Category Archives: work

by | October 3, 2010

Too. Many. Pancakes!

     My last few days have been a bit crazed. I have a lot of planning and prepping going on for the upcoming month (of which I’ll share with you soon enough!), so I decided to keep tonight’s post simple for my own sanity, as well as yours.

Yesterday’s breakfast. I’m really on pancake cruise control lately. These were based on my Vegan Banana-Pecan Oatmeal Pancakes, but we were out of rolled oats so I used a little more whole grain flour and soaked some quick-cook steel-cut oats in hot water for five minutes before draining them and adding them to the batter.
     I had to work a full shift today, so it was a typical day food-wise. The Monstas made a return, finally! I had a Monsta with 5 cups of spinach, 1/3 of a cup of soymilk, 1 carrot, 1 spear of asparagus, 1/4 cup of frozen blueberries, 1/2 of a frozen banana and 1/2 of a lemon. Happiness! These really give me SO much energy and up my mood like nothing else (even coffee!).
     
     Lunch was a mini-spicy tuna roll with brown rice. I didn’t take pics of the Monsta or lunch because I’m sure you’re tired of seeing the same thing over and over. And over.
     Dinner, on the other hand, was something fun and new! Kinda…
Mini burger with cheddar cheese and topped with spicy guacamole, and a Punkin Ale.
I had some leftover batter in the fridge so I made a banana-pecan pancake for dessert.
I. Am. Stuffed. 
     I finished my latest book, “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins. It’s a young-adult read, but I honestly recommend it if you’re looking for something riveting. It’s got a lot of action in it, and I feel it’s closer to the “adult” side of “young-adult”, with just enough innocence to make it palatable for the kids. All I know is that I’ve already started the second book of the series, “Catching Fire”, and will probably finish that within the next two days because I’m addicted and don’t want to put it down.
     Tonight will include another Punkin Ale and a healthy serving of “Catching Fire”. I’ve got another full day at work tomorrey (it has been WAY too long since I’ve been to church :( I miss my Sundays.) and a lot of reading to do! I can’t wait to get back in the kitchen and make something that involves a lot of effort! I need an excuse to use my new apron, which I’ll show when I finally have time to cook!
Punkin Ale is affecting me. I have no questions. Anyone want to ask me something?
:)

7 Comments

Filed under banana pecan pancakes, Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, green monster, sushi, Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, work

by | September 27, 2010

A Peachy Day!

     Happy National Pancake Day!!! Did you have any idea it was NPD? Lucky for me, the first thing I do in the morning is get my coffee, then read the blogs that I follow, and Heather had mentioned it and made her pancake breakfast. I looked around my kitchen and decided that I would make Peach Pie Oatmeal pancakes.

Peach Pie Oatmeal Pancakes
Ingredients:
1/2 of a cup of quick-cook rolled oats
1/2 of a cup of whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons of baking soda
A pinch of salt
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 1/3 cups of soymilk
1 large peach, diced
1 large peach, sliced, for garnish
  1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
  2. Add the soymilk and blend together (It will look watery, but the oats absorb the extra moisture).
  3. Stir in the diced peaches.
  4. While waiting for the batter to thicken, put the sliced peaches in a greased pan over medium heat to caramelize. 
Caramelization!

       5.  After the pancake batter has thickened (about two minutes), set a greased frying pan over medium heat. (I grease mine with a canola oil spray)
       6.  Plop a heaping tablespoon of the batter into the pan and flip when the tops look semi-dry.

I love the caramelized edges of the peaches peeking through!

       7.  Flip the peaches that are caramelizing in the other pan, then top the finished pancakes with them.
       8.  Drizzle with honey and INHALE!

