Easter Tradition

Happy Easter! Keeping up with our traditions, we had our Easter brunch at the Indigo Restaurant on Las Olas Boulevard. It was a perfect day to eat outside - wonderful breeze, sunshine, people watching and good company.

The chef started his meal with freshly squeezed orange juice...

... and I was daydreaming about a mimosa. Oh, only a few more days. Come on Mili-Mali, I am ready - I want to meet you and I would like to have a mimosa to celebrate your arrival ;)

The Easter Brunch special involved pancakes with nutella, walnuts, honey butter and maple syrup - carb galore!!! Obviously this was my choice.

The chef's choice was a little healthier than mine - an omelet with egg whites, cheddar cheese, roasted tomatoes, prosciutto in a mushroom sauce with aside of roasted potatoes.

We spent the rest of the day at the Fort Lauderdale beach. Someone told me to walk on the soft sand and I will go right into labor that day. That's exactly what I did as well as ate some pineapple and drank raspberry loose leaf tea and still nothing. Still waiting....

Since Mili-Mali was not giving me any signs that she is coming yet, I decided to join my girlfriends at the movies and we saw "Water for Elephants". A beautiful story that truly makes you believe that love conquers it all.

We forgot that our grocery store was closed on Easter, so plans of tilapia for dinner felt through. Instead, I made the kitchen sink salad - everything that was left in the fridge was part of my salad.

By far, the best salad ever... frisee lettuce, yellow pepper, carrots, cucumber, pepper jack cheese, tabouli, roasted red pepper hummus and Stacie chips. Who says you can't make a delicious meal with leftover?!?

So the waiting game continues - I think it's time for some more raspberry loose leaf tea!

Happy Earth Day

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

What an amazing day to celebrate today - an Earth day! What will you do today to make a difference?

I will be doing some cleaning with green products, reusing paper for all my to-do notes and most of all taking my reusable cup to Starbucks.

Today, Starbucks is inviting everyone to bring in a reusable mug or tumbler and get a free brewed coffee or tea. Your choice of brew, hot or iced – it is spring after all! This is happening at participating stores in the United States and Canada. What an amazing deal!

image source

Birthday Gifts Are Arriving

My first birthday gift arrived today - a waffle maker. I am so excited to use it this weekend. My sister-in-law Melinda knows me well - thank you my dear - you made my day.

I usually buy Kashi waffles but have always wanted to make homemade waffles and I just can't wait for this weekend. This is probably one meal I will be able to make it for the chef and I know he will love it. This might be my version of the breakfast in bed ;)

Speaking of breakfast, the chef made one of my favorite breakfast foods - an egg sandwich. As usual, the tomatoes made this sandwich :) Tomatoes make me smile!!!

The egg sandwich included English muffins, tomatoes, baby spinach, 1/2 slice of pepper jack cheese and a little bit of butter - delicious. I know this is getting boring because I eat it every week, but I really like it. I wonder how I can change it up a bit - if you have any suggestions, let me know - I am always open to new suggestions.

I had a really long day today and my breakfast did a great job keeping me full. I had my usual Panera Bread - almond chicken with grapes sandwich, but the office was buzzing with people today, so no lunch photos, but I took plenty of my dinner and I couldn't decide which one to use tonight.

I usually take about 10-15 photos of each meal and only about 2-3 make it to the blog. I haven't gotten to the point of editing the photos yet, but I am looking into some programs/techniques to get more beautiful food photos on this blog.

Tonight was the guy's night, so the chef made a quick meal - chicken pita pockets. I actually love this meal. It's so simple, five ingredients, it's quick to make, it's healthy and it is very tasty. It's actually my other sister-in-laws' Steph's recipe and we love it. If you have noticed, it makes it on our menu very frequently.

Ingredients:

• whole what pitas
• olive oil
• tomatoes
• chicken
• tomato basic feta cheese

The best thing is this meal makes a great lunch for the next day... we all know what I'm having tomorrow ;)

I am thinking of starting a weekly challenge - five ingredients meals. This will be great for next week as we are getting closer and closer to Mili-Mali's arrival and it will make it less stressful for the chef to make dinners. If there are any suggestions for meals you would like the chef to make - email me!

