On the lookout for my Leben schlanger shicksals schatz...and healthy football food too

One of the Patriot's SB trophies

So today I need to find snacks for a party Sunday. I mean, who isn't hosting/going to/deciding against going to a party this weekend? Just about everyone, I think. But that's the problem with parties, especially ones that revolve around football. You're sitting for at least two hours, you don't really do anything active, and the snacks? Well. You're talking about pizza and chips and dip and pretzels and chicken wings and subs and basically really bad for you stuff. I mean, when faced with a choice, would you rather have a buffalo chicken wing or buffalo cauliflower? Let's be honest. I'm going for the chicken wing basically every time.

And when you go to these parties, not everyone there is on a diet. You don't want to be the weird person who brought the chickpea and quinoa goat cheese lettuce wraps (I'm making that up off the top of my head but it actually might be good...) You want to bring stuff that will get eaten: brownies, cake pops, chips, pizza rolls. Fear not, for I have scoured the web for you and have come up with some delicious selections: 

1. Crispy chicken fingers baked with Cornflakes (recipe here)
• I have had these before, and if done right, they're a very tasty replacement for traditional chicken fingers
2. Hoisin glazed turkey meatballs (recipe here)
• I've never had these, but they look and sound absolutely delicious. 
3. Crab stuffed mushrooms (recipe here, you have to scroll down a bit)
• So good. Like, incredibly good. I am pretty much obsessed with stuffed mushrooms but I could eat like ten of these. And really, in terms of appetizers, not so bad.
4. Chipotle chicken sweet potato skins (recipe here)
• Sounds weird, I know. But they are very, very good.
5. Baked zucchini fries (recipe here)
• I made these at least twice a month summer before last. Couldn't do it that much this past summer because it was a really bad year for squash and zucchini. But these are so good. They're like cheese sticks and french fries all rolled into one. 

And look, some nights, you have to just let it go and not stress if you're eating a slice of pizza or a cookie. The answer is in portion control. Don't be this guy:

Side note: I have no idea why I keep using Supernatural gifs, other than the fact that they seem to have a gif for literally EVERYTHING. Next post, I'll try to find something Sherlockian or from the Office or something.

I was actually at a dinner party a week ago and my friend laughed at my plate because it was literally full of half-dollar size servings of everything. Despite the laughing, I've found that helps me with my portion control at parties and holidays and such. Everything looks so good and you want to try it all, but if you get an actual serving of everything, you'll be sick, for one, and destroying the diet, for two. I'm all for a splurge day, but this is how I compromise. It's nice, because I get to try a little of everything, and if I really like something, I go back and get an actual serving. If I don't like something, I didn't have that much to begin with so I'm not wasting food. 

If you just want to eat without thinking about it, sometimes you need that sort of day. For my part, I will probably again get teased for my wacky looking plate, but at the end of the night I won't have a food baby from eating too much, I'll have tried a lot of different things, and I won't feel like I've wrecked my diet. 

Want my advice? Enjoy the evening. Cheer for the Seahawks, watch the commercials and relax. The gym will absolutely be there Monday. 

Moving right along. If you actually read the title of this entry (and you should, I put a lot of work in making my titles clever/accurate) you might have gone "huh?" because it looks like I banged on the keyboard for a few seconds in the middle there. 

Wrong.

That's an actual German word. HIMYM fans know what it is. It's laben schlanger schicksals schatz. It means "lifelong treasure of destiny" in German or simply "soul mate". Somehow, some of the most profound and beautiful lines in How I Met Your Mother are given by characters that are only in an episode or two. Klaus explains the German idea of soul mates to Ted by saying that it is "something that happens instantaneously. It courses through you like the water of a river after a storm, filling you and emptying you all at once." 

Yesterday I talked about my singledom and how I'm okay with it. I am. Because I am looking for my schlanger...whatever, my soul mate. My "can't eat, can't sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, World Series kind of " love (if you can guess the movie that little gem came from, kuddos to you 90s kid!). Why waste my time with a guy that I'm not going to end up with? Looking for that spark? Forcing it because I don't want to be alone? Nope. Not happening. 

Does that mean I'm waiting for some crazy sign and won't give anyone a chance until I feel it/see it? No. But ladies, come on, we know. When you go on a date with a guy and you just don't feel...anything...you know it's time to move on. 

I don't know who or what is coming around the corner, the cool thing about finishing up Grad school and actually getting to get a real teaching job in the fall is that I don't know where I'll be. I don't know what grade or what school, it's a bit of an adventure, so I'm approaching my search for the ONE in the same way. Yes, I'm going to apply for jobs and do my best at an interview, but I don't know when or where that job is going to come from. Same deal with the whole singleness situation. I could meet someone in the grocery store shopping for party supplies tomorrow or it could be a few years, it's out of my hands. 

But dude, once you meet me, get a move on, will you? I am NOT known for my patience. 

So that's all for today, folks. Enjoy the game tomorrow, I'll likely NOT be blogging because I have a party to prepare for and a game to watch and I might try to make it to the gym so I can eat without worries at said party. After the confetti settles, I'll post my own recap of the game with my very own special twist. I'll either be in mourning (broncos win) or celebrating (go Seahawks!). Catch you Monday!

Last one. I couldn't resist...the Supernatural fandom really does have a gif for every occasion, bless them.