Dinners Archives - Page 14 of 36 -

Grilled Chicken with Artichoke Salsa & Valentine Surprises

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 14, 2013
Post category:Blog / Dinners / Gluten-Free / Home Life / Recipes / Sweet Treats
Post comments:7 Comments

Happy Friday! Do your happy dance!

So, I have pretty much weaned myself off coffee in the mornings and instead have been enjoying a cup of kombucha tea (which does also have a tiny bit of caffeine) but I was really wanting a cup of coffee this morning, so guess what? That’s what I had.

I’m going to cut right to the chase from yesterday. I don’t have much to share up until the afternoon. As you know, I am one of the lovey dovey people who celebrates Valentine’s Day. I do agree that “everyday should be Valentine’s Day,” and that we should share our love all of the time, and not just on one specific day, but I also like the idea of a super special day of love.

We don’t go super crazy celebrating but we usually cook up a nice dinner and have some sort of decadent dessert. Gifts are usually optional or something small.

Valentine’s Dinner

I haven’t the slightest idea where I found this recipe, but it was tucked away in my recipe book and I was aching to try it. My guess is I had thought about making it last year for Vday?

Grilled Chicken with Artichoke Salsa.

We grilled two boneless skinless chicken breasts seasoned with lemon, salt, and pepper along with a bunch of asparagus stalks. Grilled asparagus is hands-down my favorite way to eat that veggie. It takes on a nice smoky flavor and is OH so good.

While the chicken was grilling I got to work on the artichoke salsa (recipe below). This dish was extremely simple to prepare and turned out so amazingly well.

And kind of fancy looking too. At least fancier than what we’re used to on a Thursday night.

Artichoke Salsa

Ingredients

1 cup artichoke hearts, chopped (I used jarred in olive oil)
1 Tbsp capers
2 Tbsp red onion, diced
2 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
dash of dried oregano
dash of dried thyme
dash of italian seasoning
salt and pepper

Instructions

Combine all ingredients and serve on top of grilled boneless chicken breast and asparagus. NUM!

Dessert

I had some homemade gluten-free brownies leftover from Tuesday’s work meeting, so I warmed those up for dessert. They were almost paleo, but not quite, so it was a bit of a “treat.”

I was originally planning on making a paleo molten chocolate lava cake, but after dinner I was first of all stuffed, and second of all just simply tired. These brownies were the perfect substitute though. Plus now they are out of the house!

The evening was full of surprises. When I first got home from work, I had a few cards waiting for me. Yes, actually legit cards that came in the mail. It always excites me to get actual “mail!” I was feeling very loved. Mooser even gave me a card. 😉

I sent Dana on a mini scavenger hunt for a few gifts that I had got for him. I love going on those scavenger hunts, so I thought I’d let him have some fun. I think he enjoyed it!

Dana surprised me with my very first Lululemon workout top. Actually my very first anything from Lululemon. That store is so outrageously expensive but holding that shirt I could feel the difference! So soft. I can’t wait to wear it!

As if that wasn’t enough, Dana tells me that he has another surprise for me. He said that he changed a few things on my blog. To premise that, there is a huge list of details I want to change about the blog, but I haven’t figured out how to configure the changes yet, so this surprise actually sounded like something he would have done. I was still a little skeptical.

I sit down at my computer to look at the changes, and he tells me to use the pullout keyboard (which is just a little pull out sliding shelf attached to my desk which is meant for a keyboard for a desk top). I have no idea what he’s talking about but play along and pull out the shelf and guess what was sitting there…

An Apple MacBook Air.

I couldn’t believe what was in front of my eyes. My computer has been on the fritz for a while now, and we talked about how my next computer will be a Mac, but I was thinking we would practically wait for my computer to start on fire before we replaced it. But no, no, I am now an official owner of a Mac.

Needless to say I feel more than a little spoiled. I spent the rest of the evening with my honey trying to figure out the ins and outs with my new toy and watching Modern Family from Wednesday (LOVE that show).

It will definitely take some getting used to but I already feel less stress while working on the blog. Uploading photos is faster because pictures taken from my iPhone are automatically synced onto my computer, there is no lag time due to overheating, it’s wonderful.

Dana outdid himself. Although he said the computer “isn’t a Valentine’s gift, because it was something you needed.” Either way, he spoiled me rotten.

I had a wonderful day as you can see. I hope you did too!

