It’s sweet, it’s refreshing, and it’s…GREEN? Yup, it’s a Green Monster Smoothie!

I know most of you reading right now are Green Monster experts and enthusiasts, so you’re probably wondering what on earth you could possibly learn from this post. And actually, I don’t think you’ll learn anything you don’t already know. But, I do think you could offer your Green Monster expertise for those less familiar with the wonderfulness that is the GM.

This post is actually written more for my other friends and readers. I have a lot of my Zumba participants, “real life” friends, and blog/twitter friends who either aren’t as familiar with Green Monster smoothies or have possibly never heard of them before.

So, if you’re wondering what the heck a “Green Monster” is, then read on. And if you’re a Green Monster guru, then leave some comment love to share some of your GM-know-how and favorite GM recipes.

So, what is a Green Monster smoothie?

What is it?

A Green Monster smoothie is a healthy smoothie that is bright green in color, thanks to the star ingredient: spinach! Yes…I said “spinach.” Don’t cringe. Honestly…once it’s all blended up with other ingredients, you cannot taste it! I mean, have you ever tried eating just a spinach leaf plain? I have. It didn’t taste like much of anything. So, especially when you blend the spinach up with fruit and milk, you won’t taste it. Mmmkay?

Now, some people will use kale in place of spinach, but personally, I prefer spinach.

Ingredients

There are endless combinations of ingredients to make a GM, but the most basic and common ingredients are:

• Spinach – This is the KEY ingredient – you can use fresh or frozen (I’ve tested it – check out this post), and as I mentioned above, you can substitute the spinach with kale
• Bananas – usually 1 to 2 are used per smoothie, I go with 1 per serving, and I prefer frozen bananas because it makes the texture thicker, not to mention this is a good way to save bananas before they spoil – freeze and save for a smoothie later!
• Milk of choice – dairy milk, soy milk, vanilla rice milk – whatever you fancy, but obviously a sweetened milk will yield a sweeter smoothie
• Ice – to help make the smoothie cold and frosty

Other common GM ingredients:

• Yogurt – makes the smoothie thicker and provides protein and probiotics
• Honey/Agave – liquid sweeteners if you need more sweetness in the smoothie – I think the bananas are sweet enough and if you use a sweetened non-dairy milk, you probably won’t need either of these
• Chia Seeds – a health-food ingredient – If you let it sit in liquid for several minutes, it will plump up and become gelatinous (like a tiny tapioca pearl, for bubble tea fans)
• Nut Butters – peanut butter, almond butter, etc. – for creaminess and healthy nut nutrition
• Other fruits – feel free to add your other favorite fruits – just see the next section on ingredients to avoid when selecting

Ingredients to use in small portions when making GMs:

*Edited: After reading some of the comments, I decided to edit this to warn against using too much of these ingredients instead of avoiding them all together. Thanks guys! *

• Berries – blueberries, raspberries, etc. -because if you use too much, the berries will change the color of the smoothie and it won’t be green or as green
• Other – Pretty much anything with a lot of color that will change the color of the smoothie away from green (trust me, a brown smoothie is not as appealing visually, even if it still tastes amazing…not to mention I wouldn’t call a brown smoothie a “Green” Monster. I’d call that just a smoothie with spinach in it. We should come up with a name for these, right?!)

Once you’re ready to blend, there are a couple tips to keep in mind…

Blending Tips

I like to layer my ingredients in the blender in the following order (and all of these ingredients are not always used, but if I were using them, this is the order I’d go with):

• Spinach – putting this at the bottom helps ensure the leaves are blended instead of flying around the blender and sticking to the sides – if I use frozen, I don’t always add that first since it doesn’t have the same texture as fresh
• Dry ingredients – like flaxseed meal, matcha, etc – same reason as spinach – so it doesn’t get stuck to the sides/lid
• Nut Butters – so it’s less likely to fly up and stick to the sides
• Liquid Sweetener – same as nut butters
• Other small fruits – goji berries, etc.
• Bananas – to weigh spinach down
• Other large fruit – cantaloupe, etc.
• Ice
• Milk of choice

And every blender is different, so settings will vary. I usually just blend away until all the fruit/ice is smooth and all the spinach leaves are blended so small, I don’t see individual pieces, just smooth greenness. This usually only takes 1 or 2 minutes for me.

Why Drink Green Monsters?

First of all, they’re fun to look at and just plain delicious.

After spending a month with my Project Veg-Up challenge focusing on eating lots of fruits and veggies every day, I know that it can sometimes be a struggle, especially on your busiest days to get your full servings for the day. Smoothies are one of the easiest ways to consume fruit. And now thanks to the GM, they can be the easiest way to consume vegetables (at least spinach), too!

So GM smoothies feature spinach, and here’s why spinach is good for you – a quote I’ve shared before from whfoods.com:

Spinach is an excellent source of bone-healthy vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, and calcium; heart-healthy folate, potassium, and vitamin B6; energy-producing iron and vitamin B2; and free radical-scavenging vitamin A (through its concentration of beta-carotene) and vitamin C.

Side note: This is just general info. I know some people are supposed to avoid spinach (doctor’s orders), so obviously, you may want to avoid the GM if this is true for you, too. And, you should always consult with your doctor before making dietary changes. But, I trust that you know what’s best for you.

Basic Green Monster Smoothie Recipe

Green Monster smoothies are beautiful to look at and delicious to drink. And if you’re not sold yet, they’re good for you, too! Drinking GM smoothies is the easiest way I know to get a vegetable serving in for the day. Also, I don’t typically add extra sweeteners to my smoothies, but I’ve included directions below in case you would like to add some to yours.

*Vegan if you use vegan milk*

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 – 2 cups loosely packed spinach (or sub 1/4 cup frozen spinach)
• 1 banana (a frozen banana will give you a thicker consistency, but non-frozen works, too)
• 1 cup milk of choice (dairy, non-dairy, vanilla non-dairy, etc.)
• 2 cubes ice
• sweetener of choice, to taste, optional

Directions:

1. Place spinach, banana, milk, and ice in the blender.
2. Cover and blend until banana/ice is processed and smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Taste test and if desired, blend in sweetener of choice to taste.
3. Enjoy!

Here are more fabulous GM smoothie recipes you may enjoy:

• Cookies ‘N Cream Green Monster – a TCL recipe
• Matcha Green Tea Green Monster – a TCL recipe
• Peppermint Patty Green Monster – Oh She Glows
• Cake Batter Green Monster – Peas and Thank You
• Green Hemp Smoothie – Choosing Raw
• Green Mocha Smoothie – Foodie Fresh
• And I have lots more queued up, so check back soon for more GM love!

