Starting the day

I've never really been much of a breakfast person and everyone always tells you this is the most important meal of the day. Generally speaking, breakfast for me is a cup of coffee.

My new favorite thing to have first thing in the morning is vanilla flavored yogurt mixed with granola and fresh fruit. I found this granola the other day at stop and shop and absolutely love it!! I've paired it with the store brand Greek vanilla yogurt and fresh strawberries.

EMeals- juicy baked chicken and elegant spinach

This chicken was very like any other shake and bake chicken you might make. Brushed with mayo and shaken in a ziploc with panko bread crumbs mixed with Italian seasoning, the chicken was juicy like the name and yummy. I pounded it thin so it baked quickly which is nice.

The elegant spinach was not my thing. What is "elegant" spinach anyways? What makes it so elegant? Weird name. Anyway, basically sautéed mushrooms and spinach and then simmered in a teeny but of lemon juice, Worcestershire, and sour cream. I'm just not sure about the sauce. It tasted sour or something. I didn't like it. Oh well :-(

EMeals- chicken soup

This meal was a crockpot meal, so super easy to throw together and it was probably the most perfectly sized "two person" recipe that I've ever made. I actually cooked it a whole hour less than the recipe said but I think the chicken would have been over done had I let it stew longer.

It's just chicken broth, bite sized chicken pieces, cannelli beans, a little tomato paste, roasted red peppers, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Once it was done, I stirred in spinach and topped it with Parmesan cheese.

This was incredibly hearty. Zach scarfed his bowl down real quick and I couldn't finish mine. Very good.

EMeals- morraccon flank steak with garlic and olive oil couscous

This steak was seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon and sugar. The combination seemed strange to me but the flavor was yummy. I didn't let it set for 30 minutes like the recipe suggested so I don't know if that took away from the flavor. I don't, however, think I'd ever buy another flank steak. The seasoning was delicious but the steak itself was lacking flavor and quality.

I've never had couscous before but it was good. Definitely a quick and easy side prepared just like rice. I don't actually know what couscous is. I'll have to do some research. It comes in many different flavors.

I figured I would give an update on my first cleanse day. The 30 day cleanse I'm doing is mostly shake days with four cleanse days once a week throughout the month. On these days you eat no food except maybe an apple, some almonds or any of the isagenix snacks approved for this day. You drink different things throughout the day. It was brutal. By the end of the day I was nearly vomiting and had a killer headache. I don't do well when I don't have food. But I did wake up the next morning feeling great and not hungry. Lost three pounds on the cleanse day and went back into the shakes and normal food the next day.

All that makes this cleanse sound really terrible but its not :) the first cleanse day was hard, yes, but it was worth it and I feel great. It's great because I can eat real food and nothing is really off limits. More updates on all this later.

EMeals- skillet pork chops and asparagus with hollandaise sauce

Mmm Mmm Mmm. This was tasty! The pork chop were sautéed quickly on both sides and seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika. Then I added Marsala cooking wine and simmered. So easy and so tasty.

The asparagus was steamed and topped with homemade hollandaise sauce. I could have done without the sauce. It didn't seem to add much flavor and I actually soaked up some of the meat juice with the asparagus and loved it even more.

Definitely a remake! Zach and I both love it!

Turkey avocado grilled cheese

This eMeals was kind I fun because I love grilled cheese so much. I LOVED this! My avocado was not ripe enough so I had a hard time mashing it up but it worked. Zach won't eat it of course so I made it for lunch and I will probably have it the next two days for lunch since I am working at night. I've also just started a 30 day cleanse so I have two shakes a day and one 600 calorie or less meal so these eMeals work perfectly for me.

Definitely making this one again!!

Lime fish tacos with pineapple-jalapeño sauté

We've been busy and just not able to have sit down meals since my last post. Zach would not even try this meal so I made it early and had it myself for an early dinner before work.

The tilapia is baked topped with an olive oil, lime juice, and cilantro mixture. The "taco" part of it is a romaine lettuce leaf and then it is topped with shredded cabbage. The pineapple- jalapeño sauté is a mixture of red pepper, pineapple, jalapeños and garlic sautéed in olive oil.

The fish taco was boring and lacking flavor. It didn't taste bad but I won't make it again. The pineapple- jalapeño sauté on the other hand was full of yummy flavors. The pineapple and red pepper exploded with their sweetness and then it was followed by the spiciness of the hot peppers. Maybe a little too hot for he average person but I love hot foods. I was surprised at how well I enjoyed this and I will make it again.