Under the Sea

“Under the sea
Under the sea
Darling it’s better
Down where it’s wetter
Take it from me”

I looked to the sea for my lunch this afternoon.

Well hello there, shrimpies!

Cold Shrimp

After enjoying salmon burgers for dinner last night, I was really feelin’ the sea food vibe and decided to make myself a healthified shrimp salad for lunch.

To begin, I boiled several large, frozen shrimp until they were pink and ready for peeling. (I definitely just wrote “peeing.” Good catch.)

"Great! All peeled! Now gimme one."

After peeling the shrimp, I put them in the fridge to chill for a bit.

(Side note: I cannot say “chill for a bit” without thinking of “Shoop” by Salt N Peppa! Anyone else remember Ellen’s rendition of the song? Hilarious. Love her.)

Once the shrimp were sufficiently cold, I chopped them up and transformed them into a delicious shrimp salad which I prepared by combining the following:

• 3 ounces peeled, chopped shrimp
• 1 tbsp. light Miracle Whip (mayonnaise will also work)
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• Old Bay seasoning, to taste

Pre-Stirred Shrimp Salad

I topped a whole wheat tortilla with baby greens and the shrimp salad and served the wrap along with a sliced orange bell pepper.

Shrimp Salad

Get in Close for the Good Stuff

Orange Bell Pepper

Tasty!

Tuesday Lunch

Enough with the Shrimp Salad Pics. Wrap it Up Already! 😉

Of Possible Interest

• Three Moves that Target the Heck Out of Your Abs (FitBottomedGirls.com)
• Banish That Belly in Three Easy Steps (FitSugar.com)
• 7 Easy Ways to Lighten Up Your Snacks (Health.com)

Question of the Afternoon

• What is your all-time favorite Disney movie?

Without a doubt, mine is The Little Mermaid. When I was growing up I used to pretend to be Ariel in our pool. A green bucket served as my “Flounder.” 😉

The Little Mermaid

All morning I’ve been listening to songs from the movie through Grooveshark (hence the “Under the Sea” reference at the beginning of this post) and am making a serious effort to keep my singing inside my head rather than belting it out for my coworkers to hear.

“I wanna be where the people are, I wanna see, wanna see ’em dancin’…”

Salmon Burgers

The solution for a girl who wants dinner now?

Frozen salmon burgers!

SeaPak salmon burgers are all-natural and packed with protein and Omega 3s and cook up in less than 10 minutes.

While I prepared two burgers on the stove top, I made a dill dijonaise to spread on the burgers using a tablespoon of light Miracle Whip, 1/2 tablespoon of dijon mustard and several shakes of dill.

Along with the dill dijonaise, I topped my burger with cucumber and plum tomato slices before digging in.

On the side, I enjoyed a sliced red pepper.

This meal screams summer! With September right around the corner, I’m enjoying all the summery meals I can before fall is in full swing.

I’m off to straighten up the apartment a bit before cuddlin’ on the couch. I think the lack of sleep from yesterday is catching up to me because I’m tired tonight. I’m planning the hit the hay nice and early this evening.

Enjoy your night! 😀

Achin’ for Some (Veggie) Bacon

“Are ya achin’ (yum, yum, yum),
For some bacon (yum, yum, yum)…”

That Timon sure knows how to bust a move!

(Fun fact: I once played the role of Timon in my summer camp’s rendition of The Lion King. 😀 )

Lunch

That little quote and movie clip segue right into my lunch today.

I was achin’ for some bacon in the worst kind of way. Ever since trying MorningStar Farms veggie bacon strips last week, I’ve been cravin’ the pseudo-meat.

Today’s lunch included the veggie bacon in a sandwich with avocado and light Miracle Whip. It was kind of like a BLT, but with some A and no T or L… So it wasn’t really like a BLT at all, I guess. 😉

Avocado

Bacon and Avocado Sandwich

I did enjoy some Ts on the side though.

Freshly sliced summer squash and Emerald smoked almonds also made an appearance.

Squash + Tomatoes

Emerald Smoked Almonds

All Together Naaaw

Bacon craving = satisfied!

Question of the Afternoon

Were you ever in any plays or musicals?

