Let’s clean out our kitchens, shall we? And while we’re at it, let’s dump everything in the fridge in a pan and make some pasta!

Pantry pasta: what you make when you have a bunch of random leftovers in the fridge and need a hot meal, stat.

(...)
Read the rest of pantry pasta with black beans, kale and spicy chicken sausage (276 words)

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Post tags: Dinner, leftovers, pasta, quick and easy

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So….how was your turkey day??!?

I have to say, yesterday was pretty darn awesome. My mom and I went to a power yoga class in the morning then she “forced” me to sit outside and read for most of the afternoon while she roasted cornish hens with apricot honey glaze, roasted brussels sprouts and wild rice casserole. We drank these margaritas and I made Amy’s chocolate pecan bourbon pie for dessert. Then, my parents rolled me down to the Savannah airport and stuck me on a plane headed West.

I know most of you are either at the gym or at the mall so I’ll keep this post short. I wanted to share with you a super quick and easy Black Friday lunch idea!

Make a delicious cold turkey salad with only a few ingredients and roll it up with leftover cranberry sauce in a whole wheat wrap! It’s crazy delicious and takes only about four minutes to throw together.

Enjoy your holiday weekend!! I’m off to blast Christmas music and watch Elf for the 994th time.

Here’s the link to the recipe on PBS Food—enjoy!

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Post tags: leftovers, sandwiches, thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving has come and gone and, if you’re anything like me, you still have about five cans of pumpkin stashed in your pantry. And, if you don’t, no worries–it’s on mega sale right now at pretty much every grocery store around.

There’s a chance you might be so sick of the stuff you want to hurl it across the kitchen, but the way I see it, we’ll all be craving pumpkin in July so we better eat it while we can now.

Right?

Right.

(...)
Read the rest of what to do with leftover pumpkin (252 words)

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Post tags: leftovers

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Hey guys!

Hope you all are doing well this evening. I just got home after my shift at the studio and had a glass of some deeeelicious Murphy-Goode Fume. I love that wine.

I spent a big chunk of this afternoon cleaning out and going through all my stuff. I found some interesting journals from back in 05-06 and it was interesting to read about the stuff that I used to stress out about! Seriously, I would get hung up about the stupidest things. It’s crazy to go back and read your thoughts years ago then put together the puzzle of your life. I also found all my journals from my time in France and that was crazy to read as well!

I snacked on a waffle with almond butter and apricot preserves—

And then I had a late dinner of a slice of leftover lasagna

I’ve got a few things to take care of this evening before I can call it a night. Got some big exciting news today that I can’t wait to share with y’all, but alas, we must wait a little bit. Patience is a virtue.

Goooooodnight!

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Post tags: leftovers, Snack, wine

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Hi friends!

I’m so glad you all enjoyed the first installment of ELR Wine 101!!! Obviously it was just the total tip of the iceberg but hopefully it will inspire you to explore some new stuff! Its funny, even though I have had a *little* training in wine, when I get around someone that REALLY knows their stuff, I feel like I know nothing! There’s just so much to know and explore….its really endless. But that’s what is so interesting and cool about it all!

This morning I ran tons of errands….got some jeans altered, returned some pants from The Limited, bought another Lindt Fleur de Sel bar from the chocolate shop. You know, the obvious. Seriously though, those bars are so good I couldn’t help myself!

For lunch today I made the Middle Eastern Salad from this month’s issue of Cooking Light. It involved some prep work but was oh so worth it! i honestly don’t mind the chopping, dicing and sauteing though. To me, that’s relaxation. I love chopping vegetables in the quiet of my own kitchen. The smells and tastes of different ingredients all forming together to make one stellar meal…amazing.

The salad was comprised of sauteed eggplant (heck yeah for the big bag from Costco!), roasted red peppers and a spicy sauce made from fresh tomatoes, garlic and spices. And obviously, it was bett-a with feta!

On the side, I had a warm whole wheat pita with hummus and a delicious ripe peachie!

Twas a lovely and tasty meal! Definitely make this salad, but give yourself about 45 minutes to do so!