February Fitness Challenge

Today we enter into our third week of the February Fitness Challenge. I am happy to say I once again met my goal of three strength training activities for the week. Check out my workout log page if you are interested in what I did!

Question: Did you make any February fitness goals? If so, what are they, and how are they going?

I am very thankful it’s Friday. I have a fairly low-key weekend planned and I’m hoping to get a good run in, do some vacation shopping, and RELAX.

Happy FRIDAY! Catch up with you later gators.

I Prefer Small Meals and Snacks

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 14, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Giveaway / Gluten-Free / Workouts
Post comments:5 Comments

First and foremost, I want to wish you all a….

I am such a lover, so this Hallmark holiday really puts me into an EXTRA lovey dovey spirit. Whether you celebrate Valentine’s day or not, I hope you all have a wonderful day full of love and joy! I’ll be doing my best to spread the love today.

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Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, which means it was a day to fast in between meals (it means a lot more than that but I’m not getting into that right now). Being that I am not one to eat big meals, I am more of a small meals and snacks throughout the day kind of gal, this is always a little challenging for me. It involves some planning to make sure I build significant meals to keep me energized throughout the work day and not hit any slumps. Like most of us, I need A LOT of energy to get through the day.

In the morning I unrolled the yoga mat and put on a Yoga/Pilates OnDemand. The workout was about 25 minutes and it felt GREAT. My body was pretty sore and tight before the workout, but once I was done with the session, I felt much more relaxed and less tense. After yoga, I walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes and then finished with a plank.

Then it was time to get breakfast going. I cooked up a batch of quinoa, topped it with kale, a little bit of cheese, salt, pepper, avocado, and an egg.

How’s that for breakfast creativity? That was definitely a bit out of my breakfast comfort zone (aka banana and peanut butter). And as if that wasn’t enough, I gobbled up some lemon blueberry bread. Multiply this bite in my hand times about six.

I was set.

Breakfast held me over into lunch and then some. For lunch I made a Greek yogurt bowl with chia seeds, FAGE non-fat Greek yogurt, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries.

And last and maybe least (dinner isn’t too impressive), for dinner I made a salad with cabbage, lettuce, beans, peas, feta cheese, sunflower seeds, and honey mustard dressing. I snacked on carrots while I threw the salad together. I was really hungry by the time dinner rolled around.

Part two of dinner was trail mix with some raisins, peanuts, almonds, and dark chocolate chips.

After a day of eating only three solid meals, versus my regular small meals and snacks, I am absolutely sure that I prefer the more frequent small meals and snacks. I felt pretty blech all day.

I am fully aware that some cultures fast all day long for different reasons, and I tip my hat to them. That takes incredible willpower and dedication which is why I refuse to complain about having to do this one day. Making any changes to a typical daily intake, also really makes me realize how fortunate I am to have food available to me at all times.

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Intelligent Nutrients Giveaway Winner

Switching gears here, once again. It’s time to announce the winner of the Intelligent Nutrients shampoo and conditioner!

The winner has been randomly chosen. Congratulations to…

Alicia @ The Wannabe Foodie!!

I’m very excited for you to try these products! Send me an email at beautifullynutty@gmail.com with your address information. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you to all who entered! If you follow me on Twitter, be on the lookout for another giveaway coming your way. My twitter handle is: @NuttyMelanie

Happy Valentine’s Day my friends! xoxo I hope your day is filled with love.

Question: Whether you are dating, married, or single…Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? Anything fun planned for today?

Back to the Gym & A Happy Cup of Tea

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 12, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Lunch / Snacks / Workouts
Post comments:1 Comment

Okay, good morning! How did everyone sleep last night? I slept really well except for some crazy dreams this morning. Our brains are so incredible. They take our thoughts and wishes and fears and turn them into some very interesting dreams. Some seem so vivid and real like the one I had last night, and some are so completely out there you wonder how your brain even came up with them. Or how about when you randomly see someone in your dream who you haven’t heard of or seen in ages?! That always blows my mind too.

But anyway…let’s get back to reality.

Monday

I’m starting to lose my creativity again and falling back into the pb banana breakfast again. I have still been trying to incorporate more smoothies in though. It’s a work in progress. We’ll leave it at that.

I was out all morning running errands and hitting up the gym. Oh yea, I seriously went to the gym. It had been a long time since I had been there because I was sick last week and because I have been doing a lot of my workouts in the comfort of my own warm home. I’m still debating putting my membership on hold, but something keeps holding me back from doing it.

