Tie Up Loose Ends

We made it through Tuesday!

After work today Dana ran some errands including a trip to Mall of America to try to find a backing to my iPhone. Apparently I am kind of picky about my phone accessories because I didn’t find one cover I liked in all of the M.O.A.! The trip was not a total flop though because we decided to get some frozen yogurt at Freeziac  which is self-serve frozen yogurt shop. We don’t have many of these in Minnesota, at least around where I live, so this is a big deal for us and a very special treat.

Yellow cake batter frozen yogurt with cookie dough, brownie, heath bar, chocolate chips, M & Ms (for color of course), a little bit of hot fudge, one pink gummy bear, and a cherry on top to seal the deal. This was heaven in a cup. This will be in my heaven except all the calories will have been removed so I can eat twice as much and not have to buy new pants. Good thing Dana and I were walking around the mall while eating this so we were actually burning calories while eating. Ha ha I know I’m funny. 🙂

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Dinner was one of my favorite salads: The Southwest Salad <——–Check out the recipe!

That is one good-looking salad if you ask me! I covered the fruit and veggie food group, protein food group, dairy food group, and even have some healthy fats in there with the avocado in this meal. I believe I’m just missing my whole grains. I had plenty of those earlier today though. I dare you to check this recipe out and try it at home. It’s a crowd pleaser.

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Remember a little while back when I mentioned I bought a new face moisturizer? Well it’s review time. Product: Aveeno Active Naturals Smart Essentials.

To those who may have missed it, I was looking for a moisturizer to help hydrate my extremely dry face, especially in my t-zone area. I have been using this stuff for a week and a half and I really feel it is making a difference. I am using it every night after I clean my face and in the morning I use just a little bit on my t-zone along with my daily moisturizer (Neutrogena Daily Moisturizer SPF 15). I no longer have dry skin and I feel like my skin looks more radiant. I would recommend it to anyone experiencing dry winter skin.

That was loose end #1 I wanted to tie up. Loose end #2 is my Home-made Tomato Soup Recipe! This was my first time ever making home-made tomato soup, and I was a little skeptical as to how it would turn out. It actually turned out really well. I even added a secret ingredient which helps create a creamy consistency (it’s pumpkin puree) without adding any dairy products. Not a secret anymore is it?

 

Tomato Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 Tablespoon garlic
  • 1-32 ounce container low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup tomato paste
  • 1-28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • Salt and Pepper to Taste
  • cooking spray

Directions

  1. In large soup pot coated with cooking spray, saute onion until translucent; add garlic and continue sauteing for 30 more seconds.
  2. Add broth, pumpkin, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and dried basil; stir.
  3. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce to simmer for 20 minutes.
  4. Remove from heat; stir in basil.
  5. Use immersion blender to puree soup to smooth.
  6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with crackers, shredded cheese, grilled cheese, fresh basil, tortilla chips or eat plain. I hope you like it as much as I did.

I am realizing that this post was all over the place. I guess that’s just how my mind works!

I am off to continue learning about my new phone while sipping on a mug o’ tea. Good night my friends!

Continue Reading Tie Up Loose Ends

A Colorful Lunch

How is everyone’s Saturday?

I ended up running 3 miles on the treadmill this morning. I think I have the winter running blues. I am so bored of running inside. After my run I did 5 sets up 10 knee pushups and some ab work.

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Lunch was very colorful! I started off munching on these while I decided what I wanted for lunch.

Then through this little guy together. In the mix was mini bell peppers, tomato, green olives, and Laughing Cow Swiss cheese wedge. I topped it with some honey mustard dressing and called it a lunch.

Off to run errands. I packed an apple just in case I needed a snack while we were out (which I ended up eating). We ran to Target to get some Super bowl food for tomorrow, Costco where I had an AMAZING chocolate cake sample, and the Mall to stop at Bath and Body Works and get their 5 for $15 antibacterial hand soap. One is missing because is out in the kitchen already!

For dinner I have some tilapia marinating in a honey, soy sauce, garlic powder, and ginger mixture. Time to cook it up so we can hit the road to my aunt and uncles!

Oh and real quick. I FINALLY finished the Help. I loved it and highly recommend it. I can’t wait to see the movie now! I refused to see it until I had finished reading the book.

K, I need to go now. Sorry for the condensed version of my day today!

Good night!

Continue Reading A Colorful Lunch

Got my veggies

Lunch was VEGGIE PACKED! I said I would work on it today and I did just that. I made a salad with mixed greens, leftover cowboy caviar from Friday night, shredded cheese, and a side of broccoli with honey mustard. It was amazing but left me with some real onion-y breath. I’ve had a lot of that going on lately! I also snacked on some Wheat Thins.

I did my chores including organizing the coupon book. Check it out:

Cute, huh? Yes, I absolutely love being and feeling organized.

After getting stuff done around the house, I did end up heading over to mom and dad’s for a little while this afternoon. It was so nice to hang out with mom, dad, and their dog Abbie (below). Abbie was helping mom cut coupons today.

It was what Sundays should be….relaxing. We watched a DVR’d episode of Ellen with Kellie Pickler. She is absolutely the cutest thing ever. I snacked on some Angie’s Kettle Korn lite.

On the way home I stopped at my favorite store, Target, to purchase an intense facial moisturizer. Minnesota winters can be pretty rough on the skin. I moisturize my face every morning after I cleanse it and also at night before bed, but it is still so dry on my chin and my t-zone. So, I hit the intimidating aisle of face creams/moisturizers/wrinkle reducers, etc. and searched for something that looked like it could handle this situation. I decided on Aveeno Smart Essentials nighttime moisture infusion with vitamins A, C, and E. I am going to start using it tonight so I will let you know what I think.

I snacked on some almonds and Craisins this afternoon as I tried to fix some computer problems. My computer is not recognizing my USB when I try to upload photos from my camera, so I had to upload my photos onto Dana’s computer and then email them to mine in order to post them. Yikes, I need to figure this out because that will get old REAL fast.

Dinner consisted of a lot of the same ingredients as lunch. I didn’t want the cowboy caviar to go to waste, but I also didn’t want terrible onion breath the rest of the night, so I decided I would saute the mix to mellow out the onion. After I sautĂ©ed the veggies for about 5 minutes, I made a well in the middle and cracked an egg in the middle. I cooked it over-easy topped with some cracked black pepper, Mexican Style reduced-fat cheddar cheese, and a dollop of salsa (salsa added after photoshoot). I love when the yolk covers over the veggies and adds a creaminess to the dish. Wow, this was good and guess what? No onion breath. Double win!

I made up for my lack of vegetables yesterday!

The rest of the night will consist of relaxing, getting ready for the week ahead, and hangin’ with my guys. It was a great weekend except it went way too fast as always!

Continue Reading Got my veggies
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