Chef Creations: Delicious Healthy Dishes Created by a Home Chef

I'm serious when I say that I think I missed my calling as a chef. Don't get me wrong, I don't need a show on Food Network or anything, but I make some pretty darn good dishes. I had the inspiration for our dinner tonight from a trip to Houston where I saw an item on the menu and thought it was interesting. I'll give you a hint, I made mine more delicious, more healthy, and a quarter of the cost of the meal at their restaurant. If you want to know how, keep reading.

So over my birthday weekend I was in Houston. For my birthday lunch we went to Saltgrass Steakhouse. I'm not exactly sure the name they gave their steak, but it was a filet wrapped in bacon with bleu cheese on top and served with two sides. My two sides were a caesar salad and mashed potatoes. The item was on the dinner menu only for a list price of $24.99. Kinda steep for a steak I'd say.

Well, I recreated that dish for under $5. Simple delicious flavor, a ton fewer calories, and in the comfort of my own home. I bought two filets wrapped in bacon from the grocery store.... $5.25 for the pair. I bought a package with (7) 1 oz. servings for $7.29 (you only use 0.5 oz per steak). Butter melted on top was only 1 Tbsp, so roughly $.10. I bought three potatoes for $3.19. The rosemary I had growing outside on the patio. The shredded parmesan cheese was $3.50 for 10 servings. The mashed potatoes made 6 servings.

So we'll break it down this way. 

Steak - $5.25/2 = $2.63. Bleu Cheese - $7.29/14 = $0.52, Butter - $0.10.   

2.63+0.52+.10 = $3.25 for the steak itself. 

Potatoes - $3.19/6 = $0.53, Butter - $0.20, Parmesan cheese - ($3.50/10)*2.5 = $0.88, Rosemary - FREE. 

$0.53+0.20+0.88 = $1.61 for cheesy mashed potatoes with rosemary, which was better tasting that the mashed potatoes from the restaurant.

So instead of eating in a restaurant paying $24.99 for one or $49.98 for two, I recreated the dish for one person for $4.86 or to dine with someone, two people for $9.72.

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes with Rosemary

Make 6 Servings

Nutritional Facts (per 1 serving):

105 Calories, 4g Fat, 6mg Cholesterol, 1437mg Sodium, 325mg Potassium, 14g Carbs, 1g Fiber, 

1g Sugars, 4g Protein, 7% Vitamin A, 23% Vitamin C, 18% Calcium, 4% Iron

Ingredients:

3 Medium Potatoes

1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

3/8 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese

1 Tsp. Diced Rosemary

Steps:

1. Cut off the skin of the potatoes and then dice into 1 inch cubes.

2. Place pieces into a pot and cover the potatoes with water.

3. Bring potatoes to a boil.

4. After cooking for 6-8 min., check the potatoes with a fork to see if they are soft enough for mixing.

5. Add almond milk, rosemary, and parmesan cheese.

6. Blend together by hand or a blender. Add almond milk if the mixture starts to harden when mixing.

7. Serve and enjoy.

Another Birthday for Jesse!!! And Stephen's isn't far behind :/

Over the past weekend, Jesse celebrated her birthday. She undoubtably did not enjoy making that leap of age into the late twenties. I really have no room to talk, I'm already in my late twenties and have accepted that I'm not going to get younger in age by number, but I can get younger, faster, and stronger in ability of mind and body.

I never realized what kind of girl I fell in love with, apparently I didn't notice she is a four year old trapped in an aging body who is over the age of twenty one. What makes me have this comment?? Oh just the fact that the breakfast she asked me to make her on her birthday morning was a banana cake batter protein pancake with sprinkles baked inside, topped with bubble gum flavored icing, sprinkles, & candles.

Even though she is a kid when it comes to her birthday, apparently I have blonde hair that is just colored wrong. Last night I cooked a dinner for Jesse and my parents. How simple is cooking chicken wrapped in bacon?? Not only did I mess it up, I burned the heck out of the first two pieces of chicken.

