Foodie Friday: 3 Healthy Valentine's Treats

So perhaps, if you're anything like me, that whole clean eating New Year's resolution was quickly replaced by lots and lots of chocolate. And donuts. And caramel corn. And now there are tempting pink and red heart-shaped treats everywhere. I don't want to miss out on all the festive yumminess, so I did a little Pinterest scouring and a little experimenting to come up with three me-and-Ez-approved Valentine's treats. If you're into counting calories and all that, I've included nutrition info. All of these are 150 calories or less, and aside from the cupcakes they took like 5 minutes to prepare. Win/win in my book.

These cupcakes are really more like healthy muffins, with a little cherry cool whip frosting on top. But if it's frosted, then it's technically a cupcake, if you ask me. 

My little helper was more interested in the measuring cups than the actual baking process. Which was probably better as far as actually creating edible cupcakes that don't wind up on the floor and walls.

Cherry goodness.

Fresh from the oven. Ez and I couldn't resist sampling right away. (Ok, mostly me.)

The finished product.

Mmmm!

Healthy Cherry Cupcakes

Ingredients for cupcakes (makes 1 dozen)

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup white flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1.5 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 1 cup plain nonfat greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1.5 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
• 1/3 cup chopped maraschino cherries

Ingredients for cherry frosting

• 1/2 container lite cool whip (thawed)
• 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
• cherries for topping
• red sprinkles

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare cupcake pan with foil liners, or spray pan with baking spray.
• In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and flaxseed.
• In a large bowl mix together yogurt, applesauce, and sugar. Once smooth, beat in egg, vanilla, and cherry juice. 
• Slowly add flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring as you go. Fold in chopped cherries.
• Scoop mixture into prepared cupcake pan. 
• Bake 13 - 15 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Place on wire rack to cool.
• Meanwhile, to make frosting stir together cool whip and cherry juice. Place in fridge until ready to use. Once cupcakes are completely cool, frost, sprinkle, and place a cherry on top.
• Store these in an airtight container in the fridge.

Nutritional Info (per cupcake with approx. 2 tablespoons of frosting):

Calories: 140; Total Fat: 2g; Carbs: 26g; Fiber: 3g; Sugars: 8g; Protein: 5g, Iron: 5%

We took this strawberry yogurt bark straight from Pinterest. You can find the recipe here. It's really more like a popsicle, in bark form. I halved the amount of yogurt, but left the amount of honey the same. Next time I'd probably use vanilla yogurt, to make it sweeter. Turns out Ez is not a fan of frozen food. He never really has been, but I figured eventually he'd grow to love it. Apparently not. So this treat's pretty much just for me. Not gonna complain ;)

Nutrition Info (per 1/5th of recipe)

Calories: 106; Fat: 2g; Carbs: 16g; Fiber: 1g; Sugars: 15g; Protein: 6g; Vitamin C: 18%; Calcium: 7%

K, so this is really more of a smoothie, since there's no ice cream, but if you'll remember Ez and I have been drinking green smoothies daily, so humor us. To us this was definitely dessert. We slurped these down and practically licked the glasses. Only 4 ingredients, and aside from a few little chocolate chips, all of them healthy:

Cherry Chip Shake instructions:
Blend 1 frozen banana, 1 cup frozen cherries (we used the Very Cherry Berry Blend from Trader Joe's), 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, and 1-2 tablespoons chocolate chips. Ez and I split this, so the nutrition facts are for half a shake. Adding whip cream and a cherry is optional (but recommended).

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 148; Fat: 3g; Carbs: 30g; Fiber: 5g; Sugar: 19g; Protein: 2g; Vitamin A: 7%; Vitamin C: 14%; Calcium 24%; Iron: 6%

What are some of your favorite Valentine's treats or traditions? Chocolate covered strawberries are definitely one of my faves! Mine never turn out as pretty as the ones you can buy though, so I leave that up to the professionals. 

4 Easy Daily Health Habits

In theory I wasn't going to set any specific resolutions this year, other than to be mindful of how I spend my time. Then I came across Healthy Habits for the New Year, written by Food Babe, and decided #1, 3, and 4 seemed easy enough for me to actually stick to. And so far I've done all 4 of these habits (almost) every day since the new year. I know we're not that far into the year, but considering my track record with resolutions, that's a pretty big deal for me. 

