How to Make the Perfect Omelet

For lunch today, I made my very favorite kind of egg white omelet: Parmesan Broccoli and Corn. This combination of flavors is divine!!! Trust me.

I wanted to give you some tips on how to make a great omelet.

First, I highly recommend using liquid egg whites. So much simpler.

These cost about $3.75. Significantly more than a dozen eggs, but they save so much time. Worth it.

I use frozen veggies, so I give them a quick nuke in the microwave to thaw.

Meanwhile, Get a medium pan, 6-8 inches(ish) across at the bottom. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and throw in your veggies.

The trick to a good flip is using a verrrrry thin layer of egg whites. Just enough to keep your veggies sticking together. It doesn't need to cover them entirely.

Sprinkle a bit of parmesan in for flavor.

Make sure you have your pan at just over medium heat. You don't want the eggs to cook too fast. They will burn!

You'll know your omelet is ready to fold when you start to see bubbles appear all over the omelet. If there's excess egg white still floating on the top, slide your spatula under one side and let the liquid flow beneath it.

The most important thing to remember about making the perfect fold is that it doesn't have to be perfect!

Slide your spatula under one side. I like to scoot the whole omelet to that edge, so that I can tip the pan toward the fold. Then, just... fold!

After the flip, turn your heat down to low, so the inside of the omelet can continue to cook without fear of the whole thing burning.

Not so perfect, but tasty is perfect enough for me.

**Silly Survey**

How do you take your eggs?
Do you eat the yolks?
Have you jumped on the whole egg whites in your oatmeal bandwagon?

Wall Art & Breakfast All Day

What does a food blogger put on her new kitchen walls?

Food, of course!

Okay, I can't hold out any longer to show you guys this. Guess what? Guess what?

Remember what our dining room looked like when we moved in? No furniture, nothing. Well, we finally got our dining room furniture delivered!

AMAYzing. Fabulous. Seriously. We opted for three different style seating options. A fully leather chair, a leather seat with wood backing, and a bench. The second leather chair sits in our bedroom, but we can bring it out to make this table a six-seater. And, what about that buffet? Do you love it or what?!?

Have I mentioned how much we love our new apartment?!?! Yay!

Today I've eaten breakfast all day long. Just call me Ihop.

Breakfast: Poached Eggs (with sea salt) and a buttered Ezekiel Muffin

Oats for Lunch.

I'm breaking out of breakfast for dinner, though. I've got chicken wings cooking in the crockpot. Caribbean Jerk marinade. Yum!

**Silly Survey**

Do you like to decorate?

What would you say is your decorating "style"?

Where do you get most of your decorating ideas from?

37 Hours Without Sleep

Sorry for my complete absence yesterday. I am sometimes struck by bouts of insomnia. Wednesday night was one of those nights, which meant I was completely a zombie yesterday. I spent 100% of the day here:

Unfortunately, the insomnia continued until I finally broke down and took a Nyquil at 10pm last night. I then fell into a coma-type state until 7 am when Ryan had to wake me up. I'm still groggy today.

Yesterday, I pouched eggs for the first time ever. This is what you do when you are in a state of hysterical non-sleepness? you ask.

Obviously.

I managed to throw myself together a decent lunch around 1pm.

By the time Ryan got home, I had reached a new level of delirium. He took one look at me and said, "Lay down. I'll make dinner." No problem, buddy.

He threw together a classic boy dinner.

Any dinner you don't have too cook tastes amazing! :)

**Silly Survey**

What's the longest you've gone without sleep?

What do you do when you can't sleep?

How many hours do you aim for each night?

"Spend Out" Success!

Today was a day of failure and victory. I will start with the failure.

Well, actually, I will start with breakfast.

Remember that Quaker pancake mix I picked up the other day?

I broke it out today.

I hate syrup, so it's basically butter and peanut butter for me.

Yes, that's a 50% off sticker on there. You guys know I love a bargain.

I realized after I snapped that first pic that my eyes were bigger than my stomach, so I downgraded to one pancake.

So, after breakfast, things went downhill. We ordered pizza last night and there was half of it left this morning. Let's just say that it was all gone by 1pm. Then, I finished off two snack bars, a can of green beans, two persian cucumbers, and... I think that's it... Sigh... Oh, E.D., why do you hate me?... Telling you guys all about that is my way of being accountable. boo.

However, things looked up after Ryan came home. I got my new Lunarfly Nikes in the mail today. Oh, be still my beating heart.

Immediately, I fell in love. I've never had running shoes this cute. EVER! I got a chance to work on this week's "moral," Spend Out. The first thing I thought when I saw these shoes was: I don't want to get them dirty on our running path!

Then, I got my Health magazine in the mail. Again, I was like, "Oh, I don't want to read that yet." I always want to "save" it, since I won't get another mag for a whole month.

THEN, I realized I was on my last "running" bandaid and wanted to save it.

I realized... WHAT AM I SAVING FOR?!?

So, I reminded myself that I need to SPEND OUT. Quit saving everything for later. Enjoy the moment!

I opened up my mag.

Put on my running bandaid (it's covering a blister).

And, I tied up my laces and went out for a run with my hubby! He pushed me SO hard, too.

SUCCESS!!!!

