"You can't f*ck anything up"

I had writer's block when I was trying to come up with a title for today's post, until Dwight was showing me a few things on the computer and uttered the immortal line, "Don't worry. You can't f*ck anything up." I just started laughing and knew I had a title. Not that it has anything to do with anything I'm writing, but it made me laugh! (That's why I married him.)

Okay, so Valentine's Day dinner. We went to our favorite local sushi/Korean restaurant, Maru, where I ordered my favorite dinner. I've told you about the pork bibimbab (Dwight usually gets eel) before but didn't have a picture - now you can see what I'm talking about. You can't smell the aroma or hear the rice sizzling in the stone bowl, however. I hope you have good powers of imagination because this is incredible. The bibimbab is on the right (I always get a fried egg on the top), and the Korean relishes are in the little divided dish on the left. I went into it knowing I would only eat half the meal; at a whopping 644 calories I made the correct choice. 322 was perfect. Add that to the two pieces of Philadelphia roll that I ate, and it was a most satisfactory dinner. The restaurant was pretty crowded, something I really like to see at a local place.

Yesterday morning's breakfast was pretty yummy: raspberry Chobani yogurt, 1/8 cup Grapenuts cereal, and some berries. (And it looks pretty too, doesn't it?)

I mixed it all together, and it kept me full until lunch, which was yet another serving of the butternut squash and smoky black bean salad. It was still delicious, but I am ready to take a break from it.

I tried a new recipe last night, again from Cooking Light. I tell you, this issue (Jan/Feb 2012) has so many good recipes; I even put a note on it so I wouldn't put it in recycling. And sorry, Emmy, I'm keeping this one!

I made the chicken with lemons and olives. It was easy to prepare, delicious, and more importantly, looked just like the picture in the magazine. I love it when that happens.

I served it with some brown rice and some asparagus that I basically stir-fried in my medium skillet coated with cooking spray. There is hardly anything worse than over-cooked asparagus in my book, unless it's meatloaf. (So don't be looking for meatloaf recipes anytime soon. Or ever.)

I've been on a "smoothie cleanse" for the first two meals today, due to a run-in with some tequila last night. Remember how I said that I thought that the margarita Crystal Light would be really good with some tequila? Well, it wasn't. It was way too sweet. But that didn't keep me from drinking it. And eating a few handfuls of Archer Farms Sweet Cajun Trail Mix. Damn you, Super Target - it was way too delicious and I just couldn't stop eating. I rationalized that it has good nuts in it. And then consoled myself with some tequila.

For breakfast I made the Abs Diet kitchen sink smoothie, which I've made before. It truly DOES have everything but the kitchen sink in it, and it is filling and delicious.

I made a green monster smoothie for lunch. Darn near every food blog you read will have some version of the green monster; I mostly used Kristin's from Iowa Girl Eats with a little bit of Angela's from Oh She Glows. It is packed with spinach - and while I love spinach, I'm not sure I want to drink it. YOU CAN'T TASTE IT AT ALL! And look how much I put in!

I think it makes a seriously pretty smoothie, too. (It looks like a lot - and it is - because I pureed it for quite awhile to chop up the spinach, which fluffed up the volume a bit.)

My recipe is one sliced banana, 1 tablespoon peanut butter, 1/2 cup plain non-fat Chobani yogurt, 1 cup vanilla almond breeze (or any other kind of milk), 1 tablespoon chia seeds (ch-ch-ch-chia - I just can't say it without hearing the jingle), 3-4 cups baby spinach, and a few ice cubes. Whirl it all up and blend until smooth. (Nutrition stats: 350 calories, 10 g fiber, 21 g protein.)

Look at what I found at Whole Foods today for $7.95:

Think of all the pesto that will make! Next to the basil is my rosemary that I bought last fall and have used all through the winter, the latest time being last night. I really miss the summer when I just go out back and pick herbs. With the weather being so warm today, though, I know it's coming.

TTFN