet my deadline. Hopefully it will all come together soon (I definitely made a lot of progress over the weekend).

That’s all I’ve got for today. Here is yesterday’s breakfast and lunch (snacks were unphotographed – imagine a breakfast cookie, a serving of almonds and 1 plum).