Lobster Shorts cooking

Vegetarian Charcuterie – The Quick and Easy Romantic Meal

Valentine’s Day landed in the middle of the week this year and I wanted to celebrate the day with something special. My spouse and I have a long commute and special generally takes time we don’t have. How does one make a romantic dinner that’s fast? Charcuterie!

This spread was fast and delicious, it was also expensive. It did last several more days and we had lots of leftovers. At the time of this post, grapes have been incredible. Super juicy with a crunchy snap…. superb. This charcuterie board took about 15 minutes to make and it was so good. The cutting/serving board was a handmade wedding gift from a friend and I love how long it is. Perfect for the task at hand, but any cutting board will work. The fruits, veggies, and pickles were put on plates and mason jars so they wouldn’t stain the board.

For My Board:

Grapes both red and green
Baby Carrots
Cherry Tomatoes
Baby Dill Garlic Pickles
Artichoke Carbonara Dip (Purchased from Vincenzo’s)
Walnut Fig Dip (Purchased from Vincenzo’s)
Boursin Cheese Herb and Garlic Spread
Mimolette Jeune Cheese
Havarti Habanero Cheese
Foil Wrapped Cheese (I don’t remember the brand)
Rice Crackers (plain salted, one with sesame seeds)
Milk Chocolate Covered Almonds
Salted Almonds

I loved everything but the foil-wrapped cheese. I can’t remember the brand, but it tasted plasticy and we didn’t like it. It was fun to try though. This was the first time I had the walnut fig dip and it’s my new favourite. It was mildly sweet, creamy and went well with the rice crackers (I think every dip goes well with rice crackers as long as they are unflavored). It was so so good! It was also my first time having Mimolette Jeune cheese. Also a YUM! Every charcuterie board I will ever make will also have chocolate-covered almonds. They are always the first thing to go and my favourite are milk chocolate.

We had the board for dinner again the next day and still had lots of leftovers. The ingredients cost $85 Canadian. That is because everything was bought at a specialty store. I’m sure it would be easy to make a cheaper one. It was a hard week for Mr. Lobster Shorts and I wanted to treat him. He loved it. There was enough artichoke carbonara dip leftover to go on four burgers and in omlettes. We still have lots of the fig dip left (only because we ran out of crackers, otherwise it would have been long gone just like the chocolate almonds). The hard cheeses made it onto the burgers as well and also disappeared from midday nibbles and doggy cheese tax. I’m going to keep an eye out for the Mimolette cheese again. It was mild and creamy. Delightful. I’ll never get tired of charcuterie.

Lobster Shorts weight loss

Weight Loss And The Philips Soup Maker

Today I pulled out an appliance I rarely use: The Philips Soup Maker. I bought one a long time ago at Canadian Tire assuming I would use it constantly being a set-it-and-forget-it appliance. It makes two decent portions of soup, which is perfect and it’s effortless to use. I have no idea why I haven’t used it more. I didn’t like the recipes in the cookbook that came with the device, but I’ve made a lot of soup in my time, and I’m reasonably confident in how to make soup. I’ll link the soup maker here.

https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/philips-viva-collection-soupmaker-6-pre-defined-programs-hr220470-grey/PRD3UZOK3ZLXQ1C?skuId=3UZOK3ZLXQ1C&offerId=F22057108AAE3DCBB14F14BBA98E383E&cmpid=SEM_CA_31975_EOGFYOWH30&utm_id=SEM_CA_31975_EOGFYOWH30&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=always_on&gclid=CjwKCAjwp8OpBhAFEiwAG7NaEpdWMaJwL-cNqyFGrtj8iJBVfLqo_7T71FgZ55H1wHdSWgEbnr95HBoCJgMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Oh hey, I completely forgot this thing also makes smoothies, I have never made a smoothie in it… But it makes decent soup.

