This Week

Monday:

It was my Dad's 71st birthday! Woot woot.

Breakfast

So duh. We had to go to Denny's before work to claim my Dad's free grand slam. But more importantly, WHO AM I? I've gone my whole life thinking bacon (especially nitrite-filled bacon) was the most vile food on the planet until now???? I still don't love it, but I was craving it that morning. WHAT? I did the pick 4 build your own grand slam and obviously had fruit, BACON, eggs, and my daily (unpictured) caffeine drip.

Can I just say this was a 1000% better Denny's experience than the day before? Yes, I went to Denny's two days in a row. NOBODY SAID I WASN'T CLASSY! Anyway, we went to a different location the day before (the North Central location in Plano, Texas. Remember that locals and travelers passing through, and NEVER go there. G-damn assholes. SRSLY). We were seated almost instantly, but our food didn't come for FIFTY MINUTES. YES, PEOPLE, I HAVE TO TYPE LIKE THIS. I AM YELLING. 5-0 MINUTES. The waitress quit checking on us after about a half hour. We spoke to the manager and he basically yelled at US and called us liars. I mean, I can't even. And we really got nothing (but a verbal beating from him) to show for it either. YOUR MANAGER IS AN ASSHOLE, DENNY'S. DO SOMETHING. Your other Plano location's manager, and some of the wait staff, however, are absolute gems.

Okay, I think I can calm down down.

Sooooo, I wasn't that hungry for lunch and was saving up my appetite for the birthday boy's dinner.

Instead of a real lunch, I had a pb&j (brown) rice cake.

Paper towel plate and everything! I didn't know there was a step down from my recent styrofoam lunches, but alas I surprise myself!

Yeah, that big birthday dinner? Didn't happen. My dogchild wasn't feeling well (she has heart disease. I don't want to talk about it, later), so we didn't want to leave her alone. My Dad suggested we wait for her to feel better and we just got Whataburger as a consolation prize. But it was actually good!

I just had a basic cheeseburger + I stole like 1 or 2 onion rings and a small handful of fries. Yep, I was totally that "oh, no fried sides for me, thanks!" Wannabe health person who just steals everybody elses. Then it doesn't count, 'cause you didn't order it!!


Dessert was clearly birthday cake. Luckily we had picked up a big ole chocolate mess from Costco (!!! our first costco experience!) the afternoon before. It was a chemical shitstorm, but it sure tasted pretty good. That icing! Oh yeah.

How do you make a cake worse? Add processed cookies! Yes, please. My brother and I wanted to sample the new Oreo flavors, so what better excuse, amirite?

Kind of a puny serving, but don't worry, you'll be seeing more of this cake. Like, every single day following this one. True story.

Oh, I'm sorry, was this supposed to be a healthy living blog? WHOOPS.

Tuesday:

We took my dog to her heart specialist in the morning and didn't get the best news. It wasn't the worst news and potentially may not be (significantly) worse than she was already, but her condition has declined. Please pray that her new medication keeps her stable for a long long long time. She's my entire heart and soul. I'm convinced that she has an enlarged heart because my heart jumped in there to sit next to hers, because she's EVERYTHING.

I was too nervous to eat before the appointment and too distraught after. I stayed home from work to feel sorry for myself and snuggle the love of my life. Eventually I made myself eat something after my stomach started to rumble mid-afternoon.

Brunch

Leftover Denny's skillet ingredients from the horrible experience topped with a fried egg & cawfs

As a snack I heated up some frozen spinach artichoke dip from Trader Joe's with a few beanville bean-based tortilla chips aka the best tortilla chips known to man

Dinner

My familia came to mi casa to watch American Idol and I made a rando dinner. I made a little chicken breast, tossed in a couple (costco) pre-made vegetarian dolmas, and a (costco) salmon-en-croute thing-a-ma-bob with a little spinach dip to combat any dryness. It wasn't the best dinner of life, but it was pretty good.

