Chaos Incorporated, can you help me?

That's an old joke between me and my sister when I give her a call and she's completely stressed out - she'll answer the phone with that line. Lately, I think it's the way I would answer the phone when she calls me.

The foot is definitely mending. The stitches are out and I can wear a lightweight sneaker, loosely tied. I've been able to work out a couple of times, slowly walk on the treadmill, some strength training with my trainer, taking the dogs for short walks. My foot still doesn't like much pressure on the scar area, but it's coming along. I look forward to being able to really work out.

The other thing that's been happening around here that's been stressing me out involves bunnies. Little baby bunnies. What started as four bunnies my husband rescued from a burrow that was flooded, eyes not even open, is now just two baby bunnies. The past few days in the Foodie household have been very sad for me.  I keep reminding myself that they at least had a chance, whereas they wouldn't have if we hadn't rescued them. Irony of all ironies, we found out they were out there because Puppygirl brought one inside last Saturday night, and by pure chance, didn't kill it. It had a particular leaf with it, so we knew where it came from. Note to bunnies: our yard is REALLY not the best place to dig a burrow.

The two little ones are starting to eat solid food: apple, carrot, celery, grass. They're still getting kitten formula, but it's more watered down. Needless to say, it's been hectic. And keep in mind, we have 3 dogs who all have very strong prey-drives. We've fenced off the kitchen area where the bunnies are, but they sit there, whining and staring at me, when I am feeding the bunnies.  Yup, it's just a bit crazy around here these days.

On the disabled list

It is with feelings akin to envy that I have been reading about people's runs on Twitter lately. You see, I am on the disabled list right now. A very large, heavy meat cleaver and I had a run-in on Sunday evening while I was making dinner. I seriously am extremely lucky I have all of my toes, and that I only had to get 3 stitches. Unfortunately, my foot is so badly bruised and sore from the wound that I can't wear shoes. On Monday, even having a sock touching my foot was extremely painful. I can manage wearing an extra large slipper for short periods of time now, but even that is too painful after a while. Sneakers? Out of the question. All of this has amounted to cancelled training sessions, very bored doggies, weight gain, and my not being able to get in any meaningful activity this week,  It ain't been pretty, folks. I feel like the real life equivalent to those "trick to lose belly fat" internet ads that show the cartoon figure grabbing it's belly fat. Nope. Not pretty.

Don't you just hate that?

I'm really not looking forward to working out with my new trainer later today. He's new, brash, rambunctious, not just a bit annoying. But what's worst? He tries to sport an "Alcide Herveaux" look.  Ugh. It has totally ruined my love of True Blood. Alcide? Ruined. This is as bad as when Hugh Jackman started singing Oklahoma songs to Katie Couric on the Today Show years ago. Wolverine? Ruined. I hate that.

Word Of The Day

Meh.

"Meh" is an interjection, often used as an expression of indifference or boredom. It can also be used as a verb, (rendering something uninteresting or boring) and an adjective, meaning mediocre, boring, or apathetic.  (Source: Wikepedia)

Yup. That pretty much sums everything up. Working out, weight loss, blogging, cooking, finances, life in general... you name it, it sums it up. As much as I'd love to meet up with everyone at Fitbloggin, I'm reconsidering even going.  I'm boring, my blog is boring, my workouts are dwindling and boring. Why bother. Between the cost and the fact that I get freaked out by "social" situations, it doesn't make much sense.

You got your chocolate in my peanut butter... my take on not-Larabars

I have been known to go overboard buying Larabars when Kroger has them on sale. But when they aren't on sale? Not happening. I love them, but man, they can get expensive. I have enough expensive habits, thank you very much. Do you have any idea how much pretty batik fabric is per yard?  So, I figured, lots of people have made homemade versions of Larabars, why not me, too.

I love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, so I mixed up a batch of fudgie bites this morning with my Magic Bullet. Gotta tell you, blended dates are super sticky. Since less is sometimes more, I made mine bite sized instead of bar sized. Your choice. This came out to 16 pieces, at 1 WW +point each. The whole batch was 15 points total.

PB2 Chocolate Bites

1/2 cup (tightly packed 1/2 cup) of chopped dates
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts
2 T PB2
1 t vanilla
1 T dark unsweetened cocoa powder

Put the dates in the Magic Bullet or food processor and blend until it's a rough paste. It can be a little lumpy. Add in the peanuts and blend until it's a coarse paste. I then added in the PB2 and cocoa powder and the vanilla, processed until mixed. Then I turned the paste out into a bowl and mixed until everything was blended together. When mixture is blended well, put on to a piece of waxed paper and flatten into a square. I then folded over the waxed paper and rolled it flatter, so that the thickness was even. Refrigerate for at least an hour, unwrap, and cut into your desired shapes. Enjoy!

Kenlie's challenge - week three

This week, Kenlie challenged us to make a soup or stew. I wish I could get The Aussie to eat stew, but he's got this "thing" about stew. I think it's the same "thing" he has about casseroles. Oh well.  Soup is something I like.  I thought I had a picture of the finished product for the amazing veggie "pho" that I made, but apparently not. I did take a picture of the ingredients I was using. (I added the flank steak to one bowl just to try it.) I made it with chicken broth, sliced radish, bell pepper, scallion, hot pepper (they scare me), cilantro, ginger, fish sauce, soy sauce, and brown rice maifun noodles. It was so delicious. The fresh ginger gives it some serious bite and aroma. I can imagine having this when I have a cold. Not that I want a cold, mind you. *knock on wood* 

I did manage to get a picture of the other soup that I made this week. It's a curried carrot and sweet potato soup. So easy. Just heat up a carton of chicken broth (see above picture), add in 6 peeled and chopped carrots, a peeled and chopped sweet potato, some garlic powder and curry powder. Cook until the veggies are soft, then either blend or use an immersion blender. I've made variations of this soup so many times, my immersion blender is stained orange! 

I've also been doing a lot of grilling this week. I grilled trout the other night, steak, veggies. All good, especially when it's over 100 degrees out. Tonight I'll be trying Shannon's agavae lime marinated chicken. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

Last picture for Kenlie's challenge

Once again, not the best picture, but here it is. I marinated the turkey tenderloins in soy, sesame oil, garlic and ginger. You seriously can't go wrong with that combination. I didn't grill these, but cooked them on the stove, browning them on all sides and then I reduced the heat and covered them. I was going to have TJ's harvest grain blend as a side, but I didn't cook it long enough and the baby garbanzo beans were still crunchy. Yuck. So, the last of my cucumber salad had to sit in for dinner.