.::still blinking::.

jj made egg noodles for chicken noodle soup last night. They are so good and easy. There is really no reason to not do it yourself every time.

jj is in the other room making pumpkin purée for pies. Then he will begin on pie crusts with coconut oil instead of butter, which will be so good. He is making pumpkin, pecan and apple pies

I am about to start preparation on this stuffing with craisins, apples, sausage and real bakery bread, or I may begin work on the cranberry sauce with pineapple, apricot jam, and apples. mmmmmmmmmm. Isn’t holiday food divine? What are you making?

omelet style egg, shrimp, ham, nori, pickled ginger, julienned english cucumber (from my garden) from the cook book Let’s Cook Japanese Food!

plain yogurt and honey for sweetness. handful of uncooked oatmeal. chopped banana. chopped green apple. dried cranberries. currents. sliced almonds. Mix all together and eat. This is a divine breakfast.

jj and I went to The Corner Office for brunch Sunday morning in downtown Denver. It was fabulous.

jj had the belgian waffles with spiced pumpkin spread between them with nutmeg maple syrup. I had french toast with peanut butter, chocolate and bananas with maple syrup. jj’s was better, but mine was delicious also.

If you are ever in the Denver area it would be totally worth the stop.

I ripped this workout out of SELF Magazine, an old one. I love these walking workouts. Same runners high, way less intensity.

I did this work out this morning and sweat so much I was embarrassed. I can already tell I am going to be sore, which I love and I incinerated calories.

5 minutes Warm up at 3 mph and a 1 percent incline. Gradually increase to 3.6 mph and a 2 percent incline.
10 minutes Increase incline 2 percent every 2 minutes until you’re at 12 percent.
2 minutes Maintaining incline, decrease speed to 2.5 to 3 mph. Holding handrails, step off the belt. Turn around and walk backward.
1 minute Holding handrails, step off the belt. Turn around and walk forward.
4 minutes Raise incline to 15 percent, speed to 3.5 mph. Do stride intervals: Alternate 1 minute of short strides, 1 minute of long strides. Repeat.
3 minutes Reduce incline to 10. Do speed intervals: Alternate 1 minute at 3.5 mph, 30 seconds at 4.5 mph. Repeat.
6 minutes Reduce incline to 6 percent, speed to 4 to 4.5 mph. Decrease incline 1 percent until it is flat.
8 minutes Increase incline to 1 percent; maintain speed. Increase incline 1 percent every minute until it is at 9.
6 minutes Decrease incline to 4 percent. Do four of the following speed intervals: 1 minute at 3.5 mph, 30 seconds at 4.5.
5 minutes Reduce incline to 1 percent. Each minute, decrease speed by 0.1 to 0.2 mph until you are at 3 mph.

4 oz. extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 jar (4 oz.) pimentos, drained and finely minced
1 1/2 Tbs. finely chopped green onions, white and green portions
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
Pinch of black pepper
2 Tbs. mayonnaise

Thin sliced ham (optional)

Large buns with sesame seeds (they are more pretty this way)

In a bowl, combine the cheddar cheese, pimentos, green onions, 1/2 tsp. of the salt, the cayenne and black pepper. Stir in the mayonnaise until incorporated. Refrigerate the pimento cheese until ready to use.

On are large skillet grill the inside of the bun on a low heat. Be careful not to burn. When inside of bun is warmed and slightly brown turn over and scoop cheese onto inside of bun and place some ham on top if you would like it. Place other side of bun on top and continue flipping until most of the cheese is melted.

Let cool slightly and eat. This is divine. JJ discovered it.

You can also put the topping on hamburgers when making them on the grill. This is also divine.

I work out everyday except Sunday, and even then I try to get a walk in.

This is how it works. jj gets up at 7:00 and works out. I get up and 6:30 and read and go potty. When he gets home on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday I go work out at the local gym. When I get home he leaves for work. On Tuesday and Friday I do the video Slim Physiqueand sometimes a 15-minute segment from
I Want That Body.On Saturday I do Get Ripped 1000.It is a major workout that is sure to make you sore.

On Monday, Wednesday and Thursday I do these workouts. I rotate. I ripped these out of Self Magazine a few years ago and have been doing them for about a year. I am impressed with how I look, if you can call it that. I don’t like my rear, I have flabbish arms. I have a hard time controlling the intake of food, but I feel like I am really fit and I am proud of what I look like. I would wear a bikini to the splash pool if I had the guts to be seen in one.

As I have mentioned before, I have a son who is beyond picky with his eating. I have a really hard time getting him to eat anything that is not corn chips or fruit. He usually has big plates of air for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I received The Sneaky Chef in the mail on Friday. I have made three recipes from it and the boy has eaten them all. He has had garbonzo beans, avacado, wheat germ, spinach, and blueberries all cleverly disguised in foods he loves. It is amazing.

These are brownies that have spinach, blueberries and lots of good grains in them. I was very skeptical of them, but they are actually quite good. I do feel like they need frosting, but that would kind of defeat the semi-healthiness of them. By semi, I mean that they still have chocolate and sugar in them, but a lot of the sweetness comes from blueberries. There is actually very little sugar and you cannot taste the spinach.

I would say this is 5-star recipe and I think that this is going to be my brownies of choice from now on.

I packed a Mr. Bento lunch for jj yesterday.

In jj’s lunch there is edemame with a small container of soy sauce, sushi pizza, dried mangoes and Carob Fudge that is to die for, and a sliced apple.

Mr. Bento is a Japanese lunch box. It comes from the Japanese way a cooking and compartmentalizing different foods. You can view here, here and here.

Mr. Bento is especially nice because it has four different containers that you put in a larger stainless steal container. We put the stainless steal container in the fridge over night and it keeps the food that we put in it cold all day long. It also makes you feel very on top of things to have lunch prepared the night before, you can just grab it and run out the door. The smaller containers each have different purposes, there is the rice container, the liquid container with a rubber ring around it to keep things in or out, and then two smaller container for what ever else you would like.

We initially only bought one for jj, but I go out occasionaly and felt left out. So we got me one also. Usually jj just rotates between the two. When I need one I fill it with food for me and Gentry to take. The other day we went to Discovery Gateway, up where they have the helicopter on the deck we pulled it out and ate it. I had a spinach salad with raisins, cashews and blue cheese dressing. Gentry had his usual of corn chips and salsa. We shared an orange and some mango slices and were ready to go and play some more. It was also nice because it fit in the backpack that I had with me and I did not have to pay the astronomical McDonald’s prices for the food that was in the museum. The food was also nice and cold, like I had just gotten it out of the fridge.

We are a bento family, always on the lookout for good things to fill our bentos with. You can see what people are doing with their Mr. Bento’s here.

Carob Fudge (from Simple Foods For the Pack)
1 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons carob powder (I just used cocoa powder)
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon water

Put seeds in a food processor and grind to a powder. Add remaining ingredients and blend well. Store in a lidded container.

Optional: Add 1/4 cup shredded coconut.