This Week's Breakfast Bowls + Lunch Plates - Blueberries, Chia Seeds + Shepherd's Pie
By Melissa - Friday, July 25, 2014
Monday (July 21st, 2014)
The wafting aroma of the tomatoes, onions and Italian herbs medley simmering in my pot was too good to miss. So, I decided to bake a healthier version of Shepherd's Pie (minus the buttery pastry).
Best impulsive decision EVER. Click *here* to see the turnout.
Tuesday (July 22nd, 2014)
Take-out.
Wednesday (July 23rd, 2014)
AM: Blueberry + chia seeds yoghurt pudding, fresh blueberries, raw almonds and muesli.
Noon: Indian-style roasted chicken breast, boiled broccoli + spicy potatoes.
Thursday (July 24th, 2014)
Take-out, courtesy of my colleague.
Friday (July 25th, 2014)
AM: Mango puree, fresh blueberries, raw almonds, muesli and chia seeds on Greek yoghurt.
Noon: Reprised a new favourite from Monday - Shepherd's Pie with boiled beans and grilled portobello mushroom.
Monday Blues Begone - Pedigree (Dog Food) + Shepherd's Pie
By Melissa - Tuesday, July 22, 2014
AM: Work.
My boss returned to the office after a lengthy business trip to Japan, and he came back bearing gifts. One of the goodies was this tidbit...
.
.
.
.
.
... which looked alarmingly similar to Max's treat.
I inadvertently mentioned it to Santa, who chuckled, shook his head and clacked his tongue; all in mock reproach.
Afterwards, he waved the snack at me, whistled, said "Come here, girl... Come here..." and tore of the packaging. He took a bite and uttered the following:
Me: *bursts out laughing* HAHAHAHAHAHA. How do YOU know what Pedigree tastes like? Snuck in a taste when you fed Rocky-Bobo (I couldn't remember his dog's name and by fluke, spewed out whatever name which came to mind at that moment) is it?
Santa: *taken aback* Uhhhhh...
Me: *still laughing* I know what to get you for Christmas if I draw your name at this year's gift exchange - A can of Pedigree dog food! HAHAHAHAHA.
Santa: *defensively* No laaaa... I said that the snack tasted like Pedigree because it smells pretty similar to my dog's food. I feed him (the dog) Pedigree canned food.
Me: Not a very good save, dood. *whistles* Come here boy, come here. HAHAHAHA.
Noon: Lunch plate - Shepherd's Pie (minus the pastry).
With sauteed spinach and grilled portobello mushroom as sides. |
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Related post(s):
The Week In Review - Freebies Galore, Berries + Homemade Pizza (Kinda-Sorta)
By Melissa - Friday, July 18, 2014
Monday (July 14th, 2014)
AM: Day off from work. Rested up and triumphantly seized one of Life's best offering - An afternoon nap.
PM: Dinner with my bestie.
Tuesday (July 15th, 2014)
AM: Back to the grind.
Breakfast bowl - Blueberries, strawberry puree, raw almonds and muesli on Greek yoghurt. |
Noon: Lunch plate for the day - Portobello mushroom stuffed with creamy spinach filling, with sides of spicy potatoes and poached egg.
PM: Gave dinner a miss and slid under the covers with 'Two and A Half Men' after work.
Wednesday (July 16th, 2014)
AM: Work.
PM: A smidgen of fairy dust to my stodgy week - Deluxe-sized samples from Chanel and Sephora.
Also, I whipped up dinner for The Little Sister and myself.
Tomatoes, ham, mushrooms and cheese on slices of whole grain bread, with wilted spinach to go with it. |
Thursday (July 17th, 2014)
AM: Gobbled breakfast and hastily joined in on a conference call to Japan.
Breakfast bowl - Blueberries, mango puree, muesli and raw almonds on Greek yoghurt. |
Snacking during a 3-hour long conference call is not an indulgence, it's a NECESSITY. Pictured above: Salted mini pretzels from M&S. |
Noon: Lunch plate (not pictured) - Mushroom and herbs omelette, with leftover spicy potatoes from Tuesday.
PM: Quality time with The Little Sister.
Friday (July 18th, 2014)
AM: Work.
Friday (July 18th, 2014)
AM: Work.
Breakfast bowl - Greek yoghurt topped with blueberries, strawberry puree, raw almonds and muesli. |
Noon: Lunch plate - Thai take-out.
PM: Healthy snacking.
Blueberries + papaya. |
This Week's Breakfast Bowl + Lunch Plates - Soup, Chocolate Ganache + Chicken Parmigiana
By Melissa - Friday, July 11, 2014
Wednesday (July 9th, 2014)
The weather has been intemperate lately and my body is having a difficult time keeping up with it. That translates to: splitting headache and sinus.
I've been chugging down water like a choo-choo train and choosing what I ingested was a top priority for me.
I decided to chop up some onions, carrots and potatoes, throw them into a pot filled with chicken broth and let the ingredients simmer for a bit.
An hour later...
Thursday (July 10th, 2014)
Breakfast: Fruit + cereal mix.
Lunch: Leftover soup from yesterday.
Tea: Perfect tea time treat to quell my sweet tooth tendencies, courtesy of my colleague.
Friday (July 11th, 2014)
Lunch: Chicken Parmigiana - Skinny version (read: NO coating of egg and breadcrumbs, NO deep-frying - baked the slab of chicken breast instead, and minus the chicken skin), boiled broccoli and a scoop of potato salad.