I usually buy shallots instead of onions, not because of taste preference, but because they are small and last a long time. The soup maker only makes small sized pots of soup, which makes shallots perfect for it. I used two small ones and the leftover roasted squash I had sitting in the fridge. I would have used more squash, but I only had this much, so I added a raw (older than it should be) sweet potato. Two vegetable soup stock cubes were added and a honey crisp apple (from right off the tree).

I added a dash of nutmeg and water (It has a minimum and maximum fill line) and then chose the blended soup option. That’s all I did, dump in the ingredients, add water, then press the button. I didn’t even have to cook the potato. It took about 18 minutes to cook and puree. The nice thing about set it and forget it appliances, is that you can do the clean up while the machine is cooking your food (or whatever else you would rather be doing than cleaning), so I did the dishes while waiting.

This is how everything looked after the machine cooked the soup. It was blended perfectly smooth. Normally, I prefer chunky soup, but sometimes ya gotta mix it up. Ya know?

I like blue cheese, but only when mixed into things, or in very small chunks. I threw blue cheese and walnuts into the soup for a garnish. There is definitely more of both, but they sunk to the bottom of the bowl instantly before I could take a photo. I didn’t want to add more, so I snapped the photo as is. I mixed the blue cheese in so it melted and blended into the soup. It turned out good! Is it mind blowing – nah. It was a decent soup though. I have no idea how many calories it was, but I feel like it fits into my lifestyle plan (1800 calories a day or lower). I haven’t been counting calories much these days, but if I start to gain weight, or the weight loss stops for a significant amount of time, I’ll start again.

This appliance is so easy and convenient. I’m planning to use it more often, especially now that the colder weather has arrived. I’m already wearing my heavy winter jacket. My workouts have gotten longer and more intense this week. I’ve started using the treadmill more often and have been enjoying it. I’ve always preferred cardio, but this time around I’m making sure to work on strength as well. I’m still working out three times a week. I took a couple weeks off during the vacation. I was planning on going back the second week, but it never happened. I might not see much weight loss this month, but it will happen for me and I’m not finding myself struggling that hard. I can live with this.

Lobster Shorts finances, weight loss

The Year Of Getting My Sh!t Together

The restart of my restart of my restart of my restart.

I’ve had so many attempts at weight loss over the years. I usually fall off the wagon after a month… sometimes earlier. August 4 2023 I started again. This time I’m adding better financial habits to my goal list along with weight loss/fitness.

I’ve been digging myself out of credit card consumer debt, but had a bad habit of spending everything I had paid off. In early August I started to tighten the purse strings. I am only buying things I need and have quit browsing physical and online stores. That includes thrift stores and antique shops and I do LOVE thrifting, but I always get things I don’t need – like more sewing supplies. I have an entire closet full of sewing supplies. It’s packed full. I’m not buying any more sewing stuff until I get through the piles of fabric I already have.

September I ended up at the thrift store looking for a new harness for Oliver – my big golden retriever X puppy. He’s a puller and ended up tearing right through his last one. I didn’t find a harness that would fit him there. I did however find a full set of winter dog boots which I actually would have needed for an awesome price. That was an okay purchase, but guess what wasn’t. The roll of elastic I bought – FOR SEWING! It WAS a fantastic price, and sure I’ll probably need it one day, but that wasn’t the point of this. I’m not supposed to be randomly buying stuff I don’t have an immediate need for. This was a warning for me – to stay out of thrift stores. I can’t be trusted! I discovered pressure casting posts, an item used in pen making. It’s quite expensive and I’m not buying it this year. I heard a quote but can’t remember who it was from – Ramsey? “If you can’t pay it off in a month, you can’t afford it”. That stings, but I agree. So no pressure pot. Not yet. Saving for one also gives me time to evaluate if I really want it. Making impulsive purchases and then never using the item is a bad habit I have had in the past. For example, I bought the things to make shoes with, maybe a year ago. Guess who has never made shoes – ME! I still hope to one day, but for now, it was something I shouldn’t have purchased.

