Pin-Worthy

This snowy weather has me wanting a warm bowl of food. It's no surprise that soup and chili are on the menu this week.

We don't have Panera in Japan and I miss that place. I've been attempting cheesy broccoli soups ever since we left. This one hit the spot as a cheesy, warm soup that's also loaded with extra vegetables. I blend the soup so it's creamier. I have a huge bowl sitting in the fridge for lunches this week!

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

This crockpot chicken is delicious. I load it with vegetables as well as chicken and cook the biscuits separately. It turns out to be a pretty good substitute for chicken pot pie. Jeff inhales it and it's easy - win, win.

Crock pot Chicken Dumplings

What have you been cooking lately?
We've been getting back into cooking new and favorite recipes in this little apartment, so I'll have to work on sharing some of our favorite recipes.

Fitness This Week

I put my iPod in the washing machine last week. It was very dead after the spin cycle. The BX did not have iPod nanos in stock. I bought a shuffle, but realized I was losing playlists and fitness, which tracks how far I'm running. Since I've been enjoying running, I didn't want to give that up. Amazon refused to ship an iPod nano to me, so I'm waiting patiently for it to ship to my mom who will very nicely ship it to me. Sometimes living overseas is fun...

The iPod mishap screwed up my fitness routine last week.
M - I went to the gym - I don't remember what I did though! (This was the morning I killed my iPod...)
T - Turbofire Fire 45
W - Jillian Michaels No More Trouble Zones
Th - Nothing. I bought the iPod shuffle Wednesday evening and thought it charged all night but it did not. I was so frustrated I sat on the couch and did nothing. Whoops!
F - 2.7 mile run with Jeff and 100 pushups!

I was very excited to tackle 100 push-ups. Jeff and I ran and took breaks along the way to do pushups, crunches, and planks. I lost energy for the ab work quickly. I became very stubborn about doing as many pushups as Jeff though. I was a little sore Saturday...

Today I did jog/sprint/incline intervals on the treadmill. I'm enjoying pushing myself through running, but I also need to start working on some incline/hill work so I can make it to Fuji this summer.


My food goals this week:
-No fried foods
-No soda

While I've been doing pretty good with working out, food continues to be a struggle. I get stressed or impatient or tired and I reach for fried foods. Jeff and I get lazy on weekends and binge. I grab a soda just because. I'm trying not to guilt myself over all of it, but just focus on the next week and doing better. I have salmon defrosting in the fridge for dinner and I just finished my morning juice, so I'm on the right track!

A Saturday Night Organizing Binge

I've had a rough couple of months of the cyclical routine of eating bad and being lazy, then trying to work out and eat better for a couple days, then going back to unhealthy, then guilt, then back, then forward. Back and forth, back and forth. Somewhere in there a couple pounds has been added on.

Since it's not helping me any, I'm trying to quit the cycle and just make smaller steps. Jeff recently had oral surgery that will not heal completely for nearly six months, so that's made a huge shift in our eating habit. I've decided that instead of getting frustrated with the limitations, I should use this as an opportunity to shift our eating habits in general and move towards a healthier diet. Less chips and soda, more fruit and water. Less beef, more ground turkey and chicken. Less eating out, more healthy stand-bys stocked and ready to go in our pantry/freezer.

I've been using stress and not wanting to spend so much time in the kitchen as an excuse to pick up food so much. But if I took a little time on the weekends stocking up on easy to make healthy food at home, or pre-made frozen meals ready to be heated up, that wouldn't be a valid excuse so often.

Long story, short. I'm unhappy with the way I'm eating and I'm attempting to start making changes.

Starting with getting recipes in order! I've got recipes everywhere. Pinterest, recipe books, bookmarks, written down on post-its on the fridge, etc. etc. etc. What a mess. I started a OneNotebook almost two years ago with recipes, but had stopped using it. I'm working on compiling all my various recipes into one organized location. I don't know what gave me the energy to do this on a random Saturday night, but here I am.

I have an urge to purge the pantry and freezer too, since they're cluttered and jammed full of half-empty boxes. But I should probably get to the pile of dirty dishes and the random clutter around the apartment first. Maybe with a heavy dose of caffeine tomorrow morning ;)

Fitness Lately

I've been working at making some changes to my fitness, and I thought actually writing them down to share would be beneficial. I'm hoping to push myself to a healthy lifestyle, so the support of blogland will be helpful :)


Since I started work, my goal was to tackle a regular schedule of working out. I took my time at it, since the first couple weeks of working with kids was exhausting. Not to mention adjusting to the early mornings, when I'm anything but a morning person. But now I'm feeling more adjusted and comfortable, although the days are rough since the kids are out of school and full of energy all.day.long.

