Surprise Roses

Good morning friends! Hope your Monday is going great whether you're at work or enjoying a nice 3-day weekend. I'm soaking this extra day up since the next holiday doesn't roll around until Memorial Day in May.

Our Valentine's date night on Saturday took us to Scarborough Fair in Sea Girt, which was rated the "most romantic restaurant" by Open Table. I was excited to check it out, and even more excited to try the food once I found out it's almost all organic and locally sourced. Even the meats are humanely raised and organic, and the seafood is all wild.

We tried a medley of things, including escargot in puff pastry with brie and pernod, spanakopita bites and lobster bisque (we went a little nuts on the apps!). For my entree I selected the sea scallops with herbed risotto, asparagus and lemon thyme butter.

The scallops were so good, and tasted just as good when I ate them for dinner again the next night alongside a pile of fresh string beans.

The restaurant itself was quite cozy and romantic as they promised, but I felt extra special when the maitre d' delivered a big vase of red roses to our table that Matt had ordered ahead of time.

He's too sweet. They looked beautiful by our table, which was next to a window overlooking a snow covered wrought iron deck. So magical.

But they look even better at home where I can see them in all their glory every morning when I wake up. After all these years together I am still a sucker for getting flowers. They just make a girl feel loved.

The rest of our weekend has been spent relaxing around the house, hanging with Matt's family and checking things off our to-do list. We took Riker ice skating for the first time and he was a champ. He had to take a lot of breaks, but he had a blast out there.

One of our big items over the last few weekends has been moving Riker out of the nursery and into his "big kid" room, which is down the hall from us and slowly being decorated in a surfer style theme. He wasn't too keen on letting go when we first started the process...

Ha! Once he realized he was keeping his own bed and got to help pick out all the decor and toys for his new room, though, he was game. I was worried he'd have a hard time adjusting, but he slept perfectly fine in there the first night and actually loves it now.

After we finished picking out all the stuff for Riker's new room this weekend, we started looking at colors and themes for updating the nursery. We're changing it from Riker's safari theme to...I haven't quite figured that out yet. But some pink will be involved. ;)

I have to say it was a little emotional for me to take the plunge and not only move Riker into a new room, but to start throwing new paint on the nursery walls. My family and I decorated that room with such love and care and it makes me a little sad to know that Riker's outgrown it. But I dried my little tears and am looking forward to starting the process again with our baby girl. It also helped that it took Riker about .5 seconds to love his new room and realize that I was definitely more upset about this move than he was. I think us adults have a harder time with change than they do.

***

We just got home from some errands and I made us a lunch of seafood "tacos" in Romaine lettuce leaves (shrimp for Matt, mahi mahi for me, chicken for Riker), alongside veggie sticks with homemade cilantro lime hummus. Fresh and delicious.

Time to get started on my afternoon projects!

Quick & Crunchy Asian Slaw

Happy Friday everybody! This week has flown by for me, and I'm ready to power through this final work day and welcome the weekend with open arms. Hope it went by quickly for you too. Plans for the weekend here include:

- A trip to Trader Joe's tonight (I know, how fun, but we are seriously running low on a bunch of staples)
- Another baby shower tomorrow
- Superbowl Sunday! (Exclamation point on paper but not in heart, since the Pats are not playing ;)

I woke up this morning in the mood for a smoothie for breakfast. No surprise there since I've been drinking them almost daily for the last few weeks, but I was extra in the mood for it today since Matt reminded me last night that we had a full bag of frozen peaches hidden in the back of the freezer. Over the summer my MIL brought me a bunch of peaches she hand picked from a local farm, which I peeled, cut and froze, and then totally forgot about. Love peaches in my smoothies!

Into the blender went:

- About 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- About 1 cup frozen peaches
- 1/2 scoop raw protein powder
- 1/2 pouch Cocozia coconut water
- A small drizzle of raw honey (I don't usually put sweetener in my smoothies, but I realized after tasting it that the peaches were tart, which combined with plain yogurt made for a pretty mouth-puckering little drink. The honey evened everything out.)

