At the zoo

We spent the day at the zoo, unfortunately I did not snap a pic of the kids bento, I always forget until it is to late!

I did make tuna biscuits for the kids to eat for lunch at the zoo. Here's what I did.
I made the tuna with miracle whip, paprika and relish.



Stir well

take a whole wheat biscuit i used the ones from a can

Roll the dough out as much as possible.

Put about one Tbsp in the center.

Fold over and seal by pressing the points of a fork on the edges.

Today marks 6 yrs, that I took the plunge. =P

I received my favorite flowers-Peony's, although Ion is not here to celebrate it with me. =(



Happy Anniversary to US!
Who would have thought that all of this came from a "I like the yankees too." LOL

unusual find in the baby section at target.

Just a quick post, while running through the baby aisle at target I found some bento like containers. I picked up a pink and a blue one which I tested out for the kids snack in class. I used one inside container for a yogurt sunday, and it leaked the juice of the frozen berries, so this is definitely not a liquid bento. I like it for other stuff though.

Nachos-seafood style. and a fastfood bento!

I found a similar recipe on Noble Pig. I however made it more my own.
I sauteed 1 cup med. shrimp and 2 cans of real crab meat. Then mixed it in a bowl with dried dill, garlic, cream cheese, paremsan cheese, and greek yogurt. Put in a loaf pan topped with cheddar and provolone cheese and then baked at 400 for about 20 mins until its bubbly. It was ok, was to creamy something was off and I am not sure what, although shrimp n nachos tasted nice,I will have do that again in a different way not creamy.





When shopping at the Japanese market yesterday, I found this bento of fried goodies. Ok I know it is not good for my weight loss, it just brought back so many memories of early college years that I couldnt help myself. I enjoyed every morsel of this great bento, much tastier than any of mine. LOL

Trip to the japanese store...treasure find =)

I was planning on taking the twins to the Aquarium Pacific, and I knew there would be a giant Japanese supermarket in hopes I would find a bento or two and save on some shipping I didnt find any masculine boxes for Elijah.


Even though he is fine with the green clover box. I have decided to order a boy box on ebay, so he can have a nice box too. Wish me luck!

I knew that I would find some other goodies, like seaweed crackers and their version of carbonated water. I found some delicious little snacks for the kids as well, I will definitely miss having this stuff when we move to New Mexico.

I found some delicious little snacks for the kids as well. I will definitely miss having this stuff when we move to New Mexico.

My cookies.

Today I realized I had a can of toasted oats, that I never got around to using. So I decided to make a recipe for cookies. Came out pretty darn tasty. The problem was I don't think I used enough oats, it was as "oatty" as I wanted them to be. However, I will remake them later this week, to re-test my recipe. It was actually quiet simple.

My cranberry/raisin oatmeal cookies:



*Flour, white, 1 cup
*Brown Sugar, .25 cup, unpacked
*Granulated Sugar, .25 cup
*butter I cant believe its not butter original, 6 tsp
*Vanilla Extract, 1 tbsp
*Baking Powder, 1 tsp
*Raisins, .75 cup
*Cranberries, dried, sweetened (craisins), 0.25 cup
*Egg, fresh, 1 large
*Oats, 1.5 cup

Whisk the wet ingredients together, then add in the dry a little at a time.
Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 20 (1 lg cookie, or 2 sm. cookies)
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 109.5
Total Fat: 3.1 g
Cholesterol: 10.6 mg
Sodium: 56.4 mg
Total Carbs: 23.2 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.7 g
Protein: 1.9 g

I finally found a good greek yogurt!

I was surfing the sparkpeople message boards and hunting for a way to enjoy the protein packed greek yogurt in a sweet form (other than using it as sour cream)I could never get use to the bitter taste, with honey in it. The flavors were nasty even the strawberry flavor..eep! So someone said that Chobani was the best one(in the U.S.). While in whole foods I found it!! So i picked up a pineapple flavor. THinking another yogurt the twins will get to eat, since they love it. I added 2 tsp of agave to sweeten it and I actually liked the whole thing!!! HOLY COW! Had little chunks of wonderful pineapples. I added some watermelon and it was yummy.

4th time trying to post these.

I had a bunch of apricots on the verge of their prime. So I wanted to try them on the pork, since the apricot preserves taste good on it. I needed to clean and slice them of course, threw them in a pot with 3 apricots I put in 3 tbsp of cooking splenda. Brought to a boil. Apricots do not take to heat well and will break down in a few minutes.


THen I topped the pork and baked at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Was a hit, I will definitely be adding this to the rotation on the nights Ion does not eat with us, as he hates "sweet meats" haha.