Because I work early, I've been trying to fit my workouts in after work. Which is proving challenging, because I'm tired and just want to get home and put my feet up. But to work out in the morning, I'd have to wake up at 0430 or some ridiculous hour like it, which is too tough to stomach. I'm still working on the schedule, but I'm getting to the gym at least a couple times a week.



I've been slowly working my way through the Couch to 5k Running Program. I have long-standing foot injuries and problems, so running is problematic and I've tried and failed to start running a handful of times already. I'm taking this try slow, and trying to focus more on my feet and my strength than the weekly schedule and deadlines. I'm hoping to start Week 3 on Wednesday, even though I've been at it for 4 weeks. My feet were more sore than normal last week, so I took a break from running in favor of the bike and a couple days of rest. (Probably more than I needed, but it was nice!)

I've been getting up to about 1.3 miles each run, which is pretty amazing for me. I've never been a runner, so even just 1 mile is a looong way for me to jog. It's a little disheartening to do my measly mile next to all these military members who run miles daily, but I'm trying to focus on my own body and not compare.



I've also entered the world of lifting at the gym! I have some DVD's for weight training at home and using my own body for resistance, but I've always been intimidated by all the machines and weights at the gym. I went to the gym with some friends from work a handful of times, and they helped push me to try some new machines and learn how to use them correctly. It worked perfectly, because now that I'm going on my own I actually know how to use the machines and can get over my anxiety about looking like an idiot and just lift the weights.

I prefer it to cardio, hands down. I'm feeling a little discouraged by how weak my muscles are, but I'm hoping to see some progress soon. Even if I'm not lifting bulky weights, I have to admit it makes me feel pretty strong to be doing pull-ups, even if they are assisted. Luckily my legs are much, much stronger than my arms and back (I did Irish dance for 10 years), so putting some weights in the triple digits is a mood boost when I'm feeling wimpy.



I'm planning to get back to some of my workout DVD's, because the gym can be monotonous. It's also crowded and sticky after work, when everyone is trying to get their sweat on. It's harder to come into my own comfortable home and get sweaty instead of comfy, but I'm going to work on it.

My goal is to get into a routine of working out 4-5x a week. I'm not there yet, but I'm hoping to be.

I'm finding food much more challenging, since all my energy is currently being spent on playing with cute kids and then working my a$s off in the gym. Cooking is less than appealing at the end of the day, especially when it's been hot and humid and sticky. I'm hoping to work on that more soon to, since our quick fixes and picking up food are anything but healthy. I feel so much better when I take the time to cook a healthy meal, I just can't find the motivation to get there right now. Something to work on. Luckily my handsome husband has been grilling out all weekend long so I've gotten a free pass out of the kitchen!

So that's my fitness update. Not much, but a little progress. I've got a long way to go to get where I want to be, but that won't happen overnight. A little is better than nothing, right?

Chicken Stuffed Crescent Rolls

There is no real name for this recipe. I call it something different every single time I make it, and Jeff never knows what to call it. But he loves it. The first time I made these, he said they were his favorite recipe of mine so far. He still inhales them. I believe my aunt was the first to try to stuff her crescent rolls, then my dad added broccoli, and eventually I tried the recipe and loved it. It's easy and quick and is so good.



I'm sharing because it is so easy and quick and delicious. I'm always in need of more weeknight meals, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.



I vary the amounts of chicken and broccoli, but basically you want some chopped chicken and some chopped broccoli. This time, I baked one chicken breast and chopped it into small pieces, then defrosted about 2 cups of broccoli until it was soft enough to chop, and chopped it into similar-sized pieces. (I was trying to use less meat and more veggies to sneak a semi-meatless meal into my husband's meat/meat/meat diet...) Sometimes I add chopped onion as well, but I was out of onions. Mix it with some salt, pepper, and whatever seasonings you like. I usually use garlic powder and onion powder.





Take about 4oz. of cream cheese, softened, and stir into the mixture. I call it healthy since it's reduced fat.



