That's a whopper!!!

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Today's enemy of the day is the massive box of whoppers sitting right in my walking path to the printer.  Not only is it chocolate, but one of my favorites, and my stress levels today is THROUGH THE ROOF!  So goal of the day is to not ingest one single whopper.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.



A recap of Thanksgiving.....on my plate was turkey breast with gravy, the dreaded "cookie salad", and some type of glazed carrots.  There were no unsweetened vegetables (except potatoes) to be found, which was a little disappointing, but I did what I could do.  I did opt out of the white potatoes and also the pie, so I was proud of that.  HOWEVER the slip on the cookie salad slightly spiraled in to a tad of indulgence throughout the weekend.  The quantity of food was not at all the problem, but definitely the quality was lacking.  Saturday I was at my dads and we had a taco bar of sorts.  I did well by choosing a healthy size taco salad, but not so well when the platter of cake calls and oreo balls were plopped in front of me.  I think I polished off about 4-5 total of those.  Granted they were small, but only added to the sweet tooth craving I'd been battling since the cookie salad wreacked havoc on Thanksgiving day.  Yesterday the sweet drug of choice Angry Birds shaped graham crackers.  Other than that....I've done great!  Needless to say I'm a little nervous about the Thursday weigh in, not only did I make not so great choices, but I'm sure my sodium consumption was up and my water consumption was down.

HOWEVER I am ridiculously proud of Jordan, who has had some amazing accomplishments of his own lately!

Today I've done well and have a healthy dinner planned and there's nothing like falling off a horse and having the courage and strength to say "Oh no you don't!" and getting back on said horse.  So here I am, overload of stress and all, ditching Whoppers and doing my best to love the life and challenges I've been handed.  I normally don't get too preachy here, but "God only gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers" has gotten me through a lot.  I know I can handle this and I know I will succeed and I will reach my goals.  The cookie salad and the other indulgences are only slight drawbacks of the big picture.  One day, one hour, one minute, one second, one meal at a time....

Hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving!  I am thankful for each and every one of you!

Holy Cow!!!

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Ok, so a couple reasons I'm saying that!!  I just realized I haven't blogged since 12/14/12!!! YOWZA!!!

Sorry about that folks.  Life has been a tich bit hectic around here.

ANYWAY, last week weigh in brought me back down by 1.0 lbs and I super overindulged the last few days, so here's to a new start.  Maybe I'm supposed to wait for the new year for that, but I don't wanna!

Today's menu:

Breakfast: Jalapeno Poppers (cream cheese stuffed jalapenos wrapped in bacon)
Lunch: Mozzarella stuffed meatballs, garlic roasted zucchini and squash, and an orange
Dinner: Who knows!!  There are chicken breasts in the crockpot at home!  We'll see what becomes of them.

After confessing my indulgences to my poor boyfriend yesterday I felt very liberated.  I was in denial of the fact that I was ACTUALLY eating like that.  There were no binges or anything like that but the weekend left me super short on time (my own fault) and super short on choices (again, my own fault) so there was fast food, gas station food, and of the crap I was pumping in to my body I got a bad case of the "f-its" and ate my fair share of goodies (peanut butter balls, cookies, chocolate covered pretzels).  I'm DEFINITELY feeling the effects from abusing my body that way and am over it.  I was blessed with a little unexpected cash flow this morning, so I'll be purchasing a cleanse at GNC and getting THAT start New Years Day.  Until then, I'm going to eat clean and just be mindful of what passes my lips.

The cleanse should give me a good kick start for the last week of our Biggest Loser Challenge here at work! YAY!

HOLY COW!!! (again)

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Ok, so today I KNEW the scale was going to be up, but I sure didn't expect it to be up 6.6 lbs!!!! HOLY SHIT! are the only words I have.  I'd indulged over the holiday a little too much apparently and ate out a couple too many times and to top it off, my water consumption and activity level were down, so here we are at 265.0, but feeling ridiculously motivated.  I had a chat with one of my fellow challengers this morning and decided I will NOT be waiting until the 1st of the year to start my cleanse, I will be starting TOMORROW!  There is no reason to wait and with only two weeks left of this challenge and I'm sure I'm sitting in about 5th or 6th, it's time to kick this game up a notch.  So tonight GNC will see my smiling face to get my cleanse!  GAME ON!

