WIAW: Jazzing Up Chicken

Oh, hey there.  Long time no see.

If you noticed, I skipped WIAW last week.

Confession: I was on this soup diet.  It was both torturous and cleansing.

Now I feel a little more on track with healthy eating.

It's been a jam packed week, full of fun times.

Canoeing

Mothers' Day Fun

Celebrating my status as a momma of fur-babies

Little update-I'm participating in Fat Mum Slim's May photo-a-day challenge on Instagram and so far it's been pretty fun!  I've made it through 15 days!  Well, except I started on Day 2, but whatever.  Follow my pics if you want.

Now...on to the eats!

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Breakfast: Green Eggs & Fruit

My eyes were waaaay bigger than my stomach was this morning & I only actually ate half of the plate pictured.  But, I made an egg white & greens scramble by sauteing a mix of swiss chard, bok choy and baby spinach, then pouring in some egg whites.  It stuck to the pan and frustrated me..but oh well.  Leftover fruit salad from Mothers' Day brunch & coffee on the side.

Snack: Apple

Can't beat an apple for snack.  That's what I always say...ok, never said it before now.  But I think that will be my new motto in life.

Before eating lunch, I had to go on a walk with these cutie pies!  Love them dogs :)

Lunch: Chicken Curry Wrap

For lunch I put together some wraps with rotisserie chicken that I added curry to the night before in a carb smart wrap with spinach & tomato.  A little brown rice snuck in there, too.  Snapea Crisps and kumquats on the side.  I had to youtube "how to eat a kumquat."  Here's a vid, if you are interested.
Iced coffee happened...as it often does.

Grande unsweetened iced coffee with 2 Splendas & a splash of soy milk:

Perfection.

Snack: Yogurt

Before hitting the road for evening boot camp, I had about half of this Greek yogurt with some granola on the top for crunch.

After boot camp, I swung by the house to pick up the Bizzy dog and headed to my parents, where my Dad had grilled up some chicken.

Dinner: Philly Chicken & Veggies

I couldn't leave well enough alone and had to jazz up the chicken by adding sauteed mushrooms, bell peppers & onions topped with melty Swiss cheese.  I ate that on top of some sauteed spinach with a side of sweet potato and crisp yellow corn.  A winner of a meal!
Then, Bizzy, Mom & I walked around the neighborhood.
After that Mom had to spoil her granddog with cuddles & treats.

Bizzy and I headed home & I made dessert. 

Just a chocolate graham cracker with crunchy hazelnut spread.  No biggie. 

 For a dog that NEVER gets people food, she sure knows how to beg.
The pup crashed while I worked on the computer.

I put my camera away after that, but we did end up playing feather toy with the cats which is always entertaining.

All in all, a pretty good Wednesday. 

WIAW: Easy Does It

Wow, Wednesday came fast this week!  But that means we are that much closer to the weekend...so yay!
Today's WIAW is all about quick and easy foods, because it was a busy day at work followed by my first evening boot camp workout!  No more getting up at 4:40 a.m. for this gal ;)

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Breakfast: Waffles!

Such a beautiful sight to wake up to!  Waffles for lil ole me ;)  My guy surprised me with two prepared Nutrigrain low fat Eggo waffles topped with some crunch Skippy, fresh strawberries and sugar free maple syrup.  Perfection.  I also had coffee times 2, but did not take a picture of it.

A.M. Snack

11 o'clock rolled around and I had forgotten all about my snacks.  I poured some almonds on the paperwork I was working on (so hygienic of me) and scarfed down a little cheese wheel.

Lunch: Turkey Sandwich

For lunch I had a quick turkey sandwich, carrots & grapes.  The sandwich was comprised of oven roasted deli turkey, a slice of light cheddar, lettuce and honey mustard.  Easy and satisfying!

P.M. Snack: Apple

 Another cut up apple for your viewing pleasure.  I swear this is my most frequented snack.  So crunchy and sweet.
Also, I read on Pinterest or somewhere that "there's nothing that a spoonful of peanut butter can't fix."  Well I sure hope that is true, because I was cranky hungry at this point in the day.