The roll of elastic $10 from the thrifty thrift

As for weight and fitness, this time my spouse is also on board. He really wants to lose weight too. We’ve set a pact to be in the gym three times a week on set days. That started on the first of September and so far we are sticking to it. We don’t have a set thing we need to accomplish in the gym, right now we just have to be in there. Even stretching is acceptable, just be in there, getting a routine established and habit formed. Right now I’m doing about a 15-minute workout and nothing too strenuous, just getting used to working out again.

I’ve set a goal for myself to be able to do a push-up in a year. The real on your toes sort of push-up. I’ve never been able to do them, even at my most fit. That was probably because I always preferred jogging to weights. I’ve always wondered how does one work their way up to being able to do a push-up?

This might work. I’ve started with wall push-ups. I thought that sounded like weak sauce, but it turns out that doing 3 sets of 50 is actually pretty hard (for me). I’m not even there yet! I had to take a break after 40. I’m sticking with it. I got my 150 in and will be keeping track of how many I can do until I need to stop.

I’m calorie counting again. The goal is 1800 calories a day. I’ll stay with that and keep it up if it’s working well for me. My spouse is calorie counting too. We’ve started cooking for ourselves and that is going to work out really well for both of us. He’s never really liked veggie-heavy dishes and the carb-heavy dishes he likes I tend to overeat. This way we can both eat healthier for ourselves.

I’ve started a tracking journal and every month I update my weight and how much I’m in a financial debt hole. I realized when doing the September update that I only wrote down approximate numbers instead of the actual numbers in August. I was excited to see if I had made any progress. That will have to wait for October. I will post September’s stats as the starting point.

The Getting My Sh!t Together journal

Weight: 178lbs
Debt: -$21100
Wall pushups without stopping: 40

Cheers to improved numbers in October!

Lobster Shorts cooking, vegetarian

Commuting And Cooking Aint Easy

My spouse and I commute – a lot. Almost two hours a day. We’ve noticed a significant decline in our energy levels and health since we started 5 years ago. The main culprit – take out. We’re usually pretty hungry by the end of the day and often we cave in. We are commuting from a large city, so there are a lot of options. The majority of the takeout we get is from burger joints, pita places, and the odd burrito. The pita – not so bad, but no one is ordering salad at the burrito, or burger joint.

After getting home and walking the dogs it’s pretty late and we’re both hungry. We bought a box of granola bars. It’s helping us home without temptation. We need something easy, fast, and healthy. I found an old love that fits all these things. Spring rolls!

I love spring rolls! They are perfect and I found three packages of rice paper in my cupboard! They are so easy to make. First, I chop up 8 pieces of tofu (that usually takes half a thick block, or 2/3 of a thin block, of extra firm tofu). I don’t drain it. I probably should, but I’m not a chef and not that concerned about it. I dump them in a container and toss them with tamari (I don’t measure – sorry). I cut eight pieces for the two of us – four each. While that is marinating I cut up the rest of the ingredients.

I grate mushrooms (I ended up needing more), chop mango into long thin slices, and have a bunch of basil ready.

I soak the rice paper in hot water in a pie plate until it’s soft and pliable. I put some spinach down and two basil leaves, per roll.

Then I put in a bunch of grated mushrooms, a piece of tofu, and two slices of mango. The mango really makes it. I like the mango at the firm, but still easy-to-cut stage, for this recipe.

Roll it up tight (I still haven’t quite got this down)

and serve it with sweet chilli sauce. No particular brand, I generally like them all.

They are so good! I’m making them again tonight. Mr Lobster Shorts wasn’t fond of the basil, so I’ll leave it out of his from now on. From start to finish, it took 42 minutes to have them ready and served on the table. That’s really impressive to me. It’s not unusual for dinner to take me a couple hours. I think I can have these ready in 20 minutes after the refresher.

