Day Off Hump Day

Ah, I enjoyed a wonderful day off today!  But first, we must finish off Tuesday!

I actually didn't end up eating the second half of my lunch.  I felt so full for the rest of the day.  I went home and changed for the gym.  My workout was nice and somewhat easy, but I was a little disappointed in myself.  Will talk more on that later.

Home, shower, and then off to pint night.

Dinner
 I went with a simple French Dip Sandwich with a side of broccoli instead of french fries.

I finished the broccoli and 1/2 half of the sandwich with my Michelob Ultra.  There may have been a couple of shots enjoyed with our friends (Hey I had the next day off, I could afford to stay up late and enjoy a couple of shots!)

Wednesday
Enjoyed an extra 3 hours of sleep!  When I woke up, I went to work on a Green Monster (of course this is after my 16 oz. of water when I first wake up).

Breakfast:
The ingredients

1. Blueberries (a handful)
2. Milk (1 cup)
3. Oatmeal (1/2 cup)
4. Almonds (a handful)
5. Mangos (2 small mango that are VERY ripe!)
6. Greek Yogurt (a small scoop)
7. Spinach (two handfuls)
8. Protein (1 scoop)
9. Nutritional Yeast (not pictured because I found it in the middle of putting the ingredients in the blender)

Put it all together in a blender and PRESTO:

The batch made enough for one tall glass.  However, I wasn't able to finish it all, so I saved the rest for later in the day.

Marcin said that he would stop by home for lunch, so I stayed home and spent the morning reading my book.

Lunch
Tuna Salad

In the mix:

1. Spring Greens
2. Spinach
3. Artichoke Hearts
4. Tuna mixed with pickle relish, spicy mustard, and little bit of 1000 island and mayo

For some crunch, we had pita chips on the side and a little hummus.

I spent the rest of the day running errands.  It was more of a window shopping type of day.  I was pricing out DVR's for our house and for my dad for father's day.  Good news - I found a decently priced TiVo for him.  Bad news - the HD version is wicked expensive!  In the end, Marcin and I decided to rent one from W.O.W. and keep shopping around for better priced one.  I also went to Home Goods and Hobby Lobby for a small cabinet for our bar glasses.  We do not have enough space for a curio in our dining room, so we are looking for a couple different cabinets and shelving furniture to make up for it.  The one thing about being out and about window shopping, it really makes you want to spend money!  Unfortunately, with my decreased time at my job, I cannot afford frivolous purchases :(  *Sigh*

Forced myself to go home so that I do not end up buying more than I really need to!  Once I got home, I decided to save $10.00 and did yoga from one of my DVDs (Yoga Burn by Gaiam).  Once Marcin came home, we got to work on dinner.

Dinner
I have been planning this dinner for a couple of days now.  First, my egg craving gave way to potatoes so that became one part of my dinner.  Second, I thought about another way to steam chicken so that it tastes like the steamed chicken that I get from Chinese places.  Third, vegetables is a must!

Part One of Dinner:  Boiled Potatoes in Butter and Parsley (This recipe came from In the Kitchen with Nick)

Took 6 red potatoes and 6 golden potatoes and cut them in half.

Boil for 15 minutes (or until you can poke them with a knife or fork and the potato can slide right off).

Once done, strain the potatoes and return to pan.

Add 2 tablespoons of butter (we used Smart Balance butter), 1/4 cup parsley (fresh or dried), salt, and pepper.

Yes, they were delicious!

Part Two of Dinner - Steamed Chicken

I had 2 pieces of chicken breast marinating in Sun-dried Tomato Vinaigrette for a couple of hours today.

I cut them up into slices (and removed fat) and pounded them with a mallet and added them back into the bowl.  (Note to self - do the cutting and pounded before the marinade .  .or wear an apron! Messy Jessie made a brief appearance today!)

Add the chicken to the steamer (Rice cooker)

Steam chicken for 8 to 10 minutes (depending on your taste) and

Awesomely steamed chicken!

Part Three of Dinner - Steamed Vegetables
I took asparagus, green pepper, carrots, and spinach and seasoned them with sea salt, pepper, and rosemary.  This mixed steamed in the rice cooker for about 8 minutes (I did this before the chicken).  Sorry for the lack of a picture, I was in the cooking zone!

Put it all together -

It was everything I imagined and more!  Marcin liked it too!  He even grabbed for more vegetables!

But wait there is more!  Just before I went home, I checked out a Chinese Market that is really close to my house.  It was exciting because I found so many things that I would need to make Filipino dishes that my dad makes or used to make. I really had to stop myself from buying everything in the store!  Instead I bought three things - Coconut water with coconut meat, canned Lychee fruit (!), and

Halo Halo Mix!  This is my favorite Filipino dessert!  

To make it you need the following:

 Halo Halo Mix, Milk, Vanilla Ice cream (or Ube Ice Cream), and crushed ice.

Layer crushed ice, vanilla ice cream, and halo halo mix in a tall glass until it reached the top, then pour milk to fill in the rest of the space.

NOM NOM NOM

Extremely Happy Jessica!  Brings back childhood memories when my dad would make this for us on special occasions!

On the healthy living front:

My cravings have been crazy and in hindsight, thanks to TV/movies!  First it was bread thanks to Spartacus.  Then it was eggs thanks to Julie & Julia.  Now it's potatoes and that is thanks to Enemy at the Gates (don't ask).  Do you find that your food cravings are coming from a weird source?

On the fashion front:

There is something about spring/summer that awakens the girlie shopper in me.  During my errands, I stopped by Plato's Closet (a resale shop from trendy items) and Marshalls to window shop for summer must haves.  I have to be good though because for the summer, my job is decreased to 80% (and therefore, I had the day off today) and I won't be making as much.  However, if I ever need something, Plato's Closet and Marshalls would give me the best deals!  Must be good Jessica, must be good!

On the active living front:

Tuesday's gym routine was a 35 minute run.  I walked for the first 3 minutes and then started at a speed of 5.0 for 10 minutes.  Next I went to a speed of 5.5 for another 10 minutes.   After that, it was a speed of 6.0 for 5 minutes, then back to 5.5 for the rest of the time.  The run totaled 2.96 miles.  I cooled down until I hit 3 miles.  Today, I did my yoga dvd.  It's slow to get going at first, but once you get into it, it's a great workout.  This dvd really stretched my hips and legs, so it felt good after Tuesday's run!  

I missed the 10 push ups for Tuesday and I remembered that I need to do 10 today!  So stay tuned for my last 20 push ups!

Special Announcement:

Also, to those in the audience who may be interested, my friend Stella is interested in doing a Food Exchange.  The theme - Her Favorite Detroit/Michigan Made products for your favorite hometown products!  Check out her blog, "I Must be at the Nexus of the Universe" for more details.  I call her and her husband Tim the "Hip Detroit Couple" in our group of friends.  They are always discovering new places to go to in Downtown Detroit and Stella is particular interested in representing Detroit in a more favorable light since the media and the rest of the world refuse to do so!