Then add a handful or two of shredded mozzarella cheese. I also call this healthy when it's low fat. The cheeses make this extra creamy and delicious though.



When it's all combined to your liking (add more of whatever you want!), roll out your crescent rolls. Instead of eight triangles, you need four squares. Flatten and press the seam to form a fairly large, thin square/rectangle shape.



Separate mixture evenly between four squares. I almost always have leftover mixture just because this recipe doesn't have any specific measurements. You could save that for something, but I usually don't. I put just enough mixture so that I can close the square into a ball.



Which is the next step: closing the dough and trying to seal all the mixture inside the roll. It doesn't have to look pretty, mine never do.



Spray lightly with Pam so it browns on top, then pop in the oven. I follow the directions of the crescent rolls package, usually adding additional minutes until they're nice and brown on top.



Like this.



You could serve them with rice or something, but usually one roll is more than enough for me. It tastes really great on a cold evening. These also taste just as good warmed up the next day as leftovers. And since it's ingredients I almost always have on hand, this is such an easy meal to throw together!




P.S. I haven't actually cooked in some time, these pictures are from quite a while ago! Woops. I'm hoping to get back into trying new recipes and cooking healthier meals on a more regular basis soon.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

A few weeks ago, I took my yeast adventures to a new level and tried homemade soft pretzels. I had made pizza dough successfully, so I figured why not?



Oh my goodness, they were good. I used Annie's Eats' recipe, and found it easy to follow and delicious.

Some notes from my experience:
-It would be a lot easier to do with a stand mixer. I mixed by hand, which probably didn't mix the dough as thoroughly. It liked to split and pull apart when I tried to roll it out and shape the pretzels. You can see the splits in the finished product.
-The recipe makes it sound pretty easy to separate, roll out, and shape the dough. It was more time consuming than I expected. Maybe it's just my inexperience, but it was a lot of work for 8 pretzels.
-They look pretty wimpy until you put them in the baking soda and boiling water. This plumps them up before they go in the oven.
-Really coat the pretzels with the egg wash. I didn't do it very thickly and they didn't brown like I was expecting, so they were a tad too crisp.
-I didn't have kosher salt, so I left them unsalted. I like unsalted pretzels anyways, though.
-They didn't turn out as pretty as Annie's, but they tasted darn good so I didn't mind.



-They are absolutely delicious.
-The recipe makes eight and I ate them all in a weekend. For lunch, snack, and dinner. Delicious.
-You should try it! Mine weren't perfect and took more time than I expected, but oh they were so good.



I took Annie's suggestion and froze the leftovers. Then I just heated them in the microwave for a minute or until warm, and they tasted soft and delicious. If I were to make these for a party or something, I would definitely take this route.

I prefer mine with spicy jalapeno cheddar cheese dip. I also used sour cream as a topping when I ran out of cheese. No pretzel is complete without some kind of dip!





Finding these pictures on my computer makes me drool a little, and makes me want to make them again. Maybe I'll need to find a chunk of time to play with yeast again? Maybe some caffeine too if I attempt these before next weekend...

Chocolate!

I know I said I was going to be scarce, but then I went to upload a picture I took and discovered 50 more on my camera. How'd that happen?

Anyways.

Did you know my husband is addicted to sweets? He can't function more than a few days without some sugar in his blood at bedtime. Did you know I didn't eat very many sweets before I moved in with him? My indulgence used to be things like french fries and chips and dip and loads of soda. Then he begged for a sweet every day, and I started enjoying baking. And now I indulge in both. Maybe not the smartest idea!

But who can resist warm-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies?



I consider myself fairly adequate in most food adventures. I can cook some good things from recipes, but I'm no chef. I also don't burn down the kitchen, or even the food for the most part. I generally prefer to bake from a box rather than deal with all the ingredients.

But not with cookies.

My dad taught me fractions by doubling the recipe on the back of the Nestle bag. He let me mix the batter when I was still too young to touch the oven. He taught me that being the baker gives you the freedom to taste your batter. He taught me just how important precise measurements are in baking, even if my patience is tested. He taught me to take cookies out of the oven before they really look done, otherwise they'll turn crunchy. He taught me to make really good chocolate chip cookies.



My husband loves that that was part of my childhood. He practically drools waiting for me to pull them out of the oven.

