That Boy

As he is a little introverted, my guy would like me to be a little more careful concerning privacy setting. Thus he will now be referred to as "That Boy". Please try to refrain from using his real name, or his previous nickname in your comments. I am still, and always will be Jenna. As That Boy likes to say, I would run around naked if I could, so I don't mind the world knowing who I am.

My Europe Travels

If you would like to hear the rundown on my Europe travels as they happen, please visit here. Many many more detailed updates to come once I return home!

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Polish cotton candy at the medieval festival with a sword fight in front of a real castle with a bride and groom wandering around doing a bridal shoot!

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When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie that's amore . . .

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Mother

Often unappreciated
Sometimes stern
Simply gorgeous
Never selfish
Nearly Perfect

In Italian they say Grazie Mila
La tua Figlia
Jenna

Europe Wardrobe

I wanted to try out the new feature that blogger added, and I thought a great topic for a slideshow would be a little preview of my Europe wardrobe. I am really excited about it!
I will be taking the following tops, as well as black capris, pants, and my favorite Little Black Dress. 2 pairs of comfy black flats round out the entire ensemble.

Weekly Workout Date

Tonight The Boyfriend and I had what I hope to be the first of many Saturday Night workout dates together. I wanted to take pictures but I was told I wasn't allowed to post them on my blog. My first thought upon this pronouncement was "Why bother?". I love my little blog.

Working out together was so fun. As much as I love dressing up and looking nice, it was also great to get out and work up a sweat together. We had a "plank" contest, which I won. We are both going to be sore tomorrow. If I can track down a bike for him we can have some Saturday biking dates as well.

Cheesy Soy Spinach Casserole

I'm lucky to have a boyfriend who is interested in eating healthy, because I get to experiment with all of these crazy healthy recipes that might make some boys blanch and cry out "meat and potatoes please!". We are both making a huge effort to eat healthier, and it sometimes feels risky when I am making things with crazy ingredients that I would usually disdain, like soy, but this dish turned out really delicious and we both loved how much protein the soy provided without being overloaded with fat. I absolutely cannot figure out where this recipe came from. This is probably a hint that I need to be a little more organized in my recipe browsing. Maybe I made it up myself? Yeah, that's unlikely.

This recipe was so incredibly easy, I promise even the most accident prone cook can handle it.

Cheesy Soy Spinach Casserole

Ingredients:
1 package soy meat (I used Morning Star Meal Starters)
1 package frozen chopped spinach
1 can premade crescent rolls
1/2 tub of laughing cow light cheese
1 oz Athenos Reduced fat feta

Directions:
Defrost soy meat in the microwave, set aside. Defrost spinach in the microwave, set aside. Lay 1/2 of the crescent rolls in the bottom of a greased glass pan and put in oven to brown. Add spinach, soy, laughing cow, and feta to frying pan on stovetop. Warm and mix together until nice and gooey. Pull browned crescent rolls out of oven and add soy/spinach mixture on top. Lay the rest of the crescent rolls on top of this (buy an extra package if you want to have a crust of rolls that covers the entire casserole). Cook until rolls on top are brown. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 4 oz
Calories: 151
Fat: 7 g
Sat Fat: 2g
Poly Fat: 1g
Mono Fat: 1g
Cholestorol: 5mg
Sodium: 453 mg
Potassium: 128 mg
Carbohydrate: 12g
Fiber: 2g
Protein: 9g

Farmidable Desktop Wallpapers

Usually I like to keep my desktop background set as a photo of That Boy and I, but when I am looking for something a little different I like to use the cool (and free!) desktop wallpapers created by Farmidable.

These whales make me feel strangely happy.

This makes me laugh, and I am not sure why. Something about bunnies at the fair selling for $500 each I think.

Bunnies have never looked so relaxing.

Of course Princess Jenna could never pass up something like this.

FitFlop

Anyone heard of anyone who has actually used the FitFlop? I kind of want a pair..... Especially if they are going to give me legs like the chica in the photo.

ELIZA

Eliza Magazine. I've seen it in a few stores in Provo/Orem, but I didn't know they had such a great website until Brooklyn Bride mentioned it (maybe sarcastically?). One of those LDS blended with pop culture themed magazines that are so popular in the happy valley. The main website could use some more photos, but I like the blog, especially the fashion section.