#1 - Drink Warm Lemon Cayenne Water Every Morning

Seems like a lot of benefits for very little effort, doesn't it? These benefits are all listed in Food Babe's post, and I'm trusting her on this, because aside from Pinterest I haven't done a ton of research on the subject. As soon as I wake up in the morning I make myself a warm mug of water, squeeze in half a lemon, and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper. Food babe didn't give measurements, so I just eyeball the pepper until there's a thin film on top of the water. Then I stir it all together, drink it up while I'm making Ez his breakfast, and wait 30 minutes before I eat anything. Simple! And it doesn't taste as awful as I thought it would. It also clears my sinuses, so maybe that should be listed as a benefit as well.

#2 - Fast at Least 12 Hours Every Day

Twelve hours sounds like a long time, but this one is actually pretty easy since you're already fasting for at least 8 hours while you're sleeping anyway. Being pregnant, I thought this one would be the hardest for me, but it's really no big deal at all. We usually finish eating dinner by 8 pm, I wake up around 7/7:30 when Ez does, drink my lemon cayenne water, wait 30 minutes, and it's already been 12 hours.

According to Food Babe, it takes at least 8 hours to fully digest a day's worth of food, and then only after all the food is digested does your body start getting rid of dead cells and regenerating news cells. As an added bonus you start burning stored up fat - which happens only after your body has used up all of it's stored glucose. Two pretty big benefits right there.

#3 - Drink a Green Drink Every Day

This habit is really just about getting an extra serving of veggies into your day. I'm not a juicer. Fresh pressed juice is expensive, and I don't want to buy a juicer because I hear it takes a ton of fruit/veggies to make a single glass of juice, and then you have all the leftover bits of the veggies to clean up. Smoothies, on the other hand, are delicious and relatively cheap to make at home. Plus, Ez loves them so much, so he and I are both benefiting from this habit. 

Here's our current fave smoothie recipe, which I'll call a Cold-Busting Tropical Smoothie:

- 2-3 large handfuls of spinach

- 1 banana

- 3-4 fresh pineapple spears

- 2 large spoonfuls of plain Greek yogurt

- 1 tbsp of flaxseed

- enough Trop50 orange juice to blend it all up at your desired consistency

(can you tell I'm not big on measurements??)

This makes about two servings, and Ez usually gulps his down without pausing to breathe.

#4 - Walk 3 Miles Everyday

This isn't one of Food Babe's goals, but I think it's important to get some activity everyday, especially since I'm pregnant. The official goal for weight loss/maintenance is to walk 5 miles everyday, and I do often walk that far, but 3 is my easy minimum that I shoot for daily. A few times a week Ez and I will walk about 2.5 miles around our neighborhood, and most days I walk anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour on the treadmill while Ez is napping. I definitely have to make this a priority in order for it to get done, but now that it's become a habit it's really easy. I don't have a fancy pedometer or anything, I just use Map My Walk to keep track of outdoor walks. Ez needs to get outside and run around the park anyway, so it's not a big deal for me to walk him there instead of driving. 

So those are the 4 healthy goals I've actually stuck with since the New Year. An extra goal that I've been trying to remember to do (and slipping up a lot) is to drink my 8 glasses of water each day. I have the big, reusable water glasses that I fill up each day, but somehow I still often only get to 6 or 7. I'll keep working on that one!

Any easy health resolutions you've added to your routine this year?

1 Year Postpartum Weight Loss + Recovery Reflections

2 days postpartum (not sure why my lips look blue??) vs. 1 year postpartum

One whole year of being a mom...wow. What an amazing year it has been. Books and advice really can't prepare you for the changes that happen once you take on the role of parent, least of all the changes that happen to your body after pregnancy. During my pregnancy I was all about researching my symptoms and learning how Ezzy was developing from a little tadpole creature, to an alien-looking creature, and finally to a sweet baby in my womb. I did a little bit of research on childbirth and delivery, but my mindset about that was more along the lines of ignorance is bliss. I didn't want to psych myself out by reading labor horror stories. One thing that I neglected to research at all was what happens to your (my) body postpartum. So quite a few things took me by surprise. I should probably warn you now that there's a lot of yucky stuff that you may not want to be reminded of from your own postpartum recovery, or, if you're a guy, you may just want to skip this post altogether. Here's a list of things I wish I was a little more prepared for:

1. Even with a natural (i.e. - vaginal) delivery, the recovery still takes awhile. I knew that if I had to have a c-section, I'd be pretty sore and useless for at least a month. The ectopic surgery I had was very similar to a c-section, and walking, sitting, laughing...pretty much anything that involved my abs (which is everything) was painful for at least a month. But I'd read that many women who have vaginal deliveries are "up and walking around" on the same day, so I thought, great, I'll avoid a c-section and be back to my normal self within a few hours of delivery. (Seriously, I actually thought that?!?) What they didn't mention is that you'll be walking at about .2 miles per hour, and even at that pace it's painful. 

