Category Archives: Food

Upgrading My Kitchen (or Time To Organize)

Posted on December 12, 2014 | Comments Off on Upgrading My Kitchen (or Time To Organize)

After my day of bulk cooking, I realized that I don’t have some things that I can really use in the kitchen. And I have a lot of things that I definitely don’t need (or are expired and I never noticed it).

So on Monday (my day off from my main day job), I set out to remedy this problem. The first thing I did was go through all of my cabinets and throw out any things that had expired. I had a lot of oils, sauces, and dry goods that I don’t use that often and many of them had expiration dates of a year or 2 ago! While some of it I know I will be replacing, many things in my cabinet were things that I bought for just one recipe and never used it again. That’s such a waste of money (and cabinet space for me). I’m really going to work on only restocking things that are more than one-time-use items.

My next clean out was my storage containers. As pretty much everyone does, I had a ton of storage containers that didn’t really go together. I had a lot of lids without containers and visa versa. And while I do like the “disposable” storage containers you can get at the store, I wanted to make sure that if I was going to bulk cook that I had good quality containers.

I got rid of many of the disposable ones (since I pretty much never use them) and saved all of my Snapware. I have the plastic Snapware that I got a long time ago and have always liked how they sealed so tightly.

My last clean out stage in my kitchen was to move things around to be in more convenient places for me. Until this week, I stored several pans in my oven because I didn’t know where else to put them. I almost always remembered to take them out before heating my oven, but on the occasions that I didn’t, it was always a pain to lift super hot pans out of my oven and find a place to store them (usually on the top of my stove). After moving some pantry items around and having more space since I got rid of expired things, I found a new home for those pans.

Then, it was time to add a few things to my kitchen to make sure I’m prepared to bulk cook again.

The first was to get more storage containers. I didn’t have that many to begin with and I wanted to get some more Snapware since I know I like those containers. I know many people don’t like plastic containers, but since I do not plan to microwave in them I figured that they would be ok. I looked online for prices and found that Costco had a great deal on them. So I headed over there and ended up arriving even before the store opened (am I the only one who didn’t know Costco didn’t open until 10am?).

I found exactly what I wanted pretty quickly.

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I also was looking to get a second cutting board for my house. I only had one and during the bulk cooking I had to wash and dry it multiple times. It’s not the easiest thing to wash and it was slowing me down a lot. But while I was looking at cutting boards, I found something pretty awesome.

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This bamboo cutting board has a groove cut out in the middle to place different liners in. There are 7 different ones to be used for different food products. While I might not always use the meat liner for meat, this basically gives me 7 cutting boards to use when I’m cooking!

While I got rid of more things than I added in my kitchen, I think that I am now more prepared to do more cooking at home. I’m made my tiny kitchen space as efficient as I can be and I’m looking forward to seeing what other things I can cook and store in my bulk cooking.

It’s so weird. I’ve never enjoyed cooking that much. I’ve tried to force myself to like it because my mom is an awesome cook and I see what can be created at home. But it never really clicked with me. I don’t want to say that I’m been completely transformed, but I’ve never felt this way about cooking or meal planning before. I’m excited to see where my food journey goes next!

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Posted in Food, Fun Stuff, Shopping, Weight Loss

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First Time Bulk Cooking (or Making My Kitchen Smell Yummy!)

Posted on December 11, 2014 | 3 comments

Inspired by my cooking confidence that I gained while making the salmon dish, I decided to try something else new.

Bulk cooking.

I looked up a lot of ideas on Pinterest and various websites to find some basic things that should be easy enough for me to do. I decided on one basic protein (chicken breasts) and a couple of vegetables. I hadn’t completely decided on the vegetables prior to going to Trader Joes because I wanted to see what I would find and if anything inspired me.

I ended up buying the chicken breasts as well as broccoli, green beans, red onions, red peppers, and sweet potatoes. I also got some baby carrots, sugar snap peas, and hummus to have as snacks.