At the gym I planted myself on a treadmill directly in front of a TV showing The Price is Right. I began with a light jog, then decided to make this run a HIIT kind of run. I ran for 3-4 minutes at an intense speed, followed by 1-2 minutes of recovery walking, then amped up the speed this time higher than the sprint before, ran for 3-4 minutes, recovered for 1-2, and so on. I did this sprint/walk drill for 3 miles. I was dripping sweat by the time I was done with it.

Next, I moved over to the mats and worked on strengthening my abs. I feel like ever since the January 30-Day-Abs Challenge, I have learned so many great workouts for my abs that really target all areas. This abs workout was the 2nd session of my February Fitness Challenge.

I packed a large bag of carrots to munch on while I was out and about. By the time I got home around noon, I was more than ready for lunch.

I snacked on a few dates with peanut butter while I got lunch ready.

I roasted broccoli, brussels sprouts, and butternut squash in the oven with coconut oil, salt, and pepper. I really wasn’t feeling the sprouts yesterday but ate a few of them anyway.

I finished lunch off with a small snack bowl of mixed nuts and raisins.

In the afternoon I had a cup of green tea kombucha and fell in love with the inspirational words on the tea tag.

“Happiness comes when you overcome the most impossible challenge.” We all have challenges and obstacles in our lives, but we must remember that we will get through them as we always do. Also, we always need to remember to enjoy life each day and show love to the people in our lives each day. That will bring us happiness. At least that’s what I took from it. I’m sure everyone has their own interpretation. I felt happy even before I drank my tea just by reading those words.

Dinner was salmon again! Once a week is still salmon week and let me tell you, I am really starting to like this healthy fish. We made it the same way as we did last week with a little butter, almonds, capers, and sesame oil mixture drizzled over the top of grilled salmon with green beans and asparagus.

I can’t get over how much more I prefer salmon when it is grilled on an outside grill versus inside. It takes any potential fishy taste out of it and gives it a very subtle smoky flavor. I am happy to say the salmon is growing on me!

The rest of the evening was spent in our cozy home watching the Bachelor and celebrating when someone on there FINALLY got sent home (I won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t watched it yet). The second person he sent home though however I wasn’t too happy about. BUT, it’s down to the last four now which means home-town dates, and it looks like it’s going to be drama-filled! Again, this show sucks me in every season.

I made myself a snack of blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries with a dollop of FAGE Greek yogurt and honey.

It was the perfect sweet snack to end the night.

Don’t forget to enter my Intelligent Nutrients Organic Shampoo and Conditioner Giveaway! You have until Wednesday to enter. 🙂

Have a great Tuesday!

A Weekend of Cozy Restaurants

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 10, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Family / Lunch / Restaurants
Post comments:2 Comments

Well hello there my friends! I am having quite the fabulous weekend. How about you? This post is a quick little recap from the weekend so far. ENJOY!

Saturday

On Saturday morning Dana and I met up with my parents and my grandpa at the Copper Dome in St. Paul. Copper Dome is one of my favorite places to go to breakfast with my grandpa. Growing up I would always order from their lengthy pancake menu, and enjoy a cozy ambiance with my family.

Fun fact: President Obama ate at Copper Dome one time when he was visiting Minnesota! Kind of neat. 🙂 Who knows, maybe he sat right where we sat?

I hadn’t been there in years, and this time around I decided to go a different route for breakfast instead of the usual pancakes. I chose a platter with two eggs cooked however you like, hash browns, and turkey bacon. It was definitely a protein-packed breakfast that held me over for a long time!

I had a lot of fun being back there with my family!

Across the street I couldn’t help but notice a second-hand store called Elite Repeat and watched many ladies walking out of there with very cute dresses in their hands. I had to go take a peak for myself. I was looking for a new swimsuit cover up for vacation after all.

What do you know?! I just happened to find one that I loved. It had never been worn and was $16. I’d call that a deal. Plus it’s animal print. So cute. Win.

Alright, a little less talk and more photos…

Dinner was a veggie-packed salad.

Fast-forward to Sunday Lunch…

We met up with Dana’s parents at a restaurant called Porter Creek Hardwood Grill. They have a huge wood burning stove that they use for flatbread pizzas, and they also specialize in rotisserie chicken. Num.