Wednesday:

Breakfast

Nothing sounded that good, so simple cholula-enhanced eggs & ezekiel raisin toast with coconut spread always get the job done

Lunch 

I was sad about my pup again, so I didn't really feel like eating, but I made myself eventually. I had leftover taco stuff from V-Day on low-carb tortillas. Kind of looks pretty. Oh, avocado, you're everything.

Snacky Snack

I talked to boss-man (aka Dad) and he agreed if I work from home part of the day I can go home early every Wednesday to have one day to spend extra time with Bella. My stomach felt off from being so sad, so I stopped for fro-yo on the way home. I know dairy hurts some people's bellies, but it always seems to soothe mine. Plus, it's frozen yogurt. I mean, no explanation necessary. This was a mix of cookies & cream (!!!!!!!!!!!), plain (aka tart) topped with strawbs and coconut. FAVE. I was super impressed with myself for not filling the container (above the) top....but it still weighed 9 oz. Oh. That seems like a lot.

Dinner

The fam bam came over again for idol and my mom brought groceries! She decided to cook from my house and made us her famous cheese zucchini (my dad's fave of all time) and beef strogonoff. So good! I like my mom cooking more. I'm the cook of the family, but it's really nice to come home to dinner. Maybe I should get me a wife. Just kidding. House husband? Hmm....no. Ah well, mom will do!!!!!

Dessert

Oh hai cake. Seriously, did they really have to store the cake at my house? I don't even usually like chocolate cake, but I can't keep my paws off. At least I've only been having it once a day. I call that willpower personally.

Thursday:

Breakfast

Getting a little boring in the mornings, but always tastes great!

Snack

I was hungry a little early, but not hungry enough for lunch so I had a snack first. Although I don't remember ever finishing this. Hmm I think I took it home and finished it later in the day? Sure, let's go with that.

Lunch

I was really hungry when I heated this up, but by the time it was ready to eat I was too sad about my doggie again and couldn't really eat. I love her SO much, you guys. She has to stay healthy.

This was leftover chicken topped with hot & sweet mustard, a spinach pancake (not as good as zucchini, fyi), and leftover cheesy zucchini. It took me hours of taking like a bite at a time, but eventually I ate it all.

Dinner

I made mac n cheese for the base of dinner (it was Goldfish brand, yes the cracker--pizza mac n cheese flavor. It tasted like feet. I mean..it was bad). Good thing I found these leftovers hiding out, even if it was a little overcooked. Anything was better than that monstrosity they tried to pass off as the blue box of heaven! I bought it for my brother, but I knew I wanted to try it. I was 100% sure it would either be delicious or atrocious. I was right. That drink is unsweetened iced tea mixed with 100% cranberry juice not from concentrate (aka the really sour stuff). I later found out my dad made that tea about a month ago and it was just chillin' (literally...) in the fridge. UGH. Not my finest dining experience. At all.

Dessert

cake AND ice cream? I must think I'm fancy!!

Friday:

Breakfast

You can tell what most of this picture consist of, but that egg dish is a mix of egg whites +  a fried egg along with mushrooms, goat cheese, and leftover chicken. Sauteed spinach would have put it over the top, but as is it still did NOT disappoint.

We were taking my Dad out for his birthday for real this time, so I didn't eat lunch for some reason? I had a handful of macadamias & something else to tide me over. A few chips or something? I forget.

Dinner

Maker's Mark old-fashioned. For some reason, Red Lobster makes a really delightful AND reasonably priced old fashioned. WIN. Just call me grandpa.

I tried to be a cheap date and ordered the pick 4 for $15.99 special. I had blueberry vinaigrette on the salad, took off the tortilla strips on the spicy soup, and ate about half the broccoli and half the fish. I took 3 bites of the cheesecake and decided it was soooo not worth it. Blech. I also took 1 bite of my dad's birthday sundae and gave him the rest of the cheesecake. It sure made me crave a good slice of cheesecake factory cheese though. Crap! Next time, key lime pie. Red lobster knows old fashioneds and key lime pie. And according to most people, cheddar bay biscuits, but I think those are just ok (for the record I had one that escaped the camera).