2. Going to the bathroom for the first time after delivery sucks. Apparently all the pressure put on those muscles during delivery makes it very difficult to have your first bowel movement. Plus, with the tear and stitches and pain down there, I was really dreading my first bowel movement. I took a few doses of milk of magnesia, and after a day or two that worked for me, and it wasn't as painful as I had built it up in my head to be. 

3. After 9 months without a period, your body will make it up to you right after childbirth by bleeding for months. That's what it feels like anyway. I think I bled for at least 6 weeks afterwards. And the first few days after childbirth is so bad they pretty much give you adult diapers to wear at the hospital. 

4. Your body still looks 6 months pregnant when you leave the hospital. I had actually read that beforehand, so I was expecting to have a swollen uterus. Except in my case, after 2 straight days on IV fluids, I still looked 8 or 9 months pregnant. My cankles hadn't shrunk at all. I had Fred Flintstone feet. My face was puffier than before I went to the hospital. That "dress" I'm wearing in the picture on the left is actually a nightgown (and one of the few things that fit), and the sandals I'm wearing are the only pair that fit me. I took water pills for about a week and the puffiness went away to the point that I could wear some of my shoes again. My uterus was still huge for another month or two though. 

5. My eyes were bloodshot for a week because I burst all the blood vessels while pushing. I don't know how they expect you to push for 10 seconds straight without breathing, take a deep breath, and do it again three times in a row without bursting your blood vessels. I should also point out that this method is the exact thing they told us not to do in our child birth classes. They said it's an outdated method and it doesn't get the baby out any faster than if you were to breathe while pushing. But the doctors and nurses yelled at me when I stopped to take a breath, so I did it their way. That was probably my biggest complaint about my doctor during this whole process. 

6. There's an old wives tale that says you lose a tooth for every child you have, and that totally happened to me (well, I need a root canal). I'm sure I can't blame it all on the pregnancy, though the timing was suspicious.

7. Also, without warning your hair starts falling out by the handful around 3 months postpartum. I still remember being in Target with Joe and he started picking hair after hair off the back of my shirt. It's like the hairs were just leaping off my head with no provocation whatsoever. For a few months after that, every time I brushed or ran my hand through my hair I'd have a gerbil-sized clump of hair in my hand/brush. I had to start collecting my hairs in the shower otherwise we would have had some major plumbing issues. This is all hormonal, so I can't be sure any of the measures I took had any effect, or if it's just the result of my hormones going back to normal on their own, but I made an effort to remember my vitamin every day, and I started using this Lush Roots hair mask, which has a ton of mint in it and feels nice and tingly on my scalp. Now I have 2 inch hairs all over my head that like to curl or stick straight up, which means that hats are my new best friend.

8. Everyone has seen the celebrity stories of moms who lose weight within weeks (or hours) of giving birth. I was realistic enough to know that my body doesn't work that way, so instead I listened to the advice that it takes 9 months to put on the weight, so you should give yourself 9 months to take it off. Well, 9 months later I was still about 7 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight, and 12 - 15 pounds away from my pre-surgery weight (which is my goal weight). I gained 50 pounds, so it took me one full year to lose all that weight (and I'm still working on the last 5 pounds to get to my pre-surgery weight/normal weight). If I had gained the recommended 35 pounds, I think I would have been back to my pre-pregnancy weight within a few months, but I would've been much squishier than before. Breastfeeding has not been a magical diet aid for me. The first 25 pounds melted off, so at first I thought the whole breastfeeding-melts-calories thing was true, but then I realized that was mostly Ezzy weight and water weight. After that I went about a month without losing any weight at all, and finally came to the realization that losing the weight was gonna take some work.

