From the category archives:

HLS

Bring on the soup!

by agirlandhermutt on September 15, 2010

I wore a light jacket yesterday! How fun is that?! I love that the weather is getting cool and crisp. It is feeling like fall and I’m totally into it! I’m in love with the leaves changing colors and the beautiful fall days.

(This pic is from my trip last fall to NH for the wine extravaganza!)

I have a confession. I haven’t been grocery shopping in about 3 weeks. Isn’t that awful?! I’ve had some food tucked away in the fridge and pantry but yesterday I had enough. I needed fresh produce and I was dying to get back in the kitchen.

I wanted to have something light and cozy. Sandwich and soup to the rescue!

The kind folks at Arnold and HLS loaded me up with some serious Arnold Sandwich Thin coupons so I put those to good use this grocery store trip. They are the perfect size, just 100 calories, and taste great!

Mmm…avocado and hummus sandwich.

On the side was a hearty helping of Tomato Squash Soup. I whipped this up last night, but it still needs some tweaking. I think I added a little too much ginger this go round. Recipe to come soon!

Yes. That is garlic gold sprinkled on the top of my soup. I just can’t help myself. Don’t judge!

I’m officially ready for apple picking, making pumpkin pies, and all the fun fall holidays. Bring on the sweaters!

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What is your fave cold weather comfort food?

{ 13 comments }

I went. I conquered. I devoured.

by agirlandhermutt on August 20, 2010

It has been 8 days and 23 hours since I last Body Pumped…or should I say it WAS 8 days and 23 hours?! I finally got back to class last night and it felt oh so good. I pumped. I sweated. I kicked Body Pump butt.

If you have been reading for a bit, you know I am a HUGE Body Pump fan. If you haven’t, read here. My nuttiness knows no boundaries for this workout.

My weights haven’t really increased much yet for this release, but I do find that I can make it through all of the lunges without a tear forming. If that doesn’t scream success I don’t know what does.

When I got home I was Starvin Marvin! I needed food STAT. I need to work on remembering a snack for my ride home from the gym. Either that or start gnawing on the upholstery. Gross.

Enter Tofu w/ Carrot Ginger Dressing:

In the mix:
-1 carrot, shredded
-1/2 onion or shallot, chopped
-2 tbsp ginger, chopped
-2 tbsp miso
-2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
-2 tbsp toasted sesame seed oil
-2 tbsp water

I’ve made this dressing several times before (small changes each time) and I LOVE it. It has texture, a nice ginger bite and it is perfect addition for almost any food.

I soaked my tofu in the dressing and then heated it all up in a pan. Nuttin’ fancy!

I also have a confession. As much as I believe in buying local food and strive to do that as much as I can, sometimes it just isn’t possible. I needed some type of veggie tonight and I was craving broccoli. Fortunately I had bought a bag of frozen veggies just for this purpose.

I’m pretty sure these babies have seen better days.

As I was roasting these suckers up I started to beat myself up a little for not having fresh veggies in the fridge. Then I realized…we can’t all be exactly what we want to be 100% of the time. Sure I have a food philosophy I really try to stick to, but part of being human is being flexible. Right?! Right!

I baked the broccoli for 15 minutes with a little garlic gold sprinkled over top. Mmmm….Good decision to break out from my mold!

The texture of this tofu dish was a little strange at first, but I dug it. The Scientist had a few bites and didn’t spit it out so I consider that two thumbs up! How great is that? My dish is good because someone didn’t choke on it! WOOT!

Oh! But the fun didn’t end there! During my time at HLS I was given a huge amount of swag. Seriously. HUGE! One piece was a bag of Adora Calcium Supplements. These bad boys are little chocolate rounds that taste incredible!

Due to my immature attitude and inability to get rid of my 8 year old version of myself. I spent the next 15 minutes making funny faces with them. The Scientist said I looked like Coraline’s Mom. I think I was supposed to be offended, but that is actually one of my fave movies. Ha! I’ll show him! Do you see a resemblance? (Please say you do!)