I had a seriously hard time deciding what I wanted. It was between the chicken chowder soup with a side caesar salad, or the Toasted Quinoa Chicken Salad. I went with the quinoa salad.

Unfortunately my cold decided to act up right around lunchtime, and I wasn’t able to taste any of my lunch. I’m pretty sure it was amazing though. 😉 I saved half of it to bring home so I could enjoy it once my senses came back around.

I really enjoyed this place not only for the food but for the ambiance. The snow was flying down outside, and we were inside this warm and toasty restaurant, with a fire going in the fireplace, the smell of the wood burning stove which smelled like a campfire, italian inspired motif, and we were in a super comfortable booth. It really made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

It was a great weekend full of family and food. Now, that is all for now. I am going to enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Be on the lookout for a super amazing giveaway tomorrow!!!

How was your weekend? Do anything fun? Have a relaxing weekend in?

Cabbage Roll Casserole–Give it a Chance!

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 9, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Fav Products / Home Life / Moose / Recipes / Sweet Treats / Workouts
Post comments:4 Comments

Happy Saturday you beautifully nutty readers!

My Saturday is off to a great start because I woke up feeling SO much better. I can actually breathe through my nose today which is a good thing since we have plans to meet my mom, dad, and grandpa for breakfast this morning. I don’t know about you but I do enjoy tasting my food. 😉

I’m going to make this short and sweet for you all and focus right on in to dinner last night. After lying on the couch until 3:30 yesterday afternoon feeling completely groggy, I forced myself into my tennis shoes and hit the treadmill for a nice slow walk. The walk did wonders. I felt slightly less groggy and more energized. I made sure to utilize that slight energy surge by preparing dinner.

Dinner was something out of the box, and out of my comfort zone: Cabbage Roll Casserole

I had planned earlier in the week to make cabbage rolls, but kept putting it off since I wasn’t feeling good and the process seemed a little tedious. Then I got to thinking, there’s nothing saying I have to make the cabbage rolls into actual rolls, I could just chop it up and bake it like a casserole. I went with it…

And here is what I came up with! I know cabbage may not be #1 on many people’s list of favorite foods, but give it a chance. I promise you this turned out to be such a great and SUPER healthy dish!

It was comforting, savory and satisfying. Both Dana and I really enjoyed it!

Cabbage Roll Casserole

Recipe type: Gluten-Free; SCD

Ingredients

⅓ lb ground lean turkey
1½ cup onion, diced
¾ cup green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp chili pepper flakes
¼ tsp dried basil
salt and pepper
2 cups crushed tomatoes (fresh or canned)
½ jar of no sugar added marinara sauce
½ head of cabbage, chopped into shreds
¾ cup bone broth (chicken, turkey, or veggie broth would work fine)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a pan on the stove top, brown the meat.
Then add onion and bell pepper and saute for about 3 minutes.
Add garlic, oregano, chili pepper flakes, basil, salt and pepper; stir.
Add tomatoes and sauce and stir. Turn off the heat. Add cabbage and stir to combine.
In a 9 x 13 oven-safe baking pan, pour cabbage mixture and spread evenly in pan.
Pour broth over cabbage.
Bake covered for 45 minutes and then remove cover and bake for an additional 35 minutes.
Enjoy this delightfully healthy dish warm!

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing on the couch and watching the majority of the movie Valentine’s Day which was on TV. Of course I naturally got into it since it was the definition of chick flick and it has a great cast. We had to DVR the end of it though because I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. Stay awake until 10:30? Not a chance when I’m sick.

Moose had a relaxing evening as well.

The evening was complete when Dana came home from a run to CVS for cold medicine for me and also brought home one of my favorite dark chocolate bars. I’m only allowing myself one piece a day at max. I can’t believe my will power with sweets these days. It’s incredible how taking yourself off of sweets can change your will power for them so drastically. I like having control. Now I have to work on my peanut butter and date control.

Okie, doke friends. I’m off to get ready for our breakfast with the family. I hope you all have a relaxing and fun-filled Saturday. Catch up with you soon.

Question of the day: Do you have any foods that test your will power?

A Typical Day of Meals & Snacks From My Childhood

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 7, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Family / Lunch / Misc. / Sweet Treats
Post comments:4 Comments

Happy Thursday to you all. I hope everyone is having a good week. I’m still fighting to feel well today. I got nearly 9 hours of sleep last night so that will hopefully help me heal faster. Sleep is so powerful.

