Sunday, February 21, 2010

Breaking Out From Hibernation


Hey there! 

Quite the weekend was had.  I think we were making up for being held hostage indoors for so long with all of the illnesses and snow storms.  By Friday, Toly and I were both screaming to get out. 

We enjoyed a casual date night with dinner and a movie. 


                                        


Dinner was at a local Mexican spot that I have been meaning to try for ages now.  You see, we have our equivalent of a "Chipotle"that people have braved to tell me they actually think it's better.  Naturally, I had to test this theory with my humble opinion.  

I ordered the Burrito Bowl, sans rice with Black Bean Hummus, Veggies, Guac, and hot sauce with their salsa of the day.  (can't remember what exactly it was now but it sounded good at the time)


Okay so how did it compare?


                  Chipolte                                          The Contender  

The winner here is obviously Chipotle.  Sorry skezy knock off Mexican joint, you were good, but you were no Chipotle.  

After our dinner, we saw Valentines Day.  Very cute and pretty entertaining.  The movie was packed and rightfully so, as I imagine it's going to take a lot of ticket sales to pay that all star cast. 

Saturday, I woke up bright and early and met my Dad and my sister for our monthly Father/Daughter Breakfast.  I did not have my camera because I was going right to the gym afterwards for a Zumba class. 

Zumba was epic.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE Zumba, but my last experience was a bit uneasy due to a crazy neurotic instructor.  Thankfully, the gym I now go to has an awesome instructor.  After an hour of shaking my booty and a pitiful 2 mile run (yeah I was still feeling pretty sick), I came home, showered and ran some errands with Toly. 

Later that night, my parents came over for dinner.  Toly (aka the family accountant) was doing their taxes, so we had them over while he worked. 

I made quite the spread….


Apple, Walnut, Cranberry Salad

Roasted Asparagus

Roasted Garlic Potatoes

Pecan Encrusted Tilapia with a Dijon Creme Sauce

Everything was glorious! 

My Plate


Dad felt as though the world was aligned once again with the company of his two favorite people creatures by his side. 

It turned out to be a lovely evening. 

This morning, I was up earlier than I had anticipated.  Instead of lying in anger that I was not sleeping in on a Sunday morning, I got my behind out of bed and had a pretty great workout.  45 min on the ET followed with 30 min of Billy Blanks.  It was quite wonderful actually.  

A few hours later (yes, I was up THAT early) I was so ready for breakfast. 

Mostly because I have been dreaming of this for a few days….

That would be Peanut Butter Banana Stuffed French Toast

So what exactly went into this baby?


Well allow me to show you…


Mine is on the right and had Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter, Pumpkin Butter and Banana Slices with Cinnamon.  Toly (left) asked for Strawberry Stuffed which was cream cheese, jam, and strawberries. 

I dipped the sandwich in bath of soy milk, egg whites, and cinnamon and cooked until it all melted into one heavenly creation.  Then, I topped it with the rest of the banana, Vanilla Okios, and Pumpkin Spice Granola. 


I LOVE Sunday morning breakfasts! 

I did the usual Sunday routine, grocery shopping, prepping, cleaning. Is it odd that I live for this stuff?  I was so excited to go to Wegmans this morning.  I actually enjoy going there more than I do the mall.  Weird?  To some maybe, but I know most of you understand. 

Lunch was also quite sensational today. 

Salad with Mango, Zucchini, Avocado, Quinoa, TJ's Masala Burger, Hummus and Mango Chutney 

With a fruit plate to share on the side

The weather was unheard of today.  It felt like summer.  I guess when you have been immersed in sub zero temps and catastrophic blizzards all month, 40* feels like July. 

Regardless, we didn't want to waste this rare occurrence, so Toly and I took Sammy for a nice walk in the afternoon.  

When we got back, I realized it's been far too long since I've stretched so I did a quick 20 min yoga sesh followed by The 100 Day Challenge. 

So, I haven't announced this yet, but last week, Toly and I started our own Challenge.  With everyone giving up things for Lent and making new commitments to themselves, I often feel the need to add some kind of goal around this time.  We are not Catholic, and even though I don't think one necessarily needs to follow a certain religion to participate in the act of sacrificing for good reasons, I personally find it more humbling to prove to yourself that you are able to obtain something rather than to sacrifice something. 

That is where the 100 Day Challenge comes in.  Notice this is not the 40 Day Challenge.  We make our own rules.  For 100 Days, Toly and I are going to be doing 100 pushups and 100 crunches everyday.  Okay, this was a bit ambitious and we quickly realized that starting off with 100 pushups was unrealistic for us. So it's going more like this……

75 crunches, 50 pushups and each week we intend to add a little more until we get to 100.  