I found a tip online that cookie batter freezes really well, so I tried it this time. I made a couple dozen, then froze the rest. When we inhaled those, I made a dozen. When we inhaled those, I made the last dozen. It was so easy to pull the dough out of the freezer and let it thaw, then throw it into the oven for fresh, warm, freshly baked deliciousness. No flour mess, no mixer, no time at all!

I wish we didn't eat cookies so quickly in this household so I still had some batter in the freezer. Alas, it's all gone. And finding these pictures on my camera after the fact is depressing. But I do have some coffee flavored ice cream instead, and that is almost as tasty with even less prep work. Works for me after a long day.

Until I have time to make more cookies anyways!

Let's Go Out For Sushi!

Let's start by explaining that before tonight, I've had sushi once in my entire life. I grew up avoiding seafood. My mom is allergic to seafood, so my dad only gets it when he's at a restaurant or at a party. Since I was no where near adventurous with food growing up, I tried fish a handful of times. At the most. And sushi was nowhere on my radar growing up in the Midwest where fish isn't always so fresh.

My brother, who also didn't try much seafood when we were growing up, has tried and grown to love a lot of seafood since he's moved to Arizona. He is a sushi fanatic. So when I went to visit him one spring, I tried it too. I honestly didn't know what to think. The taste, texture, smell, everything was so different than what I was accustomed to. Everyone I was with said that was normal - it takes a few tries to learn to love sushi.

I found out we were moving to Japan, and decided to just wait to try it again until we got here. I figured the freshness of fish here vs. the desert of CA was incomparable, and I may as well wait for the real stuff. I don't know why it's taken us so long to get out and try some, but we did tonight.

We went out for sushi at this place that may be called 105. We're not really sure, but it has turtles and the numbers 105 on the sign, so that's what we're calling it. Jeff had gone to this place repeatedly down in Southern Japan, so he knew what to expect.



We sat down at a table, and in the middle of the tables is a conveyor belt. This place puts all the food on the conveyor belt, and you grab what you want. So if you want a specific food, you grab it, and the plate color or design indicates the price you'll pay. I didn't see anything over 215 yen, which is roughly $2. Most things were about $1, and contained 2 pieces of sushi or similar foods. I was a little overwhelmed because I couldn't tell what anything was and am totally ignorant to the seafood world, but my husband tried to point out mild fish that he could recognize. We finally noticed the touch screen order screen had an English option, so we were able to guestimate what was what.



This was the second type of fish I tried. We both forgot what the first kind I tried was, and couldn't guestimate by pictures after the fact. I really liked the first, although the very edge was a little metallic and intimidating! This was the second kind I tried. Again, no idea what kind of fish. I'm no help. Jeff recommended it because he really likes it, and I did too. It has such a mild flavor it doesn't taste "fishy" at all, which is what I'm always afraid of. I also got a cucumber sushi I've tried and loved before, which is just seaweed, rice, and cucumber. Jeff tried swordfish and a tuna and green onion roll.



Even though I've only been to one sushi place in America, I could see a difference in the sushi offered in each country. Or each restaurant I tried would be a better guess, probably. I remember a lot of combinations and extras in Phoenix, like cream cheese and veggies and all sorts of extras. Here, it was basically just rice and fish. Sometimes there was a seaweed wrap but not usually. Sometimes there were little additions like green onions, but not generally. The vast majority was a little bit of rice and a small slice of what I would assume is very fresh fish. Maybe the more fanciful combinations are offered at more expensive restaurants, but I didn't mind their absence.

This 105 place (or whatever its actual name may be) is kind of like Japanese fast food. It's cheap and fast. We got 4 or 5 plates of sushi, a plate of soy beans, and 2 plates of New York Cheesecake, and paid maybe $15 American dollars. It was fantastic. We ate enough to be full without that annoying overstuffed feeling, we didn't have a huge pile of leftovers because we picked little plates until we were full, and it was fresh and mainly healthy (minus the cheesecake) choices. I think we'll definitely be going back there on a pretty regular basis.

Although it'll still be a while before I feel comfortable going anywhere without Jeff! When we walked in, the hostess started talking to us and apparently asking questions, but obviously neither of us can really catch what she's saying. Jeff knows enough to kind of gesture and guess his way through, but I get intimidated and freeze up. The same thing when we were paying. The hostess was very nicely counting up our plates for the total and reading off what each plate apparently was, but it was gibberish to me. At least the cash register tells you the total yen in digital numbers, I at least know how to pay!