It was one of my more expensive shopping trips, but I was buying food for the week. Plus I usually don’t buy meat (at least not meat I have to prepare) so that was a bit more expensive. But considering that this should be my only shopping trip for the week and that I’m not eating take out or delivery this week, it actually is less than I would usually spend.

Before I knew it, my kitchen was looking like this.

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I cut each chicken breast in half lengthwise and put a little olive oil and some Trader Joes seasoning on them. Then they baked until the insides weren’t pink anymore (about 35 minutes). The sweet potatoes went in the same time that the chicken went in, but they ended up taking a little over 2 hours to bake (starting at 400 and then ending at 450). The broccoli, onions, and green beans went in when the chicken was done. I did learn my lesson with the green beans that I overcrowded them and they steamed more than they baked, but they were still yummy. And the onions were perfectly caramelized!

Overall, I think my first try at bulk cooking went really well. My timing of things was a bit off, but that’s to be expected when you aren’t a big cooker.

All the food went into storage containers to cool before going into my fridge.

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With everything in the fridge, it looked more crowded than it usually is, but since it’s just me at my house, that’s fine.

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I made my first reheated bulk dinner the next day after a workout. I put everything on a plate and microwaved it (I’ve since learned that I need to smash up the sweet potato otherwise it doesn’t heat all the way through). My first plate looked beautiful and was very yummy.

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I’m not sure if I’m going to bulk cook every week. I’m going to see how this entire week plays out. In a typically week, I can cook on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays so I’m toying with the idea of doing some bulk cooking but then cooking a recipe on those days and having leftovers on the day between cooking days.

Either way, this is a major step for me. I don’t know why I’ve been holding back on cooking for so long. While it’s a bit tough considering how small my kitchen is, it’s not impossible. And now I’m eating much healthier (and much more food since everything is lower in calories than frozen dinners). Hopefully I can make this trend continue just like my workouts have been.

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Default ThumbnailStill Cooking (or It’s Almost A Habit) Default ThumbnailHome Cooking (or Getting Into A Routine) Default ThumbnailHome Cooking (or Getting Used To Making What I Eat) Default ThumbnailUpgrading My Kitchen (or Time To Organize) Default ThumbnailCooking Routine (or Adding Flavor) Default ThumbnailForced To Do Some Cooking (or Making The Best Of Things)

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Posted in Food, Fun Stuff, Health, Saving, Shopping, Weight Loss

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Westside Wonderland (or Hanging Out At The Mall)

Posted on December 10, 2014 | Comments Off on Westside Wonderland (or Hanging Out At The Mall)

A fellow blogger had posted a giveaway that they were doing for an event at a mall near my house. I entered, but since I never win much, I didn’t pay too much attention to the details. A few days later, I got an email saying that I won, so I decided to do a bit more research to see what I had gotten myself into.

The event was Westside Wonderland, a shopping evening with food, drinks and entertainment.

Westside Wonderland

The contest I won was for 2 tickets, so I texted my friend Rayshell to see if she was free and wanted to come along. She could, so on Sunday she met me over at my house and we headed over to the event together.

We got there a little early, but we were able to check in and get our wristbands. We had a few shopping errands that we both wanted to run, so we went and did our shopping first. Then we decided to see what sort of offerings there were at the event.

There was a jewelry store that had some veggies, brownies, and sparkling cider so we hung out there for a bit (the jewelry was pretty awesome too but neither of us had the money to spend on it). There was also a photo booth set up and a DJ in the middle of the mall.

Then we noticed a crowd toward the other end of the mall so we headed there.

We knew that there would be food, but we had no idea that it would be like this.

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Fill R Up was there making these amazing savoy (and some sweet) Brioche donuts that were filled with savory foam and topped with lots of yummy things. Then, they were torched right there in front of us to be cooked!

It was so cool to watch, and everyone wanted a bite. We tried the Filly Tank (a Philly cheesecake style donut) and the Caprese Tank (which tasted like a pizza to me). Then we got some dessert with the Campfire Tank which was like a deconstructed s’more.