It's definitely challenging but its fun to have this to look forward to everyday.  (Or dread on some days) 

The rest of the afternoon was spent vegging with our DVR.  Since we're 80 years old and go to bed at 7pm, we have to record the prime time shows and watch them on a Sunday afternoon.  Wow, we are such geezers! 

Greys and Private Practice were good ones though. 

Dinner was such a delight because it incorporated so many of my favorite things. 

Wine, Soup, Salad and Bread. 

This bread is from Wegmans and it's unbelievable! If I am going to eat White Refined Carbs, it will be soft, warm, sweet and used to dip in creamy soup. 


Salad was also unbelievable.  Roasted Butternut Squash, Brussels, Dried Cherries, Feta, and Apple in a Maple Balsamic Dijon.  LOVE!


And that creamy soup.  Wegman's Lobster Bisque. I am such a sucker for anything in the hot food section of Wegmans, especially their soups.  The Lobster Bisque is one that I have been meaning to try for a long time now.  I added Kale (to make it healthy of course).  

Amazing guys!  The best part was taking the warm bread and dunking it into the creamy bowl of bisque.  Kind of reminded me of fondue but even better.  Then, washing each bite down with some Sauvignon Blanc…magnificent! 

Well that was quite a lot but like I said, there was quite a lot to tell.  

Hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did! 


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12 comments:

  1. That stuffed french toast looks amazing! And that tilapia...could you move in with me? Please?? Your eats look absolutely delicious! Good luck with your challenge and have a great night :)

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  2. i spy houndstooth! :) gorgeous girl. glad you got to have some fun out and about. those roasted veggies look incredible! ive never tried zumba.. my bestie raves about it.. i should try! and can you come to my house next sunday? please?

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  3. holy cow, this post was filled with lots of yummy looking food!

    Good luck with your challenge! Can't wait to hear about it!!

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  4. So many delicious things in one post! That stuffed french toast has to become a part of my life sometime soon! Love it! Glad you enjoyed your weekend!!

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  5. Hey girl! Looks like you had a WONDERFUL weekend! Glad you had a fun dinner date. We have a restaurant near us that is CLOSE to as good Chipotle too...but not quite there. Zumba rocks! It is a very instructor driven class- glad you found one you like :) Very sweet of you to put together such an amazing looking dinner for your parents. I'm not sure what part looks best...but I think its those potatoes! YUM! Hope you have a good Monday

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  6. apple, cranberry, walnut salad sounds awesome - im going to buy some walnuts and have that this week! thanks for the great idea

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  7. Glad you guys were able to get out of the house!! What a fun mini date! I want to see Valentine's Day so bad. My friend had to cancel on me so I haven't seen it yet.

    Zumba!! It sounds like you had a great time! That's something else that has been postponed due to snow, grr.

    Warm bread + soup + wine = AMAZING! Can't beat that combo. Good luck on your 100 day challenge!!

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  8. hahaha skezy Mexican joint.. OMG that french toast looks SO good!!! Drooool. :-)) And I enjoy grocery shopping more than the mall too - haha we're all little weirdos on here. Does Toly think it's strange that you do? My bf does. hehe and good luck on your 100-day challenge girl!!XOX

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  9. Lol your comparison made me chuckle. Yeah I don't think there are any questions asked about the verdict hahaha.

    I'm glad you got to spend some quality time with your dad :D That's how it was for me last weekend. I loved it! And your dinner spread sounds and looks divine. Almost as divine as your Sunday breakfast . Oh my gosh I am loving every single bit of it. I WISH we were closer to each other. Imagine all the tasty things we would make :D Someone to share our passion with.. that'd be so nice! OH! And I am so glad you gave the Zumba class another chance. It's such an awesome way to release some energy--so much fun.

    XOXO cheers to a great week!

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  10. What delicious weekend eats!

    I love putting fruit (especially apples) on salads. The sweet crispiness with the savory flavors of hummus or veggie burgers complement each other so well.

    I'm diggin' your 100 day challenge - it's great that you guys are going to do it together.

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  11. Everything looks amazing, but that stuffed french toast is something I will be making for the husband and wee ones this weekend. Fun idea! Challenges are so much fun! Right now I'm just doing my Gymstick everyday - no matter what.

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  12. WOW! This all looks incredible!! I love adding rosemary to my roasted potatoes! With all of those great dishes, you have a very lucky family!

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