After I digested I hit the gym for a 25 minute cardio sess on the stairmaster, which I have a love-hate relationship with. It was okay though because I was thoroughly absorbed in my “California Wine for Dummies” book. hahaha

Post-workout snack was a Snickers bar—-

Around 5:30 my dad and I went for a glass of wine at a local wine bar. Since the wine of the day is white, I picked a new white I had never heard of before to try!

It was the Domaine Schlumberger Riesling from Alsace, France and it was awesome! Typically German Rieslings are the sweet ones and those from France and the Pacific Northwest are more dry. This did not disappoint. It honestly wasn’t sweet at all and had lovely melon notes in it. My dad tasted mine and loved it so much he ordered it as well!

I LOVE trying new wines I haven’t heard of before. Its a great way to experiment and see what you like and don’t like. I’ve tried random wines at wine bars before that I loved so much that I went immediately out and bought at Total Wine. Plus, it makes for good conversation when you are with dinner guests!

As my dad went to pick up my mom from the airport, I walked home (we were right across the street) and heated up what I had been looking forward to all night long!!

Pizza, pizza, PIZZA! Somehow it tasted even better than last night and I eagerly gobbled down the remaining three slices of my mini goat cheese pizza. The bad part about not having a microwave is that you have to demonstrate self-control and wait until your pizza heats up in the oven!

Dessert was the obvious—

Ryan is teaching me to be a pro at Texas Hold ‘Em because apparently we are playing in Healdsburg. I beat him last night!!

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 51 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cardio, chocolate, Dinner, Exercise, leftovers, Lunch, musings, pizza, Snack, wine

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Hi guys!

Just finished watching Revolutionary Road….guys, I really WANTED to like this movie but I just thought it was awful!!! Surprising actually because normally the inner English major in me really loves dark, deep books and films. I have been wanting to see ever since it was in the theater but it was just soooooooooooooo slow. I liked the theme of the movie but it moved at such a glacial pace that I found myself checking my watch to see if it was almost over. Anyone, anyone?!

Anyways! I wore my sweet new t-shirt today in celebration of making it on the Amazing Grass website! lol

Midafternoon I snacked on a delicious and green bar—

Such a rainy day and Dexter didn’t move all day (I wouldn’t either)!

Such a rainy, rainy day. Hate to tell you all but I had split pea soup for the THIRD time tonight!

It was just sooo good and I hate to waste. Plus, its raining and I’m in jeans and a sweatshirt—what better weather for soup? I did jazz it up tonight though with a diced hard boiled egg (yep, craving still there) and Parmesan cheese. It seemed like an odd combo but worked really, really well!

This is definitely a combo I will have again in the future!

Dessert was my last Vita Muffin with almond butter—

Since we, errr, don’t have a microwave anymore I tried heating this up in the oven while Ryan’s dinner was re-heating (he had Cuban roast pork & yellow rice). Guys, not a good idea. I love these chocolate delights but they really are made for the microwave. It got all hard and crispy and wasn’t as delicious as it normally was….even with a glob of almond butter

Ryan and I are thinking of joining Sam’s Club (a wholesale club). Anyone have thoughts? I feel like we go through food SO fast, especially produce, and it would save money buying things like bananas, berries and spinach in bulk. I’m just worried though because its just the two of us—are there real deals to be had at these places (Costco included) or are they really just meant for large families?

Off to the tub to read MFK

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Post tags: dessert, Dinner, leftovers, movie reviews, musings, Snack

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Wow….I don’t even know what to say. It started out really well but then it just downpoured on us all and proceeded to rain off and on for the remainder of the day. We couldn’t control the weather obviously, but what crappy luck!!

I started like this:

And ended like this:

We started this morning around 6:30 with a chocolate GM--I was so tired!

GM made up of 1 scoop chocolate amazing meal, 1 scoop amazing grass wheatgrass, 1 frozen banana, some frozen blueberries, 1 cup almond milk and 1 spoonful peanut butter.

The garage sale was INTENSE and actually rather sad. I am sort of attached to my things and it was really hard for me to watch some of my stuff and my brother’s stuff go for dirt cheap. I know that’s what you sign up for when you have a garage sale but watching my brother’s skateboards and clothes go nearly broke my heart in two.