*And be sure to check out this site for hundreds of other tasty Green Monster recipes: http://greenmonstermovement.com/ *

Green Monster Virgins: Are you scared of Green Monsters or do you think you’ll try one soon? Why or why not?

Green Monster Gurus: What are you favorite things to add to your GM smoothies? And if you have any GM smoothies (of your own or of others) that you love, please leave the link in a comment!

And for Project Veg-Up(PVU), here’s a specially written guest post by one of my favorite bloggers Katy Widrick. Take it away, Katy!

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Katy Widrick is a vegetarian triathlete who blogs about healthy living and social media at http://katywidrick.com. She’s also founder of #Fitblog Chats on Twitter, which is pro-vegetables!

In all my life, there’s only been one vegetable I didn’t like — in fact, I’d pick it out of foods, trying to avoid even the smallest speck. I’d ask for special preparationat restaurants and I’d walk out of the kitchen when it was being cooked.

I’m talking about the dreaded onion. That tangy, spicy, crunchy enemy of my youth.

But youth is a funny thing. You know how people (parents) always tell you to keep trying things? That one day you’ll like what you currently hate?

I can’t believe it myself, but sometime between the ages of 20 and 25, I fell in love with onions.

Sauteed in stir fries? Yes, please.

Battered and fried? Nommmmm…

Caramelized to dark perfection on sandwiches and pizza? Oh, be still my stomach.

But I could have gone my entire life thinking I was an onion hater. One day, I just didn’t want to go to the effort of picking those bad boys out and I decided to just give in an eat those darn onions. Imagine my surprise when I didn’t just tolerate the vegetables — I relished them.

I’m a veggie freak. I love squash and mushrooms and carrots and potatoes and corn and just about everything under the sun. But if you don’t — I totally understand! All I ask is that you give at least one vegetable a second chance.

My name is Katy. And I love onions.

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Thank you Katy for this fun guest post. Here’s to the veggie freaks! I kind of want to go saute up some onions right now! lol

Click here to check out another fun Project Veg-Up guest post with two recipes!

Note: photo credits -http://123rf.com

Have you ever wanted to try new beauty products but been intimidated by the whole process? From picking out the correct product for your skin, to knowing if it will mesh well, there are all kinds of complications that can arise and send you into a panic. Don’t worry. I have some suggestions.

Read on for the dets, but first…some food photos…

I made a tropical-style bowl of oats with rolled oats, banana, and coconut. I just had to put the creation in my Bahamas bowl.

After my beach vacay most of last week, I wasn’t looking forward to spending a day out of the fun and sun and in my windowless cubicle. But, it did feel good to work my way through my inbox and start being productive at the office.

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After the (what seemed like a longer than normal) work day, I headed to Zumba!

Song #3 was a killer squat song, and I helped co-lead it, which meant I was on the stage in front of all the other participants. This means no half-a$$ing the squats, peeps. I was going all out and it took all the energy from my legs for the rest of class! lol. Thank you Press It Up for kicking my hiney. Phew! It hurts so good, though.

I also really enjoyed doing:

• My First Kiss
• Prumm
• Pompis Pa’Arriba

Hubby was a doll and made dinner yet again – Earthfare salad bar…

…and whole wheat spaghetti with grass-fed beef/tomato sauce.

And for dessert…none other than chocolate chip cookie dough balls! It’s so nice having these back in the house again. I wonder if I’ll be baking these for the rest of my life? Will dough balls be the next jello mold?

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My Secrets to Finding & Testing New Skin Care Products

Consult a Professional

Let me start by admitting that I’m a bit of a make-up/beauty product snob. I had pretty bad acne when I was a kid/teen, and tried nearly every product available at the drug store. What I finally determined was that it was better to consult a professional and pay more for 1 product than try 5 “cheap ones” that didn’t, or only semi, worked.

If you can afford it, definitely see a dermatologist. Actually, it’s safe/best to consult them before making a change to your beauty routine, especially if you have health concerns or sensitive skin.

Either way, the “professional” I’m actually talking about here is the one behind the make-up counter of your favorite shop. Not only are they trained to use the products they’re selling, they are usually expert users of the products. They’ve seen everything come through their shop, and they’ll probably be able to utilize all that training and experience to give you some great help.

Note: If you can pick a product off the shelf at CVS and have it work perfectly, then more power to you. Seriously, I’m jealous. But, if you’re like me…keep reading for more tips. Not to mention, playing with new beauty products can be fun!

Get Referrals

So, like I was saying, check with the consultants of your favorite shop. Now, you may not yet know which shop is your favorite. Or, perhaps you had a favorite, but you want to try something new. Personally, I like to get referrals when I try new products/companies…preferably from people I know and trust (my mom is the one who told me about Origins).

Play the Field

When you are in the market for a new product, the world is your oyster. All the peeps at the make-up counters are ready to help you and will do anything in their power to assist you. Some may be a bit more into pressure sales than others (personally, I find that really annoying and prefer to take my business elsewhere), but don’t cave. Now is the time to play the field, try as many products as you want, and really see what’s out there.

Get a Free Consultation

Almost every make-up counter will do a free consultation, make-over, or mini facial. And places like Sephora and Ulta will be able to provide consultations for lots of different products, sometimes even suggestion a combination of products from multiple companies.

You’ll probably need an appointment, though some places do walk-ins. Your best bet is to call ahead. And while you have them on the phone, you should verify the visit will be free. Some charge money and some have minimum product purchases. Don’t get caught off-guard or allow yourself to be tricked into sales. And yes, this happened to me. I got snookered into purchasing 3 items from a not-so-cheap make-up company. Grr…

Ask Questions

While you’re having your consultation, be sure to ask as many questions as you can think of. You have the expert right there in front of you. Use their knowledge to empower yourself so you can make the best decision. Ask how to use the product (usually they show you this during your consultation), what skin types it’s best for, how long it will last, how much it costs…anything.

Samples First, Purchase Later

Given that my skin isn’t always the most agreeable, I find that I need a couple weeks testing out the product before I commit to purchase. Request free samples. They may not advertise or offer them, but they usually can provide samples. They should be able to either put a small amount in a mini pot, and sometimes they even have sample sized portions pre-packaged (like the plantscriptions sample pictured on this post). Usually, they’ll give you enough to last one week. I can often milk mine to last longer.

Note: While you should play the field and test out multiple products, I don’t recommend mixing the products during test phase, unless you plan to use a mixture of products in the future. In other words, if you want to use Company A’s face wash and Company B’s moisturizer, that’s cool. But, if you’re not sure if you want to buy A or B’s moisturizer, don’t test them both out during the same week – you won’t know which one your skin likes best since you won’t know which one is working or not working.