My only defense was that I was using my cast iron skillet for maybe the third time, used a little too much extra virgin olive oil, and had the temperature raised too high for too long (I didn't think the skillet would heat up that quickly).

I will admit that there are no pictures of my disaster, only because my plate did not resemble the fact I was eating chicken wrapped in bacon, but Jesse made some delicious twice baked potatoes. She'll have to give the recipe just in case you don't already know how to do it, like me.

Unfortunately for the two of us, we've been rather busy and fell off the healthy eating and working out schedule we had created. Fear not, we will be jumping back on the wagon after this weekend and/or whenever we get back from Houston for my birthday weekend.

Images from Sunday

Sunday started with some early-morning grading.
I teach English at a community college, so I have
a never-ending stack of essays to grade.

Of course, grading can't happen without coffee & chocolate!
Italian roast k-cup with 1/2 cup Unsweetened Vanilla
Almond-Coconut Milk and Salazon Salted Dark Chocolate bar

    

Stephen and I went for a run at a local park.

Such pretty views! There is a garden in the park

                   

First sign of Spring!
(And the 70 degree temps help!)

Lunch: Burrito Bowl from Izzo's
Lettuce, tomato, corn, grilled onions, black beans,
Mexican rice, black olives, mushrooms, salsa verde

       

My current read.
Jen Lancaster is freaking. hilarious.

Note to self: Don't read this in public!
"Laugh it up, asshat!"
Yes, that is a stack of essays I should have been grading.
Thanks for not mentioning it.

     

Stephen's Weekly Recap: A Slice of Heaven

Little did I know that an ordinary Wednesday could help turn this week into an outstanding week, might I even say "A Slice of Heaven?"

Everyone always thinks that it's the major events in a young couple's relationship that helps shape the direction they end up going. I agree to some degree, but my thoughts are that Jesse and I seem to be able to stray away from the major events and let the everyday events shape our relationship.

Valentine's Day was a nice occasion to celebrate, but it shouldn't be just once a year that you give of yourself to your significant other, but often throughout the year.

Sunday
"A Slice of Heaven" comes to mind when I recall the life I've been fortunate to lead ever since Jesse stepped into it. There is a time when people consider their lives to be too fast or just plain ole busy; I felt that way this Sunday after my shift at work. Even though I just wanted to come home from work and relax, Jesse and I chose to go to church almost immediately after I got off. It's nice to know that, despite my coming home from work completely worn out, we both believe in something so heartily that we choose to spend an hour of together in silence for something we value so deeply.

Monday
Jesse had work while I was in class, and then I went to work after class. Luckily for me, Jesse wasn't too far away, volunteering with a local non-profit (Project Purr) at kiosk nearby. Granted it was not the best time at work having customer issues, but Jesse said something to me that made me realize just how happy I am with her: "Even when you are having the worst night at work and are so frustrated that you are angry, you treat me no differently than you have before. You gave me the gentlest hug and sweetest kiss as if nothing were wrong in the world." That made me realize that I treat and act with Jesse like I did when I played sports. When I cross the chalked line and onto the playing field, I block out all the exterior events and noises and only focus on whats going on inside the chalk. 

I surprised Jesse by stopping by after work to see her, even though I had said I needed to relax so I wouldn't take my bad day out on her. My stress relief is typically to cook, so Jesse was shocked when I decided that at 10 P.M., we were going to have a crab boil, minus the crab, but with red potatoes, sausage, garlic, and mushrooms.

Crab Boil Potatoes, Sausage, Mushrooms, and Garlic

Yum!! Sorry the picture is minus the mushrooms.

Yes, I did have a little too much water in the pot,
so we had a mess to clean up. (Jesse, you were correct.)