However, I had some wonderful girls come and cheer me on and give me strength and smiles!

First, there was Anne P!

Anne is coming to BOSTON!!!! Yay!

Then, a surprise visitor came to visit and eat a cupcake—

We let Abbie play with Mikey and Mikan and it was truly a mad house but very amusing to watch! I tried to get a picture but they were racing in circles way too fast. Meghann and I also talked races (serious talk) and I’m super excited to race together this fall….especially the Miracle Miles 15K in Orlando this September!

The bake sale was so cute when it was all set up—

And then when it started to downpour it was a mad scramble to get everything in the garage. In the midst of it all, a woman slipped down our driveway and I thought we were going to have to call 911 but I think she was just a little stunned more than anything. It was totally insane.

I ate two slices of leftover margherita pizza for lunch, while running around like a chicken with its head chopped off

And around 2:00 I finally broke down and ate a carrot cake cupcake! It was SO good!

As for how the bake sale went in all, it was okay. A lot of people had no idea what “vegan” meant and were suspicious of the treats because they were so healthy. The best seller definitely was the blondies but I did sell a few cupcakes as well. In all, I made enough from it to go on a nice little Anthropologie shopping trip and to be honest, I might do just that. I’d love to get a new dress to wear to my cousin’s rehearsal dinner on Friday night!

Near the end, Sarah and her hubby, David, stopped by and I sent her home with cupcakes and books. Ryan and I left around 2:30 because for the most part, it was over and I was soaking wet and shivering. All I wanted was a super hot shower and a mug of hot tea! We didn’t end up selling the microwave so it had to come back home with us (ughhh), and since I didn’t sell some of my old bedroom furniture I’m going to try next on Craig’s List or something. I have the CUTEST vanity set for a little girl that is actually painted wood; I was so sure it would sell today but people were really looking for dirt cheap deals. I was shocked at how low we were forced to go.

I’m currently sitting on the couch sipping hot herbal tea in my fuzzy robe and socks and I’m totally content. Ryan says he is itching to take a walk so we might do that then I’m not sure what for the rest of the day and night.

I hope you all are having a great Saturday!

Murphy-Goode Fact of the Day:

Murphy-Goode began with only two wines in mind: Chardonnay and Fume Blanc. Only later would they realize they needed to expand their repertoire and that they were sitting on a goldmine for some of the best red wines in the country.

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 41 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Breakfast, First ELR Bake Sale, leftovers, Lunch, Murphy-Goode, musings, pizza, Snack, vegan baked goods

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Good morning!

Oh, wow, it was a zoo in our house last night…that’s for sure!!! Our tiny apartment might be a tad too small for three pets and I think now I ruined all my chances of convincing Ryan to get a puppy.

To back up a little bit though, as you know Ryan and I were asked to pet-sit Mikan and Mikey because my parents were spending another night in Vero Beach. Now, Mikan and Dexter get along great but when the little kitty stepped into the picture Dexter immediately transformed into that mean kid on the playground and him and Mikey spent the entire night under the bed growing and hissing at each other. I guess it was because Dexter isn’t used to another cat on his “turf” but needless to say, we really didn’t get too much sleep. When Mikey wasn’t under the bed being hissed at, he was hiding on top of bed on Ryan’s head. And of course Mikan was under the sheets by our feet. It was a full house!!!

Ryan left at 7 am to go spearfishing again in the hopes of catching our dinner for this week and I finally rose at 7:30 and made breakfast.

A smile for Sunday

These French Meadow Hemp Bagels really DO do a great job of keeping my full and going all morning long. Not too hard to believe though with a whopping 19 grams of protein per bagel! And what isn’t good when smothered with raw almond butter and raspberry preserves?!

Speaking of raw almond butter, I forgot to tell you!! Last night when we were picking up pizza from Greenwise I found Maranatha on sale for $4.90!!!!!!!!!!! Can you even believe it??! I’m sort of kicking myself now for not buying more.

After dropping the kiddies back off at my parent’s house I headed to the gym to try out a new activity…...pool jogging!

