Sweet and Creamy Salad

Happy Hump Day!

After my wonderful run yesterday (note the sarcasm), I made myself a giant bowl of Overnight Chia Seed Yogurt although instead of letting it combine overnight, I let it work for just a half hour. I also added strawberries to the mix.

I added a heavy amount of honey to the top and scraped the bowl clean. This was my brunch. I had a goofy schedule at work today so I made sure to pack a few snacks to tide me over through the afternoon: apple, sugar snap peas, carrots, and a string cheese.

For dinner, I used up ingredients we had on hand to make one of my all-time favorite salads.

Moose watched while I prepared dinner. Sorry Moose, I know this isn’t your most flattering angle. 😉

Here is the beautiful colorful plate of healthiness that I put together.

 

The combination of textures in this salad are so pleasing to me between the creaminess of the avocado, beans, and dressing, the juiciness of the fruit, and the crunch of the onion, it’s just perfect. It’s sweet, it’s creamy, it’s my…

Sweet and Creamy Salad

This salad is sweet and refreshing, and perfect any time of year.

Ingredients

Mixed greens

red onion, diced

fresh strawberries, diced (or frozen if you don’t have fresh on hand)

1 can mandarin oranges, drained

1 ripe avocado, diced

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

Newman’s Own Lite honey mustard dressing (or your favorite honey mustard)

Directions

Place mixed greens on large plate. Top with remaining ingredients. Drizzle with honey mustard. You could bulk up the salad with more protein by adding grilled chicken breast or shrimp.

I am off to work. Have a great day!

Continue Reading Sweet and Creamy Salad

Keeping Sugar Intake Under Control: Mind Over Matter

Happy Good Friday to you all!

After work yesterday I headed to the gym. I rowed on the row machine for 5 minutes as a quick warmup, then headed to grab some free weights. I headed to the back to my favorite area of the gym for privacy, and plowed through the Pyramid Arm Workout. I don’t think “plowed” is necessarily the most accurate term to use though, because that makes it sound like it was a piece of cake for me when in reality, this was pretty challenging for me today. I was feeling exhausted with low energy. I always figure though, at least I’m doing something which is better than nothing.

Dinner last night came together in a pinch thanks to the help of the crock pot. At lunch break, I placed two chicken breasts in the crock pot (without any seasonings) and set the crock pot to “high” as it was already lunch time, and wasn’t going to have quite as long of a time to cook as usual. I love the crock pot because you set it, and forget it!

When I got home from the gym the chicken was cooked through in the crockpot. I removed it and placed into a round bowl, grabbed two forks and began shredding. I removed about half of the shredded chicken, covered it, and refrigerated it for use another day. This is the reason I don’t like to season the whole batch, because I like to use it in several different dishes. The other half of the chicken was for our dinner.

I mixed the chicken with KC Masterpiece Original Barbecue Sauce and placed it on top a bed of baby kale, diced tomatoes, diced avocado, red onion, cilantro and corn.

I then added reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese and Newman’s Own Lite Honey Mustard. I have made this combo before and I must say, I really struck gold again. This combination was fantastic! My inspiration for this combo was from a salad I had eaten at Famous Dave’s that was loaded with pulled chicken and honey mustard. NUM!

After dinner we headed out to run a couple of errands. We needed to buy another photo album for our wedding photos because we ran out of room on the first one. Is it bad that it’s been six months since our wedding and our wedding photos still aren’t all in an album yet? Meh.

After errands I plunked down in front of the computer because I needed recipe ideas. I told mom I would bring desserts and a fruit salad to Easter Sunday at their place. Yes, you read right, DESSERT. I haven’t had dessert since February 22nd, when Lent began. It has been great to get my sugar intake under control again especially after the holidays. My body does not crave sugar like it used to.

When re-introducing sweets back into my life, I am going to continue to be very mindful of my eating, and want to make sure not to fall into an over-indulging of sugar stage again.  I will need to remember to keep sweet treats, indeed a sweet treat every once and a while, not a sweet snack everyday. Knowing me and my sweet tooth this will probably mean keeping sweets out of the house for the most part, and if I really have a hankering for something , I will have to go out and buy it, which will slow me down.

I don’t want to “crave” sugary treats and I have a big vacation coming up in a few weeks which involves being in a swimsuit. I am hoping this motivates me to stay smart. My goal is to keep my sweet tooth under control, and it’s mind over matter.

Anyway, after browsing many photos and recipes, and drooling on my shirt, I think I have decided on two recipes, possibly three that I will be making.

