Menu Plan Monday!

How was your weekend? Ours was s-t-e-a-m-y! It's been consistently in the 90's for the past week or so! Phew- looking forward to seeing the mercury drop a little bit, that's for sure! Here's what we have on the menu this week:

Breakfasts: 

• Steel cut oats sweetened with a little bit of pure maple
• Whole wheat english muffin, toasted with some peanut butter + fruit salad

Lunches: (same as last week, but they definitely worked well and kept me full and happy)

• Baked sweet potato with black beans and fresh pico de gallo.
• Dr. McDougalls soups (the tortilla is my favorite!)- they're cheap, too. 
• Low-carb wrap (I like Cedar's brand) with hummus and tons of veggies

Dinners:

Monday- Green salad with chicken (for Mike) and chickpeas (for me!)

Tuesday- Grilled whole wheat pizza with veggies and sugar-free BBQ sauce (plus cheese for Mike)

Wednesday- Slow cooker barley risotto with a big green salad

Thursday- Taco Thursday! Black bean for me, chicken for Mike

Friday- Whole wheat angel hair pasta tossed with veggies and herbs 

Saturday- leftovers

Sunday- Salad wraps (veggies + lettuce + chickpeas + hummus + tabouli for me, plus chicken for Mike)

Linking up with Orgjunkie.com and Menu Plan Monday! Head on over there for lots of great menu plans!!

Fryday!

Happy Friday!!! It's more like Fryday, if you live in Boston! Phew, it's scorching today.


I woke up early this morning in hopes of beating the heat to workout- no dice! It was almost 90 degrees when I rolled out of bed at 6am. Nooo thanks. Instead, I drank a glass of iced coffee and watered my poor garden before it got scorching.  

Once I got to (wonderfully air-conditioned) work, I had a bowl of Irish oatmeal with a little maple syrup and bananas. Mmm. I picked up a snickerdoodle iced coffee on my way, my Friday treat! Best $2.25 I can spend in heat like this- it was gone VERY quickly. 

Lunch was just a big salad with tons of cold veggies and a little goat cheese. I also had a Sargento cheese stick (colby-jack reduced fat) to snack on. I brought a Dr. McDougall's black bean soup, but it's just not soup weather. 

We'll be going out for dinner tonight, but I'm working on a post for hot-weather dinner recipes for you! Lots of cold salads, a few slow-cooker recipes and even some filling smoothies. 


What's your favorite "hot-weather" food? Or are you like me and lose your appetite when the temperature goes up? 

My Inspiration

I have this print from the amazing Vol. 25 hanging over my desk. It inspires me to dream of the big things that are in store for the rest of my life. 

How Are Things Growing?

Hey all! Just thought I'd give you a little update on the jungle growing in our back yard (wheee!) So far, so good. We have a ton of gorgeous cherry tomatoes on the vine, a big summer squash and lots of flowering. I'm super excited to see what the rest of the summer brings. 

Are you gardening? Update us- how are your things growing?? 

What I Love Wednesday

Hi friends! This Wednesday, I love summer garden parties!! We're getting ready for a going away bash for our neighbors/BFF's, so here is what I'm pinning for inspiration! What are YOU loving this week, lovlies? 

1. Lots of light and color- so festive and inviting. (via)
2. Turn a wire basket into a chandy! How fun is that? (via)
3. The Edison bulb strings! The huge communal table. ::shallow breaths:: (via)
4. Of course, I am going to need a party dress, no? It's on sale!! (via)


As always, we are linking up with the fabulous Krystina from Lollipops! Go check out all of the fabulous inspiration over there. Have a great day!!!

Summer on a Plate

Remember a few weeks ago, when I posted this picture of a ridiculously gorgeous slice of blueberry pie? 

Well, it's been lingering in the back of my mind since then. And finally, thanks to an awesome 2 pints/$5 sale at our farmer's market, the pie has become reality. Mmm.


Blueberry Pie
5-6 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (we used 4 c. fresh, 2 c. frozen and thawed)
1/4 c. flour (we used whole wheat pastry)
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. nutmeg and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. butter (we used soy-free Earth Balance), cut into small pieces
2 pie crusts (we used refrigerated dough)
Beaten egg + 1 tbsp water (I used melted Earth Balance)- optional, for egg wash


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Roll out the dough on a well-floured surface until it's about 1/2 inch larger than the top diameter of your pie plate. 

Gently place the dough into the pie plate, letting the extra overhang the sides. 

Combine blueberries, flour, sugar and spices. Spoon into the pie plate. Dot with butter. Cover with second pie crust and crimp the edges tightly. 

With a sharp knife, cut several vents (or weave your dough, if you're fancy) to allow steam to escape. Brush top with egg wash or melted butter. Place pan on a baking sheet.  


Bake at 425 for 20 minutes, then turn down the oven to 350 and bake for another 30 minutes. If the crust is browning too quickly, tent with aluminum foil. 

Menu Plan Monday!

Happy Monday, friends! I'm back to work after a lovely 2 weeks vacation! How was your weekend? We are enjoying some gorgeous weather here in Boston, so we look advantage and spent as much time outside as possible. Love!

I want to talk with you about our menu this week. You might have noticed that we're posting quite a few vegetarian meals...well it's because we're going without meat for the month of July. I'm actually trying to follow the Dr. McDougall plan of eating as much as possible- meat free, dairy free and oil free. Now, I'm still using oil to cook, but I'm trying to more aware of how much I use. I switched out half and half for unsweetened almond milk. I'm still going to have a little bit of cheese, but not ever day. So far, so good- but what in the heck are we eating???

