Snack Time With A Headache On The Side!

Good afternoon! I have a headache that I can’t seem to shake today! Oh well.

I was in the mood for a snack and thought I would share one of my favourites with you all! Baked kale chips! So easy to make and jam packed full of nutrition. They are quick and require very few ingredients.

I started by tearing the kale leaves off of their stalk and ripping them into smaller pieces. This step makes me feel like a cross between Popeye and the Hulk!!! I’m so tough! Those kale leaves don’t stand a chance!!!

Once you have conquered the brutalizing of the veggie simply rinse the leave pieces well and pat dry with paper towel. I like to make sure they are good and dry so they don’t turn out soggy.

Once your leaves are dry pour on about 1/2 tablespoon of oil. I used grape seed but you can use olive, vegetable, whatever you like. Once the oil is on massage it through with your hands and then season. Again use whatever seasoning you like. I used organic salt free seasoning and garlic powder. In the past I’ve used everything from salt and pepper to chilli flakes, Italian seasoning. Really whatever you have a taste for will work.

Once seasoned to your desire simply toss again and place in a cookie sheet. I like to line my sheet with foil for easy clean up.

That is it they are ready for the I’ve oven! Pop them into a warm oven, I Usually go with 365 degrees for about 15 minutes flipping half way through. The edges will brown slightly and the whole chip will get crispy. I keep a close eye on them near the end cuz they can go from just nicely crisp to over done quickly.

They bake down substantially, so make lots or don’t offer to share ! Kale chips are a healthy, low calorie, fibre rich, filling snack. Kale itself is a little nutritional powerhouse, full of iron, vitamins and antioxidants.

Give them a try!

Snow Day!!!

Jan14

Good morning blog world! So we woke up to a dusting of snow this morning in beautiful Langley BC!

Thankfully I’m warm and cozy on the couch at work and don’t have to travel on the roads. Such a light dusting of snow wouldn’t be a big deal if there wasn’t a layer of ice under it! Oh well the ice factor and the fact we BC folk panic at the mere mention of snow!

Anyways yesterday started out as a laid back Sunday morning. Kevin ventured out to watch Football at the pub with his friends while I got a few things done.

I picked up a few of the new reusable Starbucks cups over the weekend and decided to give ’em a try yesterday. Thankfully my Tassimo beverage maker has a removable cup shelf or else this baby wouldn’t have fit! The cup is a grande size, made of plastic and designed to look exactly like the Starbucks to go cups. Apparently they are good for 30 dishwasher cycles or indefinite hand washes. What I take away from that is the cup will last me until I drop it on the cement or I drop something heavy on it in the sink!!! I also don’t pretend this will be much different then the multiple reusable grocery bags I own, which I only remember to take into the grocery store one in five trips!!!! But alas I like the premise behind it and I will make an effort to take it with me on my visits to Starbucks!

Please tell me I’m not the only one in love with vanilla sugar?!?!

I have a large jar of this in my pantry at all times! So simple yet so tasty. Simply fill a jar with sugar and sit a vanilla bean open and scrape out the bean and add to the jar. Every time you use a vanilla bean for baking or ice cream making place the pod in the jar and shake frequently. The longer it sits the more vanilla infused the sugar becomes. I use the sugar in all sorts of stuff, chocolate chip cookies, tea, muffins, etc.

I decided to start a little Pinterest science project. Yesterday while I was doing some meal prep I remembered reading you can grow green onions in a glass of water from the cuttings of your previous green onions!

So I made sure to leave the onion bulbs intact and simply placed them in a small cup of water and put them on the window sill. I posted about it on Facebook and got a mix of reactions. Apparently it does work, which I figured it would seeing as how I have bamboo that lives in a glass of water in my kitchen, and has for five years! I got comments saying it was a cool way to save a few cents on your grocery bill, to comments saying the onions produced aren’t as flavourful as their ground grown counter parts. I’m more doing it for the simple curiosity factor and not to save the 33 to 99 cents a bunch of green onions runs me a week!

I shall keep you posted as to the progress of my little project! I enjoy watching things grow. I can’t wait for spring!! I am looking forward to getting some herbs and veggies planted but mostly trying to devise a plan to grow baby potatoes!