Bee's knees to the rescue!

Man, getting to my first p.m. boot camp was kind of a hassle.  I decided to pack my clothes, change at work and head straight there because it started at 6 (I get off at 5).  So I got dressed and popped my contacts in my eyes.  While driving, one of my contacts totally got folded in my eye and tucked under the lid.  This is gross sounding as I'm typing it.  Sorry.  So, I drove for a few miles with one eye closed.  Don't try this at home.  I had to pull over and fix it.  Plus I had to go to the bank and get gas.  This is why it pays to be prepared and handle all your stuff NOT at the last minute.  It's cool.  I was right on time, but I thought I'd complain about it for no reason on my blog.

Anyways.....

Dinner: Black Bean Burger

Another easy meal.  A Morningstar spicy black bean burger on an 80 calorie bun with avocado, tomato and lettuce, some microwaveable Brussels and a baked potato with lite sour cream.  This potato is not as huge as it seems.  I smashed it open.  It's an optical illusion.

As you might be able to tell, I'm trying to scale back my portions and concentrate on fruits & veggies.  I've been doing okay, but man I struggle with dessert.  Need it, want it, gotsta have it.
So, I had a 100 calorie chocolate Vitatop and it really did the trick.

Oh, Hi, Bizzy!
I've been buying Vitas on and off for the past 6 or 7 years.  You used to have to order them from the website in mass quantities.  It's cheaper, but I find they get frost bitten in the freezer after a while and absorb other food smells (ew.).  So, I paid a little more and got these from the grocery store (in the freezer section).
You just heat them up for 15 seconds and eat.

I topped mine with a scoop of fat free Cool Whip, sugar free chocolate syrup and sprinkles.  You eat with your eyes first, and all that jazz.

That's it as far as eats go.  

In puppy news, Bizzy the dog finally met Reggie (my boyfriend's family dog who I absolutely adore) & they got along swimmingly!

This made me very happy indeed.

It's funny to see a 15 lb dog walking alongside a 70 lb dog.

Happiness squared ;)

Hope you have a fab week!  See ya on the flip side...

What I Pinned..Friday

Just popping in to say a quick hello on this lovely Friday.  I have so many projects swimming around in my head lately and not much extra time to do them in.

I've been trying to use a planning calendar for such things, but man...sometimes it just doesn't get done.

Well, these are some things that I've "pinned" to get done.

You can find the source for all on my Pinterest page.

These beautiful dip dyed napkins!

These are so bright and beautiful.  I think I need some cloth napkins in my life.  Or they would be a great housewarming gift!

Goat Cheese Guacamole?  Yes, please!

 

This guac has been on my mind for a couple days.  I love avocado and goat cheese together on sandwiches, so I don't see how you can go wrong with this appetizer!

A vertical flower garden!

I have a black (ish) thumb, but have a desire to get outside and make my yard beautiful.  I think this is just adorable.  Plus, it would make a cool gift for Mothers' Day, which will be here soon!

DIY Patterned Leggings!

This geometric pattern rocks my socks.  I was at Burlington the other day and they have whole racks of just leggings.  Methinks I need to buy a couple cheap pairs and make some running capris!  Oh, yeah...and start running again.  Yes.  That is on the list!

DIY Wall Art Using Instagram Prints!

I've been jonesing to make this little picture collage of sorts, so I just ordered some Instagram prints from Foxgram....only 25 cents a print.  Can't beat that!

Enchilada Pizza!

This can actually be on my "To DONE" list, because I made this pizza 2 or 3 weeks ago and it was even more delicious than the picture looks...and we all know that picture looks delicious.  Do it!

Cocktails!

Gin and tonics have been my favorite cocktail lately.  With lime...so much lime.  But, this spring-y twist on things must happen.  Soon!

You like how I overused my yearly quota of exclamation points?!  I'm just excited it's Friday!

Happy Weekend, All!