I was in many plays and musicals from elementary school through middle school. Some of my roles included:

• Timon from The Lion King
• The Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz
• One of Annie Oakley’s sisters in Annie Get Your Gun
• An Elf in The Shoemaker and the Elves
• Chip in Beauty and the Beast

I would tell you about my roles in my dance performances, but they’re not quite as impressive.(Think drop of dew on a poppy in The Wizard of Oz. Yes, I actually was a drop of water.)

Broccoli Beet-Tastic Chicken Salad

Oh leftovers, how I love you.

Today my lunch included pulled chicken leftover from last night’s dinner.

I was going to make a simple chicken salad sandwich, but I decided to add a little oomph with fresh veggies.

I bring you broccoli beet-tastic chicken salad!

Revitalized Chicken Salad

Beet-Tastic

My salad included:

• 3 oz. shredded chicken breast
• 100 grams broccoli
• 2 tbsp. Miracle Whip Light
• 1.5 tbsp. dijon mustard
• 50 grams canned beets
• 50 grams sweet corn

I shook it up to cover the chicken and veggies in the “dressing.”

Broccoli + Beets + Corn + Chicken

Hump Day Lunch

For dessert I had banana yogurt pudding which I made by stirring a large spoonful of instant banana pudding mix into a cup of Greek yogurt.

Banana Yogurt Pudding

If you haven’t tried yogurt pudding yet, you must. It’s so thick and creamy and reminds me of custard.

More Tips for Gettin’ Him to the Gym

You guys had some great ideas for getting your partner to the gym, so I wanted to share a few more straight from you!

• Encourage your guy to workout with his friends. Many guys enjoy playing sports with their buddies and thrive on competition.
• Continue with your own dedication to fitness. It may take some time to rub off on your partner.
• Take your guy to a group exercise class that you’ve scoped out beforehand. This way you can see whether or not there are other guys in the class and make sure that the music isn’t too girly so he won’t feel like he’s in a girly class.
• Don’t make the gym the only option. Exercise can occur outside, in the home or with a friend.
• Offer to create a workout plan for him. Some people are intimidated by working out and don’t know where to begin or what exercises to do.

Thank you to Angela, Tina, Natalie and Tess for the above ideas!

Buy One, Get One Free at Jamba Juice

Click here for a buy one, get one free coupon for Jamba Juice, valid through April 25!

Free EAS Myoplex Nutrition Shake

Click here to receive a coupon for a free EAS Myoplex nutrition shake, which has 25 grams of protein. Wow-zaa!

At Long Last

At long last my leftover lunch arrived!

Hooray for tasty leftovers! I felt like I was reliving St. Patrick’s Day in my lil’ cube.

I used leftover corned beef and cabbage to make a tasty wrap.

Corned Beef + Cabbage Wrap

I spread a little light Miracle Whip on a whole wheat tortilla to add a little moisture to the roll up.

Post-St. Patty's Day Lunch

It was nice ‘n’ tasty!

For dessert I had a small slice of chocolate cake that was served in honor of a coworker’s birthday.

Chocolate Cake

For as much as I love chocolate, I think I prefer vanilla cake with chocolate icing to chocolate cake with vanilla icing. Still, that didn’t stop me from enjoying every last bite of this cake… and licking the remaining icing of the plate. 😉

School Lunches

If I didn’t pack my lunch or go off campus for lunch in high school, I ate the same thing almost every day: a plain bagel with strawberry cream cheese.

Bagel + Strawberry Cream Cheese

Nutritious, no?

Thankfully my friends and I would often leave school at lunchtime and rotate houses and ransack our family’s kitchens, so I didn’t eat on campus all that often my senior year. Before that, however, the bagel and cream cheese combo was my go-to meal.

Did you eat school lunches? Were they tasty or horrible? Nutritious or unhealthy?

My friend Katie sent me a really interesting article yesterday about a teacher who vowed to each school lunches every day.

She’s anonymously documenting her lunches and opinions about the food on her blog Fed Up with Lunch: The School Lunch Project.

The pictures she posted of her lunches look eerily familiar to the school lunches I remember.

I think this woman’s documentation about what children today are fed in school is wonderful and will hopefully open the eyes of some influential people to make positive changes to the meals served to children at school every day.

Great job, “Mrs. Q!”