Yesterday I went into work, fought through the morning but then felt so miserable that I ended up going home in the afternoon. I planted myself on the couch and that is where I stayed all afternoon and evening minus getting up to get food and drink.

I hesitate to even share my eats yesterday because they are not the most appealing or exciting, but I’ll do it anyway.

Breakfast was an old favorite of Parkers Farm peanut butter, banana, cinnamon, and a light drizzle of honey.

Lunch was seasoned bone broth with chicken and carrots, applesauce, and raw carrots.

Snacks: Cashews, raisins, and almonds…

And dates with peanut butter which is my latest obsession…

I spent the afternoon trying to nap which was turned out to be an unsuccessful attempt (why is it so hard for me to nap?!), watching Food Network, reading, and catching up on blogs. Pretty much I sat on my rear all afternoon and rested.

When dinner rolled around I was very hungry, but had no clue what I wanted. Eventually, with the help of Dana, he made up a plate of roasted broccoli with parmesan with a piece of cooked turkey deli meat with an egg on top. It was very random but it ended up being a nummy combo.

I spent the rest of the evening watching an episode of Glee that I had recorded, Whitney, and Modern Family. I love those shows oh so much.

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Switching gears now…

After reading a post from the blog A Dash of Meg, who wrote a post about what a typical day of meals and snacks looked like for her growing up, I thought it would be fun to walk down memory lane as well. Shall we?

A Typical Day of Meals & Snacks From My Childhood

Breakfast

In the morning I would stumble down to the kitchen and pour myself a bowl of cereal with milk or make a warm bowl of Cream of Wheat. Mom always had the cupboard stocked full of good cereals, but some of my favorites were Cinnamon Life and Honey Nut Cheerios. Num! Many times I would sit next to my mom while she read the paper and crunch away at my bowl.

A bowl of cereal now with no additional protein on the side (besides the small amount of milk on the cereal) definitely wouldn’t tide me over very long any more these days, but cereal does make a great snack or you could pair a bowl of cereal and banana slices with a protein rich egg on the side and call it a more well-rounded meal.

I don’t recall snacking very often between breakfast and lunch, so when lunch time rolled around, I was always very hungry. Sometimes I would buy a juice from the soda machine, but not too often.

Lunch

Most of the time I preferred to bring a bagged lunch aside from those random days when I chose to have the taco salad bar or italian dunkers. It’s funny how I always seemed to have a tummy ache after eating the white bread and cheese loaded italian dunkers. I have learned so much about my body and health since then!

Mom made my lunch for the longest time which I am so thankful for, and my usual comfy tummy lunch was peanut butter and jelly on whole grain bread, baby carrots, an apple or a banana, and then usually one little treat like a cookie or fruit snacks or pudding.

Snacks

After school I was always ready for a snack. Often I would go over to my aunt’s house (Betsy’s mom and dad) and hang out there for a while. Betsy and I would practice our dance steps, and then we would have a snack. My favorite afternoon snacks at her house were freshly popped popcorn and graham crackers with peanut butter and mini chocolate chips!

At home, my favorite snacks were probably another mini bowl of cereal or pretzels. I was quite the carb loader back then. 🙂

Dinner

Later in the evening I would either go to dance and then come home and eat dinner, or eat dinner and then go to dance. As I got older I had more and more classes. Mom did a great job of having dinner ready for all of us, even though we were all going out the door here and there to practices, classes, study groups, etc. If someone wasn’t home for dinner, mom or dad would always plate up a serving and put it in the fridge for when they got home.

Some of my favorites were taco night, spaghetti, fajitas, and lasagna.

But truly, I loved everything my mom made. I was never a picky eater and still am not to this day!

In the evening on special occasions, mom would whip us up a batch of orange julius which I believe was made with orange juice concentrate, milk, vanilla, and ice. I’m pretty sure that was it but don’t quote me on that.

It was such a tasty treat and I always got so excited about them. I may need to try to recreate that bad boy.

So, there you have it! I was definitely a carb queen. I needed a lot of energy and brain fuel to get me through the activities of the day, and still do of course, I just get it in different forms now.

I remember many “tummy aches” growing up. I wonder if they can be attributed to dairy products and gluten? It is quite possible I guess. I remember having to plug my nose in order to finish my milk. My mom spent a lot of time researching gastrointestinal problems and we tried many different approaches to get me to feel better. At 12 years old I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis.

