recipe of the week: taboulli salad

i love (LOVE) a good, fresh salad
and tabouli
(or taboule, tabbouleh, tabouleh, taboulli...whatever)
has always been a favorite of mine
(well, since i discovered trader joe's version of it...)


i had a hair and makeup trial run on tuesday this week
and 3 of my girls came to get their hair done too
so i decided to have a little spread of hummus and fresh veggies for them.
then i decided to make tabouli salad, serve pita as well and even throw in some frozen falafel for fun


it turned out fairly well*, even though i did have to substitute couscous for the bulghur most recipes i found called for.


here's my spin on it!

1 package fresh parsley
1 package fresh mint
1/2 cup uncooked couscous
juice of 2 limes
1 medium/large tomato
1 scallion
1 clove garlic

1/4 cup olive oil


cook couscous according to package directions


mince parsley and mint (this is easily the most labor-intensive part of cooking this.  it's ri-diculous.  thank goodness for kitchen tools like the herb roller i have!)

it will easily take you the entire couscous preparation time to mince the herbs.  so once they are done, add the lime juice to the couscous.

dice the tomato, chop the scallion

add the parsley, mint and tomato to the lime and couscous mixture.  grate a clove of garlic over the mix and pour the olive oil in as the finishing touch. 

  combine well.  refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

simple...yummy.  and money saving.  i made about 4 times as much tabbouli for the price i would have paid for it even at trader joe's.  i can deal with that!














*it actually turned out well enough that my friend Natasha said "it's better than trader joe's!"


which i'm pretty sure could be considered blasphemy in some circles.

so...how much weight DID you lose? and other questions about hcg

here's the skinny (ha!  see what i did there?) on my hcg diet results

honestly, i wanted to wait a bit, because technically i'm still losing weight.  at a much, much slower rate.  but it means that the diet -- cleanse and metabolism reset -- did exactly what i wanted it to do :-)

total pounds lost: 25 (ish)
total inches lost: 32.5
jean/dress sizes down: 3 or 4 depending on the clothing item

i'm now comfortably wearing about 1/3 of my professional wardrobe.  which is great -- i don't have to go shopping for new cute clothes because i already own them!  i AM planning to go get a few new items to wear on the honeymoon.  because, i need an excuse to go to anthropologie and spend a few bucks.  :-)

i've chosen to keep some of the habits of the diet -- low sugar, low carb.  now...i do enjoy my pasta.  but not every day.  i eat bun-less burgers or sandwiches, choose a wrap over bread, and space out the meals that are higher carb/starch so that i'm not eating pasta and potatoes back to back for example.

i'm happier with lean proteins, and i actually enjoy chicken.  for the first time ever!

and i don't deprive myself.  after all, pumpkin delights are back!

but the number is still going down, slowly and surely.

i recognize the girl in the mirror again.

and i feel good about where i am.

is my body perfect? nah.
am i in a size 4 again? not yet
but am i feeling better than i've felt in years?
you bet.


at first i thought my perspective on food had completely changed
but then i realized that i never had a skewed perception of *food*

my perception of ME
my treatment of myself
that's what was skewed
(and screwed up, truly)

and now that i'm healing
now that i'm recognizing myself again
the healthy food choices
that i've known and wanted all along
are falling into place

hcg gave me the kick-start
the push
the feeling of success through hard work
that i needed to get motivated

i'm not where i absolutely want to be
but i'm on the way
and i feel great
and i'm HAPPY

:-)

meal planning 9.25 - 10.1

it only gets simpler (food-wise) from here to the wedding...

sunday
lunch: gnocchi from trader joes.  eaaaasy!
dinner: taco soup

monday
chicken burgers with rosemary garlic mayo

tuesday
taboulli salad (recipe to come), hummus, pita and veggies, falafel (frozen from trader joe's)
(easy girls night stuff -- it's the hair and makeup trial time)

wednesday
leftovers night or dinner on our own

thursday
pizza night: i think we're going to go to our friends house with takeout pizza since that was actually canceled 2 weeks ago

friday
either with friends, or greek meatloaf and mashed potatoes

saturday
lunch: black pepper chicken (new recipe, so will post soon)
dinner: DATE NIGHT

it's a great day to...probably do more wedding stuff :D

yeah.
wedding stuff is eating my life these days
but it's ALL good :-)

in the next couple of weeks i'll show you some of the stuff we've come up with for the ceremony, reception, and gifts for the wedding party.