I wasn’t feeling all that adventurous in the kitchen last night so I whipped up a 2 egg + an extra white omelet with ham, cheese, and green onions. I had my omelet with some Trader Joes organic silver dollar pancakes and some grapes. Quick, easy, healthy, and delicious.

Since Costco has stopped selling my favorite honey Greek yogurt I’ve gone on a search to find a suitable replacement.

I tried this little delight as my evening snack at work last night. Oikos honey Greek yogurt proved to be very good albeit pricey. Four of these little 100 gram containers ran me almost five bucks. They are 100 calories a container with 8 grams of protein, which isn’t bad at all. There small size lends perfectly to small evening snack. I would buy them again, hopefully at a sale price!

I have been snacking on oranges all weekend which is stupid two fold for me! Number one I’m allergic to oranges!! They make me itchy and sometimes give me hives just like raspberries! Which for the record I don’t shy away from either! Secondly
oranges are packed with vitamin C, and autoimmune disease sufferers should avoid high doses of vitamin C.

I just can’t help myself!

Well I guess I should do something productive work wise for a while!! Stay warm people!

So Much For Daily!!!

Jan12

Happy Saturday!!!! So it’s been a few days since I’ve updated. The week had its ups and downs that’s for sure! Ups included but not limited to awesome work outs at the gym, my Dad’s birthday, a day trip to Bellingham with Kevin, a glorious day of thrift store shopping, and a day date with my man! Not to mention my kitchen successful adventures.

The only real down side of the week being my pain level. Yesterday was by far the most pain I’ve felt since mid summer. Of course that is a relevant statement considering I live with pain daily. Just the last few days has been very bad. Luckily I see my specialist soon. Enough about that! On to the pictures!

My Food!

I can’t seem to get enough Greek yogurt these days and this passion fruit flavour was spectacular!

I decided to invent a recipe while I was at work…I ended up making high protein low fat banana peanut butter muffins! These little bad boys pack a serious nutritious punch! Lots of protein, fibre and no junk minus six chocolate chips!

My boss and I wanted something veggie packed for dinner so I whipped up a stir fry with lots of veggies, chicken breast and a sweet chilli sauce served on a bed of quinoa. Serious healthy yum!

I tried a new to me oatmeal and it was very tasty served in my usual peanut butter, banana fashion. I’ve tried a few of the Bob’s Red mill products and I’ve never been disappointed.

I’m not sure what I was thinking yesterday morning at Starbucks but in that cup is a grande chamomile tea. Nothing unusual right?!??! Except for some reason my loopy brain decided to dump cinnamon in it along with the usual honey! Luckily it didn’t taste bad because by the time I realized what I had done we were already in the border line up!

I baked my dad a batch of date squares from my Grandmas recipe. They turned out nearly perfect, none will ever be as good as hers! I will share the photos and recipe soon.

I turned those ingredients into stuffed chicken breasts wrapped in prosciutto. They turned out rich and satisfying. Recipes and photos to come soon.

Our day trip to Bellingham was great. I was in a lot of pain so we just took our time, Kevin is very understanding and slows accordingly on my bad days.

Our first stop was the mall. We got a few good deals, my favorite being my new drifit long sleeve shirt. After the mall we hit Trader Joes. We got so much good stuff!! We hit Costco and Fred Meyer before stopping at 5 Guys burgers for dinner! My fave part of 5 Guys was the freshly roasted peanuts! So neat! Yes I am easily amused, thank you for asking !

Have I ever told you about my Pyrex and Lululemon addictions?!?! No! Another time I will get into it! Though I will tell you I acquired a few new pieces of both this weekend.

Muffin is currently enjoying some tummy rubs from Dad but she would like you to know she’s had a busy week!!

She had helped keep an eye on dinner!

Checked out some award winning Canadian cheddar !

Hung out with Maple!

Helped Nightlight (her coworker dog) locate misplaced toys at work!

Cuddled with Mom!

And avoided Jasmine! Sometimes sunning yourself on the pool deck is best left to the big dogs!!

Well friends that is a brief catch up on the past four days. The only thing else I can tell you about is my gym adventures. Not going to lie my my gym adventures are pretty uninteresting but necessary. I split my gym time between warm up, weights, cardio, and stretching. I’m seriously missing running but don’t dare until I talk to my specialist. I am considering rejoining water running as its low impact. Thinking about this is making me sad.