Something called crack.

Crackslaw of course. I ended up buying at some point a bag of shredded cabbage mix. I had no idea what to do with it but I knew I wanted it cooked. So I scoured the internet and came upon a recipe called Crackslaw. I read the rave reviews and decided I only needed to buy to some toasted sesame seed oil. OK fair enough. I was off to Trader Joe's. I come home and begin to prepare dinner.

Brown the lean ground beed-1lb
toss in the oil-2 tbsp
a bag of shredded cabbage.
salt pepper.
Looked and smelled wonderful..drum roll please.


Ok this was not a winner. The ground beef totally overpowered it. Me and the kids ate a tiny bit of the meat but ate all the veggies. The oil was great on the veggies. I think I will def try it again but no meat or some other form of meat. ANy ideas?

A quick dinner and a coffee, woot!

In a rush, after another long day with the kids, I needed to toss something together quickly. Good thing for me that I defrosted some shrimp the night before. I knew I needed veggies, diced up a small zucchini, a picked red pepper and threw in some fresh spinach to saute with the shrimp. Used some whole wheat pasta that I tossed in EVOO, black pepper and grated paremsan cheese. Delicious.




I decided to attempt to make my own iced coffee =) See if I can save a buck vs starbucks.

Instant maxwell coffee. milked in a little vanilla soy milk. Topped with 2tbsp cool whip lite and 1/2 tbsp Lite chocolate syrup, and 2 packets of sweet n low.

I was amazed at how much better I liked this as opposed to a skinny caramel latter for around the same calories and this way I got whipped topping!! I was elated.

Broccoli slaw..for lunch.

I had courageously bought a bag of broccoli mix, unusre of what to do with it. So I began my search online for ideas. I found a recipe for crackslaw, which I will use my shredded cabbage for soon. I could not find anything really appetizing. SO I decided to make up my own idea-something similar to coleslaw, in my opinion. Here is the recipe I followed:

*12 oz bag of Broccoli slaw
*Kraft miracle whip regular, 4 tbsp
*Red wine Vinegar, 1/2 tbsp
*Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking, 2 tsp
*1 1/2 tsp hidden valley ranch mix


mix all the ingredients together, then add the slaw; stir well and refrigerate.

= 4 servings-71 calories per serv.



So I decided to use the slaw in our lunches today (twins inhaled it).
I used some for my lunch with my left over salmon, a few strawberries & some cherry tomatoes, was a great filling healthy, lunch!

Tuna melt twist

I thought I would try and make a tuna melt, that I found on noble pig's blog Except with a little less fat. This was my first try using a broiler. I mixed tuna with 1 tbsp of Miracle Whip, 1 tbsp of relish. On top of a ciabatta bread from Trader Joe's (110 cal) I layered the tuna spread on the bread then layered with some fresh baby spinach and tomato, toped with Jarlsberg lite.

Now this was a delicious lunch, however I put it to close to the broiler, and burnt it a little.



I will definitely make it again, a little further away from the broiler. Hehehe.

A 2nd post to vent on Bentos!

I do not normally do more than a post a day, however I am steaming mad! We drove all the way to venice/santa monica for Mitsuwa, a japanese market. I assumed it was as big as the one in Torrance, and it end up being half the size. I called ahead to ask about bentos that were in stock and the lady gave misinformation. I am on the hunt for one for Eli, they mostly cater to feminine style boxes so I will have to get creative. I even found some time snack size bentos at the Disney store. I also got some silicone muffin cups. Now to just find the accessories without such high shipping costs. ugh!

fish anyone?

So I went scavenging around to see what remants of things I could use up in the fridge. I have been alot better with not wasting much, and Ion isn't even around to see it! LOL.
I had some defrosted salmon and about 3/4 cup left of a Lawrys Steakhouse marinade with lime, I know doesn't sound like it is for fish, but I figured what the hey? I'll give it a whirl. Then I topped with some panko breadcrumbs for some crunch, which I drizzled a little evoo .

Then for the side dish, we hadn't went shopping for produce yet, so I needed to be creative. We had some left over brown rice, which I mixed a little of the KerryGold Herb infused salt-free butter, tossed in some jarred sweet red peppers (chopped of course) with some of the last of the green onion, black pepper and voila, a complete meal. I would think next time to add some onions.. yum! Was very,very tasty!!


I also got in another 5k, with my best time yet, I have shaved off another 30 seconds to the total time. YAY!



I know crappy photo but the came is getting closer 12 days away!

Baking mini-cupcakes with the babes..