i can't wait to share it all with you...but i promise to not go into overkill wedding mode.  there will be other posts too :-)

hope you have a great weekend!  i'm off to try on our wedding bands and have lunch with a new friend...babysitting tonight...shower at church on sunday.

exciting and quite busy times!

much love,

recipe of the week: beef flank steak wheels

i've been wanting to try this recipe for awhile now, so this week i put it on our menu.

i'll be up-front in that i did a few things wrong, but if i tell you about it, hopefully you won't make the same mistakes!

beef flank steak wheels

1 large flank steak
salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 ounces shredded asiago cheese
8 ounces fresh spinach, stems removed (i used 4...)
6 ounces gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
4 scallions, left whole
8-10 wooden skewers


preheat grill or grill pan
then look in bewilderment at the steak you are supposed to "butterfly"

figure it out, slowly but surely
;-)
(start with the meat grain running up and down in front of you.  with your knife, begin cutting the meat in half.  essentially, you want a thinner, larger flank steak.  continue cutting in half until you reach about 1 inch from completely cutting through.  lay the cut flank steak open and even out the middle so there is not a thicker piece in the center.) 

salt and pepper the meat.  this may or may not be a step i forgot, since i was so excited about figuring out "butterflying"...so adding salt and pepper while it's on the grill is an option.  not a great one, but it works.

 sprinkle asiago cheese

 layer the spinach leaves on top

 and the gorgonzola on top of that

 and top with the scallions

 roll it up and skewer it!

 this is where i made my main mistake.  basically, you want to put several skewers in so that your 'pinwheels' are pretty thin.  i spaced them out WAY too much and ended up with 5 cuts of meat when i should have probably had 10.
but at any rate, cut between the skewers so that you have pinwheels

 place on the grill, and cook until the meat reaches your desired level of "done"

 serve them up!

they were very good despite my "oops", and i'll definitely be playing around with this recipe again!

thursday's ten: the helpful hints edition

ten things i've learned about spending time in other people's houses.  granted most of this time is spent in a nanny/babysitter role, so most of my tips are specific to that.







1.  it's ok to steal ideas
like the way their cabinets are organized?  see a great use for a piece that you have as well?  um, why not?  i've even asked questions of "hey, how did you..."
think of it as a living pinterest ;-)


2.  there are ranch dressing people and (*gasp*) non-ranch dressing people.  
or, always check available condiments before fixing a particular meal


3.  a little clean-up is always appreciated
i go in with the motto of "leave the house a little better than i found it".  whether that means wiping down the counters, or picking up the toys scattered all over the couch...doing something that takes me 10 minutes means that they get 10 minutes of free(er) time when they get home


4.  always bring your own caffeine (or other vice)
because...they won't always have your drink of choice.  and sometimes...you just NEED another coffee.  trust me.
(uh...it goes without saying, hopefully, that if your vice is an actual vice you should leave it at home.  you don't need a glass of wine* or a cigarette or...whatever to get through a few hours with kids.  if you do, you shouldn't be there)


5.  if you want to eat your food of choice, bring it
most of my clients are amazing at literally opening up their fridge, freezer or pantry to me.  but i always have something in my computer bag that i can fix and be happy about if their choices for me don't sound good!


6.  be early, if possible
in nashville traffic with my tight schedule this is nearly impossible for me...but i find that if i PLAN to be early i'm rarely late.  and on time is good :-) 


7.  know the area
if there's construction, crazy traffic, or an accident on your normal path, you don't want to have to rely on a gps to get to a place you've been several times.  know alternate ways in and out, just in case


8.  don't believe everything the children say, no matter how cute and sweet they seem.  also, enforce the rules you ARE sure about.
most likely they AREN'T allowed to watch 3 hours of tv, jump on the couch, or stay up reading for an hour after bedtime.  i always err on the side of strictness...because one night of not getting to do something that seems abnormal to you isn't going to hurt anything, whereas if you let them get away with something it may (a) cause problems for the parents or (b) cause you not to get a call back.