A while back Cocozia sent me a case of their organic coconut water to try, and I've been enjoying it a lot. Coconut water is not sweet or thick like coconut milk, so it's perfect for hydration when you just need something other than water, like after the gym. I also like adding it to my smoothies rather than milk or plain water.

If you like coconut water, definitely give Cocozia a try. It's 100% organic and totally pure - it doesn't have any sugar or other additives like some mainstream varieties - and it has a nice fresh flavor. I like that the pouch also has a straw so it's easy to drink on the go. You can pick some up on Amazon here.

But the title of this post is "Quick & Crunchy Asian Slaw", so let's get to recipe sharing. Earlier this week I came home from a work day in the city to an awesome meal courtesy of Matt.

He had thawed some wild caught tuna steaks we had in the freezer and cooked them with black & white sesame seeds, virgin coconut oil and a splash of Bragg's Liquid Aminos. They were delicious (and huge - I could only muscle down half of that steak), but the real star was the slaw he made on the side. I literally could not stop eating it until it was all gone. When he told me he was making tuna steaks for dinner I suggested using up our Napa cabbage by making an Asian slaw on the side, but I honestly didn't expect it to taste this good.

It's slightly sweet, salty, crunchy - everything you need in a bite. I think it would even be good stuffed into pitas for Asian style fish tacos. Mmm. Maybe I'll make those this weekend.

Quick & Crunchy Asian Slaw

Serves 2

Ingredients
1/2 head Napa cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds (plus extra for garnish)
2-3 Tbsp. chopped scallion

Add everything to a large mixing bowl, and toss well until combined. Let sit for about an hour before serving.

***

Have a great weekend!

Lindsay's Baby Shower

This past weekend was all about the babies. First we had our little gender reveal party on Saturday, and then Sunday was all about showering my good friend Lindsay and her baby boy who's due to arrive in March.

Some people say they don't like going to showers, but I love them. I love getting to spend the afternoon laughing and chatting with the girls, getting a little dressed up, eating lunch, having a mimosa or glass of wine (ok, not this time, but at least everyone else got to enjoy some wine), and getting a tad bit competitive over the games, mainly gift Bingo (I won a picture frame this time, which matches my living room perfectly!). 

I also just love the tradition of doting on the bride or mom-to-be, whichever the case, and making her feel loved and special at such an important time in her life.

And let's face it, I love the party details. So cute!

I knew I'd be eating whatever was on the menu at the shower, which was likely to not be super healthy, so I started the morning off with an un-typical Sunday breakfast for me. I made a yogurt bowl filled with plain Greek yogurt and topped with a medley of pears, maple syrup, walnuts and cinnamon, which I cooked for a few minutes so the pears would get soft and caramelized. It was the perfect combo of cold and warm, and was delicious.

I'm glad I ate a good breakfast because I definitely indulged in some appetizers when I got to the shower, including some warm bread, calamari, crab stuffed mushrooms and fried mozzarella. Yum. For lunch I had a salad followed by tilapia with tomatoes, olives and saffron rice.

I know tilapia is like the worst thing you can eat these days, but I had to choose between the vegetarian dish of penne vodka (carbs + heavy cream + parmesan cheese) or the fish dish (lean protein, but of the farm-raised, bad for the environment variety). I chose fish. And it was quite satisfying. ;)

I also ate an adorable and tasty little rubber ducky sugar cookie during the gift opening. Okay, one and a half cookies. Had to taste test the onesie one as well.

And thennn I ate a cupcake. I mean at this point I was all in. Can I blame pregnancy?

Good thing Monday came quickly and I'm back off the sugar. I was starting to feel a little sickly after eating so much cake this weekend.

I'm currently on the bus ride home from the city and Matt's in the kitchen whipping up some wild caught tuna with Asian style slaw, so I'm looking forward to a nice clean meal when I get home.