Inhalation is best done with a beautiful view.
     My morning was pretty much completely amazing. Eating stacks of fluffy, fruity pancakes can do that to mornings, I’ve found. After breakfast, I headed off for a full shift at work. I arrived and opened the cabinet where I keep my purse, and found the most amazing surprise EVER!
My friend who works at Godiva gave me FOUR chocolate covered strawberries! Those things cost six million dollars apiece!!! I’m so spoiled!
     I went out to Paciugo with my new coworker and tried out a new flavor, Vanilla Raspberry Swirl. Hi, my name is Becki, and I have an addiction. The last time I had gelato was at 12:13pm today.
     Lunch was a mini spicy tuna roll with brown rice, followed by a trip to Williams Sonoma, and some light reading.
Yes, those are all of Williams Sonoma’s spices compiled into a pamphlet, which I read cover to cover. I’m weird.
     Speaking of reading, yesterday I finally finished the latest book I’ve been going through.
“Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro. I had to read it before I see the movie. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this one… 
Have you read it yet? What are your thoughts?

     I got home after work to a home cooked meal! My roommates appreciated my pancake-mastering this morning that they made dinner!
They made peach-ginger baked chicken with grilled vegetables on the side. That black stuff on the left is onions, zucchini, eggplant and green beans that have been grilled in a mesh pan until DELICIOUS. Don’t let the lack of color freak you out!
     I’m enjoying a glass of Hard Core red wine, a mix of 29% Mourvedere, 24% Grenache, 27% Syrah, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s a random blend, but deliciously spicy and fruity at the same time! Tomorrey I have to head to work at 9am, then I get to bail out early to head to an audition for a web series, and continue on to Dan and Malachi’s for wine tasting and risotto making!
Did you celebrate National Pancake Day? What kind did you make?

4 Comments

Filed under Godiva, grilled vegetables, Hard Core, Paciugo, Pancake Sunday, Peach Pie Oatmeal Pancakes, red wine, work

by | September 10, 2010

Too. Much. Gelato!

     Today, I may have gone a little overboard. And by a little, I mean COMPLETELY. I visited Menchie’s for lunch.

I got a miniscule amount of tart frozen yogurt with some dark chocolate chips, strawberries, and one small square of brownie.
For dinner, I got a small gelato: Brown-sugar waffle-cone and amaretto chocolate chip. It was awesome. My stomach hurt – so good. Pain after this much dairy is good, right??
     Don’t worry, though! I balanced it out with a midday Monster!
This had 2 cups of spinach, 1/2 of a cup of blueberries, 1/4 of a frozen banana, 1 lime, 2 sprigs of asparagus and unsweetened soymilk. This helped balance me. Slightly…
     I kind of failed on the pictures today, so here’s a small recap of yesterday!
PEACH PIE MONSTA! I’ve found my new obsession. I had the usual ingredients in this, then threw in a ripe peach and a teaspoon of cinnamon. It’s like taking a bite out of autumn!
I had a Kitchen Sink Salad for lunch with half a bag of chopped lettuce, 1/2 of a carton of egg white salad, 1/2 of a cup of lentils, and 1/2 of a chopped red bell pepper. I love me the KSS!
This was lunch yesterday at work. I had a mini-spicy tuna roll with avocado. I ate this outside, all by myself. Apparently it was too cold for everyone else! It was a chilly 60 degrees, and I enjoyed the dark clouds and the cold breeze until I had to recede back into my dark retail dungeon.
     I had a few hours of work tonight, then came home to have a glass of red wine and watch my new obsession, “Nikita“! Yes, I know that it’s “Alias 2.0″, but I’m always okay with watching girls kicking ass. Plus, Shane West is on it. Le sigh :) .
     Now it’s ridiculously late considering I have to work tomorrey at 8:30am, so I should probably go pass out. 

Apparently I need to have a pottery giveaway! I’ll think of something and post it in the next few days :)

Also, has anyone watched Nikita? What are your favorite guilty-pleasure TV shows?

1 Comment

Filed under gelato, green monster, kitchen sink salad, Nikita, sushi, work

by | September 5, 2010

Guilty Pleasures

     I hope everyone’s enjoying the beginning of their Labor Day weekend! I had to work all day today, and a few hours tomorrey, then I’m free to enjoy myself again!

