Gaga for Good Eats!!

So it's been a few days since I have posted my tried and true, honest eats. But I have most certainly been keeping up on snapping quick shots of my daily provisionals and this goal of posting images of all (or most) of the food I eat for two weeks is still in the making of being met. On Thursday, March 31st my sister, my cousin Candice (aka Candy Pants), my Auntie Shannon and our friend Maddie all went to go see Lady Gaga and all I have to say is I am seriously GaGa over GaGa. There are some people in this world that are put here in this orbiting rock only to do one thing... Lady Gaga is meant to perform. She put on nothing but an outstanding performance and I am so grateful that I was able to see it.

So the food that I have been consuming has been slightly sinful. But oh-so-delish!! From Gaga to Sunday Funday, the following images are that of which my body has used as fuel and/or otherwise. :D

Day #8: Thursday, March 31st

Breakfast: Organic berry granola with almond milk and fresh blueberries

Lunch: Chips, salsa and guacamole along with a delicious veggie tray. Accompanied by some cold beers and maybe a shot of tequila. Sister time at a restaurant in the harbor at Dana Point!

Dinner: Ahi tuna with spinach and blue cheese mashed potatoes. HEAVENLY!

This was the meal I ate right before Gaga. Us ladies enjoyed ourselves immensely as we chatted and watched all the Gaga fans dressed up in their GaGa Garb pass by. We laughed and had good conversation while enjoying each other company. One of my favorite things to do is to sit with the important women in my life and be silly, yet intellectual (on some level) :)

All in all the day was fabulous and Gaga was even more fabulous! (the word fabulous is definitely an understatement) This is a picture of my sister and I next to a cardboard stand up that honestly looked like Lady Gaga. As you can see, I am clearly gaga for Gaga and of course more good eats!

Until next time (which will be tomorrow morning because I am too tired right now to continue posting about the weekend lol)... -B.

Sisterly Love for the Love of Food!!!

My Sister Love arrived today. She is an amazing scholar, chief, bookie, wine enthusiast, and just plain sister extravaganza! I'm so excited and thrilled that she is here and the amount that she teaches me is indescribable. I love her!

In terms of eating, today went pretty well! I LOVE leafy greens. I actually get so excited to eat them that when I do, I bounce in my chair and sing a little song. LOVE them. I'm really looking forward to the next ten days with my sister, I'm sure we will eat lots of amazing food and have tons of fun with many cocktails and glasses of wine. Today was a start we will see where it goes.

Day #7: Wednesday, March 30th

Breakfast: 7grain fiber cereal with almond milk and blueberries. Enjoyed with a cup of coffee and a cup of tea!

Lunch: Left over grilled veggies and broccoli. I may have had a bite or two of a salad at work, thanks to my love Jessica Powers, she is beautiful!

Happy Hour!!!! We had to have some cocktails for my sisters arrival. We made some REAL pina coladas with coconut milk, fresh pineapple, agave, and rum (lots of it of course)! They were amazing and accompanied by some lite appetizers, rice crackers!

From left to right: My sister, me, and my Auntie Shannon! :)

Appetizers (round two): Cheesy niblets with mustard and triscuts. We were just so hungry!

Dinner: Fresh kale salad, grilled zucchini and yellow squash, and chana masala (tomatoes, Ginger, garlic, chickpeas). Accompanied with a glass of Cabernet!

Dessert: I couldn't help myself and really, I only had a couple of squares, definitely not a while bar! :)

Overall:
Vegan approved: I think quite possibly... At least until the "milk" chocolate anyways. Its a work in progress! :)

Until the next eats... - B.

Tickle Me Tuesday!

Today was a day of working hard and eating light! I like these kind of days. I feel that I am accomplishing a lot while neglecting the spare time I sometimes have to ponder about sugary foods and unhealthy choices. With me, the case tends to be the more busy I am, the healthier I eat. I like this motto, I should try and keep to it! :)

Day #7: Tuesday, March 29th

Breakfast: Organic honey granola and fiber cereal, almond milk and blueberries. Enjoyed with some hot tea, of course! :)
Prep Time:

Lunch: small left over salad with home-made mustard vinegarette and a fruit smoothie made with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, banana, almond butter and almond milk! Soooo good!
Prep Time: 12 mins | I made this today and will surly be remembering my recipe.