Recipe:
65.5 oz  Red Potatoes 
(roughly 25 potatoes)
28 oz   Jennie-O Turkey Kielbasa (14 servings)
8 oz (or more) whole button mushrooms
1 head of garlic
5.5 oz  Louisiana Fish Fry Crab & Shrimp Boil

The serving sizes for the following nutrition:
2 oz of Sausage
1 Red Potatoes

Nutrition Per Serving:
Sausage:
Calories: 90, Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 30mg, Sodium: 897mg, Carbs: 1g, Fiber: 0g, Sugars: 1g, Protein: 8g

Red Potatoes:
Calories: 10, Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 194.4mg, Carbs: 2.3g, Fiber: 1g, Sugars: 0.5g, Protein: 1.4g


Tuesday
Just an ordinary day with school and work for both Jesse and I. After we both got home, I had the brilliant idea of going to Walmart at 9:30 P.M. to buy groceries. I say brilliant considering I hadn't eaten dinner yet, and Jesse ate dinner four hours earlier. Needless to say, we might have been buying groceries with our stomachs rather than our initial "shopping list" plan. Granted we did buy healthy items or ingredients to make healthy dishes, but we also learned to eat dinner before making a grocery run.

I think there are some things people dread doing, and grocery shopping is typically one of those things. As I said earlier, it's the little things that shape a relationship....even going grocery shopping is enjoyable for Jesse and I to do together.

Wednesday
Not only did I get a nice stretch in at the gym before class, but after class when I got back to Baton Rouge, Jesse and I enjoyed a nice jog around the LSU lakes at sunset. We both built up a nice sweat in the cold, but if the frigid (Yes, I said frigid.... we are from Louisiana and frigid is anything below 60 degrees) wind can help you lose weight, we should have lost an additional 10 lbs each.

Taken at the 2 mile mark of our 4 mile run!
Having a great jog in the winter night.

After our run we met up with my parents for dinner since they hadn't seen Jesse in a little while, nor myself all that much. Unfortunately, we all have such busy schedules that even though we live in the same city, we only get together for dinner once every week or two, if we are lucky.

We all enjoyed Zippy's in Baton Rouge, LA. The easiest way to describe Zippy's is a mom-and-pop Subway for Mexican food. How healthy was it you might ask? Probably not that great, but we tried to make good choices. Jesse had a veggie burrito, minus the flour tortilla. So basically she had a bowl of veggies (grilled onions, bell peppers, mushroom, black beans, corn, salsa, and a little rice. No cheese or sour cream; she's going dairy-free for Lent). I can honestly say she eats less meat than I do vegetables, haha. I, on the other hand, had ground beef soft tacos (ground beef, cheese, and salsa). Soft tacos homemade tend to be healthier, so I am content with the decision versus getting a quesadilla or a chimichanga.

What better way to end the night?? No other way except to stop in at Whole Foods for some fresh fruit and coconut yogurt (for Jesse's dairy free life) to prep for our first try at protein pancakes. Yes, we are taking part in National Pancake Week. (I think IHOP invented it for a promotion, haha)

AND... my parents texted me on the way to Whole Foods just to say how much they enjoy having Jesse as a part of my life. I mean, how nice is it to have family that enjoys spending time with their children's significant others?? I always hear horror stories about in-laws from all my married friends.

Thursday
We had a pretty standard day as usual with both of us at school during the day. The great thing about it was that I was off from work for the second night in a row, so I could spend some time with my sweetheart.

When I first got to Jesse's, we left out and stopped at Whole Foods for some Almond Milk. Jesse ran in while I was on the phone with my mother. My mom had been up at the hospital earlier in the day for a relative's injury, which spurred her to think of me and Jesse. A relative had been in the gym and apparently brushed up against a machine and had a cut which got infected over 2-3 weeks time. While my mother was at the hospital, the doctor was telling the relatives that it is actually a common thing for people who typically go to the gym to get an infection such as this. The doctor stated that if the infection gets down into the bone, then the leg or arm has to be cut open to clean all the infection out, with the worst case scenario being amputation. So after my mom heard this, Jesse and I received a phone call warning us about wiping down all the equipment before and after use and to wear pants and clothing that covered bare skin to help prevent cuts that could be infected.

