WIAW: Shrimp Poboy & Recipe Testing

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Good Morning, Sunshines!

Hope everyone is having a great week.  Mine's been good.  Wow, I can't believe that Summer will be officially here on Friday!  I have a special skinny cocktail recipe I'll post then, so pop back over and check it out.

Now, on to my eats!

Breakfast: Salmon Omelet & Fruit

Last week, I bought some fresh cod and smoked salmon and they were in the same grocery sack.  I didn't get to use the cod, so I threw it in the freezer...and the salmon went with it.  I didn't know how well smoked salmon would thaw so this was a risky breakfast.  But it worked out!  The salmon was delicious and I couldn't even tell it was frozen.  Victory!
Ok, so for breakfast I had an omelet with a whole egg, an egg white and chopped smoked salmon in the middle.  Paired with a piece of wheat toast and strawberries and you got yourself a superstar of a breakfast! Coffee, repeated twice, on the side as well.

Snack: Oatmeal

I wanted something different for my sensible snack today, so I packed up some oatmeal.  Here's how I packed it.

Perfectly portable!!  

I just measured 1/2 cup of almond milk in a mason jar (you can microwave a mason jar without the top) and grabbed an oatmeal packet and some strawberries on the run.  This is my favorite oatmeal!  It's soooo good!

On my lunch break, we had to take Reggie home and I was sad.

We kept my boyfriend's parents' dog, Reggie, for a little over a week while they were out of town and we really enjoyed hanging with him around the house.  We still go over and walk him a couple times a week, though.  So, all of us look forward to that!

Lunch: Roast Beef Lettuce Wraps

I whipped up a lovely summertime lunch of lettuce wraps (with romaine lettuce, roast beef, sharp cheddar, avocado & tomato), some chopped watermelon and baby carrots for lunch.  Fresh & delicious!

After we left Reggie, Bizzy was sad and needed to be spoiled with a puppacino from Starbucks.

She is a diva dog.

I don't know where she gets it from....

So, yeah.  I had an iced coffee and cake pop and had to pose like a cheeseball with both of them.
It was funny!  I embarrass my boyfriend with my antics.

Snack: Peanuts

Around 4 p.m. I had a handful of peanuts.  I never usually buy peanuts, because I assumed they were not as healthy of a nut as almonds, but according to this infographic they are pretty dang healthy:

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Dinner: Light Shrimp Poboys & Grilled Veggies

After a rigorous boot camp workout, I walked the Bizzy dog and made my favorite Healthier Shrimp Poboys (<--click there for my recipe.  It's worth it)

It was so yummy!
I also grilled some asparagus in my grill pan & microwaved a few red potatoes til cooked, then sprayed them with cooking oil (and added salt and garlic powder) and grilled those in the same pan.

A perfect, light meal!

After dinner, I was stuck.  Bizzy camped out on my lap and literally would not let me move for like an hour.  It's kind of nice being forced to relax.  Thanks, Bizz!

Dessert Testing: Microwave Muffin Thingy

Ok, so I was testing out a recipe for a singe serving microwave dessert and I really wanted to make a healthy cookie.  This ended up more like a muffin, but it was really good and dense...and worth sharing.  So, here ya go.  I'll share the cookie recipe once it's perfected: 

Single Serve Microwave White Chocolate Macadamia Cookie Muffin 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar 1/8 tsp vanilla Pinch salt 1/2 tsp baking powder Egg white 2 tbsp wheat flour 2 tbsp flour 2 tbsp white choc chips 1 tbsp chopped macadamia nuts Combine all in a small bowl.  Spray a microwave safe ramekin with cooking oil and microwave for 30-40 seconds.

Yum!

Ok, have a lovely Wednesday, everyone.

If you want more single serving desserts, check out my:
Fruity Pebbles Marshmallow Treat for One
Single Serve Chocolate Cherry Cake
Peanut Butter Toast Crunch Cake for One
Chai Latte Chocolate Chip Mug Cake
1 Minute Bailey's Chocolate Cake
4 Cookies

WIAW: Thai Inspired Spaghetti Squash with Peanut Sauce

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Well, hello there, friend!  Thanks for stopping by ;)

This week has been full of crazy excitement...due to only one thing: my boyfriend's parents' dog, Reggie, is staying with us this week.

If we thought Bizzy was crazy before, Reggie intensifies her craziness tenfold!  He is also super full of energy, himself.  I could not even get a picture of my breakfast without dogs in my face.  I'm cool with it, though!  Love those pups!

Breakfast: Shake

Good Morning, Reggie!!  

I woke up late this morning.  No reason, just couldn't pull my lazy butt out of bed, so breakfast was on the go.  Made a quick shake containing: frozen banana, 1 cup of strawberries, vanilla protein powder & almond milk.  Simple & delicious.

Also, had a giant mug of coffee on the run!

Forgive my dirty windows.

 Not much going on at the office today, so I just read blogs.  I came across this awesome menu printable from Back to Her Roots & did some menu planning for next week.

Nerd Alert! 