I felt so bad after my binge today, but my run completely turned that frown upside down. :D

For dinner, I made chicken and rice with brussels sprouts.

Ryan's plate:

Mine:

After dinner, JGago came over for some after-dinner coffee.

I mixed a bit of this with some instant decaf. Yum!

See? Everyday can be a success. You just have to take the time to something good for YOURSELF, and remember to spend out your goodness. :)

**Silly Survey**

Do you put off things that make you happy so you don't "use them up"?

What are some of the little joys in your life?

What do you do to turn around a bad day?

Have a great night/day everyone!

Tootles,

Breakfast Find & More Weekend Pics

It's Monday! One of the really great things about working for myself is that I don't dread Mondays. I don't exactly love them, because it means hubby goes back to work, but I don't hate them. It's a beautiful thing. Really.

So, here are some more pictures from our little trip to Syrah this weekend.

I'm.So.Short.

I really need to wear high heels all the time just to look like I'm half-way normal.

Anywho, I'm about to have a meeting, so I'll make this quick. I wanted to show you what I found at the 99 Cent Store.

Score!

I've never had this before, and I'm stoked to give it a go. I'll let you know.

P.S. It's Spend Out Day 1. Wish me luck.

**Silly Survey**

Do you dread Mondays?

If you loved your job, would you still dread the end of the weekend?

Would you prefer to be independently wealthy? :p

Tootles!

Coconut Peanut Butter Oatmeal

Good Mooooooooooooooorning World!

Have you noticed how awesome the morning starts when you begin with a bowl of oats?!? Holy effingham, it's amazing.

It also helped alot that the first email I read on my blackberry was my editor for my newest (and awesomest) writing gig telling me how fantastic my first article was. Yay! Then, my husband went on and on this morning about what a "cute little wifey" he has. :) Oatmeal and compliments start a day off right, yes?

My oats had the following:

-1/2 cup water

-1/2 cup 1%

-1/2 cup whole oats

-1/2 tbsp creamy peanut butta

-1 tbsp sweetened coconut

-a whole lotta yum

I'm about to go do something exercise-y. After that, I'm going to have a productive, nag-free writing day. Wish me luck! :D

**Silly Survey**

How do you take your oats?

Do you eat instant oats or whole oats?

What's your favorite brand of oatmeal?

Do you put fruit in your oats? What kind?

Tootles,

P.S. If you missed my nephew, click here and tell me how amazing and perfect he is! Go now! He's amazing!!! :p

Did you notice that everything is "amazing" today? lol.

My 12 Commandments

In the spirit of self-improvement, which admittedly is a luxury of our American world, an idea has sparked in my wild mind. Lest it naggle and flit around like an irritating fruit fly, I have to see it through. For some time I've been wanting to devise a way for me to be a better wife, friend, and all-alround awesome person. I've changed alot since I first lost that 200 pounds and not all of that has been physical. A huge portion, in fact, has been internal.

I've recently been reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It's cool. It's basically a right-brained attempt at answering the question of personal happiness, very technical and yet humorous at the same time. Go check it out if you have an interest in such things.

Anywho, back to MY 12 Commandments.

I've wanted to create a way to measure the positive characteristics in my life ever since I heard about Benjamin Franklin's idea of "Moral Perfection." Though this idea is revisited in Rubin's book, I first heard it when I was reguarlarly attending a zendo in Pacific Beach. His program was to focus his attention on one moral "code" each week, and through habit his behaviors and character would improve. LOVE the idea. I have always said that all things we do are the results of habit. His "virtues" are:

TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.

INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

MODERATION. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.

TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.

HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

These are awesome and all, but I wanted something a little more Jasmine. Why 12? Well, I'm not religious, which is why I didn't have to stick with 10. Plus, I really couldn't widdle them down to 10. Old Benjamin has 13, which just seems unlucky. So, 12 it is.

Here's mine:

1. Be Nice More, Nag Less.

2. Spend Out.

3. Love as Action.

4. Complain for a Purpose (or Not at All).

5. Listen Closely.

6. Practice Order.

7. Let it Be, Let it Go.

8. Be the Change.

9. Commit Fully.

10. Give Blindly.

11. Thank Life Daily.

12. Be Here Now.

This week (Mon-Sun), I will be focusing on nagging less. This will almost exclusively be practiced within my marriage for obvious reasons. However, the "be nice more" part can be practiced in every situation. Tomorrow, I will post about Day 1 to let you know how it went. I am a major "nagger" so this is going to be rough. Wish me luck.

Housekeeping Stuff. This is still a food blog, but I'm branching out. When you improve one part of your life, all things improve, I think. Let's see how much I can "improve" in the next 12 weeks.

This weekend, I tried the Fiber One Blueberry Muffins for the first time. I was very impressed.

I had some frozen blueberries in the freezer anyway, so I threw maybe 1/2 cup in. Otherwise, I followed the box.

These came out great. Hubby LOVED them.

We ate two before I remembered to take a picture. :p I highly recommend these muffins. Very filling, great taste.

**Survey Time**

Blog Questions

Do you prefer blogs that only talk about food?

Do you like the idea of incorporating a self-improvement section into a "healthy" blog?

Do you follow mostly food blogs?

What other kinds of blogs do you enjoy?

Is your blog focused exclusively on food/exercise?