While I finished the conversation with my mom, we drove over to the local animal vet office to pick up Marco (the foster cat) from being neutered. Fortunately for us there were no issues, unlike the young girl behind us in line. As we are waiting for Marco to be brought from the back of the office, the lady behind the counter asks the young girl if she needed help. The young girl steps forward and responds, "I'm not sure if I spoke to you on the phone, but I called about this earlier. I brought my dog in here back in April 2012 to be neutered, well..... he's still got his testicles. I know he has one for sure, I've seen it hanging." The look on most of people around the counter was priceless, and almost immediately and involuntarily I say, "Well this just turned rather awkward for him." Needless to say, we grabbed Marco and ran for the car, hoping they took care of him correctly.

After we got home from picking up Marco, we moved some furniture around in the living room so that we could do a core body circuit.

Core Body Circuit:

• Wall Sit
• Lunges
• Squats
• Planks
• Sit-Ups
• Push-Ups
• Leg Raises
• Bicep Curls
• Chest Expander
• Superman's

Each exercise was 1 minute, with a 15 second rest in between each rotation. We ended up completing 2 rounds of the circuit before we were worn out and starving.

Next up on the agenda was our first try at protein pancakes, which were delicious might I add. We finished up eating dinner and watching The Biggest Loser episode from Monday on the DVR.

Question: You've seen the type of week we've had, what kind of week would be your "Slice of Heaven?" 

Celebrating National Food Holidays

I was reading this post at Life's a Bowl when I learned that it's National Pancake Week! I mentioned this in yesterday's post, but today Stephen and I finally made the protein pancakes we've been planning to make for weeks.

PB2 Banana Protein Pancakes:

Ingredients:
1/2 c oats
1/2 c egg whites
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (we used Jillian Michael's Vanilla Creme Shake)
1 mashed banana
2 tbsp PB2 powder
splash unsweetened almond milk

These were amazing! Nice and fluffy (I read that sometimes protein pancakes are anything but), topped with 100% pure organic maple syrup and and fresh fruit (blackberries and strawberries for me, blackberries and blueberries for Stephen. We are slightly obsessed with berries at the moment).

In case you're curious, I also firmly believe that National Pancake Week calls for these Salted Caramel Pancakes (also from Life's a Bowl). If only I had the sugar-free salted caramel Torani syrup...

Today is also National Cook a Sweet Potato Day. Stephen and I are obsessed with roasted chipotle powder sweet potatoes, so cooking a sweet potato was not. a. problem!

Prepping sweet potatoes and having an appetizer.
We were hungry post-workout!

Well, not a problem until I burned them! My mom called, so I got distracted :/ 

Good thing it's National Cook a Sweet Potato Day,
not National Eat a Sweet Potato Day!

Since we're on the topic of national food holidays, Stephen's birthday is National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day. He's stoked! Me? I'm kinda meh. Definitely feeling National Pancake Week and National Cook a Sweet Potato Day instead.

I don't have a national food day on my birthday, March 10. Should we make one? How about National Mushroom Day? National Biscoff Spread Day? What does it say about me that these are the two days I  choose for my birthday-meets-national-food-holiday day? 

I had way to much fun reading Allison's post. Clearly.

Question: What's your favorite food holiday? Is there one on your birthday?

Nope. Nap.

Did you know? It's National Pancake Week!

[Source]

Stephen and I fully intended to celebrate tonight with our very first attempt at protein pancakes. We've planned to make them for weeks, but life always gets in the way.

Like today. Instead of pancakes, we are going to grab dinner with Stephen's parents. I'd say that's an okay reason to skip pancakes, right?

Before dinner, Stephen and  I have a run planned around the LSU lakes, but Stephen still went to the gym on his own this morning.

I received his MapMyRun push notification, which spurred this conversation:

It's been one of those days.

Question: What's your favorite pancake? Since we're newbs at protein pancakes (okay, pancakes in general aside from Bisquick), we need tips!

Valentine's Day

Stephen and I had a great first Valentine's Day together. He didn't have (aka, skipped) school and came over before I left to go to work, so we were able to have a nice lunch pulled together from our food prep/grocery trip on Monday. I had mashed tuna and avocado spread on honey whole wheat bread topped with alfalfa sprouts, a tomato, and some canteloupe. Stephen had a ham and cheese sandwich on the same honey whole wheat bread. We both had water to drink.