So that was my "First Sushi in Japan" experience! Not all that exciting, but that's because it was low-key and tasty. I'm hoping I can continue to be adventurous and try different kinds of seafood here. We're also planning to attempt cooking fish at home...eventually. There's a large fish market in Hachinohe, which is about a 30-minute drive. We went there on a cultural tour (which I just realized I never blogged about, woops!) and it has every kind of fish, clam, seafood, etc. that you could ever want. If you can figure out what everything is, which we couldn't. So all we have to do is learn how to identify types of fish, then buy some and try to figure out how to cook it. It should be a fun experience I'll have to share when we try it!



Hachinohe was more severely damaged than Misawa during the earthquake, although I honestly don't know the extent of its damage. I know a lot of airmen and sailors went down to Hachinohe to help repair the docks. I honestly don't know the extent of damage in most places near us. We haven't ventured far in the past month since things have been on the mend. I decided to stay during the voluntary departure, but that didn't mean I wanted to be out exploring. We may not have been far this past month, but this summer we'll explore the Aomori prefecture at the very least.

My Pop/Soda Addiction

I grew up in the Midwest faithfully calling it "pop".

I argued for months in CA that it was most definitely "pop".

Then I went to a Taco Bell to order some nachos and a "pop", and she looked at me and said "what, you want pasta?"

I reluctantly starting calling it "soda" that day.




I haven't been able to kick that habit, even though now no one would know what I was saying no matter what I asked if I went to a local fast food place. (Note to self: find out what the word for that delicious carbonated beverage is in Japanese).





Whatever you call it, I'm addicted.




And as much as it hurt to see all those empty calories filling up my daily food intake, I couldn't and wouldn't kick my delicious addiction.

So I started making adjustments. My old favorite that will probably always be my first choice:



Got replaced with 0 calorie alternates that don't taste "diet", but still have the caffeine kick I adore.



If I switch them out occasionally, I don't really notice the taste difference from the good ol' regulars. Our current favorite in this household is Diet Cherry Coke. We love Cherry Coke Zero, but it's hard to find in the states, much less in the sadly stocked overseas Commissary. I saw the diet and cringed, but figured it was worth a shot. The cherry flavor overrides the diet flavor enough that it doesn't taste diet. And I don't feel guilty overindulging in my addiction!

Since we're grilling tonight, I'm pretty happy with my substitutes today. Nothing goes better with a grilled burger and corn on the cob than some ice cold soda/pop/delicious bubbly dark beverage.

Pictures of Food

I've been talking about food a lot here, so I finally took some pictures to show what we've been eating and cooking. Not the most interesting post, but I'm loving cooking delicious meals and I wanted to share.











I made a big batch of beef stew on Sunday, wanting to have it once more before the cold weather disappears. (Maybe twice more, I have a huge dish of it in the freezer now too...) My stew is an adaptation of Pioneer Woman's Beef Stew with Beer and Paprika. My sauce doesn't thicken as she describes, so I thicken it with flour. I simmer the beef for a couple hours longer, so by the time it's served it's shredding on its own. And I load it with tons of potatoes, carrots, and celery. It has more veggies than beef, which makes it slightly healthier right? Until I pair it with toasted french bread smothered in a garlic and basil butter spread. I think we had more helpings of bread than stew!






I made pizza tonight, and my husband continues to inhale it. I vary the toppings a little each time, but now that the crust is delicious it makes a good start no matter what. I use Pioneer Woman's pizza crust. This time, I swapped 1 cup of regular flour for 1 cup of whole wheat flour, so it gave a little health kick. Which gets ruined when I load the pizza with pepperoni and cheese, but oh well.



My spring cleaning and organizing binge is going well. I've got about half the place cleaned. Now I just have to tackle the messy rooms, like that dreaded office. I don't even want to know what kinds of things I'll find buried in there...

Spring has Sprung

It was in the 60's all week, so it finally started to feel like spring around here. Of course today it was in the 40's and rainy, but you know what they say about April showers.

I spent a lovely week enjoying the breeze from the open windows and cooking all sorts of things in the kitchen.