A.M. Snack: Bar

Honestly, a protein bar is not my idea of a sensible snack.  It's fine when you are on the go, but not when you are at the office and too lazy to cut your apple (referring to myself, here).  Still, a decent calorie count from this Aldi protein bar.  Not the best in texture & taste, though.

Lunch: Grilled Cheeeeeessseee!!

It was 100 degrees today, so no walk with the dogs :(  Of course that gave me extra time to burn cook a grilled cheese! This charred delight included muenster cheese, avocado & tomato on whole wheat bread.  A side of carrots and berries just rounded out the meal.
Here's a closer shot.  Can you spot the avocado & tomato?

Got back to work and squealed with excitement when I saw my package from Old Navy had arrived!!  They had a killer fitness sale (that is possibly still going on...too lazy to check) & I scored all this loot for around $40!

My boss loves sweets and has a stockpile in the kitchen area.  Usually I ignore them, but the siren call of the Nutty Bar was calling my name.  Like, hardcore.
Buuuut, I went and looked at the calories and a Nutty Bar has 330 calories for both bars.  Can we say, "Not worth it!"?
So I Googled the calories on fun sized Twix and had that and a diet coke instead.
Healthy choice--NOPE!  But, a better choice, at least :)

P.M. Snack: Berries & Cheesy Wasa

Even after knowing the calories in the Nutty Bars, a few hours later I was singing, "Oooh, I want you I don't know if I need you.."  A little Savage Garden for your Wednesday ;)
But I resisted again!!  Go me!
I had the rest of the berries from lunch and a Wasa cracker with muenster cheese.  Perfectly satisfying and sensible.

Before I headed to my evening boot camp workout, I played with the dogs and did some colorful dinner prep.  So pretty!

Ok, so chopping these veggies & microwaving my spaghetti squash made cooking dinner fast & easy.
And so freaking delicious.  I kid you not.
I had a Thai noodle dish a few weeks ago with rice noodles and I could just taste the fat.  It was yummy, no doubt, but not great for you.  So I made a healthy copycat of it!  And it was even better!!
Are the exclamation points adequately expressing my excitement?!
Probably not.

Thai Inspired Spaghetti Squash with Peanut Sauce

serves 4

Spaghetti squash (cooked)

Zucchini, carrots

Chicken breast

Coconut oil

Soy sauce

Salt, pepper, garlic powder

Chopped peanuts

Cilantro (optional)

Peanut sauce (below)

Peanut Sauce:

2-3 tbsp creamy peanut butter

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbsp rice vinegar

red pepper flakes, salt & pepper to taste

Chop your zucchini and carrots as close to matchsticks as you can get (I didn't get that close) and slice your mushrooms.

Poke your spaghetti squash with a knife and microwave for around 7-8 minutes.  Allow it to cool.

Season 3-4 thin chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder & soy sauce and sear in a pan coated in coconut oil.  Set aside.

In the same skillet, throw in a little more coconut oil and the sliced carrots.  Season with salt and cook for about 5 minutes.  Toss in the zucchini and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.

Chop the chicken in bite sized pieces and throw it and the sliced mushrooms in the pan.

Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl and pour over all the stuff in the pan.

Cut your spaghetti squash in half (lenghtwise) and scrape out the seeds.  Use a spoon to scrape out the innards and add them to the pan.

Mix everything together and season to taste.

Add chopped peanuts and cilantro as garnish.

Yum!!!!

After eating, I, of course, played with these crazy dogs:

Bizzy plays hard & rests hard.

In Case You Missed It:

I'm blogging on Endless Simmer again!!

Creativity is a'flowin'.  Check out my recipes!

Single Serving Fruity Pebbles Marshmallow Treat

Cauliflower Crust Pizza with BBQ Shrimp and Veggies

Have a great week, all!

Baked Sweet Potato Chips...and Nachos

Have you heard of "First World Problems?"  It's basically complaining about stuff that shouldn't matter in the long run.  Like, people have much bigger worries in the world.

But, I gotta say...I've had a couple first world complaints this week.

My shower curtain rod keeps falling down, so every morning I have to put it back up.

My free Pandora radio station plays a 30 second commercial every two songs.

Someone tagged me in an unflattering Facebook photo.

And, the worst of all...

I love nachos, but they make me chunky...aaaand I can't stop eating them!

As an alternative to nachos, I baked some sweet potato chips.  So now my nacho toppings are on vegetables.  Can't go wrong with that!

Solving my first world problems, one sweet potato chip at a time!

Baked Sweet Potato Chips 
makes an undetermined amount of chips

A bunch of sweet potatoes.  I think I used 7 small ones...they were really small, though.
Cooking spray oil
Salt

Using a mandolin slicer (or some sort of slicer where you get even cuts), slice the sweet potatoes very thinly. Pile all the slices in a bowl of water for about 15-20 minutes.  Pat them dry.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Spray some baking sheets with oil and spread the slices in one layer on the pan.  Spray them with oil and salt them.  Bake for 7 minutes, then take them out and flip them and bake for another 3 minutes or so.
This is kind of a trial and error practice.  Not every chip will turn out perfectly crispy and some might get overdone. It's cool.  Just breathe...

