What I Ate Wednesday: Fruit & Veggie Goals

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Good Morning!!  It's WIAW time!  I'm so glad we are halfway through the week.

Last week, I took a mini vacation, so it's been hard getting back in the swing of things.  Especially healthy things-LOL!  We went camping and rafting on our vacation and did not eat many fruits or veggies..plus due to rain, we didn't get much hiking done either. 

So, now I feel like I am new to this whole eating healthy and exercising thing.  After a few days, though, I'm starting to feel a little back to normal.

My goal for fruits and veggies has always been to get the recommended 5 servings a day.  It is really tough some days, though.  A guideline I like to follow is to eat at least one fruit or veggie at every meal and snack.  Mind you, this does not always happen....but today IT DID!  Hooray!

What's that?

Oh, you want to see pictures from the trip?  I'll give you one.  It's a pretty crazy pic of me! (I'm on the front right.  I am not wearing my glasses and I had just fallen over a bit).

Oh, fun times!  It was my first time white water rafting.  Definitely an experience ;)

Ok, on to the eats!

Breakfast: PB English Muffin

This morning started hectically as I apparently forgot to set the alarm.  I had 20 minutes to get out the door and was starting to lose my cool.  Luckily, my boyfriend made me breakfast and coffee!  Such a wonderful guy!  I ate this whole wheat English muffin with natural peanut butter, banana slices and a honey drizzle.  I also took some coffee on the go.

A.M. Snack: Shake

I had prepared a shake ahead of time and kept it in the fridge.  Such a lovely morning snack & a great way to force myself to eat some fruit!  This one had 1 frozen banana, 1/2 cup frozen cherries, 4 big strawberries, 1 cup almond milk and a scoop of vanilla soy protein powder.

Lunch: Taco Salad

For lunch, we decided it was too hot to walk the dogs, so I put some salads together using some leftovers from Monday night.
I layered the bottom of the bowl with a mixture of zucchini, yellow squash, fresh corn, black beans, lean ground beef and brown rice (that I had made Monday).  On top of that went some chopped romaine lettuce, diced avocado, a drizzle of Greek yogurt ranch dressing and a spoonful of salsa.

Here it is, all mixed up.

 Colorful and healthy!

Lunch dessert:

Fiber One brownie & a giant green tea.

Though we didn't walk the dogs, Reggie & Bizzy played while we ate lunch.  Bizzy passed out on the way home.  She is one tired pup!

P.M. Snack: Peach & Popcorn

For afternoon snack I had grabbed a peach on the way out the door.  My boss buys all these junk food snacks for our little office kitchenette.  He jokingly griped at me that I wasn't eating my quota of snacks.  He is trying to buy healthier snacks, but lord help him he loves a Debbie cake.
Anyways, these 130 calorie packs were back there so I thought I'd pair one with my peach.
It was pretty dang good!
It didn't come with as much popcorn as I usually consume (read: more than I need), but it was a perfect accompaniment to my sweet peach that I sliced.

Then I went to boot camp.  Um, it felt like it was my first time working out...EVER.  Ouch!
I actually had worked out twice since we got back in town, but this was killer.

Mom and I took a walk with Bizzy to stretch our legs afterwards.

Ok, so dinner took me seemingly forever to prepare because my arms were already so sore from push-ups and chest flies.  It physically hurt me to dice this sweet potato...

Dinner: Fish & Veggies

Dinner was some delicious cod that I made by squeezing a bit of lemon juice and hot sauce on the fish to tame the fishiness, along with about 1/2 cup of sour cream (this was for 4 fillets).  Then I lightly breaded the fish in breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan and seared it in some olive oil.  Most of the breading came off, but I just scraped it from the pan and put it on top, because I'm classy like that ;)

I also roasted a giant sweet potato and some Brussels sprouts (for about 25 minutes on 425 degrees).  Yum!

After dinner, I was so excited to read my new magazine (a gift from my guy!):

So many things I want to make!!

I also had a fro yo cone.

Bizzy didn't even bark at me.  She must be growing up!

Have a super fantastic week, all!

Microwave Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas for Two

 

In lieu of the normal What I Ate Wednesday I bring you a killer recipe that is so quick, easy and flavorful, it will blow your mind. 

I know the stores have the Halloween decorations out.  I know everyone is wishing for Fall to just be here already.
I also know that it's still Summer, and I don't want to heat up the house by turning the oven on.
I also have no patience to wait 25 minutes for enchiladas.

So, let's microwave a dish...want to?

This super cheesy dish with just the right amount of kick comes together in like 10 minutes.  No lie.
An it's the perfect portion for two people.  You could always double the recipe if you need to.