Paleo Kabocha & Lamb Shepherd's Pie

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Happy November folks!  We had our neighbors over for dinner recently, and this is the perfect recipe for entertaining.  One pot meal, easy to prepare ahead of time, and although the picture doesn't reflect it, it does present really well! 
This is one of those epic fall meals... warm, filling, and full of all of the flavors that you crave when the leaves turn.  Since I live in southern California I have to have true seasons vicariously through the internet, so I just google pictures of fall foliage or check out my non-California friends Facebook pages.   But make no mistake, I love surfing, not owning an umbrella, and eating al fresco year round, so I have no complaints. 

This take on traditional Shepherd's Pie was inspired by Sunset Magazine, where one day I hope to grace even a tiny corner of their magical, inspirational (if somewhat unrealistic) pages.  Yay for life in the West! 

2-3 lb kabocha squash (also called a Japanese pumpkin)
2 lbs lamb stew meat
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
4 carrots, peeled and cut
3 tbs coconut flour
1 tsp pasture butter
1/4 c red wine
1 cup beef stock
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried lavender
salt, pepper & olive oil
Preheat over to 400.  Cut your Kabocha in half and removes seeds.  Cover with foil and roast for about an hour, or until flesh is soft and easily pierced with a knife.  While your squash is in the oven (about halfway done), heat a couple tbs of olive oil in a large, deep, oven safe pan*.  Add lamb and couple pinches of salt & pepper and let the meat brown on all sides. Remove from pot and put in a bowl (with the juices) with the carrots.

Reduce the heat in the pan and add the butter.  As soon as it's melted add the flour, stirring constantly for a minute or so - you want it toasted not burned! Pour the wine and the broth in, stirring frequently until it's thickened like gravy.  Add red pepper flakes, lavender (salt & pepper to taste if needed). Add the lamb and carrots back into the pot and stir.

Remove the squash, scrape out the guts , and mash in a bowl.  Add a little salt & pepper and spoon over the top of the lamb.  Bake about 30 minutes until everything is bubbling.  Let it sit for a few minutes before serving, unless you like molten lava in your mouth, and garnish it with something green (parsley, green onions etc).

*And if you've read my blog before, you probably notice I use my Le Creuset for everything!

Freihafen Café Lunch Menu for Friday, December 21, 2012

To contact us Click HERE



Executive Chef: Volker Horteux
Sous Chef: Thomas Becker
Lunch hours: 12:00pm - 2:00pm

BLOCK A

​ Curly Kale with Kassler
and Cooked Sausage    Curly Kale,Onions,Canola Oil,Meat Stock,
Mustard,Allspice,Kassler,Cooked Sausages,Oatmeal

BLOCK H

​ Clear Duck Broth
with Egg Custard    Duck Stock,Eggs,Milk,Cream

BLOCK V

​* Vegetable Lasagna     Lasagna Platter,Zucchini,Eggplants,
Bell Pepper,Tomato Sugo,Milk,Parmesan

BLOCK K

​* Caesars Dressing   Vegetable Oil,Mustard,Herb Vinegar,
Sugar,Parmesan,Egg Yolk,Garlic,
Balsamic,Anchovis,Wheat Starch,
Spices,Herbs,Yeast Extract
​* Yoghurt with Cranberries    Yogurt,Agave Syrup,Cranberries
​* Vanilla Cantucchini Trifle
with Apricot and Pineapple
Compote     Vanilla Pudding,Curd,Oranges
Sugar,Cantucchini,Apricot,Pineapples
​** Taboulé   Cous Cous,Dried Tomatoes,Parsley,
Cumin,Coriander,Lemon Juice,Olive Oil
​* Kidney Beans
with
Sweet Corn   Spring Onions,Kidney Beans,Sweet Corn,
Emmentaler,Herb Vinegar,Mustard,
Canola Oil
​* Cole Slaw    White Cabbage,Oil,Pineapples, Carrots,
Sugar,Eggs,Yogurt,
Vinegar,Mustard,