Taking the Plunge

Test out the product with your samples. Make sure it meshes with your skin. And if you like it…go back and take the plunge by purchasing a new product or two. You don’t have to get everything at once. Sometimes there are discounts for purchasing “start up kits” or multiple products. Usually, you can just add a new product here and there until you have the whole “suite.” Just work with your schedule and budget.

And if you didn’t like the samples, fret not, just go back to playing the field!

You may remember that I was considering buying into a new brand – Origins! After my mom recommended the brand, I researched the product online, but found there were too many options. I went into the store to learn more and got that free mini facial (it was glorious!). I came home with 3 samples: a scrub, a moisturizing mask, and some plantscriptions. I’ve been enjoying using my samples. My skin seems to be taking the new products pretty well so far, so yay! Can you believe I still have some of these samples left!?

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Randomness – A Book & TV Show

I have 14 pages left of Water for Elephants! I tried finishing the book near midnight last night, but I wanted to be fully awake to enjoy the ending. You guys know how I feel about finishing this book, but I’m thinking today is the day. I’m sad the story will be over, but I’m also really excited to see how the book comes to a close. Wheeee!

Also, I’m counting down the days until Drop Dead Diva starts up again. There are few shows that I actually try to watch on a regular basis, but DDD is one of them, and Season 3 starts Sunday!!! They left us with quite the cliff hanger at the end of Season 2, so I’m SO curious to see what happens next. Is he alive? Is he dead? Are you going to tune in?

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What are your tips for finding & testing new beauty/skin care products?

What skin care products/lines do you use?

As my beach vacay was coming to a close and we headed home, I was really looking forward to two things specifically:

Hubby and Bailey!

The comfort of my own bed wasn’t too shabby either.

I got a couple surprise extras, though, thanks to sweet hubby – flowers!

And a local doughnut! Actually, it’s a “honey bun”, but it’s pretty much a doughnut. What a sweet “welcome home”!

Hubby also whipped up a fantastic grilled dinner – grass-fed filet, asparagus, and potatoes. I can’t get enough of those grilled potatoes, for realz! They are so tasty! I’m currently brainstorming ways to create a grilled potato salad. Doesn’t that sound drool-worthy?

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Fruit and Vegetable Servings Sizes

As I mentioned for Project Veg-Up (my challenge for you to eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day in June), you make the rules. If you want to measure your servings, go ahead. If you’re like me and prefer to eye-ball and estimate, that works, too. And if you just want to say “I ate some broccoli – there’s 1 serving”, that’s cool, too. Your game – your rules.

However, if you’re going to estimate or even guess-timate your serving sizes, it may be good for you to know what actual serving sizes are. In fact, you may wish to measure out a couple servings till you get a handle on what the sizes truly are (up to you, though!).

For all things food and health related, I turn to my favorite RD – Ellie Krieger. If you haven’t seen her book, Small Changes, Big Results, you should totally check it out. The book has a wealth of knowledge, including tips, recipes and perhaps one of my favorite things – a factoid-filled appendix. Take a look at the book next time you’re at the book store.

In the interest of keeping things easy, what you basically need to know is that you should shoot for the following for one serving (according to the USDA):

• Vegetables: 1/2 cup of vegetables or 1 cup of raw leafy greens (Ellie says eat as many as you want)
• Fruits: 1/2 cup of fruit or about 1 medium-sized fruit (Ellie says limit this to no more than 4 servings per day)

Ellie compares these portions to a baseball, saying that 1 medium fruit is the size of a baseball and 1/2 cup of fruits/vegetables is 1/2 of a baseball. She also considers fruit and vegetable juices as servings, but I’m shooting to get mine from full versions. Additionally, she actually has different suggestions in her book for serving sizes for some particular fruits, like 1 cup or chopped canteloupe = 1 fruit serving. Click here for a snippet of her book with more info on her take on serving sizes, how you almost can’t eat too many servings of vegetables, as well as why you shouldn’t eat more than 4 fruit servings.

Check out this site (click) for some other useful fruit/vegetable portion ideas. My favorites, that I most commonly consume, are:

• 10 baby carrots
• 1 banana (however Ellie says 1/2 a banana is a fruit serving, though I’m guessing it depends on the size of the fruit)
• 5 broccoli florets
• 1 apple

If you’re searching for additional information on serving sizes, you may notice that they vary a bit. Just go with whatever works best for you and follow whichever sources you trust most.

Like this post? Share the love by clicking the Facebook Like button or sharing this post with your twitter or Stumble Upon friends – just click on the share button below.

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It’s not too late to join in on the challenge! Click here to read more about Project Veg-Up and join in on the fun.

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Get free blog updates by clicking here.

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What do you think? Do you measure your fruit and vegetable servings or do you estimate them? Do you have any tips or tricks on measuring or estimating fruit/vegetable serving sizes?

Hey friends!

I hope everyone is off to a fantastic week so far. I’ve been working some late hours to get this week’s blog posts to you, but it’s so worth it! It’s midnight as I type, but I have some hot tea to sip and bed to hit up soon.

I’m so glad you guys liked the Coconut Cream Cake Minis recipe. Has anyone tried it out yet? I know some of you are waiting on the Carrot Cake version (did you see those photos!?), and I’ll be posting those later this week (as in before or no later than Friday).

Ooh, and I loved reading everyone’s comments on the Vegetarian Dining Tips (for the meat-eating host). There’s some good stuff in there! Thanks for adding your feedback and additional tips.

I was really looking forward to leftovers for lunch on Monday. (I know…me? Loving leftovers? That’s a rarity).

Mostly I was looking forward to this veggie burger Kelly left after our Sunday bloggie dinner get-together.

And for lunch #2, I enjoyed some of my Tuscan 3-Bean and Veggie soup (no recipe yet…do you want it?).

I went to Zumba till late, so hubby ended up making dinner. Salad from the Earthfare salad bar.

And for the main event…

He made one of my recipes!

It’s my Penne Arrabiata (with chicken, fresh mozzarella balls, and basil from my garden).

I even used some of my purple basil leaves! They’re so pretty!

Vegetarian Entertaining – Side Dishes

So yesterday, I introduced four tips on Vegetarian Entertaining (for the Omnivore Host).

The first tip was about low expectations, which I think is pretty self-explanatory. But, I did want to talk a little more about the others, starting with Side Dishes.

So we’ve established the sad truth that vegetarians and vegans have low expectations of eats in social settings (dinner parties, office pot lucks, etc.), but how can you show your veg-friends that you want to make sure they don’t go hungry next time you entertain?

