christmas dinner survival guide part 2: how to be a good guest

Last Sunday, A and I were given an invitation to a dessert party. Yes, that’s right, a party, five days before Christmas, full of nothing but dessert and alcohol. I will give you a minute to fully absorb how awesome a concept is. Done? So, although I am looking forward to this party, I did take a second and think perhaps a dessert party was not the best place for me to be – considering I am watching my diet, but who could turn that down?

Luckily, since it is only dessert, it means A and I will still have to eat dinner before we go. I can eat at home – make it healthy – and fill up on good food, so I am not tempted to eat every dessert there is. The last time the hostess made a dessert it was a chocolate cupcake with a peanut butter cup core, chocolate icing and crumbled peanut butter cup on top. I know, right?!

my night with the fryer

There’s something about a bad day or week that makes you want to consume nothing but the greasiest food. And cupcakes. And ice cream.

Yes, I can be a pig at times but after a hard week I figure I deserve a meal, or full day of indulgence!
This past weekend that is just what my friend and I decided to do. We made the plan in the middle of the week and from then on discussed what we would make and drink at our fried food extravaganza to help get us through the week. It worked.

Now, you know how when you build something up for a period of time the chance for a huge let down on the actual day increases? We were determined not to let that happen so we packed the day full of fun and exciting things like brunch and trying on bridesmaids (and possibly wedding) dresses which we FINALLY found. Yay! Another item to check off. So we did what any group of three girls would do. We celebrated by buying a half dozen cupcakes from Short and Sweet. So good! Try the Red Velvet, best I’ve had. Then we went on our merry way to buy all the things we would need for our bar food inspired feast.

vegan eating: mango & black bean salad

credit to kalynskitchen.com

When I finally came out as vegetarian, nobody seemed very surprised. I am pretty sure my parents have always known I was a closetcase and referenced the family dinners out at restaurants, when I only ordered a salad or the vegetarian option, when I asked what had given me away.

My entire family was fantastic about it. My dad explored vegetarian alternatives to the dishes he made often, my mother spent long nights typing ‘vegetarian’ into the Google search bar, and my sister went into full-vegetarian support mode. And my friends, some were vegetarians themselves or supporters of the lifestyle, were ready to offer any advice to a fledgling-vegetable, like me. 

home comforts: mac & cheese

On this cold and dreary day, I woke up feeling more hungover and plain nauseous than I have in a long, long, long time. Luckily, I started work later today and was able to sleep in until eight a.m. – which probably saved me from a somewhat messy walk to work, to put it mildly. I couldn’t eat anything for the first four hours; drank water about as fast as kids eat brussel sprouts and I am almost sure any of the able bodied ninety-year old men living in my father’s nursing home could have beaten me in a footrace.

Needless to say, I was pretty much feeling like crap the entire day and the 4.2k walk home in the cold, gusty, and ‘I will rain on you any second now’ weather outside was more than a little daunting. By the time I finally made it through my front door my misery level has plummeted from ‘god, this day sucks’ to ‘I need this fu@$ing sh!% a$$ day to fu@$ing die! Fu$%!’

christmas dinner survival guide

It’s that time of year folks. As I write this, the Santa Claus Parade is only a week away, and once that happens, it’s only a matter of time until we find ourselves in full-blown Christmas mode. I’ve never been to the parade-my Mother’s claustrophobia and strong disliking for large crowds was enough to keep my brother and I watching it on t.v. from the warmth and comfort of the couch. Now that I think about it, maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.

For a lot of people, the parade marks the start of the Christmas season, but for me the benchmark has always been the first holiday dinner.

nine months and counting

Hahaha! No, don’t worry. This is not a pregnancy announcement.

A very close friend of mine is getting married in 9 months and she just got her dress this past weekend! It’s VERY exciting! I was sitting in the dressing room, “I Swear” came on the radio and she was trying on the very last dress the store had of a discontinued gown she’d had on her phone for the past two years. And to top it all off the dress was marked down by more than half of the original price! Can you say MEANT TO BE?!

home comforts: chili

There was frost on top of all the cars this morning. One man’s car looked as if it had that four letter word starting with ‘S’ all over it! Ew! No, not that word. SNOW!

In the words of the Stark family, “Winter is coming”. (If you haven’t started watching Game of Thrones, do it now. You’re welcome.) What better to warm us from the inside out than chili?! See, the wonderful thing about chili is that it can be varied in so many ways that anyone can enjoy it, even you!

healthy eating at home

I can hear you all asking – “so, e, how do we eat out all the time without blowing our diets”? I have two words for you my friends; stay home!

Lately my boyfriend, A, and I have been eating out a bit too much. When you walk into a restaurant and the hostess shouts “E” (think Norm from the t.v. show Cheers), you know you’ve been there a bit too often. So I sent A a text saying I’d make him dinner. His response was; “great what are we having”? I had no clue!

a pre-marathon dinner party: running for our dinner

About a month ago, I hosted a pre-marathon dinner party at my newly revamped – okay, newly painted – house for all us runners, their significant others and my younger brother the night before running twenty-one kilometres.

The goal of the night was to feed the runners the carbs they would need for the big day while satisfying the pallet, while NOT driving myself so crazy I would feel like I had already run the twenty-one kilometres before it even began.

The key to the evening was preparation. I sent out the invitations a month or so in advance, making sure to ask if anyone had any food allergies or dislikes, then planned the carb-loaded menu.