Another bonus of spring rolls, there weren’t too too many dishes. There were definitely some, but not heaping countertops full of them. I made myself a tea of fresh mint and let the last bit of the evening fade out.

Lobster Shorts vegetarian, weight loss

What’s For Dinner – April 4 2023

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Dinner was a spicy one today! I wanted something quick and easy and this recipe for spiced halloumi and pineapple burgers caught my eye. I love halloumi and a burger is generally quick and easy to make. I didn’t have a lot of the ingredients so I winged it. I mixed lime juice, salt, pepper and a pinch of chilli flakes together with a couple handfuls of spinach. I had baby carrots in the fridge and chopped them up to mix with the lime mixture and added a tablespoon of avocado oil.

I was cooking for two so I tossed a couple slices of canned pineapple rings and halloumi into a frying pan with a generous squirt of hot sauce to both sides. I fried it until the halloumi and pineapple were browned on both sides.

The recipe called for chipotle paste on the pineapple and cheese, which I didn’t have, so I used this hot sauce that I already had.

I didn’t have burger buns, but I did have English muffins – good enough. I added the halloumi and grilled pineapple to my English muffin.

Added a handful of the side salad.

And voila – there was dinner. It was okay. I’m sure if I followed the original recipe it would have been way better.

I was craving dessert and since I have been skipping lunches again, I went with it. I picked up a big slice of cake from a bakery and split it with Mr Lobster Shorts. I usually love the baked goods from this bakery, but this slice of cake wasn’t one I liked that much and I only had a couple bites.

Lobster Shorts cooking, vegetarian, weight loss

Shark Week Begins and Wednesday Week Two Of Calorie Counting

Disclaimer. I am not a medical professional, nutritionist, or anyone with any business giving diet/nutritional advice. This is my own personal journey. When it comes to yourself, seek the advice of a medical professiona

Shark week started today. I mean it sort of started yesterday but wasn’t really fully committed yet. Today it came full steam ahead, but with only minor cramps. I’m pretty sure there are fewer cramps because of all the lattes I’ve been drinking lately. More calcium seems to make a big difference for me. This evening I had a delicious matcha latte sweetened with maple syrup while working on the 3000-piece puzzle. Still not done yet and I miss my table.

Today’s fine dining pleasures consisted of an English muffin with egg and avocado, black coffee, lots of tea and sparkling water, a can of chili, apple sauce, and a granola bar. I had a bit of time before I met up with Mr. Lobster Shorts so I headed to a local gourmet shop (Vincenzo’s) looking for rosewater and espresso beans. They grind their beans for you at the shop while you wait. I kept smelling the bag on the way home. I love the smell of coffee beans. I picked up the rosewater because I want to make some sort of floral cookie this weekend. I don’t even know if I’ll need that, but I probably will and if not, I’m sure I’ll find something to do with it.

I was feeling worn out from shark week and walking the dogs, so my spouse offered to make dinner. We both love gnocchi and he’s been super excited to try the gnocchi dinner from Hello Fresh. He followed my request and gave me a 75% smaller portion than his. The calories on the bag per serving were 690 calories. Since I didn’t make dinner and I forgot to ask him if the gnocchi was in a separate bag with a separate calorie count, this could in fact be way higher in calories than I think it is. I left the calorie count as a full serving to try and make up the calorie difference if there was one.

WednesdayCalories
english muffin140
egg78
avocado160
chili400
apple sauce45
granola bar150
apple sauce45
hello fresh gnocchi690
matcha latte205
orange juice50
total calories1963

Here is a chart with my calories for the day. Again it might be way higher. I wanted something comforting before bed and that’s when I had the matcha latte. I was also thirsty and had about 1/2 a cup of orange juice.