First, I "perfected my pizza recipe", according to my husband. I made a homemade pizza with Pioneer Woman's pizza dough recipe, and we inhaled it. There were no leftovers, and last time I made pizza we had half a pizza left! Since we're both desperately missing our Chicago style pizza, this homemade pizza is pretty satisfying. It's also a lot kinder on our waistlines since I do simple changes like turkey pepperoni and low-fat cheese. I'm making another one in a day or two (the dough is "aging" in the fridge as I type), so I'll try to get some pictures before we inhale it again.





I also tried Annie's Eats chicken gyros on her whole wheat pita bread. Gyros are another favorite from Chicagoland that we've never been able to find anywhere else that tastes 'right'. And since we don't regularly have lamb on hand, it's tough to duplicate at home. I've tried a pork recipe before that came close, but the smell was all wrong. This chicken recipe was delicious though. The pitas were delicious, but I'm a sucker for bread. Jeff and I both liked the chicken flavor, and loved the sauce. I've been eating the leftovers for days. I added more garlic than she called for (you shouldn't find that surprising, I come from a family addicted to garlic), so the garlic flavor just got stronger each day it sat in the fridge. Mmm. It's demolished, but I'm tempted to make some more just for snacking since I have some greek yogurt in the fridge...

Anyways.

The warmer weather and promise of spring has given me the urge to de-clutter and organize the apartment. It's crazy-we've only been here maybe three months and it already feels like we have stuff everywhere! It has a lot to do with our quick and dirty unpacking plan. We got everything out of boxes, but never really organized and put things in spots that made sense. So now it only takes one lazy afternoon to trash the place.



So tonight I started to deep clean and really organize the place. I started in the kitchen since it gets the most traffic and needs the most organization. The pantry was overflowing with recycle piles, since garbage service was limited after the earthquake. I finally combed through the piles and straightened things up in there. I also cut down the boxes so we could actually get things into the recycle bins without moving everything around. The tops of the boxes used to come flush with the bottom shelf, which just didn't work). Now all we have to do is slide the trashcan left or right, not out of the pantry completely.



Then I re-organized the food items to make the most sense for what we grab first and what needs to be out of sight (i.e. potato chips, etc.). I hung the broom, mop, and dustpan up off the floor, since they had a tendency to fall on me when I was reaching for some item in the pantry. Not to mention things just look neater when they're hanging instead of propped in a corner.



Although it's just a small start, it feels good to get things organized. Since I had it in my hand, I went ahead and mopped the floor (it's amazing how quickly the floor can get covered in food and dust when I'm cooking every night), so I'm using this post as a time waster until it's dry and I can get my hands on all the cabinets. Although the rest of the kitchen has stayed relatively organized, some things can use moving around. The little inconveniences, like having my blender on one side of the kitchen when I always use it on the other side. Sure it's a small kitchen, but why not put it in the cabinet right under the counter space I always use it in?



With that theory in my head, I'm hoping to work my way through the whole apartment this week. I figured I'd start at one end and finish in the office, which has no organization at all right now. I'll attempt to put things where we use them and tame the chaos that happens every week. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll be showing you our organized and finished office!




P.S. Yep, we had another earthquake the other day, followed by a 14 hour power outage. No damage on base, just the inconvenience of a power outage. The most common question I had was about my wall collage! Rest at ease, it stayed put. It still looks just like it did when I photographed it a few days ago.

Cooking with Spinach

I've never been a big vegetable person. I'm a bread and potatoes kind of girl. Give me one of those covered in garlic? Even better.

The one vegetable I love and have at nearly every meal is tomatoes. Which technically aren't a real vegetable, so I really can't win. Since I've been trying to cook and eat healthier, I've been trying to incorporate more veggies into my diet. One of those good for you veggies I've been working with lately is spinach.







_{Found on Google}

One way I've always loved spinach is fresh, mixed into a big bowl of salad. When we have salad, we load it with all sorts of different veggies, including fresh spinach. But since it's winter (because it sure doesn't look like spring!), most of those delicious veggies are less than fresh at the grocery store so a salad isn't that appealing right now. In a month or two, we'll be having salads left and right. Especially if they're served next to some grilled food. I'm impatiently waiting for warmer weather so we can assemble and start cooking on our grill.




_{Found on Google}

I recently tried my first green monster. It's basically a fruit smoothie with some spinach blended in, hence the "green". Her recipes usually call for milk, but I've had some V8 Fusion juice sitting in my fridge, so I've been using that to get an added kick of fruit and veggie servings. It's cold and filling and fruity, and it gives a boost of energy in the morning. I've always been a fan of smoothies, and these are no different. Try one, you'll love it!




