Barley for Breakfast?!?

Just because it's made by Quaker does NOT make it a breakfast food...

Good morning!!!

Sorry I didn't blog last night. It was busy. My friend, Heather, was here until after 9 and then I had to do some editing with my hubby.

I'll jump all the way back to lunch, when I had leftovers of the Most Amazing Peanut Chicken ever. I wrapped it up in a whole wheat tortilla.

Hubby and I were supposed to go to the gym together. Instead, he dropped me off and went to run "errands." These "errands" were the kind he couldn't run with me and are most likely related to Valentine's Day, I'm guessing. ;)

Our friend, Heather, came over at 7, and we had Tilapia & Red Cabbage Tacos.

This was the first time I'd ever cooked red cabbage. It was SO good.

For some reason, Ryan didn't want to be in the picture.

Since I had a tortilla for lunch, I just broke a white corn tortilla over my "salad."

After dinner, Heather and I walked to the fro-yo place down the street. I swear I take everyone I know there. :)

Here's Heather taking a very exaggerated bite so you know how AMAZING this stuff is. :)

And, that was it for last night! This morning I had a weird breakfast. I wanted oatmeal, so I put my milk and water on the stove to heat before I realized I'm out of oats! Booooo.

So, I pulled out this box of Quick Barley I bought a while back to make Chicken-Barley Chili.

There's a reason it shows barley in soup on the front of this box. It really isn't much of a breakfast food. Though, it did look promising at first...

The barley completely absorbed the liquid.

So, I used a mug because all the bowls (and spoons) are in the dishwasher, getting clean as I write this. I added a little milk and some peanut butter to make it more breakfast-y.

And berries...

Ya... it was weird. I ate it though. he he... I guess it could be a breakfast food if you did something "savory" with it. Sweet, not so much. 

Today is a heavy writing day. I'll catch you guys later!

What is the strangest breakfast concoction you've had/made?

New Finds at Costco & Hot Chili Tilapia

I think Costco is starting to read the blogs, because their stuff is getting downright healthy...

Good evening my bloggie friends...

I apologize for not posting today. I have made some minor adjustments to my schedule that will hopefully free up a bit more time. I've been going off-the-charts crazy trying to keep all the balls in the air. There comes a point when I have to realize that I'm not a circus clown. I'm just a woman.

Anywho... today's lunchie was leftovers from Hubby in the Kitchen and an apple.

After lunch (and a whole lot of writing), I went to Costco. Love that place. Ryan especially loves their samples. The only sample that derailed my speed-o-light shopping trip was a tiny thing of chicken noodle soup that I consumed only because they keep the store approximately the temperature of the Arctic. 

I picked up some chicken tenderloins, tilapia, ground turkey, and two great new finds I've never seen (at Costco) before.

The waffles are for Ryan. He loves waffles. I was really excited to find these Seeds of Change microwaveable pouches. Perfect for the weeknight!

Dinner tonight was a really great example of how you can put together a healthy meal on a weeknight. It truly doesn't take long.

One of the focuses of Better b4 Baby is to eat fewer calories after 5pm. I tend to be a nighttime eater. I also tend to snack while I make dinner. This is a terrible habit!!! Unfortunately, I did it tonight.

Caught!

I'm not perfect, but I really want to shed these last 15 pounds to truly be the healthiest I can be, and to make a future pregnancy a bit easier. I lost 200... surely I can manage 15, yes?! :) [Yes, I'm breaking the food blog rules and talking about weight. So, sue me.]

Anywho, back to dinner.

Hot Chili Tilapia, Quinoa & Whole Grain Brown Rice, and a Salad

I used a new spice I picked up at Vine Ripe Market to season my tilapia. It's a chili powder from Pakistan. I love it, but it's so hot that while cooking with it, I could NOT stop sneezing. It tasted fantastic, though!