I started logging my calories (using MyFitnessPal) and making an effort to get off the couch and move every now and then. To start with I would strap Ezzy to my chest using the Bjorn carrier and then walk slowly around the neighborhood. Eventually (maybe 3 or 4 months postpartum), I hopped on the treadmill for short (5 minute jogs) mixed with walking during Ezzy's naps. Keep in mind that my initial jogging pace (4 mph) was more like a brisk walk. In fact, now I walk at that pace at an incline for my warmup. I didn't really restrict calories, my goal was just to keep them around 2,000. Every day I set these 4 small goals for myself:

• drink 8 glasses of water
• 2,000 calories
• workout (or walk) 30 minutes
• eat 8 servings fruits/veggies

I still ate dessert and we still ate out so my weight loss was slow but consistent, at a rate of 2-3 pounds per month. Also, my workouts have been short but consistent. I have to be able to fit them in during naptime, because I generally don't like to cut into family time once Joe is home in the evening. The treadmill has been my best workout tool, but I also like YouTube videos (blogilates & barre workouts), as well as some dance dvds or wii games, and some Jillian Michaels or strength training using dumbbells. On days when Ezzy doesn't nap, we'll take a walk, and a lot of times we'll go for a family walk after dinner too.

Before pregnancy, if I knew it would take a year to lose the weight, I think it would have really upset me, but now that Ezzy is here it really doesn't bother me too much. He's such a great source of joy that it would be silly to get upset over something small like my weight. And Joe always makes me feel beautiful, even when I didn't fit into most of my clothes and my hair was falling out by the handful. He's such a catch - I really got lucky with him.

So there you have it, all the things I kinda wish I'd known going into postpartum recovery. I know all women and all pregnancies are different though, so when/if we have another one, who knows if I'll go through these experiences again, or if a whole new crop of issues will come up?

Foodie Friday: 4 Interesting Ways to Eat Cauliflower

Cauliflower crust pizza

I have never been a huge fan of cauliflower, probably because the only way I've eaten it is raw on a party platter with ranch dip. But lately I've been seeing tons of cauliflower recipes floating around Pinterest, so if you're interested to know how they actually taste, I've tested a few out for you.

Cauliflower fried "rice"

1. The first recipe I've tried, and my hands down favorite, is this cauliflower fried rice. When I first read the ingredients list, I figured there was no way it could be that simple and actually taste like fried rice. I even almost bought a ready-made packet of fried rice seasoning at the grocery store, but it was not vegetarian. So I decided to do something I almost never do and I followed the recipe exactly. I'm so glad I did. It takes about 15 minutes to make and tastes amazing. I don't have to trick Joe into eating veggies, but I really think you could trick someone into thinking they're eating rice instead of cauliflower. I've made it at least half a dozen times and Joe and I both love it. For anyone who cares about calorie-related stuff, one cup is about 85 calories, compared with 220 calories for a cup of generic fried rice at a restaurant.

2. I bought some purple cauliflower at the farmer's market, and I wasn't really feeling purple fried rice, so I decided it was time to branch off and try something new. That's where this cauliflower crust pizza comes into play (photo above). I used almost the whole head of cauliflower, so I doubled the rest of the ingredients and made two medium/smallish-sized crusts. Unlike the cauliflower fried rice, I don't think you can trick someone into thinking they're eating real pizza. While it is possible to pick up and eat with your hands, it's much easier to eat with a fork. The consistency isn't quite the same as regular pizza dough, but the taste is really yummy. And it's only 265 calories for the whole personal-size cauliflower pizza, compared with about 600 for a Pizza Hut personal-sized cheese pizza, so I'll definitely be making this again.

"Rice" Stuffed Peppers - (it tastes more appetizing than it looks, I promise!)

3. As a variation on the cauliflower fried rice, I "riced" some cauliflower and sauteed it with soy chorizo, onions, corn, and mushrooms. I added that mixture to bell pepper halves, topped it with some enchilada sauce, and cooked it in the slower cooker on low for about 5 hours. I added cheese for the last fifteen minutes. Once again, so yummy and so filling! (240 cals per pepper half.)

Cheesy Cauliflower Bites

4. The most recent recipe I've tried are these cheesy cauliflower bites. They looked like a vegetarian version of kid comfort food, and they didn't disappoint. They came together really fast, I liked the texture, and they were very flavorful. In the future I'll experiment with different seasonings - maybe a cajun/spicy flavor for next time? These are only 98 calories per 6 nuggets. 

Another recipe that I'm excited to try, but haven't gotten around to making yet:

• Creamy Cauliflower Sauce (as an alfredo substitute).

Next up, Joe and I are working our way through Buzzfeed's 21 High Protein Vegetarian Meals.

Losing the Weight Breastfeeding...