Music to Lose Yourself To

Once I started working out again I realized that my workout playlist was a little bit outdated (I had taken like a year long break from the gym, oops). I've been working to create what I consider to be the perfect workout playlist for my gym time. Some people like songs that have some kind of a message to keep them motivated (JT's Sexyback is an excellent example of this), but I have to have a good strong beat. It's all about the pace of the music for me, especially when I am doing cardio because I tend to time my movements with the beat of the music. In no particular order are the songs I love most:

Since You've Been Gone-Kelly Clarkson
D.A.N.C.E.-Justice
Love Today-Mika
The Great Escape-Boys Like Girls
I Don't Wanna Be In Love-Good Charlotte
Everytime We Touch-Cascada
Take Me Away-4 Strings
Conflict-Azoic [Yes this is a DDR song, I am a nerd like that]
Party Hard-Andrew W.K. [The absolute BEST song in the world to run to]
stakeout-Freezepop [another DDR song]
Thank You Very Much-Kaiser Chiefs
I Like The Way-Bodyrockers
Mr. Brightside-The Killers
Lose Yourself-Eminem
Here (In Your Arms)-Hellogoodbye
Come With Me-Raindancer
Out of Control-Hoobastank
Flathead-The Fratellis

The newest additions are:
Absolutely Not-Deborah Cox
Come Clean-Hilary Duff
Apache Rocks the Bottom-Scooter
Maria (I Like It Loud)-Scooter
Ramp! (The Logical Song)-Scooter

Anyone have any suggestions for songs I can add to the playlist?

So Hip to be Square

My dancing roommates in particular should find this entertaining.

Year 1

Today is my one year anniversary with That Boy. I don't think he ever expected it to go this far, but he didn't know me well enough to realize how determined I am. I knew what I wanted, and I wasn't going to wait around until someone else handed it to me. It took me weeks to work up the courage to tell him how I felt, and he didn't make it very easier, being so flirty and touchy while simultaneously telling me he wasn't interested in having a girlfriend. The night of the "Ward Prom" was the night that started it all.


I have read lot's of other posts that bloggers have written, many of them touching, some of them extremely witty and funny. I don't know that I have the ability to do any of those things, and my dear little extrovert love appreciates the meaning behind the old adage "less is more". He forgets the birthdays and I remember them, I spend the money and he saves it. I guess all you need to know, is that he the my cracker to my cheese, my personal cheerleader, my best friend, the one I want to be with forever.

My comfort is that old age, that ill layer-up of beauty, can do no more spoil upon my face. Thou hast me, if thou hast me, at the worst, and thou shalt wear me, if thou wear me, better and better.

.-Henry V, Shakespeare, Act 5, scene ii

S,
We're in this together, for always. You'll always be my ninja love.
Ti amo,
Jenni Bobo

Hungry Girl Top Banana Bread

I think before writing this post, I should have posted about the magic that is Hungry Girl. To sum things up, it is a magical site, containing a newsletter you should definitely sign up for if you are at all interested in health and nutrition. More information on what Hungry Girl is rather soon, but let's move on to the deliciousness that I am enjoying right this second.

One of my favorite features in the Hungry Girl emails are her food swaps, where she takes foods with disgusting nutritional stats and turns them completely around to make them healthy (and quite delicious!). I knew as soon as I saw this banana bread recipe it was something I wanted to try. I had to buy bananas in really large amounts because I kept eating them so fast I never had any leftovers :)

Hungry Girl Top Banana Bread
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters)
1/2 cup no-sugar-added applesauce
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
Optional Toppings: no-calorie spray butter, Cool Whip Free

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine both types of flour, Splenda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon (in other words, all dry ingredients). In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, egg substitute, applesauce, and vanilla extract (all the wet ingredients). Add this mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients, and stir until just blended. Spoon batter into a large loaf pan (about 9" X 5") sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly, and then cut into 8 slices. If you like, spritz with some spray butter or spread on some Cool Whip Free. MAKES 8 SERVINGS

Nutrition Information
(I doubled the recipe, and used 8 bananas instead of 6)
Serving Size: 5 OZ
Calories: 155
Fat: 1g
Sat Fat: 0g
Poly Fat: 0g
Mono Fat: 0g
Cholestorol: 0m
Sodium: 402mg
Potassium: 334mg
Carbohydrate: 34g
Fiber: 3g
Protein: 5g
Vitamin B-6: 24%
Riboflavin: 22%

It was perfect topped with a few sprays of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. The photo is of a 3 1/2 oz serving.

Here are the stats that Hungry Girl listed for a normal slice of banana bread:

Serving Size: 1 slice
Calories: 326
Fat: 12g
Sodium: 355mg
Carbs: 51g
Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 30g
Protein: 5g

What a terrific change! I can't wait to give another one of her food swaps a try.