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We hung out at that food station for a while, but it was so good that we kept wanting to try more!

After that, we decided to head back toward where we started to see what other things were going on. We were both getting a little tired and didn’t have a lot of money to spend. So we were thinking that we were getting ready to leave soon.

Back near the entrance of the mall, there was a lounge area set up for attendees of the event (the mall was open to regular customers while we were there, so that’s why we needed the wristbands).

In the lounge area, Fleurish was there to help us all make our own flower arrangements. I had never heard of Fleurish before, but it’s such a cool idea! You get to make your own arrangements with the help of the employees in their studio and you can even take classes to be able to make arrangements at home!

Rayshell and I both wanted to make a little arrangement. And with some help from a Fleurish employee, I think we both did a pretty awesome job!

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After making our flower arrangements, it was time for us to head out. While we didn’t stay a long time at the event, we both had an awesome time and we got some shopping done and got some wonderful things to eat!

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Posted in Celebrations, Crafts, Food, Fun Stuff, Shopping

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Garlic Parmesan Salmon and Asparagus (or Getting Over My Fear Of Cooking)

Posted on December 9, 2014 | 2 comments

I’ve mentioned my fear of cooking before. If it’s something I’ve made a hundred times or is really easy, I’m totally down to cook it. But if it’s something new or using my oven (which is always tricky to use), I’m pretty hesitant.

But for the Orangetheory Nike ID Challenge, one of the required photos for the Instagram portion was me with a homemade meal. And while I could have made something I’ve made before or even taken a photo at Thanksgiving, I took advantage of this and decided to challenge myself.

I had pinned this recipe a while back because it seemed simple and would have an easy clean up. I was right on both counts. So here it is for all of you.

When I made this recipe, I doubled it so I would have leftovers for the next day. I highly recommend doing that.

Garlic Parmesan Salmon and Asparagus Foil Pack

What You Need:

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6 oz portion of salmon

7 asparagus stalks (tough ends cut off)

1 Tbsp whipped butter

1 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1 clove garlic pressed

2 tsp lemon juice

Ground pepper to taste.

What To Do:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Put all ingredients except for salmon and asparagus in a bowl and mix them to make a paste.

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Place a piece of foil on a baking sheet large enough for the salmon (I made my foil twice the size of the salmon to be able to fold it over).

Arrange your asparagus in a row on the foil.

Place the salmon on top of the asparagus.

Coat the salmon with the paste you made with the other ingredients.

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Cover your salmon tightly with the foil. I added a second piece of foil to make sure that all the seams were tight.

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Bake in the over for about 30 minutes. Unwrap, plate, and enjoy!

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Seriously, that’s it! So easy and since it’s wrapped in foil, the clean up is pretty much non-existent. When I reheated the second piece of salmon the next day, I did it under the broiler so the top would get nice and crispy. I would recommend doing that to everyone. It made it much better!

I’m slowing getting used to eating fish again. I was having sensitivity issues with it for years, but I’ve finally outgrown it. I’m discovering which fish I like and what I don’t. I’m not a huge salmon fan, so when I make this again, I will likely use something I like (I’m a fan of tilapia and cod). And you could use the paste mixture on chicken, but I don’t know how chicken does in a foil pack. But you could definitely bake it with the garlic and parmesan!

This was so easy and delicious that it inspired me to try to cook some more! But I’ll have more about that another day.

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Posted in Food, Fun Stuff, Health, Weight Loss

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Finding A Community (or Online Motivation)

Posted on December 5, 2014 | Comments Off on Finding A Community (or Online Motivation)

For a long time, my weight issues were a solitary thing. Even though clearly people could see that I have an issue with food by looking at me, it wasn’t something that I openly shared.

