Simple Egg Salad Sandwiches {Recipe}

Every Sunday morning I go to the farmers’ market. There is one right on the corner of my block. Today I got delicious fresh bread from Bread Alone (Whole Wheat Catskill Bread) and eggs from my favorite organic stand.

In my fridge I have a jar of homemade dill pickles from Maria.

Of course I had to make egg salad.

We each ended up having 2x what you see here. (Bobby’s is the one with sriracha, mine is the regular.)

Simple Egg Salad Sandwiches

egg salad

Ingredients

  • 5 small-medium eggs (if you have bigger eggs, 4 will suffice)
  • 3-4 tablespoons mayo (don’t skimp – this is what makes it good)
  • 2 teaspoons mustard
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickle
  • < 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt (you don’t need much; the pickles have salt)
  • pepper to taste
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar (optional – if you want more tang)

Directions

To hard-boil the eggs:  put eggs in a pan in water with ~1 inch of water above them. Turn the heat to high. Once boiling, let it boil for one minute. Remove from heat and let them sit in the hot water for ~15 minutes. Then dunk in ice-cold water for 3-5 minutes. (This makes it easier to take the shell off.) Crack the shell and remove it.

Chop the eggs in small pieces. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Serve on top of fresh bread.

Do you like egg salad? What do you put in your favorite version?

What I Ate Wednesday

I had to keep track of what I ate for a day for something, so I figured – why not take pictures and post a What I Ate Wednesday?

Breakfast:

breakfast

This is 1 scrambled egg with some swiss (Jarlsberg) and sauteed onions. I also had a slice of whole grain toast with butter, a pear (some of it is unpictured – I was snacking as I prepped the plate), some sliced tomato (from Maria’s garden in NJ – Maria is my Grammie’s caretaker), sauteed onions, and sauerkraut (homemade by Maria).

It was really delicious. I have been eating a lot of sauerkraut lately because Maria gave me a big container of it.

I also had an unpictured 1/2 cup of coffee with coconut creamer.

Lunch:

lunch

This was from a place called Essen. They have a hot/cold bar so I got a little bit of everything – salad, fish, chicken, cauliflower, and a piece of a turkey wrap.

Unpictured lunch dessert: iced coffee with cream + 1 mini reeses cup.

Afternoon snack: the picture came out terribly, so I will just explain – I had some veggie sides from an organic store a few blocks from my office. A couple squashes (kabocha and acorn) and a small scoop of curry stew.

Dinner: was with Bobby and a friend at Bareburger. (The friend recently got a job at my company and he wanted to take us out.) I got the “California” burger with a farmers quinoa veggie burger. It came in a lettuce wrap with avocado, cheddar, watercress, and tomato (hold the onions). We all shared the rings & fries side with assorted ketchups. (These are not my pictures; I didn’t really want to bust out the camera in public.)

veggie-burger

(source)

rings-fries

(source)

Dessert: was a couple small peaches from my Grammie’s peach tree. Another NJ find.

By the time we got home it was late and B and I both crashed into bed. Another productive Wednesday 🙂

What is your favorite kind of burger?

Mine is anything with avocado / bacon / cheese!

Keri’s 8 Foods Cleanse [The New You (and improved!) Diet]

A few weeks ago I received a copy of Keri Glassman’s new book, The New You and Improved Diet: 8 Rules to Lose Weight and Change Your Life Forever (it’s on the the Kindle too).

new-you-and-improved-diet

I was very excited for this book because Keri’s 3 taglines for this book are:

  • Eat more, not less!
  • Catch some zzz’s!
  • And have more sex (you heard me!)

Sounds like a plan anyone in their right mind would want to follow and enjoy following – nothing like the typical restrictive diet.

Keri catapults you right into her plan. She intros a quickstart “Eight Foods Cleanse” early on – page 27 to be exact. I figured if I am going to give this book a proper review (to come…) I should at least try out the cleanse. To be honest, I haven’t ever really followed a proper “diet” plan. I generally just try to eat less/move more. I’m really interested to see if I feel any different at the end of this “cleanse”. In the past I’ve tried doing the “raw/juicing” thing, “macrobiotic“, etc…

Cleanse… yes, that word with bad connotations. Keri’s 8 Foods Cleanse is not really a cleanse in the usual sense of the word – no long days of sipping juices with your stomach rumbling – this cleanse is simply eating a few simple, wholesome foods for just 4 short days.

