This corn was picked that morning!! Look at these juicy kernels!!

Dinner is served!

We ate out on the patio. I love summer nights!!!

On the menu (see links to recipes):

• Grilled Pacific ocean perch (it’s nice and firm and grilled up beautifully just in a few minutes)
• Fresh pesto from the Sweet Basil cookbook(aka the best pesto in the world!!)
• Arugula and zucchini carpaccio salad
• Grilled corn with bacon butter and cotija cheese

This salad was spectacular! I loved the spicy arugula paired with the lemon drizzled zucchini disks and shaved Asiago! Going on my favorite recipes list

We had a hard time making the bacon bits stick to the corn (I think I didn’t use enough butter to that much bacon and didn’t cut it up finely enough) and then the cheese didn’t really want to stay on the corn because it wasn’t wet enough… but we made it work. One delicious smoky, cheesy, corn-y (lol) bite at a time. [Edited to add: Jessica let me know that if you chop the bacon into teeny tiny pieces, it works great... so go ahead, make it! ]

Fresh, tangy, cheesy, buttery… so many textures and flavors. This was the perfect summer feast!

My kitchen is full of dirty dishes, which is a sure sign I’m finally back to what I love

Adam planted some flowers in our patio…

Groceries for the week were purchased.

We broke out the grill for the first time this year!

Dinner was chicken thighs with snap peas from Mario Batali’s Italian Grill cookbook.

OMG, so amazing!! The freshly made bread crumbs flavored with garlic, parsley and anchovies coating super tender chicken thighs… mmm, definitely going on the favorite recipes list. Comfort food fit for summer!

Welcome back summer weather! You’re making me very happy. I hope you plan on staying for a while

I have to say, I love entertaining but I still always feel like I’m walking the line between fearing that we won’t have enough food for everyone and also making sure that I don’t completely go overboard.  A little bit of delegation this time around helped A LOT. My friend Katie was in change of one of the salads and Shannon took care of one of the desserts. Adam as always was responsible for a clean house and was also my sous chef. Everything went pretty smoothly once I finalized the menu. Menu planning is definitely one of my favorite parts of hosting. I love having an excuse to keep thinking about food.

THE MENU

Appetizers

• double tomato bruschetta with Iggy’s baguette (recipe here, I omitted the cheese, halved the oil and used dry packed sun-dried tomatoes… which of course I re-hydrated prior to cutting)
• chipotle lime two-bean hummus (recipe here, I nearly doubled the amount of lime juice and maybe tripled the amount of lime zest + added 1 chipotle – I really wanted the lime to stand out and the hummus to have a bit of a kick to it)
• mixed nuts (from Trader Joe’s – dry roasted, unsalted)
  

Burgers

• 93% lean grass fed beef sliders (1/4t pepper, 1T Worchester sauce, 2T ketchup for each pound of beef)
• chickpea sliders (recipe here, this is my favorite veggie burger recipe of all time – I typically use less vital wheat gluten)
• black bean sliders (same recipe as chickpeas, sub different bean)
• teriyaki chicken (from Whole Foods)

Burger fix-ins + sides

• tomatoes, avocado, cheese, ketchup, mustard, pickled zucchini, sauerkraut, chipotle aoil
• salad with watermelon, tomatoes + feta (Katie made it)
• summer corn salad with tomatoes, black beans and jalapeno (recipe here, I used fresh corn (i.e. uncooked) and grape tomatoes + made substitutions based on reviewer Lanaiah’s suggestions)

Dessert

• chocolate chip cookies (recipe here, I used choc chips, otherwise followed the recipe to the T)
• goat cheese cheesecake with raspberry fig puree (Shannon‘s creation, check out her blog for details!)

Drinks

• sangria (recipe here, I subbed peach shnapps for triple sec and added fresh peaches and plums, no sugar)
• beer + wine (guests brought most)

How does that sound? I thought it was a pretty good plan.

