Tag Archives: crockpot

What I Ate Wednesday: Photo Fail

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Alright so it’s been a while since my last What I Ate Wednesday post, and I was hoping that I could do it successfully today but of course I didn’t take enough pictures! Blast

Regardless, I’m still going to tell you what I ate. Because I can.

Breakfast was a super rushed bowl of oats and a cup of coffee, I actually only had a few sips of the coffee.. I was running really late.

In the oats went diced apple, peanut butter and these amazing free samples of flavored brown sugar that I got from a food show. I could eat it straight.. I mean, I may-or-may-not have done that already..

I only had a half-day at my internship, so no free hospital lunch today. In an effort to not buy a salad from Panera on my way home, I talked myself into dippy-eggs.

eggs

Spruced up a bit by serving over sautéed broccoli and onions. Plus coffee and toast.

For a little afternoon pick-me-up I had two Oreos. I made the mistake of bringing Andrew to the grocery store with me and I swear he’s like a 4-year-old kid sneaking food into the cart. Did you know that there is 150 calories in only TWO Oreos?? Plus I can’t pronounce half of the ingredient list. Mmmmm.

After a much-needed 4 mile run, I was soooo ready for dinner. I had put a pot roast in the crockpot before I left in the morning, and it was making the apartment smell so heavenly all day long.

Naturally, I forgot to take a picture of it but it was SO easy and so good. I just stuck a 1 and 1/2 pound top round (a leaner roast cut than most) in the bottom of the crockpot, seasoned it with S&P, rosemary and thyme. Then poured in 2 cups of beef broth and added baby carrots, a quartered onion and tri-color potatoes on top, set it to low and let it go for 10 hours. You could easily do this with a couple of chicken breasts too.

Speaking of beef.. remember how I thought my iron levels were a little low? Well I didn’t get any blood tests done, but after a few weeks of really ramping up my red meat consumption, I do feel better and have more energy. I think it was a combination of low iron levels and maybe eating a little too much sugar earlier in the day.

And that is exactly why I love nutrition. I didn’t need a doc to tell me anything, and I didn’t need any drugs to fix it. All I did was adjust my eating habits and voila!

Now please enjoy Annie’s ugly Christmas sweater :)

Have you recently changed with your eating habits? For what reason?

Monday Munchies: Chicken Tikka Masala of my Dreams

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In an attempt to fulfill one of my November Goals, I have a supeeeerb crockpot recipe for you!

This weekend, I was on a mission to put my slow-cooker to use. Instead of just going through pages and pages of recipes to try and find something that sounded good, I took a different approach. I dug deep into my soul and asked myself “what do you want to eat, Emily? what would fulfill all of your crockpot dreams?”.

But of course!… Tikka Masala. There could be no other answer.

It only looks like dog food, I swear.

The first time I ever tried Indian food was one of me and Andrew’s first dates. He took me to this place called Bombay Cuisine in our hometown, Grand Rapids, Michigan. They served each dish in these huge plate-sized bowls with basmati rice and fresh, warm naan bread for dipping. I ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala per the waiter’s suggestion and was not expecting to like it… but I so wrong.

Tikka masala is traditionally an Indian dish, typically made with chicken. It’s guaranteed that no Tikka masala is alike, because spices will wildly differ from chef to chef since there is no standard recipe.

Here’s what I did…

Minced up half of a large onion and 2 cloves of garlic. Chopped up 3 chicken breasts into about 1 inch cubes. Threw it all into the crockpot. Added about 20 ounces of crushed tomatoes (about 2/3rds of a 28oz can). Mixed in the following spices: 2 tbsp garam masala, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp coriander, 1/2 tbsp paprika, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon salt. Let it cook in the crockpot on LOW for 8 hours. At the end, stir in 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt and 1/2 cup milk.. bring back up to temperature. Serve over brown rice.

This makes about 4 servings. In hindsight, I should have used pureed tomatoes instead of crushed to make it smoother… and a little less cayenne pepper.

But still… So. Freaking. Good.

 

What’s your favorite crockpot dish?

November Goals

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November is just around the corner, and before we know it, it will be over!

Seriously, November is such a busy month for Andrew and I… I’m almost scared that if I blink it will be December. Despite the hustle-and-bustle, there are some things that I want to focus on this month. And what better way to solidify these goals than to type them up and publish them in a post??

1) Drink more water

I know for certain that I don’t get enough water everyday. There are tons of ways to go about calculating how much water you need personally, but I like to always stick by the 8 glasses (1 cup or 8 ounces each) per day rule because it’s easy to grasp. So if I’m awake for 16 hours a day, which is normally true, it would mean drinking 1 cup of water every 2 hours… piece of cake when you look at it like that, huh?? On days that I workout, my water intake will need to be higher to compensate for the sweat-loss.

2) Run a 5k

You know it’s funny, I run 3 and 4 miles all the time so I know I can do it, but I’ve never actually signed up for a race. It’s been on my list of things to accomplish for a while now… Especially since I’m still toying with the idea of doing the Miami ING Half in January, I should probably get the ball rolling on that one don’t ya think? I already know I want to run the Fort Lauderdale Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, I just have to remember to register.

3) Take Annie on at least 2 long walks per week

Since I can actually breathe when I step out the front door in the morning instead of choking on the humidity, I really want to get Annie out for longer walks. The only thing that makes this one a little difficult is that daylight savings time is coming soon so I’m not really sure when the best times to walk her will be since I’m essentially working full-time now. But we shall see.

4) Use the crockpot at least once a week

Seriously do I even need to explain this one? And now that it’s “cold”-er, soup, stew and chili is all that I crave! Plus it would make my life easier on those days.

5) Read more

Source

I don’t specifically know what I want to read yet, but there is a running list of books that’s tucked in the back of my mind. Tina Fey’s book Bossypants is top of that list, along with rereading Catcher In the Rye. I would love to reread more of the classics now, since high school was the last time I even thought of them. Funny how having a Kindle makes you want to read more. Hah, oh the irony of technology.

 

 

You guys! Please hold me accountable for these…

My list is short and sweet, but no sense in stressing myself over these goals. They’re suppose to be little, attainable goals to keep me grounded and sane during this chaotic month, not huge hurdles.

Call me crazy but I’m excited about all of them! Yes, even the water drinking.

 

Got any book recommendations, new or old? What are your goals for November?