The Art of Snoozin’

Glad you all liked Part One of the Cable Guy. If you liked part one I think you will definitely enjoy part two… because a lot of you cant imagine it getting any worse… BUT IT CAN! LOL

And Sorry to say I am NOT a lawyer but for the sake of my rent and my ability to keep paying my rent i will not disclose my actual job- but do know that LAWYER too far from the truth- just a slight embellishment. All the facts about Cable Guy? TRUE. 100% true.

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Doncha hate wakin up late?

Lately, when my alarm goes off I am so quick to slam the snooze button that half the time I dont consciously know I am doing this… its horrid. Then i look at the clock, see its 730 and bolt outta bed to get ready for work. I knew someone who used to keep their alarm clock across the room so they would have to physically wake up to turn off the alarm clock….might be worth a try but I fear i will get into the habit of getting up, walking to the alarm clock, slamming the snooze and going back to sleep… lol.

Anyway, On those days where I snooze too much, I don’t give myself much time to prepare the meals for the day.

And thats why i love starbucks. Egg white Feta wrap with an iced coffee with skim milk. MMMM.

And I made lunch the night before (luckily). A bed of spring greens with these awesome frozen chicken strips from trader joes. Literally place the frozen strips on my salad the night before and by lunch time they are defrosted, tender and delish! They save my life!

I came home and told the roomie i was going to make dinner. Dinner was going to take 45 mins. and I was hungry… so i had dessert first.

I scored these from that time we went to Cracker Barrel. Peanut Buter Moon Pies.

They were okay… I guess i was too excited or something. They were too rich. a few bites and I had to stop. But thats okay- i had dinner to make.

I made pollo guisado and brown rice.

Roomie sat down to a big plate of rice and chicken. He took a bite of the rice and made a face. I asked “how is it?” and he said “its edible”.

WELL I NEVER!

and I soon found out that Mr. Man does not like Brown Rice. but he loved the chicken…

Butt Head.

And with that, I will say I HATE cooking in the summer! My kitchen is a windowless sauna from hell!

How was Everyone’s Weekend???

I grew to HATE MTA on saturday more than I have ever hated the MTA. And I missed the Pride Parade : ( But the good news is that I spent some quality cuddle time with MickeyPie.

Carbs to the Rescue

Still sick. I am now accepting any and all home remedies for this horrendous cough. the weird thing is that I feel pretty good… other than the cough. Last night I had a fever and had the weirdest dream involving a dead rapper and how I was his wife. It was soooo weird.
But I am awake. I am still coughing and my behind is at work.
I know, im one of THOSE people.
sorry!
Last night I was craving carbs. The thing that spells comfort when im sick is carbs. Something about the texture of it just feels good. Cant explain it. I had some mushrooms that were nearing death and I decided on a spicy stirfry with some steamed brown rice.
I started by marinating the mushroomd in honey, soy sauce, red pepper flakes and a bit of rice wine vinegar.

I then threw them in a hot skillet and began sauteeing the mushrooms in sesame oil. I kept tweaking the ingredients. A little garlic here, more hot stuff here.. The end resulted in a thick sauce that was sweet and spicy at the same time.

Added some grilled zukes to the mix. The rice was definite comfort. it was a bit sticky which is ultimately how i like rice when im sick. The sauce was awesome that was a perfect balance of sweet and spicy… and the spicy cleared my slightly stuffy nose.
My coworker went to India a few weeks ago and brought me back some Chai!

WOO HOO!

SPICY Chai! Loved it! loved it! Loved it! Especially with some frothy vanilla soy milk!

I’m Baaack!

I am back in my office! What a glorious day too! If the desk wasnt so dusty I might have kissed it… Note to self, clean desk, then kiss it! Camera is here, camera cord is here, and sipping from my smoke free coffee traveler.
We’ve got a bit of catching up to do. Last I spoke to you, i was telling you about my friend who went to China. On his Official last day at work I came in with a yummy brekkie.
Chobani with honey and a heapin spoonful of granola. I normally get the 0% Fage but the 2% was on sale. Oh man, was this good! I always have been a fan of greek yogurt but I never experienced bliss like this before. Creamy and sweet… i will not lie- i licked the container. I could eat 3 servings of this stuff in one sitting! (but i never have)…

Then one of my coworkers brought in a devils food cake with a cream cheese frosting. The temptation was too great as I have a weakness for chocolate and the night before was dealing with the most vicous Brownie Craving that ever existed. I gave in and had a sliver of this baby. The cake was dense and chocolatey…i shaved off the frosting because i really wanted the chocolate…not the frosting.

