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A Very Busy Few Weeks February 26, 2012

Posted by cirellih in Dinner, Exercise, Family, Food, Lunch.
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The last few weeks have been incredibly busy. Several days of working late, a couple of birthdays, a weekend of skiing. Lots of fun, but lots going on as well.

Our darling Oliver passed his intermediate puppy training classes. In return, he got his beloved green bitty bear.

Chris and I when skiing at Winter Park. It was a glorious day… the first time I have ever skied in nice weather, in fact!

We made several delicious meals, that lasted for several meals of leftovers.

Chicken par, which was made ahead of time by Chris:

I made chicken pot pie from scratch… delicious, if I do say so myself!

Carrots, and onions, and peas, oh my!

My mock jambalaya with chicken andouille sausage and sofrito sauce. Sofrito includes tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, garlic, and cilantro. Delish!

It’s been a great few weeks, and here’s hoping that I can back to regular programming this week!

Pedometer Power January 26, 2012

Posted by cirellih in Exercise, Food, Goals, Health, Lunch, Motivation, Moving.
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I have recently acquired a pedometer. This may seem like a mundane piece of information, but it is shaping up to be a pretty exciting purchase.

The goal: 10,000 steps per day.

The reality: Trying to beat my record of 15,573 steps from the weekend.

Who would have thought a pedometer could be so addicting? It’s a great way to get motivated!

Apparently, I have not changed much since grade school. I was the type of student who lived for stickers. Tell me that I need to get a certain number of stickers on my homework to get a prize… I would do extra credit out the wazoo. A great student pencil for doing well on a test, I was so there.

Now on my pedometer, I have a little animated person who lifts their digital arms in the international symbol of victory:

This, my friends, is all I need to make me want to reach the 10,000 step goal each day. I only have 8,254 steps? Let’s go for a walk Oliver! It might seem silly, but it works.

For lunch today, I needed some power foods to get me through the afternoon. Lentil soup from my co-worker definitely fit the bill for a hearty, stick to you ribs kind of meal.

Curry Lentil Soup:

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp canola oil
  • 1 tbsp non-hydrogenated margarine
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp cumin powder or seed
  • 1/2 tsp curry powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 cube vegetable bouillon
  • 1 lb lentils

Directions:

  1. Saute the onion and garlic in the oil and margarine in a saucepan until tender.
  2. Add the spices and saute for one minute.
  3. Add the water, bouillon, and lentils.
  4. Cook until the lentils are tender. About one hour.

A side of garlic bread, and I definitely was ready to go on that extra-long walk in the afternoon. The soup was perfect. Nice and thick with lots of spices and onions. Great for a cold winter day!

For the Love of Boulder May 30, 2011

Posted by cirellih in Breakfast, Craving, Dessert, Exercise, Food, Lunch, Motivation.
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Today was just one of those days that is just right. It started out a little cool and the clouds were rather ominous looking. We decided to have some breakfast before heading to the Boulder Creek Festival. I decided to use up some of the ingredients from last night’s dinner. My mind went straight to huevos rancheros.

My recipe:

  • 1 corn tortilla
  • 2 tsp. cheddar jack cheese
  • 1/2 cup black beans
  • 1/4 cup of chopped onion and bell pepper mixture
  • 1 egg
  • salsa and cilantro to taste

Heat the black beans, peppers and onions in a saucepan until they are hot. As you are frying the egg, warm the corn tortilla. Put the bean mixture on the tortilla, sprinkle with half of the cheese. Place the egg on top and add as much salsa and cilantro as you like.

Yum! What a fresh way to start the day.

By the time breakfast was done, the sun was shining, birds were singing and we were ready to head down to the festival. It was the perfect temperature for a bike ride, and it’s so easy to get down town on the bike paths here.

For those of you not in the know about Boulder, it’s an incredibly biker/pedestrian town in Colorado. So if you like, hiking, biking, skiing, or the outdoors in general head to Boulder. You’ll find your outdoorsy paradise! It’s so nice to be able to hop on our bikes and get to all the shops and restaurants in downtown Boulder.

Memorial Day weekend is a great time in our fair city. The Boulder Creek Festival and the Bolder Boulder take place and there is a wonderful community feel that takes over the town. It was great being able to putter around looking at all the vendors booths, munching on samples, and listening to music. We tasted some alligator bratwurst (not my favorite) and elk bratwurst (which was alright). For lunch, I was in the mood for some good ole’ fair food. Rather than something deep-fried, which is what I used to desire, I opted for the marginally healthier option of a nutella crepe. It. Was. Fantastic. Worth every delicious, ooey, gooey calorie. On the way out I found these fantastic earrings… I justified getting them for having such a good week!

Aren’t they pretty??? It’s always fun looking to see what great things you can find at festivals like these!

Good Friends, Good Grub, Good Times April 16, 2011

Posted by cirellih in Dinner, Exercise, Food, Friends, Motivation.
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Weekends were made for fun. Sometimes with my job weekends are also for work. This is made tolerable because I get to work with an amazing co-worker, Ruth, who enjoys sharing a laugh… and going out for frozen yogurt.

For our tough job today, we took a group of girls to the movie Rio. We both really want to go to Brazil now. Really, it was an adorable movie. Who doesn’t like a movie with singing birds?

We spent part of our afternoon hiking up Chattaqua with minimal huffing and puffing involved. Made sure to have enough time to visit Boulder Chill for frozen yogurt. Then went off to the school for a football camp for the kiddos with some of the players from the CSU football team. All in all a great afternoon.

What made it even better? Ruth and Lindsay came over for some good summertime springtime grilled foods. Grilled chicken and potato wedges with corn on the cob, salad and bread. It was definitely a good night for my taste buds!

That is a delightfully massive pile of food! Chicken: 3pts, Bread: 2pts, Potato: 2pts, Corn: 2pts, : Salad with chickpeas and cheese: 2pts. A whole giant dinner for 11pts! That’s what I’m talking about.

There is nothing better than sharing good food with great friends! We added in a round of Dicecapades just to top off the evening. Perfection.

Wiiiiinnnnnggggsssss!!! April 8, 2011

Posted by cirellih in Craving, Dinner, Exercise, Food, Motivation.
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Today was delightfully restful/productive. I had the day off so managed to go to the gym during the daylight hours!!! Heaven forbid. This was the first time in a long while that my elliptical excursions have taken place before the 8:00 hour. Hurray for daylight and days off! I then spent the rest of the day mucking about and watching the Tudors… very addicting.

When Chris got home we discovered that we were having a hankering for Buffalo wings. Rather than going to a restaurant where they would surely be deep-fried [into crunchy goodness] we decided to go the slightly healthier grilled route.

They were nice and crispy, no oil involved, and covered in just enough sauce not drowning like they sometimes are. We definitely liked these better than previous oven attempts which often leave the wings a little mushy. Grilling is certainly the way to go! Besides, you can easily add a side of grilled veggies which complement well and hit the spot.

They certainly add a nice pop of color to the meal and are incredibly versatile. We had a zucchini and a yellow pepper on hand today, so that’s what we went for. I’m sure you could add in any other veggies that you like to mix it up a bit and add in even more color!