WIAW: Breakfast Fruit Wrap

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Ok, so fitness is dominating my week, in case you wanted to know.  Sunday I ran.  This is unheard of, seeing that I usually don't usually exert myself on this day.  Just out of laziness, mostly.

But I took my formerly lazy self to the park and busted out 3 miles.  Followed by another 3 miles on Monday (Who am I??).  Of course, I had a super intense boot camp workout today.

I tell ya, summer clothes are motivation for my fitness.

On to more pressing matters-Food!

Pre-Breakfast Breakfast: Cereal

You know I gotta put something in mah belly before 5 a.m. boot camp.  Quaker Oatmeal Squares have been doing the trick lately.  The brown sugar flavor is my favorite cereal on the planet Earth.  I ate a handful or so of these lil' squares before heading out.

 Breakfast Time: Fruit Wrap & Coffee

I got this idea from Pinterest a while back, but had yet to actually try it until this week.  It was so good that this was my second time eating it for breakfast this week (I also had it on Saturday).  Here's what it looks like on the inside:

To make the wrap, just smear your tortilla (I use Ole's Xtreme Wellness High Fiber Tortilla) with some peanut butter (or almond butter is really good, too), sprinkle some granola and top with strawberry and banana slices.  Roll it up.  Holy yum!  So healthy and filling ;)

Morning Snack: Yogurt that is Greek

I've been hitting the Greek yogurt pretty hard for the past few weeks.  It fills me up and is usually pretty awesome tasting.  I threw the last of my banana nut granola in the carton after the pic.

Lunch: Sandwich, Veggies & Fruit 

It's the return of bento box lunches!  Today's box included turkey, provolone & spinach on a bagel thin with a side of cucumber and roasted red pepper hummus & Rainier cherries.  Well rounded & tasty!

 Afternoon Snack: Nuts

Snacked on some pecans in the p.m. to stave off hunger.  Yay, healthy fats!

Things were going pretty good, nutritionally speaking, then this happened.

I don't even care that my legs look ginormous on the internet.  It's all about the beer, y'all.

After my super fun dip in the pool, it was time for a birthday celebration (not mine).

Dinner: Genghis Grill Bowl 

I scored a free appetizer coupon from my last visit, so I suggested we try it for my Ma's birthday.  I had a yummy bowl full of veggies, steak, chicken and shrimp and some brown rice.  Yum yum!

Then I embarrassed my family by taking lots of photos.  Here are a few:

 Home just in time to get my bum back in the pool and shove a cookie bar in my face.  We ate early, because we are old people.

Why, yes, my brother wrote "nanna-nanna boo-boo, stick your head in doo-doo" on my chalkboard.  Because he's 12.  Well, he's physically 28, but 12 at heart ;)

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Check out my McD's Cherry Berry Chiller Copycat on Endless Simmer blog!

WIAW: Stuffed Zucchini

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Breakfast Numero Uno: Gross Bar

I have one word to describe this bar~EWWW.  Well, I guess I'll describe it further.  It tasted like prunes (which are not bad on their own) with some artificial peanut butter and chocolate flavor.  Blech.  I managed to choke down half before my 5 a.m. boot camp workout.  Never again, Odwalla.

 Breakfast Numero Dos: Salmon & Egg

My second breakfast was a wheat bagel thin topped with a Laughing Cow garden vegetable cream cheese wedge and 1 scrambled egg with smoked salmon.  So flavorful and protein-filled (about 25 grams).  

I made a special iced coffee today, mimicking Tina's Peanut Butter Wonderful Iced Coffee.  I made a few changes, though.  Here's how I made it.

In my big mug, I put 1 tbsp cocoa, 3 sweetener packets and a few drops of vanilla extract.  I then brewed (straight into the mug) some super strong peanut butter cup coffee.  I stirred it up and let it cool while I got ready.  Then I poured it over ice and added almond milk.  Oh so delicious.

Mid Morning Snack: Yogurt

Nothing too exciting for snack today, but it is sensible for sure.  I had a blueberry Greek yogurt to hold me over until lunchtime.

 Lunch: Fancy Lunch-able

I made a fun bento box lunch today containing: 1 thick slice of deli ham, 2 slices of Swiss cheese, some Special K crackers/blueberries & strawberries/cucumber slices with red pepper hummus.  You gotta admit, this is more exciting than just having a sandwich for lunch ;)

 Afternoon Snack: Banana

Ok, I am being a little goofy today.  Overcompensation for tiredness, maybe?  Well, after pretending like I had a banana smile, I peeled and ate this banana to get my potassium on (helps with muscle cramping, y'all). 

Dinner: Stuffed Zucchini

You know dinner was really good when this was the best picture I could get before this was gone.  Well, actually I just ate one, because they were so filling!  I stuffed 4 zucchini halves with 1 egg, 1/4 c parmesan, 1/4 cup bread crumbs, 1/4 cup tomato sauce, ground turkey and some spices.  Then I topped it all with a little mozzarella and baked them on 400 degrees for 25 minutes.  Yum!

Of course, that was followed with a little of this...

In case you missed these, here's some yums from this past week:

1. 1 Minute Sea Salt Chocolate Cherry Cake {Endless Simmer}

2. Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas

3. Summer Orzo Salad

WIAW: Spinach, Feta Turkey Burgers

Before I start What I Ate Wednesday, I gotta give a shout out to my little brother who turns 28 today!

Ole!

