Wednesday, May 29, 2013

WIAW: Currently

Good Morning, World!
Hope everyone is fine on this beautiful Wednesday morning :)
I'm doing good and had a fabulous 3-day weekend.
Before I show you all my food from yesterday, I thought I'd catch everyone on my life up with a "currently" survey (as seen on Carrots N' Cake blog).
Ready?
Let's go!

Current Book
Ok, so I've been banned from the library.  I got a notice a while back saying I still had this cookbook checked out, but the thing is...I don't have it.  I'm pretty sure I checked it back in.  Buuuut, my procrastination has really bit me in the rear, because months and months have gone by and I haven't followed up on in :(  So, I'm sad about it.
What's funny is that I have always been an avid reader, but over the last year, it's really been tapering off and I've been sloooowwwwlllyy making my way through my Mom's copy of Water for Elephants.  I like it.  I just have not been in a reading mood.  Maybe that will change during lazy summer days by the pool?  We'll see.

Current Music
Yes, that's Incubus.  Yes, I'm stuck in a time warp where I basically only listen to 90s and early 2000s music on Pandora.  But I truly love my Incubus Pandora station.  It soothes me.

Current Nail Color
I cannot keep polish on my fingernails.  Maybe because I wash my hands alot?  Well, my current toenail color is mint green with glitter.  Flip flop DIY here.

Current Drink
Coffeeeeee!!!  Always coffee.
Well, really that's my morning drink.  I drink mostly water otherwise.  Although I love diet gingerale, as well.

Current Food
Cherries are in season!  So they are in mah belly almost every day.
Also, fun fact for you mommas of fur babies.  Cherry pits are poisonous to dogs.  Not a fun fact at all, really.  But Bizzy got a hold of some cherries that she sneakily stole from my lunch bag last week.  She actually just nibbled the flesh and did NOT eat the seed, so we were very lucky indeed.  But, watch your pups, peeps.

Current Favorite Show
I think I've seen every aired episode of Chopped.  I cannot get enough!  Love it!  So glad they are still making new episodes!
Speaking of new episodes, I just finished the season finale of Smash and it was awesome....but found out it's been cancelled.  It's so sad!  Any other Smash fans out there?

Current Wish List/Current Needs
I wish I had & currently neeeeeeeddd this ice cream machine!  It has got to happen.

Current Indulgence
I made a s'mores bar this weekend.  Nuff said.

Current Blessing
I don't want to get too sentimental, but this guy makes me so happy and I am very very blessed to know him.  Best boyfriend ever.

Current Outfit
Currently, I'm actually at work, so I'm not wearing cut off shorts, but everyday when I hit the door, it's cut off shorts for this girl!  See, I'm in a time warp.  Cut off shorts & Incubus? Perfection.


Current Excitement

Ducks in the pool!  Always guaranteed to make me smile :)
This is Miles and Maisy Duck and they come around randomly every year.
Those holes in the concrete are for the stairs...guess I forgot to put them out...

Ok, ready for some food stuff?
Peas and Crayons

Breakfast: PB Toast & Berries
I used to think bananas were the best fruit with peanut butter, but lately it's been strawberries that take the cake.  Mmmm, cake...
Anyways, had a high fiber, whole wheat slice of toast with crunchy natural peanut butter and strawberry slices for breakfast.  Coffee X 2 on the side.
Yum!

Morning Snack: Grapes
For a.m. snack, I squelched my hunger with some big ole grapes.  Such a sensible and delicious snack.

Lunch: Turkey Burger
For Memorial Day we made a million turkey burgers (not really) and have lots of leftovers.  So I had a leftover turkey burger (bun-less) with provolone and avocado.  Hummus and veggies on the side.  I put cherries on my plate, but I was too stuffed to eat them, so I saved them for later.
Somehow my dessert stomach still needed some food:

Afternoon Snack: Wasa, Cherries
I ate my lunch cherries with a Swiss cheese smeared Wasa cracker before heading to p.m. boot camp.
It was a doozy.