1. Chocolate Caramel Bars or Carmelitas; something like these

2. Lemon Bars

3. Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (I haven’t for sure decided on this one yet)

I thought these all looked so good! I could waste so much time looking at recipes and food photos. I find it so fun and relaxing. I am such a foodie.

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Breakfast this morning was cinnamon flaxseed oatmeal with bananas and PB2. I added in a small amount of egg whites towards the end of the cooking process to add more protein to the dish. I decided to top it off with a little bit of maple syrup. It was muy delicioso.

Now, my computer is really starting to test my patience so I think this post needs to come to an end. I hope everyone has a beautiful Friday!

Continue Reading Keeping Sugar Intake Under Control: Mind Over Matter

I Went Greek

You will never guess what I had for breakfast yesterday morning. No, it wasn’t overnight chia seed yogurt. Can you believe it? It was pretty close though. I made a bowl of Fage Total 0% Greek Yogurt, blueberries, blackberries, banana, chia seeds, and honey.

I gave it a good ol’ mix and was left with a creamy delicious bowl of sweet perfection. I loved the textures from all of the different fruits.

It was a good change of pace, however I missed not opening the fridge in the morning and having breakfast waiting for me to eat. Which is why this morning I decided to make myself an overnight oat, chia, and fruit bowl. I will spare you the photo because you have seen a kazillion of them lately. I do have to say this was the best overnight bowl I have ever made so far. It was very thick and I’m thinking I may have added some extra chia seeds this time.

Moose posed so nicely for a quick photo with me yesterday before I left for work. Such a good boy (sometimes). Such a cutie pie.

When I was looking at this photo I was taking notice of the background and remembering that I have yet to show you that finished wall behind me. I mentioned this wall project a while back but have been slow to decorate it which is why I have neglected to post a photo thus far. I still haven’t quite finished decorating it, but have placed temporary pieces on the shelves for now. Since I don’t know when I’ll be be completely finished with it, I decided I’d just show you it now.

It’s Moose’s cozy nook where he eats his breakfast and dinner.  Anyone have any ideas on decorating these shelves on a budget? I would love any input.

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Workout

After work today I had planned to get a work out in. The whole drive home I was really thinking that it wasn’t in the cards for me because I was pretty pooped. I pulled in the driveway and told Dana I didn’t think I was going. Then the head games began. Come on, Melanie. If you get your workout clothes on, you will most likely go, and you will be so happy you went. Just do it. Go. 

So, I listened to my head and got my workout clothes on, grabbed my music, and headed on the door.

I planned to run a couple of miles, but wound up running three. My head won. I am SO glad I went. The weather was perfect at about 65° with a light breeze. I even challenged myself to a big hill so I can build up my hill-running endurance and muscles. Sometimes it’s good to listen to that voice in your head (when it’s positive talk of course).

Dinner

After Tuesday night’s cauliflower fritters, which involved a lot more effort than I usually give to weeknight dinners, I decided that last night’s dinner was going to be simple. Simple, but there would be no skimping on flavor.

I went Greek(ish):

A whole wheat low carb Lawash Flatbread Brand tortilla, a layer of hummus, feta cheese, diced tomato, avocado slices, and baby kale.

Holy moly this thing was so stinkin’ amazing! The flavors all worked so well together. I want to make it again, like now. It was so easy, fresh, and a perfect weeknight meal.

The wraps were served alongside grilled asparagus and broccoli dipped in hummus (broccoli not pictured).

After dinner, we cleaned up the tiles in the bathroom downstairs so that they are ready to be sealed. Bathroom renovation is quite the process I tell ya. I have decided the bathroom colors are going to be gray/brushed nickel, dark brown, and white. I haven’t bought the accent towels or decorations yet but I am itching to do it! It is going to have a modern and classic look when I’m finished with it. I can’t wait for it to be done so I can show you. So excited!

Have a great Thursday!

Continue Reading I Went Greek

Tastes as Good as it Looks

I have been seriously lacking in the photo-taking department lately. I’ll get on that.

Anyway, I found out at about 2:00 pm yesterday that it was National Peanut Butter and Jelly day. Why is it that I always find out a little too late about these awesome theme days after I have already eaten breakfast, lunch, and have dinner planned?

I did have peanut butter for breakfast, just not jelly. This is a recycled photo from a while back. Today’s was not this pretty and there was no cinnamon or chia seeds involved. I did mix honey into the PB2 today though which was a winning combo. I will have to make up for the pb and j day another day. I just may, what do you say?

