WIAW: Pre-Lent Feasting

Well folks, this is it. The big 4-0 (forty days of lent) has started. I think it is a little rude to look over all the gorgeous pictures of food, on a day of fasting. But hey what’s a little sacrifice?

Instead of showing off my fat Tuesday feasting, I chose to showcase my Monday, because, well, I’m lame. But honestly my fat Tuesday looked pretty similar to this, with the addition of a night time scone oh and a mid-day vanilla latte!

Both days I opted to supplement my day with candy instead of my usual larabar and fruit at snack time…well, because I was pre-feasting, obviously!

Breakfast: Oatmeal with banana and strawberries. Lunch: Leftover three bean quinoa chili with 2 eggs and avocado on top.

Snacking: Reeses, Dark Chocolate Truffles, Chocolate covered almonds…basically anything chocolate. Aaannd some venison summer sausage made by my Father-in-law. Oh my goodness summer sausage is my weakness, I could eat it all day and all night. And this venison summer sausage is top notch! Yumm. I keep sending Chris pictures every time I eat it(because he is away on business) and he is super jealous!

Dinner: Mediterranean Salad with homemade dressing and chickpea croutons! Recipe here. With a side of sweet potato fries (unpictured, too busy getting wrapped up in the Bachelor drama).

Dessert: Finally finished this guy, while trying not to choke, while scoffing at the bachelor and his poor communication skills.

Happy Ash Wednesday and here’s to a blessed lent filled with much prayer, fasting, and alms giving. Lent is a season for growing, but to grow we must first be open to the plans the Lord has for us.

As always thanks to Jenn from peasandcrayons for hosting this food fiesta.

~Alyssa

WIAW- Snakes, on a TRAIN

Happy Happy Wednesday!

Already this week has been crazy, filled with Data collection, Master’s Projects, weight loss counseling, and 6 am runs, and cupcake runs! Where there is a run…there is a cupcake soon to follow!

Let’s back up to this weekend, when Chris and I traveled to WI to do a bed and breakfast on a train. Chris got it from groupon and we had no idea what to expect. But it was really fun. We got on at 5 pm on Saturday and I sipped on some wine and appetizers before we departed.

We had salad, soup, steak, and cheesecake. Every time we got to another stop we would get another course. With Chris traveling so much, it was so great just to be with him and we had fun goofing around and playing board games to our hearts content (I was the big winner). The last car of the train they had turned into a bar with booths, darts, and a pacman machine. Chris was glued to that baby so fast and even pulled me in for a little frogger.

And then here is what I ate Monday. Started off the day with some apple and blueberry oatmeal, moved on to a bbq ranch chicken salad, and finished with some turkey enchilada tacos. Oh and then really finished with a gluten-free chocolate cupcake from Cupcake. We got a coupon in the mail and knew exactly what was for dessert tonight.

Oh and various snacking on this monstrosity throughout the day…

I guess with Valentine’s Day approaching, it’s just a chocolate kind of day/week.

Question(s) of the day?

• What’s your favorite weekend getaway?
• What’s your favorite cupcake flavor?

And as always thanks to Jen from Peasandcrayons for hosting this chocolate celebration!

~Alyssa

 

 

WIAW-Zasta time

Hello and Good Morning all you beautiful people this Wednesday morning. I chose my WIAW from this Monday. Chris had to work up north this week and plus we had to bring in the Super Bowl with his football fanatic family. So we had a fun weekend in our hometown! We went hiking, watched a hockey game, and bonded with our families.  I wish I had taken a picture of the spread the in-laws had at the Superbowl, because oh my goodness so much good food in one place.

Moving onto this Monday, it all started with oatmeal and coffee with my mom while we watched the today show and talked about everything from Katy Perry to the controversial 50 shades of grey (neither of us have read it…so it’s not that scandalous).

Then I ran to the DMV to get my new drivers liscence. And I came back just STARVING! So what’s a girl to do? Obvi make breakfast numero 2: yellow bell pepper and cheese omelette.

After watching KLG and Hoda and working on some homework for the rest of the morning my mom called and asked if I wanted to accompany her to lunch before I embarked on my journey back to Minneapolis. Of course I said Yes! Salman with roasted veggies on the side.

After grocery shopping and working out I came back and snacked on a greek yogurt muffin while making me some Zasta (zucchini pasta (my dad dubbed it that)) with pesto and parmesan cheese…so good. I still don’t think I’ve quite mastered pesto, but it was delicious none the less.

As always thanks to Jenn from peasandcrayons for this fiesta of food!