It’s all very interesting to me. I am learning more and more about myself every day and I continue to be amazed by the human body. It’s a good thing I decided to become a dietitian! Now my mom (who went to school for nutrition as well) and I really have good nutrition conversations.

Alright, time to go get ready for the day. I hope you had as much fun strolling down memory lane as I did.

What did you eat growing up?

You Can’t Always Win

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 6, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Family / Health / Moose / Recipes / Workouts
Post comments:6 Comments

Yesterday I mentioned I was fighting off some sort of cold bug and I had big plans of squashing it before it made its way any further into my body, but I’m afraid it has won.

I did everything in my power to ward it off. I took all of my vitamins as I always do, I wash my hands, I got plenty of sleep, I made myself a fruit and veggie packed smoothie for breakfast…

Strawberries, blueberrries, kale, kefir, egg white protein powder

I sipped on warm water with lemon and honey, tea, and water all day, crammed fruits and veggies like it was my job, and even attempted to get a workout in to get the blood circulating and move this thing out…

February Fitness Challenge: I completed this ab workout along with 45 minute run/walk on the treadmill. My strength focus was on the core yesterday.

I was lovingly greeted/interrupted while doing the ab workout by this needy face…

Maybe he was trying to tell me about the spider crawling on the floor that I noticed shortly after he left while holding my plank-a-day? If so, that was sweet of him.

In the evening, my mom, dad and brother Kevin came over to join Dana and me for tacos. Abbie and Moose have yet to become buddies, so Abbie made her way over to her little roost where she overlooked the situation.

I used the chicken I had used for my bone broth for the chicken tacos. I diced the chicken meat, added it into my pan on the stove top, added bone broth, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and salt and pepper. I let it all simmer together until the liquid evaporated.

I also made refried beans with black beans which I cooked on the stove, again with cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper (no paprika), salsa, cilantro, and some diced tomato. I added a touch of bone broth as well to get it moving along and let it simmer for a short while.

I got all of the fixings together and then dinner was ready. Tacos are so easy to make and always so darn good. I ate my tacos in lettuce cups but we also had corn tortillas for everyone.

After dinner, we all hung out and I played beauty shoppe with mom. I’ve never been too good with hair but I like to try being creative every once and a while, and mom is the perfect client. Her hair is the perfect texture that holds well to styling, and I’m pretty sure she is okay with the free head massage. Who doesn’t like getting their hair fanangled? I know I do.

I also thought a little TLC from the family may help fight this thing off, but unfortunately this morning I woke up feeling worse than yesterday. The darn cold definitely got me much to my dismay. You can’t always win as hard as you may try. 🙂

Let’s just hope I feel better as the day progresses. Even though it got me, I won’t let it stick around for long. Okay, enough of my belly aching. I hope you all are feeling well, staying active, eating healthy nourishing foods, and getting plenty of sleep. Take care!

Enjoyable Salmon and the Room Reveal

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 5, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Home Life
Post comments:2 Comments

It’s a hot water with lemon and honey type of morning over here. I am most definitely fighting some type of head cold with symptoms of stuffy nose, sore throat, and “stuffy” throat if you know what I mean. I will NOT get sick(er) though, and I will fight it off (positivity really helps!).

I’m thinking it should be a fruit and veggie-packed smoothie kind of morning too to get a kick-start on those vitamins.

Let’s talk about Monday. First thing in the morning our pampered pooch had an appointment at the vet. He was less than thrilled about it as you can see.

It was time to get his pearly whites cleaned up. Although we do brush his teeth and give him Nylabones and other bones to chew on, he still has some buildup on his teeth and has grade I gingivitis. The vets highly recommend the teeth cleaning because gingivitis can lead to further serious health conditions if not controlled. Since we love the little guy SO much, we dished out the dough and got it done. His teeth turned out beautifully.

I had some running around to do throughout the late morning/lunch hour, so I stashed some snacks in my purse: carrots, snap peas, and an apple. I had quite the little day and I am excited to share it with you very soon.

There aren’t too many food photos to share with you from yesterday because my day of eats was too random and not the most balanced either, and I didn’t feel like snapping a photo of every little snack I consumed.