WIAW: Spinach Lasagna Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

Happy Wednesday!!!

This above picture is from the Earth Day 5K this past Sunday that I attended with some of my favorite people (from the left: my brother, my boyfriend, me, my mom & my nephew in the front--my aunt and cousin also came)!

It also happened to be my birthday on this day, so that was cool.  I actually had plans to post something birthday related on Friday, like a birthday cake martini or something of the sort...buuuut I got lazy ;)

Oh, well.  Here I am now...posting some eats for ya!

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Breakfast #1: PB Toast

An oldie, but a goodie.  I had this toast smeared with crunchy Skippy before headed out for 5 a.m. bootcamp.  Next month I am trying boot camp at night (due to my current unwillingness to get up so early), so this is probably the last PB toast you'll see at the beginning of my WIAW posts.

Breakfast #2: Wafflewich

I wanted waffles this morning, but knew I needed protein after strength training...so, meet the wafflewich.
2 low fat Eggo Nutrigrain waffles topped with a slice of cheddar, 2 thin slices of deli ham and an egg plus egg white.
Topped with sugar-free syrup to bring it all home.

Yum!

Morning Snack: Cereal

I'm a sucker for new cereals, so I bought this overpriced box to try out.  It is quite delish, indeed.

I filled a pint mason jar halfway with almond milk and measured out a cup of cereal in a Ziploc.  Perfectly portable for work!

Lunch: Wrap, Broccoli 

I wish I had taken more pictures of this wrap, but this one will just have to do.  In the mix: a Flat Out Light wrap, 1/2 wedge of Laughing Cow Swiss cheese, 1/2 cup of pulled rotisserie chicken, spinach and tomato.  A side of leftover frozen broccoli gave me a veggie.
Then dessert.

I like these salted caramel pops from Starbucks and they are probably one of the lowest calorie options they got goin on (as far as treats go).  They are a little gummy in the middle, so I have it in my head that I'm going to make my own this weekend and improve on them a little.
Also, I drank a Trenta (read: half a gallon) unsweetened black tea with 3 Splendas.

Easily one of my top 5 favorite drinks of all time.

I had another busy afternoon at work, so no time to cut my apple that I brought for snack.

Fast forward to dinner time.

Dinner: Spinach Lasagna Stuffed Portabella Mushroom

This meatless meal actually tasted like lasagna.
No joke.
It was so good and filling, too!

Also, if you are weird about mushrooms, this actually has very little mushroom flavor.  It might just convert you!

Spinach Lasagna Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms
serves 4

4 portabella mushroom caps
olive oil
salt & pepper

filling:

1 cup frozen spinach, thawed

salt & pepper

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1/2 cup ricotta cheese (I used low fat)

1/2 cup spaghetti sauce

topping:

1/2 cup spaghetti sauce

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Wipe the mushroom caps with a damp paper towel, remove stems and carefully scrape out gills with a spoon.  Discard stem and gills.

Rub a little olive oil on the mushrooms and add some salt and pepper.  Roast the mushrooms cap down for about 10 minutes.

While the mushrooms are roasting, combine the filling in a small bowl.

Once the mushrooms have roasted, they will have some juices they released.  Remove them from the pan onto some paper towels and drain the liquid from the pan.  Return the caps to the pan and fill each with 1/4 of the filling.  Top with sauce, a blob of ricotta and some mozzarella on top.

Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and melty.

So good!!!  You guys MUST try this recipe!
I served mine on a spring mix salad with two toasty ciabatta bread triangles.

I ended my eats with a Garfiled mug full of cookies & cream frozen yogurt.

Here's a cute Bizzy picture to brighten your day!

She's really doing well.  Being super cuddly and lovey one minute, then a crazy, wild dog the next.  Thus is the nature of puppies.  Am I right?

I know this is the second picture I've put on here with her tongue sticking out.  I just always catch her as she is closing her mouth...she does not just have a permanent tongue out sort of thing going on, FYI.

Have a super fantastic week!!!

In case you missed it: Photo-An-Hour I posted Monday