_{Found on Google}

I read this tip somewhere online, but tonight I made spaghetti. Usually I brown some ground beef or turkey and add the pasta sauce and some seasonings. Today, I chopped up some fresh spinach and added it with the sauce and seasonings. I used a cup, maybe a little more, because I didn't know how it'd turn out. It was great--you couldn't taste the spinach at all. It added some fresh green color to the sauce, and it blended so perfectly. I waited until Jeff finished a plateful, than asked if he liked the spinach. He looked at me and said "What spinach?" Perfect! Next time I'll try adding some more, and we'll get a good chunk of veggies in our dinner, since the jarred pasta sauce also has a veggie serving or two. And since I paired it with a salad, tonight was pretty healthy! Until I toasted some bread and topped it with a garlic and basil butter spread I mixed...and then ate too many pieces. At least it was "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light"?

You can't change a bread and potatoes girl overnight!

What's Cooking In Our Kitchen

Since we moved out here, I've been doing tons of cooking. I actually have time on my hands (a little too much at the moment!), and I've been enjoying using it to cook good meals at home rather than buying greasy fast food or mediocre restaurant meals. I've been trying a new recipe or two every week. Some are flops, some need tweaking, and some come out delicious. So I figured I'd start sharing.

This is the first recipe I've tried from Weight Watchers, and both Jeff and I love it. It's simple and quick and has delicious flavor without being overpowering. We pair it with a bag of steamed veggies for a super healthy dinner. Oh, and I don't have fresh herbs right now, so I use dried. It still gives a great flavor, but I'm looking forward to using fresh in the future.






PointsPlus™ Value: 3
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 35 min

1 spray(s) cooking spray
1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4 oz halves
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
2 tsp rosemary, fresh, chopped
2 tsp parsley, fresh, chopped
1/4 cup(s) canned chicken broth
1/2 medium lemon(s), quartered (for garnish)

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat a small, shallow roasting pan with cooking spray.

Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Transfer chicken to prepared pan and drizzle with oil; sprinkle with lemon juice, rosemary and parsley. Pour broth around chicken to coat bottom of pan.

Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 30 to 35 minutes. Garnish with fresh lemon and serve. Yields 1 chicken breast half per serving.




Pioneer Woman's Beef Stew with Beer and Paprika. This is my favorite new recipe I've tried the past couple months. It took some tweaking to get it the way I wanted it, but once I did, it was a delicious beef stew that Jeff and I inhaled for days. The recipes on her website, so I'll just let you jump over there for it.

The first time I made it, I followed her recipe exactly and it was okay. Next time I tweaked. I realized I added too much liquid because I used beef stock and water on accident, rather than one or the other. I simmered the beef for about 4 hours before I added anything else, and by that time the beef was shredding and falling apart on its own. Jeff and I both liked that consistency a lot more than chunks of meat. I used light beer because it's what I had, and the broth didn't thicken like she described for me. So I added a flour and water mixture until the sauce was as thick as I wanted it. I loaded the stew with potatoes, carrots, and celery. With more veggies, it stretched longer and we had tons of leftovers to freeze or enjoy for lunches. I made it on a cold snowy day and it was just perfect. I kind of want to make another batch soon!



I tried my hand at homemade pizza dough recently. I ran out of olive oil the day I planned to cook the pizza, and without the oil the crust just didn't crisp and brown like we wanted it to. It was still loads better than a refrigerated pizza crust, but not quite *there* yet. I've got the other half of the dough (her recipes yields two crusts) hanging out in the freezer, so I'm going to attempt another pizza again soon. Jeff's a big fan of my homemade pizzas. I feel better since I load them with healthier things like turkey pepperoni and tomatoes. It's one of the few meals that he actually enjoys my tendency to overuse garlic! Although he doesn't enjoy my black olive love... We've been having pizzas about once a week, and he'll compare and contrast my different attempts. It's cute. We're working our way towards a pizza we both love.



Last night, I tried my hand at Annie's Eats' Orange Chicken. It was okay, but not my favorite. Next time I make it, I plan to tweak the sauce a little. It wasn't the mild, sweet flavor we envisioned when we sat down for orange chicken, but it was still good. I looked over the recipe again trying to figure out if I mis-measured something, but as far as I can tell it just needs tweaking for our personal tastes. Eventually we'll get the orange chicken we want!