...is a myth. When I heard stories of how the weight would just melt off if you breastfeed, it sounded too good to be true, and it turns out that it is (just an fyi - I'm not breastfeeding just to lose weight, but it definitely would have been a welcome bonus). The first two weeks I lost all kinds of weight, so I was hopeful there would be some truth to it. Turns out that weight was mainly Ezzy (almost 8lbs), the amniotic fluid, and all the water weight I was carrying around those last few weeks. Ezzy will be 7 weeks on Monday and I haven't lost a single pound since week 2, so it's on to plan B for losing the weight: salads + working out. I'm curious if anyone out there actually has lost weight from breastfeeding, and if so, how long did it take?

Thankfully all this summertime heat is perfect for a yummy, refreshing salad. We've also developed a bit of an obsession with the salad bar at Whole Foods (if driving all the way to Pasadena three times in the last week counts as an obsession). Ezzy loves it there too, as you can see in the pic above.

Mmmm:

Grilled Veggies, Sauteed Mushrooms, Pineapple, Tofu, Hardboiled Egg & Tangerine Dressing

Same salad as before + strawberries, cabbage, southwest couscous & veggie samosa

Joe's Pasta + Indian Food

Joe's food, round 2

Joe's food, round 3 (mmm, spaghetti squash)

Grilled pineapple & veggies, kobucha, sauteed mushrooms, oranges, beans, & tangerine dressing (love that stuff!)

Claim Jumper has a pretty good salad bar too:

 

And we even got these fancy salad bowls from Cost Plus to make eating salads at home more appealing:

Stirfry veggies, pineapple, fake chicken, brown rice, spinach, & sweet chili dressing

Veg Recipe of the Week: Sweet Chili Tropical Salad

Now that I'm in my third trimester and back from vacation, I'm easing back into healthy eating. The second trimester was a free-for-all, and even though part of my brain knew that you could gain weight that quickly, the majority of my brain is shocked at how much weight I gained in three short months. That was my inspiration for the February Salad Challenge, and so far I've been doing pretty well. I don't eat a salad as a meal every single day, but it does happen most days, and there have even been days where I've eaten spinach at breakfast, lunch, and dinner (not by itself, of course).

In honor of my salad month, I'm going to share one of my new favorite salad combinations for this week's Veg Recipe. It all started in Kaua'i with the salad above, which I ordered on our first full day there at a burger restaurant in Poi'pu. This salad is a Nina special - I mixed and matched several salad toppings from about three different salads on their menu. And then (this is the best part), instead of the balsamic dressing I asked for on the side, I poured on the leftover sweet chili sauce that came with our onion ring appetizer. The end result: grilled mahi mahi, pineapple, shredded carrots, tomatoes, croutons, spring greens, and the magical sweet chili sauce.

Since I've been home, I've purchased a few bottles of sweet chili sauce and recreated this salad a few different ways. As long as the two main ingredients are there (pineapple + chili sauce), it always tastes delicious.

Variation 1: Side Salad with sliced red peppers, spinach, pineapple, & chili sauce:

Variation 2: Side salad above + Gardein Chicken (minus the sauce that comes with the chicken):

Joe used to love eating the chili sauce with chicken, but now that's he's vegetarian he's gotten into the habit of eating it with veggies too. Trust us and try it, it's soooo good!

And here's a little update on some of my other salads of the month:

1. Chuck E Cheese Salad Bar: romaine, spinach, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, light ranch dressing, cottage cheese, gold fish, and jello salad (not pictured)
2.  Crab Cake Salad from Sesame Grill on Valentine's Day: two crab cakes, spring mix, shredded carrots, one sliced tomato, delicious sweet creamy dressing (not too much - just the right amount), and little flowers and grass adornments (I don't eat those)
3. Red Robin Southwest Salad with Fried Fish (instead of chicken): mixed greens, black beans, fried jalapenos (gave most of those to Joe), avocado, cheese & tortilla strips (took most of those off), fried fish (only ate one piece - tasted really salty to me), and salsa as dressing
4. Sweet Chili "Chicken" Salad
5. Sweet Potato Bean Veggie Pattie + avocado, mixed veggies, and a kale salad mix from Costco all sauteed with salsa, and then topped with more salsa and a slice of american cheese
6. Blueberry Mac Nut Salad: spinach tossed with a spoonful of honey greek yogurt, blueberries, pineapple tidbits + the juice they came in, and crushed honey macadamia nuts. Yum!! This was unexpectedly good. I was craving a fruit salad, and decided to add spinach to make it a "real" salad. The only ingredient I wish I could have added was coconut (I went out and bought some later, so I will have to make this again)
7. Sauteed Veggie & Hummus Salad: zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers sauteed with parsley and pepper for a few minutes, then tossed with spinach and eggplant hummus (from Trader Joe's) - so good!
8. Spanish Rice Salad + Black Bean Enchilada - Instead of a full serving of rice, I just used a spoonful as a topping to my salad, along with spinach, salsa, and sauteed bell pepper
9. Pineapple Chili Salad