Around lunch time I had a Dr. Zevia that was out of this world! I am such a soda junkie! really really good.

with some steamed chicken (gross) and steamed broc slaw with spaghetti sauce. Dudes, this was a crappy lunch. It took every ounce of will power in me not to dump this and run to the deli for a grilled chicken and avocado sanwich on texas toast (if im gonna go to the deli- im gonna do it up RIGHT)

Around snack time i finished the last of my special k thin crisps that I got from the Food Buzz Tastemaker Program.

These are really yummy! Wish I had more. ((((free stuff))))

Around dinner time I was craving tofu.

I had some marinating and was eager to see how it came out.

ooooooooooooo! I sliced these blocks up and grilled them over medium.

Served with Brown rice and Broccoli.

Overall, i didnt really care for the marinated tofu… the marinade kind of got lost in the tofu… is that weird? I ended up using a dipping sauce for the whole dish.

It was a bland day. And with eating all this subpar food, its no wonder that I went to 5 Burro cafe the next day and drank 2 raspberry margaritas, 3 lobster tacos, rice, beans, and a tray of chips with pico de gallo… OH MY TUMMY!

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning!

If you are in New York, you know it ain’t beautiful outside – not in the slightest. But when you feel good- screw the rain! I had the most inspirational evening. I won’t go into details but I finally experienced for the first time in my life what CLOSURE feels like. I feel so in control of my life. I feel so positively CHARGED… I am looking forward to the future holds since I now have the power to stand up for myself and what I want. This was just what I needed to pull myself COMPLETELY out of that funk. Maybe I sensed I was goin to be confronted by the EX… and I prepared myself for 3 weeks as to what I would say to him when he finally surfaced.
I did my momma proud (and all of you!) Thank you so much for all your support because you are all amazing and everything you said will remain close to my heart forever.

Okay… back to business.
I was told by a customer service rep that i need some fresh ginger to stop my cough. I sought some ginger in Chinatown and found this monster. He was 50 cents. Thanks Chinatown! So far ginger is helping….but i think want to pickle the rest (((((pickled ginger)))))

I skipped breakfast (bad Diva!) so around lunch I was RAVENOUS! And I was craving a Hugh Jass Falafel

Complete with guts spilling out of it. The guy behind the counter must have sensed my intense desire for falafel…

Because that ISH was packed to the brim with FIVE falafel balls instead of the usual THREE… thanks for the calories! It was yummy. When I got home from work I wanted something quick and healthy. My monster falafel held me over nicely but around 730 pm i was getting hungry.

I had a zuke in the fridge that was nearing its death. I put it out of its misery.

along with some PONZU saturated shrimp. This is what happens when you marinate shrimp for a day. MMM. saturation.

i put the kids on the same pan. So sue me. I am in NO mood for dishes! I heated up some leftover brown rice and decided to get the rice invovled in the one pan party once the shrimp were cooked.

It was Awesome (just like the slice of Challah Bread that I dunked into my coffee this morning! – its a Rican thing! MMM)

HAVE A POSITIVELY CHARGED DAY MY LOVELIES!

I Seem to have lost my MoJo

I’m in a Funk.
I can’t get right.
I’ve gained 2 lbs since getting sick a month ago. I am still coughing. I am emotionally and physically exhausted. I was soaring a week ago but it seems that I can’t even fake being happy and energetic the past few days… and its affecting everything. I need to work out. I need to feel those endorphins. I need to stop coughing. I need to stop bitching. I need a new hobby.
I’ve even gone so far as to attempt to join a dating service. So when I went to sign up the price tag killed me! Normally the price isnt a big deal but I think the Universe is telling me I need to go on a dating detox. I need to find my MoJo again and be happy and energetic with every fiber of my heart, mind, body, and soul. Faking it just wont cut it.
We’ve all been there. How do YOU pull yourself out of a funk?
This funk has been affecting my eating habits. Nothing sounds like its gonna taste good. Nothing sounds like its worth making… I grabbed some of my new Low fat Granola and paired it with some “boston cream pie” yogurt from Weight watchers.

