It’s spring! Okay, okay, so spring started last week – I know. But now it’s warm out. And we can work on our pitiful garden (I never cleared it after last season). And we can walk to the park again, which is one of my favorite activities with Will.

But this puzzles me (this isn’t the garden). We’ve had several pretty warm days yet this snow just isn’t going away. I really wish it would . . .

But at least it’s spring!

I was so excited this morning to report that Mr. Bento was on his way, but never in my wildest dreams did I expect to see him arrive so swiftly.

What? What’s that behind my darling boy? Can it really be? Already?

Yes! Thank you Amazon for your super speedy (and free) delivery! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

(I look tired and totally spent in that photo . . . what can I say? I am!)

I cannot wait for tomorrow morning when I will make my inaugural Mr. Bento lunch. Yipppeeeeee!

(Just wanted to share my excitement!)

Lunch. These days, lunch is a hard meal for me. My corporate cafeteria has struck out again and again for me, and the salad bar is not only overpriced, but uninspired. So, that leaves me needing to bring lunch – which I forget to do some days, though I am getting better. It’s hard to find the time, the inspiration and the joy in packing your own lunch though.

Today’s lunch? A tomato, fresh mozzarella and pesto sandwich; blueberries and strawberries; a 100 Calorie Pack of Cheetos; and an organic cinnamon apple sauce. And lots of water.


I am hoping that Mr. Bento will change lunch for me – making it better, healthier and yummier. One can only hope. Who is Mr. Bento? He’s my new lunch contraption – four tiered, keeping hot hot and cold cold. It’s all the rage and after hearing so many good things about it, I had to try it too.

My confirmation of shipping came yesterday so I am hoping to be using my Mr. Bento very, very soon for some delicious, inspired lunches that will both keep me full and satisfied.

What others are doing with their Mr. Bento‘s:

• Udon Rice Bowl, Cucumber Sushi and other delicious things at Sweet Daisy: Eats
• Lots of Bento lunches on Flickr

I was amazed when Will stood by himself the first time – he was barely 5 months old. But others were more impressed with the amount of food he can put down . . . he is quite the eater and has been since he was a wee babe.

The first confection Will ate as a baby (he was about 6 and a half months at the time) was cheesecake. And boy, did he love that cheesecake. Angel, his godmother and my best friend, served it at her son Elijah’s first birthday party and I gave Will the tiniest of tastes. Apparently that tiny taste of a delectable cheesecake was overpowering, as he ended up eating nearly my entire piece (yes, I know, send the mother of the year award this way – feeding, on demand no less, a cheesecake to a 6-month-old). It’s been over a year since Will seized his first bite of the creamy confection, but he still loves it every bit as much.

I had planned on making a cheesecake for St. Patty’s Day, but couldn’t find the recipe I wanted in time. So when I made dinner plans for my best friend Rhian and her man to come to dinner, it was a no-brainer what I would make for dessert: my son’s favorite.

Initially I had planned to serve this with some sort of a fruit topping, but running low on time, I ditched that idea and served it plan. No matter, the creamy cheesecake held it’s own nicely. And Will, now a running toddler, managed to steal my chair and my cheesecake . . . somethings never change.

Don’t worry, the picture will come tonight

CRUST:
1-1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
CAKE:
4 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened (I used two reduced fat and two regular)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch nonstick springform pan.

In a bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.

In a stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla on medium speed until smooth. Add one egg at a time, continuing to mix on low speed, until blended.

Spread the cheesecake mixture over the crust of the pan, and try to make it as even as possible.

Place the cheesecake in the oven and cook for 55-60 minutes, until the center is just set. Let the pan sit in the oven with the door cracked for 15 minutes before removing, then let cool a little more on the stovetop. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

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Other delicious cheesecake recipes around the blogosphere:

• Coconut Cheesecake by My Husband Cooks
• White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake by Scribbit
• Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake by Sweetnicks
• Pomegranate Cheesecake by Tigers and Strawberries

. . . does little to drive away the writer’s block.

A whole week away from my blog? I can’t believe it! So what have I been doing while neglecting this nearly daily log of eats and exploits? Well, for one, I am still editing Well Fed On The Town, Fit Fare and Sugar Savvy, so that’s a daily exercise for me. And I am writing for a new blog as well, Mad About Martha. Plus there is the book, which is coming along nicely in terms of the new recipes I’ve been developing. Of course, there is the textual other side that I still need to contend with . . .

And I’ve been working.

Back to the book for a second. I was brimming with ideas when I signed the contract and could scarcely wait to get writing. So why is it that now that I am writing, those ideas are fleeting and forgotten memories? A little writers block here, a little writers block there . . . Sometimes it’s maddening. So I try to get the ideas out – no matter where I am – when I get them so that I don’t lose any more. I can’t afford to!