OMG no birthday cake? Weird.

Saturday:

Breakfast

older than I'd like to admit high fiber tortilla I found in my pantry filled with fried egg, half an avo, 1 slice turkey bacon, and land o' lakes white american cheese (aka heaven from a cow). Yum.

I brought my leftover Red Lobster for lunch, but I really wasn't feeling it. I finished the fish, but left the broccoli & salad.

My mom got Pei Wei for lunch and asked if I wanted any. It sounded WAY too sodium-filled for me that day, so I declined.....but then agreed to a couple crab wontons

Which further put me in a Chinese food mood, so I mixed the rest of the wonton sauce with a little gyoza sauce and made TJ's potstickers....

Snack

It's baaaaaaaaack! And before dinner. So healthy! 

Dinner

Grimaldi's Pizza always sends an e-mail to the birthday boy or girl for a free large pizza. We can't turn that down, so my brother, Dad, and I shared a large pizza (meatball, ricotta, and onion--I had 2 slices), my dad and I shared a large house salad (I had about 750 bowls), and I had a glass of house wine ($4!). The pizza took awhile and was a little burnt, but it's still New York pizza, so it's fab.

Umm, so even with the cake I still had...

Dessert

I kind of regretted this decision before, during, and after, but it's small, so no big deal. Right? 1 rice krispy treat oreo, 1 cookie dough oreo, and unsweetened vanilla almond milk. You know I dunked those babies!

Sunday:

Breakfast

Homemade misto! So good.

Recently I found boxes of pancake mix in one of my cabinets from late 2012. I used the pumpkin one from Trader Joe's today. It still tasted freaking amazing, so hopefully it's not too old :-x. Topped with whipped cream 'cause I DO WHAT I WANT! + coconut spread + maple syrup. Yeah, I went there. And 1 lonely fried egg.

Lunch

2 zucchini pancakes + leftover strogonoff. Such a lovely photo, doesn't it just make you want to have this lunch too?!

Er, yeah it's basically 10 pm and I haven't had dinner yet. I think I'll get right on that. I'm thinking Turkey bacon BLT on sourdough. Yeahhhh. 

No slices of cake, but I did transfer the leftovers into tupperware containers and had my share of licks, bites, and tastes. I was elbow deep in cake, I'm surprised there was still any left to put away! But alas, I got it to fit in FIVE containers. Oh shit son, we still have cake for days. This is becoming a disaster!

Sooo, about that food...

Ooh and I hope 90 Day Fiance recorded. TLC, you suck me in every time. Looks like it's gonna be a late night.

See ya!

xo,

Amanda

Meal Catchup

She's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack. (How many times have you heard that before? Don't count.).

What's up, people? Just checking in to do a photo dump. Aren't you lucky?

So, did you miss me? Again?

I think blogging helps with accountability and making better choices, so I'm back to photographing and hopefully sharing most meals. No promises, but fingers crossed, okay? I haven't gotten all obsessive about taking pics of every snack or bite/lick/taste, so maybe that's cheating, but at least it feels less daunting!

Here's Monday-Sunday (Feb. 10-16). It wouldn't be xoAmanda if I wasn't perpetually behind!

Monday:

Breakkie

Choccie Protein Shake. I think it had chocolate Sunwarrior protein powder, half a frozen banana?, frozen strawberries maybe, and a handful of spinach. Probably a little stevia, too. Maybe a little hemp and flax?

Lunch

Unpictured. Don't remember. Whoops. I think it was brown rice, peas, and some kind of protein.

Dinner

Used up an Outback gift card. Simply grilled mahi mahi (half eaten in the pic) with steamed broccoli.

I barely touched the rice (I HATE when rice comes with a meal when it wasn't on the menu description. Yuck!) I ordered off the health menu, but the broccoli still came drenched in butter? Makes sense. Not.

