I was sick last week and I needed to rest for 2 days because I wasn’t feeling better. I think I gained weight more than losing when I stay at home. My son’s Nanny prepared a timely snack for me…

Hot Noodles and my fave Spanish Bread

Snacks like these, I really can’t resist. I will just need to take the best fat burner if I may. It’s great that I don’t have to stay the whole week or else I will be gaining too much, not that I don’t want to stay home because I can see my son round the clock, but I get strong appetite when I’m at home.

My husband is suggesting that we go to the grocery every week and I cook viands for a week for us to bring at work. As much as I want the idea, this needs a lot of budgeting and since my parents budget the food at home, we need to incorporate the food I will be cooking. It might be too much and we need to buy food storage where we can put the cooked food in the freezer that can be reheated in the microwave and we also need storage where we can put the raw ingredients in the freezer and fridge. I saw something like this in the mall…

But I am not sure if they are microwaveable. The various sizes is nice to fit different kinds of food. I will have to plan this and do some budgeting before I make plans for it, probably next month.

Well, some unexpected expenses came out this month but these are the expenses that I really don’t mind because even if I know it’s out of our budget, I know it will give us comfort and fun. Let me enumerate some of them. For one, husband has his Boxie’s brake pads replaced. He was supposed to just have it fixed but I told him, that comfort and safety are important and since his car is an old school, better have important parts replaced with new ones because honestly, we don’t know how old those parts are already. Then my friend Joy linked a Cash Pinoy great deal for a Foie Gras Menu Degustation

Restaurant Cicou is a French restaurant located at San Lorenzo, Makati City. We will be using the vouchers on our Anniversary. Hubby was very excited to see the deal yesterday and I purchased it via Paypal. The plan is to take a day off from work, spend the day with our son and then have our dinner date at Cicou and maybe watch a movie after.

This is the reason why there is the 3rd unexpected expenses, yes it’s plural because it’s a whole outfit, from the top to the shoes. HAHA… I don’t have a whole outfit to wear for these kinds of fine dining dinner dates. You see, when we became 3 in the family, we only have the malls as our retreat! My best friend is convincing me to buy a little black dress, I really want one for myself but I don’t know if it’s worth it since I am a pants-kinda-girl which is why when I saw this whole getup at Forever 21, I drooled… Goodness, I hope they have this in Megamall because our Anniversary is only less than 2 weeks away and please let this be doable, I mean I hope the prices will still be reasonable, I don’t want to buy a top that is worth a thousand pesos…

I love the bag too, I wonder if I can fit all my stuff there. LOL.

I love subscribing for Jillian Michael’s entries. I get the most interesting articles and for this matter recipes, that I can read and try. Today, I got this very interesting recipe in my mail and I will surely try this one, well, I will use chicken for myself of course since I don’t eat meat anymore but here is her original recipe…

Mediterranean Burgers

Ingredients:

• 4 sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water
• 1/2 cup millet, rinsed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cups lightly packed baby spinach, stems trimmed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 2/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 7 whole-wheat English muffins or whole-wheat buns
• Arugula and tomato slices, for garnish

Preparation:

1. Place sun-dried tomatoes in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let soak until softened, about 30 minutes. Drain and finely chop; set aside.
2. Meanwhile, bring broth (or water) to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in millet and salt; return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the millet is tender and liquid is absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork; transfer to a plate and let cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
3. While the millet cooks, heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened and light brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Gradually stir in spinach; cover and cook, stirring, until the spinach is wilted, 30 to 60 seconds. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Transfer to a plate; let cool for about 10 minutes.
4. Place the millet in a food processor and pulse to mix lightly. Add the spinach mixture and pulse until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in the feta, basil, bread crumbs, pepper, and the reserved sun-dried tomatoes; mix well.
5. With dampened hands, form the mixture into seven 1/2-inch-thick patties, using about 1/2 cup for each.
6. Using 2 teaspoons of oil per batch, cook 3 to 4 patties at a time in a large skillet over medium heat until browned and heated through, about 4 minutes per side. Toast English muffins (or buns). Garnish the burgers with arugula and tomato slices.

Makes 7 servings.

We are always in a rush. All of us at home are working, well except for my sister in law who stays at home with my nephew. She cooks meals for all of us but of course it needs to be quick cooking since her priority is her son. We are also watching our health these days, we are not getting any younger so healthy eating is somehow required too, we also want to train the kids to learn how to eat healthy so it means no processed food for them and we adults seldom eat processed food too. My sister in law and I have been searching for quick healthy recipes for everybody. Since I am always online, I searched for sites and as of the moment our favorite site is the iVillage Food site. You know my nephew has allergy in poultry, basically it’s chicken and eggs that he can’t or else he will have cough, colds or eye irritation the next day which the site is a SO MUCH of help for my sister in law. As a mom, I understand where my sister in law is coming from, it is always a challenge to feed a son with allergies and iVillage Food is like a culinary lifesaver forever, well not that my nephew will be having this allergy for life, the Pediatrician told them that as he grows older he can overcome this food allergy but as for now, my sister in law is saved from all the worries of what to prepare for breakfast, lunch and dinner and even snacks. I love to hang around and grab as much delicious recipes as I can and will definitely try it one by one so that we can have variety of healthy foods at home. To give to you an example of how easy the recipes and how healthy they are, here is one recipe which is also my favorite:

Salmon is my favorite and we tried this and it is guaranteed very yummy…

Parsley-Garlic Roasted Salmon

Ingredients:

1 2-pound salmon fillet, skin removed
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
6 medium garlic cloves, finely minced
1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Place the salmon on the paper and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread the Dijon mustard over the salmon in a thin layer.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the garlic, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pour the mixture over the salmon and roast until the fish is just cooked through, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Try this, it’s perfectly yummy and very healthy!