Snack Bug

So it's another late afternoon at work, and I started craving a snack; more specifically chocolate and a coffee.  Since having my first baby 9months ago I've been steadily trying to lose the 'baby weight', I've been doing pretty well but haven't been able to give up my afternoon snack.  

That said, today I opted for a walnut brownie, and more or less regretted it afterward. It's one of those treats I know I shouldn't indulge in while trying to lose weight but I can't seem to stay away from the combination of walnut and chocolate. Then I started thinking how nice it would be to snack on chocolate covered walnuts but haven't seen any around. 

I started searching online for recipes and found a nice simple one for 'cocoa covered almonds' which I think I will substitute with walnuts. The recipe called for mixing the nuts with maple syrup, then simply coating them with cocoa and flour. Then pop them in the oven for 25 minutes. Needless to say I'm now dying to try this, it sounds very simple, which for me in the kitchen is a must! 

I checked her blog and liked the recipes, wish I was as disciplined to eat as clean as this but I guess one step at a time. Wish me luck! Check out the link below if you're interested in the recipes on that blog...

CleanEatingBlog - Cocoa recipe

Funeral in Brooklyn

Officer Liu's funeral was Sunday near my neighborhood in Brooklyn, the streets were lined with our police officers and bus loads from outside the city. The show of support they have for each other and for the officers family was really touching, a tragedy like this shows how strong the 'bond of blue' can be. I can't imagine what the family of both officers are going through. Normally when a loved one leaves for work in the morning you expect them to come home, it shines a small light on the 'what if' factor that our police and firemen and their families have to live with in their daily lives. Bless them all.

Evol

When I find something I think is good I like to share it; I’ve been buying this frozen food brand called Evol recently from the supermarket. I'm the type of person who wants to be healthy, I buy fresh vegetables from the supermarket but never seem to use them in time. Evol is a great way for me to bring a quick lunch with good ingredients to work. I bring them to work with me and pop it in the microwave. They aren’t a diet food, options include burritos etc…but they use brown rice, no antibiotics for meat they procure, no GMO, no artificial flavors, colors or additives, and buy their ingredients cage free and farm fresh veggies. The chicken teriyaki bowl is especially yummy. Check out their website and try a meal if you happen upon them. If you have any other quick healthy food option brands, please comment and let me know. http://evolfoods.com/products/

my life so far 2014

Had an angel of a daughter in March, truly blessed. I thought being motherly was some life changing event, in a way it was but not the all encompassing way I thought it would be. My husband and I love spending time with our new baby, she males us laugh, and sometimes want to cry. I suppose I thought my 'natural Motherly instincts' would kick in as soon as she was born. Not the case with me, and at first I gave myself a hard time. I thought nursing would come instinctively, thought id have an instant almost ethereal bond. With the addition of residual pain after giving birth, hormone rollercoaster, I should have eased up on my expectations of myself. Our baby is happy, healthy, and loves us no matter what; just as we fell for her at first sight. So if anyone reads this and has had similar feeling as a first time parent, try not to put so much pressure on yourselves. Another new event is that I finally got the courage to put some old poems together into a book and self publish on Amazon. I was nervous to put it out there, but my families been amazingly supportive of it. I was inspired to put it out there because I want my daughter to follow her dreams as she grows. Also my younger cousin recently published a book on there, which was a great story (Air & Angels) based on Vampire Diaries. My other cousin who was not only a gifted writer but also a soul filled with light who just enjoyed making others laugh passed away far too young this year while I was almost due to have my baby. All these people helped me, and where its easy and free to self-publish its not simple for me to get ast the 'should I' stage. in other baby news I'm also blessed to have some of my best friends pregnant or recent moms themselves, seeing them so happy makes brings joy to all around them. Although I should mention my girlfriends who don't have kids yet are so supportive and still visit and hang out with me, I mean why wouldn't they right? But I've heard stories about how new moms ditch their friends sometimes or vice versa, sad to think about. It really does mean the world to know such a good group of people.

Hurricane Sandy hit hard in Coney Island too

I used the title for this post since I grew up in Coney Island and my parents still live there but while the hurricane hit there was barely mention of it on TV. I'm sure it's like that in a lot of neighborhoods, after the storm there's so much clean up that places can't help but be overlooked. Coney Island was still flooded in parts the day after the storm, power is still out now. It's limited resources and sadly crime rates are rising fast now, looters already hit a few local stores. Police presence has now arrived and sanitation has drove through helping with the clean up. Hoping for the best for everyone in all neighborhoods, lets try to help eachother out.

Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy hasn't even made landfall here in Brooklyn yet but she's fast approaching. I was eager to see the effects of the outskirts of the storm before it hit. The picture is from the belt parkway this morning at 8:30am, the storm is set to hit at 8pm tonight. Hoping for the best, thankfully my parents evacuated as they live in zone A. Best to all out there and stay indoors.

Spa's Are Supposed to be Relaxing

Last time I checked spa's are meant to be an oasis of relaxation where people go to get rid of stress, at least that's what I thouhgt. It all started when my Mom retired and I bought a gift certificate to a spa as her present. Great idea right? I thought so too, until I tried to book the appointment. I tried to book an appointment for myself and my Mom when the sales lady said I needed to pay upfront, when I repeated 'pay up front' in order to confirm I heard her right she caught an attitude and said, 'Yeah...' then called me honey, not in the sweet kind way but in the condescending one as if it's something everyone on Earth should know. I decided to talk to my Mom about services she wanted and she would then go in person to book the appointment. We opted for spa week when we saw an offer online, and thought what a nice turn that her gift card purchased from that spa would go further. Not so simple, they allowed her to book the appointment with her gift card and reminded of the 48 hour cancellation policy. Here's where it gets ridiculous; the day before the appointment they called my poor Mom and told her that she can't use her gift card toward a spa week treatment, on top of them never telling us this before they then won't allow us to make any changes to the appointment as it was past the 48 hour mark. I was livid when my Mother called to tell me this, I contacted the spa but it did no good. They should not call themselves 'Green Spa & Wellness Center' because they do not care about your well-being at all. Hopefully the Better Business Bureau will have more luck contacting this business than I did. Now I'm on a hunt for a new spa, one that's actually relaxing.