The Weekend That Was - Ferringhi Garden + Birthday Bash By The Beach
By Melissa - Monday, July 07, 2014
Saturday (July 5th, 2014)
AM: Full day ahead, so lingering in bed for as long as I could was mandatory. Finally relinquished the hold of my Bed's charms on me, and tramped to the kitchen to bake.
PM: Drove up to Ferringhi Garden for dinner (early birthday celebration - part one - for the BFF) after Youth Impact's service. The ambience was inviting and the decor was captivating.
The food was artfully plated, and pretty delish (I had the fish). Revisiting this place would be a no-brainer.
Our orders:
Lamb rack served with honey dijon mustard, ratatouille and mashed potatoes. |
Stewed to perfection with the finest herbs and spices. Served with mashed potatoes and the chef's unique concoction of mint pistou sauce. |
Exotic spices and herbs topping, baked with cheese. Served with baby potatoes and seasonal vegetables. |
Served with premium vanilla ice-cream. |
Sunday (July 6th, 2014)
AM: Church.
Noon: Attended my cousin's 17th birthday luncheon.
PM: The BFF's early birthday celebration (part two), as promised.
London Lemon Cheesecake (after it was allowed to cool on the rack and chilled overnight). |
Picnic by the sea. |
Dearest BFF,
You've seen me at my absolute worst, yet you still thought the best of me. I truly couldn't ask for more.
Happy Birthday!
Love,
Melissa.
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The Week In Review - No Other Name, 77, Birthday Invite + Lunch Plate
By Melissa - Friday, July 04, 2014
Monday (June 30th, 2014)
AM: Work.
PM: More work.
Tuesday (July 1st, 2014)
AM: Work
PM: Galloped to the door after being in the office for 10 hours, slithered through traffic and sneaked in some quality time with The Little Sister.
Claypot briyani with chicken. |
Wednesday (July 2nd, 2014)
AM: Work.
Updated my collection of albums on Spotify with Hillsong Worship's latest album, No Other Name. Love my Jesus, and there is no other name more beautiful than His.
PM: Late tea / super early dinner date with a dear friend.
Mee Mamak - Ordered to share. |
Thursday (July 3rd, 2014)
AM: Work.
Humor at work goes a long way (even if it's at your own expense), especially when meeting terse deadlines. Thankful for these spritzes of laughter at my workplace.
PM: Got home and spotted a package that was addressed to my name. Ripped it apart and my eyes instantly roved to the right half of the document...
... and my heart bounced to the skies, refusing to gravitate back to earth for 10 minutes.
Backstory: I took the day off to revise for the paper, but Procrastination won (what's new) and I studied (crammed in was more like it) for a total of (probably) 4 hours, at most. Passing this paper is definitive proof that I'm quite intelligent God was merciful to me.
After the buzz dialed down a little, I got my hands on creating an invite for the BFF's birthday celebration this weekend.
Friday (July 4th, 2014)
AM: Work
Noon: Today's lunch plate - my first and only one this week.
Grilled sausages with chili and honey, sauteed brown button mushrooms & spicy potatoes |
I'm mindful that the last time I had processed food was two weeks ago, but because this week was a Complete-1001-Things-ASAP marathon, a visit to the grocer's was unrealizable.
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Happy Weekend, everyone!
At CM, I spend a considerable amount of my time working with men. And, unlike the guys I've worked on projects with in the past (outside of work), my male colleagues at CM are a breath of fresh air - They are not at all chauvinistic and I'm grateful every day that I've never been denied of any opportunities at work because of my gender.
However, boys being boys, they thrive (with a massive amount of joy) in poking fun at what I say and do on a DAILY basis.
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Some of this week's office shenanigans:
1. Abusive Santa
MY hair clip, wedged on MY arm - Santa's doing.
To be fair to him, here's why that *points above* happened...
Santa has arms that are pretty chunky and quite frankly, I can't resist… not punching them. It's as though they're begging to be boxed.
It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to adopt his arms as my personal punching bag and throw tame jabs at them whenever I feel like it. He was docile about it... until yesterday.
He waited patiently for me to finish, swiftly caught hold of my arm and did the above. OUCH.
2. TweedleDUMB
My colleague and I were perusing the Internet; ooh-ing and aah-ing over some of the hairstyles that piqued our fancy.
We talked about caring for our manes and I casually mentioned to her that I had a digital perm several months back. That's when my XY-chromosome colleague (let's call him Tweedledum - his nickname in the office) struck…
Me: *chatters excitedly to my colleague* I did a digital perm a few months ago and it was so worth every cent I paid. The curls are so bouncy and defined.
Tweedledum: *chips in with feigned innocence* You did a digital perm. WOW! Is there an ANALOG perm too?
Me: *unamused* HAR HAR. NOT. FUNNY.
Everyone else in the room: *bursts out laughing* HAHAHAHAHA. You're funny (to Tweedledum).
My boss: *still laughing* You asked for it. HAHAHAHA.
3. AIRhead
I was toting Aelwen in my arms and walking towards a presentation meeting when Santa came up behind me and said…
Santa: Wow, your MacBook Air looks really light. I think I can smash it on your head and nothing will happen, since it's MacBook Air. Get it, get it? Come on, let's do it. *grinning widely*
Me: *rolls eyes* NO. You're not cracking my skull today.
Santa: BUT....... WHY NOT??!!