Well my blog reading team, Kevin is trying to talk me into going to a movie. I’m gonna talk him out of it with my sneaky ways!

Goodnight all!

One Of Those Days

Jan7

So today was one of those days. You know the ones. Where no matter what you do, you have a case of the blahs! I guess it happens! Tomorrow will be better! My day was pretty typical for a Monday at work. Nothing overly exciting to report, heck even my breakfast was boring!

Boring but tasty. It also kept me full through my mid morning hour long workout at the gym. Despite my case of the blahs my workout was a success, my abs might tell you a different sob story!!! After the gym I returned to work a snacked on some Honey Greek Yogurt. Oh so amazingly good and packs 12 grams of protein in each serving. Can’t beat that as refueling food!

The rest of my afternoon was anything but note worthy. I totally forgot to snap a picture of my dinner. I wasn’t feeling up to making fancy dinner for myself do I made a couple eggs, turkey bacon and a English muffin. While it wasn’t fancy sometimes you just can’t beat breakfast for dinner!

On the topic of food , I bought a bag of Humbles Hummus chips on the weekend. Maybe the best “healthy” snack chip I’ve found yet. Very flavourful and crisp! Much lower in fat then potato chips and more flavour then Popchips .

I got the sesame garlic flavour but I also saw lemon and feta, as well as a sea salt variety. Has anyone else come across these? Anyone tried them? I noticed on the website they make all sorts oh healthier snacks. Might be worth a try if I can find them locally. Check out the link for more information. I love finding interesting new products, especially when they taste good!

The rest of my night is going to include some yoga, my hamstrings are super tight so I figure the yoga will help. I hope! After that I have a date with a long hot shower and some blog reading time!

Hope everyone’s week goes well, I mean we made it through Monday! That’s something right 😉

Soaking Wet Sunday

Jan6

Have you ever spent time with someone who speaks just to hear the sound of their own voice? Who asks the same question repeatedly but never listens to the answer? Someone who accuses you of being cranky because you don’t have much to say at the moment? My frustration level is a little high right now. Not as high as earlier this evening but still higher then I care for.

Before this turns into a full blown rant let me change the subject. How was everyone’s Sunday? Good I hope. The majority of mine was delightful. I got up early and cleaned the house. I mean who doesn’t love cleaning? I made myself a labour intensive breakfast as pictured below!

I hung out in the rain with Muffin…

I made sure the fur kids shared breakfast…

Yes the cat is bigger then the dog!

Once noon rolled around I was happy to meet up with four girlfriends and head out for frozen yogurt and girl talk!

That’s Katie’s classic pout face! You would think she would be happy with a pocket full of candy!!!

Upon returning home I found Kevin and Muffin in the same place I left them, on the couch watching football. I decided to throw together some mini pita pizzas and baked cheddar bacon chicken bites! Who says game day food can’t be healthy!

The rest of my Sunday afternoon was typical and now I find myself at work for the next three days. I’m going to cut this short tonight friends.

I hope Monday goes by smoothly for everyone, sweet dreams.

Seriously Stuffed Saturday

Jan5

Hi friends, it is 10:30 P.M. and to say I’m tired is an overstatement! I’ve been ready to crawl into bed since about 8 P.M. but for a number of reasons that hasn’t happened yet. Muffin and I were up bright and early and had a jam packed day. We were up early for a good reason at least, her epic-ally over due spa day. I present for your viewing enjoyment an no longer unruly, shaggy beast!

Spending the morning at the spa is apparently very exhausting!

Once Muffin was safely at the groomer I ventured to the gym. I was pleased to find it wasn’t terribly busy for a Saturday morning in January. Have peoples resolutions already fizzled?

I completed 35 minutes of cardio, split between the bike and elliptical and then 30 minutes of arm weights and ab work. Followed that up with 15 minutes of stretching and called it a day. It was a good work out, I was off in my own little Taylor Swift workout fueled zone. I am such a geek!

After the gym I headed to Starbucks to meet a girlfriend and her fiance for coffee. We chatted for well over an hour. Lots of catching up was done and even more wedding talk! She is getting married in the somewhat near future and we had a great time chatting about ideas, mostly cupcakes.