How was your weekend? Hope it was a good one!

Food for the Busy Week

Thank goodness, it's the weekend.

I had quite the long work week this week, and was really thankful when Friday night rolled around. I'm basking in the relaxation of a Saturday morning at home, bumming around in sweatpants and enjoying a big old cup of home-brewed Starbucks coffee. Matt has a school fishing club event today, so it's just me and Riker for the day. For breakfast I made us each an organic waffle - Riker's with peanut butter, and mine with plain Greek yogurt, strawberries and Vermont maple syrup.

Yum. It should keep me full for a while before I pack us up and head to the gym.

So as I mentioned, this has been a really crazy week. Lots of meetings, some late nights, you get the idea. I had a meal plan in place, but didn't stick to it 100%. Still, we managed to get some kind of healthy meal on the table every night. A win!

Last Sunday was the only day I really "cooked", and it was to make a seafood gratin by Ina Garten I've had on the list for a while and have really been wanting to try. Matt gave me a jar of saffron in my Christmas stocking this year, and as soon as I pulled it out on Christmas morning I knew I was going to use it to make this gratin.

It.was.amazing. It was filled with seafood, leeks, carrots and a creamy sauce, and made enough for us to have dinner + lunch the next day.

I made some tweaks to the recipe, subbing out heavy cream for organic whole milk and using the homemade crab stock and seafood I had in the freezer - wild caught cod, shrimp and sea scallops.

Will definitely be making this again. Yum!

The rest of the week was not so fancy...

I promise, that tasted better than it looked. I picked up some whole wheat & flax seed pita pockets while grocery shopping, and they've pretty much been the go-to meal maker all week. One night we had wild caught salmon & caesar salad pita pockets one night, using the caesar dressing Matt made on Sunday.

Another night we had pockets filled with hummus, arugula and Cabot cheddar cheese, carrot sticks w/ extra hummus, and cups of Muir Glen organic vegetable soup. I mean, sometimes you just can't deal with cooking a real meal.

And still another night we had the pitas with avocados, black bean burgers, arugula and my new favorite salsa. Served with steamed green beans on the side. That was an interesting combination.

The one night I broke the mold of the pita addiction was to make whole wheat gnocchi with ricotta, parmesan, lemon, steamed broccoli and fresh parsley.

Another one of those "tasted better than it looks" meals. Riker loved this one, and although it only took about 20 minutes to make I at least felt like I was making a real dinner rather than just sandwiches.

Thankfully last night, despite the Friday night fatigue I usually have after a work week, I pulled together a meal that could actually be considered cooking. A much-needed comfort plate of comfort food!

These were similar to my Spicy Stuffed Poblano Peppers, but the nutrition value was much better. After re-reading that recipe, I realized I've learned a lot about grains, GMOs and pesticides in the last two years. These were stuffed with quinoa, zucchini, homemade spicy pickled peppers (made by a family friend), tomatoes, onions and garlic, then topped with Cabot extra sharp cheddar cheese. So good. And just one was plenty filling for both me and Matt, so we have another meal awaiting us in the fridge.

I'm hoping next week will be a little less crazy so I can do some more real cooking - and hopefully that's the case because I ran out of pita pockets. ;)

Enjoy your Saturday!

Homemade Weekend

Ah, Sunday afternoon. Sunshine, football and the house smelling of winter candles. I love these kind of days. Hope your weekend has been a good one so far!

In keeping with my goal of eating clean again after the holidays, we've been staying away from takeout and sweets and doing a bunch of cooking the last few days. Friday nights are always tough because neither Matt or I feel like cooking after a long work week, and pretty much always want to order dinner out and curl up on the couch. But I had some lox and arugula in the fridge I'd picked up for my favorite Norwegian Eggs Benedict, and who says you can't have breakfast for dinner?

I skipped the hollandaise sauce but served up whole wheat Vermont Organic English muffins topped with a spread of Organic Valley cream cheese, a pile of arugula, wild caught smoked salmon and a fried egg. I seriously never get sick of this. I could eat lox every single day.