Dinner: Fish tacos with salsa verde, pick de gallo, slaw, guacamole and fresh lime
Prep Time: 10 mins | prepared at Hannas Restaurant by myself, Chef Jerimo and Sessi, the awesome pastry intern

Meatless Monday!

After the fabulous weekend, I felt the need to eat only healthy! I was sluggish today with lots to do and I have only the high intakes of fried food and alcoholic beverages to thank for that one. Worth it. I got what I needed to get done today, done! Bam! I still get really excited when I munch on whole grains and leafy greens, so I look forward to it after a weekend like the one I had.

Day #6: Monday, March 28th

Breakfast: Whole grain oatmeal with almond milk, bananas, whole sliced almonds and cinnamon. Enjoyed with Yogi Detox hot tea.

Lunch: I cleaned through lunch so had very few snacks in between (a cracker, a couple of pieces of candy, a coffee and lots of water)

Dinner: Green Goddess Goodness!! Salad with tomatoes, blue cheese and home- made mustard vinaigrette, sauteed yellow squash and zucchini, and steamed broccoli. Accompanied with a glass of Syrah.

Dessert: a handful of butterscotch chips to cure my sweet tooth. :)

This week my healthy and beaming sister arrives. She is the one who has taught me oh-s0-much about eating wholesome and cooking in the kitchen. She is such a fabulous chef and I look forward to learning more from her while she is here visiting! We will eats lots, I'm sure! So stay tuned for sisterly infused cuisine!

Until the next eats.... B.

Big Bear. Big Belly!

The weekend was delightful! In more ways than one. I spent it with many people who are dear to me; my auntie Shanny, my Uncle Matt (aka Unk), my cousins Candice and Travis, Candy's bf Matt and my fellow laddie, Mr. Ryan Hase. We drove up the gorgeous Saddleback Mountains and stayed at a wonderful private house that was located right on Big Bear Lake. Driving up through the narrow, windy roads unleashed a perspective of California I have not yet seen and it consistently blew my mind that this magnificent state has so much to offer. And there is still so much to see.

It was a mini vacation and so the eating was slightly sinful of course. What are we supposed to eat,healthy on a vacation? All I can say is that the delectably sugary and carb-stuffed foods were only accompanied by laughter, smiles, and strong spirits (the drinking kind)! The pictures below are for the entire weekend... It could have been way worse and as always, I have to be honest, I did have a few snacks here and there that may not be recorded. (maybe a starburst here, a sugary-sour watermelon tape here, and we must not forget the trail mix that assisted my low glucose levels in the car ride up the mountain) Here it is...

Day #3: Friday, March 25th

Breakfast: Honey Greek Yogurt with Orange Juice

Prep Time: 0 mins | Prepared by Mr. Ryan Hase when I was not feeling well at all (food tastes tons better when someone brings it to you and you're not feeling good :)

Lunch (sort of): I didn't really eat lunch on this day. It was the day we drove up the mountain and as stated before I wasn't feeling the greatest. In the 2.5 hour car ride I consumed lots of H2O, some Starbursts as seen above and some trail mix.

Prep Time: 0 mins | you shouldn't prepare while driving up a windy mountain road :)

Once we all got into the small town of Big Bear Lake, we were starving and decided to eat at a little steak joint that claimed they had "the best grub on da' hill". A slight fable, little did we know, we eat there anyways and enjoyed semi-delicous and not-s0-nutrious grub.

Dinner: Appetizers | 1.5 mozzarella sticks, one too many bites of what they called an Onion Loaf, Entree | side salad with house-made italian vinaigrette and a veggie stuffed spud!

Day #4: Saturday, March 26th

In the morning, Ryan and I got up early and cooked breakfast for everyone! I LOVE to cook and I assured Ryan that this would be a true challenge to our friendship; can we cook in a kitchen at the same time? I think he passed...

Breakfast: Eggs, successful make-shift potato frittes, turkey sausage, whole wheat toast, and chocolate chip pancakes!

Prep Time: 45 mins | Prepared by Potato and Egg Chef Brooke Arciniega and Pancake and Sausage Chef Ryan Hase

Then we hit the POW POW!

After boarding for most of the morning we took a break for some mountain beers, shots,and pizza!!! Damn good idea!

Lunch: 1 slice of the best left over pizza I have ever had! Toppings: basil pesto, mozzarella, parmesan, and GARLIC! (that meaty stuff you see is sausage, but I assure you, I took mine off and left it for the birds.)