THE LIST

I finalized the menu a few days prior to the party and made a detailed grocery list under 3 categories – farmers market, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. The day before the party we went to all three. Shopping for produce at the farmers market was so much fun!! I felt like I was a restaurant chef buying in bulk. Lugging all the stuff back was a bit of a different story… A good grocery list made shopping fairly quick too. We went in and out stores fast, leaving more time for prep the night before. I wanted to get as much done as possible so that I didn’t have to nix things last moment.

THE NIGHT BEFORE

First thing I made was the cookie dough. It needed 24 hours of chilling time which I didn’t even have so I made it as soon as I realized it. Tip on this particular recipe (which I HIGHLY recommend btw) – shape the dough into balls before freezing. It was rock hard the next day and I actually had to let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes before finally just using a super sharp knife to carve pieces out that I then shaped. You could save yourself that trouble (I will, because these may just become my “it” choc chip cookies. They are NOT healthy though. That was my one treat for the evening). Next up, I made THREE batches of sangria. Sangria really needs to chill at least overnight, letting all the flavors meld together. Adam thought I was crazy making so much of it but let’s just say we didn’t have any left by the end of the party. Yes, it was a hit. I love having a “party cocktail” available for guests, as well as the usual selection of beer + wine. Next up I thought the corn salad could use some “marinading” as well. I have to say that that was actually a mistake. It tasted amazing when I made it but the next day it was a little too cold – the fridge was not this salad’s friend. You live and learn, right? The last thing I did before hitting the hay was cut up all the veggies for dipping with hummus. At about midnight I called it a night. zzzzzz

THE DAY OF

No matter how prepared you think you are, time really flies the day of the party. I hit up a pilates class in the morning and then slaved in the kitchen until party time (I love cooking though so it was actually fun for me). I made the bruschetta mixture, the bean dip, then the veggie burgers, shaped the beef burgers, baked the cookies and cut up the fixins for the sliders. Adam cleaned, cut up the chicken and all the bread.

Mmm, cookies.

(I had a little mishap with the oven, btw, so they came out too flat but the flavor was still amazing. I have a few frozen dough balls so I’ll make a few soon and share with you how they really should look).

PARTY TIME!

We had about 20 guests, including a few bloggers – Josh, Melissa, Tiffany and Shannon.

The apps + drinks were served outside, the slider fixins + dessert were inside….

After a little while, Adam fired up the grill!

Yes, I mean FIRED up.

I had one chicken slider + some corn salad. Don’t worry, there was plenty of bruschetta and hummus “tasting” as well.

Katie arrived a little later with the watermelon + feta salad. What an amazing combo. I can’t wait to recreate it! (sorry, the picture was atrocious, I’d rather have you use your imagination!)

Don’t forget the dessert! Half of the cookies were gone before we even served the burgers. Everyone LOVED them (including me!).

… and then there was Shannon’s cheesecake. I am a giant fan of goat cheese but was afraid it would be too tart in dessert form. Nope, pure perfection. It was light and airy and absolutely amazing. Like I said, go harass Shannon for the recipe!

Mmm, I love yummy parties. I’m going to say that everything was super flavorful and delicious. I’m patting myself on the back right now (haha) but of course I couldn’t do it without some of my helpers. What’s your favorite part about party planning? Also, any favorite recipes for a bbq? My goal was to keep it seasonal and as fresh as possible… and of course have some chocolate. This blog is called healthy and SANE for a reason. This girl needs her chocolate.

Yesterday was another busy day as I was trying to tackle the rest of my to-do list, complete a longer run, and prep for a casual bbq. Adam was a HUGE help. I gave him a grocery list with like 50 items on it (some kind of obscure) and he bought everything but one (which I was fine without at the end of the day). Awesome! I love grocery shopping but sometimes a little help in that dept helps!

My long run was kind of bluh. It was HOT out by the time I got out (almost at noon) and I took lots of water breaks and gave up kind of early. I think I covered 8 miles (maybe a bit more) but maybe ran 6.5 of them and not all in a row. Oh well, hopefully there will be better runs this week!

My breakfast/pre-workout meal:

FFL english muffin with BB, strawberry rhubarb jam and 1/2 banana + coffee

Sorry for the terrible photo. I wasn’t even going to take a picture because you’ve seen it a million times, but then I took a quick one just in case. haha

I ended up kind of grazing for the rest of the day, so let’s call the eats below snacks, lunch and dinner.

