Making Watermelon MORE Refreshing

The salad that Ryan and I enjoyed during the Greek cooking class we took at Whole Foods on Friday night has stayed with me.

Though I loved all of the flavors in the salad (feta cheese, mmm, olives, mmm), the flavor combination that really stuck with me was the watermelon and mint duo.

Watermelon is already quite refreshing on its own, but when paired with fresh mint leaves, it reaches a whole new level of refreshment.

Watermelon + Mint

I enjoyed a big bowl of cubed watermelon with fresh mint leaves during lunch today and the combination of the two flavors was just as fantastic as I remembered.

Just to keep you guessing, I included some other totally random foods in my midday meal.

Along with the watermelon, I also had a bowl of lobster-flavored imitation crab meat and a cup of Greek yogurt.

Gimme!

I think Sadie wanted in on that fakie lobster meat.

Crab? Lobster? Fish? Delish!

The Spread

I also enjoyed this monster of a cookie that was leftover from my bridal shower.

Cookie Monster

Yum.

PBfingers.com Update

As some of you may have noticed, my blog, which is normally located at PBFingers.com, is in the process of changing hosts. While undergoing this transition, I’ll be posting here at peanutbutterfingers.wordpress.com, but PBFingers.com should be back up and operational this evening! 🙂

Our Date Night Tradition

Lunch was a simple one!

Open-Faced Chicken Sandwich

I made myself a BBQ chicken sandwich on a whole wheat sandwich thin with baby greens and gobs of mustard.

The Old Standby

For some added veggies, I also enjoyed a side of broccoli slaw with Italian dressing.

Broccoli Slaw

Friday Spread

Minimal effort was required to assemble this lunch, but it was still super satisfying and delicious.

My kinda meal! 😀

Date Night

As long-time PBF followers already know, Ryan and I take turns planning date nights for each other every other month. This is something we’ve been doing for years and is something we both look forward to every single time.

All Dressed Up

It’s fun to be the “date planner” and brainstorm creative date ideas you think the other person will enjoy and it’s obviously fun to be the one wined, dined and entertained!

Smile!

Our date nights don’t have any restrictions, limitations, budgets or minimums. A date night can be a simple picnic at a park or a fancy-schmancy four-course dinner.

Past date nights have included:

• Pottery painting
• Indoor skydiving
• Winter Park Boat Tour & Dinner at Luma
• Festival of Trees at the Orlando Museum of Art
• Dinner at the Capital Grille
• Straight No Chaser Concert
• Dinner at Season’s 52 (I know, I’m obsessed…)
• The Best One (Ryan’s scavenger hunt that ended in a proposal)

Cheeseballs

When blog reader Lindsey e-mailed me asking how I come up with date ideas, I started to think about the steps I take when planning a fun date night.  When it’s my turn to plan a date, I typically do a number of things:

• Think about local restaurants we’re dying to try
• Hop on Ticketmaster.com to see if any comedians or good concerts are coming to the area
• Check out Groupon.com for local deals and promotions
• Talk to friends and coworkers about fun things they’ve done recently
• Look at the city of Orlando’s calendar of events for fun festivals

As you may have guessed, tonight is DATE NIGHT!

It was my turn to plan a date this month and I’m excited for the activity we have planned.

It’s gonna be a fun (& yummy!) one! 😀

Question of the Afternoon

What is your ideal date?

Cilantro: A Polarizing Herb

I love combining strong, flavorful cheese with tart apple slices.

Apple + Cheese

What a winning combination!

Today’s lunch featured a Granny Smith apple and Muenster cheese sandwich that I enjoyed along with leftover roasted asparagus.

Salty + Sweet + Tart

Asparagus

The leftover asparagus was oh-so-tasty!

I know I’ve touched on the asparagus and stinky pee connection previously, but did you know that cilantro is another one of those funky foods that affects people differently?

According to The New York Times, the herb tastes like soap to some people. These people, according to studies conducted by Charles J. Wysocki of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, “may be genetically predisposed to dislike cilantro.”

Interesting, huh?

Let’s Get To Know Each Other A Little Better…

So tell me…

• Does asparagus make your pee stink?
• Do you hate cilantro?

My Wedding Shoes!!!

Those of you who follow me on Twitter may remember my tweets of frustration a month or so ago as I tried, unsuccessfully, to locate this pair of Badgley Mischka pink pumps in my size for my wedding day.

Badgley Mischka Xango Pink Pumps

According to the woman Badgley Mischka referred me to when I emailed the company about the shoes, the pumps I wanted first became available in April and the pink ones sold like crazy.

Great for Badgley Mischka. Bad for me.

I searched all over the internet and in local stores that carry Badgley Mischka shoes without avail. The woman I spoke with encouraged me to call my local Nordstrom and ask for their assistance in locating the shoe.

The gentlemen I spoke with from Nordstrom told me the shoes sold really quickly, but that he would call around other stores and let me know if anything turned up.

Well, it did!

Woohoo!!! My wedding day shoes should arrive in 5 – 8 business days.

(For those of you who are wondering what happened to the shoes I originally wanted… Well, I decided against them because they were more than 5 inches high. Though this would work fine with Ryan’s height (he’s 6’2”) I am already taller than all my bridesmaids and didn’t want to look like Sasquatch on my wedding day. Sooo, I opted for a more modest heeled shoe. Still pink, though. 😉 )

Lunch

I wish my lunch was as exciting as my wedding shoes, but as a serious shoe lover, that’s basically impossible.

Well, unless lunch was an ice cream sundae from Houston’s.

My lunch was still delicious though, and that’s what really matters.

Using leftover taco-seasoned ground chicken from last night’s dinner, I made myself a taco salad that included:

• Spring mix greens
• Broccoli slaw
• Frozen sweet corn (It thawed by lunchtime)
• Grape tomatoes
• Taco-seasoned ground chicken
• Crumbled hard shell taco
• Salsa

Taco Salad

Salsa

Using salsa as salad dressing is one of my favorite ways to enjoy the slightly spicy tomato-based sauce. It adds so much flavor!

Frozen Corn Close Up

Okay, kids. Fun’s over!

Back to work I go! 😀

Broccoli Slaw Pasta

Previously I’ve hailed the inclusion of broccoli slaw in salads, but the nutritious vegetable mixture is also fantastic in pasta dishes!

Broccoli Slaw Pasta

The long, thin shreds of broccoli blend into a noodle bowl perfectly, adding volume along with calcium, fiber and a slew of healthy vitamins (C, K and A, among others).

Sign me up!

Today’s lunch included a noodle bowl comprised of:

• Carba Nada egg fettuccine pasta
• Eat Smart broccoli slaw
• Sliced Portobello mushrooms
• Marinara meat sauce

Close Up

Food On Fork

This pasta bowl was so good that I think I’ll be making pasta for dinner tonight. A craving has clearly been sparked!

Of Possible Interest

• Feel More Connected to Your Partner: Workout Together (Health.MSN.com)
• Top 10 Marathons Around the World – Boston Isn’t in the Top 5! (FitSugar.com)
• Q & A with Jackie Warner: The Challenges of Weight Loss (Time.com)