The kids had about 3374646210 meltdowns today, in the end they declared cupcakes( I declared mini cupcakes). Oy! I decided this could be a fun project. I wanted to have some fun with baking and found food coloring to color the batter. The kids wanted green and pink, however we were out of red. I had no idea. So we were stuck with green, blue & yellow.
I also used no oil, instead I replaced it with 1/2 cup applesauce, and shredded one small zucchini. (kids were never the wiser.) If anyone wants the precise recipe send me a message. 6 mini cupcakes comes out to 210 cals(with the topping) but includes a lil veg & fruit.
The kids helped by lining the baking pan.



Then we mixed all the differen colors into the batter.



Here they are baked up and colored!



Finished off with a bit of Cool Whip Lite and some red sprinkles per Eli's choice.



Eli is finally happy and ready to dig in!


Francesca says: "I love it mom!"

Sloppy was lunch.

I decided to use up the remainder of my lean, turkey ground meat, and I made sloppy style burgers.. No premade sauce. I used a can of tomato paste, green onions, and some various spices. Nothing exacted in the spice section. Served on a whole cracked wheat bun (200 cal)The meat averaged out per serving to 184 cals. side was a couple celery sticks (10 cals), and a tbsp of ranch(70cals)= 464 cals for lunch. Was yummy and I stayed full until dinner for a change.

For dinner I was having a conundrum on what to eat. One baby said chicken, the other requested macaroni & cheese. So VOILA! Chicken and Mac & cheese. I mixed the mac n cheese with spinach (add something nutritional in that box o' stuff) LOL. I marinated the drumsticks in ff italian dressing then coated in italian beadcrumbs. Easy peasy. Threw in a chopped tomato on the side...dinner served. I did forget to take a photo of the beautifully plated meal. So here is the leftovers. HA =)

Mother's day ...

As usual, I forgot to take pictures of my lovely breakfast. I do have other photos to share, on our usual shopping trip, we found some shoes for the twins, to add to their collection. Amazingly, it is the only kind of shopping that Eli seems to not mind. LOL! Here is Elijah's shoes:

Francesca picked these out herself, little mini platforms I suppose, she says they look like a pair of mommy's wedges.



Also, here are some of my gifts for mother's day half of the flowers:The stargazer flowers,(I'll post the rest later) and my ruby ring(a ruby for each baby) their birthstone and in the shape of hearts =) Excuse the poor photo quality, cam phone has no flash. ugh!



And before I forget, I finally changed my hair from that Horrendous color that I had, I hate hair stylists who suck! I like this new color, it is more my natural hue. Please forgive the tired, no makeup look.
..and see the artsy wood decor to the left, that is done by Picasso 1 & Picasso 2.. lol

Today I realized something else. I was on the treadmill, practicing another 5k, and I was 2 seconds slower than I was the last time on the treadmill. It baffled me because I did nearly 30 seconds faster on the first mile. Could I really have lost that much endurance? ehh.

I have been slacking.

Sorry I have not been snapping photos of my things I have made, especially my new meals for the kids. I will try to pay attention its hard, I am waiting on my new camera which I should be receiving May 28th, yay! Then I will be picture happy, I am sure.

Well, the house we thought we had secured for our move to New Mexico, fell through!! After some unhappiness I have tried to pull it together as I need to begin looking again. This is so unfun(LOL). Also since Ion has left and I have been here being a "single mom" I am about to kill my kids, in 3 days they have destroyed anything they could in their closet, and the bathroom. I am at wits end. The terrible twos has hit with a vengeance.

Pray for me.

p.s.
I will try to snap photos of the salmon tonight I am experimenting with flavors of ginger & panko breadcrumbs. hehe. xoxo

my first 5k!

I did it! I actually did better than I expected too, but not as good as I could have done!
I finished 4687 o 28601 people. My time was 48:47 minutes, however it was a slow start with so many people in my way, so I may have done better with optimum circumstances. Anyway, the point is I did it! Next goal is to do it again, in less time.

While I was cleaning out a shelf in the fridge, I found a ton of jams, syrups and marinades half used! I came upon this marinade, which is like a mix of bbq sauce but a little thinner with very frew ingredients. We bought it on a wine tasting trip, I believe in Santa Barbara, I could be wrong. LOL



So I decided it might tast good on the non-meat skewers, I got at whole foods, that had been in the freezer for a while.



Now I generally like the meatlike items at whole foods. This was not one of them. Tasted like old socks, the twins seemed to eat it though(what don't they eat).


I did inhale my "fried" rice! I made it with brown rice myself :)
P.S. I have not been able to increase my 5k minutes.. I think I am in deep trouble..eep.