Yesterday morning it was overcast, windy and so cool – almost felt like fall, which is my favorite season. We had the windows open and it felt so nice not to have the air on. Well, that was short lived! All of a sudden the sun came out, and with it the heat and humidity. But since I was cooking throughout the day, we managed to keep the air off until about 9:00 last night!
We decided to eat lunch out, so I just had a piece of cheese toast for breakfast:
We ended up at the Lucky Monk for lunch. As much as I wanted one of their signature burgers, I decided to have a cup of soup and the hummus appetizer. The server said their soup of the day was chicken tortilla. Um, turns out it was baked potato, so that’s what I had. It was really creamy and delicious, although I did have to add some Tabasco for a kick!
We actually were going to see a movie, but we had over an hour to kill, so we nixed that idea. We went to the new giant Whole Foods in Schaumburg!
Look at all the cheese Melinda! Speaking of Melinda – she’s have her first blogaversary and has an interesting giveaway – go check it out! 😀
And Tony got a pistacio gelato – I had a couple bites and it was amazing! Actually the one I had a tiny spoonful as a sample was salted caramel and that was delicious!
We were actually by Tony’s old stomping grounds as a boy – I thought I would post a couple pictures that his family might like to see – the first two are two houses Tony lived in as a boy, and the third one is his jr. high:
Since it was so cool in the morning I made buffalo chicken chili for dinner – I had every intention of making it chili mac and when I brought it to the table, Tony was like “where are the noodles?” I completely forgot! By this time mind, you, it was about 85 degrees in the house and we were both sweating while eating the chili!
So how was my kitchen Bizzy yesterday?
- I made the BSI Turkish Boregi
- I made two loaves of my MIL’s banana bread to send to my step-son Joe
- I made a huge tray of zucchini enchiladas, although I added chicken to half of them
- I made creamy black beans (recipe to come)
- I made a black bean, cucumber, tomato, avocado salad (recipe to come)
- I made 5 pounds of ground beef for my taco bar at lunch
- I made the buffalo chicken chili for dinner
- I made a Tres Leches cake for dessert at work
I think I need to count my calories over the weekend – I shouldn’t have stepped on the scale yet, but after not having cocktails and working out so much this past week, I thought maybe I would have a loss. Nope. Somehow I gained two pounds! I was 171 this morning, WTF?
I am not going to let this discourage me though – and have decided not to weigh myself until my next quarterly doctor appointment which isn’t until November 3! I did really well this last week: I worked out every day but yesterday (Sundays are going to be my rest day – oh, I forgot to mention I biked outside for 50 minutes on Saturday!) and I don’t think my calories were above 1800 the whole week, and I worked out three times that day!
So here’s to another week – let’s all make it a good one! 😀
I’m glad you are going to forgo the scale for a while…with all of your workouts, it’s counter-intuitive at this point. Just go by how loose your clothes are getting. Don’t let a stupid number on a stupid machine (gee, think I have some issues? lol) discourage you one bit!
I love wandering around Whole Foods too! And what a cool twist on traditional chili – yum!
there have been quite a few times that i have gained after a big week of working out, but then i lose it fast, dont get discouraged just yet. love what’s coming out of your kitchen.
wow, that is one yummy and bizzy kitchen you have there 🙂
The only thing I don’t like about fall is that winter is right after it!!!
i love visiting new whole foods. that one looks humongous!
Sounds like a very bizzy kitchen and a very busy day. Chili sounds yummy.
I’ve never heard of Lucky Monk but I’ll have to try it one day! It always ends up being such a hassle to drive over that way because of traffic, but I hope we can visit one day! Thanks for the recommendation!
Wowza you cooked up a storm yesterday and it all sounds good 🙂
Maybe with all the excersize you are doing you are not eating enough – just a thought cause some day’s you are working out 3 times 🙂
Have a great week.
Wow. Bizzy indeed! I remember the first time I saw pistachio as a flavor for gelato and thought it was strange. Now I love the stuff!
You are seriously busy!
I weighed myself yesterday and was up a pound (which sucks because it took me FOREVER to lose that stupid pound.) It’s so frustrating sometimes. I decided to stop weighing weekly because I flucuate so easily!
Sounds like my kind of bizzy day in the kitchen!!
Hope your lunch at work turns out great and they appreciate your efforts!
Thanks for commenting on my blog last week! That chili looks amazing!!! Hubby never wants chili unless it’s cold, and right now it’s definitely not cold at all. I of course, could eat it all the time!
Tres Leches cake sounds amazing! Would you share the recipe with us?
Wow – thanks for the pictures. We lived on Clarendon from Aug of 1966 thru June of 1971. We lived on Knightsbridge from 1971 thru 1983. We could identify all those bushes we planted. They are a little overgrown.
You sure cooked up a storm. It feels good to do that. I am sure everyone will enjoy the fruits of your labor.
They did – it was a complete success! Thought you would like to see the old houses Bonnie!
Oh these cheese case, yum yum. I am actually glad that in a few hours I am heading to the big grocery store in Angra (about 20 mins away) and they have like 3 aisles of cheese. I am thinking I may need to buy some, although that could be dangerous. Thanks for mentioning my giveaway.
Cool pics of Tony’s “history”. Have a great day.
As you know I had the same problem. I had a great week, but ended up gaining. Who knows why our bodies do what they do. I’ll bet you’ll have a great weigh in at your next appointment. 🙂
Wowza! You were busy!! You accomplished a lot and looks like you had fun! That Whole Foods looks great! I didn’t know there was a new one there!
I normally cook like that every single weekend. You should have seen the look on Mr. Helen’s face when he came through the door after work last night and I said, ‘I didn’t cook. I went to the beach today.’ Which means this week will be an eating adventure since I have nothing prepared!
Let’s make this a good week, the scale be damned!
I love a good Sunday in the kitchen too…but I hope you didn’t get too hot! I gained two pounds this past week too…and I am choosing to blame my hormones. All totally hormones. Nothing to do with the four-pound bag of jelly beans we USED to have 🙂
I love cool, fall like temps!
Wow, busy lady!! I was just thinking about how I love to be in the kitchen all day – so relaxing to me!
So excited for your creamy black bean recipe! Staying tuned…
As for the scale, yeah, I say ditch it. I haven’t been on it in a while and I am feeling more in control and able to trust myself around food than any other time in my life! I’m trying to learn not to let that scale define me! Healthy living doesn’t have to be a number!