Lobster Shorts cooking, vegetarian, weight loss

Tuesday Week Two Calorie Counting

Today I had breakfast: an English muffin with egg, avocado, and black coffee. On the way to work, Mr. Lobster Shorts suggested lattes. I rarely say no to a latte, so we made a stop at the Snapping Turtle. Even though I had breakfast not that long ago I was starving on the commute, a little queasy even. I’ve no idea why. I ate not that long ago and was drinking my latte. I had some apple sauce and that did the trick and I was okay again until lunch. Lunch of course was a bowl of chili.

On the way home from work Mr. lobster Shorts and I stopped at Costco for a couple things. We got granola bars raspberries and some other essentials. Whenever we get any kind of berry at Costco, we bring them up front to snack on and we call them “road berries”. Does anybody else make up cute names for things? They were awesome and I ate a ton of them – about a cup. I also had one of the new granola bars, a strawberry yogurt one from Quaker. YUM!

Dinner was a bocconcini pizza on naan, from Hello Fresh. The calorie count for Hello Fresh was 690 calories, and I couldn’t finish the last two bites, I ate all the salad first. My spouse isn’t super into peppers, so I loaded all the pepper onto mine, put spinach on his instead, and gave him a bigger portion of cheese. As you can see they were very generous with the amount of cheese, this one being the one with less cheese. I love the texture of bocconcini cheese.

TuesdayCalories
english muffin140
egg78
avocado160
chili400
latte160
apple sauce90
granola bar150
Raspberries 1 cup65
Hello Fresh – Pizza690
banana105
total calories2038

Before bed I had a banana. I wasn’t even hungry and I knew I was already over my calorie count for the day. I’m not sure why I wanted it so much. I saw them on the counter, they looked really good and I hadn’t had one in a long time. I don’t know who else has banana loving puppies, but if you have a banana in this house you have to share it with the dogs. I think I had about half the banana and the dogs had the rest.

Lobster Shorts Food, vegetarian, weight loss

Monday Week Two Of Calorie Counting

Disclaimer. I am not a medical professional, nutritionist, or anyone with any business giving diet/nutritional advice. This is my own personal journey. When it comes to yourself, seek the advice of a medical professional.

It’s the start of a new week and I did really good today. As per usual, I had an English muffin with egg and avocado for breakfast, with coffee. Lunch was chili and lots of tea and later a snack of apple sauce. All the Hello Fresh meals were gone and I wanted a Harvey’s veggie burger.

The calories for a Harvey’s veggie burger are awesome! 310 calories! I thought that must be for the patty only, but I checked and the patty is only 150 calories. Yes, please! I love their veggie burgers. Since this likely didn’t have any toppings calculated in, I just guessed my toppings were around 150 calories. For toppings, I always order “everything” which is ketchup, mustard, relish, lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion. They messed up my order and instead of putting on the sauces I asked for, they put chipotle on my burger. Good enough, I didn’t go in and exchange the burger. It was still good, but I definitely prefer my menagerie of toppings. The messier a burger, the yummier.

My spouse likes to order fries with his meal and I pretend I don’t and eat his fries lol. He is also trying to lose a few pounds and opted just for the burger. I wanted to get some extra veggies into my diet and ordered a garden salad with balsamic dressing. I ate the salad while we waited for the burgers. I wasn’t able to eat the last bite of my burger. This is a pretty good strategy for me, eat the salad first. I ended up being over full because I liked the burger. That is another issue I have with food. If I really like something, I end up eating more than is comfortable for me. I’ve been pretty good about not over-stuffing myself lately, but I did end up doing that with the burger.

MondayCalories
english muffin140
egg78
avocado160
chili400
apple sauce45
garden salad40
salad dress90
veggie burger310
burger toppings150
wine200
popcorn160
total calories1773

I did really good today and stuck with my goal – 1800 calories or less. I did get hungry later in the day and split a bag of popcorn with Jay. I also had a glass of wine while I worked on a puzzle. It all fit into my calorie budget and I’m happy with how the day went.