One easy way you can accomplish this, without changing what you had planned already for the main entree (roasting a brisket, eh?), is to offer a lot of or nice variety of side dishes. I’m not saying you need fifteen side dishes. I’m just saying, for the side dishes you’re doing, which is usually between 2-4, maybe make them all (or most) vegetarian and/or vegan friendly. Here are some additional tips:

Leave the meat out

Bacon on your spinach salad or in in your potato salad? That sounds awesome for me…but vegetarians aren’t just picky eaters, most can’t eat meat or anything that’s touched meat. If it’s easier, pretend they’re allergic to meat. You wouldn’t make someone allergic to avocado pick it out of a salad, would you?

Put the meat (and other options non-vegan ingredients) on the side

Put those bacon bits on the side, not mixed into your salad. Cheese on that baked potato? Only if someone adds it themselves. Granted some things require certain ingredients mixed in, but not all. Choose the dishes that are customizable to satisfy everyone.

Substitute veg/vegan-friendly ingredients

Vegan and vegetarian friendly options are pretty easy to find these days (and are pretty affordable). Want to make mashed potatoes? Use Earth Balance instead of butter. Use non-dairy milk, like plain rice milk, instead of dairy-milk. They’re not weird ingredients that you’ll never use again. If you have leftover ingredients, test them out. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find something you like. You don’t have to be vegan to like rice milk. I drink it all the time and think it’s quite tasty.

Let your veg friend bring a side dish

Most vegetarians/vegans are used to bringing dishes they know they can eat to parties (it’s true! Check out the comments from yesterday). You could offer to your friend that they could bring a dish if they want, but don’t force them to. Offer politely. They may even offer on their own. But don’t rely on their single dish to keep them happy. You should still come up with at least one or two other dishes that they could eat. The more the merrier.

Take help from the store

Many health-food-focused grocery stores, like Earthfare or Whole Foods, have prepared foods. They’re probably more familiar than traditional grocery stores with people with vegetarian or vegan dietary styles. So, if you don’t know, ask them for tips on a good side dish to pick up for your next get-together.

I love all the bean, pasta, and potato salads. I also like prepared eats they make like marinated kale, mixed veggie salads, and dips. Veggie platters are always a win.

Protein

If you’re expecting your veg friend to fill up on side dishes, include some that are good sources of protein. I mean, have you ever tried filling up on a bag of potato chips? It’s not going to happen…maybe ever. They’re just not filling. Please note, as Katie pointed out, some people have soy allergies/aversions, so you may want to ask your veg friend before going down that route.

Good vegetarian proteins – base ingredients: beans, quinoa, tempeh, lentils, nuts/seeds. (Cheese and for some even eggs can be good for the non-vegans)

Some of my personal fave recipes with veg-friendly proteins: Balsamic Roasted Chickpeas and Southwestern Quinoa Salad (has quinoa AND beans!).

Keep this simple and easy – it’s not hard!

You probably already enjoy eats that are vegetarian/vegan and you don’t know it. Like hummus? Chances are good that it’s vegan (it’s usually made of chick peas, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil). Don’t freak out. Think out…outside of the box. The answer may be easier than you expected.

Side Dish Recipes from around the blogosphere

Here are some wonderful vegetarian AND vegan side dishes from my blog friends:

• Cracklin Cauliflower – Peas and Thank You (Flavorful Veggie Side)
• Herbed Chickpea Flour CRACKers – Nourishing Flourishing
• Zucchini Hummus – Choosing Raw (Veg-Based Hummus)
• Brown Rice and Chickpea Salad with Tahini – FItting It All In (grains & protein side)
• Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese – Oh She Glows (vegan mac and cheese)

Know of any other good vegetarian/vegan side dish recipes? Share the recipe link in a comment.

Entertaining for your vegetarian and vegan friends may seem scary at first, but it’s not only easy, it’s fun to think creatively on ways to keep everyone happy and full.

Next time – more on Vegetarian Entrees that please everyone!

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Want to help get better vegetarian options at more social eat-togethers? Share these tips by clicking the Facebook-Like button, tweeting this post, or using one of the other “share” buttons at the end of this post.

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Vegetarian & vegan friends – What side dishes are you most happy to see in social eating settings? What do you wish you would see in the realm of side dishes at dinner parties and group pot lucks?

After soaking up some sun at the super-fun pot-luck picnic with my local food blog friends, I went home to prepare for one last bloggie event of the evening.

My friend Kelly (of Foodie Fresh) came over for dinner and brought her dog Rascal for a play date with Bailey.

First things first, I got started on dessert! I decided to get a little experimental with a new Cake Mini flavor. Normally, I would avoid experimenting too much when entertaining, but Kelly was my taste tester before (remember that vegan coconut cream pie), and I’d had one success with my first flavor – Coconut Cream.

This time, I decided to make Carrot Cake flavored Cake Minis! Shredded organic carrot was the star ingredient.

One of the other star ingredients of the evening was this tri-colored quinoa! Isn’t it pretty? I’ve seen it popping up in a couple health food stores around time, so it must be the new thing in “grains” (or pseudo-grains as the case may be).

I kicked things off with some Tuscan veggie and bean soup. We each had a mini bowl topped with some fresh-grated parmesan.

The soup was great for two reasons:

1. I love starting meals with small bowls of soup

2. I made BIG batch, so I’d have soup for lunch later in the week.

By the way, we weren’t the only ones eating well on Sunday. I stopped by a local dog boutique earlier in the day to pick up a reward for Bailey for being an exceptional dog. While I was at it, I figured I’d get one for Rascal, too.

After making them work for it…

…we let them dig in. They were happy boys!

The Italian theme carried into the main event. Kelly and I had discussed eats via email earlier in the day and when she said she’d make chick pea veggie burgers with sun-dried tomatoes, I kind of ran with the Italian theme. hehe. First the soup…the the side: kale chips (that were supposed to have parmesan on them, but I forgot!) and Italian-inspired quinoa salad (tri-colored quinoa with fresh basil from my garden and fresh mozzarella balls with a light vinaigrette) served over a tomato slice.

Kelly’s burgers were super tasty! You can get her recipe for her burger and special topping on her blog (click to view).

Mmm…quinoa. It tastes better in 3 colors! (Not really, but it is more fun)

And then it was time for dessert! The cakes came out great. Phew! I made carrot cakes and topped them with a cream cheese frosting with fresh chopped pecans. Nommy nommmmms!

It wasn’t until later that I realized that both Kelly and I are non-vegetarians who totally enjoyed a meatless meal! Both of us enjoy eating sans meat once in awhile, so I guess it’s not unusual that I didn’t even notice it was missing until later. I thought dinner was fab just as it was.