When I did the RFO diet at UCLA, that changed a bit. I started attending group therapy (instead of solo therapy) and I found people who I could somewhat relate to. But even with my group at RFO, I never fully fit in. I was very much the youngest one there. And almost everyone else had a husband and family to worry about and have to cook for. I, on the other hand, was just me and didn’t have to focus on anyone else in my life eating food on a daily basis.

I’m still in touch with several of the women I met through RFO, but I haven’t been a part of that program for years.

Then, when I started my blog, I realized that sharing my issues was allowing me to be more open with the people I love and I found out how many other people were hiding their issues. It really helped me realize that I’m not alone.

And then this year, I found another community to share and be open with. My Orangetheory family. I never realized how connected I could be to workout friends. At SoulCycle, while I did have friends who came with me to the workout, I never made friends in class (except with a few of the instructors). But at Orangetheory, I’ve not only made friends with the staff and coaches, I have friends that I’ve made in the workout class as well!

It has been so helpful to have someone there to cheer me on on the next treadmill (and save my favorite treadmill for me when I’m not there first). Also, it’s nice to have someone there to chat with before class starts or to vent with when we are in the middle of a tough class.

I never knew how much I needed this support until I had it.

And then this past weekend, I’ve joined what will hopefully be another community to motivate me and support me. I signed up for the Tone It Up plan. I had heard about this plan before and was pretty intrigued. It’s a one-time fee for the plan (and all the updates that they do) plus being a part of their online community. I didn’t have the money for a while, but I got some money for Hanukkah and I spent some of it on this.

There are Facebook groups for this plan and I’ve joined the groups that are local to me. And I put out a message to the other group members that I work out at Orangetheory and would love some more workout friends.

Instantly, everyone in the group made me feel so welcome and many of them are going to work out with me in the coming weeks.

It’s so funny that for so long I thought that I needed (and wanted) to be alone while dealing with all my food issues. But now that I have people who are supporting me along the way, I can’t imagine not having my own personal cheering squad with me every step.

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Posted in Fitness, Food, Fun Stuff, Health, Tough Stuff, Weight Loss

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A Family-Filled Thanksgiving (or 4 Generations In One Place)

Posted on December 3, 2014 | 1 comment

Thanksgiving Day was a family day pretty much from start to finish. The day began with my dad, brother, aunt, and I going to Orangetheory for our workout. It turns out that while we were working out, my mom took Tucker for a walk to Orangetheory and watched us sweat our butts off. None of us saw her or the dog because we were so focused on the workout, but we did see them walking back up the hill as we were coming home (Tucker was tired of the hill so he jumped in the car to catch a ride up).

My mom did a lot of prep work for Thanksgiving in the days and weeks leading up to it, so on the day it wasn’t as much prep time needed as cooking time. The turkey got into the oven quickly and then Tucker discovered the best place to take a nap in the entire house.

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While the turkey and various sides were cooking in the oven, a bunch of us decided to take advantage of the gorgeous day we were having in San Diego.

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I enjoyed lots of reading time in the shade with my dad while my cousin’s kids hung out in the pool.

After some time in the sunshine, we headed inside for appetizers. We had a couple of different things out, included the feta dip I made. My mom thinks that I did a better job that she does, and while I don’t agree with that I’m happy that everyone enjoyed the dip!

We enjoyed eating some chips and dips and spending time catching up with one another while dinner was finishing up.

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I love this photo of my grandma and my cousin’s daughter Annabelle.

We had another incredible sunset that evening and I got a nice family photo of my parents, my brother, and I in the backyard of the rental house.

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Before we knew it, the turkey was done and it looked amazing!

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My cousin Adam was in charge of carving it because he always does a great job. And while he was carving it, Tucker realized that being next to the turkey was the place to be. And while he was hoping for some scraps to fall, I realized that Dante did the exact same thing at the last Thanksgiving I got to spend with him.

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I think the turkey looked like something out of a magazine after Adam carved it.

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All the food was set out in the kitchen for us to take and we got started on making our plates.

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The rental house had a large enough dining room that we could all sit in the same room together. We pushed 2 tables together to create one long table and it was perfect.