Dinner: Grilled Asparagus & Mushroom Omelet
My original plan for dinner was a frittata, but since the oven is out of commission (read: needs to be cleaned), I made a grilled veggie omelet.  I grilled some asparagus and mushrooms in my grill pan, then started cooking 2 eggs mixed with one egg white.  After the egg had cooked for a minute, I added the veggies and some reduced fat feta cheese and carefully folded over the eggs.  Extra asparagus and a slice of wheat toast on the side.
Such a perfectly satisfying meal.
A microwave s'more happened, as well.
Sooo messy.  Sooo worth it.

Wow, this post was long.  Thanks for soldiering on and reading the whole thing.  Here's a picture of Bizzy the Dog to make it all worth your while:

napping in the grass

Have a great rest of the week!!!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

WIAW: So Much Health

Peas and Crayons

Wowwww, Wednesday sure did roll around quickly this week.  Seems like I was just jazzing up chicken..but that was a whole week ago!


Well, Tuesday was a decent day.  I shall chronicle it all here for you right now.

Breakfast: Loaded Cereal Bowl

I went to Aldi this week.  Aldi is amazing.  So many great finds!  I got some off brand cereals as shown above.  One is very similar to Multigrain Cheerios and the other very much like Kashi Go Lean Crunch.  So I added a half cup of each in my bowl and topped it all with strawberries, bananas and frozen blueberries.  Half a cup of almond milk brought it all together.  Such a satisfying breakfast!  Coffee X 2 happened, as well.
Oh, fun/random fact.  I just found out that I am not the only one in the family who mixes cereals.  Apparently my Nana passed that down to my mom, aunts, me and my cousins.  Crazy that I didn't invent it, like I thought in my head!


Snack: Cherries!


Fresh cherries? Be still, my heart!  I found these bad boys at Aldi as well and didn't break the bank buying them ;)  I actually only ate about 2/3 of this bowl of cherries.  They were filling and delicious.


Lunch: Southwestern Chicken Chopped Salad

Lunch was a crazy good salad containing: chopped lettuce, grilled peppers, black beans & corn, pico de gallo, avocado, leftover chopped bbq chicken, sour cream, cilantro.
Here it is all mixed up, so you can see everything:



You know I need something sweet after my lunch, so this Fiber One brownie should come as no surprise to you. 


Another non-surprise--Iced Coffee!!!


It's about that time of year when I need to brew a giant jug of iced coffee and put in the fridge..so I can stop spending money at Starbucks...amIright?


Snack: Wasas & Cheese, Applesauce

Oh, look.  An Aldi copycat of my beloved Laughing Cow Swiss cheese wedge!  It actually is NOT as tasty, but is bigger and 10 less calories...so it's a toss up.  Around 4 p.m. I smeared these light rye Wasa crackers with the cheese to fuel me for my evening boot camp.
I also ate a teeny applesauce for some sweetness.



Dinner: Bunless Burger & Veggies 

It would be entirely accurate for me to tell you that this is what my dinners have looked like for at least 2 weeks now (in fact, this is the 2nd night in a row I had this exact meal).  It's like summer on a plate!
I made some burgers with 90% lean sirloin, topped them with reduced fat cheddar and pickles.  A little microwaved sweet potato and summer veggie mix on the side.  Yum yum!

For dessert, I put a small amount (small, for me, that is) of Ben & Jerry's frozen Greek yogurt in a sugar cone.  Topped with chocolate sprinkles for crunch.


Here's the actual fro yo I used.


I bought it because I was curious, but probably would never buy it again.  It has a real artificial banana taste. Think banana Laffy Taffy.  The peanut butter swirls are good, though.  All in all, if a froyo has been sitting untouched in my freezer for over a week, it was not my favorite ;)

Anyways, that's it for today.  I felt good about my fruit/veggie consumption and less carbs.  Getting ready for summer, y'all!!!

Don't forget to check my May photo-a-day on Instagram.  My heart was heavy yesterday about the OKC tornado devastation, so I skipped the prompt "I really care about this.."  I just didn't know how to take a picture of everything that encompasses: life, relationships, safety, health, etc.  It was overwhelming.  So, I skipped day 21.  
Back on track today!

Have a great week!

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

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.
May photo a day challenge list

Now...on to the eats!

Peas and Crayons


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. 

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

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 ;)

Peas and Crayons

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...