This reminds me, I had a PB2 dream a couple of nights ago. I had a dream I was in a PB2 type store or factory, and there were hundreds of different flavors. I specifically remember a raspberry swirl PB2 which really didn’t sound appetizing to me. Huh, very random.

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I started my day yesterday with a 2 mile run. I had decided that I wanted to split up my distances today and do some in the morning, and the rest in the afternoon. The morning run was fine, but in the afternoon when I was tackling a 3 mile run, I realized I have a lot of work to do in getting myself into running uphill shape. I have to admit that I walked a little bit up two hills on my afternoon run. It’s early in the season though, I will get there!

Let’s see what kind of fun facts I can conjure up for you from Monday…

  1. Moose got his 2nd tick in 2 days (we were 1 day too late on giving him his flea and tick medicine)
  2. My swimsuit I ordered from Victoria’s Secret came in the mail
  3. I bought a 5 pack of Lara Bars for $4.00 at Target
  4. I bought a shower curtain for the bathroom downstairs (it’s coming along!)
  5. I made a super delicious refreshing salad for dinner

Baby kale, cara cara orange, blackberries, red onion, avocado, black beans, and  Newman’s Own Lite Honey Mustard!

I posted three photos because I couldn’t decide which one I liked best seeing as they’re all pretty similar looking, so my indecisive self decided to show you all three. It was so pretty, and this time tasted as good as it looked unlike Saturday’s salad.

It was honestly AMAZING! I have made this before using strawberries instead of blackberries, regular mixed greens versus baby kale, and mandarin oranges instead of cara cara. I used the ingredients I had on hand tonight. Either way this salad is the bomb. Refreshing, healthy, and so super easy. It is perfect for entertaining as well. You could top the salad with grilled chicken breast and serve it with a side of hearty whole grain bread. MMMmmm….

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My morning today began with a bowl of Overnight Chia Yogurt that I jazzed it up even more by adding a dash of cinnamon. I have been in a bit of overnight yogurt “rut” lately. Except rut is not the right word because I take rut to mean it’s a bad thing. I have just really been into it lately! Maybe I’ll switch it up soon to keep things interesting.

I am off for now. Hitting the gym after work today to get my sweat on. Have a wonderful day friends.

Continue Reading Tastes as Good as it Looks

Green Lunch, Cute Pup, and a Coupon

Moose says, happy Wednesday friends.  This is his model pose. He is giving you the puppy eyes. He’s really good at the puppy eyes. He also says not to make fun of his mom for the terrible title of this post today. She couldn’t quite get the creative juices flowing this morning.

Yesterday morning I ran three miles before heading off to work. I was excited for lunch because we had work meeting which involved a lot of food. If you remember back on Valentine’s Day we had a red food themed lunch meeting when I brought the apple nachos. This time we had a St. Patrick’s Day theme and everyone was supposed to bring in a green food. Our work group tends to get pretty creative when it comes to our food. I sneaked a photo (don’t mind the terrible lighting) of the hodge-podge of goodness.

Mixed green salad, broccoli salad, tortellini salad, tuna salad, asparagus wrapped in ham and cream cheese, sugar snap peas, green grapes, and not pictured was split pea soup, green bread, and pistachios. What a healthy lunch right? I am always impressed by our group and our potlucks. I brought sugar snap peas with a peanut soy dipping sauce. I simply mixed peanut butter, hot water, and soy sauce. This sauce is really good for a topping on chicken lettuce wraps too.

When I got home after work, this box was waiting for me on the kitchen table. I ordered Dark Chocolate Adora disks from iHerb a couple of weeks ago and they have arrived. Adora disks are a delicious way to eat your calcium. I love the dark chocolate flavor but they also have milk chocolate. I NEVER forget to eat these babies. 🙂 I also ordered Bigelow Vanilla Caramel Tea because I thought it sounded good. It was an impulse buy. Why not?

COUPON CODE

Now, guess what? Because I ordered products from iHerb.com, they want you to give them a try too. They offered a coupon code for me to share with friends and family. Enter the coupon code CIJ134 at check out when you order products at iHerb.com and you will receive $5 off your first iHerb purchase. Also, any U.S. orders over $20 receive free shipping! They offer a large variety of products on their site.  I have been happy with them so far, so feel free to browse their site and see what you think for yourself.

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This morning began with a trip to the gym where I ellipticaled for 35 minutes while catching up on Runner’s World magazine. I have a stack of magazines piled to the ceiling so I took this opportunity to start cracking down on the pile. I really love reading magazines, it’s just finding the time that is sometimes the tricky part!

Once I got home, showered up, I poured myself a tall mug of coffee and made a bowl of oatmeal.