Those of you who prefer to keep the roof of your mouth and the surface of your tongue intact might want to consider using a fairly small amount. Everyone else just douse the fish with seasoning on each side and cook using a nonstick spray. No special technique here.

I served the tilapia with a side of quinoa/brown rice mix and a green salad.

I realize that you guys might not be able to tell what my portions are, so I took a picture of Ryan's meal and mine.

Portion Sizes. I usually eat a 1/2 piece of fish and about 1/2 cup of grains. He gets a whole piece of fish and about 1 cup of grains (he usually eats seconds of the grains, as well). His salad is also larger than mine.

I usually use a small plate. He always uses a regular one. Mine's on top.

Though I don't necessarily talk about portion sizes alot, I try to be very aware of the amount of food I'm eating. It's the thing that keeps me from having to "diet."

How do you try to stay aware of your portion sizes? Do you "worry" about those kinds of things?

(Leftover) Southwestern Tilapia Salad Sandwich

I think this might be the most beautiful use of leftovers yet...

This morning went by really quickly, and I managed to be very productive. My green monster held me until about 10 when I started craving my favorite sweet and savory combination:

Apples + Pepperjack = YUM

After my snack, I worked until around 12:40, when I broke for a longer break. I have a rule about lunch.

Thou shalt not eat lunch at thy desk.

Any other meal is okay. I even eat dinner at my desk sometimes when I have a deadline or something. But, lunch, no. Lunch is a time to relax. Even if it's only 20 minutes.

Lunch today was a creative use of yesterday's dinner. I combined the remaining half of my Coconut-encrusted Tilapia with a bit of salsa to create a southwestern tilapia salad.

 

I'm out of sandwich thins, so I used a toasted Ezekiel Muffin. This was really tasty, but way too filling. My aim was to have a big lunch, since my dinner will be small and rushed (class tonight). I could only eat half of the sammy.

I also warmed up the remaining shellie beans. I definitely ate all of those! And, all my maters, too.

The whole spread:

Yes, that's a fairly large lunch, but I need something that will keep me full for a while. I only have a 15 minute break between my lecture, which starts at 5:30, and my lab which runs from 7-10pm. I needed to pack something that would fit in my school bag, and would be a very quick scarf.

So, what I came up with was a half PB&J on the Darnizky bread (these slices are huge), two cuties, and a mix of pretzels and Kashi Honey Sunshine. I figure I can put the mix in my pocket and steal bites during my Chemistry Lab.

I know this isn't the best dinner, but I drew a blank on ideas. Wednesday nights are the only night I'll need to do this. Basically, I need something that's filling enough to get me through 5 hours of school and will fit in my bag. Nothing messy.

Any suggestions?

--------------

Last chance on the contest. It ends tonight. I'll announce the winner in the morning.

Coconut-Encrusted Tilapia and More Yams!!!

Waste not, want not. This is the Eat Move Write credo.

So, as you know, I made yam fries for lunch.

Since Ryan had cooked the burgers the night before, I only needed to warm mine up. It shared a tray with the yams in the sauna.

I even got to use my new plate.

The yams were the obvious stars of the show.

After lunch, I had alot of writing to do, so the afternoon went really quick. Before I knew it, it was time to go pick up Ryan from work. Did I mention that drive is an hour round trip? Yeah... about that...

Dinner tonight was by candlelight, and not just any candle. My creme brulee candle... I like my candles to smell like things that are far too caloric for me to eat on a regular basis. Smells however are completely calorie free! :D

About dinner... It was scrumptious.

Coconut-encrusted tilapia with a side of shellie beans (love) and the leftover yam fries. The fries were a bit mushy since I didn't take the time to re-bake them. Still, I try to always use up my leftovers if I can.

About that tilapia... Yum! We love tilapia. We try to eat fish pretty regularly, but right now I'm avoiding tuna and salmon because we're trying for a baby. I know there are lots of other fishies in the sea, but pretty much those three are our favs.

Everything was delicious, but the shellie beans stole the show.