I'll get veggies into this boy eventually.

Jesse's Lunch

Stephen's Lunch

After lunch, I had to go to work; I teach from 12:30-3:15 on Thursdays. Stephen went and ran the levee on LSU's campus.

Isn't it pretty? I, unfortunately, had to skip the run didn't have time to get a workout in after school.

Stephen sent me two dozen red roses to work. Aren't they gorgeous? I mean, if a girl has to go to work instead of go for a run on a gorgeous day, she should at least get flowers, right? 

So pretty! I'm pretty traditional, so I
love red roses!

When I got home, we exchanged the rest of the gifts. I got him a cast iron skillet (he wanted it, I swear! My mom got mad at me because it isn't a "romantic" gift). 

Um, what's not romantic about a gift that lasts a lifetime?

Stephen bought me dangling pearl earrings and a pearl necklace and he printed some pictures of us from Mardi Gras to put in my empty picture frames.

I'm wearing the jewelry that he bought me
in this pic

That picture frame had seriously been empty
since April 2012

After exchanging gifts, Stephen told me to go ahead and get ready because he was going to take me to New Orleans for dinner instead of going to the place he had in mind in Baton Rouge. Once we were on the interstate, I asked if I could guess where we were going (I knew we were going for Italian in a suburb of New Orleans). Stephen said yes, and I immediately shouted "Semolina's!" He was surprised I guessed so quickly and delighted when I followed that guess with "I LOVE Semolina's!" (We've never eaten there together).

Stephen had Lasagna (so good! I moused a
few bites)

I had Chicken Enchilada Pasta (even better
than Stephen's dish)

We also shared a bread pudding for dessert. The rum sauce was to. die. for. I may or may not have eaten more sauce than actual bread pudding... on a spoon. by itself.

We ended the night back at my apartment just cuddling on the couch before Stephen had to go home. A perfect day.

Playing footsie :)

Mardi Gras 2013

We skipped our workout this Tuesday in favor of this:

Originally on the agenda for Mardi Gras was a simple trip to the gym and some more prep cooking, but a sudden spur-of-the-moment trip changed the day's plans. I had the great idea to take hold of the tradition we were raised around, Mardi Gras. We decided to take a quick trip over to Lafayette for some parades and lunch. Our trip to Lafayette for Mardi Gras included many fun adventures, including checking out my old stomping grounds, THE University of Louisiana........ at Lafayette. (Sorry, I'm waiting for Jesse to jump in about all the massive branding around campus saying University of Louisiana, with no "at Lafayette" attached to the name.)

*Rant from Jesse: I get angry about UL-Lafayette branding themselves as The University of Louisiana. There are multiple universities in the University of Louisiana system, including my alma mater, The University of Louisiana at Monroe. Eventually Stephen will get tired of bringing up our rivalry ;)

One of my favorite things about campus is the face that we have Mardi Gras parades roll right through it.

Only in Louisiana will you find two different
Crossfit locations sponsoring Mardi Gras floats

Before we left the parade and ULL's campus, we stopped by my favorite spot on campus, Cypress Lake. Since the business building was only twenty yards from Cypress Lake, I visited often when I was a student at ULL. I enjoy being able to brag to others that my university has a real swamp in the middle of campus and legitimately has over a dozen alligators in it, some ranging up to 6 feet in size. The university has an agreement to remove the alligators at 6 feet and move them to the Atchafalaya Basin so that it does not stun their growth, and then they replace those with baby alligators.

An alligator covered in marshy swamp water

Us standing near the swamp

I brought Jesse to a place I grew fond of when I was spending a lot of my time in Lafayette for school, Prejean's Cajun Restaurant. Not only do I find this restaurant to be some of the best food in South Louisiana period, I also enjoyed visiting friends who worked there while listening to the live Zydeco bands playing the night away with Cajun music. We both enjoyed some delicious food as you can see below.

