Food

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Meal Planning

January 27, 2014 in Food, Living, recipe by traveleatlove | 4 comments

This is the week, the week where I lace up my running shoes again, the week where we don’t go out for drinks and apps after work every single night. It’s time to stop feeling icky and lethargic and spending tons of money just because it’s cold and dark all.the.time.

I packed my running backpack in NOVEMBER, and the outfit inside has gone unworn. My intention was to take a couple of weeks off after the New York City Marathon to rest but then to start up running again so that I could capitalize on all of the training I did for my best marathon time ever. What actually happened was I got a week-long stomach flu five days after the marathon. The “I can eat whatever I want because I just ran a marathon” attitude went out the window, because I could eat nothing. Once that was over, Thanksgiving and house buying and work weekend events and a nasty fall on the ice happened. And then it was Christmas and family visiting from Ireland. . .

Now it’s just me recognizing my bad habits and hoping I can turn them around. I crave energy and vibrancy, and I hope I can make some good, healthy changes back toward moderation.

 

Monday

Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Vegetables

Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage - I'd love to add some bell peppers and broccoli to this. It would be a perfect, healthy comfort dish.

(Source)

I want my meals to be healthy but also food that I actually want to eat. I’m so tired of things being healthified with powders and potions to the point where they are too gross to stand. I think a few veggies, like red peppers and carrots, added to this pasta would make it a great, healthy and filling meal.

 

Tuesday

Roast Chicken with Grapes

Roast Chicken with Grapes

(Source)

I have seen this recipe all over lately, and I think it would be delicious wit baked sweet potatoes on the side.

 

Wednesday

Cranberry Jalapeno Salmon Melts

salmon melt

A nice, melty sandwich is perfect for a cold night mid-week. I think these would go great with a spinach side salad.

 

Thursday

Dinner at Beat Hotel! I have been to Beat Hotel for a delicious dinner and again for their great wine list, and I am excited to bring a new friend and wine PR maven there to check it out.

 

Friday

Pizza! I really like Shaw’s Culinary Circle brand pizzas, and a thin crust Margherita with a glass of red and a fire is the perfect way to wind down the week!

 

In addition to the above, we’ll try to get five veggie/fruit smoothies in this week. We have been good about drinking maybe three and then slacking off as we near the weekend. I love the burst of energy I get from smoothies each morning, and heaven knows my body needs the nutrients. Chia pudding will also be thrown into the breakfast mix. Here’s to hoping a refreshed outlook on eating and exercise keep away sickness for the rest of the winter!

What does your meal plan look like for the week?

Tags: comfort food, Food, healthy comfort food, healthy eating, meal plan, meal planning, menu, recipes

Chorizo and White Bean Skillet with Wine

January 24, 2014 in Food, recipe, wine by traveleatlove | 2 comments

There is little better than a hearty meal paired with a good glass of wine and someone you love, a good book, or a favorite TV show. (Hey, I love spending time with others, but I adore my “me time” just as much!) It’s even better when said hearty meal is simple and whipped up from what’s in the fridge. On a dreary recent evening, I took advantage of a few fine ingredients in the house to make a one-skillet meal that included some delicious Spanish wine, in the meal as well as in the glass.

food and wine pairing

This skillet was all about the ingredients. I don’t generally buy tomatoes in the winter, but I had a major tomato craving and went for these beauties from Backyard Farms, a company I came to know through a blogger event a couple of summers ago.

Backyard Farms tomatoes

The other ingredients? A red onion, chorizo, white beans, and whole wheat couscous. I started off by heating the chorizo and onion on medium until sizzling and browning an then added in the chopped tomatoes and white beans, letting everything simmer until combined.

chorizo skillet

In a separate pot, I cooked up the couscous. I just love pearl couscous; it’s a cozy touch to a meal.

whole wheat couscous

The final piece of the skillet was a glug of good Spanish red wine by Pena do Lobo. The grape the wine was made with is Mencia. The wine was lush and fruity with a slight herbal note to it, and it was a nice little addition to the skillet.

Pena do Lobo wine

When all was said and done, we had a nice little bowl of white beans, chorizo, and tomatoes and a soul-warming red wine. Add in a fire, and the night was complete. Meals like this, with a little music for kitchen dance parties, make me want to cook again!

Happy Friday! Do you have any fun weekend plans? In addition to more work around our new house and some projects on the condo we are selling, I have a birthday outing and a brunch outing. Bring on the weekend!

Tags: chorizo, comfort food, cooking with wine, Food, food and wine pairing, food and wine pairings, recipe

After Work Drinks and Snacks

January 2, 2014 in Uncategorized by traveleatlove | 5 comments

Happy New Year! I hope you had great one! Did you go out or stay in? We made a fire, drank Champagne, and ordered Thai food. Being in a new home is interesting in that we are still figuring out what takeaway restaurants we like, but we lucked out with Kapow in Lower Mills. The avocado curry was to-die-for! We made it to 12:02 before shutting out the lights and promptly falling asleep. This holiday season was stressful for a number of reasons, and I am actually pretty glad to see it over. Next stop, a fabulous 2014!

Life has been moving quickly, and we have been out and about in Boston quite a bit here and there for drinks and appetizers mostly. Below are some photos from Barlow’s and Ward 8, two recent after work stops.

I always sort of forget about Barlow’s but on one particularly bad traffic night (Seriously, what’s up with Boston traffic lately?!), found ourselves off 93 and in South Boston, hungry and trying to wait out traffic. We ended up finding easy parking near Barlow’s, and we were delighted to find it festively decorated and bustling with great energy. Their cocktail list is long and really fun, and the appetizer menu is the same. We ordered up drinks and then shared a few really delicious items: Thai Chicken Dumplings, Short Rib Tacos, Pretzels with Sam Adams Cheese Fondue.

dumplings

I didn’t expect too much from our bar food items, but everything was so good! The tacos, especially, wowed me, with tender and flavorful short rib meat

short rib tacos

And we were practically fighting over the fondue. Once we finished the warm, soft pretzels, our server gave us house made chips to dip in the decadent fondue. Barlow’s is sort of on our way home, and I would not hesitate to stop again for snacks and drinks or dinner.

soft pretzels

Another place we visited recently was Ward 8, which took the spot of Nebo in the North End. I followed the progress of Ward 8 as they worked on the space, so I was excited to finally sit at the beautiful, huge white marble bar. The space is fantastic, and the cocktail menu is really great. I had a Ward 8, naturally.

Ward 8

We decided once again on bar snacks, and we really enjoyed the Bacon Cashew Caramel Corn (Really, how can you go wrong?) and the 3 Cheese Spinach Dip. The full menu looked great as well, and Ward 8 has a raw bar I would love to return for

Ward 8

The Fry Sampler was just kind of meh. You know I love my fries, and these were kind of underdone. The lemon aioli was good, but for a fry fix in the area, Saus has my heart.

fries

I think Ward 8 has some real potential once they get a good rhythm going. Service was great but not very friendly; other than that I would definitely say it was a good after work experience.

I’ve said it a million times, but Boston is chock full of great restaurants, new and old, and snacks and drinks are a great way to be able to experience more but within a budget. We’ll often go home and make a dinner with food we already have after sampling a few things out.

In this New Year I am hoping to cook more at home and to move more, plain and simple. I have a good feeling about 2014 and hope yours started off fabulously!

What did you do for New Year’s? Do you have any resolutions?

Tags: Boston, cocktails, Dining out, Food, restaurant, Restaurants

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