10 Minute, 100 Calorie Green Soup and Sandwich

Kitchen Ninja has joined the billions of others making resolutions and is resolved to put the same effort into my own health and happiness as I do into cooking and creating for others. Part of that was joining a gym (24 Hour Fitness), where I met an awesome trainer that is completely amazing. I then joined http://www.sparkpeople.com/, which is a great free resource for tracking calories, fitness, goals, and the rest of that smack. I made sure to drink lots of water, and tea high in antioxidants (such as Rooibos). The hardest part has been finding something healthy when I eat out, but thanks to Sushi (and thai, and stirfry), that's a little easier. So far I've lost 5lbs in 5 days, and I feel AH-mazing. I already feel stronger, and have more energy. Today's meal is one of the healthier options I've come up with while trying to still make food that is delish, without being 1500 cal a plate. *sorry Paula Deen, no more butter*

Green Veggie Soup

1 box of Organic, Fat Free, MSG free, veggie broth (10 Cal p/cup)
2 cups broccoli
1 cup sugar snap peas
1 zucchini, sliced
1/2 c baby spinach
2 slices of red onion, finely diced
garlic
salt
pepper

Put all the ingredients (except onions and spinach) in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 8 minutes. Add baby spinach and onions, cover and let stand for 2 mins. I like my vegetables to stay crunchy for the most part, so if you'd like your broccoli more cooked, just leave it in the microwave for a few minutes more. This soup is so good, filling, and less than 50 cal per serving.

Sun-dried Tomato and Feta English Muffin

1 wholewheat multi grain english muffin
1 tbsp fat free sour cream
2 tbsp fat free feta crumbles
1 tbsp julienned sun-dried tomatoes
oregano
salt
pepper

1. Toast muffin
2. Spread on sour cream. salt, pepper.
3. Add feta crumbles.
4. Top with sun-dried tomatoes.

If you'd like, you can melt the feta a bit too. yum.


well, here's to a healthier New Year.

a twist on the scarf idea:

all i want to do is craft. however, i just started a job [which was five months in coming] and the hours are nuts right now...so i'm using crochet to keep me up at night. :)

i was looking at this yarn that i had in my stash, thinking that whatever i made out of it needed to go around my neck and be fluffy. thus this scarf was born.





the best part? you can wear it just as a necklace, or double it up around your neck and it serves as a scarf. or maybe cowl, because it doesn't really hang down at all.





please excuse the strange photos...i took them in the wee hours of the morning in my basement with entirely artificial light. i need to make a lightbox in a desperate way.

blessings - third shift ninja [aka jamie]

tie cuff:

i purchased this tie well over a year ago, meaning to make a cuff with it. i plan on getting my family motto tattooed on the inside of my right wrist, and i want something i can wear when i need to look professional that covers it up. this morning i finally took the time to make it.



i entirely deconstructed the tie in order to take out the innards, which consisted of some cheap-looking woven stuff to make it stiff, then re-sewed it together and finished off the top where i had cut it.







the skinny end of the tie has a mirror-image design on it, so once i get another button in like i plan to make a smaller one out of the other end. altogether this took me about an hour...and only that because i'm still so unfamiliar with sewing machines. :(

jamie lynne

Christmas Presents 2009 - The Kitchen Ninja Edition

Christmas has come and gone, and finally, as of today, all the gifts have been handed out - so i can post them! I made brown sugar body scrub, CD's, quilts, pillows, cross stitchery, a family tree collage for my Pops, and and a scrapbook of Mommers and Pops travels.

This is VonnyBoo's quilt - she's Kitchen Ninja's baby sister. I backstitched all the major details of the fabric I picked out, and then embroidered her name and 'R.N.' after them. She plans on going to nursing school in Seattle in Fall 2010, so I thought this would be a supportive and totally functional present.

I also made a quilt and pillow for my middle sister, Rose. Rose's favorite colors are easily found in the children's section of IKEA. If it's bite your face off bright, then she'll love it. So this quilt worked out nicely. The pillow refers to the way she says "Sour Cream" when she orders mexican food. It's hilarious. *at least to me*

And here's Mommers. wearing her flowery embroidered cowl with a fetching green cardigan.
Ah-dorable.

Kitchen Ninja Out.

snowed in crafting:

what does one do when one is visiting fellow craft ninja and gets snowed in?

well, craft, of course. duh.

this is the completion of my earlier teaser photograph. i was using a pattern which i had to change so often and much that i finally abandoned it entirely and did my own thing. i'm going to play around with the patterning a bit and then post it on here!



my favorite thing about this cowl is that everything was purchased at local stores in wichita, kansas. the yarn came from twist and the button from sew much - both in the delano district.



i had enough yarn left over [thanks, post-christmas sales] that i made a matching hat as well.



these photos are artistic but not very informative or instructive. i'm still getting used to my new camera, and i'm not at home where i know how to take proper pictures. i will probably just leave it until i can entirely pattern my own and have better photos then.

blessings, jamie lynne.

Flowery Cowl

Kitchen Ninja can also embroider. except french knots. those suckers make me want to spit fire out of my eyeballs. . . Anyway, I made a cowl. for my mamma. She's into flowers, and being warm, so it was a natural choice.

The cowl is lined with deep plum jersey fleece, and the embroidery was done over the course of three days on a piece of linen. I then added big wooden buttons and called it Freakin' Fabulous.

I'll add the embroidery pattern to this post as a PDF as soon as I get a chance.

Kitchen Ninja Out.