     I’ve been hitting the gym every day, utilizing every single second of my free trial week. Today I spent an hour on the elliptical, burned 502 calories and went 3.75 miles. Afterwards, I did a few rounds on the lat pulldown, then did a massive amount of crunches and stretching. All this was followed by a big Monsta at home – 3 cups of spinach, 1/4 of a cup of unsweetened soymilk, 1 lime, 1/2 of a banana, 1/3 of a cup of frozen blueberries, 1 carrot, and 4 sprigs of asparagus.

     I had to work today, but I got to work with my lovely and ridiculously fun friend, Vicky, so it was more than bearable. Since nothing out of the ordinary happened today, I’m just going to put up a bunch of random pictures of some of my meals over the last few days.

After my intense workout yesterday, I decided that a trip to the indian buffet was in order.
As if the gigantic plate of food and garlic naan wasn’t enough, the chefs made my roommate and me this complimentary dessert that we’re obsessed with: Gajar Halwa – it’s basically grated carrots, sugar, butter, almonds and raisins. This is one of my all-time favorite desserts!
I had a late night craving for grilled cheese one night. I made this with Great Harvest’s Hi-5 Fiber bread, which is chock full with tons of seeds and nuts, then topped it with some real (NOT Kraft) cheddar cheese and fried it up in a teaspoon of butter. Sometimes, grilled cheese is a necessity.
Today’s lunch was a Subway 6-inch on wheat with turkey, roast beef, tons of spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, avocado, a little mayo and mustard.
PUMPKIN truffle from Godiva! I LOVE PUMPKIN!!!!
And a piece of the Hi-5 Fiber toast with some REAL chimichurri sauce on it. Real means delicious means not made by me.
     Keep in mind that while some (most) of this isn’t the healthiest thing I could’ve chosen, I’ve completely balanced it all out with Monsters in the morning as well as lots of time at the gym. Plus, I wanted to eat it, so I did. Deal with it.
     Tonight I’m headed out to a billiards club with some friends to play for a few hours, and hopefully drink a PUMPKIN ale? Ah geez, I really hope the bar carries pumpkin ale already! Enjoy your Saturdays!
What are some of your guilty eating pleasures?

2 Comments

Filed under chimichurri, elliptical, Gajar Halwa, Godiva, green monster, grilled cheese, gym, Indian Food, work

by | August 30, 2010

Monster of Orange!

     I woke up when my alarm went of at 6:30am and headed out on a 20 mile bike ride. That’s totally a lie. I woke up, turned off my alarm, and fell asleep until 8:30am. When my body tells me that it needs another day of rest, I listen. Instead, I did a bunch of pushups and crunches before breakfast.

This morning was an ORANGE Monsta! We didn’t have much spinach left, so I improvised. This had about 1 cup of spinach, 1/2 of a peach, 1 carrot, 1/2 of a cup of soymilk, 1/2 of a banana, 1/2 of a cup of frozen blueberries and a big handful of ice.
     I headed off for my full shift at work. The day actually went by pretty quickly. There wasn’t too much to do, so I had lots of time to hang out with my coworkers and also read my current book, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. Everyone’s read it, so I have to get onboard and read it before they make the U.S. movie version!
     I went out to lunch with my friend, Griffin, to the Lazy Dog Cafe.
Sir Griffin trying to decipher the menu.
A tasty glass of merlot!
I got half of a walnut chicken salad sandwich that has walnuts (duh), dried cranberries, thinly sliced red onions, tomatoes and lettuce, and came with a small side of fries.
It also came with a cup of chicken tortilla soup. The waiter failed to tell me that the avocado was an extra dollar. I should’ve guessed. Le sigh.
     We got back to work, kinda, and watched the clock slide by until it was time to go home. I’m pretty stuffed from my late lunch still, so I’ll probably skip dinner.
     I’ve said it before, but I am going to be going to have my first day at the gym tomorrey morning! I have a week-long guest pass, so prepare for a lot of complaints about how sore I am for the next week :) .
Do you belong to a gym? Or do you prefer working out in the great outdoors?