BLOCK F

​* Herb Sauce   Vegetable Stock,Onions,Leek,
Cream,Parsley,Chervil
​ Fried Monkfish Filet   Monkfish Filet,Wheat Flour,Thyme,
Garlic,Canola Oil

VEGETABLE 1

​** Zucchini Zucchini,Canola Oil,Rosemary

VEGETABLE 2

​** Romanesco Romanesco,Nutmeg

SIDE DISH 1

​** Roasted Potatoes Potatoes,Canola Oil

SIDE DISH 2

​** Saffron Rice Parboiled Rice,Saffron

Paleo Kabocha & Lamb Shepherd's Pie

To contact us Click HERE
Happy November folks!  We had our neighbors over for dinner recently, and this is the perfect recipe for entertaining.  One pot meal, easy to prepare ahead of time, and although the picture doesn't reflect it, it does present really well! 
This is one of those epic fall meals... warm, filling, and full of all of the flavors that you crave when the leaves turn.  Since I live in southern California I have to have true seasons vicariously through the internet, so I just google pictures of fall foliage or check out my non-California friends Facebook pages.   But make no mistake, I love surfing, not owning an umbrella, and eating al fresco year round, so I have no complaints. 

This take on traditional Shepherd's Pie was inspired by Sunset Magazine, where one day I hope to grace even a tiny corner of their magical, inspirational (if somewhat unrealistic) pages.  Yay for life in the West! 

2-3 lb kabocha squash (also called a Japanese pumpkin)
2 lbs lamb stew meat
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
4 carrots, peeled and cut
3 tbs coconut flour
1 tsp pasture butter
1/4 c red wine
1 cup beef stock
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried lavender
salt, pepper & olive oil
Preheat over to 400.  Cut your Kabocha in half and removes seeds.  Cover with foil and roast for about an hour, or until flesh is soft and easily pierced with a knife.  While your squash is in the oven (about halfway done), heat a couple tbs of olive oil in a large, deep, oven safe pan*.  Add lamb and couple pinches of salt & pepper and let the meat brown on all sides. Remove from pot and put in a bowl (with the juices) with the carrots.

Reduce the heat in the pan and add the butter.  As soon as it's melted add the flour, stirring constantly for a minute or so - you want it toasted not burned! Pour the wine and the broth in, stirring frequently until it's thickened like gravy.  Add red pepper flakes, lavender (salt & pepper to taste if needed). Add the lamb and carrots back into the pot and stir.

Remove the squash, scrape out the guts , and mash in a bowl.  Add a little salt & pepper and spoon over the top of the lamb.  Bake about 30 minutes until everything is bubbling.  Let it sit for a few minutes before serving, unless you like molten lava in your mouth, and garnish it with something green (parsley, green onions etc).

*And if you've read my blog before, you probably notice I use my Le Creuset for everything!

Freihafen Café Lunch Menu for Tuesday, December 18, 2012

To contact us Click HERE



Executive Chef: Volker Horteux
Sous Chef: Thomas Becker
Lunch hours: 12:00pm - 2:00pm

BLOCK A

​** Tomato Sugo Tomatoes,Onions,Garlic,Oregano,
Rosemary,Sugar
​ Battered Hake Filet     Hake Filet,Canola Oil,Wheat Flour,
Eggs,White Wine

BLOCK H

​** Carrot Soup
with
Lemongrass Vegetable Stock,Carrots,Onions,
Coconut Milk,Ginger,Lemongrass,Corn Starch

BLOCK V

​** Asian Style
Veggie Patties    Carrots,Zucchini,Pumpkin,
Chickpeas,Cous Cous,Whole Grain Rice,
Sesame,Potato,Raisins,Cumin
​* Mushroom Ragout with
Black Salsify   Mushrooms,Black Salsify,Vegetable Stock,
Onions,Cream,Corn Starch

BLOCK K

​* Yoghurt Dressing
with Chili and Mint   Yoghurt,Canola Oil,Vinegar,Mustard,
Lemon,Garlic,Sugar,
Mint,Chili
​* Vanilla Mousse
with Cinnamon Plums   Curd,Yoghurt,Cream,Vanilla,
Plums,Corn Starch
​* Mandarine Yoghurt   Yoghurt,Mandarines,Agave Syrup
​ Roast Veal Saddle
with Caper Sauce    Veal Saddle,Sour Cream,Mayonnaise,Capers,
Parsley,Lemon Juice,Canola Oil
​** Swabian
Potato Salad Potatoes,Onions,Vegetable Oil,
Mustard,Vinegar,Spices,Corn Starch
​* Kidney Beans
with Sweet Corn   Kidney Beans,Sweet Corn,Spring Onions,
Gouda Cheese,Herb Vinegar,Mustard,
Canola Oil