Vegetarian Entertaining (for the Meat-Eating Host)

If you’re a meat-eater and you have a vegetarian coming over, you may be wondering…what the heck do I make?! Well, vegetarian eating is easier than you think. Even vegan eats can be easy to put together. Now, I’m not vegetarian myself, but a lot of my friends are. So, I entertain veg-style a lot.

Low Expectations

First off, you should know that most vegetarians/vegans are used to not having much to eat in social settings. It’s sad but true. I saw this in action when I gave up meat for Lent last year and went to a social setting where of about 10 dishes, only 2 were completely meat-free. My vegetarian friend and I were hitting up the food tables at the same time and had to pass dish after dish, discussing with each other if we could detect meat in the food. I won’t lie…it was pretty frustrating. I mean…they even put bacon on the salad!! She seemed to think the eats were pretty normal while I thought I was going to go hungry for the evening. Anywho, I’m not saying it’s ok…I’m just saying that expectations are probably low in traditional settings…which will work in your favor when you come up with something meat-free and awesome. What an awesome friend you are!

Sides

If you’re, say, roasting a chicken for a large party, but one person or couple is vegetarian, then you can fill them right up with plenty of tasty meat-free sides (if a large number of your guests are vegetarian, then you may want to consider making two small main dishes instead of one big one – one meat and one meatless). Try to make the rest of the sides meat-free. Don’t cook greens with ham. Skip the bacon on salads or pasta salads. Many sides you probably eat today are probably even vegan and you don’t know it. If you can do it, put meat toppings/mixins on the side so people can customize things to their taste. And, protein-rich sides will help keep your vegetarian friends full.

May I suggest Balsamic Roasted Chickpeas, Southwestern Quinoa Salad, or Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Maple Syrup and Cinnamon. (These are not only vegetarian…they’re vegan, too!)

Vegetarian Entrees That Please Everyone

When you’re entertaining, things can get crazy. Sometimes you’re too busy to make another side dish, let alone a whole other entree. If you’re having vegetarian friends over, consider making something that meat-eaters will enjoy without missing the meat. Many pizza and pasta dishes are traditionally made sans meat and very often popular with most people. Or maybe you can put the meat options on the side for customizing, like I suggested for the sides. Or, try a new cuisine. Many Mexican dishes can be made with beans, rice, and cheese. Or, for another example, there are quite a few Indian dishes that are delicious but veg-friendly, like this Chana Masala.

Psst…let me let you in on a little secret – vegetarian entrees are often more affordable, too! Just another great reason to entertain veg-style.

Make Meat and Veg-Friendly Entrees

If you can work it out, why not make entrees for everyone? Hubby and I like to grill out. Hubby and I like burgers. But when my vegetarian friends come over, if we’re doing burgers, I like to have meat burgers, but I also like to do veggie burgers. They’re easy, taste great, and store well. Everyone is happy with an entree they can enjoy whether they eat meat or not. I love these quinoa veggie burgers (also vegan).

Want more details? I may elaborate on these areas more later in the week. In the mean time…

Vegetarian/Vegan friends, I am probably not the best person to offer suggestions on vegetarian entertaining. You are! What would you like your meat-eating friends to know about entertaining for you?

Omnivore friends, what are your tips you utilize when entertaining for vegetarian/vegan friends?

Happy Thursday friends! The weekend is almost here. I’m feeling a little achy from doing Zumba once and then teaching 2 days in a row, but a good kinda-hurt, ya know? You can’t take it easy in class when you’re teaching. You have to go big or go home. Ok, you can’t go home because the class needs you! But you know what I mean.

I loved my quinoa egg scramble so much, I decided to do a cous cous egg scramble for breakfast since we still had some left from dinner the other night.

I scrambled eggs and added cous cous to the center of the pan to crisp up a wee bit.

Then I mixed in fresh herbs from some pots I have in my kitchen (chives and parsley) and a tiny drizzle of EVOO.

The cous cous egg scramble was enjoyed with another tasty rye bagel and some yerba mate tea (thanks to my stock-the-pantry trip to Trader Joe’s yesterday).

I decided to try to get extra-hydrated today, so I had 2 coconut waters – one with lunch and one during zumba class later.

Lunch today was one of the best I’ve had in awhile and a true testament to how effective a well-stocked pantry can be.

I was thinking lentil soup sounded good today, but decided to add in other stuff I had in my pantry, fridge, etc. I was going to use French green lentils but when I found out they took 10-15 minutes longer to cook than the red ones, I decided on the shorter option because I was cooking a bit late.

Another star ingredient was kale. I used the kale in my garden, but you could also use spinach or another leafy vegetable.

The soup ended up being a tasty Red Lentil, Tomato, and Kale soup.

I served the soup with good hearty Flax Oat Bran bread, toasted with a dab of real butter.

The soup was soooo good!

Recipe coming soon.

I had a smoothie craving for the first time in months. I generally don’t like cold food, so I don’t frequently have smoothies, but today, I wanted one! So, I made a mixed berry banana smoothie sweetened with vanilla rice milk and a date!

Check out Bailey’s “Glamour Shot.”

Work it, work it!

Seriously…I didn’t pose him. He just looks this cute all the time. I can’t believe he had his little paws under his chin like this. lol

I did some quick cutting to a Zumba top today. I cut a deep V in the front and then some diagonal slits in the front and back. I’ll take photos later, but probably after I’ve washed it so the cuts look better.

***

I taught my second Zumba class of the week – two days in a row – tonight! There were lots of new faces in the crowd, probably the New Year’s Resolution crowd. I’m hoping they see how fun it is to stay fit with Zumba and stay the whole year!

My favorite songs tonight were: Eyes Like Yours, Mira, and El Alacran.

***

A lot of people, myself included, often get take-out when they don’t have time to cook. But tonight, I whipped up a take-out style meal at home in 30 minutes (yes, I timed myself again). Yup, hubby and I had “Take-IN”.

With only my ingredients in a shopping bag on the counter to start, I had all our food ready to cook in 30 minutes. That includes cutting chicken, cutting vegetables, and even making pot stickers!

Remember the vegetable gyoza I got at Trader Joe’s yesterday? I got them so I could do a take-out style meal at home. I just didn’t realize we’d do it so soon! lol

Anywho, I cooked these little guys up while I finished the stir fry and covered the stir fry while we ate the gyoza so it would stay warm.

For the stir fry, organic chicken was our protein and I threw in a bunch of veggies that we had in the fridge, plus some ginger and green bell pepper hubby got at the store. I love stir fries for easy meals because you can put a lot of different ingredients in and get tasty results. I just used soy sauce to season the stir fry and added sesame seeds on top to serve with brown rice.