Just a tip…don’t play with your chocolates for too long. They will become quite mushy and require you to lick the foil wrapper in a really embarrassing way.

If you are a little jealous of my chocolate eyes, make sure to check out Mary over at Fervent Foodie for a chance to win your very own bag of these! If you win I want a photo of you making your own googly eyes. I’m not kidding.

Have a great day kids!

{ 21 comments }

The Spice Girls Can Solve Any Problem…

by agirlandhermutt on August 18, 2010

I always need a vacation from my vacations. I have mentioned it before but I suffer from some serious post-vacation depression. FYI…this time is no different! I am missing my new friends from HLS and I desperately don’t want to work or go to school. Le sigh…

To make myself feel better, I did the only thing I could think of. I cranked up some tunes and got to making dinner! I enjoyed the process of getting fresh groceries in the fridge and rummaging through them to figure out something fun to make. *Smile* I do enjoy being home and tonight was a nice reminder.

I put on my computer, a little Spice Girls music (don’t judge) and got to making dinnah.

Hello Spice Girl Burgers!

In the mix (makes 6 burgers):
-1/2 c. breadcrumbs
-1 egg
-1 tsp cumin
-1 tbsp jalapeno, diced
-2 tbsp plain greek yogurt (Mmm…Chobani!)
-1 tbsp hot sauce (I used my uber yummy Sailor’s Swagger Pineapple Hot Sauce!)
-1/8 tsp salt
-1/8 tsp pepper
-1 15 oz. can pinto beans, rinsed

*In a medium sized bowl, mix together all ingredients except the beans.

*Add in beans and place contents of bowl in food processor till you get a smooth mixture.

*Form mixture into 6 bean burger patties.

*Spray medium sized cooking pan with cooking spray. Place burgers in pan and heat on each side for 2-4 minutes.

While those babies were heating up, I made a little mixture of greek yogurt and hot sauce. For some excitement I sprinkled on some garlic gold too! Mmm….I could have licked the spoon clean of this fun little dip. Kind of looks like an egg, huh? My final magic touch…singing Spice Up Your Life at the top of my lungs. *Note to my neighbors: So sorry!*

*Serve up a burger with a dollop of the yogurt dip on the top and enjoy! By the way, dollop…one of my favorite words in the world.

I couldn’t let my little burger be on the plate all alone so I dug around a little through the fridge and found some fresh corn that needed to be used up ASAP. I picked up the corn right before I left for Chicago from the farmer’s market. Plus, there was plenty of Spice Girls music on the computer left to listen too!

All nice and cleaned up.

Hello Cold Corn Salad!

In the mix (Makes 6 cups):
-2 cups corn, fresh! (or you could use frozen)
-1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
-1 avocado, cubed
-1/4 red onion, medium, diced

Dressing:
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 tbsp lime juice
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp pepper

*Cut up all veggies and mix together.

*Mix together dressing and add to veggie mixture. Cover and chill for 1 hr before serving.

I loved this salad not only because of the awesomely fresh flavors, but also because 3 of the ingredients came from the town I live in! Onion and corn from the farmer’s market and tomatoes from my very own garden! Yay for a slightly green thumb.

I added this lovely little salad to my Spice Girl Burgers, stepped back and gave myself a little pat on the back. I also busted into “Wannabe” for my final performance.

The best part? I get to eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

Phew. Although I am having some “fun time” withdraw I know I will be fine. I have TONS of work work, blog work, and school work to concentrate on. I also have plans to spend some quality time with my boys this weekend and force them to enjoy every minute of it.

Oh, and I *might* have signed up for another conference to help me recover from post-vacation depression. WHAT?! Blame Jessie and Mary!

And last but not least…I will always have my Spice Girls!

Question of the day: How do you get back into the swing of things after vacation? Do you unpack right away? Leave your bags packed until you HAVE to wash those undies so you don’t totally run out?