Prejean's Restaurant near Lafayette, LA

Almost anyone who knows me knows that I'm a very picky eater, especially when it comes to vegetables, but put a few Cajun dishes in front of me and I forget the meaning of the word vegetable. Granted, at Prejean's I went with my all-time favorite Cajun dish, Fried Alligator. Most people think it would be disgusting or taste like chicken, but I'll be the first to tell you that the flavor is all of its own and either blackened or fried, it's delicious to eat. I actually buy the alligator tail meat to cook at home sometimes. I think people underestimate wild game. The meat is delicious to eat as well as being rather low in fat and calories.

Jesse decided to try a dish I have eaten on numerous occasions, as well as my mother's all-time favorite Prejean's dishes, Crawfish Enchiladas. The mixture of crawfish, cheese, and flavorful vegetables are like none other when this dish is served.

Stephen's choice (Top Picture): Croc de Jacques
(Fried alligator and hushpuppies)
Jesse's choice (Bottom Picture): Crawfish Enchilada

Here is one of Prejean's slogans.....

Food Prep Monday

Today, Stephen and I had a cooking marathon. We decided to prep food for the week. This is something I've done quite often before, but today was the first time we've prepped together.

So, what was on the agenda? Chicken breasts seasoned with a local spice blend and cooked on the George Foreman.

Sweet potatoes roasted in the oven with salt and chipotle chile powder. Our latest obsession, but that's another post.

And a few other miscellaneous items: roasted asparagus, brown rice, brown lentils, hard boiled eggs, black beans, steamed broccoli (to eat with dinner tonight).

Brown lentils, hard-boiled eggs, roasted asparagus.
Yes, that lid is too big for the pot...
We make do around here

We also had a kitchen failure, but that's another post.

What do we intend to do with all of this food? Well, we are Catholic kids, so that means no meat on Wednesday or Friday. For my part, I fully intend to have rice bowls with some combination of brown rice, lentils, sweet potatoes, and black beans... quite possibly topped with some Greek yogurt. Also, mashed avocado and alfalfa sprouts on whole-wheat toast, maybe with some tuna.

I can't speak for carnivore Stephen.

Of course, we couldn't have done all of this without quite a large grocery trip. We spend about $150 (which is ridiculous for two people, we know), but we were literally out of everything. Seriously... bare fridge and pantry. We forgot to take pics of our grocery haul (again, we'll get better at this whole "we are bloggers" thing), but a few highlights are chicken breasts, sweet potatoes, asparagus, avocados, hummus, tomatoes, broccoli, local whole wheat bread, cage free eggs, turkey sausage, alfalfa sprouts, cantaloupe... yeah, that list could go on forever.

Now, we have a beautifully stocked fridge.

Prepped fruit, veggies, and meals;
almond milk, nut butters, Greek yogurt...

What was for dinner tonight? Well, you'll see...

His and hers, anyone?

Guess which plate is mine? You're right; the top left: brown rice with sriracha, grilled chicken, broccoli with lemon--all with a delicious Passion Tea Lemonade. Stephen had grilled chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, pretzels(?!), barbeque sauce, and broccoli with cheese (which, by the way, he didn't eat... I'm really trying with the whole "you have to eat your vegetables" thing). With a Coke Zero.

Do you meal prep? What are some of your go-to staples?

Meet the Parents

Jesse's side of the story:

So Stephen and I had a pretty important moment in our new relationship yesterday: he met my parents.

We were both nervous. I was worried he wouldn't like my parents. He was more nervous than I was, though. Let me explain. My dad is 6'8 and drives a Harley (he also teaches second grade, so you can get the badass biker image out of your head now ;). I'm an only child. Understandable nerves? I think so.

Stephen and I are both incredibly fortunate that we are both so close to our parents, so the stakes are pretty high when meeting them. I've met his parents a few time (they live in the same town we are currently in), but my parents live about two and a half hours north of us, so it's obviously not as convenient to spend time with my parents as it is to spend time with his. Because we all have a four-day weekend (Happy Mardi Gras!), my parents decided to drive down for the day (because they missed me, obviously).