I was finally done with all of my appointments and errands at 4:30 at which point I had planned on getting a good core workout in, but by the time I got home I was in no mood to do anything strenuous. My energy was zapped and I was starting to feel symptoms of the cold. But I wasn’t ready to call all exercise off, instead I laced up and headed downstairs for a leisure walk on the treadmill while reading a book. I walked for 45 minutes and completed my plank-a-day, and was so glad I did. It gave me the little boost of energy I needed. When do I ever regret a workout? Never.

Dinner was something special last night. My friend Patti read that I was trying to eat salmon once a week and trying to learn to like it, so she recommended a recipe for me to try. It was very simple which I always appreciate.

What I did was melt a little butter on the stove top, add sliced almonds, capers, and finally sesame oil. It doesn’t take long to make the sauce so I waited until the salmon and green beans were nearly done on the grill (yes we grilled last night—wooo!—no salmon stinky house) to get it going. Once everything was cooked I plated the green beans which I just steamed in aluminum foil on the grill, then the salmon, and finally the almond glaze.

OMG—I actually loved my salmon last night! It may have been a combination of being able to grill the salmon on a real grill outside along with the awesome crunchy sweet and salty topping that really made it, who knows, but whatever it was, I truly enjoyed this dish. Thank you for the recommendation. They are always welcome! 🙂

The rest of the night was spent planning out our meals for our vacation, watching the Bachelor, and having a snack or two. Pour Sean is in a tizzy. These girls are really yanking at his heart-strings. 😉

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So, guess what? The laundry room is finished! It took us about two weeks to complete and it feels so great to have it done.

Before the renovation, the room was dirty, cold, unorganized, and you felt like you had to wear shoes if you were going to go in there. Now, the floor is tiled, the walls and shelves are all painted, and all of our “junk” is organized!

Here are some before and after photos; mind you that we moved a ton of stuff from our living room area into the laundry room where we plan to permanently store it, so although it may looked slightly more cluttered, you’re right it is, but it is in an organized fashion. The walls are a very soft blue color called fresh air. Ahhhhhh…

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Who knew I could be so excited about a laundry room renovation! How times have changed.

These photos are a little embarrassing because you are witnessing firsthand all of the junk that we own. It amazes me how much stuff two people can accumulate. My next project is to sort through all of this stuff, hopefully get rid of a bunch of it, and then reorganize it again.

So now that a good majority of the living room is finally cleared out downstairs, we can hopefully tackle that room next in the near future. This whole renovation thing is kind of addicting. First we did the bathroom downstairs, now the laundry room, and next most likely the living area, and eventually two bedrooms and a workshop! It will be a while on all of that though. 🙂

Okay, I’m going to go nurse this throat and get ready for the day. I hope you all have a great Tuesday and are feeling healthy!

A Day of Comfy Tummy Snacks and Meals

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 3, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Health / Home Life / Snacks
Post comments:6 Comments

Well, happy Sunday!! I am happy to report that I am feeling MUCH better today. Yesterday was very restful; I was in need of some quiet relaxing time after having a blast on Friday night.

I felt super motivated in the morning and actually made myself a savory breakfast of eggs with cheese and kale. This doesn’t happen very often where I actually crave savory versus sweet in the morning, but I did line my plate with a handful of cold sweet carrots to “balance” the meal and add a touch of sweetness. I can’t tell you the last time I ate carrots in the morning, but I actually really enjoyed them. Weird things are happening over here. 😉

I had a great appetite first thing in the morning and these eggs did a great job of satisfying my hunger. After I ate in the morning though, my appetite spiraled downward and I did not feel well.

I found my spot on the couch from around 10:00-1:00. I nibbled on a banana and drank water while my body tried to recover. Finally I fell asleep for a short while watching Bridesmaids (love that movie) and when I awoke, I felt 80% better!

This is not Bridesmaids on TV if you didn’t notice. This was after I woke up and was feeling better, so clearly I default to Food Network. And don’t let those weights deceive you, they unfortunately didn’t get touched yesterday.

I made myself a light snack/mini lunch…

In the afternoon I was actually able to be slightly productive. I painted the shelves for the laundry room, went to Menards with Dana, shoveled the driveway, cranked out my plank-a-day, and then made some super easy on the belly soup.

I used the bone broth I had made the other day to throw together a quick soup with carrots, onion, garlic, peas, broccoli, and chicken. I seasoned the soup as I went along with salt, pepper, savory seasoning blend, and garlic powder. I topped it with fresh cilantro.