My skinny peppermint mocha vanished all to quickly! Note to self: Don’t skip breakfast before the gym! Healthy living fail. After coffee I headed back to the groomer to pick up Muffin and then had a visit with my parents and my adorable niece who is feeling a little under the weather after her big snow sledding trip.

I somehow managed to go till mid afternoon with no food. I know, I know! I almost never do that and trust me by the time I got food in me I wasn’t feeling so great. After a late lunch Kevin and I leashed up Muffin and my Brother and Sister in law’s dog Maple up for a walk around the neighbor hood.

Maple was more interested in the world then having her picture taken! Please forgive her she is still a puppy.

Muffin on the other paw was more interested in visiting with her neighbor BFF dog, Sophie. Of course she was also concerned about looking fashionable in her little pink fur lined jacket. Someone really should slap me!

After our walk Kevin attempted to watch some football but I caused much distraction by doing another 15 minute mini trampoline workout. Who knew jumping up and down was a distraction for men! Ya learn something everyday!

If you have one of these I suggest you utilize it! I did a few exercises but the sit/stand with the medicine ball was felt the most. It is amazing how such a simple exercise can be so effective. I used my extra work out as an excuse to eat a piece of yesterdays banana bread with some peanut butter. So yummy!

My other snack of the day was much healthier I promise. Veggies and dip, an easy stand by.

Later in the evening Kevin and I ventured back out to get me a pair of shoes I saw yesterday. I loved them when I saw them but wasn’t 100% sure I needed them at the time. After thinking about them all day I decided I did want them and much to my sadness by the time we got back to the store my size was all sold out. I guess it wasn’t meant to be. Have I mentioned life is hard?

Once home I tackled dinner.

I made whole wheat spaghetti with my Mom’s meat sauce recipe. It calls for an abundance of garlic, mushrooms, onions, peppers and lean ground beef amoung a few other key ingredients. Kevin likes to dust his pasta with parmeasan, which has never been on my yum list. Don’t get me wrong I love parmeasan, heck I love all cheese. I just don’t like it on my pasta sauce. I am very odd when it comes to food, and mostly all aspects of everything! OCD for the win!! More on that little jem some other day.

After dinner the three of us did some cuddling and I whined about being sore, and seriously considered a bubble bath.

We have some pretty intense cuddle sessions in this house!

I am sure you have noticed my love of owl’s, they pop up everywhere around my house and on me. Today was no different. Ever get the feeling you’re being watched? I did all day. This little hooter peeked out of my sleeve and stared back at me every time I looked down today. Such a cute little bracelet!

That is as close as a picture of me gets today. No one needs to see my look of exhaustion. So with that friends I am going to leave you for the day. I think I am going to tackle that bubble bath. My goal is to not fall asleep in the tub but I make no promises.

Friday Before And After!

Jan4

Hi Friends, both new and old! I am very excited to see a few of you commenting. Thank you! So my day started off rather productive, Kev and Muffin had no intention of getting out of bed when I did, so I busied myself in the kitchen. Did some dinner prep, baked some banana bread, and finally made an omelette and English muffins to entice the other two lazy bones out of bed!!!

I thought it might be fun to show you some before and after photos of my kitchen adventures today!! Here we go! Greek lemon potatoes prepped to soak for the day in lemon juice, olive oil, white wine, garlic, and spices.

And after an hour in the oven this evening…

I made a bowl of homemade tzatziki because Greek potatoes just aren’t the same without it in my opinion. I used chopped cucumber, low fat Greek yogurt, dill, garlic, lemon juice, a little olive oil, and a touch of salt and pepper.

The finished product had a serious garlic kick. Just how we like it.

Kevin and I paired our Greek potatoes with some Barbqued pepper garlic pork tender loin and some sauteed zucchini with a sprinkle of parmasan.

It turned out pretty delightful, but im not going to lie I am glad I am not the one who had to stand outside in the dark to barbque the pork. Thanks Kevin! Love you.

Up next on my “To Do” list after prepping dinner this morning was to make a couple loaves of banana bread. I love baking and my friends and family don’t seem to mind because I always like to gift my creations. That way I don’t eat it all myself. Always thinking 😉

The final product, with a little Instagram filter action for your enjoyment!