 

See... I grew up eating shellie beans. My gram and gramps had a garden, and they canned them for the winter months. So we were spoiled. Fresh shellie beans all year around. Here in Cali, they are impossible to find -- even canned. I found these at the 99 cent store. Go figure!

Now, I'm about to study some chemistry. I have class tomorrow from 5:30-10pm! That's a loooong day!

What was/is your favorite subject in school? Mine is definitely not chemistry or anything math-related. I love health and writing classes (of course). I also have always loved history, psychology, and sociology.

----------------

Tomorrow is the last day for the contest. Enter here.

Be Green: Recycle Your Food

In my quest to leave no leftover unused, I used the kidney bean and spinach rice dish again for dinner last night. I skillet-browned some tilapia fillets and served with cut-up apples on the side. Simple and quick (required). Mr. Myers thought it was mighty tasty too, so it was a hubby-approved meal.

This morning is very busy. I'm working on a lot of great projects right now (possibly too many, but that's how I work), none of which can I share with you at this time! :p However, I'm very excited, and can say only that there's going to be some changes that I think you guys will love! Thank you for all your support.

Much love,
--Mrs. Myers

---

Sushi, Mac n Cheese and an XBox Burrito

Buenos Nachos ;)

The man and I just got back from the gym a bit ago. I realize I rarely ever tell you guys about my workouts. Quite frankly, exercise is not nearly so interesting to me as food. Still.

We did a long workout, and I managed to pound out 2.25 miles on the treadmill without stopping. That's the farthest I've run at one time EVER! (Pauses for applause.) It was cool. When I finished that little feat, I walked until the treadmill read 30 minutes, and then I hopped on the upright bike for another 15 on the hills program. Then, I worked out my deltoids, triceps, biceps and some abs. Fun fun.

Before I tell you about dinner, I'm going to back up for a quick minute to tell you about the rest of the day.

This morning, I slept in. Unfortunately that left me getting ready at break-neck speed. I had maybe 4 minutes to eat my breakfast of two pieces of toast with natural peanut butter. That's a small breakfast for me, especially since the bread is only 60 cals per slice, but I had NO time. So, I threw a few things in my bag and hit the door.

That little sammie might look unassuming, but it was fantabulous!!!! It was ham and swiss, and I threw it in the toaster oven at the office for like 5 minutes. Oh my wordpress, it was amazing. I think this was mostly because I hadn't had a plain o' ham n cheese in forever.

Thankfully I took that stuff, because like always, I didn't get home until late. It was 2pm and I was starving. I had a beautiful second lunch.

Do you love that or what? Wait. Wait. Here it is from another angle.

I was so in love with these colors as I ate this. A really juice nectarine and three pieces of a brown rice california roll. YUM!

Later, I had some whole grain fig newtons. Love em.

Dinner after the gym has to be quick. I know we just had fish, but fish was the ticket again tonight. Tilapia, whole wheat mac n cheese and peas. Simple and good. I had an embarrassingly large portion of everything.

And I really did eat it all. I must have worked up an appetite at the gym. :)

Other than maybe a popsicle, that's it for tonight. Hubby is currently laying on the living room floor worrying over his XBox360, who is sick right now and won't work for him. The roommate told him there's a supposed fix on Youtube where you use a towel to wrap your beloved game console up for five minutes and it somehow fixes the whole problem. So, yep, you guessed it. He's sitting there with an XBox burrito. lol. If I thought he wouldn't throw something at me, I'd sneak a picture for you. But... I have to admit, if my laptop stopped working and someone said I could fix it by wrapping a towel around it, you better believe I'd do it, so... ya... All jokes aside, has anyone heard if this actually works? It supposedly fixes a malfunction inherent to all XBox 360s. Dunno. I can't even turn that thing on. What do I know?

Ok ok ok, I'm done. xoxoxoxoxo!

P.S. Tomorrow is Hubby in the Kitchen. Stay tuned!

----