I am also thinking of making the recipe page so there is a quick referral to the meals the chef has made in the past. Why am I coming up with all these ideas just in time for Mili-Mali's arrival, as if I won't have my hands full. Speaking of Mili-Mali, I really want her to come soon - I am ready!!!!

Big Day - Pregnant in Heels Part II

I was in a hurry this morning - we had a perinatal appointment this morning and the big surprise of a day was the 3D Ultrasound. The purpose of this appointment was to find out how everything is going - Mili-Mali's size, length, development, etc and once we found out that all is on target (she weighs 6.5lbs) the ultrasound specialist showed us Mili-Mali in 3D. I could not believe what I was seeing - we saw her face so clearly - every single line, her lips, her nose, her eyes, 5 fingers even toes!!! It was the best experience yet. Now every time I think about her, I see this little face - isn't she just the cutest!!! Only a few more weeks, I can't wait to meet her in person - I am ready!!!!

Before the incredible appointment, I had a quick breakfast. These days it's my go-to breakfast when in hurry.

• Toasted wheat Arnold bread
• Smucker's Honey peanut butter
• Flax Seeds
• Crofter's South American Jelly
• 1/2 Bananas

I am loving the South American Crofter's jelly - it's my favorite of all the flavors and one that I keep going back for at the Fresh Market. I see a trip in my future as a jar is almost empty. The thing is the jar is so small so I don't feel as guilty for eating it so quickly, as in a week ;)

The sous-chef shared some banana slices with me...as usual. This was a very filling breakfast - I actually didn't eat lunch till very late (2pm) and it was my another in a hurry lunch on a go - Panera Bread.... Unfortunately no photo - I felt really odd taking a photo of my lunch in front of my boss - he still doesn't know about my little blog, so we shall keep it this way for a little longer.

Dinner - well, from all the excitement of today and some other minor set-backs, the chef didn't get around of making dinner till 8:30pm and once he saw that the original dinner plan - tilapia with mango sauce and rice takes 1 hour and 5 minutes to prepare, he changed the plans really quickly and we ate before 9pm.

I got to give him credit - dinner was still delicious - panko breaded tilapia and jasmine rice with green peas. At first I thought this would be a dry meal and would need some type of sauce/cream, but the rice was really moist. The only thing I wished for was some tartar sauce - it would have been perfect for the breaded tilapia, next time though.

I love seeing peas in my food - they always make me happy!

We watched the "Fighter" tonight - it was really a slow movie, but Christian Bale most definitely deserved an Oscar for his role - he was fantastic!!! Even though I didn't like his character, he has done an extraordinary job!!! I also watched Rosie Pope's "Pregnant in Heels" - love, love, love the absurdity of her clients - it seems as though with each episode the clients get crazier. I already can't wait for next week's episode!!

Mondays are new date nights - da Campo Osteria

Third time is a charm - we finally made it to the da Campo Osteria! It was so odd going out on a Monday night. We almost stayed home, but knowing that the Living Social groupon was expiring at midnight, I quickly changed and we were on our merry way.

I have no pregnancy photos except the ones from the shower, and I actually felt pretty good, so I went for some belly photos - the chef loved it!!! Yup, that's my sous-chef trying to get in on the action...

We went to the da Campo Osteria last year for our wedding anniversary and loved it. As soon as we got there, we were seated at a really nice booth with water views. I was surprised how busy the restaurant was for a Monday night - it was happening!

As soon as we were seated, our waiter brought us some delicious home made bread. I could have easily had more, but I knew I was having pasta so I held off...

We started dinner with a serving of friend calamari. The calamari were good, but the winner was the tomato sauce. It was so creamy with a hint of wine and citrus - I loved it!!!

For the entree, I chose spaghetti and jumbo meatball. Oh my!!! This was Ah.ma.zi.ng!!!! The gooey parmesan and the tomato sauce were just amazing.

I ate about a 2/3 of the jumbo meatball - it was a perfect combo of veal, pork and beef. But what really surprised me were the spaghetti. They were excellent - a little thicker and done as the chef would say "perfectly Al dente".

I asked for the dessert menu, but I was too full to even concentrate to read it. Dinner was fantastic! I wasn't expecting anything less because I remember the last time we were there we had a great meal, but it's not just the meal, it was the accommodating staff - kudos to Todd English for having such a great team!

