This is the fastest, easiest, yummiest potluck dish that I whip together when I’m short on time and ideas (or not!)

Veggies on Hummus

I saw this idea last summer and have used it a number of times now.  I’m here to spread the word, so you can spread the hummus.

And that’s exactly it — a layer of store bought hummus spread across a shallow dish, topped with whatever vegetables you feel like chopping – or not chopping, as the case here.  The vegetables I used for a dinner party recently were procured from the olive bar at Wegmans… the tomato salad that’s used for bruschetta, marinated green olives and artichokes (that I chopped myself) spooned across the top of the hummus.

Project Weight Loss: Week 5

October 26th, 2012 | Posted by Alison Spath in Weight Loss - (6 Comments)

I’m back with another update from Project Weight Loss, it’s now the end of Week 5.

For a quick recap, I got started on September 21, 2012 at 149 pounds.

Week 1: 146.0
Week 2: 144.8
Week 3: 143.8
Week 4: 143.6

Today, at the end of Week 5, I weighed in at 139.6

Oh how I welcomed that “3” in the tens place this morning! From 143.6 last week, that looks like a 4 pound weight loss in one week, but a couple of things are going on here.

Since new baby = fewer trips to the grocery store, we’ve been visiting our weekly, neighborhood farmer’s market a bit more regularly this summer than we have in the past.

Farmers Market

For the last couple of years the CSA has served most of our local, seasonal produce needs. I didn’t sign us up this year because I didn’t know how much I would be cooking, I also didn’t want to have to worry about waking any babies from afternoon naps in order to make it in time for pick up. WHO CARES ABOUT VEGETABLES!  WE’VE GOT A SLEEPING BABY HERE!

Attack of the Snacks

March 14th, 2012 | Posted by Alison Spath in Short or Sweet - (14 Comments)

Once upon a time I ate one snack a day, usually between lunch and dinner. But now at nearly 7 months pregnant, I’ve stopped counting how many snacks I eat everyday. I need more fingers if I want to keep track.

Today I’m in the mood to hand out some awards to a few of my most favorite snacks in recent weeks. Snickity snacks that are awesome if you eat 1 or 11 snacks a day. Snacks that please the palate whether you’re gestating or not. I think this paragraph needs the word “snack” in it one more time, don’t you? Snack. OK, that’s two more times. Snack.

Souper Simple Tomato Soup Sunday

January 8th, 2012 | Posted by Alison Spath in Lunch - (8 Comments)

It’s possible that we’ve been eating out a bit more than usual these days.

It’s also possible that anybody else’s cooking is a lot more appealing to me right now than my own.

This is how the girls and I ended up in a bagel shop for lunch one day last week. (and the week before that. and the week before that.) I had a bagel sandwich stuffed to the brim with every vegetable they had, plus a small bowl of their tomato soup that was pretty good.

Caution: Zombies Ahead

October 23rd, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Fitness - (14 Comments)

We survived!

We Did It

Literally, anyway.

Our day started in the car where we enjoyed breakfast in the form of pumpkin oats and lunch in the form of hummus, veggies,

Breakfast in the Car And Lunch

pita chips and my favorite portable protein; hard boiled eggs.

Pita Chips Portable Protein

Five hours later, we finally made it to Zombie Land

Caution Zombies Ahead

in time for our 4 o’clock wave start.

Start

We decided we were all fast enough to be Entrees. (vs. Fast appetizers or Slow desserts.)

Entree

Old Man Dolin

October 17th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (5 Comments)

Dinner tonight was about ease and speed.  Mama’s got a 6:30 yoga class she wants to get to, gang!  Chop chop!

Or should I say “slice slice!”?

With fast cookin’ potatoes on my mind, a couple of orange spuds and I went head to head with the mandolin.

Sweet Potatoes Cut with Mandolin

A mandolin is a fancy schmancy slicer contraption that is supposed to make vegetable slicing easier. The last time I used this thing, the mandolin and I had words.  But tonight?  I grabbed this bull by the horns until it bucked me off.

Oneida Mandolin

What Did You Learn Today?

October 13th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Life - (5 Comments)

I don’t know about you, but we learned how to ride the bus.

The Bus Stop

Crazy, no? We’ve only lived here for nearly two years now.

Did you know that Google Maps makes it EXTREMELY easy to figure out how to get from Point A to Point B on the bus?

Google Maps Bus

Yet another thing I learned today!

With an afternoon class on the schedule for the girls, we decided to try the bus and let Zak take the car to work.

The Plan:

I can’t seem to eat salad without hummus these days.

Hummus on Salad

Normally I try to spare you the daily salad shenanigans unless it’s something new or remarkable – and at first glance this salad is neither new or remarkable.

But Wait!

Today’s Hummus on Salad story has a moral to it.

It starts with the sad fact that our car died last week.  We found out today that the cost of repairs are going to be more than we’d prefer to sink into this car, so we’re done with it. Eight years and 150,000 miles later, the Honda Civic is off to car heaven.

Salad Habits

September 29th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Healthy Habits - (5 Comments)

There are plenty of good reasons to eat a salad – but I know that if I don’t make salad eating easy, it’s less likely to happen.

I went a stretch of days without eating a salad (gasp!) and it took me a second to realize it was because I’d fallen behind on food prep.

Salad Prep

I’m all caught up now though!  A bunch of greens have been torn up and washed and are ready to go – now I’ve got a couple days worth of leafy handfuls to throw into large bowls and then doll up for quick and healthy meals.