The food was delicious and getting to spend time like that with my family was perfect.

After dinner, we all went into the living room to take a family photo. We were missing my cousin John and my sister-in-law, but to have this many members of my family together in one place is rare and we had to get a picture.

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That’s 4 generations of the Fry family in that photo. I love how even Tucker is smiling!

After the family photo, my cousin Stephie, her husband Clay, and I went out to go see the new Hunger Games movie. This has become a tradition for the 3 of us to do and it’s something that I look forward to a lot. When we got to the theater, we had a while to wait before the movie. But there was some Christmas stuff up already so Stephie and I decided to do a little photo shoot.

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When we got into the theater, the set up was similar to the theater I saw “The Theory Of Everything” in. They didn’t have waiters to bring you food or drinks, but we all got recliners!

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The recliners might have been a bad thing for my cousin, though. She kept falling asleep in the beginning of the movie. But she went out and got some popcorn and that perked her up right away!

We all loved the movie and we have next year’s movie to look forward to.

Overall, this might have been the best Thanksgiving ever. There was no craziness and all the food was amazing. And I got to pretty much spend the entire day with my whole family. We all agreed that this year was pretty perfect. And we are looking at getting the same rental house for next year since it fit our family so well.

I know that I’m so lucky that I get the chance like this to be with my extended family and that we are all so close to one another. We don’t get to see each other too often so we try to take advantage of the time we have together each year at Thanksgiving.

I hope that all of you got to spend your Thanksgiving exactly the way you wanted to.

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Default ThumbnailFirst Half Of Thanksgiving (or Hanukkah Gifts And Birthdays) Default ThumbnailSan Diego Day (or Hanging Out With Family On My Day Off) Default ThumbnailFull Thanksgiving Trip (or Being With My Family In San Diego) Default ThumbnailFamily Thanksgiving (or Relaxing In San Diego) Default ThumbnailThe Rest Of Thanksgiving (or Getting In Lots Of Family Time) Default ThumbnailFull Thanksgiving Week (or Lots Of Family Time)

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Food, Fun Stuff, Travel

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First Half Of Thanksgiving (or Hanukkah Gifts And Birthdays)

Posted on December 2, 2014 | Comments Off on First Half Of Thanksgiving (or Hanukkah Gifts And Birthdays)

Thanksgiving this year was held in San Diego. That’s where my grandparents live, and it’s easier for the rest of us to travel to them than for them to travel to another location. I only had Thanksgiving Day off from my box office job, but I had shortened hours the day before and after. So I figured I could work from the house that my mom rented for us and spend a couple of days with my family.

I started my drive right after my work shift ended on Tuesday. It should have been just before rush hour started, but the traffic was horrible the second I got onto the freeway.

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What should have been a 2 hour drive ended up being over 4 hours (I have a history of that drive taking a long time). But I was better for me to be stuck in traffic but making progress than to be sitting at home waiting for the traffic to die down.

When I got to the rental house, my parents were there along with my grandparents and my aunt and uncle (my aunt, uncle, and cousin were also staying at the rental house with us). My brother arrived shortly after (he flew in to San Diego but my sister-in-law had to stay in San Francisco and work). We spent some time catching up as a family and then my aunt and uncle drove my grandparents back to their place.

While it was just my parents and my brother, I decided that it was the perfect time to give them the Hanukkah presents I brought with me. My brother got a gift that was from me, my parents, and my sister-in-law and my dad got a gift that was from me, my mom, my brother, and my sister-in-law. They both got awesome (and pricey) gifts so they were group gifts.

For my dad, we all chipped in and got him a custom chair and foot rest that is made from old skis. It’s being made right now and hopefully my dad will get it sometime this month. It’s going to be for Tahoe, and my mom had to do some spy work and measuring to make sure it would fit there. But it will and I can’t wait until it’s delivered so my dad can enjoy it!