It wasn’t a soup that made me want to go run and scream and tell the whole world about, but it was perfect on my still unsettled tummy.

I did have a few other random snacks throughout the day, but overall it was a pretty low-appetite day for me, and I was listening to my body as best as I could.

After dinner we got to work again on the laundry room. We are now in the process of moving all of our ~~junk~~ stuff into the laundry room where it will be permanently stored. Since our basement is unfinished we have just been storing everything in the living area, but since we would like to work on finishing the living area, we needed to move the junk out of there.

The laundry room is nearly finished. It looks smaller now because we have put so much more stuff in there, but it is definitely cleaner looking and more organized! Photos coming soon!

Just before bed, I whipped together some Paleo-friendly waffle batter so that this morning all we have to do is crank on the waffle iron and cook them up. Dana’s patiently waiting for me as I write right now, so I am going to end this so I can get my breakfast on.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

What are your go-to comfy tummy snacks and/or meals?

My February Fitness Challenge

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 1, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Workouts
Post comments:2 Comments

Happy February 1st! What?! That blows my mind.

You know what else blows my mind? The fact that I stuck with an entire month of the January 30 Day Abs Challenge. Just a reminder, the challenge was to complete ab circuits which were given to us weekly, three times a week and to try to do a plank for at least one minute on the off days. I think throughout the entire month there was only one day where I didn’t do the plank, besides that I stuck with it entirely.

What amazes me is how much our bodies can change in just one month. I noticed a significant change in the strength I feel in my abs and not only in my abs but in my legs and arms as well. The circuits involved our entire body which I appreciated so much.

If this is what can happen in a month, imagine what could happen during a longer time frame. This was just the push I needed to begin including core work not only more frequently into my fit after 50 workout routines, but more heavily. I know now that I can be pushed further than the ab workouts I was doing before this challenge. I am so glad I accepted it!

However, I still have a lot of work to do. I really like setting monthly goals and fitness challenges because one month isn’t daunting, it isn’t intimidating, and it keeps me focused on a particular activity for a month. If you’ve just started exercising and experienced exertion soreness like me, you might also need one of these best hand held massager to hep minimize the soreness.

In an effort to continue building up my strength, I have decided to make a fitness challenge for myself for the month of February.

February Fitness Challenge

Incorporate strength training activities into my routine three days a week–this can be free weights, simply using my body weight, weight machines at the gym, fitness classes which include weights,workout videos, etc. and will target different areas of the body. I will continue to mix in my cardio when I please and complete at least a one minute plank daily.

There it is. I know I have mentioned it before, but strength training is my weakness and it’s something I am always wanting to improve upon. I know the benefits and can feel the benefits, and I want to continue my journey in the right direction. I’m a little nervous about this one because I really don’t want to fail, but hey, it’s only 28 days!

Bring it on February!

And now we’re going to back track. Yesterday I let myself have my peanut butter and banana breakfast. I’m still working towards “livening” up my breakfasts.

Mid-morning I crunched on some snap peas and a clementine.

And for lunch I ate a big salad with mixed greens, chicken, avocado, peas, sunflower seeds, and hummus. Dessert was an apple. If you’re looking for a supplement that you can include in your daily diet that helps in weight loss, I recommend that you check out Resurge.

After work I headed over to mom and dad’s to hang out. Right away I threw back a handful of baby carrots and a few almonds, but then wanted to get a quick workout in so I got changed, completed my “last chance workout” from the 30 Day Abs Challenge, and then finished with 20 minutes on the elliptical.

Then I got to the hanging out part of my visit.

For dinner I had requested some sort of red meat. I realize I hadn’t had any in a really long time and don’t mind it every now and again. We had surf and turf (steak and shrimp), a big ol’ salad, and green beans. I made myself a side of honey mustard dressing for both the salad and the steak made from Dijon mustard and honey. I loved that stuff.

It was a great dinner and felt so nice to be cozy and warm with madre y padre. It was ridiculously cold last night and continues to be extremely cold today.

Later in the evening I came home, fed the pup, and called it a night.

I am constantly amazed at the size difference when I go from being with Abbie, an 11 lb Yorkie Poo, to Moose, a 90 lb German Shepherd. Just a little bit of a size difference there. 😉

Okee doke friends. I am OUT of here for now. I definitely have some fun plans on the agenda for the night. Catch up with you later gators.

Question of the Day: Do you have any fitness challenges planned for February? If so what are they?

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