Question of the day: Are you a pasta or marinara fan? And what is the funnest (most fun…I know) thing you have made in the kitchen lately? I would say I am still a marinara fan, but pesto is working its way into my heart! And the funnest thing is anything I can put inside the veggeti. I can’t get enough of it.

~Alyssa

WIAW Crazy Crock of a meal

Happy Wednesday beautiful people!

Wednesday means the week is half over and Chris will be coming home on Friday! Woo but until then I will catch you up on what I have been eating. This week I unwrapped and discovered my new crockpot and my love of it. You will probably feel the love as you read.

Morning: My usual pre-run orange and then berry-explosion oatmeal (post-run)

Afternoonish: Crockpot butternut squash and quinoa concoction with spinach, cheese and eggs. Then a library snack of a larabar and COFFEE!

Evening-ish: Pre-walk snack of italian quinoa salad (with more spinach) and an orange. Dinner consisted of left over barbecue crockpot chicken paired with roasted mushrooms and cauliflower.

 

Speaking of crockpot chicken…Oh my goodness people, this chicken is to die for! I will have the recipe on the blog soon, and until then just imagine the best barbecue chicken you’ve ever had and then increase that by 5. Yup, just keep the drool flowing.

It is so good and it heats up really well. Check out Jenn from peasandcrayons for more meal inspiration.

Question of the day: What is you favorite crockpot recipe? I am on the lookout for some recipe now that I finally own a crockpot. Some of my favorites include pumpkin spice latte, roast, and this chicken!

~Alyssa

 

 

WIAW: Gilmore Girls Finale

This week has been full of adjusting to married life. The apartment seems a bit cramped with all the wedding presents, and yet so quiet because Chris is away on business for the next  2 weeks. Alas, we resume our long distance relationship. At least we are almost experts now, but it does not make it easier.

Anyhow, part of adjusting to married life means cooking for the new husband. Pre-marriage I did not eat a lot of meat, not for a particular reason, just partly due to laziness and partly due to it being hard to cook for one person. But now I have been told there “must be meat at dinner,” so I have been loving exploring some of the crazy ideas I have floating up in my brain.

Some of the dinners we’ve enjoyed:

-Homemade gluten-free pizza with turkey pepperoni, green peppers, mozzarella and ricotta cheese

-meatloaf (ok not so crazy) and homemade biscuits

-garlic turkey burgers with roasted sweet potatoes (again not so crazy)

-pork, curry, vegetable soup (AMAZING) I used the leftover pork from our wedding and it was so tender!

I have also been dying to make some recipes from the cookbook, Against All Grain. I actually got it last Christmas, but now that I have a little time I think I will finally try a few of the recipes I’ve been meaning too. First up: hamburger buns made with cashews….Idk how it works but I have faith in her.

While our menu is great and all, I will share a few of my eats with you from yesterday since it is WIAW after all! Full disclosure, my photographing skillz were not on par this week!

Oatmeal is back in my life and I am so happy about that! I enjoyed a hot steamy bowl after a CSI (cardio strength intervals) that kicked my butt.

Then I had a taco salad for lunch. (unpictured but still delicious)

The star of my day was getting a gingerbread latte and finally watching the finale of Gilmore Girls. Oh my goodness I was bawling my eyes out. And now I have nothing else to look forward to in my life because my daily source of entertainment is now finished. I’m gonna miss those Gilmores.

Then I made a concoction for dinner. It was a 7-layer pasta dish that I then mashed all together into a delicious mess of meal. I layered brown rice pasta, then ricotta cheese, then roasted mushrooms and cauliflower, then spaghetti sauce, then mozzarella cheese, and topped with some diced pepperoni (for some flare). Uff-da that is a lot to jam into one bowl (ok it is a pretty huge bowl).

Sorry about this picture. I had a much better picture of it all layered, before I mixed it together but they some how got lost in cyber space…never to be seen from again. So…sorry! You win some and you lose some.

I finished the day with this Trader Joe’s water and a hefty hunk of fudge that was trying to satisfy my chocolate craving.

I solemnly swear to take better pictures next week! And to eat more quinoa! As always thanks to Jenn from peasandcrayons for hosting this celebration of food.

Question of the day: When you are craving chocolate what satisfies your craving? For me it is a gooey chocolate brownie, or just some dark chocolate chips I always seem to have in the pantry.

~Alyssa

 

WIAW: Wedding Prep

Well hello everyone! I feel like I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off, but surprisingly I think it may just be getting a little better soon. I just sent in my last take home final and I am free of the stress of school. So now my focus is all on wedding stuff….oh and Chris’s birthday this Saturday 🙂 So many good times to be had in the next few weeks!