On the stove top I cooked 1/4 cup oats, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup almond milk, ground flaxseed, and cinnamon. I cooked this mixture until it began to thicken then added in about 1-2 Tablespoons of egg whites, gave it a stir, cooked for another 30 seconds and removed from heat. I poured the oats into my bowl and topped with PB2, bananas, and a tiny bit of maple syrup!

Oh yea, that’s the stuff.

I am off to finish getting ready for work, and pack my lunch. Have a great day! It is going to be beautiful outside. Wish I could be out there all day!

I’ll leave you with a funny shot from last night. Moose was so exhausted he couldn’t even keep his tongue in his mouth while he slept.

Awww…..it is a rough life, right Moose? You hang in there, buddy.

 

Continue Reading Green Lunch, Cute Pup, and a Coupon

Fat Tuesday? It sure was.

Happy Hump Day!

How ironic that I ended up having a complete bottomless pit stomach yesterday on Fat Tuesday. Huh, funny. I didn’t snap photos of all of my food yesterday because quite frankly I would have had to glue the camera to my hand. My day started off with a nice patriotic looking bowl of fruit and greek yogurt.

Btw if you are wondering, I typically buy FAGE (pronounced Fa-yeh) Total 0% all natural non fat greek strained yogurt.

Quick Nutrition Facts (Per 1 cup):

  • 130 calories
  • 0 g fat
  • 85 mg sodium
  • 9 g carbohydrate
  • 9 g sugar
  • 23 whopping grams of protein!
  • 25% daily value of calcium

It’s obvious I really enjoy my yogurt sweetened with a little honey and mixed with a ton of fruit, but it can also be used as a substitute for sour cream, mayonnaise, cream cheese, etc. We have been going through it pretty quickly around our house.

I worked until 1:00 yesterday so I had packed some snacks to tide me over until I got home for lunch. I packed a string cheese, apple, carrots, sugar snap peas, and a banana. I ripped through those snacks like it was no ones business and also had an Archer Farm’s fruit strip on the car ride home. I was going to go to the gym and then eat when I got home but I couldn’t make it. I needed MORE FOOOOOODD! I was like a tornado whipping through the kitchen. I immediately sliced off a piece of bread and slathered it in pb and J. I scarfed that down then headed to the pantry for a few handfuls of Special K blueberry cereal. I wanted more but decided I needed to cool it for a bit, especially if I was planning to get any sort of a workout in.

My intentions were to go for a run on the treadmill. I started running but noticed a little pain in the outside of my left knee cap. I tried to keep running thinking I was just warming up and it would go away, but it didn’t. I turned my run into a 45 minute walk and then cranked out some abs and planks. I hope the pain goes away soon. I think it will.

Anyway…back to the snacks again. I wanted to share with you this new hummus that we bought (new to me at least). It is Cedar’s Artichoke Kalamata Hommus. Oh wow, I can’t begin to describe how good this stuff is but I’ll try. It is creamy and slightly salty with a hint of olive flavor and tiny specks of artichoke. Perfect to dip crackers, veggies, or pita chips. If you ever see this stuff in your grocery store, give it a go.

Now, where was I going with this post? Oh yes, dinner last night! My long-time friend, Kalley came over for dinner last night. We’ve been friends since the 8th grade. Back in the day we passed notes, gossiped about our biggest crushes, and danced and sang to N’sync and Britney Spears. Hmm, come to think of it, not much has changed. 😉 Except now we are passing texts, talking about husbands and real significant boyfriends, and still dancing and singing to JT (although I still have love for Britney too).

Homecoming 2001 (Me, Jules, and Kalley)
Ellen's Wedding 2010

It had been way too long since we had gotten together so we decided to hang out in our comfies and make dinner together. On the menu was veggie fajitas, guacamole and a whole lot of catching up!

Fajitas:

  • bell peppers
  • onions
  • corn
  • pinto beans
  • fajita seasoning (chili powder, cumin, black pepper, salt, paprika, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder)
  • whole wheat tortillas
Kalley’s Guacamole:
  • avocados
  • red onion
  • lime juice
  • lemon juice
  • cilantro
  • salt and pepper

It was SO great catching up! Also, thanks for the books! I started reading Firefly Lane last night. Thanks for coming over Kal!

After Kalley left, Dana and I had our last dessert before lent and it was a good one. Coldstone ice cream (cake batter ice cream with brownies and other goodies) and a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

No.more.sweets.

Just noticed the time. I still need to finish getting ready for work!I am out! Happy day!

Continue Reading Fat Tuesday? It sure was.
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