Shrimp, mango & avocado ceviche in mini fillo shells. I think I’m going to submit this recipe to the phyllo contest. It turned out delicious after a few tweaks.

I munched on an orange and some cottage cheese while prepping these babies (unpictured).

Then the boys brought over some chips and salsa to munch on during the Celtics game. OMG, this black bean is like crack. So spicy and flavorful. I wanted to eat a whole jar with a spoon and call it dinner.

Let’s see the label a little closer. You guys need to find it asap!! I added it to my grocery list right away.

I did eat an actual meal eventually – Applegate Farms grass-fed organic hot dog & sauerkraut + grilled veggies

Did I mention how much I love grilled veggies? I think I did.

Dessert: bake-off test recipe #1 – break-up bars (recipe here)

I tried these  bars for the first time at the cookie swap party in January and they were definitely a favorite. I omitted the toffee (couldn’t find it + they are rich enough without it) but otherwise followed the recipe closely.

I’ve never baked with so much butter (more than a whole box was used for this batch) but man – these truly are incredible!! They took a while to set (I suggest throwing them in the freezer as the last step) but the wait was well worth it. So rich and decadent. I cut them into 64 little two-bite pieces and I think they can be enjoyed in such moderation guilt free (I had one of the bars pictured).

Shortbread + caramel + fudge = sounds like a winning recipe to me!!! I’ll keep on testing though, just in case

My birthday is this Saturday so I’m calling this my birthday week. I’m actually excited for it. See you later!

A few weeks ago I was reading a cooking magazine and saw an ad for single serving almond boxes. Hello, these have my name all over them!! I bought one of each color (so I can have one in every purse).

How cute are these guys?!!

Then yesterday, I received my spring eco sample pack from Eco Luxe Life and realized I never shared this site with you. I love the concept behind it. I purchased a yearly membership early in the year and now receive quarterly eco-friendly samples of cosmetics and household products. Since I’m constantly on the look-out for new environmentally friendly products, I find that it’s a great way to discover them. The company asks for feedback on all products in the packages and also sells them in full size if you want to stock up. Isn’t it a neat idea? Here is what I received this spring:

I can’t wait to try the organic shampoo and conditioner but let’s see if I can actually use this fancy Moroccan rose water.

Mints, laundry detergent and bug spray will definitely be used soon.

Have you come across any new cool products? Do share!

Yesterday was supposed to be my day of tackling my to-do list. I was getting crazy stressed out about everything and Adam made me realize that it’s time to trim down that list and work on not adding anything new to it. Yeah, that’s going to be a toughy.

I printed out a list and got to work. Making waffles was first on the list!

BREAKFAST

Multigrain waffles with Barney Butter, fresh peaches, yogurt and maple syrup

For the waffles, I used this recipe from 101 cookbooks. I substituted whole wheat pastry flour for rye but otherwise followed it to the T. I came out with 4 thin waffles (see 3 of them above) and 15 “normal” sized ones. These were the best waffles I’ve ever made!!! The “secret ingredient” was butter. Definitely an indulgent breakfast to start the weekend on the right foot.

WORKOUT

I plan on going on a long run as soon as I finish typing this post, so I kept Saturday’s workout to a simple pilates class. It was great for core work and minimally taxes my legs. Hopefully I can bang out some miles today!

LUNCH

We had some mashed potatoes left in the fridge from Mother’s Day dinner at my parents’ so I put them to use in a samosa  quesdailla (recipe here, found through Musings from the Fishbowl). Enjoyed out on our patio. I love sunshine

I added a good amount of garam masala to the mashed potatoes for a more pronounced Indian flavor and couldn’t resist a few gorgeous tomato slices for some freshness. Such a yummy lunch!

Yes, I went a little crazy with the pictures.

Kale massaged with lemon juice and basil EVOO + fresh tomatoes complemented the creamy quesadillas perfectly. I have a slight obsession with massaged kale, I think.