Dessert

sugar-free chocolate coconut milk ice cream with one crumbled peppermint oreo-like cookie from Sprouts and a few almonds + pecans

Tuesday:

Breakfast

coffee, 1 egg, 1 nitrite-free turkey bacon, breakfast potatoes, 1 slice o' ezekiel raisin roast with coconut spread

Lunch

Trader Joe's chili lime chicken burger patty, blue cheese & greek yogurt mashed cauliflower, leftover brown rice/peas/breakfast potato combo

Snack

I usually come home from work FAMISHED and eat everything not locked down in the kitchen while I prep dinner (or worse, raid my parents pantry before I even get home when I go there to pick up my dog every night), so I'm trying to incorporate more healthy snacks into the work day to nip that habit. Pictured here is Chobabi simply yogurt (stevia and monk fruit sweetened. Only 6 grams of sugar) and some almond milky black tea.

Dinner

Chili with organic blue corn chips topped with greek yogurt and hot sauce. Phew no GMOs. Chili gives me heartburn and/or a stomachache 99.9% of the time I eat it, but my mom made this and I was hungry. Yes, I felt awful after, but it was kiiiiind of worth it. Thanks, Mom.

Dessert

Homemade "rice krispy treat" except made with Aldi-brand organic cheerios + Krave chocolate cereal. Not healthy, but damn good.

Wednesday:

Breakfast

coffeecoffee, 1 egg, asparagus wrapped with 1 turkey bacon, ezekiel raisin toast with coconut spread. Later most of this was drenched in cholula, I imagine

Lunch

TJ's chili lime chicken burger topped with sauteed mushrooms & goat cheese, more (grilled this time) asparagus, raw snap peas dipped in ranch

Snack Attack

Pretty self-explanatory

Dinner

Ugly picture, but tasty take out salad. Pei Wei thai chili lime salad with steamed chicken with no salad dressing + I added a few almonds and cashews. Can't resist a buy one get one coupon, especially when it comes to Pei Wei! 

Dessert-esque

When my family doesn't have chocolate at their house and I'm over there watching American Idol or some other competition show and may die without cacao consumption for the next 2 hours, I have an emergency supply of adora calcium disks that taste like delightful chocolate candy. This time I tried them topped with a lil peanut butter. I think they're actually better plain, but this hit the spot. Kinda.

Midnight Snack

For the most part I've FINALLY kicked my AWFUL habit of eating after dinner, but this night, for some reason, I was pretty much going to die of starvation if I didn't eat a snack at midnight. Literal midnight snack. I'm not a popcorn girl, and, speaking of dying, I'm convinced microwave popcorn is killing the world. That said, a friend left a bag of this red pepper buttery light variety at my house and, well, you see what happened. 

The whole next day I kept smelling doritos wherever I went and had people convinced at work I was going crazy (my dad said maybe it was an aura proceeding a migraine). Nope, just the leftover smell of this popcorn I had in my lunch bag. I told you it was evil stuff!

Thursday:

Breakfast

Oh-em-gee, you guys. Healthy chocolate cherry waffles topped with coconut spread with a side of coffee. I mean, can you even???? This was heaven. A blogger, Kat from Katalyst Health (so sorry too lazy to link right now, google her), instagrammed the recipe for plain chocolate waffles. I made a few subs, but basically followed her advice. It did NOT disappoint. Can you tell?

Lunch Lady Land

Trader Joe's grilled mahi mahi burger I rescued from the depths of my freezer topped with TJ's hot & sweet mustard I hoarded, 1 zucchini pancake (pretty much my favorite food of all time, maybe second to perfectly ripe avocadoes) that I cooked in the toaster and now that I know that works I will pretty much eat until I turn green, brussels cooked with unrefined coconut oil

Yogurt Snack

Winner Winner Time for Dinner

My Mom cooked for us again! Did hell freeze over? JAY KAY, Mom. Chicken and D's (you've never had any until you've tried my Mom's. Hers is the simplest most basic recipe of all time, but by FAR the best best best) + a mug of veggies and ranch

Dessert

HEAVEN IN A CUP. Or, corn-syrup filled Blue Belle cookies & cream. I've been dreaming of c&c ice cream for over a month now. I had to. I just had to. It was everything I dreamed and more.