***

Resolutions vs. Goals

Since posting my resolutions this past weekend, I’ve been wondering a lot about the difference between “resolutions” and “goals.” Mostly I’ve tried to figure out the difference because I’ve heard a lot of people (in the comments, on twitter, or other blogs) say they don’t do resolutions, but prefer to set goals instead. I was confused by this because I didn’t really understand the difference between resolutions and goals (see my “definitions” at the end), so I researched a bit and asked for opinions about the difference on twitter.

Here are some responses (Twitter handles published with permission):

• @silvie1999 – resolutions are rarely fullfilled. Goals are detailed and usually reached
• @heatherdcRD – Imo, Resolutions aim to “resolve” something u’re not happy with. Goals move you forward for a lifestyle change & motivate you!
• @HangryPants – I think of it as a resolution is a step to a goal.
• @wutdafuhk – goals aren’t broken as easily
• @ActiveEggplant – To me, Goal=specific event/task to complete “run THIS race”. Resolution=general…” run more.”
• @GraysonSaige – Goal=thought of actns to make reality and positive Resol=shot in dark,neg connotation
• Anonymous – resolutions are more general. Goals are SMART= specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-sensitive.
• @SweetNovEvents – for me goals seem less daunting. Not attaining a resolution feels like more of a failure. Just my 2 cents!
• @AndreaMR – The date in which it is set. Goals can be done at anytime, New Year’s resolutions only on 1/1
• @stina6584 – I think NYRs are usually just bigger, more long term goals. I also think for a lot of people NYRs tend to be less realistic.

Now, before we get into the whole resolutions vs goals debate, let me just say that I’m not trying to tell anyone they’re wrong. Honestly, I’m confused about the difference between the two and am looking for opinions on the differences. I want to hear what YOU think. I’ll be stating my point of view, but I’m not saying I’m right and you’re wrong. It’s more like…here’s what I think, what about you? I think we’ll all have different opinions, and I think all of them are sure to help someone out there, so let’s discuss, shall we?

I’ll go first…

To try to understand the difference between resolutions and goals, I figured I would start with the most fundamental explanation – definitions of the terms from Macmillan Dictionary online.

New Year’s Resolution – “decision that you make on the first day of the year about the things that you intend to do or stop doing during that year”

Goal – “something that you hope to achieve“

And for good measure, I looked up “achieve”:

Achieve – “to succeed in doing or having what you planned or intended, usually after a lot of effort“

And since I’m a math person, I’ll substitute a value in the goal definition:

Goal – “something that you hope to succeed in doing or having what you planned or intended, usually after a lot of effort”

Hmm…they still seem very similar, no? It almost seems like a resolution is a statement of a goal? Either way, it seems that goals generally have position connotations, while resolutions do not.

Here are some of the comments on resolutions and what I think about them:
Resolutions are too general. - I think resolutions are only too general if you write them that way. I wrote a post awhile back about tips for making resolutions you can keep and one suggestion I had was to make your resolutions measurable so you had something to validate against. If you say I want to have more date nights with your husband, how will you measure you had “more” date nights at the end of the year? Rather, I’d say I’d like to have date night with my husband once a month. You can measure that. Did you have the date night once every month? If you can easily answer yes or no, you probably made your resolution specific enough.
Resolutions have negative connotations. – Resolutions, it seems, have a similar connotation to the word “diet.” Many people think of diets as something bad where you are restricted from eating things you enjoy. But diet can also mean the Merriam-Webster definition: “food and drink regularly provided or consumed.” Words can have different meanings for different people. Resolutions have a positive meaning for me.
Resolutions set you up for failure because they’re not realistic. – I think resolutions are only unrealistic if you write them that way. Who said you had to make resolutions unrealistic? In the article I wrote on how to write resolutions you can keep, I mentioned that resolutions should be reasonable. Sort of along the same lines as the note I made above about not making them too generic. I ran my first 5k this past December. I’m not going to make a New Year’s Resolution to run 5 marathons in 2011. It’s just not realistic for me. (too bad, too, because I’d really like to have some running-bloggie-play-dates with all you fabulous marathoners!) lol
When you don’t meet all of your resolutions, it points out where you failed. – Have you ever heard the quote, “Shoot for the moon. Because even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” I love this Les Brown quote. And I try to live it. In my opinion, if you set lofty goals, if you meet some of them, you’re still better off than if you had never set those goals at all. You’ve still grown, improved, and succeeded. This is almost a “is the glass half full or half empty” kind of thing. You can choose to look at all the things you failed at. Or, you can choose to look at all of the things you succeeded in accomplishing and be satisfied that you landed in the stars.

In the end, I guess I kind of look at goals and resolutions as being almost the same. I suppose I think of Resolutions as a type of goal. To me, New Year’s Resolutions are goals I strive to achieve over the course of the year, between January 1st and December 31st of a given year. And while it doesn’t work for everyone, I also like to set many goals. I figure that it’s possible I may not make all of them, but I try to meet as many of them as I can. I mean, check out how I did with my 2010 resolutions. Did I meet all of them? No. Am I going to be upset about the resolutions I didn’t make? Not really. I reflected on the wins, and I added most of the 2010 resolutions I didn’t meet to my 2011 resolutions.

Of course, I could be grossly misusing the term “New Years Resolutions.” Maybe I should call them “New Year’s Goals”? lol Anywho, the above is just my opinion for what works for me. I totally understand that different things work for different people, so others will have different opinions based on what works or doesn’t work for them.

So what do you think? What’s the difference for you between resolutions and goals?

Meeehhhh back to work today for me! Anyone else? I’ve been enjoying sleeping in way too much, so the early morning hit me hard today. Overall, today was super busy, so it was hubby who was in charge of eats.

One of the reasons we eat these bread/toast/bagel and egg combos is because hubby is really comfortable making them. And they taste good. And hubby really likes them. Not to mention they’re simple, fast, and affordable.

I had leftover pot roast for lunch today – the same one I packed last night. Turns out I packed too large a container because I only ate half of the container. I’m saving the other half for tomorrow.

***

After work today, I went to Zuuuuumba! Class tonight was kickin! I guess there were a lot of people there working on fitness for their resolutions. I hope they had a good time and keep coming back. I think Zumba is a great workout that is easy to stick with because it’s just so fun! Anywho, I led Let Me Think About It and co-led: Alright and Lose Control.

And I even brought a special guest to class tonight! The wonderful Kelly of Foodie Fresh joined me for class tonight. I love it when my friends come to class to dance with me! I wish more could join in. I wish you could join in! How fun would a GIANT class of TCL Readers be???