I am jumping right in today, though I did make a few mods based on what I had in my kitchen this morning (yes this was a last minute decision). I’ll go shopping tonight for the proper ingredients! Here’s what my day will look like:

  • Breakfast is 1 egg and 2 egg whites with black pepper and ground black sesame (those spices are my own touch on this). I’m also having a cup of organic coffee with unsweetened almond milk and this chocolate stevia (Thanks Ron!). (Keri’s plan doesn’t include coffee… I am easing my way into this, so I’m gonna have it for now.)
  • No morning snack – I have breakfast ~10am so there is no time for a snack before lunch.
  • Lunch – a salad of romaine, seaweed, tomato, apple (leftovers) + 1/2 cup chickpeas + 1 hard boiled egg + 2 teaspoons EVOO. (Yum!)
  • Snack: 1 Ronnybrook plain whole milk yogurt with cinnamon. (This is what I have in the fridge – this is off plan.)
  • Dinner: TBD – Salmon & greens I believe, and I need to go get an avocado.

This cleanse may be a little low in calories, but it’s only 4 days – and after a few months of indulging (during renovations we didn’t have a kitchen – and even if you’re careful, eating out for every single meal can get really old really fast). I think I can follow it for 4 days and then start adding in more of Keri’s favorite Empowering Foods.

I’ll be back later with my take on the rest of Keri’s Diet Rules – one of them is “Clean Out Your Closet” – so you know I am gonna love it.

Quinoa: 10 Reasons to Love It

First, happy Friday! I know I’m excited for the weekend. Work has been crazy as usual so it will be nice to get a rest. I have a Guster concert tonight that I’m really psyched about and tomorrow I am going to my hometown in NJ for my bridesmaid’s baby shower (it’s a boy!). On Sunday Bobby and I are going to a family dinner here in NYC and I’m also hoping to find a way to get in at least two yoga classes this weekend (haven’t been in over a week). But anyway, onto the topic for today…

Here are 10 reasons to start eating quinoa – NOW.

tricolor-quinoa-trader-joes

(source)

1. It’s filling. The protein + fiber in quinoa will satisfy your hunger and keep you full longer.

2. It’s packed with protein. One cup of cooked quinoa has just over 8 grams of protein (source). Divide your body weight (in pounds) by 2 and that is approximately how many grams of protein you should aim for. For women, between 50-75 grams is probably plenty.

3. It’s delicious. I will never say no to a big bowl of quinoa.

4. You’ll stay slim eating quinoa. What helps me lean out when I’ve been over-indulging? Filling grains like quinoa. I can’t get full on veggies alone and quinoa stops my cravings on the spot.

5. Quinoa is a great alternative to other typical grains. Bored of rice, oatmeal, and whole wheat bread? Cook up a batch of quinoa for a chewy, hearty, delicious side dish.

6. It’s versatile – have it for breakfast! Mix quinoa, Greek (or regular) yogurt, some peanut butter, and slice a banana on top. OR try using quinoa flakes to make a healthy breakfast cookie.

14 breakfast coconut cookie 400x265 Coconut Breakfast Cookies Recipe

(^^my breakfast cookies^^)

1 quinoa cookies Womens Work and a Recipe: Quinoa Flake Cookies (Gluten Free)

(^^i also have made gluten-free cookies with quinoa flakes^^)

7. It’s versatile – have it for lunch! Mix quinoa, seaweed salad, a chopped hard-boiled egg, and some lettuce together for a protein-packed & Asian-inspired meal.

01 quinoa tabbouleh 300x225 Quinoa Tabbouleh

(^^or maybe some quinoa tabbouleh?^^)

8. It’s versatile – have it for dinner! Make burritos filled with chili meat (cook chopped onions + turkey + pack of chili spice + can of tomatoes), quinoa, lettuce, cheddar cheese, and avocados.

9. Quinoa is vitamin-rich. I like to get my vitamins from whole-food sources, not a pill. Quinoa has iron, manganese, riboflavin (B2), magnesium, lysene, and more. You can ditch the daily vitamins if you just eat real foods.

10. It’s a prebiotic – good for the digestive system (feeds good bacteria). Your belly will thank you. For those of us with IBS, it’s so important to eat foods that nourish the stomach and intestines. And even if you don’t have IBS, it’s still good to nourish yourself.

