The move this past weekend went surprisingly well. Nothing was broken, the movers were nice, furniture was delivered on time and FIOS was set up just in time for the Superbowl! The apartment is so much larger than our previous one and there is a lot more space to fill...so there is a lot more spending that needs to be done, but it is all coming together nicely. We are waiting for our dining room table to be delivered and then it will start to feel like a complete apartment. But it certainly feels like home and I have never been happier. The past few nights Ryan and I will look at each other in awe of our new place and ask "are you sure this is ours?" But it is, and I can't wait to entertain friends and family. Our previous apartment was too small - we were eating dinner sitting on the floor around a coffee table. Now we have a table for 2 in the kitchen, and coffee table that rises in the living room and a 6 seating dining room table - so everyone is welcome for dinner anytime!!
Our first night in the apartment we ordered Gluten Free Pizza from Mozzarelli's! Ironically, I used to eat at Mozzarelli's most days for lunch when I went to High School only a few blocks from where I am living now. They are now an award winning gluten free pizzeria and we were so excited to try it! Unfortunately they don't deliver to our address because most delivery men get lost in the Peter Cooper Village. But it was nice out Friday night so Ryan and I took the 15 minute walk to pick it up. We ordered 3 small pies - yes we were starving after a full day of moving! We got cheese, pepperoni and broccoli/spinach/pepper. It was delicious. It tasted like a regular pizza pie and the vegetables were extremely fresh - it was the perfect first meal in our new apartment. And we actually sat on chairs at a table to eat together! I was so happy!!! I love making our homemade GF pizza using Schar crust, but sometimes, it is nice to have a warm meal cooked by someone else! So this will be worth the walk for the pickup!!!
Our new kitchen is huge! The oven/stove is twice the size, the fridge/freezer are twice the size, there's a dishwasher and cabinets space galore that I cannot even fill most of it! We have a pantry, storage and room for a table. I am in shock. The counter space alone is making me giddy because I won't have to use folding tables as an "island" when I need to cook.
Our first breakfast was a green juice and eggs and bacon. The juice was kale, 2 oranges, apple and half a grapefruit! It was so much easier to make the juice and clean up and I will be motivated to make more now that we have the space to do so!!
Our first homemade meal was Cappello's fettuchine with Turkey Bolognese. I had ordered Cappello's a few weeks back and was so excited to try the pasta and cookie dough after Victoria told me about the product. It is gluten and grain free and made with Almond Flour and eggs. The pasta cooked in 45 Seconds and was so simple, delicious and easy to make! Dinner was ready in 5 minutes (salad included). (WW Points Cappello's Fettuchine: 5, WW Points Fresh Direct Turkey Bolognese 1/2 cup: 2)
The pasta was followed up by Cappello's cookie dough! This was the best cookie dough I have ever had - I would have eaten the entire thing raw! It is already rolled out so all you have to do is slice it into your desired cookie size and amount (serving size is 20 cookies, 3 points each) and bake for 10 minutes. The almond flour was so tasty and they were a bit salty. The chocolate chunks were large and the warm cookie right out of the oven was the perfect evening dessert!!! The pre rolled dough also makes it easy to only make 1 or 2 cookies so I don't sit down on the couch and eat the entire batch, which I could easily have done. We made 10 cookies and the next day made another 10...they were too hard to resist!!!!!
We also bought Arctic Zero Ice Cream which boasts only having 150 calories per pint, which for a girl, means you can eat the entire pint and not feel guilty!!! 1/2 cup serving is only 1 WW Point!! Although it is hard to believe that there are only 35 calories per serving (and there have been news reports that there is 48% more calories than advertised), the ice cream is filling and satisfies my sweet tooth. We got the Mint Chocolate flavor which I think was the best because the minty flavor added something to what could be considered bland chocolate since it is made with whey protein. Surprisingly, I was full after 1/2 cup. I did add some Cappello's chocolate chip cookie crumble to it!