I didn’t get home from class till after 9, so hubby was in charge. He said he was going to go to the grocery store, but decided to just scrounge around the pantry and freezer for food instead. Here’s what he made: TJ’s frozen halibut, Amy’s bean and cheese bites, and corn. I asked him where the vegetable side was (because I like to include a vegetable with every lunch and dinner as much as possible) and he said “the corn!” I reminded him corn is a starch, not a veggie. hehe. But you have to give him props for putting dinner together since I was getting home so late.

For dessert, I had my very last coconut macaroon. *sad face* Guess I’ll have to make more! And if you want to taste this sweet, chewy ball of deliciousness, you can too! Check out my recipe for Irresistible Coconut Macaroons here.

My Fave Fast Grain Sides

Eat In Monthers and home-chefs who like quick dinners will love this section. Here are my favorite fast cooking grains and grain-based sides.

60 seconds to whole grains – I love these pre-cooked rice packages for when I need food in a hurry. I prefer to cook my rice in my rice cooker, but that can take 30-40 minutes and sometimes I don’t want to wait that long for food. Many grocery stores have these pre-cooked rice packages, but I think Trader Joe’s has the cheapest and best selection. I prefer to get the ones that aren’t flavored so I can control the salt levels, etc. I also like to choose the ones that have ingredient lists that only have “rice” on them.

Most of these rice sides can be cooked in the packaging, but since I’m weird about heating food up in plastic, I usually remove it to a dish at home before microwaving it.

I love brown rice for a simple side.

3-4 minute noodles – Next up – Udon and Soba noodles. Udon are wheat noodles while Soba are buckwheat. Depending on what brand you get, they’ll have various levels of whole grains (or none), but I still think they’re better than plain pasta. Not only that, but they cook up in 3-4 minutes. I like making quick noodle stir fries with these noodles, tofu/shrimp/chicken and LOTS of veggies with soy sauce and/or chicken broth. Mmm. In fact, my 3, 2, 1 Vegetarian Noodles are made with this side. You could also use them for a cold noodle salad side dish or put them in a brothy, Asian-style noodle soup.

5 minutes – Whole wheat cous cous is not only fast, but it takes very little effort to prepare. You basically just add it to boiling water or broth and let it sit for 5 minutes. Fluff, add spices and other flavoring. Done. Love that. You could use this in place of rice as a simple side.

15 minutes – Ok, so quinoa is a big jump in cook time, but I think meals that can be made in under 20 to 30 minutes are generally considered “fast.” Plus, I really like quinoa. They make a great substitution for rice or pasta as a side dish. Quinoa isn’t technically a grain, but it’s very similar. Quinoa also is a complete protein. I love quinoa for breakfast or as a replacement to rice or pasta as a side dish. Try my quinoa breakfast bowl or a fried egg over herbed quinoa for breakfast to freshen up your breakfast routine.

Eat In Month Quick Meal Ideas

Check out these 30 minutes or less recipes I found in the Discussion boards on my Facebook page:

• Bean and Avocado Quesadillas
• Pasta with Zucchini and Toasted Almonds
• Potato Kale Soup
• Cooking Light’s Baked Shrimp with Feta
• Gnocchi with Romano-Rosemary Butter Sauce
• Sausage and Cornbread Stuffed Apples

Do you have a 30 minute or less recipe you’d like to share? Please post it on the 30 minute or less Discussion board here.

Here are some of my fave 30 minute or less recipes from TCL:

• Shrimp with Saffron Broth
• 3, 2, 1 Vegetarian Noodles
• Easy 3-Ingredient Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Casserole

What are your favorite quick-cooking grain and grain-based sides?

Not sure why I decided to do it, but I worked today. It was kind of weird to only work 1 day out of the whole week, but in some ways, it will ease the pain of returning to an extra-full inbox and to-do list.

I had trouble sleeping last night and woke up late-ish, so I rushed through eats today.

Just a fried egg and piece of my mom’s cinnamon bread. Are you surprised it’s not another rye bagel?? lol

I also busted out my first Christmas gift – a pretty mug my sister picked out for me. I love the tall shape. It’s actually the same size as my other mugs (content-wise).

I started to eat leftovers from yesterday’s road trip food, but then I thought…creamy sauce + 2+ hours in the car may not = good food. If you’ve ever had food poisoning, you know it’s best to not mess with potentially spoiled food.

So, I turned to my pantry to see if there was anything left to eat and found some more TJ’s frozen breaded halibut and cabbage.

I broke into another Christmas gift today – Amanzi Secret Garden tea.

The leaves are very pretty.

The tea is nice, light, and floral.

I had more of mom’s bread because when you have mom’s bread in the house, it’s hard to resist.

I was surprised to see there’s still some snow left on the ground in our back yard. The snow is mostly melted around my area. How about you?

Bailey was pretty tired today. I took him on a brief walk but he spent most of the day…

…napping.

***

Post work, I went to Zumba! Class was fun and I was glad to work out. I haven’t talked much about working out here lately and that’s because…I haven’t been doing it. I basically haven’t worked out in two weeks and I feel fine. Between all the delicious holiday eats (which I indulged in, but not till I made myself sick) and my lack of working out, I’ve probably gained a few pounds, but you know what…I don’t care. And, I wouldn’t really know. I can’t even remember the last time I weighed myself. I usually just go on how my clothes fit. I think having spent more than a few years of my life with a negative self-image and restrictive eating habits that I’ve reached my breaking point once and it was enough. My ultimate conclusion – Being “skinny” is not worth stressing about gaining a pound here or there or not enjoying delicious foods I love. Bring on the sweets, people.

Caitlin wrote a nice post along the same subject (click to view) – be sure to check out the comments.

I came home and whipped up a quick dinner. I pressed this tofu around lunch and then let it marinate all night. I baked the tofu in 1/2″ slabs at 400 degrees for roughly 20-25 minutes. It was a little softer than I wanted (I like a slightly crispy edge), but it still tasted good and the tender texture was actually quite pleasant. I also made quick sauteed zucchini and onion and brown rice. It was so good. I kind of want it again (and therefore will probably eat it for lunch tomorrow. lol)

After dinner, I headed out to meet friends at Yoforia. Katy was in town! Also at froyo – Nicole, Brittney, and Katy’s hubby.

It seems like it’s been forever since I’ve had froyo, most likely due to the cool temps. I really loved my bowl. I had original tart and taro froyo as my base. Toppings = pomegranate arils, kiwi, strawberries, pineapple, coconut, and mochi.

I’ve removed my shiny new dehydrator (a gift from my MIL) from the box and it’s washed and drying for a project tomorrow. Can’t wait!

I have tomorrow off. Yesssss!

