Foodie Friday – Easy Peasey, mac-n-cheezie!

I have a bit of a weakness for the Velveeta (or HEB brand) Mac n Cheese that has the “cheese” that you squeeze out of the package, but how many chemicals are in that stuff, right? Bonus points, if you had hot dogs, jeeze louise, can we make this dish any more unhealthy? Okay, so I really don’t care about that stuff, because really you have to a few vices, right?  Also, that Macoroni and Cheese from Boston Market is amazing, but a little bit pricier than the grocery store variety. Chemicals aside, having the ingredients at home to make your own is a lot more economical than going to pay $23 for the meal for 3 (yes, there are only two of us, but we used it for multiple meals — don’t judge!)

At any rate the BF found a recipe on chow tips to make your own baked macaroni, problem is we didn’t have some of the ingredients, so we just ended up winging it with half and half, and the cheeses that we did have. The chicken he baked was amazing too. The results were great, so much so that I made it a second night, tonight! It was surprisingly easy to execute:

1. For about 10 minutes boil a crapload of macaroni and drain

2. While hot, and a splash of half and half, plus a few handful of cheddar and parmesan mix

3. Stir until there is no liquid on the bottom, and mixture is creamy

4. Add salt and garlic to taste

So the mixture isn’t quite as uniform as the chemical stuff you buy in the packets or at the deli counter, but the taste is equal and I am not going to be a snob about something that doesn’t have the exact consistency as bunch of icky preservatives. Not sure how much the ingredients were total, but it probably was just a touch more expensive but cheaper than Boston Market. Overall, I think it was a win. Tomorrow, we dance!

 

Foodie Friday – good and bad

Blue Baker has been sort of a new ritual for me. This past weekend, I did not super-over indulgence and opted for the smoked salmon salad. Normally, I am not a fan of tomatoes (except in salsa or pizza), but the sun-dried tomatoes were a rather nice touch. Capers are generally nasty, imo, but the rest of the salad was superb. Also, I can never pass up a good broccoli/cheddar. It tastes exactly like the one the have at Quizno’s and quite possibly acquired from the same supplier, but my palette is not refined enough to mind it, cheese is GOOD!

However on the opposite end of the spectrum, I splurged with a big ole Texican from Texidelphia, and yes that is ranch, and yes, I did dip my waffle fries into. I regret nothing! Well, actually it was quite calorically expensive, but it tasted fucking fantastic. One of my favorite places in Austin to eat. All of my favorite places to eat are very fattening, yet incredibly delicious. I think you could say that about any place, though.

Well, at least the Gym Pact earned me $1.16 last week. It is a good commitment, but I think I need to up the stakes to 5x a week. I usually just end up going Thursday-Sunday, which is good but the rest of the week needs some good sweaty attention, too! At least the numbers on the scale are dropping. The consistent measuring of food has been paying off, sure I have been eating pasta, but really 3 ounces is only like 30 calories and it is enough of an amount of food so that you are not dying of hunger. Also, the dog walking/running has supplied even more cardio, Lucy has become my personal trainer, hah! Well, my mind is a bit hazy from the Jack in the Box brain fog of lunch, zzzzzz, anyway, stay sweaty, my friends.

Foodie Friday: Rollin’

One of my favorite foods is sushi, but unfortunately it is not the cheapest fare. Thankfully, I live in Awesome, er Austin, TX and we own the franchise How Do You Roll?, and this place is just great because a) the food there is cheap, probably like Subway cheap, and b) the food is low calorie, and healthy, just look at what I constructed from their website:

You can make a sushi roll even with spicy mayo, and add a side of miso soup, and you will only be around 420 calories! If that isn’t bad ass, I don’t know what is. You will spend about $8 with a drink and soup, so yes, very reasonable for sushi. Also, the ingredients for the rolls are pretty healthy, if you want to opt for better carbs (and less calories) you can switch to brown rice in lieu of the white rice, and if you really wanted to get serious with your calorie cutting, you could opt out of the sauce entirely, ps the tempura crunch adds a lot of cals.

The inspiration for this post came from trying to construct a food choice that will have positive effects on stress, as outlined in this article. In the spirit of alliteration, I wanted to create a menu based on the items listed. Breakfast is easy: coffee, oatmeal, and berries. However, when I thought about lunch I remembered my newly created Saturday ritual which is getting HDYR from their Breaker/mopac location. Fortunately, we have two of the 7 items covered. I guess that means walnuts, dark chocolate and sunflower seeds for dindin. Strange, but I think it could work!

I have tried this roll and it is definitely delicious. Will have to report back with pictures.