 

Microwave Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas for Two Makes 5 small enchiladas 1 large chicken breast 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained 1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained 1/4 cup shredded cheese 1/4 cup reduced fat bleu cheese crumbles 1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream 1/4 cup buffalo sauce, divided Salt & pepper to taste 5 low carb tortillas (small) Topping 1/2-3/4 cup shredded cheese 1/4 cup reduced fat bleu cheese crumbles 3/4 can of red enchilada sauce Drizzle buffalo sauce Chopped green onions (or cilantro) Drizzle half of the buffalo sauce on the chicken and cook on the stove until done. Let the chicken cool slightly and dice into bite size pieces. Mix all filling ingredients in a bowl. Prepare a microwavable casserole dish with nonstick spray. Spoon some enchilada sauce in the bottom of the dish. Scoop 1/3 cup of filling in each tortilla and roll. Place seam side down in casserole dish. Cover with enchilada sauce, the 2 cheeses and a drizzle of buffalo sauce. Cover and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Dice green onions and sprinkle on the top of the enchiladas. Top with additional sour cream and buffalo sauce. Yum!   Anyone tired of me eating buffalo chicken dishes yet?   Me either.   Have a great week, all! 

 

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30 Day Self-Portrait Challenge

I did it!  I successfully completed a photo challenge.

This was part of A Beautiful Mess blog's 30 Day Self Portrait Photo Challenge to promote their new photo idea book, which I just ordered here.

It was so challenging for me to take pictures of myself every day.  I know that sounds kind of crazy coming from a girl who takes approximately 27 pictures a day, but it started to get old towards the end-LOL.

Anyways, just figured I would share this collage of my 30 pictures.  They are not in order, just randomly shuffled in a collage.

Follow me on Instagram to see them in order and some of my other pictures of food, Bizzy the dog, Baby & Boscoe the cats...to name a few of my favorite photography subjects.

Have a lovely Friday and weekend, all!

WIAW: Clean Eats Mexi-Rice Bowl with Chipotle Lime Chicken

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Good Morning!

It's already Wednesday!

Of course, yesterday I was saying, "It's only Tuesday??!!"  Now that we've reached mid week, it's all down hill from here.

Anywho, here's my eats from yesterday if you'd like to take a gander...

Breakfast: Fruit Smoothie & PB Toast

Guys, if I could marry a food, it would totally be peanut butter toast.  So delicious!  I'm such a weird girl ;)

Anyways, had some Skippy crunchy PB on whole wheat toast and a fruit smoothie containing the following: 1 frozen banana, large handful of strawberries, handful of blueberries, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 cup almond milk & one sweetener packet (I use off brand Equal).  A great start to the day!

Morning Snack: Nuts & Orange 

I was ready for my 10:30 snack and had this teensy handful of peanuts two times ;)

After that, I was not quite satisfied and I peeled an orange.

Don't you hate it when your orange peel is like 1/4" thick, making your orange smaller than you thought and kind of dry?  Meh.  

Lunch: Tuna Melt, Carrots, Grapes, Chips

After a quick walk with the dogs, I made some open face tuna melts for lunch with tuna, olive oil reduced fat mayo, dijon mustard, a tomato slice and muenster cheese all on a piece of wheat toast.  On the side were baby carrots, red grapes and a few salt & vinegar chips.
I tried to have a mug of coffee, but the dogs were playing right beside me and totally knocked the whole mug out of my hand.  Meh.

I was pretty satisfied by lunch until about 5 p.m. when my peanut butter toast monster started growling.
I knew on the way home that it was imminent.  I even said on the phone that I was "on the way to my peanut butter toast" instead of "on the way home."  True story.

When I got home, I had my toast and then walked my girl.

Bizzy loooooves walks!
After a 20 minute walk, I headed to my boot camp workout.

Dinner: Clean Eats Mexi-Rice Bowl

This dinner was stellar!  Very flavorful chicken with a little kick, brown rice, black beans and veggies.  So good!  Make it, won't you?

Clean Eats Mexi-Rice Bowl with Chipotle Lime Chicken
makes 4 servings

For the chicken:
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo)
2 limes, zested and juiced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped mushrooms

Add the chicken and mushrooms to a large bowl and season it with the salt, pepper and paprika. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, adobo sauce, lime zest and juice and garlic. Pour it over the chicken and mushrooms and toss to coat.
Cook in a skillet on medium heat until done (8-10 minutes?).

For the rice:
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup black beans (drained & rinsed)
1 cup cooked corn (I cooked an ear of corn in the microwave for 3 minutes, then cut the kernels off)
1 cup cooked broccoli (I steamed mine in the microwave)
1 tbsp cilantro
1 tsp salt

Mix all rice ingredients together with a large spoon.

Serve chicken over rice mixture.  Top with avocado, low-fat sour cream & fresh cilantro.  Yum yum!!

chicken recipe adapted from How Sweet It Is blog

Writing this recipe up makes me look forward to leftovers at lunch!

After dinner, I had a small cone of low fat strawberry frozen yogurt.

Uh oh.  Bizzy spotted it.

Yep.

I don't know what her deal is with ice cream.

Sigh.

Have a lovely week!!