I had a lovely time on our Monday night date night. It was something different and unusual and we both really enjoyed it. We kept joking all night as this is our pre-baby dinner date as if she was coming tomorrow - but who knows, at this point it could be any day now. I am hoping the date night is something we keep doing even after Mili-Mali's arrival.

Frothy, creamy home made latte

I made the best frothy, creamy non-fat latte on Saturday. Starbucks latte can't even compare to this creation! To make it more special, I added a little bit of cocoa - yum! I was in a latte heaven.

It was a busy Saturday. I had a list of things to get done, so we got on a road and ate out all day - lunch and dinner. I prefer eating at least one of those meals at home, but Saturday was not a good day for it. So lunch was Einstein Bros.

I had a Deli Sandwich with chicken salad on a sesame bagel with lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers with a side of sun chips - I told you I am craving salty foods. On a such a warm day, it was a really refreshing sandwich. As you can tell I was really hungry, as I nee had a chance to snap a picture, not even with my iPhone.

A few errands later, we ended up having dinner with our friends at the Stir Crazy. I have never eaten there before, but it reminded me of PF Changs.

I had sesame chicken - tender pieces of crispy chicken tossed with sesame seeds in a sweet mango sauce, rice, red peppers and scallions. I was so excited to eat this, but it was so disappointing. The chicken and rice were really dry and even some extra mango sauce couldn't save my meal. Everyone else at our table liked their meal, so I may have to go back and try something else. Once again, I completely forgot about taking a photo of my meal, but this one wasn't even worth it.

The sous-chef was busy all day with some back yard activities - lizards and squirrels were torturing her - doesn't she just look adorable :)

Weekly Meal Plan

It took me over three hours this morning to come up with this week's meal plan. I "consulted" 4 cookbooks, recipes from other blogs, and magazine clippings. I really wanted chicken, fish, red meat, a good balance of veggies, protein and carbs and recipes we have not had before. I came up short on red meat and one standard meal - not too bad. Let's just hope we can now keep up with the plan.

SUNDAY: Chicken parmesan + wheat pasta

MONDAY: da Campo Osteria - this is my 3rd time making reservations at this restaurant -I really hope 3rd time is a charm - we have a Groupon to use which expires on 4/11

TUESDAY: Tilapia + soy sauce + pineapple scallion rice

WEDNESDAY: Yoga night - leftovers

THURSDAY: Chicken pita pockets aka chef's poker night

FRIDAY: Cheese Chicken + broccoli rice casserole (Iowa Girl Eats)

Big Italian Dinner aka Pregnancy Craving

Pregnancy craving has definitely kicked in - I've been hungry for Olive Garden's Chicken Parm meal. I can't remember the last time we went to the Olive Garden, but that's all I could think of this weekend. To satisfy my craving the chef improvised and made a lighter version, "The Best of Clean Eating" Chicken Parmesan with Wheat Pasta. If you are looking for delicious yet healthy recipes, this is one cookbook you should definitely have on hand.

Why is this lighter than Olive Garden's - well, the chef lightened up this traditional dish by using whole-wheat breadcrumbs and making them stick with Dijon mustard instead of eggs. It was gooey, oozy, healthy and delicious!!! It was a true big Italian meal.

This was the first time that the chef used the pan crumbs and I really liked it. The best part was the gooey mozzarella cheese - cheese just makes everything better. I really didn't think I was going to eat it all, but the deliciousness made it very difficult to leave anything on the plate. Thankfully the chef knows me well, so he made a little extra and tomorrow's lunch is ready. Gotta love leftovers! :) !

INGREDIENTS:

• Olive oil cooking spray
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup white onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced 1 yellow pepper,
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp dried oregano, divided
• 1 28-oz jar crushed organic tomatoes
• 1 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste or organic tomato paste
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat panko bread crumbs
• 1 tbsp reduced-fat Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 4 4-oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1-inch thickness
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 8 oz cooked whole-wheat penne (or your favorite pasta)
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic and sauté 3 to 5 minutes, until vegetables are soft. Add 1 tsp oregano and stir to coat. Cook 30 seconds, until oregano is fragrant. Add tomatoes and tomato paste and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, partially cover and simmer 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a shallow dish, combine panko, Parmesan, remaining 1 tsp oregano, thyme, salt and black pepper. Mix with a fork to combine. Brush both sides of each chicken breast with Dijon. Transfer each breast to panko mixture and turn to coat both sides. Arrange chicken on prepared baking sheet. Coat surface of chicken with cooking spray. Bake 20 minutes.
4. Top each chicken breast with 2 to 3 tbsp tomato sauce and 2 tbsp mozzarella. Return chicken to oven and bake 10 minutes more, until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted and bubbly.
5. Arrange pasta on a serving plate and top with remaining tomato sauce. Serve chicken with pasta on the side, garnishing both with basil.

