Passover Continues

No?  Not over yet?  Hm.  OK, fine, I'm still truckin'.

I've been enjoying some aspects of the holiday, like the way it almost forces you to eat whole foods, but I've been kind of low energy because I can't eat any whole grains!  I was running around all of Saturday on a scavenger hunt (yup, a scavenger hunt), and I was BEAT by the end of it.  I realized that I had pretty much only eaten protein and fruit all day, which really doesn't cut it for me.  I actually had a coke (!) at dinner because I felt like I needed sugar in my system STAT.  It helped.  And it came in an adorable glass bottle.

Anyway, Passover food.  I keep mentally referring to my breakfasts as Fiesta Bowls because they've been so bright and colorful, but I realize that might be the name of a Taco Bell offering or something.

This fiesta is black cherry yogurt, strawberries, 1/2 banana, and a hearty dose of Trader Joe's new trail mix.  OMG best trail mix ever!  Almonds, cashews, pistachios, dried cherries, and dark chocolate chips.  It's like they read my mind!  Delish.

And then we have LEFTOVERS!  I decided to eat my mom's leftovers for lunch so that I could take a pretty picture for you.  Not that brisket ever really finds a flattering lighting situation, but this is world's better than a flash and gives my mama's food its due justice!

And that right there might be the reason I am no longer a vegetarian.  I'm not kidding.  Brisket really factored in there.  FYI my mom still puts marshmallows in the sweet potatoes for me and my brother.  It's just not the same without it!  I actually should get that recipe.  There's some OJ and a touch of butter mashed in, but I'm not sure what else.

Once the leftovers had been gobbled up, I came to the sad realization that I would have to prepare my own meals again.  Wah.  I did a sort of repeat of a previous lunch one day, but I upped the ante from the last time.

Spinach, avocado, orange bell pepper, salmon salad, walnuts (awesome choice), and a balsamic/grain mustard dressing.

Then I made CHAROSET!  This is one of two Passover foods I crave year-round -- the other being matzoh ball soup, of course.  ALWAYS good.  Anyway, charoset is super healthy, super easy, and really, something you should make, holidays or not.

Traditional Charoset
This is definitely adapted from some classic Jewish holiday cookbook my mom has, but I couldn't tell you what it's called.  Will work on it.


Ingredients:
3 large apples, any variety, peeled, cored, and quartered (personally, I think peeling is optional)
1 cup walnuts
1/3 cup sweet red wine
2-3 tsp honey
1 tsp cinnamon

Method:
1. Add apples and walnuts to food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.
2. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until desired consistency.

So, er, voila!  Pretty simple.  As you can see, I like mine pretty chunky, but some people process the stuff until it's more like a paste or a dip.  Just taste as you go.

Mmmmmmatzoh.  (Blargh.)  It's also pretty awesome by the spoonful.  Don't feel like you need a food vehicle to get this to your mouth.

I have a few more Passover treats and meals to share, so maybe I'll even get to a 2nd post tonight.  I mean, it ends tomorrow, and I wouldn't want to dwell once it has passed... :)

Happy bread day tomorrow!

Work From Home Day!

My goodness, catching up on the blog front is NOT easy.

A quick recap of my Friday working from home:

7:00 Wake up
7:45 Gym (finally did some leg work... I'm usually too lazy to bother because I like my legs already, but people have told me it's good to build the muscle so as not to injure yourself)
9:15 Breakfast -- oats, blueberries, almond butter (I added a little of my MojaMix ala Katie to my usual oats for funsies. It looked like the bowl below before I added the rest of my fun...)

10:00 Email
10:30 Blog reading
11:00 Out for an appt
1:00 Lunch -- can of Healthy Valley 3 Bean Chili with plain Greek yogurt and Mary's Gone Crackers (gluten free, baby!) + a side of The Office.

2:00 Gossip Girl + some work
3:00 Call doctor
3:30 Respond to an email, eat a plum
4:00 Shower (yup, I sat around dirty all day)
5:00 Yogurt snack
6:00 Train to Larchmont!

As you can see, I accomplished many things. Ok, I'm exaggerating, I did more work than that, but it was definitely a slow day, as Consultant Fridays often are.

I was kind of out of food and managed to improvise lunch, thanks to the magic of canned foods. I always like to keep soups and veggie burgers on hand for Fridays when I get home after being away all week. Eggs would be a good one too, but I don't always have those. Anyway, I was very grateful to come home to a delicious mommy-made meal: matzo ball soup, brisket, mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows (MY FAVORITE! She still does it for me and my brother as if we were kids...), asparagus, broccoli, raisin challah, and chocolate babka! SO good.

I was trying to eat gluten free this week as an experiment fueled by feeling good last week -- and realizing the only main thing I cut out was wheat (and chocolate). However, that obviously didn't work. Like I was going to pass up challah and babka for some unproven theory? Pshhhh, no way. Sooo, trying again starting today. Shana Tova!