Saturday morning started with Greek yogurt & berry bowls with dried fruits and walnuts on top.

I'm still on the lookout for a good organic Greek yogurt...I don't really like Cabot or Stonyfield Farms, and much prefer the texture of Fage or Chobani, which I've had to grudgingly ditch because of their GMO practices. If you have an organic Greek that you like, please share!

I had high hopes of going to Saturday morning yoga, but felt a little under the weather and my body was telling me to stay home and rest instead. So rest, I did. And then made some fantastic sandwiches for lunch.

I filled some whole wheat pita pockets with artichoke & kalamata olive hummus, carrots, cucumbers and wild caught salmon. I seared the salmon in my cast iron skillet and then flaked it up and squeezed on some fresh lemon. The warm salmon and cold, crunchy veggies were a great combo. 

It was also really filling. Matt had to help me eat my second half. Protein power!

Saturday afternoon included a couple errands and some kitchen time, all to prep for the big Pats game last night.

It's playoffs baby! We had a few friends over last night to watch the games with us, and fun snacks must be had when watching important football games with friends. 

For the 4:00 game we nibbled on some canapes our friend Forrest brought over, along with a batch of my buffalo blue cheese pierogies. I stowed a bag of them in the freezer the last time I made them, so yesterday I only had to cook them up and toss them with hot sauce and blue cheese. Yum. A little carb-heavy, I know, but they were completely scratch made (dough and all), so, you know - it's all good.

Next up was making pizza dough for a pizza bar dinner. I adore making homemade dough; there's just nothing like the smell of yeast and the process of mixing and kneading by hand. I didn't realize my dough recipe actually made two pies, so I accidentally made enough dough for 7 pizzas. Whoooops. At least we have plenty of dough in the freezer for Superbowl. ;)

Other snacks included a homemade hot spinach mascarpone dip, and an all-organic 7 layer dip made by Heather. Her dip was so, so good and got completely devoured.

When the 8:00 game came on, it was pizza time!

We made a plain one for the kids, a mushroom one, a green olive one, and then a specialty pie with paleo crust, goat cheese, Brussels sprouts and balsamic drizzle. That last one was a gamble but came out tasting really good. Recipe coming soon! 

***

This morning thankfully Riker let us sleep in until 8 am, which I was praying he would do since I stayed up late watching the game last night. It's a sad, sad day when you consider 11:30 "late." Oy.

To kick off the day I made us breakfast plates of Nature's Path waffles with peanut butter, bananas and Vermont maple syrup. On the side I had two slices of Lightlife non-GMO soy "bacon." This is the first time I've bought the bacon and I'm really not a fan. It's just too much of a stretch for me.

Next up on the list was switching gyms. This has been on my to-do list for a long time. Matt and I actually hate our current (now old) gym; it feels dark and dingy and half the machines are always broken. We finally did something about it today and canceled the dungeon gym in favor of another spot, which is much bigger, cleaner and brighter. While there I got in a treadmill + light weights workout and can already tell I'll like this place much better. And hopefully that means I'll go more often too.

When we got home, Riker went down for a nap and Matt and I got to work on making lunch. I made big salads while Matt made a homemade Caesar dressing from my Eat Clean cookbook. It's made with yogurt, dijon mustard, real anchovies (which, if I'm being honest is the reason I made Matt make the dressing - I like the taste of anchovies, but definitely not the look of them) and a bunch of seasonings.

It was so good! We made a triple batch so we have it in the fridge for the week. I ate my salad with a leftover piece of olive pizza on the side. Perfect little Sunday lunch. 

And with that, Riker just woke up so we're going to head out for a family walk and take advantage of the warm weather today. Then it's back for the Broncos game (rooting for the Chargers here...not really feeling a Broncos vs. Pats Championship next weekend...), and putting together a seafood gratin for dinner.

How's your weekend going? Hope you enjoy the last few hours of it!