I want to fall back

Mentally, I finally woke up around 1P today-ugh. I hate daylight savings time for that fact alone but then it redeems itself with longer days and it being gorgeous outside.

Had a green monster on the ride to work with chocolate whey, iced coffee, soy milk and splenda

 I had something new for breakfast-Trader Joe’s European Style Chocolate Yogurt with strawberries, unsweetened coconut and flax.

I did not like this flavor at all—it reminded me of Chocolate Chobani Champions, which was my first and only bad experience with Chobani thus far. It was too artificial and chalky (if that makes sense?) tasting to me.

The strawberries and coconut added nice flavor and texture but I will not be taking a chance on the chocolate again. I am curious about the Carmel Oikos I keep seeing but am afraid it’s going to be a let down like the chocolate.

Lunch was Barilla thin spaghetti with grilled onions, mushrooms and artichokes with Turkey sausage with fresh tomatoes on top.

 

Someone brought in People magazines for others to enjoy—yay. I love free magazines!

 

It was a pretty uneventful day. I updated my resume, references and Linked In info. I’m trying to connect to as many people as I can on there to help with my chances of finding something in another city. I wish I could just upload my friend list from Facebook over to Linked in-it would make things so much easier! I think I am going to look outside the banking world for a job. As much as I thought I was, I am just not a corporate American girl.

I read this nice article about the 5K on Saturday

Also, I didn’t like it at first but Katharine McPhee’s blonde hair is starting to grow on me

When I got home, it is perfect and sunny out. I could totally be down with 60 degrees and sunny all the time. I took Lincoln for a 40 minute walk on the greenway and came back to make dinner.

I made Red Pepper and Almond Hummus from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan again.

Consistency and looks wise-FAIL. Can you someone tell me to smooth hummus please? I’ll be your best friend lol I put in the food processor and both high and low and this is what I got-glop. Taste wise-FANTABULOUS!!!

Dinner was simple and good-pork chops baked in garlic breading and steamed asparagus with butter, salt and pepper. Thank you Harris Teeter for the $.99 asparagus bunches!

The rest of the night, I am just watching The Bachelor: After the Final Rose and looking around for jobs. You’re jealous, I know!! 🙂

Year of the Tiger (well, not Woods)

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Year of the Tiger-rawrr!!! Maybe if Tiger Woods wasn’t such a dirty dog, this could’ve been a good year for him. I guess we’ll never know….

Today has been a great Valentine’s Day!

I started the day off with french toast topped with almond butter, bananas and lite syrup

I watched the news afterwards then decided to go for a run/walk. I ended up doing 2.5 miles for 35 minutes. I love my Polar heart rate monitor but wished it measured distance because sometimes I go off track.

Post Workout snack was Honey Graham Z Bar (first time trying it!)

Yum! I love Clif bars but it’s nice to have a smaller and lighter alternative. I will have to try the other flavors now.

Lunch was fried catfish bites. I was in the mood for something crunchy and didn’t feel like taking a chance  baking it. I’ve never baked breaded catfish before but  maybe I’ll try it some day.

Cucumber and Tomato Salad on the side

Like Starbucks, Diet Coke is all about the love

I had a spinach smoothie with chocolate whey protein powder, silk soy milk , two spoonfuls of Chobani Champions -Chocolate (which I thought was nasty so I am trying not to throw it out and make some use out of it).

 Then I watched Love Actually and prepped dinner in the crockpot…….Crock Pot Kung Pao Cashew Chicken that I saw on Danica’s site.

 

Holy yum-this was great and healthy! I served over a bed of sprouts (along with mushrooms, broccoli and onion mixed in)  and topped with 1 oz.cashews.

Dessert was vanilla crème Peeps.  I had to celebrate V-Day somehow and what better way than pure sugar?

  I’m looking forward to tomorrow-Federal holiday-yay! And V-Day candy is on clearance 🙂

I leave you with some Lincoln love

Xmas in February

Started the day with a spinach-coffee smoothie! I never had the two together but holy yum! I usually have a hot coffee in the morning but have been bored with mine lately (not sure if it is the brand or just redundancy of it?)