If any of you would like me to post my recipes for anything I make please just let me know. I am considering adding a recipes tab if there is any interest.

I didn’t spend all day in the kitchen, though I could have today. I visited my parents and then this afternoon we ventured out to find some new oven mitts and of course as always with shopping I ended up with more then mitts. I got a new wallet, shorts for the gym, kitchen towels, and a few other things. The wallet was a necessity as mine decided to give up on life mid way through Christmas shopping last month. I finally found one I liked okay fine loved. It has owls on it, clearly I couldn’t say no.

When we got home from shopping Muffin was sure everything I purchased was simply hers and all made for a cozy bed.

As if spoiling myself wasn’t bad enough, my best friend Katie showed up this afternoon bearing gifts for me.

New Pj pants, a reusable owl bag and some Bath and body works bath gel. See told you I was spoiled! Katie is awesome, but she’s my friend you can’t have her! 😉 Okay find maybe I can share! You should know I managed to unload a good chunk of banana bread on her before she escaped my house.

Muffin would like me to show you all her before, during, and after her big yawn today.

So here we are before, just chilling with dad. No big thing!

Then it happened and i’m still not sure how I caught it on camera, but my little tiny nine pound fur ball let out the worlds biggest yawn. For a second I thought we were all going to be sucked into some sort of puppy black hole!

>;Promptly after the big yawn she went back to relaxing. You know the thing that takes up most of her doggy day!!

I need to reiterate that her life is hard people! So very hard! She is going for a groomer visit very soon to tame that mess of fur she has going on. I promise you will be shocked when you see her after a day at the spa. She will look ridiculous and not in a good way. You’ve been warned.

It has been raining here most of the day and I haven’t felt so great. Sometime soon I will get into the reason why I don’t feel so great lately but for now I won’t. I didn’t go to the gym as I had planned and I guess I just have to accept that for what it is. We did However spend a good solid hour walking today and I thankfully we did so indoors. I am going to take Muffin around the block and catch up on some blog reading before we call it a night. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day exercise wise.

Enjoy your Friday night friends!

Chilly Thursday

Jan3

I’m currently cuddled up on the couch with Muffin and Kev! I am so incredibly cold. I’m pep-talking myself to go to the gym. I should have went earlier but being my first day off I slept in a little after a late night Menchies froyo run last night.

Once I pulled my lazy self out of my warm and cozy bed I spent the day out and about with my man and my Muffin!

Today was casual, laid back and fun. I started by refilling all my bird feeders, I’ve become very attached to watching my little chickadees, bush tits, finches, etc. Pretty sure I’m also feeding half the squirrel population in our neighbour hood.

I figure the squirrel hunch is a safe one based on the fact one chewed the hole in this feeder twice the original size so he could binge eat mixed nuts!!!

I had to dump hot water in the birdbath as it was frozen solid this morning. Even though it was very cold it was a gorgeous day and we took advantage of it by taking a walk around the duck pond.

No matter how many times we go to the duck pond, Muffin isn’t sure she trusts those ducks!

Other then the park we spent some time going to my favorite local thrift stores in search of vintage Pyrex and other treasures. After shopping we decided to have a midday lunch date at the Olive Garden. You really can’t go wrong with soup, salad, and bread sticks. Oh an a free wine sample. Yum.

While lunch was good it wasn’t as good as the home made almond chicken, fried rice, and chow mien I made for dinner.

I made up the recipe for the almond chicken on my own and thankfully it turned out very well. I tossed the chicken in some crushed Trader Joes candied nuts once it was cooked for some sweetness. I really wish we had a TJ’s closer to home then Bellingham.

So folks that’s a quick run down of my day. Hope you all enjoyed your Thursday as much as I did. Seriously I’m gonna kill the rest of my coffee and get in a workout!!!

I See You There

Jan2

This is what i contend with at every meal.

This adorable face who has made it her life’s work to be sure that I remember sharing is in fact caring. How do you say no to that face? No really please teach me as I cannot seem to do it.

Anyways, I don’t know if you know this or not but walking down a hill covered in black ice is a treacherous adventure! Walking back up the hill is never a picnic, but you know what they say…whatever doesn’t kill you!!!!! I have to admit it was a beautiful day here, considerably nicer then the foggy afternoon yesterday.