The Granola was amazing. Perfectly sweet and an awesome nutrition label (90 cals for 3/4 of a cup!) but the yogurt- not so great. I’m happy that the granola was so yummy otherwise, this would have been a complete disaster…

But don’t worry- Lunch was a complete disaster. LOL. I made some broccoli slaw and some dumplings since I was in the mood for dumplings… the slaw came out nice and I smushed a laughing cow into it for an “alfredo” but the dumplings were gross. Which is sad because i typically enjoy this particular brand of dumplings.
So since broccoli slaw alone wasn’t gonna do it, I made AMYS Brown Rice and Vegetable Bowl. This particular one is REALLY good. Extremly flavorful and not so bad calorie wise. texturally- MUSH. But whatever.

I decided to prepare for my week ahead and prep some tofu.

Marinated it in Ponzu sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, touch of brown sugar, touch of ginger, and a sprinkle of rice wine vinegar and red pepper flakes.

For dinner, i took yet another dish out of the freezer. Some Indian leftovers.

I had some leftover rice, a veggie kebab and decided to steam some cauliflower to go along with it. When I was in search of an additional condiment I came accross some Indian Fare from Trader Joes that I thought would complete this impromptu dinner. It was comforting.

I realize what I need right about now is a day in my kitchen where I can start something, finish it and have it come out exactly the way I want it to. And then have an angel come over and clean the kitchen while I sit and enjoy my creation.

I was really looking forward to dessert. An oreos n cream that was in my freezer. it might have melted a little too much before I put it in my freezer… and the entire thing was icy and flavorless. If it hadnt been already 8pm, i would have taken an frosty walk to Forest Hills for TLC fix…

Please forgive this very dumpy post. I hope to get my MoJo back very soon!

(i should note that the first two letters of my first and middle name are Mo and Jo…)

The Non-Dairy Queen

I am soooo happy its Friday!
Momma Food Snob is having minor surgery today. My goal is to spend the weekend in Brooklyn helping mommy. She is gonna be off her feet for a few weeks so i best be beefin up the content on the blog so momma-dukes has something awesome to read (cuz, i am so friggin awesome). I’m most looking forward to taking care of her. She’s my bestie! When my father had surgery a while back, I took delight in taking care of him too. I will never forget the look on his face when i made him smiley face pancakes on the first day I was taking care of him.
Just wanted to tell the world that I have amazing and supportive parents who have been there for me when i really needed them and even when I dont think i need them, they are still there!

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I still have a horrendous cough. Some days it gets better and some days it sounds like im a smoker hacking up my lungs. ))))smokers(((( But I figured my dairy consumption wasn’t helping the situation so i recently switched to soy and tried to eliminate dairy from my diet.

I LOVE vanilla soy milk, i love everything about it so when I went to a different grocery store and saw that the store brand vanilla soy was on sale for $1 per carton, i grabbed two and was so excited. When I got home I learned that you have to be brand loyal when buying soy milk. I added it to my coffee and its disgusting. The vanilla flavor tastes artificial and gives my coffee a nasty aftertaste. So tomorrow, back to trader joes for my TJ brand of vanilla soy.

And because my coffee was so shitty i went for my lemon yogurt. A dairy product. Oh well. It was really good too.

My supervisor came back from vacation with a shit load of flavored seltzers. When I went apeshit over one of them he surprised me with my own bottle. Vanilla seltzer. Its like a cream soda…. but not.

Breakfast was small and disappointing. So around lunch time i ordered some take out. There is an awesome place by my office that serves GREAT portions sizes for lunch. I believe they are 1.5 cup servings and come with an egg roll. I got brown rice with chicken and broccoli. Probably not the bestest choice considering big lunches make me sleeeeeeepy…. and I have been going to bed soo late…. and my coffee was disappointing.

Im on a roll.

Din din was light. And i felt like such a blogger.

sandwich thin with laughin cow, veggie burger and heaping spoon of salsa.