Since I woke up a little late and knew I wouldn’t be enjoying breakfast for a while so I downed a Thomas Whole Wheat Bagel Thin with Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter and Almond Butter

Hit

The

Spot

I need to eat this more!

Continuing on my cold drink kick, I decided to switch it up and get an iced coffee at Starbucks with two pumps sugar-free vanilla

My barista was starting to make my drink when I walked in so it was nice to throw him off track 🙂 lol I love the Starbucks baristas in my building though, they are wonderful, peppy and know what a girl wants.

I had a Bosc Pear between meals and absolutely love that I can eat it like a huge turkey leg!

Lunch was a piece of the Chicken Tamale Casserole I made the other night with a dollop of sour cream. It was great and could definitely see myself making it again. I was surprised that the cornbread taste didn’t take over, it was very mild. I was also surprised it wasn’t too spicy. I added jalapenos instead of green chiles but still mild, in my opinion.

And a disappointing snack in the afternoon: Chobani Champions Chocolate flavor

Big Thumbs DOWN! I am still sad I was so displeased with it, especially after trying the HoneyNaner this wknd. I found the Chocolate  very sour and chalky. Unfortunately, they are packaging the Chocolate and HoneyNaner together so I probably wouldn’t buy this flavor combo again. Sad, since once I day I want my own Chobani factory in my backyard…..

I feel like it is Christmas in February for me. I have been cleaning my place and found some goodies but also bought a couple new things.

New toys to play with:

New Digital!!!

I have had my old camera since 2002 so I decided it was time for an upgrade. Thanks Uncle Sam for a quick tax return turn around time!

Ozeri Food Scale

I have never owned one so I am geeked to try it

Last but not least

The Magic Bullet

I got this for my birthday back in December and haven’t even used it yet. And I don’t know why, which makes me sad. I went on a cruise in December then went to Florida for Christmas so I was moving around a lot but still, that was two months ago. I need to get on the magic bullet train!
I had a snack of Marzetti Lite Ranch Dip and Baby Carrots

Dinner was Spaghetti Squash with sauce consisting of stewed tomatoes, morningstar veggie, onion and mushrooms

I went for a short/run walk after dinner because Lost is on tonight and I feel like vegging out and watching. It was rainy and cold out (which I love) so it was only for 30 mins and about 1.5 miles. I would know if I had my heart rate monitor but sigh, still waiting on that bad boy.

I came home and refueled with what else—-a spinach smoothie(Can ya tell I like these?) with baby spinach, Chocolate Whey Protein, Soy Milk and TJ’s Plain Greek Yogurt

And the Yuengling Glass is just too cute for words

Alright. I have never put Greek Yogurt in a smoothie and I don’t know why I never tried it. This was like a malt and so delicious! I wonder what the Greek Yogurt with fruit in it would taste like? We will just have to see…..

While waiting for Lost, I leave you with some Lincoln love

New foods…..

Tonight was a night of new things in the kitchen. With all the food I cooked, you would think I was cooking for an entire family but nope, just me.

First I made spaghetti squash. I’ve never had it before and have wanted to try it as a substitute for real spaghetti.

I love that my squash had a name on it–Margot hehe (and let’s excuse the chipped nail polish)

 I baked it at 375 degrees for an hour. I was contemplating whether or not to slice it down the middle beforehand. I looked online at the pros and cons and decided to just keep it whole while baking and cut when it was finished.

I scooped out the seeds and then forked out the flesh.

Suffice to say, I will be eating this throughout the wk! I also made a sauce with Morningstar Sausage Style Crumbles, onions, garlic, mushrooms and stewed tomatoes.

Side dish was baby spinach with teardrop tomatoes (which until today, I had never heard of but they were on sale so bring it!)

I put some evoo on the pan and threw in the spinach and let cook for about three minutes. I then threw in the tomatoes and some balsamic vinegar

Dinner is served!