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK

Some blue baby carrots, a boiled egg + edamame “hummus”

Oops, I was on custom (morning) white balance mode on my camera, shooting in the afternoon light. The blue lighting makes it a bit more mysterious looking, no? Ok maybe not, but hard boiled eggs + hummus is heaven. That I can promise you.

DINNER

No wonder I didn’t get THAT much done. There was quite a bit of cooking going on. I can’t resist sometimes!

For dinner, I marinaded some chicken following this Ellie Krieger recipe (missed it a few weeks ago for CEiMB) and Adam grilled it for us.

The marinade was great – super fresh and flavorful – perfect for a light summer meal!

I also attempted to grill some fresh artichokes but they came out tasting like cardboard. I steamed them for 15 minutes, then plopped them on the grill. Have you ever grilled artichokes? Any tips? I really want to try it again!!

Since our designated veg was a giant failure, I threw together a super quick salad – mixed greens, arugula, pea shots, feta, tomatoes + walnuts, in lemon juice and basil EVOO

Near East parmesan couscous was our delicious starch for the night. The company sent me 2 boxes to sample and we really loved it! The couscous came out a bit sticky which was really fun. I wonder if I can roll the leftovers into balls and do something with them. Mmm, I bet that would be pretty awesome. On the other hand, on its own the couscous was super flavorful, so maybe there is no need to mess with perfection.

Dinner was fresh and lovely. Adam and I shared a cherries, chocolate and peanut butter granola bar for dessert (recipe can be found here).

Since my white balance was all screwed up, this picture looks terrible but the bars were phenomenal. Mine have more sugar than Lauren’s (I used chocolate pb, 1/2 cherries/1/2 raisins, regular choc chips and rice crispy cereal – since that’s what I had on hand) but I’m okay with that – this way I can eat them for dessert and they’ll also provide me with plenty of (quick) energy before a workout. I’ll try taking some better pictures another day because these seriously were amazing!!

All right, are you tired yet? This post ended up being way too long and my mile-long to-do list is waiting for me. Wish me luck on my run. That’s next!

]]> http://blog.healthyandsane.com/2010/05/cool-stuff/feed/ 9 http://blog.healthyandsane.com/2009/08/what-have-you-done-today-to-make-you-feel-proud/ http://blog.healthyandsane.com/2009/08/what-have-you-done-today-to-make-you-feel-proud/#comments Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:11:12 +0000 Elina http://healthyandsane.com/?p=4256 Do you guys know the song “Proud” by Heather Small? It’s the Biggest Loser theme song and I absolutely love it! I feel empowered every time I hear it so that’s why before my 7 mile run yesterday (which I was very nervous about) I went to itunes and downloaded the Josh Harris Pride remix of this song (a little faster than the regular) and listened to it before my run (and at about mile 6.5).  I really wanted to title my next post the

Continue reading What have you done today to make you feel proud?

Do you guys know the song “Proud” by Heather Small? It’s the Biggest Loser theme song and I absolutely love it! I feel empowered every time I hear it so that’s why before my 7 mile run yesterday (which I was very nervous about) I went to itunes and downloaded the Josh Harris Pride remix of this song (a little faster than the regular) and listened to it before my run (and at about mile 6.5).  I really wanted to title my next post the way I did and for that of course I had to kick that 7 mile run’s booty, right? Well I did it!!!!!!! I did it with no walking at all, at that! I was SO proud

Strategies for yesterday’s run to ensure success:

• Had a smallish but hearty breakfast + coffee;
• Updated my workout playlist, which got me really pumped for the run;
• Made sure to purposely slow down at the beginning of the run.  I felt like I was SO slow, but I knew it was necessary for me to finish strong.