So… what are you waiting for? Go get some quinoa! I recently discovered the tri-color quinoa at Trader Joe’s and it is awesome.

{Fun} Birthday Quiz & Perfect Weekend

I saw this survey on debbie’s blog a few days ago and I couldn’t resist.

The Birthday Quiz

A. Age: 26 as of yesterday.
B. Bed size: Queen.
C. Chore that you hate: Cleaning the litter box. (Thanks hon, for relieving me of this duty 9 times out of 10! Love you much.)
D. Dogs: None. (2 cats!)
E. Essential start to your day: Stumptown coffee with milk and stevia; toast with butter; alone time.
F. Favorite color: Purple.
G. Gold or Silver: Platinum.
H. Height: 5’10”
I. Instruments you play: Piano (but not lately) and I sing soprano in 2 choirs (sop 1 in one choir, sop 2 in the other).
J. Job title: Software engineer. (I’m a web developer at a marketing company.)
K. Kids: Someday… soon?
L. Live: NYC – UES.
M. Mother’s name: Same as mine! Different nickname though.
N. Nicknames: Maggie, Meg, Magpie, Mags.
O. Overnight hospital stays: None that I know of. When I was born I guess.
P. Pet peeves: chewing with your mouth open. Having to repeat myself because you weren’t listening. These are the general yous, not you the reader specifically 😉
Q. Quote from a movie: “It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.” — Dumbledore (in the HP movie)
R. Right or left handed: Right.
S. Siblings: 2 – a younger brother (3 years younger) and a younger sister (6.5 years younger).
T. Time you wake up: Generally sometime between 7:30 and 8:30 am. Later if I had a late night.
U. Underwear: Uniqlo.
V. Vegetable you hate: Hrm… none? I used to hate baby corn but I love it now. I don’t really like mushy peas, does that count?
W. What makes you run late: Sometimes I start cleaning and I get distracted and I end up looking at the time and I should have left for work 30 minutes ago. Or getting back in bed in the morning to snuggle with Bobby before I go.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: At the dentist (many times – a little less than yearly I think) and at the chiropractor once.
Y. Yummy food that you make: Everything? Hehe – I kid, I kid. I made a pretty good broccoli soup last week, and I have been making some yummy gazpacho this summer. I make good eggs with goat cheese and I also make killer roasted veggies.
Z. Zoo animal: I don’t believe in zoos.

I had a great birthday weekend. Friday night I took Friday Night Flow at Pure with my Ashtanga teacher (I haven’t been to ashtanga in a while). Then I met up with Bobby and we grabbed a quick dinner at Kobeyaki – think Chipotle but for Japanese food. I got the shrimp teriyaki on brown rice and a seaweed salad on the side. (B got the chicken teriyaki and a beer.)

We later hit up Rockwood (a live music place with a bar) and saw the Delta Saints – I’d never heard of them but they were awesome. They are from Nashville, TN. I listened to their stuff online when we got back but they were much better live, so if you ever have a chance to see them definitely go. They are incredibly talented. The singer’s voice is great, the guitarist is great, the bassist too, the drummer, and there is another guy who plays a bunch of random instruments including harmonica – he was awesome too.

Saturday I went to hot yoga in the morning, sat at a bank doing stuff for my co-op (I’m on the board), and my mom came into town for the day. We got a delicious lunch at Pret a Manger – love this place. My mom told them it was my birthday (embarrassing! kind of) and they gave me a cookie. I got the turkey-basil-hummus wrap and a decaf.

We went out to Brooklyn where we met up with Bobby’s cousins (from Japan). Walked around a bit, then came back to the city. That evening was pretty chill.

Then this morning we went to Le Pain Quotidien with my mom (I got a soft-boiled egg and bread) before she headed back to NJ. B and I went to central park and tossed a frisbee around and I did some yoga in the park. We walked around before coming home. It’s a gorgeous day in NYC today. Crisp and cool (not too cool), not humid, sunny – the perfect weather. We stopped at Williams Sonoma and got a few kitchen items, and grabbed dogs at Grey’s Papaya before heading back to our apartment.

Now that I’m home, honestly I want to take a nap! But I think I will do some food prep for the week and maybe do some reading.

All in all a lovely weekend. It is SO nice to have almost nothing planned for once. I have got to stop booking up my free time. I am very content to meander with my husband and just enjoy not having anything specific to do.

What did you do this weekend? Do you overbook yourself? What are your answers to the quiz?