The Swiss SIGG

Oprah raved about it, which has to mean it's absolutely fantastic beyond anything to be experienced in the world of water bottles, so I picked up a SIGG water bottle for myself. It's black and textured and sweaty when it's cold (which I find to be kind of sexy looking). Apparently everyone is talking about them, as can be seen here.

I've tried the nalgene bottles, but I have a really sensitive palette when it comes to water, and so I think they flavored the water. Also there is a little bit of controversy surrounding the materials used to make the bottles. (See here) It's not a thermos so it won't keep piping hot in cold weather, or cold things cold in sweltering heat, but that's not what I got it for. So far it has been leakproof for me, and the top is the best ever! So easy to use, and so leakproof I don't worry for a second about throwing it in my purse. Next time you see me, I should have this bottle within reach.

Mobile blogging what?

Just doing some practice mobile blogging before I head to Europe. I am planning on doing a few picture and text updates while I am there. This is how I brought my bike all the way down here. Perched on the back of my tiny little car!

Being Together

That Boy came back today. It's mushy I know, but life is perfect when he is around. I hate having him gone for an entire week at a time, but it does make it that much more exciting whenever he comes back. Moving to Dallas was quite possibly the best idea ever.

Lentil Soup IV

Since I became a professional sunbather, I have had time to indulge in one of my favorite pastimes; cooking! I am really not that great in the kitchen, I tend to create lots of cooking related disasters (just ask my roommates), but I do have one thing going for me, and that is creativity. I LOVE to alter recipes and see how they turn out when I make little additions and changes. Using Fitday, I can enter in all of the ingredients of a recipe, and each time I cook something, I get an idea of what the nutritional stats for it are.

Swayzie and I have been talking about using dry lentils, and how they are incredibly good for you (rather than canned, which almost always have exorbitant amounts of sodium). They seemed really difficult to use and I didn't really know where to start. Then one of my favorite bloggers, angry chicken, did a post about lentils and made it sound like they really aren't that scary so I decided to give them a try.

I used allrecipes.com and typed in lentils. I browsed through the results until I found one that looked like it would work for me. I have never used plantains before, but I think I like them. I was worried they would give a "banana" taste to the soup but they have a nice texture. I love it because it reminds me of the soup that my Grandma Lu always has sitting on the stove when I go over to her house. Now if only I could let myself indulge in saltines covered in butter like she let me do when I was younger :) If you end up making it, let me know how it turned out for you. Expect many more posts related to my cooking adventures.

Lentil Soup IV

Please note that this recipe is a conglomeration of what the original person suggested and what I ended up doing. Of course I recommend modifying as desired.

INGREDIENTS

• Appx 4 quarts water
  
• 3 lbs cooked lentils
  
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 large tomatoes, diced
• 8 cloves garlic
  
• 6 med. red potatoes, diced
• 16 oz baby carrots
  
• 2 plantains, sliced
• 4 oz mushrooms
  
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. I cooked the lentils the day before. Just follow the directions on the back of the bag, soaking them overnight and then boiling them for around 1 1/2 hours.
   
2. Fill a large pot with water and stir in the olive oil and salt. Bring to a boil.
3. Add potatoes, carrots, garlic, and plantains into boiling water. Boil for about 15 minutes.
   
4. Add mushrooms, tomato, onion, and let simmer for about 45 minutes.
   
5. I added spices on hand such as garlic and onion, season with salt and pepper.
   

Yields just under 8 quarts. If cooking for one (not for 2 boys and myself like I am), definitely halve the recipe.

Nutritional Information

Serving: 1 cup

Calories: 141
Fat: 5 g
Sat Fat: 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat:1g
Monounsaturated Fat: 3g
Sodium: 122g
Potassium:503 mg
Carbohydrates: 21g
Dietary Fiber: 5g
Protein: 5g
Vitamin A: 46%
Vitamin C: 24%
Folate: 23%

Things to Note:

• Nutritional Information is approximate, however it is based completely upon the ingredients as a whole, not stats that were given to me by someone else. I believe them to be very accurate.
• This is a vegetarian chili, but you won't even miss the meat!
• 3 cups of this gave me 15 grams of fiber, that is hard to beat for less than 500 calories
• I added my garlic cloves whole, and it wasn't a pleasant experience when I accidentally ate one. If you don't love garlic, try dicing or grating it in.

Buon Appetito!