Dinner: MORE PIZZA! (You can never eat enough pizza) 1 slice of Margarita pizza, 2 large servings of side salad with some damn good italian dressing and 1 slice of cheese bread. Accompanied with a Shock Top brewskie!

Day #5: Sunday, March 26th

The weekend was on it's way to an end but the great bites were not. This time Candice and Matt made us a delicious breakfast. I claimed them amateurs in the kitchen, but they quickly proved me wrong!

Breakfast: Tomato, cheese, avocado and cilantro omelette with salsa, a side of home-fries and a Kowalec family favorite, a warm cinnamon bun with cream cheese frosting! Oh Daddy!!! All accompanied with a cup of hot tea and a Morning Mimosa! Beautiful!

Prep Time: 45 mins | Prepared by Chef Candice Kowalec and Chef Matt Kimble

We ate breakfast kinda late and then jumped on the road back for sea level, so there really wasn't any lunch, just lots of H2O! Although, most certainly worth sharing, the views during our descent down the mountain were breathtaking!

We made it back to Santa Monica just in time for the Hara Sushi Happy Hour!

Dinner: Miso soup, salmon, yellowtail, tuna and a california roll, spicy tuna roll and a cucumber and eel roll!

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Prepared by the hilariously, friendly Sushi Chef, Joshy! He thoroughly entertained us as we dined at the Chef's counter at Hara Sushi. Oh yea... Joshy also gave us complimentary green tea ice cream for dessert! Thanks Joshy!

Pheeww! That was a long one but, all in all, the weekend was outstanding. We all had a wonderful time and I personally cannot wait to get back up into the altitude once again. (Maybe this summer for some wilderness camping?) My diet was hardly vegan, but that's ok, I'm still flirting on a daily basis. With many tempting rich and green prospects! :)

Until the next eats... B.

Day Two... Good eats! :)

A full day for me it was. I started in Coto de Caza, drove to Laguna Beach, then to a friendly yet foreign smog check station, then onward to the DMV to wait in line for 2.5 hours, and finally up to Santa Monica to spend the evening with two of my favorite friends. Despite the chaos of driving to and through more than 3 counties, I am officially a certified driver of California. License, registration, smog checked, insured and eating healthy. Now I'm Big Bear bound... Headed to the mountains for more good food and of course drinks! Catch ya the flip side

Day Two: 03.24.11

Breakfast: wheat bread with alomond butter and a banana. I also enjoyed some Yogi hot tea!!

Lunch: Green spinach, kale, cucumbers, broccoli, red quinoa, whole grain quinoa, zucchini, couscous, hummus, vinegarette, and much more yumminess! To finish it off... Cranberry Kombucha!

Snack: Raw vegan fruit bar! Yum!

Dinner: Burger and a beer: Half off! Can't go wrong!! Veggie burger with sweet potato fries accompanied by a brown honey nut ale! Yummmm!

Day in a wrap:
Not vegan approved... But almost! Really really close! (The bread at breakfast had eggs! Damn it)

First day in full... and I'm full! :)

So the first day of photographing my eats went pretty well. To add to my earlier post these are the meals that I ate for lunch and dinner today. I guess I knew this from the get-go, but I am quite the snacker (cracker here, spoon of couscous here, a piece of bread over there, but only cause it looks good) so this may be a little more challenging than I thought. Anyways for the first day it went pretty well. I'm headed up to Big Bear Mountain this weekend for some California, wintery fun with friends and family. We will see how I eat and drink in the mountains. :)

Day #1: 03.23.11

Lunch: Polenta cake with fresh heirloom tomato marinara and basil sauce, couscous prepared with tomatoes basil and fresh lemon juice, charred artichoke with homemade green goddess dressing and finished with balsamic vinaigrette. I also cant lie, I snaked on some bread and pita chips. (pictures not shown, lol)

Prep Time: 0 mins | Prepared by Chef Alfredo Cuartez at Hanna's Restaurant, a fabulous

new friend of mine and the staff at Hanna's. We are delighted Alfredo is making our menu more delightful. And we get to taste everything!! :)

Dinner: Whole wheat cheese tortellini with grilled zucchini, yellow squash and carrots and finished with a marinara sauce. Accompanied with a Pinot Noir!

Prep Time: 15 mins | Prepared by my beautiful Aunt Shannon in the Kowalec Kitchen!

Overall Day in a Nutshell!!

Vegetarian Approved: Yes!!

Vegan Approved: No. Unfortunately not, but lots of veggies of course :)