3 Comments

Filed under chicken walnut salad sandwich, french fries, green monster, Griffin, gym, Lazy Dog Cafe, orange monster, tortilla soup, work

by | August 29, 2010

A Simple Kind of Life

     Summer tastes exactly like a tree-ripened peach, freshly sliced, sitting next to a mug of coffee.

At least to me. It was a wonderful way to begin my morning, overlooking the sunrise.
My Monsta had something different in it today! This had 5 cups of spinach, 1/2 a banana, 1/2 of a cup of unsweetened soymilk, 1/2 of a cup of frozen blueberries, 1/2 of a gigantic carrot, and 1/2 of a lemon. The carrot definitely added some sweetness to it. Boo to the yah for 6 veggie servings before 9am!
     Work was work. I whined, I complained, I commiserated with my fellow unhappy coworkers, and I ate cupcakes.
Yes, my work gives out junk food when you do something well. I don’t understand why they feel the need to make us all gain weight… I demolished this cupcake. Oops.
     Lunch was a mini spicy tuna roll with brown rice, followed by some speed walking. I had some company back at work which made the time fly by, then headed home with some mountain biking on my brain. I walked into my house and decided biking was a bad choice. Instead I decided on this:
Fancy nachos! Soy and flaxseed tortilla chips with leftover tri-tip, chipotle peppers covered in pepperjack cheese and guacamole. Guacamole from a bag. It looks awful, I know. Red wine, for the win!
     My alarm is set for an early-morning bike ride tomorrey, followed by an icy Monsta and a long day at work. Next week will be full of pictures of friends and foods and auditions, so stick with me! 
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

2 Comments

Filed under biking, coffee, green monster, nachos, peaches, red wine, sushi, work

by | August 26, 2010

Back to Retail. Yay.

     Today I had to get back to the grind. It was extremely depressing to go back to retail after having nine days of pure bliss. I may have had a mini breakdown at lunch. Very mini…

     The day started off wonderfully! I had my first Monsta in DAYS and I needed it!

1/2 of a cup of soymilk, 5 cups of spinach, a handful of frozen strawberries and blueberries, 1/2 of a banana and 1/2 of a lemon and 1/2 of a lime. HELLO ENERGY!!!!
     My stomach has massively shrunk since beginning filming. I finished my Monsta, but it was a challenge. This baby kept me full until around 11:30am. I decided that I just hadn’t had enough veggies, so my roommate made us some Kitchen Sink Salads.
We were low on lettuce, so it was mostly warmed lentils, egg white salad and sauteed asparagus in Herbes de Provence. It was a perfect petite meal.
     And then came work. My friend Duck-Duck came to visit, which made it slightly more bearable. It was a pretty dead day, and I had to work in the women’s section. Utter hell. These women fight over sales and will bite you in order to get commission. I am most definitely NOT competitive when it comes to sales. If I ever feel the need to be competitive in my job, I will quit. This was meant to be temporary anyway, and this last week has put a hunger in me for the career I really want – acting.
     My mom came to visit me for lunch and helped calm me down after my mental breakdown. She helped me put together a plan for the next few weeks that involves lots of filmed auditions and focusing on the future instead of dreading my retail job. She helped so muchly. Thanks, mom!
Some Mini Spicy Tuna Roll with Brown Rice helped too. I asked for some avocado to up my healthy fat intake. I needed all the buffer I could get today.
     The day passed by very slowly. I met a new coworker and had some awesome conversations with her, and finally got to go home. I was greeted by this lovely sight:
A glowing glass of Merlot. I may actually be LIKING wine! Who woulda thunk?
     Tomorrow is a day off (already needed), so I’ll be filming some auditions, organizing my room and my life, and interning from home. OH! And I just remembered that it’s Thursday, so I’m going to try and hit up the farmers’ market too! It’s the little things in life :) .
I survived my first day back at work. Barely. Time to join a gym and work off my anxiety!

