One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
When you really really really want to be best frie When you really really really want to be best friends. 💛
When a stressful week with deadlines ends with Nat When a stressful week with deadlines ends with National Cheese Lovers Day, how could I not partake? Tbh, I wasn’t especially hungry, and the appetizers are always the best section of any menu, so the queso blanco from El Mejicano in town wasn’t too hard a choice. It’s smoky and cheesy and I could have licked the bowl clean, but a girl’s gotta have some boundaries. Happy weekend, friends! ✨
A friend saw this placard and said it reminded her A friend saw this placard and said it reminded her of me and dropped it off in our mailbox, which really touched me. 💛 Life is too freaking short not to make conscious decisions to do more of what makes you happy, and to cut out the things that don’t. Rainbow Rowell said it best, “So, what if, instead of thinking about solving you whole life, you just think about adding additional good things. One at a time. Just let your pile of good things grow.”
The face and the daily hiccups… 😍 The face and the daily hiccups… 😍
I mean, I might have a slight obsession but also m I mean, I might have a slight obsession but also my lips are never chapped, so there’s that. 😂 And this is only one of my refill stashes. When I was in middle school, I had literally THE WORST chapped lips ever. Like a complete red ring around my top and bottom lips. I don’t think that’s where my lip balm obsession started, but it certainly didn’t help. Jersey winters are no joke (or our hot summers), so don’t mind me while I just add to my collection. What’s your fave?
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Sweetnicks

Food and Life

Eat. Live. Be. #16: What We Can’t Live Without

April 25, 2011 · Eat. Live. Be., Narrative

Inside Out Griddled Ham, Gorgonzola and Mushroom Onion SandwichThat picture is for Sarah.  It has nothing to do with today’s topic, except for serving as a promise that the breakdown of this Griddled Goodness Sandwich is coming tomorrow.  Swear!

This week’s Eat. Live. Be. topic is sharing what we can’t live without.  I know my answer isn’t going to be popular.  Both in terms of what other people may have chosen or in favorable opinion.  But I’m ok with that.

I headed out of town a few weeks ago, and as I packed my bag, a friend gave me strict rules.  “Cut loose.  No exercising.  No hard-and-fast clean eating.  And no scale.”

I promised I would do my best.  And I did.  I did eat pretty cleanly, but I did indulge too.  I didn’t exercise in the traditional sense, but I walked.  A lot.  Miles and miles and miles.  Every day.  And the scale?  Well, I didn’t bring it with me but that was certainly the hardest task he gave me.  It was all I could do not to throw down my suitcase when I came home and jump on it.

I can’t live without my scale.

I weigh myself twice a day, once in the morning, once again before bed.

I completely understand how weight fluctuates.  Between water weight gain, stress, heavier meals, later meals, more exercise, less exercise, it fluctuates.  All over the place.

But I want to be accountable.  I want to be hyperaware of the little changes and the big ones.  As in…

… now that I see that number, I know I shouldn’t eat dinner quite so late.

… or wow, that extra hour of exercise yesterday really paid off.

… or what the heck did I eat yesterday to see that big a difference in the scale today?

I’m all over it.  And for me, it works.  I have it in check.  I’m obsessed.  But not obsessed. And now some 16 months into Cate Version 2.0, I know it’s an obsession in a good way, for me, and it’s worked.

Now for what other ELBers can’t live without, go check ’em out:

  • Sarah from Sarah’s Cucina Bella
  • Joanne from Eats Well with Others
  • Chris Arpante – Melecotte
  • Jenna – Stop, Drop and Blog
  • Casey – The Starnes Family
  • Patsy – Family, Friends and Food
  • Claire – Cooking is Medicine
  • Jen – NJ Epicurean
  • Rivki Locker – Healthy Eating for Ordinary People
  • Jennifer Schulz – Lick-a-Plate
  • Sarah Rogers – Sarah’s Sweet Creations
  • Gwen – Simple Healthy Family

…

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Recipe: Salmon Burgers

March 23, 2011 · Narrative

Dig InTo say that I’m a late adopter to all things salmon would be an understatement.  If you’re a regular reader, you’ve heard about my relationship with salmon before.  Growing up, my mom made this amazing creamy risotto type dish with salmon and that was the only way I would eat it.  Any other way?  Ick with a capital I.  And, ahem, I haven’t had that dish in years, hint, hint.

But then a few years ago, on a whim I made a smoked salmon pizza, and was smitten.  In fact, it quickly became a favorite during our dinners with The Neighbors.  And then I discovered a smoked salmon spread, which has been a staple on many Feast of the Seven Fishes Christmas Eve dinners in our family, and appeared at our New Years’ Eve Seafood Feasts ever since.

So while I have not completely embraced a love of salmon, I have waded in its waters, so to speak.