On the agenda:

• Coffee
• New homemade almond butter
• Dehydrator project
• Breakfast
• Publish Eat in Month details
• Grocery Shopping
• Slow cooker chili
• Clean house
• Crochet
• Read
• Blog TCL 2010 Year in Review
• Blog TCL – Top 10 Recipes of 2010
• Prepare for NYE Party

Btw, I’m posting details about Eat in Month 2011 tomorrow! Get ready!

Ooh and I have a blog announcement posting the first week of January.

Do you stress about holiday weight gain?

I don’t know about you, but Bailey is really loving his new Christmas goodies.

In fact, he doesn’t want to let his go!

After a late breakfast at my MIL’s house, we were off and headed back home.

But not before picking up a latte from Copa Vida Coffee because I adore their lattes – especially how they’re made with local milk. This is a hazelnut latte with full on whole milk, baby! De-lish!

I also had a chicken salad wrap on the road.

It was too short a trip to my MIL’s house, but hopefully we’ll be able to stay longer.

Once home, I made a pit stop at the mall to exchange a dress hubby got me for Christmas. It was beautiful, but the wrong size. I also hit up the grocery store for eats, staples, and collard greens and black eyed peas. I’ve made the mistake of waiting till New Year’s Eve to buy these new year eats and they’ve been sold out!

I did a simple dinner of a pre-prepared spinach feta chicken roll-up from Earthfare, another rye bagel (they’re simple irresistible I tell you), and steamed cabbage.

and look…Bailey even has his toy still! Wonder if I can wrestle it from him later? hehe

Going back to the collard greens and black eyed peas for a minute…

So what’s the deal with collard greens and black eyed peas? It’s tradition to eat them on New Year’s Day for good luck and prosperity for the upcoming year. I believe this tradition is mainly followed in the South, but for sure my family has always done it, so it’s tradition. I love a good tradition.

Speaking of New Year’s…let’s talk resolutions. I’ve been drafting my 2011 resolutions, but I don’t think you can really work on resolutions for the next year without looking back at your resolutions for the previous year.

Here were my New Year’s Resolutions for 2010 (and how I did in italics):

have date night once a month – I think we say this one every year. I’d like to do better this time. – didn’t do so hot on this. Hubby and I spent plenty of QT together, but I’d like to set up a special, reserved day.

get organized – enter important dates into iPhone calendar, find a place for everything in the house, etc. – I actually did start using my Mac calendar for dates, and it did help. I need to get some more organization systems going on in my house…just need to buy some more furniture to do it!

start teaching zumba once a week – which reminds me…I need to get business cards made!! – Check! Yay! I was teaching twice a week when I had a private class, but I’m still teaching once a week, and hoping to get another class soon! Check out my Zumba page to read about my journey to becoming an instructor.

cook a new recipe once a week – this may be harder than I think. I hope it isn’t. – I’m not sure if I’ve tried exactly one new recipe a week, but I’m very happy with the variety of recipes I’ve tried out and developed in 2010. Some of my favorites are my Green Monster Muffins, Breakfast Cups, Veggie Quinoa Burgers, Green Tea Soup, and of course, Chocolate Chip Dough Balls.

eat out no more than twice a week – starting with the Eat in Month Challenge!! – Eat in Month was so successful that I’m going to be doing it again for 2011! Stay tuned for details. As for eating out no more than twice a week over the course of the year. I started out great, but towards the end, we got back to our old habits. Good thing I’m doing another challenge to get myself straight!

go to a blog convention – I wanted to go last year but the house kept me away. No excuses this year! – Check! I went to TWO! I went to the Healthy Living Summit and Foodbuzz!

finish kitchen renovation – sooner than later I hope! – Fail. I don’t think we’ve accomplished anything with this in the last year. I’m hoping to get hardware for the cabinets and a backsplash asap.

get house set up (hang curtains, hang pictures/art, set up rooms) – again, sooner than later I hope! – Fail again. I’m so bad at house stuff. I blame our lack of disposable income. lol. We do have more furniture than we did this time last year, but we still have a long way to go.

have a house warming party – we’re targeting SPRING 2010! – Check! It was epic.

have friends over at least once a month – I heart dinner parties – Hmm…not sure if we did this once a month exactly, but we did have people over fairly often – once we got the house warming out of the way, of course. I think we did pretty well.

volunteer at least once a month – Maybe more? – Fail. I’d like to prioritize this in 2011.

go to church at least once a month – Maybe more? – Fail. Ditto.

Read at least one chapter from Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff per week – I’d like to learn how to be more relaxed, overall. – I read a few chapters, but not the whole book. I’ve been reading some of the chapters again this month. I may be able to finish the book by 2011?

start a vegetable and herb garden – been wanting this for years…finally have the house and yard to do it! – Check! The garden didn’t yield as many veggies as I expected, but lesson learned for next year. I have better ideas for what to plan in 2011.

take photography lessons – plans for this one have been nearly thwarted thanks to my camera breaking down and being in the shop…grr – Check! I took an 8-week intro to DSLR course in town. I learned sooo much!

take cooking classes – so many fun cooking classes to take in town. So little money. But, I’d like to sign up for at least one of these. – Whoops. I meant to do at least one. This may be going on the 2011 list.

Eat at least 1 veggie/vegan meal a week – veggie/vegan meals are fun, nourishing, and something I’d like to eat more often. – Check! I actually eat quite a few vegetarian meals every week now. I’ve been a little surprised at how much I enjoy them and how little I miss the meat. I still like meat in my meals (as does hubby), but I’ve learned how tasty and enjoyable vegetarian and even vegan food can be.

Add strength training to workout – this will help my fitness overall and prevent injuries. – Not so much. I really should do this though.

join a gym – gotta have somewhere to do the strength training! Maybe I will join the gym where I’m a zumba instructor? – Fail – with all the teaching I’ve been doing, I’ve been a little too busy for a gym. Not to mention they are generally expensive! I wonder if free weights in my home would be more effective?

find sponsors for one of my fun-filled challenges – meant to do this sooner. Procrastinated…doh! lol – Totally meant to do this and then procrastinated. Maybe in 2011?

Have a rockin 30th birthday party – wow…can’t believe I’ll be 30 this year! – Check!

Do a vacation out of the country – we thought we’d go back to the Bahamas every year after our wedding…we haven’t been back since! Not to mention, I’d love to go back to France or visit Italy. The world is so big! – Yes! We went to the Bahamas! Click here to view the first post of the trip (and then use the links at the very bottom of the post, after comments, to view the next post to see the rest)

Overall, not too shabby! My goals were set pretty high and I think I did pretty well with them. I’ll be sharing my 2011 resolutions shortly. Stay tuned for details.

How did you do with your 2010 resolutions?