Yesterday’s foggy walk compared to today’s clear skies.

The area I work is great for midday walks. Lots of flat areas and hilly areas depending on how I’m feeling. I actually felt decent today. Which is a change from the last little while, so we did a quick mile walk mostly hills. I like this area because it is very much city life but still close to nature and the country.

I’ve been in a cooking mood lately and this morning was no different. For breakfast I chopped up an apple added some water,sugar, and cinnamon to a pot and cooked it just long enough for the apple to soften. I drained the water mixture and was left with amazingly flavourful, sweet cinnamon infused goodness. I added half my creation to a bowl of oats and peanut butter, perfect for a cold morning. The other half found itself mixed with a few little cheddar cheese squares ad my afternoon snack. I’ve been reading that cinnamon has some serious health benefits, so I sneak it in where I can.

I was lucky enough to have Kevin bring me lunch today. He stopped on the way here and grabbed us both Quiznos. I can’t even remember the last time I had a sandwich from there, but it was very good. Mine was some turkey, guacamole, veggie concoction, and while it was far from pretty it was satisfying. I looked up the nutritional value on their website and it wasn’t half bad other then the sodium content.

Kevin hasn’t been feeling great either so it was nice we got to hang out over lunch while I’m at work. I know a lot of our friends are sick right now and I really don’t want to catch it!

My need to be in the kitchen proved successful at dinner time as I made a quinoa salad for my boss and I. I love quinoa, such a great source of protein and so versatile. I don’t make it at home often unless its for my sister in law or dad and I as it is on Kevin’s will not eat list. Actually a good portion of the salads ingredients are on his will not eat list!!!! Though he will straight face tell you he isn’t fussy! I guess I still love him. Anyways the salad consists of quinoa and a mix of chopped onion, peppers, cucumber, tomato, feta cheese, avocado, and beans of choice. I used chick peas because I love them and that is what was in the pantry here! I used fig balsamic vinegar as dressing but Greek dressing is also good on it. My boss and I had the salad with some lemon garlic chicken breast pieces, so good.

I guess I should get back to work, I have another hour before my weekend officially starts. Hope everyone is enjoying this wintery Wednesday.

Happy New Year!

Jan1

I for one can’t believe the year is already upon us! No one told how fast time and life would move once I became an adult! I hope everyone had a fun night and didn’t wake up feeling too rough this morning!! My night was pretty dark and low key..Muffin and I spent the final hours of 2012 at work doing next to nothing thanks to a power outage. Not exactly how I ended to say farewell to the year. Oh well, just one of those things in life that remind me how little control we really have sometimes .

I woke up this morning and threw together a yummy breakfast consisting of ancient grains hot cereal, a scoop of peanut butter, and a banana. It was delicious and filling. The Starbucks skinny peppermint mocha wasn’t to shabby either!

After breakfast I did my typical work duties until it was time to conquer lunch. I decided to make a hearty salad consisting of mixed baby greens, avocado, cucumber, pineapple, pecans, cashews, feta and a few crispy onions for some crunch! I sprinkled the whole thing with a little fig balsamic vinegar. This is where I wish I had stopped but alas live and learn! I added the garlic salmon burger patty I had cooked as my protein source and learned quickly it was a bad choice. I like to try to buy local, so on a recent trip to Choices Market I picked up a box of Ella’s Finest Garlic Ginger Salmon Burgers.

I think I paid about $6 for the two pack and cooked them according to box directions. They smelled decent enough while cooking but first bite proved other wise. I actually ended up picking it back out of my salad after trying two bites. I am sorry to report in my opinion it maybe the worst salmon I’ve ever had! It was very dry and flavourless, not at all what I was expecting. Once I removed the salmon the salad wasn’t half bad, tho I’m sure I will be looking for a snack sooner then usual thanks to my protein void lunch. Ya can’t win ’em all my friends!

I think I’m going to bundle up and take Muffin for a walk around the neighbour hood. It is cold and crisp but not snowing or raining! So I figure we both could benefit from a little fresh air and a break from “work”! Incase you’re curious this is what Muff’s Work day has looked like thus far today …

“Just checking Facebook mom!”

But mostly this…

Life is hard people!!!!
Have a great day!

Life With The McGavins

100% Not Sugar Coated

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