This ice cream sundae may look delicious, but the ice cream itself was awful! I used Turkey Hill Light Vanilla Bean and it reeked of artificiality. YUCK. I should have shelled out the few extra dollars for the Breyer’s!

What’s your favorite ice cream?

This is not pistachio flavored or mint chocolate chip or mint anything. It’s just a very green concoction I made for dessert last night (it was St. Patrick’s Day after all). You can’t quite see the green sludge (aka chocolate mint pudding) in the bottom . . . yea, classy.

Guess I went a little haywire with the food coloring.

So how do YOU make an Ugly Irish Cake (guaranteed to transform into a beautiful Irish cake after a few drinks)?

Bake a simple cake such as Irish tea cake and dye it green. Cut the cooled cake into chunks. Then make one package of Jell-o vanilla pudding mix, adding a few ounces of good quality chocolate and some (you guessed it!) green food coloring. Finally whip up a pint of heavy cream (don’t forget to sweeten it with powdered sugar and toss that quintessential green food coloring in!).

Now, you layer: cake, pudding, cake, whipped cream, chocolate chips, more cake, more whipped cream and top it off with a few more chocolate chips.

Ta-da! You’ve made one ugly, but tasty, cake.

Oh man, can’t believe I shared this one . . . hehehe.

Once he got over the “ew” factor of the snow sticking to his mittens, Will discovered that he loved the snow. We spent more than an hour outside, marching around in it’s fluffy goodness.

Yesterday I gave you a primer on types of proteins. Today, I am following up with a little more info so you can decipher how much protein you need.

According to the Harvard School of Public Health, millions of people around the world don’t get enough protein each day. Protein deficiency leads to a condition called kwashiorkor, which is characterized by tissue breakdown, failure to grow, immune deficiency, and respiratory and heart problems. If that’s not enough reason to get your daily intake of protein, I don’t know what is!

How much protein should you eat?
This does depend somewhat on how you eat. There are a lot of great resources about protein consumption for both men and women on the internet to help you learn what is right for your eating habits. For instance, this is a good read if you are on a low carb diet. The gist? The more protein you eat, the more calcium you need to counteract calcium loss. To figure out generally what is right for you, based on height, body frame and age, try this calculator.

Virgin Pina Colada Protein Shake
serves 1

1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1 cup ice
1 serving protein powder mix (1 scoop for mine)

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Drink immediately.

As longtime readers may remember, I have been in a quest to shed excess pounds for quite some time. I managed to lose all the baby weight within a year of birth, but there is some excess weight (and a little back-to-work weight too) that has been plaguing me the last few months.

With a demanding schedule between work, spending time with my family (and my son in particular) and writing, it can be hard to make the time for exercise. But recently, my husband finally got on board and he has been motivating me and pushing me to work out a lot more. I haven’t seen the benefits on the scale yet, but I can feel the small tinges in my muscles and the tightness that signals the completion of a good workout. I’m not there yet, but it does seem that I am on my way to finally being rid of the bulge.
Something else my husband has pushed me to do lately is drink a protein shake for breakfast everyday. I know what you are thinking – protein shakes are funky, chalky tasting, too thick drinks that are just gross.

Until recently I would have wholeheartedly agreed with you. But this particular protein powder, Syntha-6, isn’t chalky (check out some reviews here). I drink one scoop, mixed with 8 oz of water, 5 strawberries and about a half of a mango . . . and it tastes good. It’s also very filling, so that has become my sole breakfast.

Now I am not suggesting that you run right out and buy this brand. I don’t care if you do or not. But have an open mind, there are a lot more options out there for protein supplement powders than the old chalky standard.

Here’s a rundown of different types of protein:

Whey Protein
This is a derivative of milk. It is also the most commonly found type of protein supplement. Benefits include that it contains amino acids, it promotes muscle regeneration and that it “boosts immunity.”

Soy Protein
Soy protein is a vegetable protein ideal for vegetarians and vegans looking for a supplement. It is derived from soy flour and can lower cholesterol. It may also reduce the risk of heart disease, a claim approved by the FDA in 1999.

Egg Protein
You know those scenes in movies and television shows were these pumped up guys would drink raw eggs before workouts? Well, it’s because eggs are a great source of natural protein. But the high cholesterol is an issue, so there is egg protein supplements that offer the nutrition without the bad side effect.

A good primer can be found here.

It’s incredibly hard to find good resources about this on the internet that aren’t put up by companies or muscular men with size complexes. Regardless, a protein supplement is sometimes important when you are working out because it helps your muscles. It’s also a filling meal replacement that has nutritional value.