By the way, I only have 2 more days in my 30 Day Self Portrait Challenge on Instagram!  I can't believe I actually finished a photo challenge (well, almost).  Yay!  I might post a little recap here once it's over.

WIAW: (Vegan) Curry Chickpea Cakes & 2 Things I Could Not Leave Target Without

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Well, hello there.  Long time no see.

I'm back with some exciting things to see today!  So, let's get to it, already.

Breakfast: Turkey Sausage & Eggs

I sliced up a serving of turkey sausage and added an egg and an egg white in the mix.  Made it into a sort of omelet and added a sprinkling of mozzarella on top.  I also had a piece of whole wheat toast and 2 cups of coffee (not pictured).  Not a bad way to start the day!

Once I got settled in at the office, I broke out these guys.

I have an addiction to Lemonheads, y'all.  About once every few months I let myself get a box.  It does not last long.  I didn't do too bad with it on this day and only ate about 10 pieces.

The thing about Lemonheads, besides that they are delicious, is that the tartness of them kind of takes away my appetite.  It's weird, because otherwise I'm always hungry ;)

So, my 10:30 snack ended up being an hour late and I had a Wasa cracker with a smear of Justin's maple almond butter.

Lunch: Fajita Wrap with Veggies

This is my story about lunch:

On Monday night, I really wanted tortilla soup (yes, I realize that it's 90 degrees outside).  So I ran to the store (after exercise and taking care of Bizzy the dog) thinking I'd catch the rotisserie chickens going on mark down.
Um, apparently they don't do that anymore.  I felt like Liz Lemon when I asked about when they discount the chickens.

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Anyways, so I didn't get a chicken because they were $9!  $9 for a wrinkly chicken?  I think not, mister!
So whatever.  I took all my soup ingredients that were my basket (fajita veggies, black beans, cheese, tortillas) and made some fajita wraps using some leftover lean burger meat.

So that's what these leftover wraps are all about ;)  Short story long and all that.

For lunch, I had a fajita wrap on a low carb tortilla with some leftover veggies (after walking with the dogs).

After lunch, you know what time it was!!!

Geez, Louise...amiright?

In the bowl, white chocolate mouse frozen yogurt, cookies & cream frozen yogurt, tbsp mini M&Ms, tbsp cookie dough bites, tbsp Oreo pieces and rainbow sprinkles!!!  And a hot fudge drizzle...'cause, come on.  Go big or go home...

Yep.  That's how big the cup was.  I am a weak willed individual.

 Snack: Apple

Much later in the afternoon, after I recovered from my massive amounts of fro yo and toppings, I had a sensible little apple.  Nothing special, but it held me over til after my boot camp workout.

Dinner: Curry Chickpea Cakes, Sweet Potato, Asparagus

Dinner was a healthy one!  Originally I was going to make this quick curry chickpea dish from How Sweet Eats, but then I realized that the only ingredient I bought from the list was canned chickpeas....so...
Improvisation happened.

I made some little chickpea pancake thingies.  They were pretty good and something different for dinner!

Vegan Curry Chickpea Cakes
makes 9-10 cakes

2 cans of chickpeas, drained
1 1/2 tbsp milled flax seed
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp of hot sauce
1-2 tsp of salt (to taste)
sprinkle pepper
sprinkle garlic powder
single container of fat free greek yogurt (6 oz)
spray oil for the griddle

Grind up the chickpeas in a mini food processor (or mash them with a masher, if  you'd rather).  Combine all ingredients.
Heat a pancake griddle to medium heat, spray with oil and then scoop out and patty cakes (I used an ice cream scoop, then flattened them out with my hands).  Cook the patties for about 4 minutes or so on each side.

I topped mine with a low fat yogurt bleu cheese dressing.  I had to physically hold myself back from adding buffalo sauce ;)

Half a sweet potato on the side, along with some steamed asparagus.

So, switching gears.  I ran into Target this morning to get some salads for lunch because I feel too lazy to make my own salads today.  I don't know how I ended up in the beauty section....

But there were 2 things I just HAD to get.

Nivea lip butter.  Um, yes.  Take my money.  Need it!

This feels great on my lips!  I put it on immediately and they have just the right amount of moisture without being overly flavored.

And for $5 this awesome little eye palette!

I only have a few random eye shadows.  I also am not very good at using them, so this was calling my name.  I have been perusing the Maskcara blog for a while and she always has the best tutorials for eye palettes.

Now, I can finally practice!

Look what it comes with!  All the things!  Plus a little beauty tutorial (that did not show up well in the picture).  Well, this Elf line is just great in my book.  It's not expensive makeup, I often go in and pick up a $1 eyeliner here and there and now they have all these little kits.

Clearly, I'm excited about it! (can you tell?)

Ok, that's it for me today.
I'll leave you with yet another picture of Bizzy the Dog, because she loves the camera so (and it loves her).

Her collar bow makes her look like a real lady!!

Happy Wednesday, all!