This was last year's birthday at the best Mexican restaurant in town.  He doesn't normally wear a sombrero.  My bro is definitely on my list of my top 5 favorite people.  He is super fun and awesome.  Definitely a great brother.

Happy Birthday, DJ!  I hope you have a great 28th birthday!

Ok, let's talk about food stuff now!

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Breakfast, Part 1: Rice Cake

This caramel rice cake with almond butter was consumed at 4:45 this morning (Tuesday) before a very challenging boot camp workout!

Breakfast, Part 2: Egg & Avo Sandwich

It was pretty cloudy today, so I guess my pictures are gonna be less than top notch.  Oh well.  For breakfast's main event, I had a toasted whole grain English muffin topped with half of a sliced avocado and a fried egg.  I smushed it all together to make a dippy egg sandwich delight.

I also had some Trop50 orange juice & the most delicious coffee!

Here it is, y'all.  Normally I would not spend $11.99 (seriously, Fresh Market, what are you thinking?) on coffee, but for peanut butter cups, all bets are off.

This coffee is super delicious!  The peanut butter flavor is very subtle, but it is decadent and totally worth the large price tag!  {weird coincidence: June 12th is National Peanut Butter Cookie Day!  I guess I celebrated with peanut butter coffee ;)}

Mid Morning Snack: Cottage Cheese Single

This is a Breakstone's 100 calorie Cottage Double, strawberry flavor.  It is a little snack pack of cottage cheese and some strawberry preserves.  I like to grab these at the store for on the go snacks.  My favorite is the pineapple (but they were out at the grocery store this week)!

Lunch: Wrap, Fishes & Cherries

Today's bento box lunch included: turkey, cucumber, spinach & hummus wrapped up in a high fiber tortilla, whole grain Goldfish crackers & the last of my fresh cherries.

Afternoon Snack: Almonds & Apple

I know you have seen this "sensible snack" a time or two from me ;)  It's a great afternoon pick me up!

Dinner: Spinach, Feta Turkey Burgers w/ Sweet Potato Fries & Veggies

I felt like I already had more carbs today than intended, so I just had half a wheat bun with my turkey burger.  I paired it with some Ore Ida sweet potato fries (ooh, more carbs) and some baby carrots.  Two orange sides ;)

I originally posted this recipe over at Endless Simmer (see original posting here), but I'm totally going to give it to you now.  No clicking necessary ;)

Spinach & Feta-Jalapeño Dip Turkey Burger

serves 4

1 lb ground turkey (I used 93% lean white meat)

half a batch of feta dip (recipe below)

3-4 handfuls baby spinach, roughly chopped

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 tbsp egg substitute

Saute baby spinach in an oiled skillet until wilted. Combine half of feta dip, sauteed spinach, breadcrumbs, egg and ground turkey and form into 4 patties. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cook over medium high heat on the grill or in a pan (about 4 minutes on each side).

If you are grilling these turkey burgers, oil the heck out of the grill grates with a folded paper towel dipped in oil and held with grilling tongs. These burgers tend to stick a bit.

Feta Dip

makes 1 cup

adapted from How Sweet It Is

1 brick of feta cheese (8 oz)

1 whole jalapeno pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic

the juice of 1/4 a lemon

the zest of 1/4 a lemon

salt & pepper

Mince garlic & jalapeno (after seeding) & saute it in a skillet with some olive oil.

In a bowl, crumble the feta brick, add all other ingredients and mash to combine.

Dessert: Crispy French Toast Roasted Strawberry Shortcake

I created this dessert recipe for my Endless Simmer post this week.  It's not up yet, so keep an eye out.  I taste tested this and ate about half.  It was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.  In other words, it rocked.  [Update: recipe posted here]

'K, have a great rest of the week, everyone!

Want more?  Check out some more What I Ate Wednesday posts:

WIAW #1

WIAW #2

WIAW #3

WIAW #4

WIAW #5

WIAW #6

WIAW #7 

WIAW #8 

WIAW #9 (last week's)

Bento Love

Guys, I'm head over heels for a four dollar lunchbox.

If you haven't heard of a bento box, it is basically just a little lunchbox with dividers based on Japanese Bentos.  This lovely invention has changed the way I look at lunch.

Lately, I want my lunch to be pretty.  And colorful.  I don't just throw a bunch of random stuff in my lunchbox.  With my bento box, I like to have a plan.

So without further ado (because you know I'm all about the ado), here's some examples of my bento creations as of late:

turkey, spinach roll up with guacamole/leftover veggies/strawberries

spaghetti squash with black bean & corn salsa and grilled chicken, broccoli & berries

turkey, cheese, wheat crackers, carrots & hummus and some cherries

spring mix, asparagus, reduced fat feta cheese, hardboiled egg with balsamic vinaigrette/ watermelon/cinnamon Teddy Grahams with strawberry cream cheese for dipping

almond butter and banana on wheat bagel thin/cherries and nectarine slices/cucumber spears (and you know I'll have some hummus on the side)

light chicken salad, wheat crackers/broccoli/mango chunks and half of a pumpkin (Paleo) muffin w/ some strawberry cream cheese

leftover sausage, veggie hash with feta/cherries/chocolate Teddy Grahams and a dark chocolate square

Hopefully I've given you some fun, new lunch ideas.  If anyone has any suggestions for me as to what to add to my bento box lunches ('cause I'm starting to run low on ideas), I would love to read them in the comments section!