27/28 Weeks Bump Update

27 weeks pregnant

We're back!! Kauai was amazing and I'll be sure to post lots of pics later this week. For now, I'm going to combine weeks 27 and 28 for the bump update:

Total Weight Gain: I ate ice cream every day for a week, so I'm not going near a scale.
Maternity Clothes: I got good use out of the summer maternity clothes Luana gave me on our vacation.
Symptoms: Nothing too bad. A little acid reflux and I'm peeing more often than usual.
Best Moment of the Week: Our entire week in Kauai was amazing, I couldn't pick just one moment.
What We're Reading & Watching this Week: Still working on the Constant Princess. We were constantly on the go so I didn't do much reading in Kauai.We did play a lot of Unblock Me on Joe's iPad and we discovered that I am the puzzle master.
Food Cravings: Macadamia nut ice cream and coconut french toast with coconut syrup. I want some right now... Luckily I brought some coconut syrup back with me.
Exercise: We did some snorkeling, some kayaking and some hiking. This week I'm back to wearing my pedometer and plan on going to the gym tonight.
What I Miss: Not peeing all the time and not getting winded walking up a flight of stairs.
Happy or Moody? Happy :)
Movement: Yep, he's an active lil guy.
Looking Forward to: I'm missing Hawaii :( The next exciting steps for us will be moving and birthing classes (hopefully both will take place in March). Oh yeah, and it's almost V-day!

Also, I didn't forget about my goal to eat one salad per day (as a meal) while I was on vacation. However, I'm a lil behind, so it looks like I need about two days of two salads to make it to 28 this month. Here's a glimpse of some Kauai salads:

Mmm, Salads

1. Caesar Salad and Garlic Bread
2. Round Table Salad Bar: Bell Pepper, Carrots, Egg, Onions, Croutons, Cherry Tomatoes & Jello Salad
3. Kauai Luau (I count this as salad cause most of my plate is veggies): romaine, cucumbers, hawaiian sweet potato, mixed veggies, mahi mahi, mac salad & mashed potatoes
4. Sauteed Mushroom Salad
5. Pineapple Fish Salad with Sweet Chili Sauce (my new fave salad ever!)
6. Tropical Fruit Salad (with Papaya, Pineapple, Banana, & Oranges)

Date Night & February's Goal

For Thursday's Date Night we got a Bloomspot deal for an Italian restaurant in West Hollywood: Marco's Trattoria. The indoor seating was limited - they only had a few two-seat tables, and two large party tables. When we got there the place was empty, but by the time we were being served dinner, only outdoor seating was available. Joe got mushroom lasagna with a pink sauce, which was delicious (I sampled it too). I got lobster ravioli with a lobster sauce - sooooo good! There were big chunks of lobster in the sauce and I devoured the whole thing. Dessert was cannoli, which neither of us had tried before. While I'm sure it was good as far as cannolis go, I don't think either of us is eager to try cannolis again. The filling was very rich, and the crispy pastry didn't do it for me - not that that stopped us from eating the whole thing.

February's Goal: Eat Salad

This week has been eh, as far as eating my veggies goes. I remember the days when I used to eat at least one salad per day. So since this is a brand new month, I figured it's the perfect time to set a new goal: one salad as a meal per day for all of February. I put together a little inspiration collage of some of my favorite salads, as well as salads that I pinned to a Salad board on Pinterest and have been meaning to try.

(From Top, Left to Right): Crab Cake Salad from Sesame Grill; Beet, Lentil, Goat Cheese Salad from Cafe Med; Citrus Kale Salad, Grilled Peach & Mozzarella Salad; Summer Berry & Cottage Cheese Salad; Inside Out Chinese Spring Roll Salad; Vegetarian Cobb Salad; Vegetarian Taco Salad, Falafel Salad.