And I did! My average speed was 9:01, much slower than I’ve been running but it was the best run mentally, and my goal was to finish it – I didn’t care about speed. It was hard, but I didn’t think about walking at all. And I just kept on thinking about this post and how proud I’d be to write what I’m writing

Oh and another small personal victory: I wore just capri pants + a sportsbra for the run. It’s been so hot and I didn’t want to overheat, so I just went for it. My clothes were cute (thanks Innz for my lululemon gear!) and my newly acquired little tan made me feel confident. I have never ever worn just a sports bra to the gym or outside, even when I was thinner. This was a huge confident booster because I felt like I was rocking that sports bra and no one could tell me otherwise. I’ll spare you the pics

Onto the weekend’s eats. It was a really fun weekend! *This is 2 days’ worth of food.*

SATURDAY

Insert a speedy 2 mile run here at 8:07 minute/miles

I dragged Adam to Tendercrop Farm again to buy some grass fed lean beef to make my little burger. I also bought some corn on the cob, a large tomato, and brought 1/2 Food for Life english muffin (all I had) + 1/2 avocado (all I had). I felt a little high maintenance doing this but whatever – my body was thanking me for not consuming over processed sausages the guys were eating. I also stuck to water at the pool party; just didn’t feel like drinking light beer.

On corn: I’ve never grilled corn (never had a grill) and it was interesting to hear that everyone had their own approach to grilling corn – some left the husk on and just plopped it on the grill until the husk was charred, some took the husk off, buttered and S&Ped the corn and wrapped it in tin foil; others left the husk on and wrapped it in tin foil. We decided to test out all the methods on the grill on Saturday. The clear winner: husk on, foiled = juicier corn, less messy grilling

I tried a new bar: Nature’s Path Weil Goji Moji

It was delicious, but very orangy. It says it’s cranberry and goji berry flavored but two of the ingredients were orange peel and orange oil and they really overwhelmed the rest of the flavors. Despite the mislabeled bar flavor (in my opinion) I really enjoyed this bar! *I only had 1/2 of it, so maybe when I have it again and it’s less hot (it was sitting in my purse in the heat before) the cranberry and goji berry flavors will stand out more. We’ll see…

Other food related news: our friends Kyle and Tiffany had their wedding cake at the end of the party (Kyle’s parents, hosts of the pool party, froze a piece of the cake for them). They celebrated their 1-year anniversary last weekend. Here’s is a little action shot of them tasting it. So cute

Um, apparently it tasted like freezer.  Oh well

Dinner was at a local pizza joint in Newburyport – Oregano.

I started with a glass of cabernet and took forever to decide what pizza I wanted. Everything sounded so good! Finally we decided to split a large – my half was the scampi (evoo, crushed garlic, fresh basil, shrimp & grape tomatoes); Adam got the sopressata topping. Oh and I asked to omit the evoo on mine

I had 2 slices of the scampi:

And 1 slice of Adam’s sopressata:

I loved the little fresh oregano sprinkles on it

The pizza was so yummy! Maybe it was because that was exactly what I was craving but I thought it was really great. I fought hard not to eat the last piece and was happy at the end of the day that I didn’t. On the ride home my belly finally caught up with my brain and they both agreed I was satisfied and not hungry at all

SUNDAY

Leftover stir-fried tofu and bok choy in ginger sauce + quinoa:

Brownie from Tendercrop Farm; coffee from Au Bon Pain:

The brownie melted in my purse during the pool party so the caramel and pecans kind of melted into the brownie batter, making for an ugly picture – but man, this was incredible!!!! I raved about their rocky road brownie last week and this one was potentially even more amazing. I think a trip to Tendercrop Farm every time we’re near Newburyport is mandatory from now on

Insert here a picture of some raw pecans. I burnt a lot of calories on my run (nearly 900, including the 1+ mile walk home after the run) but I just wasn’t that hungry (working out really curbs my hunger – weird!). Concerned that I wasn’t eating enough, I grabbed a bag of pecans and had a few handfuls. I love nuts!

Dinner: TJ’s quatro formaggio tortellini with zucchini, spinach and sundried tomatoes + a little bit of garlic and evoo. Yum!

All right, I think that’s it. That was a marathon of a post How was your weekend? What have you done today to make you feel proud?