9.  actually PLAY with the kids
they'll love it (and you!).  there are always those kids who'd rather you not play with them (because they're too busy), but they still like attention, so find other ways to interact.  asking them about a particular toy, suggesting play-doh, making a necklace with plastic beads...something to engage them.  you're not there to be their constant companion (unless the parents are delusional) but you ARE there to be the adult presence.  and since you likely don't have a huge list of household chores to get done (unless, again, the parents are delusional OR are paying you extra) you may as well kick back and enjoy the children :-)


10. enjoy the conversations
i LOVE talking with children, particularly those under 5.  you'll be completely entertained if you just listen and interact for awhile!  i have all sorts of gems written down...that's a thursday's ten list all it's own.

*it should be noted that i often babysit for friends or people i know well who say "hey, feel free to have a glass of wine when the kids are in bed!".  i DO sometimes take them up on that, but that's a complete trust issue (they trust me to not be drunk or drink when the kids are up).  i never bring my OWN alcohol, or drink theirs without explicitly being told to help myself.

what i'm loving wednesday (9.21)

i'm loving that i got to spend last friday night with some of my best girlfriends.  my maid of honor and bridesmaids threw my bachelorette/lingerie shower and it.was.a.blast!  truly, i was just happy to spend time with some of my favorite people...the rest was a nice bonus!
i'm loving that my future husband makes a mean lasagna, and that we have leftovers to last us quite awhile!  can we say comfort food?
i'm loving that baby g's favorite thing right now is to grab the nearest soft blanket or stuffed animal and call for "snuggles?"
i'm loving the flex hours with my office job.  i get to take babysitting jobs, which means more income, and work from home, and pretty much waltz into the office when i feel like it.  i try to the majority of my hours in AT the office, but it does mean that most of the time i can go into work at 10 am and miss the craaaazy traffic.  and feeling professional 3 out of 5 workdays a week is A-MAZING.
i'm loving that pumpkin delights are back.  ahhh, and that the stores near me carry them! (last year i only found them in one store!)
i'm loving fitting comfortably into (most of) my size 6 wardrobe.  there are some outfits that just won't work yet, but i'm so happy to say hello again to some of my professional clothes...
i'm loving thrift store finds.  i have bought a gazillion glass pieces for the reception for less than $50.  bonus is that i don't have any sentimental "hold" if something gets damaged or lost!

hey, it's ok (tuesday)

hey, it's ok

...to have found a line of suuuuper comfy sweatpants (bamboo and organic cotton, thank you) that you pretty much want to live in.
...to be planning one full evening of creating tomorrow. here's hoping the necklace i have in my head is as fantastic as i think it will be!
...to be honored that i have been chosen to take over the boss's emails and other duties while she's away. considering i have only been at this job since late july, that's pretty cool...and YAY for extra hours worked meaning extra money for wedding stuff!
...to be nerdily (?) excited about the idea of sitting down with my future hubby and coming up with a tentative monthly budget. now...if only we could find a time to SIT.DOWN. ;-)
...to hope that the 24/7 post office is still in service, since i will most likely need to use it wednesday late!
...to feel a *need* to find your label maker for pantry items and the storage room. because, whats more fun than a crisp and shiny label on stuff?
...to hope that there is a fabric out there that both anthony and i will LOVE to recover the couch in the living room with. i so want my red and turquoise scheme, and that just isn't going to happen with the couch in it's present condition.
...to be absolutely one hundred percent disgusted by the slug you found eating the cat food late last night. what is the DEAL with that anyway? been there, done that...maybe i should find some high-sodium food for emi.

go to amber's blog to link up with your own list of ok things...or just to read some awesomely funny stuff.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

meal planning 9.18 - 9.24

so as i go through and make some of these recipes again i'll be updating the recipe posts with step-by-step pictures when needed...and at least better quality photos of the end result!  my new kitchen has much more room to spread out, and incredibly better lighting. 

sunday
dinner: lasagna.  his mom's recipe, and he's cooking it! woo!

monday
flank steak wheels with greek salad

tuesday
stir fry night (ginger noodles for me, terriyaki for him) with trader joe's chicken cilantro wontons

wednesday
shepherd's pie

thursday
bbq chicken pizza with anthony's sisters (two pizzas: sweet bbq sauce for him, spicy for me)

friday
dinner on our own: he's having a guys night in while i'm having a kitchen/linens shower at one of their (our, i suppose :-) family friends houses

saturday
lunch: chicken burgers with garlic-rosemary mayo
dinner: on our own.  i'm babysitting...so i'll take leftovers with me