Super Bowl Sunday was eventful! Although the game was a blowout and a bit boring - delicious food kept us occupied. I slow cooked a bean and pork chili for 8 hours - the house smelled delicious like spices and herbs and pork and tomatoes! This is a Weight Watchers Recipe - my first ever slow cooker recipe and my first WW recipe and it is a big success in our house. It is so easy to make, the ingredients are fresh and the serving size is large and points values are low. And slow cooking for 7 hours means the clean up is easy, the food is ready and I can go about my day without having to worry. I buy pre chopped vegetables (mirepoix) to save time on cooking and prepping as well. Through everything into the slow cooker and....done!
Three Bean and Pork Slow Cooker Chili
Servings: 9 (Servings Size: 1 Cup)
Weight Watchers Points: 7
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
15 oz. canned black beans, drained and washed
15 oz. canned kidney beans, drained and washed
15 oz. canned pinto beans, drained and washed
1 cup canned tomato sauce
6 oz. canned tomato paste
1.5 lbs lean pork trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 cups Mirepoix (or 1 cup diced onion, 1 cup chopped carrots, 1/2 cup chopped celery, 2 cloves garlic)
1 small jalapeno, seeded and diced
30 oz. Diced Tomatoes, Fire Roasted with Medium Green Chilies
1. Combine mirepoix, chili powder, oregano, salt, pepper and jalapeno in slow cooker. Stire
2. Add remaining ingredients and stir again.
3. Cover and cook for 7 hours (I recommend 4 hours on HIGH and 3 on LOW)
There are tons of leftovers which are great the next day or frozen! I love this chili and it has become my go-to slow cooker meal!
Because we have been so busy with moving, I did not get to Bar Method this weekend! I can't wait to go back but the weather has been so crappy here in NYC that I am going to wait until Friday morning to start my routine. It's hard figuring out new train/bus times to get to the studio from my new apartment, which, even though it is in the city, is on the opposite side so it is hard to get cross-town. I actually bought a CITIBIKE membership which allows me to rent citibkes which are stationed all over the city and use them for 45 minutes, unlimited amounts of time! I rented my first bike this weekend and biked from my apartment to Juice Generation to get breakfast and then I biked with Ryan from our apartment to Bed Bath and Beyone cross-town. It's extremely scary biking during the day in NYC traffic, but most streets now have bike lanes and if you go with the traffic, it is a lot safer and more convenient and time saving! I bike yesterday morning at 5am to the Bar Method studio and it took 17 minutes! There was no traffic and besides a few cars on the road, I was basically alone. I still stopped at the red lights, yielded to pedestrians and was extremely careful because it had rained and snowed the day before. Unfortunately, it has been snowing and sleeting and rainy all day today so I didn't take a bike today. But in the summer and warmer months and even in the winter when it isn't a wintry mix, biking is really convenient!
Last night, we made bison burger salads. Bison is extremely low in fat, has no carbs and high protein. It is the best selection of meat to choose and is filled with juicy flavors. I grilled the burgers with some onions and olive oil, 4 minutes on each side and topped on a spinach salad with tons of veggies. This was the easiest dinner to make during the week! And I didn't miss the bread that goes with the burger. The salad and bison were so clean and filling and healthy. I loved it! Can you tell I love when I eat most of the time?! I only eat what I love and I love food!
Haley is getting very comfortable in our new apartment and is marking her spots. She can be found on a different couch cushion or chair every hour, testing her spots I'm sure. She is so cute and I am happy she has a lot more space to run around. I hope she realizes this is her new home - she's still a little scared and our neighbors have a dog so she gets nervous when she hears him in the hallway, but I think she is enjoying the new space!
I promise to update the blog regularly now that we are settled and cooking more and I have more time to devote to writing - I really did miss it and am excited to get back to it. I promise to provide insight to last weeks podcasts. With the move, I was only able to listen to a few but what I heard was extremely insightful and I think everyone can benefit from the information provided.
Be safe everyone in the storms that are headed our way - stay warm, stay dry, stay happy, stay healthy.
XO
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