2 Comments

Filed under green monster, kitchen sink salad, Merlot, sushi, wine, work

by | August 9, 2010

I Hate Women

     I had to work in the women’s department today, and I’ll tell you, they are VICIOUS!!! I got yelled at by a coworker who was stealing my sales and snapped at by some irritable female shoppers. I think I’ll stay in my nice quiet store with the nice, patient men.

     Today was… PANCAKE SUNDAAAAAAY!!!!!

I made Oatmeal Blueberry-Cocoa Pancakes and topped them with mashed banana instead of syrup. If you feel like something is missing, you’re right. No Green Monsta this morning! Sadness, cured by cakes of pan.
     Work was work was work was work. I dislike that building and the women in it, and I had sushi for lunch. Yep, that sums up my day.
     I got home and had some freshly-made Summer Corn, Bacon and Potato Chowder and a glass of Brochelle. According to my roommates, I am now a wine snob. Woohoo!
De-freakin-lish.
What’s your favorite healthy comfort food?

4 Comments

Filed under bacon, Brochelle, Pancake Sunday, potato chowder, summer corn, sushi, work

by | August 3, 2010

Pancakes and CocoButta!!!

     “The Chief” aka portion-control, is going wonderfully! It’s ridiculous how much food I was stuffing myself with. Taking my time to enjoy every meal and starting with smaller portions really cuts down my consumption! As of now, I’m satisfied food-wise, full of chamomile tea, and very happy.

     I did something DIFFERENT today! I made a new recipe… kinda… We were out of spinach for Monstas, so I whipped up some pancakes: adapted from Angela’s Blueberry-Carob pancakes. Thanks, Angela!
Oatmeal Blueberry-Cocoa Pancakes!
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup quick cook rolled oats
1 tbsp Trader Joe’s sipping chocolate powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/3 cup unsweetened soymilk
3/4 cup blueberries
1/8 tsp sea salt

In a large bowl, mix together the oat flour, rolled oats, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Pour the soymilk into the dry mixture and whisk. The mixture will look VERY watery, but don’t worry, the oatmeal soaks it up after a few minutes! Stir in the blueberries.
Chocolate milk!

Pour a HEAPING scoop of batter into a pan that has been sprayed with canola oil and heated over medium for 3 minutes.
See? They turn solid! It’s like magic!

Wait until the tops of the cakes have begun to dry out and the little bubbles have popped (about 2-3 minutes), then flip the pancakes and cook the other side for 2 minutes. Plate and top with some mashed banana instead of syrup!
(I took the mashed banana tip from Angela as well. Delish!)
This made about 12 small pancakes. I had 3, made some for the roommates, and now have some leftover batter in the refrigerator for tomorrey morning :) .

     After my awesome culinary expedition, I had to go to work. Sigh. This is how I spent my day:
This is a piece of paper that I sliced into oblivion using a pair of small scissors. It took me 2 hours to do this. I think I need a new job that mentally challenges me a little more…

     Lunch was the same old, MSTRwBR. You should know what that means by now. From now on, just assume that’s what I eat for lunch – If it’s ever anything different, it shall be photographed and blogged about!

     On the way home, I swung by Sprouts to pick up some unsweetened dried coconut to make my own CocoButta! I spent a lot of money on this coconut, so if it didn’t turn out, I would have been bummed!
That’s right, I splurged and spend $1.41 cents on this half-pound of coconut!

     I threw the whole thing into the food processor and pulsed it a few times.
Hmm, that didn’t do much…
7 minutes later…COCOBUTTA!!!!!
(Thanks for the recipe link, Justin!)

     I poured the CocoButta into a tupperware and set it on the counter. I’m still waiting for it to solidify. Am I supposed to refrigerate this? Does anyone know?

     Dinner was made for me by the roommate! I am so freaking spoiled!
1/2 cup of Summer Corn, Bacon and Potato chowder (soymilk was used instead of regular milk), and a glass of Brochelle.