Here’s some quick facts about the exercise:

* pool jogging improves your cardiovascular fitness

* it lowers your blood pressure

* it lowers your cholesterol

* it raises your energy levels

* it helps you lose body fat.

Basically, it is a low impact workout that doesn’t stress your body, therefore making it the ideal exercise for athletes coming off of injury. Apparently you can even use pool jogging to train for a marathon!

The folks over at Aquajogger.com, the premier source for pool jogging gear, were kind enough to send me a complete women’s fitness kit after hearing about my shin split woe. The sad news is that I actually received the system the day that brother passed away and, therefore, it has unfortunately been sitting in the trunk of my car for six weeks now. I stuffed it in there on the way to the hospital and totally forgot about it until a few days ago when a little bell went off in my brain about it!

After yesterday I was just dying to get back into the water already so today I busted out the Grandma belt and hopped in the pool.

Okay, so I got a few questions about it by lap swimmers and I took the opportunity to tell them how I’m training for a half marathon, have shin splints, am waiting on orthotics and pool jogging is one of the best ways to get the benefits of running without actually being on the road. Then I was on my merry little way. It was pretty easy at first but then I could actually feel myself BREAKING A SWEAT in the pool and had to keep splashing water on my face. I could feel my legs starting to burn and my little heart was pumping like crazy. I actually didn’t notice though how much my heart rate was up until after I stopped, 10 minutes later, and got a sip of water. I couldn’t stop panting!!

I ended up doing 10 minutes of pool jogging, 10 minutes of swimming laps and 10 more minutes of jogging for a great 30 minute workout. Yay!

I will definitely keep up this non-impact jogging because I feel like it can really help me improve my running. Our condo is actually on the same level as the pool so this would be very easy to just run out the door and do for half an hour in the morning.

When I got home I was very ready for lunch and super excited to finish off the other half of my individual sized pizza from last night!

With a juicy nectarine for dessert—-

So, I’m actually heading out the door right now to participate in an all afternoon class to get re-certified in CPR. I get certified every three years by The Red Cross and its something I’m pretty passionate about, especially after all that’s happened in my life lately. I like to know with absolute certainty that if something happened to someone I could be there to maybe even save their life. If you aren’t certified I urge you to look into it. Yeah, its a long 4 1/2 hour class but its a really good thing to be ready in any emergency situation. Today worked out that I do this because its sort of a crappy day outside and Ryan is with his guy friends about 15 miles out in the gulf, hunting more hogfish.

It also works out that I do this today because the class is in St.Pete and this evening Ryan and I have to be at a Cuban restaurant down there anyways for a birthday party. Yay for rice and beans and plantains again! I could eat Cuban food every day and be a happy camper, I swear.

Off to go kiss mannequins! Have a lovely Sunday!

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 47 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Breakfast, cardio, Exercise, leftovers, Lunch, pizza, Product Reviews

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Holy yoga batman.

That’s all I can say right now because, well I thought I was in pretty good yogi shape but clearly all my limbs are still shaking like raspberry jelly after practicing Dave Farmar’s latest 75 minute yoga podcast (available for FREE on itunes!). Seriously, it was the hardest yoga class I’ve taken since I don’t know when and I’m already sore from it! Even lifting my water bottle to my lips right now requires effort. Normal? Well let’s see—the class involved numerous (and I mean numerous) dolphin poses, forearm stands, warrior threes, headstands, forearm planks, vasistasanas, forearm vasistasanas, side balances, and did I mention dolphin poses? Note that this class is NOT for a beginning student. I’ve been practicing for eight years and cannot move. However, I was pretty proud of myself for doing my first ever tripod headstand and for being able to stay up in forearm stand for a few breathes each time. I didn’t stick around for the final pigeon or savasana…..enough was enough! Can someone please do this podcast and report back to tell me if it really was the hardest class ever or if I’m just a mere wimp?! Please? Its free!

I immediately TORE into a little snackie poo because I deserved it!

Then, after shower + getting ready, it was time for lunch! My lunch was certainly not the most photogenic meal in the entire world but it quite possibly could have been the tastiest one. May I present leftover spinach olive lasagna and sliced pears!