Friday:

Valentine's Day! 

Friday is my day off (I work Saturdays), so my Dad and I had breakfast at a local fave. We decided to share a western omelet (swiss instead of cheddar--his call) made with egg whites only (my call) + the best breakfast potatoes on earth & half an eng muffin each. Perfection. Oh, and coffee. But you knew that. 

I guess I took a holiday hiatus, 'cause that's all she wrote (or, photographed) that day, folks.

For a late lunch while running errands, my mom and I popped in TGI Fridays. Neither of us had been in YEARS. It was better than I expected! I had the balsamic chicken ceasar salad off the healthy menu. It was a little boring, but I liked it. The balsamic chicken was excellent. We also kept saying "if you order a cocktail, I will." "No, if YOU order one, I will." And so on and so forth. In the end, she had a margarita and I had a kentucky lemonade (makers mark, lemon juice, and honey). It didn't taste strong enough, but the effects kicked in slightly. Whoops. I liked it and would probably order it again, but I'm more of a scotch/bourbon-on-the-rocks type these days. 

The love of my life is of the canine variety (and I wouldn't have it any other way!), so no big date night for this girl, but I invited my cousin's 4 year old over for singing & dancing and we ate homemade tacos and cupcakes. Can't complain!

Saturday:

We started a new round of social skill groups at my office and it was chaos! In some ways it went better than expected, but there are always kinks to work out,  people that show late, etc. I don't know if I even had time to eat breakfast? I may have had a Detour protein bar, but I don't really know? Or maybe I brought something like yogurt to eat there? ANYWAY.....

For lunch, I ordered in Jimmy John's for most of us. I had a tuna on wheat--no cheese add dijon. NEVER a bad choice, taste wise. But you see, the thing with me and Jimmy Johns is, if I eat half I'm still starvin' marvin, but if I eat the whole thing I feel like ass. I guess in the future I should eat 1 and a half? But that would have been too easy, so instead commence feeling like ass. My bad.

My parents had their big fancy V-Day date on Saturday (when my Dad tried to make reservations 2-3 weeks early, they only had 4:30 pm or 10:00 pm slots left on the actual day. CRAY!), so my brother and I decided to venture out on our own, er, adventure, and went to a local fave sushi spot. I had read online they changed owners in December and recent yelp reviews were NOT in their favor (it used to be the highest rated spot in my city). I had gone once, not knowing of the change, in January with a friend and ended up disappointed. To be fair, I ALWAYS order the same thing and that time I deviated, so there's that. I kept trying to talk my brother out of going (I was lazy! I even offered to make homemade naan tikka masala pizzas! Usually a surefire choice), but he insisted it would still be good. We had to wait (despite our reservation), they sat us at the sushi bar (we prefer tables), and it was crowwwwwwded, but it was still DELISH. Phew.

My brother likes sushi, but LOVES teriyaki steak, so he usually gets that and gifts me the soup & salad.  I didn't finish the salad, the leaves were too big and I kept feeling self-concious, but it was fresh and tasty. 

MY FAVORITE. The red mountain roll, which is a cali roll wrapped in sashimi-style salmon and topped with a mound of spicy tuna and spicy mayo sauce. In-cred-ible. It's HUGE, though. Again, I feel soooo self-conscious eating it. It barely fits in your mouth in one bite (TWSS? Do people still say that?), so I usually eat the top first and then try to eat the rest, but it tastes freaking delightful. I also LOVE LOVE that red garnish in the center. I don't even know what it is, but I could eat a plateful. 

My brother came back to my house for a few hours after we ate, so I'm sure we ate some kind of dessert? I'm thinking more "rice krispy" treats? But no pic, so I guess it didn't happen! Suuure.

Sunday:

Oh dear. This is all I got. I probably shouldn't show off my douche-ness, but I need at least one photo a day! 

Really, Amanda? Really? I'm sure this is not the last time you'll see that pose either. 

xo,

Amanda