And that blogger trend of salsa on the salad. Dude, that ish was goooood.

I have a confession to make: i havent been to the gym in almost 2 weeks. I havent worked out at home in almost 2 weeks and I have been cheating. I promise to jump back on my fitness wagon before I become a typical resolutionist! I have worked really hard in the last two months and no stupid sinus infection is gonna Eff it up for me!

Blogging in my Jammies

Happy Thursday!
I am taking a vacation day, sitting in my red snowflake pjs, listening to Gaga, and sitting at my desk with magical sun rays keeping me warm and cozy.
I have discovered a wide array of trends on the food blogger network. If you are a female blogger there are three things that are always on the menu:
Peanut butter
oats
TOFU or tempeh
I would like to encounter a blogger that does not like any of the items listed above. I know you are out there!
After reading all of you blogs I crave peanut butter, oats and tofu. Not together of course…but i crave it. I got the oats and PB down…but i have been craving tofu.
How can one crave a substance that has no flavor whatsoever?
Texture my friends. its all about the texture!
So after a long day at the office I came home and fixed me a tofu stir fry.
of course, as is the trend in my life as of late, nothing has been going the way i planned…

I was given this tofu in a box a month or so ago. I normally get extra firm tofu from the refrigerated produce aisle….never in a box. This should be interesting. First, the tofu isnt Extra Firm. It claims its firm… but i beg to differ. To start, this block of tofu PLOPPED out of the box it came in. It was not appetizing at all- but my craving was there so i couldnt care less about the plop factor.
Then, upon hitting the dish – it broke! wth! its delicate. so i try to dry it up a bit and it literally crumbles as i handle it.

I sliced the tofu as best as i could and was mindful of it crumbling as i was stir frying it. How frustrating. I added some stir fry sauce….

and it turned into a stir fried tofu scramble.

i added some freshly steamed broccoli and watched the tofu crumble even more.

So ugly looking and not at all what i was imagining.

I added it to some steamed brown rice and poured some diluted chili sauce on top. I ate my scrambled tofu and broccoli but that texture i was craving was not fulfilled… so alas- i crave tofu still! But anyone who is getting tofu for dinner and you intend on stir frying- you must must must get the extra firm one!
texturally this dish was a fail but flavor wise- it was pretty good! (and healthy)

….
unfortunately, not having my DREAM tofu dinner, my body craved something else…

cereal. about 2.5 cups of honey bunches of oats with skim milk. Anyone with milk sensitivities should know that having a massive bowl of cereal at or around bed time is never a good idea!
I had to learn that one the hard way.

Enjoying my StayCation

Happy Friday bloggies!
Still home on my Stay-cation. Decided to go to the grocery store and stock up on essentials in the event of a snow storm. I went at 930 am on a Friday thinking I would have the whole place to myself… i was so wrong. It was soooo crowded! But I made it out alive and stocked up on milk, veggies, oats and snacks to hold me over. Peep my creamy Cinnamon Roll oats with a dab of cinnamon Raisin peanut butter. Soo good. I also stocked up on greek yogurt because lately, i see a lot of yogurt in the oats and i am so tempted! mmm! I will let you know if i loves it.

For lunchies I have been sticking to pretty much the same thing. Sandwich thins, flavored peanut butter and fluff! i got a huge jar of fluff for like $1.50 its become my favorite part of my pb sammies. Jams make the sammies messy and soggy, fluff just makes it sweet.

I spoon a lump into the middle and wrap it up. When i get to work the fluff is spread nicely all over the bread. It makes for an awesome bite! I enjoy this with an apple and h20…if im in a snacky mood a bag of pop chips. but i was in the mood for something else…

healthy pop! a 2.5 serving bag. i ate the whole thing over the course of 3 hours. about 250 cals for the whole bag. so good. and I felt really greedy! tee hee.

For dinner I had a grilled tilapia fillet with a little teriyaki sauce, steamed broccoli, steamed rice, and balsamic mushrooms. This was so good. I really was trying to behave and save some for another day but it was just too good not to consume!

And i wanted to officially announce that Henry is back! Its so nice to have him back!