All together, sans placemat because I’m classy like that:

There may or may not have been a nice sized bit of organic dark chocolate for dessert

I have my hands full all afternoon and then have my orthotics casting appointment at 3:50. Tonight Ryan and I are cooking his grandmother dinner! We are grilling the grouper that Ryan shot (he spearfishes) when I was in Charleston this past weekend and we are also having cuban rice and beans…..my favorite!

Have a lovely afternoon!

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Post tags: Exercise, leftovers, Lunch, Snack, yoga

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My appetite is super funky this evening. After lunch I never got hungry again! Very, very unlike me. Its funny, and I think I’ve mentioned before, but in the midst of traumatic situations I usually am the only one still hungry. Some people get anxious and physically cannot eat but I am the opposite….the one reaching for a slice of cake or cookies. Perhaps that explains my banana bread quest this afternoon?

I’m just going to go ahead and say that Ryan has it pretty good.

He comes home to a homemade dinner AND banana bread?! I obviously won’t have time to do this forever, but it feels great to be able to cook food for someone other than myself and have them really enjoy it. I honestly get so much satisfaction in feeding others. I love seeing their smile and the look in their eyes when you tell them you made it  yourself! Don’t you love that?!

Anyways, I’m going to be bold and say this was the best banana bread I’ve ever made. It just screams church bake sales and grandma’s kitchen. Cookbook can be found here. It’s worth it for this one recipe, I promise. I haven’t actually had a slice but I did pick at it a bit and taste the batter and, yep, it’s freakin unbelievable. It has a whole stick of buttah in it and lots of brown sugar and tastes more like a sweet moist banana cake. I’m saving my slice for breakfast tomorrow and you better believe I have the entire meal already planned in my head! Ryan is digging into it tonight though–he’s so excited!

I was able to squeeze in some much needed yoga this afternoon. I was planning on doing an hour long Yoga to the People download (LOVE these) but it cut off 30 minutes in and so for the next 10 minutes or so I just free flowed on my own and got some nice deep stretches in. It felt wonderful….especially those tricky pigeons!

Afterwards I wanted a snack…still wasn’t hungry but wanted one anyways! I had made an earlier batch of crack Kristin’s Holiday Chia Pudding and couldn’t wait to dive in.

I seriously could live off this stuff! I love the texture (kind of crunchy!) and the sweet spicy taste. On top of it all, it is very very filling! My kind of snack

After a brief conference call (yay Blog Summit!), I set to work on dinner. I made Rachel Ray’s recipe for Mexican Lasagna but used extra lean ground turkey instead of chicken. It was incredibly easy to throw together (it only took 20 minutes, start to finish) and Ryan adored it.

Here’s his portion—-

As for me though, I wasn’t really feeling it. I honestly could have just skipped dinner and been fine but know how active I am and know I need to eat so I don’t lose weight. I didn’t feel like anything hot or heavy so I settled on leftover raw Thai Vegetable Rolls

The collards were easier to wrap today because they had sort of wilted in the fridge overnight. I liked the rolls better yesterday when they were fresh but they were still tasty tonight!

After I ate I reached for the carbs and indulged in one of the last VeggieGirl Vegan Chocolate Chip Almond Fig Blondies. Oh, I’m going to miss these!!!

The best vegan baked good EVER. Love you, Liz—have a fabuuuuuulous time in Sin City!!!

Ryan and I are just flipping around the movie channels right now but I think I’m going to read soon. I want to finish Angels and Demons before the movie comes out tomorrow! Honestly though, I’m about 200 pages in and not very impressed. I thought the Da Vinci Code was entertaining but this book has yet to grip me. Anyone?! Does it get better??

My Grandpa continues to stay in ICU on life support tonight. Things aren’t looking very positive in that regard and I’m just praying he makes it through the night. You guys are so great for sticking with me here even when (I think) the blog is depressing! I need some good news….asap!

Banana bread + Spinning in the morning! =)

In the meantime, click here to vote for Jenna as the new Murphy-Goode Wine Girl!!

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 52 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: baked goods, dessert, Dinner, leftovers, raw, Snack, vegan, yoga

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