But alas, here are my eats from a snowy/rainy Monday in northern MN, where I may be mooching off my parents.

Breakfast: So call me spoiled but I walk downstairs and there is always one of these waiting for me…obviously precut into cute little wedges.

      

Then I also had some oatmeal with blackberries and toasted pecans. I am super into toasting nuts lately! It makes them soo good!

Lunch: I ran to Duluth to meet Chris because he flew to California Monday night and it’s his birthday week and he wanted Chipotle. We may have had Starbucks too, which probably made it the PERFECT lunch.

Snack: Pear and nuts in the library while I furiously typed my last final!

Dinner: Roasted sweet potatoes topped with black beans, quinoa, spinach, feta, and an over medium runny egg on top! Oh the deliciousness.

 

After Dinner treat some dark chocolate Lindt truffles that my mom stuffed into the best advent calendar ever!

Head over to peasandcrayons to check out what everyone else is eating this week! And remember to take time enjoy the little things in life, especially when you have a million things to do!

~Alyssa

Question of the Day: What food are you most excited to eat this Christmas season? I would have to say I am super excited for Egg Bake at my grandma’s house on Christmas day and some egg nog here and there.

WIAW: Extreme Tailgaiting

Hey-O!

So this past week was clearly full of some face-stuffage, but I did not take any pictures of Thanksgiving, unfortunately. So today I  will highlight what I ate on Sunday, because I got to take part in a fun tradition of Chris’s family. As everyone knows by now, Chris is a die-hard Vikings fan, and his whole family follows suit. They love everything football and everything Vikings.

With love of football comes love of tail-gating and Chris’s dad is a tail-gating professional! He has the system down pat and jumps at the opportunity for tail-gate breakfast even in the freezing cold.. Now you may be judging me for my HUGE jacket (which is affectionately name big blue), but folks it was only 10° and we were eating OUTSIDE! 

Breakfast: hashbrowns lovingly cooked by Chris’s brother because they were gluten-free and had to be separate from the hash brown patties on the menu for everyone else (I know, so high maintenance) and a side of eggs and a piece of bacon. Chris cooked the bacon…while drinking beer.

There was also hot chocolate and bloody mary’s! After eating, they all trudged to the game (the stadium is less then 2 miles away) and froze their keesters off. Meanwhile I went inside, warmed up, and started on my huge pile of work. And then I randomly snacked on some celery while attacking my emails and homework.

After they got back from the victorious game, Chris’s family left and I made turkey alfredo with peas, spinach, and garlic! It was a little random but it warmed the heart and soul.

Then I finished off the day with some Gingerbread Angies popcorn! OMG soo good.

 

Not too crazy of a day, but at least I did not have to post another picture of overnight oats!

Happy Wednesday, and as always thanks to Jen from peasandcrayons for hosting!

~Alyssa

Question of the day: Would you rather eat in extreme cold or extreme heat? This is such a weird question and both do not sound appetizing, but on Sunday it was so cold we had to eat with mittens on and I still couldn’t feel my fingers! So I would say extreme heat. At least my body would be functioning.

WIAW: Hopefully Normal

Happy Wednesday folks! First, I have to give a big shout out and thanks for Chris’s post last week. He is seriously entertaining, and I tried not to take any of his little jabs too personally 🙂

As always thanks to Jen from Peasandcrayons for hosting this 200th WIAW! Wow

Let’s get down to business, here is what I munched on, on Monday. Hopefully it’s kind of normal…ok I already know that it’s not because where’s the fun in that?

For Breakfast, no surprise here, it’s…..oatmeal!

With banana, cinnamon, walnuts, and raspberries. I switched it up just a bit, but can’t go too crazy.

Lunch:

Ok, no I forgot to snap a picture of the salad that I brought and ate in between my classes. It had spinach, quinoa, beans, roasted sweet potatoes, and chicken. With an orange on the side.

Snack: A honey crisp apple (duh) with almonds and dark chocolate. Perfect for an afternoon pick me up and great fuel for some Gilmore Girls watching.

Dinner: I made some lentil sweet potato chili to have throughout the week. Yumm. I still have a few kinks to work out before it is blog ready (too much cinnamon) but it is still darn good. And it helped me to clean out my fridge of some lingering vegetables which is always a plus.

Sorry about the weird coloring, it was a little dark.

Then I rounded out my Monday with some Berry tea and some pumpkin ice cream (seriously can’t get over this stuff).

            

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Question of the day: What is your favorite ice cream flavor or dessert if you don’t like ice cream? (I don’t know why I’m asking this now that is is freezing cold outside) While pumpkin is magically delicious, my favorite is raspberry dark chocolate. Yummm.