Lobster Shorts cooking, Food, weight loss

What I Ate Today Sunday And Week Results

Disclaimer. I am not a medical professional, nutritionist, or anyone with any business giving diet/nutritional advice. This is my own personal journey. When it comes to yourself, seek the advice of a medical professional.

I made berry crisp for breakfast this morning. I cut up rhubarb from the garden, and then strawberries and blueberries from the grocery store. I added a half tablespoon of sugar and cornstarch.

I topped it with oats, whole wheat flour, butter, brown sugar, and some salt. I didn’t add a lot of butter and it was still delicious. The calorie count for one was 520 calories. It was really nice with black coffee.

I snacked on cherries and a couple of chocolate crackers and had a salad with avocado for lunch. My spouse wanted to surprise me with dessert today.

He spent all day making me coconut cream pie (I had mentioned I had been craving it) and I had a really big piece.

Dinner was a portabello burger (the mushroom cap was the burger patty) from Hello Fresh with a side salad.

I overdid the calories again today.

SundayCalories
berry crisp520
coffee0
chococrackers x260
salad325
Cherries 2 cups154
coconut cream pie429
hello fresh burger
burger and sald620
coconut cream pie200
Calorie Totals2308

Sunday is supposed to be the only day I go over 1800 calories. I didn’t do very well this week. My average daily calorie intake was 2141 a day, but I was down a pound. Monday morning I was just a hair under 176lbs.

Lobster Shorts cooking, Food, The Great Outdoors, vegetarian, weight loss

Saturday – Calorie Overload And Fun At The Beach

Disclaimer. I am not a medical professional, nutritionist, or anyone with any business giving diet/nutritional advice. This is my own personal journey. When it comes to yourself, seek the advice of a medical professional.

Saturday morning, my spouse and took the pups in for a weigh-in. The puppy is now 75lbs and his older brother, Otis is 82lbs. After five months, Otis is at a really good weight. He doesn’t need to gain anymore. Both the dogs are healthy and doing well.

As per usual, Saturday morning Jay and I went to The Stonetown Cafe for breakfast. Sometimes we bring the doggos, but the two of them can be a handful, so we went ourselves. I was a little hungover from Friday and had orange juice instead of coffee. I had an egg sandwich on a bagel with a slice of cheddar cheese. I really like their iced coffee in the summer, but I was too thirsty.

Jay and I headed to the beach at noon and I got the Harvest Sandwich at Tim Hortons for lunch. I seem to be having a lot of these lately. Jay wanted one too, but there was only one left. Being the sweetheart he is he let me have it and opted for something else. He’s such a gentleman.

We had a super fun day at the beach. The water was warm bath water. I loved it. I brought a little underwater metal detector that I found on Aliexpress with us. I didn’t have much hope for it, but it actually worked! It takes a 9-volt battery and it’s really small and discreet. I don’t know why, but I feel really silly using a metal detector around people. This thing definitely flew under the radar and guess what… It’s waterproof! We went snorkeling with it and I’m in love with this little thing. Jay even found something in the water!

Aaaand we found a dog shock collar. No, we will not be keeping it or using it. I wish we had found something a little less… shocking. The summer is just starting there will be a lot more fun beach days with this gadget. I’m so excited to use it again.

Jay made us dinner with Hello Fresh. It was absolutely delicious, but the calorie count was HUGE. The bag was 810 calories per serving, but the tortellini noodles were separate. The noodles were around 400 calories. Knowing the last time, they didn’t include the items separate from the bag into the meal calories, this meant this was massively high in calories. Even though I ate less than the serving size, I still had quite a lot of it. I adjusted the calories so they would more reflect what I ate. I also had popcorn and snacks this day, bringing my calorie count for the day to a whopping 2789 calories! YIKES.

SaturdayCalories
bagel250
egg78
slice of cheese113
orange juice111
Strawberries 318
latte160
harvest sandwich – Tims391
granula bar160
apple sauce45
tortelini pasta400
hello fresh pasta bag790
popcorn213
chococrackers x260
Total Calories2789