Breakfasts: 

• Fruit smoothies with whey powder
• Steel cut oats sweetened with a little bit of pure maple

Lunches:

• Baked sweet potato with black beans and fresh pico de gallo (mmmm)
• Dr. McDougalls soups (the tortilla is my favorite!)- they're cheap, too. 
• Low-carb wrap (I like Cedar's brand) with hummus and tons of veggies

Dinners:

Monday- Black bean tacos with fresh pico de gallo 

Tuesday- Trader Joe's veggie burgers, quinoa garden salad

Wednesday- Vegetarian stuffed peppers

Thursday- Whole wheat pasta, spinach, zucchini, marinara sauce

Friday- Whole wheat quesadillas- mashed sweet potato, black bean, pico de gallo

Saturday- leftovers

Sunday- Grilled sandwiches (roasted red peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, onion, some pepper jack cheese on sprouted grain bread)

Linking up with Orgjunkie.com and Menu Plan Monday! Head on over there for lots of great menu plans!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Hey there! So I just wanted to check in and say hello- how's your weekend? I'm finishing up a wonderful week- we celebrated my birthday and went on an awesome camping adventure. 


Mike's working today, so I'm focusing on relaxing and preparing my brain to go back to work on Monday. Here's what I have planned:

Lots of magazines for me to peruse!

A cucumber-rosemary gin and tonic in the late afternoon

Starting to dig into this!

Mani and pedi with Essie's Ballet Slippers

Eye Spy A Good Deal

This post brought to you by Zenni Optical. All opinions are 100% mine.

You guys know how cheap we are, right? Well, not cheap, more like we really REALLY enjoy a good deal. A few years ago, my aunt turned us onto this little website called Zenni Optical. You surf over there, choose some frames, enter in a valid prescription and BAM! You've got a brand spankin' new pair of specs and your wallet is only about $20 lighter. Sound too good to be true? I thought so, too, until I actually tried it. 

Now, I'm the proud owner of 4 pairs of glasses from Zenni Optical! This includes a pair of Jackie O-style sunglasses that I absolutely love. All for under $50- TOTAL! It rocks my myopic little world. 

Even Time magazine is getting on the Zenni train! A recent article about their editor wearing a $1000 pair of glasses was met with some sage advice from a Zenni convert- use Zenni + save $$$! It's simple- they have a great selection of specs for every face type and you can even upload a photo to "try on" your new glasses. 

Without Zenni Optical, I'd be wearing a $200 pair of glasses and regretting it every time I strapped them to my face. Now I can look in the mirror and smile knowing that my sight is 20/20 and only cost me ten bucks! 

Menu Plan Monday!

Happy Monday, y'all! How was your weekend?? We visited with family, celebrated my gorgeous mom's birthday and enjoyed the sunshine. 

Happy birthday, Mom!

Here's what we have on tap for this week's menu! As always, we're linking up with Menu Plan Monday over at the ever-fab Orgjunkie.com. Go check out the menu planning awesomeness!

Monday: Whole wheat pasta, marinara sauce and veggies (we'll use summer squash, mushrooms and zucchini). 

Tuesday: My birthday!! Out to eat- probably Mexican..

Wednesday: Chana masala, slow cooker dhal makhni, Trader Joe's naan

Thursday: Chipotle bean enchiladas, brown rice

Friday: Grilled veggie pizza with homemade bbq sauce, salad

Breakfasts: 

• McCann's Irish oatmeal with almond milk and blueberries
• Whole wheat pancakes with blueberries (mmm)
• Whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter and banana
• Fruit smoothie with greens and protein powder

Lunches:

• Microwave sweet potato with black beans and pico de gallo
• Whole wheat wraps- turkey and tuna for Mike, hummus and veggie for Ally
• Veggie burger wraps (we have been eating the Trader Joe's veggie burgers- yum!)

Snacks:

• Cut up carrots and cucumbers, Annie's Cow Girl Ranch
• Homemade trail mix
• Homemade granola bars
• Fruit salad

What are you cooking this week? Leave us a link to your menu so we can check it out! Have a great week!!!!

Strawberry-Plum Cobbler

Yesterday, I made cobbler. In my oven. On a day where the temperature reached 95 degrees. In a house where there is no air conditioning.

The things I do for this blog.

The awful, horrible things I have to do. 

So. terrible.


Strawberry Plum Cobbler
serves 6 generously


4-5 c. strawberries and plums (use what you have- peaches, nectarines, blueberries)
2 tbsp. flour or cornstarch (I used whole wheat flour because it's all I have)
1 tbsp. maple syrup or agave nectar
1/4 tsp. each of cinnamon and nutmeg
juice of 1/2 a lemon

Combine and toss into the bottom of a round oven-safe dish. 

1 c. flour
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 stick cold butter, cubed
1 egg, beaten lightly
1/4 c. milk (I used almond milk)

Mix flour, sugar and baking powder in a small bowl. With a pastry cutter (or in a food processor), cut in cold butter until the mixture resembles small peas. 

Add egg and milk and mix just until combined. Dollop on top of the fruit mixture. 

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes, or until browned and bubbling. 

Yum! Makes an excellent breakfast, too. Trust me. 

What I Love Wednesday

Happy Wednesday, loves! Did you have a great 4th of July? I'm officially on vacation and spent yesterday catching up on errands and sleep! Here's what I'm loving this week- as always, linking up with What I Love Wednesday!

1. Blueberry pie! We have 3 pints of blueberries in our fridge just waiting for it to cool down enough to bake a pie crust. Mmmm summer on a plate. 
2. Cucumber rosemary gin and tonics. 
3. We will be heading to the Boston Harbor Islands next week for island camping with our great friends and my mom and brother! Super excited! 
4. Lastly, I love this guy who sleeps all day in front of a fan that we set up on the floor to cool him down. Tough life.