As I focus more and more on my health, I can’t deny how good salmon is for me.  For you.  For all of us.  It’s a good fat, and a small 4 oz serving provides your entire daily vitamin D requirements.  That same 4 ounces will also give you half of your daily needs of vitamin b12, niacin and selenium.  And let’s not overlook the b6, omega-3 fats and magnesium it has as well.  And if it’s the canned version you’re eating?  Extra calcium to boot.  It’s hard to ignore such a super food all-star.

A few weeks back, my old trainer, Michael, posted a video of a lunch he made using canned salmon.  And then all the sudden, I had to have it.  I’m quite hot and cold like that.  One day, I won’t eat something, and then the next, I can’t get enough.  I bought a few cans of salmon (wild only, please) at the grocery store the next day.  That following weekend, I happened to be at Trader Joe’s, and their cans of wild salmon were nearly a dollar cheaper.  Three more cans followed me home.

But now what to do with all my canned salmon?  Although Michael had mixed his with a bit of mustard and just topped some leftover vegetables with it, I went a different route today.  Salmon Burgers.  Oh yeah baby.

And nearly completely clean eating ones at that.  Some whole wheat bread crumbs, an egg, a few herbs and spices, Dijon, low-fat mayo… once done, I put it inside a whole wheat sandwich thin that had smooshed avocado on it, a little zip of horseradish sauce, and lunch was served.  No fishy taste.  No guilt.  Full-on flavor and a total nutrient packed meal.

YuckI have no idea what these little bits are (bones? cartilage?), but I picked them out when I drained my salmon. Whatever they were, they were hard.

The recipe I wrote will make you three salmon burgers, so if you’re not sharing, freeze them or use them for quick lunches later in the week.  Whether you’re a latecomer to the salmon bandwagon like me, or have loved it from the first moment, try these on for size.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed one bit.

Ready to Get Golden

Yummylicious

…

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Full of Gratitude

December 28, 2010 · Narrative

Blizzard 2010Late Christmas afternoon, as Madeline and Nick were getting ready to go off to spend the night with The Ex, Madeline grabbed my hand.

“You’re the best mommy ever.”

I knelt down so I could look her straight in her eyes, deep dark brown ones that are just like her father’s.

“Thank you, sweetheart.  Are you trying to make me cry?”

She threw her hands around my neck and gave me a wet kiss on my mouth.

“No, I’m trying to make you happy.”

Even though she utterly and completely gives me a run for my money on a minute-by-minute basis.

Even though she is a heaping dose of Ramona Quimby mixed in with a healthy amount of Dennis the Menace and a sprinkle of tomboy.

Even though she is full of sass and spunk and a free spirit like no other.

All that magically melts away when she says things like that.  Those are the moments that Mamas cling to when they feel like they’re about to climb the walls.  Like today in Trader Joe’s when I had to fish her out of the orange juice  refrigeration section.  And tonight at A&P when she had us looking all over the store for sunglasses that she had tucked in her jacket the whole time.  And at the restaurant at dinner, when she looked at me with great earnest and wanted to know if we could play in the water after we ate.

Those are the moments that make it worth every single second.

On Christmas morning, as we were opening up presents, Nick handed me a gift bag with what he picked out for me.  At the bottom of the bag with hair accessories, make-up and nail polish, I found a clear plastic tube with a card rolled up inside.

From Nick and MaddieAnd as with Madeline, this heartfelt card, written on his own with no prompting or help from anyone, makes every second worth it.  All the attitude.  The eye rolling.  The push-back. Everything.

All so very worth it.

I’m one lucky Mom….

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One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
When you really really really want to be best frie When you really really really want to be best friends. 💛

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One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
When you really really really want to be best frie When you really really really want to be best friends. 💛
When a stressful week with deadlines ends with Nat When a stressful week with deadlines ends with National Cheese Lovers Day, how could I not partake? Tbh, I wasn’t especially hungry, and the appetizers are always the best section of any menu, so the queso blanco from El Mejicano in town wasn’t too hard a choice. It’s smoky and cheesy and I could have licked the bowl clean, but a girl’s gotta have some boundaries. Happy weekend, friends! ✨
A friend saw this placard and said it reminded her A friend saw this placard and said it reminded her of me and dropped it off in our mailbox, which really touched me. 💛 Life is too freaking short not to make conscious decisions to do more of what makes you happy, and to cut out the things that don’t. Rainbow Rowell said it best, “So, what if, instead of thinking about solving you whole life, you just think about adding additional good things. One at a time. Just let your pile of good things grow.”
The face and the daily hiccups… 😍 The face and the daily hiccups… 😍
I mean, I might have a slight obsession but also m I mean, I might have a slight obsession but also my lips are never chapped, so there’s that. 😂 And this is only one of my refill stashes. When I was in middle school, I had literally THE WORST chapped lips ever. Like a complete red ring around my top and bottom lips. I don’t think that’s where my lip balm obsession started, but it certainly didn’t help. Jersey winters are no joke (or our hot summers), so don’t mind me while I just add to my collection. What’s your fave?

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