~Alyssa

 

 

WIAW: Deer Hunting

As always thanks to Jen from peasandcrayons for hosting this fun celebration of food! Without further ado here is Chris’s WIAW post. Enjoy!

Well hello! I’m happy to be back and writing another blog post! This time it is for What I Ate Wednesday…except this took place over the weekend. I’d like to first start with mentioning that I agree with Alyssa’s sister, Sara, that she never eats “normal” things. However, due to the special occasion over this weekend, my meals weren’t exactly “normal” either, but I would argue still more normal than what Alyssa eats.

 

Anyway, anyone from Minnesota knows that Saturday was deer hunting opener (for firearms). The alarm went off at 5:30 am and the excitement began. If you’ve never been hunting before, there is no explanation for how it makes you feel. Ah, it is just a wonderful time and I can’t express that enough. I set out to my deer stand with my thermos full of percolated coffee and a doughnut. One of those two items are Alyssa approved. But you have to have some homely food when you’re sitting outside in the 20 degree weather for hours on end (9 degrees on Sunday). And yes, that is my idea of fun…although I somehow couldn’t convince Alyssa to join me.

Well after a successful morning hunt (I was able to shoot a decent sized doe and my uncle got a 4 point buck, the hunting crew (which is myself, my older brother Matt, Matt’s girlfriend Jamie, my younger brother Jon, my cousin Nicholas and one of his friends, two of my uncles, my dad, and my grandpa) found ourselves back to the shack and we had Eggs Benedict with specialty hashbrowns. This includes our fried eggs, toasted English muffins, ham, and hollandaise sauce (which is even better topped with salsa). The hashbrowns are browned to perfection with some green peppers and onions. SO GOOD. (I can picture Alyssa rolling her eyes at “hollandaise.”

             

I would also like to mentionwhat I had on Sunday because it is a classic at deer camp: “deer balls”….or Scottish Eggs if you would like the proper term. These consist of a hardboiled egg, which is then wrapped in venison breakfast sausage and baked. To make it extra tasty, croissant dough is placed on top and it is then baked for a few additional minutes. (Once again, insert Alyssa eye roll.).

Back out to our respective stands we went, but unfortunately it was not a successful evening hunt. Daylight came to a close and I was now covered with snow. So we started dinner preparations. Now, at the shack (and my family’s cabin in Canada), we certainly go all out on meals. This dinner consisted of fried wontons that had cabbage, carrots, and venison breakfast sausage inside and then grilled onions, mushrooms, green peppers, and marinated venison. And all that was placed on a bed of rice that had carrots and peas mixed in. And of course, I might have had a couple of beers as well, but what’s hunting without some adult beverages?

       

Obviously, it wasn’t the healthiest of days/weekends, but hunting brings about a different sort of need for food, if you ask me. When I’m out in the stand I’m not going to be making a bunch of noise munching on carrots or celery. And with only having two full meals throughout the day (gotta maximize the daylight for the most amount of hunting time possible), I’m definitely a proponent have having food that is going to be more filling. Plus, everyone on my dad’s side of the family sure knows how to cook a hearty meal.

But I hope you enjoyed the change of pace from Alyssa’s meals and found my hunting shack meals interesting…because they sure were delicious.

Thanks and have a great day! Go enjoy some venison and best of luck to all hunters!

~Chris

WIAW #8

Here we go, the story of my Tuesday life, welcome one and all!

Now I don’t want to give anything away, but next week there might be a special guest post WIAW. So stay tuned.

In the meantime head over to peasandcrayons and check out this celebration of food hosted by Jen.

It started with an early morning spin class. I always think I am getting “better” at spin class and therefore will be less sweaty, but each spin class is sweatier than the last. I returned home to a bowl of overnight oats. They just never get old.

Then lunch time rolled around while I was at one of the elementary schools for my master’s project. So I finished up and headed to Starbucks for some studying…AND some red cup loving!

I enjoyed a gopicnic which is a great option for a quick lunch that packs a lot of protein. The balanced lunch is good, but the best part is everything packaged into cute little bags that no one can resist. And there is squirt able hummus, sounds a little shady but it’s great and FUN. Obviously I enjoyed a honey crisp the size of my face, because that’s how I do apples.Then I had a Larabar for a snack.

And finished the day with some breakfast for dinner! It doesn’t look the greatest but it sure hit the spot. With a couple of Halloween Reese’s on the side.

http://sweets.seriouseats.com

Question of the day: What is your favorite brinner food? I think mine would be eggs. I can eat them 24/7 in any way shape or form.

Eat some quinoa and be merry!

~Alyssa