And for my brother, we all chipped in and got him a GoPro. He loves to do videos while he is snowboarding and he usually makes my dad film him. But this way, he can do the videos himself. And from the look on his face when he opened the gift, I think he loves it.

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As for my mom, I got her a gift certificate for Shutterfly. She’s going to be getting a new iPhone soon and she likes to make custom photo cases. I would have loved to have made a case for her, but I don’t know what phone she is getting. So this way, when she upgrades her phone, she can make the case that she wants.

After presents, we sat around and relaxed. I was trying to hang out with Tucker, but clearly he was missing my brother more than me and I was getting ignored.

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I don’t mind too much. Ross gets to see Tucker pretty often where as I have only seen him a handful of times.

The next day was a relaxing family day. My cousin Adam arrived in San Diego and all of us spent most of the day hanging around the house and enjoying the view.

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I had to work in the morning, but I set up my laptop and phone in the kitchen so I could still be a part of the conversation. Fortunately, it was a very quiet day at work. We also made a quick trip to the dog park for Tucker to burn off some of his energy.

That evening had such a wonderful sunset and we were spoiled with an amazing view.

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And once the sun was down, it was time for us to head out to dinner. We celebrate my grandma’s birthday on the evening before Thanksgiving. We went to an Italian restaurant that we go to as a family often as they have a private room that is the perfect size for us.

At the restaurant, my other aunt and my cousin and her family were there. It was great to see my cousin, her husband, and her 3 kids again. I hadn’t seen them since last year and all of her kids are so much bigger! I got to sit next to her son, Dalton, at dinner. And he kept me pretty entertained with all of his stories and craziness.

And of course, there was cake for my grandma.

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After dinner, we headed back to the rental house so we could get some sleep to be ready for Thanksgiving the next day. I can’t wait to share with you tomorrow how Thanksgiving went. It really has become one of my favorite family memories ever.

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Feta-Pine Nut Dip (or My Contribution For Thanksgiving)

Posted on November 28, 2014 | 2 comments

First of all, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I’m writing this post in advance so I can focus my time on my family, but I wanted to share with you all the dish that I brought down to San Diego with me.

I had asked my mom ahead of time if there was anything I could help her with, and she asked me to get some chips we like from Trader Joes and to make her feta-pine nut dip because she didn’t know if she would have the time to do it on her own. I figured I could make it at home and then drive down with it in a little cooler with an ice pack, so I said that I’d be happy to help out.

This dip is a family favorite and something that everyone loves and looks forward to at any family gathering. And I had never made it before so the pressure was on! But thankfully, the recipe isn’t too tough. So here’s my mom’s famous recipe for feta-pine nut dip so you can all make it and impress your friends and family!

Feta-Pine Nut Dip

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What You Need:

1 (8 oz) Tub Whipped Cream Cheese Spread

1/2 Cup Plain Non-Fat Yogurt

3 Tbsp Pine Nuts (Toasted)

2 Tbsp (Packed) Fresh Basil

1 Clove Garlic, Crushed

1 (7 oz) Package Feta Cheese

1/3 Cup Chopped, Drained Oil-Packed Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Here’s What You Do:

Place cream cheese, yogurt, pine nuts, basil, and garlic in food processor.

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Blend using the pulse button until combined.

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Add feta (crumbled or cubed) and sun-dried tomatoes and pulse until combined but still chunky.

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That’s it! If you aren’t serving it right away, store it in the fridge. And this is a great make-ahead dip because it’s good for about a week in the fridge!

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I highly recommend serving it with pita chips, veggies, or the flax-seed chips that you can get from Trader Joes.

As I’m writing this, my family has not tried it yet. I tasted it after it was made and besides being a little garlicky (I must have bought some potent garlic), it tastes exactly how my mom’s dip tastes.

Hopefully my family thinks that I did a good job with it and they enjoy it on Thanksgiving. And if you try out the recipe, let me know if your family and friends love it too!