Super Bowl Sunday is this weekend. Anyone making apps? My party got moved to another persons house so i am making brownies with marshmallow frosting and Mommy Crack!

If Plan A doesn’t work, go for Plan B.

Mickey hasn’t made an appearance yet… This is what she does when i am cooking. She grabs a toy, props it under head like a pillow, and naps while I do what I do in my kitchen. I seriously believe she was human in her last life. My hug muffin!
So trying to use up what was in my cabinets and freezer, I planned to make a big chicken stew and divide it up so i have dinner made for the week (before I have to start cooking for me and henry again) I started the meal without really checking my stock levels of supply… Can you see where this is headed?
I chopped up a head of cauliflower and put it to steam. Note to self: cauliflower is better when it is roasted.
I reached for my bag of chicken legs and then my tomato sauce to toss in the pot and realized… i was out of tomatoes. And then I thought…oh well- better just bake some chicken and make rice and beans. Again, making a decision without checking my supplies.

I season the chicken with any and everything that sounds good… onion, garlic, italian seasoning, salt, pepper, a dash of cumin… and set that baby up to roast.

I steamed some brown rice. Then I went to get the pot of beans ready and i realized… i was out of beans too.

I let the chicken finish cooking and when it was done, i let it cool on the stove while i walked to the bodega in my bright pink princess pajama bottoms. My mother would be so embarassed… but i walk out in my pjs all the time. all. the. time. My neighbors look at me funny when i walk mickey in my spongebob pjs too… im just all about making a statement. princess pants needed some beans for din din.

I scored the beans and realized i also forgot a mini can of tomato sauce- since i was gettign beans why not get hte sauce for next time right?

I ended up using the thick sauce that comes in the can of black beans and lots of water to make my own sauce. I added a potato to the mix becuase mom always told me the potatoes such up the extra salt… but they cook pretty damn well in the beans so if it aint broke- dont fix it. I added adobo and sofrito to the beans and let them cook for about 30 mins.

It was a FEAST! and this is my little plate- doesn’t it look FULL! mmm mmm mmmm.

So excited as I type this because henry is coming home tonight! yay!

Making it all Work Out

Really trying to stick to this resolu-…. ahem, i mean goal to get fit this year. I have set realistic goals and am marvelling at my dedication.. I beleive its in part to my buddy system (hey mari!) The other part is me kicking my own butt! (and the shiny new ipod momma got me with all the helpful healthy apps!)
So, last night after my freezing walk with Mickey- who gets really picky about where to go in bad weather – i went home and mapped out my game plan. I was gonna do my EA active while dinner was cooking.
Since steaming brown rice takes 45 mins, I set it up and got ready to work out. Then I prepped some fish and let it marinate while i was getting my sweat on. I had some Lovely Mahi Mahi to cook up. I was debating on what to put on it because i was a little over the panko and plain old salt and pepper… and after finding a few recipes that piqued my interested i finally settled on a combination of a few different recipes with similar themes. I chose a korean style marinade… you know how much i love Korean Food!

Soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, brown sugar and scallions. I realized i forgot to buy scallions so i omitted them.. but it still was fab!

I poured a tablespoon of sesame oil into a bowl and rolled the mahi mahi into it to coat. then free poured soy sauce to slightly cover the fish. I sprinkled a tablespoon of brown sugar into the bowl and rubbed it into the fish. then i splashed a few drops of vinegar into the bowl. I rolled the fish over to coat and then sprinkled garlic powder onto each side and on the top a nice layer of red pepper flakes. I left it to marinate in the fridge.

45 mins later. Very sore. Very hungry. and Very DONE with EA Active. I removed the rice and heated the grill pan.

then steamed some broccoli. 10 minutes to perfectly cooked veggies. Love my steamer!

And when the grill pan was nice and hot I transferred my yummy looking Mahi Mahi to the pan and grilled 3 minutes per side.

sizzle action!

Bon appetit! Dunno if it was because i worked up an apptetite or because this ISH was GOOD. It reminded me of my baked tofu recipe. The ingredients really complimented the flavor of the fish. Mahi mahi can taste a bit fishy but with soy glaze… it was a pleasant flavor. Guess what im having for din din tonight??

that is… if Im still alive. Im going to the gym with mari…

Pray for me.