My parents came to my apartment where they met Stephen for the first time. Then we all went to Jason's Deli for lunch. In case you're curious, I had the salad bar and chili; Stephen had some kind of sandwich he didn't like. Obviously, we finished lunch with ice cream (if you don't know, you get free ice cream at Jason's Deli!).

We'll get better at this whole "we are bloggers and need to take pictures of things" thing.

All in all, things went really well. My parents like Stephen. In fact, they say he seems to be the best guy I've dated so far (they actually said that I improve with every boyfriend), so that's always nice to hear. I guess I can keep him, right?

Stephen's side of the story:

So yesterday was the most nerve wracking day in a while for me.... D-Day, the day I met Jesse's parents for the first time. As the time passed and it got closer to meeting them, I started feeling like a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I decided to try and psych myself out by playing it as cool as an Eskimo selling Popsicles on a cool winter night. That thought lasted about all of 0.25 seconds when I saw Jesse's parents step out the pickup truck.

The first thought that ran through my head, no lie, was that this would be David vs. Goliath. So the typical David in the story is tiny; well, at 6'1, 250 lb., I'm no small David, but Goliath had me topped at 6'8 easy, and I had a crick in my neck after looking up at him all day. But instead of slaying Goliath, I just needed to befriend him as a formidable opponent. This challenge was due to the fact he is a key piece in Jesse's life.

Good thing for me that Goliath was a jolly fellow who did not care to slay the young David, but rather get to know one another. I knew things would be ok when discussing where to eat lunch and his first words were, "Anything but sushi."

*Alleluia*

Things were looking up: the discussion was flowing back and forth with Jesse's parents and lunch at Jason's Deli was good. As Jesse said above, my food wasn't the absolute best, but it was still good. Unlike Jesse, I passed up the salad bar and decided to go with a create your own sandwich. I decided to roll with a ham sandwich on herb foccacia bun with provolone cheese. Since the bread wasn't toasted, the ham was cold. (*enter disappointment*)

After enjoying laughs over lunch with Jesse's parents, we came back to her apartment to visit a little longer before I had to rush off to work. I enjoyed getting to know two individuals who raised such a beautiful and wonderful daughter, inside and out. They reaffirmed in me what I want in life, and that's to have happiness like theirs and my parents, but with Jesse by my side.

As I left, I had a good feeling about the day; the bear hug I received from momma bear helped reaffirm in my mind that I must have passed the first test. One hurdle jumped, but its a marathon of hurdles to jump get to our final destination together.

Meet & Greet: Jesse and Stephen... And Lizzie!

Who are we? We are a young couple who fell for each other and the values instilled in each of us...

We decided to make healthful eating and regular exercise a part of our relationship from day one. Jesse takes the reins in the kitchen (though Stephen can certainly hold his own! Just ask about his Turkey/Buffalo burgers... delish!). Stephen is the brains behind the fitness side of things (though Jesse... well, she's pretty clueless. But she tries!). We keep things fresh not only in the kitchen but also with our workouts by changing it up and not sticking to the typical gym day-in-and-day-out routine. And how could we forget our cuddly cat, Lizzie, who one minute is snuggling next to us and the next minute swatting Stephen's hand away... typical cat.

Travel is important to both of us, but Stephen has the schemes to get us where we're going. He came up with an incentive-based workout program which helps pay for our travel, either partially or completely (depending on the trip). The days we both workout, either together or separately, we pay the other person's mileage walked/jogged/biked. The days we don't workout, or one of the two of us doesn't, nothing gets paid towards our travel. Simple incentives, but great rewards: $1 per mile, if 2.51 miles, we pay $3. If 2.41 miles, we pay $2.

Neither of us is particularly happy with our current weights, though the pounds are being shed! This blog is a chance for us to share our weight-loss journeys, our kitchen successes and disasters (trust us, not everything is delish! Stephen is still recovering from Jesse's Spaghetti Squash au Gratin.), as well as our dating adventures.