Seafoodie Feast

In keeping with my promise to avoid the grocery store this week, dinner came in the form of a can and two boxes of frozen food from the freezer!

Is your mouth watering yet?

Our seafoodie dinner included:

• Campbell’s Healthy Request New England Clam Chowder
• Bantry Bay Mussels
• Green Giant Immunity Vegetable Mix

Mussels

This was our first time trying Bantry Bay frozen mussels and they were g-o-o-d!

Mussels in a Garlic Butter Sauce

Immunity Blend Veggies

Broccoli, Peppers and Carrots

The veggies were okay. Ryan was a big fan, but I like the Healthy Vision blend of the Green Giant veggies better.

Creamy Clam Chowder

Soup Talk

New England clam chowder (the creamy kind, not the tomato-based chowder) is my absolute favorite soup. Ryan is a broccoli cheese soup lover.

What’s your favorite kind of soup?

Though clam chowder is my fav, I also have a soft spot for my mom’s homemade chicken noodle soup. It’s beyond delicious.

Wanna know just how delicious her homemade chicken noodle soup is? Then come along on this little journey back to the spring of 2003, won’t you?

My family was in the process of moving from Illinois to Florida because my dad was offered an amazing job opportunity. Though my senior year of high school was over, I was still extremely upset about moving away from my friends and high school boyfriend and refused to pack up my room. (Yes, I was a brat.) I sat in my room amid my unpacked belongings and sobbed and sobbed. My mom called me down for breakfast and I refused to eat (Wow, I really am a brat). Several hours later she told me lunch was ready but I refused to come downstairs.

Then my mom honed in on her amazing mother-knowledge and brought up a tray loaded with the day’s lunch. She had made her homemade chicken noodle soup. I’ll never forget the soft knock on my door. “Honey, I thought you might want some soup. I’m just going to leave a little tray out here for you.”

Chicken Noodle Soup

Initially my approach was to remain firm. I would stay in my room pouting and wallowing in my sorrow.

Then the smell hit me. Hoooooly deliciousness. I had to have a bite. I opened my door just a crack to look at the soup and make sure no one was around. I took a slurp. Wow. It was phenomenal. I moved the tray into my room and polished off the bowl of soup before putting the tray back outside my door.

Then I heard it: laughter. Apparently this was quite funny to my family. Apparently my inability to remain strong and resist homemade chicken noodle soup is humorous. I then felt stupid for letting my taste buds get the best of me.

I continued to refuse to pack up my room and so when all of the boxes from our old house were unloaded into our new house, and my sister’s were neatly labeled “desk supplies,” “clothes,” “bathroom supplies,” my boxes were a mess and were simply labeled “Julie’s Junk” by the movers.

It took my sister about a week to unpack everything. It took me the entire summer.

Takes Me Back…

Today’s lunch took me back in time to the first year of my life in the “real world” after I graduated from college.

I’ve always loved food, but I haven’t always loved cooking. Baking, on the other hand, has always been near and dear to my heart (maybe it’s because of my enormous sweet tooth?).

When I graduated college, my meals were typically confined to Lean Cuisines, quesadillas, oatmeal, eggs and Lean Pockets… basically foods that were simple and fast… and nutritious, no? 😉 During this time Ryan subsisted on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Once I realized that preparing my own meals could be really easy as well (it takes less than four minutes to steam veggies!), my meal options opened dramatically and I began to really enjoy creating healthy and tasty meals for myself and Ryan.

I enjoy knowing what I am putting into my body rather than crossing my fingers and hoping that there’s nothing too harmful in the long list of ingredients on the back of frozen meals.

With that said, I do enjoy a frozen entree every now and then. Since I’m making an effort to avoid the grocery store this week, I relied on a frozen Lean Cuisine to get me through lunchtime.

Lean Cuisine Pot Roast

Meat and Veggies

I beefed up the beef pot roast by adding bunch of fresh portobello mushrooms.

Frozen Meal Feast

I am amazed at how much the addition of my mushrooms enhanced this meal!

Do you eat frozen meals? Any favorites?

Though I don’t eat them often, my favorite frozen meals are the Kashi entrees. The Southwest Chicken is delish!

My Other Car is a Sleigh

New business idea!!!

Since my genius idea for the weenis was already taken, I’ve been on the hunt for a new business idea. One fell into my lap this morning in the form of a blue mini van.

I pulled up behind the run-down van and laughed when I read the bumper sticker displayed proudly on the back of the van. “My other car is a Ferrari,” it read.

Ferrari

Since the holiday spirit is constantly running through my veins, I instantly had an idea for a Christmasy bumper sticker:

“My other car is a sleigh.”

How awesome would that bumper sticker be? It would look especially fantastic on my Rudolph car.

My Sister’s iPod

Over the weekend my sister put her iPod in my gym bag when we went to workout together. We both forgot it was in there and when I left for Orlando on Sunday, her iPod came along for the journey.

Pink iPod

Since I am sure the iPod is missing my sister desperately, I decided to give it a listen during today’s workout. I literally laughed out loud a handful of times at the songs she had on the old ‘Pod. My favorite jam had to be “Barbie Girl” by Aqua.  I can’t laugh too much though because I owned the Aqua CD and still think it’s pretty darn fabulous. 😉

What embarrassing songs are on your iPod?

My iPod is full of embarrassing songs. I have songs ranging from Disney remixes (think Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast) , Ace of Base, Legally Blonde: The Musical and “Booty Bounce” to old school Alanis Morissette.

I’ve told some of my friends I wish I had the ability to see what songs people listen to while they workout at the gym. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could see the name of a song someone is listening to over their head as they were exercising? I think we’d learn a lot about people that way. Maybe that hardcore bodybuilder is a closet Enya or Michael Buble fan… (Who isn’t a Michael Buble fan? The man has the voice of an angel!)

Breakfast

Today’s breakfast included two fruits I stole from my parents’ house this past weekend.

Tuesday's Breakfast

I enjoyed a creamy cup of Fage Greek yogurt with a sliced Honeycrisp apple and a cold clementine.

Even though it’s flippin’ freezing outside today, this chilly breakfast was still nice and tasty. (I immediately poured myself a hot cup of tea afterward though!)

Just Because

And just because I love her and think she’s the cutest thing in the whole-wide-world, here’s a picture of my Sadie girl:

"I love you, blog readers!"

Sadie was very chilly on our morning walk. I kept thinking she had to pee because she was all hunched over trying to stay warm. I even had her in her argyle sweater, but with her teeny little body, she needs a full-blown parka to keep warm.

"Do you like my sweater?"

Apparently us Florida folks can’t hang in the cold.

How cold is it where you are today?