     We took our amazing Zinfandel (Brochelle is EPIC!) outside and spent the evening enjoying the (somewhat blurry, thanks to my camera) view.
Now I’m off to start my “weekend”! I’m really looking forward to making some coconut-cherry-banana bread tomorrow, then throwing around some clay at pottery class with my mum!

What are you most looking forward to this week?

6 Comments

Filed under bacon, Brochelle, coconut, coconut butter, pancakes, potato chowder, summer corn, sushi, work

by | August 2, 2010

August Bucket List

     What a beautiful day! I wish I’d been able to get outside a little more, but I had a nice morning to enjoy the sun and fresh air. I started my day with a gigantic Monsta that had 3 cups of spinach, 3/4 of a cup of unsweetened soymilk, 1/2 a banana, 1/2 a cup of mixed frozen blueberries and strawberries, and the juice of half a lemon and lime.

     I headed out to work and made a very important stop to visit one of the most important people in my life.

Mrs. Godiva. She gives me one piece of overpriced candy FREE every month! She loves me!
     I’ve begun a new plan for this month: portion control! I’ve realized lately that I’ve been having way too much of everything. I’m generally comfortable with eating almost whatever I want, but recently it’s been sliding out of control and into massive bingeing. Here are some of my goals for August:
- Eat slowly and enjoy every single bite.
- No more visits to See’s Candies (Godiva is allowed once a month for my free piece).
- No more sugary coffee drinks (To save money, and needless sugar/caffeine intake).
- NO MORE BEER!!!!
Don’t freak out! The no beer rule is only for August. I’m still allowing myself two glasses of red wine a week for health reasons. The last time I quit alcohol, I dropped 8 pounds over the course of the first month, and my beer gut needs to go, especially since I start filming in two weeks!
     Even though I have a new plan (Now known as The Chief – no reason why, I just feel like using a code name), lunch was still the same.
A mini-spicy tuna roll with brown rice and sriracha. I only used about a teaspoon of soy sauce with my sriracha for dipping. Salt is slowly being cut out.
     I did some speed walking on my breaks (My current “strutting” song is “Your Love Is My Drug” by Kesha – perfect for walking to a quick clip), and for a late afternoon snack had Paciugo. This time, I had a child’s size, which is two small scoops, of rocky road and amaretto chocolate chip. There’s really no need for any more than a small taste!
     Dinner was a small bean and cheese burrito made with a raw tortilla that was cooked in a skillet. I had 2 tablespoons of pre-made guacamole on the side.
Have you ever tried a raw tortilla? You can buy them in a regular grocery store in the cheese section. You just plop one of these into a dry skillet and slowly cook it until it looks a little opaque. These are the tortillas that they use in restaurants – the ones that make the burritos so unbearably good that you can’t help but inhale the entire thing. Luckily, this one was small.
     I’ve also made my August bucket list! A few key points:
- Take a pottery class (I start Tuesday night! My mom and I are going to be throwing clay together :) ).
- No See’s!
- Have a 3-hour dinner at a local fancy restaurant with friends (I LOVE having extended meals!).
- Bike up “the Bitch” – a 7 mile bike trail that gently slopes from sea level to 300 feet, then climbs another 350 feet in 1/2 a mile. 
- Finally do my “audition intensive” where I put a bunch of auditions on tape to send in.
- Fax in my contract to Foodbuzz!
- L.A. Blogger meet-up! So excited!
- Cut out the brews and sub in 2 glasses of red wine per week.
- Film a festival short (August 14th-22nd).
- Read the Bible every day – I’m going to be doing a little Bible study in the next few weeks.
     My day was very productive and cheerfull with all the list-making, and I leave you now with some cozy pictures of happiness.
Enjoyed the final beer last night while sitting around the fire pit. Happiness.
Perfection in a fluffy package.
Do you have anything you want to accomplish/do for fun in August?

4 Comments

Filed under burrito, gelato, green monster, Kesha, Paciugo, raw tortilla, sushi, work, Your Love Is My Drug