BLOCK F

​ Apple Thyme Sauce Poultry Gravy,Apples,Thyme,Corn Starch
​ Braised
Turkey Legs Turkey Legs,Onions,Carrots,
Celery,Thyme

VEGETABLE 1

​** Leek and Onions Leek,Red Onions,Vegetable Stock,Sugar

VEGETABLE 2

​* Creamed Savoy
with Mustard   Savoy Cabbage,Vegetable Stock,
Cream,Mustard,Corn Starch

VEGETABLE 3

​** Cauliflower Cauliflower,Nutmeg

SIDE DISH 1

​** Parboiled Rice

SIDE DISH 2

​* Mashed Potatoes   Potatoes,Milk,Butter,Nutmeg

SIDE DISH 3

​** Cous Cous  

Freihafen Café Lunch Menu for Wednesday, December 19, 2012

To contact us Click HERE



Executive Chef: Volker Horteux
Sous Chef: Thomas Becker
Lunch hours: 12:00pm - 2:00pm

BLOCK A

​ Wild Boar Ragout
with Mushrooms   Haunch of Wild Boar,Onions,Red Wine,
Tomato Puree,Rosemary,Mushrooms,
Juniper,Laurel,Clove,Canola Oil
​ Lamb Tajine Leg of Lamb,Onions,Mango,Raisins,
Ginger,Garlic,Canola Oil

BLOCK H

​ Thai Soy Soup   Meat Stock,Soy Sauce,Onions,Ginger,
Coriander,Garlic

BLOCK V

​* Mediterranean
Vegetable Dumplings    Bell Pepper,Tomatoes,Onions,Brown Rice,
Breadcrumbs,Mozzarella,Curd,Spelt Flakes,Sesame,
Chickpea Flour,Olive Oil,Sunflower Oil,Spices
​* Scalloped Eggplants   Eggplants,Olive Oil,Rosemary,Thyme,
Tomato Sugo,Mozzarella

BLOCK K

​* Caesars Dressing   Vegetable Oil,Mustard,Herb Vinegar,
Sugar,Parmesan,Egg Yolk,Garlic,
Balsamic,Anchovis,Wheat Starch,
Spices,Herbs,Yeast Extract
​** Bruschetta   Mushrooms,Oil,Herbs, Wheat Flour
​* Cherry Clafoutis     Sour Cherries,Wheat Flour,Eggs,
Sour Cream,Almonds
​* Ice Cream  
​* Honey Curd
with Pineapple Compote   Curd,Pineapple,Sugar,Honey,Corn Starch
​* Cucumber Salad   Cucumbers,Sour Cream,
Lemon Juice,Dill,Honey
​** Taboulé   Cous Cous,Dried Tomatoes,Parsley,
Cumin,Coriander,Lemon Juice,Olive Oil
​ Smoked Duck Breast
with Lambs Lettuce and
Cranberry Compote Smoked Duck Breast,Lambs Lettuce,
Cranberries,Chili,Ginger,
Onions,Garlic

BLOCK F

​ Braised
Goose Breast Goose Breast,Onions,Carrots,
Celery,Mugwort,Canola Oil
​ Mugwort Sauce Goose Gravy,Mugwort,Corn Starch

VEGETABLE 1

​** Sugar Snaps Sugar Snaps,Sugar

VEGETABLE 2

​** Red Cabbage with Apples   Red Cabbage,Onions,Apples,Red Wine,
Vinegar,Sugar,Corn Starch,Laurel,
Juniper,Clove

VEGETABLE 3

​** Glazed Carrots Carrots,Sugar

SIDE DISH 1

​** Pasta  

SIDE DISH 2

​** Potato Dumplings   Potatoes,Potato Starch,Carob Gum

SIDE DISH 3

​** Bulgur