The recipe definitely had more than 5 ingredients, but the chef said it was relatively easy, perhaps a little long, about 45 minutes - but perfect for a Sunday night.

The sous-chef in action - patiently waiting for something to drop... Lucky girl, she did get a taste of chicken and she highly approved!

Failed Dinner Plans - Gyroville to the Rescue

What a day.... I am exhausted, and heading to bed in a few, but before than...

April is my birthday month, but also 13 family members and friends celebrate their birthdays as well. It's like Christmas all over again in the Faux Foodie Casa. Since we are also expecting Mili-Mali's arrival, I went shopping for birthday gifts tonight and now I am exhausted. I guess these days 3 hours of shopping counts as a cardio workout. The good thing is I got almost all the gifts, now I just need to wrap and mail them. Happy birthday to all the April babies!!!

Tonight was supposed to be a date night, but chef's real work got in a way. So after my shopping expedition, instead of dinning at da Campo Osteria, we dinned at the Gyroville. This local establishment was just recently opened in our area but we have already become frequent visitors. It's for a reason too - the food is delicious and cheap, the staff is very friendly and accommodating, oh and it's around the corner from our house.

I always think I will order something new, but every time I look over the menu, I go back to my usual - it's a safe choice, I know I will enjoy it. I ordered the gyro pita sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, feta cheese and tzatziki. I also ate all of chef's fries (not pictured). I noticed lately I've been craving salty foods like crazy, which is so surprising for a person with a sweet tooth like me.

I have big plans for this weekend. They involve a lot of time on my couch and the bed with parenting books and magazines I have collected over the last few months. I am now exactly 4 weeks away from Mili-Mali's arrival, it's time to get that rest and learn as much as I can.

I did it!!! I ninja-kicked my to-do list!

What a day!!! I am exhausted! But feeling so good - so accomplished. My goal was to get things done on my to-do list, or as I said it this morning to Ninja-Kick my to do list , and I did it!!! There are still many things that need to be done, but I feel a little less stressed out.

I tried to approach my to-do list with some more realistic goals and I really believe that's why I got things done.

The morning flew by. I was so busy that I didn't even eat a snack. Usually around 11 or so, I have a banana or a strawberry bar, but not today. I was deep into my projects, so finally somewhere around 1:30pm my stomach growled so loud I knew it was time to take a break.

I made a chicken salad sandwich. I make a very simple chicken salad - a bit of mayo, mustard and salt all mixed together and voila, the chicken salad is served!!!

It was a very colorful lunch - orange peppers and tomatoes with some Jaalsberg cheese on toasted Arnold whole wheat bread.

After my short break, I went back to work. Have I mentioned how much I love working from home? I logged in a few more hours and than around 5 called it a day and took a nap. I was debating whether to go t yoga or not, just like I always do on Wednesdays. Knowing how good I feel after, I dragged my tired body out of bed and went for an hour and fifteen minutes of stretching. It was glorious - we did a lot of back stretching - just what I needed today.

I came home and the chef had dinner ready - grilled chicken and pesto wheat pasta. I wasn't overly hungry as I ate a muffin with peanut butter before I went to yoga, but the smell of grilled chicken was irresistible - actually the smell of anything grilled is irresistible.

Don't you just love the grilled marks - yum!!! It was another great and quick dinner. It's missing a bit of color, but my lunch certainly made up for it ;) Granted the chef said he wanted to do some grilled peppers, but we are completely out of olive oil - so next time! Chef - it's the thought that counts. Thank you for delicious dinners and for following my carefully planned weekly meal plan.

It's bed time! I finished the "slummy mommy" book last night. It wasn't that good and I look forward to starting something new. I have about 60 or so books in the house that I have not read so quite a few options to choose from. I have a feeling it will be something to do with "mommies" - that seems to be a theme these days in the Faux Foodie Casa... Good Night!!!!