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Food, Fun Stuff

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Pinning And Not Doing (or The Hazards Of Pinterest)

Posted on November 14, 2014 | 1 comment

I’ve been pretty active on my Pinterest page lately. I’ve been pinning a ton of recipes and craft ideas and I’m super inspired to do all of these ideas.

Except I’ve done none of them.

I went back through the recipes that I’ve pinned lately and they all look amazing to me. I want to make all of those meals now. Some of them are even slow cooker recipes so I can cook them while I work (but I don’t feel comfortable leaving my slow cooker on while I’m not home yet).

But then I look at the ingredients and realize that I have to do a shopping trip just to get those things. I don’t keep a very stocked fridge or pantry, but I feel like  I have to do that so I don’t go crazy with food. So I can’t just “throw something together” because I don’t have the something to throw together.

I’m trying to do some planning about maybe going to get the ingredients on a day that I can make the dish, but then when I get to the store, I’m just motivated to get the things I usually eat (lots of salad ingredients and frozen chicken).

I’m not sure if my lack of motivation is due to not wanting to make the food or the cleanup involved afterwards. It’s also not motivating when I’m just cooking for myself. When I have company, I’m happy to cook.

Crafty ideas I’m getting a bit better about. I saw a pin about cute placemats for Thanksgiving. I went out and got all the things needed to make them and I’ll be working on them on the weekend (it involves multiple coats of paint so I want a day that I’m free to work on this). I’m much more willing to fail with crafty ideas than I am with food.

Everything looks so beautiful on Pinterest and not necessarily achievable by “normal” people. There are even websites devoted to Pinterest fail. I understand that with many things that are pinned on there, failure is almost inevitable because many pins are done by professionals.

I just have to get over myself and take the risk at making these foods I’ve pinned and maybe I can become a Pinterest success story!

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Posted in Crafts, Food, Fun Stuff, Tough Stuff

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Testing Some Water (or Continuing My No Soda Streak)

Posted on November 4, 2014 | Comments Off on Testing Some Water (or Continuing My No Soda Streak)

FTC Disclosure: I was given a free sample of the Waiakea water in exchange for my review. All opinions are of my own and were not influenced by the free product.

It’s been almost 2 years since I’ve had soda in my life. There have been a few times I’ve had a sip (for example when some Sprite was in a punch that I drank at a baby shower), but my last intentional soda was in January 2013.

Considering how much Diet Coke I drank every day, I can’t believe that I was finally able to kick an unhealthy habit like this. I’ve also pretty much cut back on the flavored sparkling water I loved so much. I sometimes will get one at the store, but I probably average one bottle a month (if that).

So I’m pretty much only drinking water these days (with the exception of the occasional cocktail or glass of wine). So when Waiakea Volcanic water offered to send me some samples of their bottled water, I said yes!

I’m not usually a bottled water drinker. I have a water filter at home and I think that it is much cheaper to drink filtered from home water (and I don’t have to carry heavy water bottles home). But for a splurge or when I’m out and about and getting thirsty, I get some nice bottled water.

I have a few brands of bottled water that I love (and yes, they do taste different to me), but Waiakea was a new brand to me and I was very curious what it would taste like.

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And I have to tell you that it was very yummy bottled water! It was really crisp and fresh tasting and didn’t have any of that gross plastic taste that so many bottled waters have.

I wish that the bottles came in a sports top option (I like having those for when I’m drinking bottled water in my car), but that is not a big deal. I now know that when I’m getting bottled water when I’m thirsty that this is a brand I will be on the lookout for.

And as a bonus, Waiakea gave me a promo code to share with you all! If you would like to try their water for yourself, they have an online store so you can have it shipped right to your door (and not have to carry heavy bottles around a grocery store). You can go to this website and place your order. Then use the promo code BOMBSHELL20 for 20% off any orders that you place!

I know that reviewing water might not sound so exciting, but for someone like me who is a water drinking fanatic, knowing that there are more great options for bottled water makes me so happy!

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Posted in Food, Fun Stuff, Saving

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