Keep Calm & Make Nachos.

To make the nachos, raid your fridge and pile stuff on the sweet potato chips.

I used:

• leftover bbq meat
• black beans
• corn
• salsa
• fresh avocado
• shredded white cheese
• crumbled goat cheese
• sour cream
• cilantro

Pile everything on the nachos, except the sour cream and cilantro and microwave for 30 seconds, or until cheese is melty.

Try to just eat one.  I dare you.

Nacho idea from Kadee-Cat.

WIAW: Grilled Philly-ish Chicken

Well, hello and Happy Wednesday!  It's that time again for me to share my food stuff.  I realize I'm severely lacking in creativity lately, but I think it's the weather.
Hot weather makes me want grilled stuff.  So forgive me if my dinners look exactly the same for the next 3-4 months ;)

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Breakfast: Waffles & Fruit

You know how you eat with your eyes and all that jazz?  I think that is particularly true when you have a fruity flower formation on your Nutrigrain low fat waffles.  Eating breakfast was even more joyful than usual ;)  Coffee (with way too much creamer?) X 2 on the side.

 Snack: Cherries

Hello, my name is Renee and I'm addicted to cherries.  It's becoming a problem.  These ranier cherries were 5 bucks this week.  I need to quit spending a chunk of my grocery budget on these little gems of happiness.

Anyways, ate half of this container around 10:30 and forced myself to stop ;)

Right before lunch time I had another snack...

 Another Snack: Protein Bar

I knew lunch was going to be late today, because my guy (and the pups) and I had decided we were going to walk the whole lake (pictured above), which basically takes the whole lunch hour.  I like this new Fiber One bar.  It almost tastes like a Little Debbie Star Crunch, which is like my favorite LD treat!  It's obviously much healthier for you, though.

Lunch: Taco-ish Salad

I got back to the office and assembled my salad.  In the mix, chopped romaine lettuce, shredded cheese, leftover BBQ meat, black beans, corn, salsa, avocado, sour cream and cilantro.
Um, yum.  That's all I gotta say.

Some people pack their salads all together, but I like to assemble it right before eating.  Here's how I pack mine.

Snack: Nectarine

Before heading to my boot camp workout, I noshed on a nectarine.  So tasty!
BTW, I was texting my mom the other day (because I'm cool, alright?) and she said something and I said, "Yay!" or I tried to say it, and my phone changed it to "Tasty!"  Weird, right?

Randomness.

Ok, so boot camp was tough.  Can only move my fingers to type right now because I have obtained what is known in professional circles as the "spaghetti arms."  I'm working through it.

Dinner: Grilled Philly Chicken & Veggies

My boyfriend is off work this week (he works at night) and it was so awesome grilling dinner with him!  He makes a killer grilled chicken.
So, I topped the grilled chicken with sauteed green peppers & onions and a slice of provolone cheese to make it "Philly-ish."  He charred some corn on the grill as well, while I made asparagus in the grill pan (it was too skinny for the grill).  At the last minute, I microwaved some little golden potatoes, then cut them in half and seared them in the pan I had sauteed the peppers/onions in.  Best decision ever.  I realize it looks like alot of potatoes on above pictured plate, but it's probably the size of a small fist, just cut in half.

You know I had some froyo for dessert!

A scoop of my favorite cookies and cream topped with (probably unnecessary?) chocolate sprinkles.

Here's my brand:

Well, have a great week everyone.  Here's a picture of Bizzy the dog with sunglasses on, to bring some sunshine to your day!

Fruity Pebbles Sugar Cookies

Rainy Saturdays are perfect for cookie making.

It's a fact.

Another fact is that just because there is cereal in a cookie, it does not make it breakfast.  I'm talking to you, Mom ;)

Thought I'd share this lovely recipe that my 7 year old nephew and I came up with on Saturday.  So super easy and delicious.  It would be a perfect recipe to keep your little ones occupied on their Summer break!

These cookies are chewy, sweet, and fruity, with a lovely crunch from the cereal.

Make them!!!

Fruity Pebbles Sugar Cookies 
Made about 2 dozen regular sized cookies & one giant cookie (see below)

1 1/2 sticks butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg, 1 egg white
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup Fruity Pebbles cereal (or you could use any cereal, really)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Cream butter and sugars together, add egg & vanilla. Dump in flour, salt, baking powder & baking soda. Stir until combined. Fold in the Fruity Pebbles.  Scoop out golf ball sized balls using spoon or cookie scoop and put your cookies on greased or lined cookie sheet (I used parchment paper) Bake at 375 degrees for 12-13 minutes.
*the big cookie baked for 18 minutes.

Here's the big cookie.  It was delicious!  We smashed some more fruity pebbles in the top of the dough before baking.

Big cookie lovvvveeeee!!  Can you tell the sun came out for this picture?

Have a Happy Monday, all!  See you for WIAW ;)