A few things to tell you today.

One: Banana, kiwi and diced oranges make the best fruit salad. EVER.

Fruit Salad

I want to weep when I look at this simple salad and remember how amazing it was. But then again I weep when the Disney World commercials play on Hulu during The Biggest Loser, so take that for what it’s worth.

You know that one, where they say “only so many mountains left to climb together…”

Gets me every damn time.

A PLT

November 27th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Lunch - (3 Comments)

I know this first little tidbit won’t be helpful to the majority of you guys, but one morning sickness remedy that I’ve come to discover works well for me is to “eat small, frequent meals”.

This “small, frequent meal” approach is supposed to help keep your blood sugar in check, and makes the rollercoaster of riding nausea waves a little less up-and-downy.

And see, I’m good with the “eating frequently” part. That’s easy!

That “small” part? Bah! Humbug!

(I’m working on it.)

Today let’s be thankful for leftovers.

Pumpkin Pie Without Evaporated Milk

I made pumpkin pie this year! Until this week, the only thing I knew about pumpkin pie was that I liked to eat it.

Therefore, as a pumpkin pie newbie (and a girl without a lot of extra energy to spare right now), I decided to go with the tried and true recipe on the side of the can of Libby’s pumpkin puree.

And it looked simple enough. Pumpkin, sugar, spices, eggs… a can of evaporated milk?

For dinner tonight, there was one goal:

Make something completely the opposite of Thanksgiving. I wouldn’t want to spoil my appetite for Thursday after all.

(right. like that could happen.)

So what’s the opposite of Thanksgiving, exactly?

I guess I don’t know, really. I do know that when I was shopping for T Day goodies today, I was on the lookout for anything that none of the other 1,257 Thanksgiving shoppers were loading into their carts. I was looking for anything that might scream “DINNER!!!” at me.

And the item that screamed was eggplant.

I think I’ve taken more naps in the past month than I have in the last 3 years. I’ve replaced meals with snacks, I’ve swapped vegetables for fruit, and now instead of running or blogging, I’ve been watching Season 1 of Modern Family on DVD.

I hate to be wimpy, but the first trimester has beaten me to a pulp. And that show is so damn funny I can’t tear myself away.

But speaking of pulp and tearing stuff away, let’s chat about oranges!

Box of Oranges

The Whole Enchilada

November 17th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (3 Comments)

Enchiladas for dinner tonight!

Pumpkin Enchilida

And they. were. awesome.

But guess what’s inside of them? Just guess!

Never mind, you won’t be able to guess. In fact, you won’t even believe me when I tell you.

OK fine, I’ll tell you.

In a minute.

First, let’s start with these little buggers. They played a big part of what made tonight’s meal so good.

Chipotle Chiles

While I’ve made my own enchilada sauce before, I did it a bit differently this time.

Chipotle Chiles Pureed

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

The Ungreen

November 16th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Vegetable Lovin' - (6 Comments)

Behold! The most beautiful box on earth.

Kashi Blueberry Waffles

When I spied that magnificent cardboard cube in the freezer case, it looked to me as though each one of those little waffle squares was delicately hand carved by fairies riding magical unicorns through the mystical forest. A magical mystical forest where streams of real maple syrup poured over majestic waterfalls and not a single creature in all the land felt as though they were living with a perpetual hangover.

Now you see why I had no choice but to bring those blue babies home with me yesterday.  This is also why I dove head first into that box first thing this morning.

Best Laid Plans

November 14th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (2 Comments)

Today, I had a plan.

That plan was to make dinner early, so that when we got home from an outing with friends late this afternoon, dinner would be mostly ready. All that would be left to do would be to make some guac to top it all off.

And that plan worked. For the most part.

I did indeed make Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili with quinoa this morning before setting off on the day’s adventure.

Yesterday, Today and Probably Tomorrow

November 13th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Life - (11 Comments)

A Grilled Cheese and Pickle sandwich.

Grilled Swiss Cheese and Pickle

Real butter, sesame Ezekiel bread, Swiss cheese and a sliced Claussen dill pickle. Soooo good.

And yes, that pickle totally counts as my vegetable.

Most vegetables are completely unappealing to me right now. I expect that these odd food aversions I’m having will pass in the coming weeks, but for the time being, I’m doing my best with pickles and a lot of fruit.

(Not at the same time, but now I’m thinking…)

Plain for the Insane

November 11th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Short or Sweet - (7 Comments)

Kefir: a weird fermented dairy yogurt drink that is sour in taste and has lots of good bacteria for your guts.

Plain Kefir

There’s all sorts of helpful info about kefir here and here, it does wonders for your immune system too.

(Vegans, there’s also a coconut version!)

The benefits of kefir are fabulous, but being high in protein was the main benefit I was after today. Something with a decent amount of protein and doesn’t make me want to hurl?

Kefir and Strawberries Kefir Nutritional Stats

I call that a winner.