All mixed up…..

 

 Why didn’t I try this before? It was AMAZING! And obviously, way more healthy than spaghetti. I wasn’t the only fan…..

Didn’t stop there! I had a gnocchi recipe sitting in my cabinet for a while. I have only had gnocchi in restaurants and thought it would be fun to make my own. Unfortunately the recipe is on paper but if anyone is interested, please let me know.

Gnocchi in the making……

The final product (I had to try a few to make sure they would be an acceptable meal later this week)

 It was great! I will have to try it a few more times to perfect my technique but thought it turned out well. The biggest pain of it was the mess and waiting for the potatoes to boil.

I also tried the Chobani Champions Honeynaner that I bought earlier today (with some  flax)

Keeper! It was a smaller portion of Chobani so I was a little unfulfilled by it but I imagine it would be great with granola and fruit.

Game plan for the rest of the night?

Love this movie! Every time I watch it, it uplifts my spirits and I am going out tomorrow night to watch the SuperBowl so I need to rest up tonight.

An Oh Em Gee kinda day

So far at least. Today has been wonderful thus far!

The first Oh Em Gee came with breakfast. I made rolled oats on the stove with Silk Soy Milk and smashed banana. When done, I threw in some Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter and flax but also decided to try the oats with almond butter since I have read many do that.

OH EM GEE! Why have I not tried this before?? It was a party in my mouth 🙂 I used Trader Joe’s Almond Butter with Flax Seeds (which absolutely looked disgusting when I opened it up with a film of oil on top) and it was great! It is a new product of theirs so I decided to try it and will definitely use it again.

The second OH EM GEE occurred while working out. I am doing the Couch to 5K running program but haven’t been able to run this past week due to rain and snow (I so want a  treadmill!) I went on the Greenway today but no one was there because it was 40 degrees and drizzling out. Perfect weather to me though! The parking lot is usually packed but looked like this:

I ran/walked about 3.5 miles and ran more than I have in the past. I was really proud of myself for pushing myself while old me would have just gave up and walked when it hurt or got tough. I discovered a new trail though that has a steep incline and primarily walked up there but it was nice to see something new. I cannot wait to get my heart rate monitor and be able to see how far I am going for real and how my calories I am burning! OH EM GEE for pushing myself and going further and running longer than I have before!

Post Workout Snack was a Bosc pear

Afterwards, I went to Harris Teeter because they were having an awesome sale this weekend and I wanted to get my savings on. Bring on the third OH EM GEE of the day:

Morningstar Products for $2.99 each!!! I love this brand and they are usually $4.29

I love Morningstar because their products actually taste good, the sodium level is not through the roof and you can use their products in a number of ways (the Crumbles for instance I use in omelets, tacos, spaghetti sauce, etc.)

Cho-Cho-Cho-Cho-CHOBANI! Yes, I say it like 50 Cent when he says G-Unit 🙂 A new product I have never seen–Chobani Champions (flavors are chocolate and honeynana). I don’t know they are trying to appeal to children of the 70’s (which I totally am because I lived 18 days in the 70’s) or kids but it roped me in! I haven’t found anything about it on their website though….hmmm

 I cannot wait to try!

A single serving or three of Edy’s Slow Churned Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream may have fallen into my cart (possibly because they were $.99 each)

Or Blue Bunny Aspen Frozen Yogurt Granola Bar—a new product and again, intrigued! These will have to be a minor indulgence though, they are 150 calories each but 7 grams of Saturated Fat alone, eek!

These good deals worked up my appetite! I decided to make quesadillas for lunch. I used my leftover brown rice, black beans, onion and jalapeño mixture and mixed that with 1/4 cup of Mexican Cheese and spread on half of a burrito size tortilla.

This was the perfect size because it was just enough and didn’t use two tortillas which are 170 calories each.

I had them with Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt Tortilla Chips and salsa mixed with light peppercorn dressing……

And the final OH EM GEE!

Let’s see what the rest of the day brings 🙂