This weekend, I'm getting ambitious and trying chicken gyros, with homemade pita bread! Jeff and I both love gyros, especially with lamb, but since we can't find lamb here and can't thinly slice it like our favorite restaurants back home, I jumped at the idea of using chicken breasts, which I always have around. We've tried a recipe for gyro lookalikes made with pork before; Jeff loved it and I was so-so about the pork. But chicken is always good.

I'll let you know how it turns out!


I never thought I would enjoy home cooking so much. I'm getting to the point where I can guestimate measurements and add seasonings I think will pair well with some confidence, instead of worriedly trying to follow the exact recipe. And I'm trying things I never thought I'd care about like making my own bread and salsa. The quality of food is SO much better than what we could get at a fast food place or even frozen. And since cooking with grease and fat and all that generally grosses me out, I cook much healthier. Like in the orange chicken recipe that calls for fried chicken bits, I just used a small amount of oil and browned rather than submerging the pieces in oil. A small change, but it makes a difference!


My lovely husband also appreciates my home cooking. He even accepts and encourages my healthy alternatives, urging me just to not tell him what's different or changed. The only time he's ever gotten frustrated with my healthy habits was when I tried to feed him veggie sausage patties. I thought they were delicious!

Making Changes

I debated whether I wanted to post this for the whole world (or whoever actually stumbles upon my little blog) to read or whether I wanted to keep it to myself, but decided there's no reason to keep it a secret.



Over the last few months, my healthy habits have been steadily declining. I started my last semester of college in the same month that we found out we were moving to Japan...in 3 months. I finished a crazy condensed semester while preparing to move overseas. We moved out of our house and into hotel living for a month while my husband did training in San Diego, and lived on fast food. We drove the many miles home to Illinois to spend some time with family, and spent a good chunk of that family time eating out. We indulged in every Chicago food craving we had and then some. We flew to Seattle and were delayed days for our flight to Japan, then spent another week in a hotel waiting for our apartment, all while eating garbage the majority of the time. And exercise?? Forget about it. I went from being buried in books and boxes to being surrounded by family. I didn't have a moment to spare in California and I didn't want to lose a moment in Illinois when I knew we were moving so far away. Then we moved here. I was jetlagged and overwhelmed and holed up in the hotel until we moved in. Then I holed up some more, because it was still overwhelming to adjust to a new base in a foreign country where I had to figure out how to drive on the wrong side of the road and use currency and language I didn't understand. I'm still adjusting to that side of things.

The long story short -- my body was showing the months of neglect.

I've never done extreme diets, but I have yo-yo'd with eating healthy and exercise just like every other person. I've gone months with relatively healthy eating and regular exercise, and I've gone months without. I'll spend a week working hard and burning calories, then have a rough day and give up. Just like so many other people. Every time I would have to start over, I would feel all this pressure at doing it all over again.

I decided this time, I didn't want to do it alone. I wanted something that will last more than a few weeks or months. I wanted something I would feel committed to, not just throw away when things get tough. So I decided to join Weight Watchers.



I don't have dozens of pounds to lose, but I do have a lot of unhealthy habits to break and healthy habits to nurture. I've been at it a few weeks, and while things haven't been as productive as I imagined in the midst of earthquakes and illness, I'm making small changes and working towards bigger ones. I've lost a couple pounds, and I've gotten better at cooking homemade meals. I'm taking the stairs more often, even though those 8 flights up to our apartment are killer. I still need to work on my exercise habits, since being sick interrupted that. And I really need to work to give up soda, but I love it so much!

For now, I'm still learning and adjusting. I'm planning to update occasionally about my progress and struggles, and to share recipes I try and workouts I enjoy. It's a little intimidating to put it all out there and admit that I need some extra help getting and staying healthy, but I'd rather face that hurdle now, in my 20's, in good health, and only slightly over a healthy weight, before it gets out of control and serious health problems start popping up. All I need to adjust for right now is long-standing foot injuries, and I'd like to keep it that way.

So that's my story. I know it will be a challenging journey to commit to a new lifestyle and stick with it. But I think with the help and support of Weight Watchers, I'll be able to deal with whatever life throws at me. Although it still breaks my heart to think about giving up soda...