PS – I did wear my bathing suit to the pool party on Saturday (and didn’t keep it conceiled under a summer dress like on the Fourth of July). No more self doubt! It felt good and I got a sweet tan

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I have to work today (boo on a Sunday) but I’m in great spirits because yesterday was such a nice day that I feel like I took advantage of my weekend already! Better weather just makes life so much better. I started the morning with blogging (finally finishing my Holey Donuts review) and then made a quick green monster to go. Adam and I went kitchen shopping – sounds so adult, no? We are really close to buying a condo and the kitchen will need to be gutted, so we wanted to get some idea of what this might cost. Apparently the stuff we like is unique and kind of expensive. Why do we always pick the expensive stuff?!! Anyways, back to the green monster – here is the big guy:

1 frozen banana, chunks of frozen mango, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1/2 cup water, a bunch of baby spinach. Yum! [239 calories]

On to the way the stores, I enjoyed this bar:

[160 calories]

This was my first time trying this Clif Nectar lemon, vanilla & cashew bar and I have to say I was really impressed! It didn’t taste lemony at all (fine by me, although I like lemon too) but was rather fruity and perfectly sweet with an almost dried apricot flavor (there are no apricots in the ingredients list – maybe dates + goji berries taste like apricots when combined? ). The cashew chunks were large but they also kind of melted in your mouth, they were not crunchy at all. I like crunchy nuts but I also enjoyed them in this form. All five ingredients (dates, cashews, goji berries, lemon concentrate, vanilla – all organic) just blended perfectly together and complemented each other really well. Adam really liked the few bites I was kind enough to give him This bar goes to the top of my list (together with KIND bars and a few others)!

After lots of kitchen shopping, we got home STARVING! I wanted to stay healthy but also was craving something a little heartier (a salad just did not sound appealing despite a great combo I recently discovered). So I made some chicken quesadillas again, just like here. Quick and delicious! Loved it!

[277 calories]

Finally we packed up and went to a bbq at our friends’ house. It was so much fun!!! We brought some healthy foods with us too, so my belly was perfectly happy the whole night *I get a little cranky when I am hungry or presented with greasy foods and cheap beer as the only option* Lunch filled me up quite a bit, so I ended up grilling a lean burger just for myself hours after everyone ate. I totally loaded this guy up!

[425 calories]

This is a 96% lean burger with 1 slice of American cheese, a slice of tomato, some avocado slices on a Food for Life english muffin. I also grilled up some asparagus for a side. This was SO yummy and hearty! I think everyone was a little jealous of my meal (Adam of course had to steal a bite!)

After a few bites, I remembered that Tiffany (our hostess) made an awesome German potato salad, omitting the onions just for me! I had to help myself to some (there were more bites straight out of the serving plate over the course of the night…).

This was SO delicious (and healthy!). Very garlicky (I LOVE garlic), fresh and summery. There is no mayo here, which I loved – just a whole lot of garlic, some herbs and EVOO (?). I think Tiffany was afraid to tell me there was some form of oil in here, but I don’t fear oils, especially the heart healthy ones. Adam and I definitely spotted some oil in the plate, so Tiffany – what was in this yummy salad? Please share the recipe with us in the comments!

I enjoyed an M&M cookie for dessert + a bunch of vino throughout the night. This wine is our new favorite for the summer and it’s only $5.99 at Trader Joe’s!!!

[150 calories]

[~240 calories? I assumed I drank 12 oz]

The cookies were SO calling my name so I reached into my purse for emergency back up… pistachios! Yes, bring on those heart healthy fats. And cookies, stay away from me! I already had one of you!!

[100 calories]

Finally we moved inside the house for some poker action, and I couldn’t help but have another turkey dog. It was perfectly burnt on the outside and soft and delicious on the inside. I probably didn’t NEED it, but I really wanted one so I had it. It was a fun night and I didn’t want to worry about food too much and tried to keep somewhat healthy choices without feeling deprived. I think I did ok.

And guess who whopped my husband’s ass in poker? This girl!!! There was so much hilarious trash talking throughout the night but I held my own. It was awesome!! Look at all this money!

And look at Adam’s loot:

Oh wait, there is nothing in that picture? That’s right… because I took it all!!!! Haha. We didn’t actually play for money, just for “pride” and Adam ran out of his stash THREE times. Hilarious! I tried to take a picture of the loser but he hid his face. I think we still know who this is

What a great night!! Total calories consumed ~ 1850-1900. And now I’m off to work… Have a great weekend everyone!