Banana Cookies & Feeling The Love

Could we please slow this weekend down a bit? It is FLYING by and I’m not okay with that!

We had a great day yesterday…

I set my alarm for 7:00 am with the hopes that I would be motivated to get out of bed and get a run in to begin the day. Well, the alarm went off at 7, but I just wasn’t having it. Although I think I only slept for another 15 minutes after that, I was happy with my decision to skip the workout yesterday. I officially declared it a rest day.

After I rolled out of bed and showered up, I made myself a tasty comfy belly breakfast: banana with homemade almond butter and a touch of honey.

Then it was time to finish getting all prettied up before hitting the road for our friend’s Kari and Tony’s wedding. I’ve been friends with Kari since 1st grade. She is one of the most genuine, kind-hearted, and thoughtful people I know. I was very excited to help them celebrate their special day.

The Ceremony

As I mentioned yesterday, the morning started off very rainy, and it was still sprinkling when we were walking into the ceremony at 10:00 am, but after the ceremony, it started clearing out. The ceremony was beautiful. Kari was glowing with happiness and Tony was cool, calm, and beaming as they exchanged vows. They chose a song called “I Will Be Here” to be sung during the unity sand part of the ceremony, and this was a song that Dana and I had also chose to be sung at our wedding ceremony. I couldn’t help but be brought back to my own wedding. I teared up several times because 1. You could see and feel the love between Kari and Tony and it was so real, and 2. I was able to reminisce about my own wedding and remember the joyful moments. I am such a sap, wow. I love weddings.

Reception

We had about an hour in between the ceremony and needing to be to the reception, so we headed home and hung out with Moose. On our way to the reception, we dropped him off at the groomers’ to get a full on doggy shampoo and brush out. OMG he was stanky…and I mean so bad that I couldn’t even touch him. Poor dog. I think it was from all the swimming the weekend before. He’s just not used to it, and his skin and body oils couldn’t keep up. I don’t know. That’s just my guess. But he was rank.

At 12:30, we made it to the loading dock on Harriet Island in St. Paul. Their wedding reception was on a boat on the Mississippi! How cool right?

But first, we had to get a photo in front of the building behind us because this is where our dear friends Adam and Stacy had their wedding reception. I boogied the night away right inside that building. A lot of great memories there.

Next, it was time to board.

We boarded at 12:30 and took our seats.

For lunch, a “brunch” style buffet was served. There was french toast, muffins, potatoes, eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit. Another first wedding experience for me was having a brunch. Very cool! I was even able to stick to SCD by eating scrambled eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit. Bring on the protein!

However, I will not tell a lie…I ate a piece of wedding cake. That is not SCD legal, but I decided I wanted to live a little and went for it. I didn’t have any repercussions but this isn’t to say I will eat cake every day. I will admit though, that cake was TASTY! Num.

After lunch and the speeches, Dana and I made our way to the top of the boat where there was open air and a nice cool breeze. At this point, the sun was completely out and it was just perfect outside. We cruised the Mississippi for three hours.

Then it was time for the first dance. We made our way back down to watch. Isn’t she stunning?

Then back outside we went to cool off again. I had the chance to catch up with my long time friend, Malia who I have known since I was 3 years old. We met at dance class and ironically, my dad and her mom went to grade school together. After we met in dance, we went to school together through 6th grade and have been friends since. We still keep in touch and I love her to pieces. It’s always great to see that gorgeous girl.

We deboarded the boat at about 4:00, and wished the newlyweds well once more before heading home. We picked up Moose on the way home. He looks like a stud, and no longer smells at all. We have our boy back. Now I can hug him and kanoodle him again. 🙂

Dinner?

I wasn’t really in the mood for anything in particular for dinner, so I made it a snacky kind of night. I ate watermelon, cooked carrots, almond butter, and then I made these…

This was definitely a cookie experiment as I wasn’t using a recipe. I threw some ingredients into a bowl, baked them up, and crossed my fingers for a decent outcome.

Banana Cookies (Grain-free, SCD)

Ingredients

  • 2 very ripe bananas, smashed
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°. Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper or non-stick cooking mat.
  2. In small bowl mix to combine flour, baking soda, and cinnamon; set aside.
  3. In medium bowl beat together bananas, egg, vanilla, and honey.
  4. Add flour to banana mixture; mix until combined.
  5. Drop cookies onto baking sheet.
  6. Bake for 19-21 minutes. Cookies will be lightly golden on the bottom and tops are firm but soft.

I immediately said that these would be 100 times better if they had chocolate chips in them, but since that’s a no-no with the SCD, I opted out. But even without the chocolate, they were pretty good! They taste like a softer, lighter version of banana bread. Dana and I ate half the batch last night if that tells you anything. If you are looking for a gluten-free, SCD-friendly cookie recipe, I would give this one a shot! It was super easy too.

Alright, it’s Sunday Funday which means we have some grocery shopping to do. Catch up with you all soon! Happy Day!

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Refreshing Watermelon and Avocado Salad

I am feeling pretty tired this morning. I’ve got the coffee in hand and I’m waiting for it to kick in. I slept very well last night but just not quite long enough. I slept for about 7 hours but I function best at 8-10. I slept pretty hard, so I think I just need time to wake up still. I always wish I was one of those people who needed hardly any sleep to get by; I would be or could be,  so much more productive. At least it’s not Monday!

Tuesday

For breakfast I made a smoothie to go and it was killer:

  • Cherries
  • Banana
  • Strawberries
  • Yogurt
  • Splash of Welch’s 100% Grape Juice
  • A touch of sweetener to take away some of the tartness

I threw a straw in the cup, and guzzled this smoothie on the way to work. I worked until 1:00 pm yesterday so I made sure to pack a snack to tide me over until lunch. Not pictured is two slices of Muenster cheese. They were nummy!

When I got home I was excited to dig into this beautiful looking salad.

I made this salad the night before and let it hang together over night.

Refreshing Watermelon Avocado Salad

Ingredients

  • 1/2 of an english cucumber, peeled and diced
  • ~1 1/2 cups watermelon, diced
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • Juice of half a lime
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped
  • a touch of salt

Directions

  1. Mix all ingredients together carefully so as not to mash the avocado. Serve cold right away, or let chill in the fridge over night. Either way you will enjoy this refreshing and super easy salad!

I really enjoyed this salad. It was so light and refreshing, yet it has healthy fats from the avocado to give it a little more substance. You could even add in some feta cheese if you were looking to get a little calcium in there too. You could really balance off the meal by eating this salad with a lean protein like grilled chicken or pork tenderloin.

Since I didn’t pair my salad with a protein like that, I finished my meal off with a couple bites of peanut butter for my protein fix. Then I hit the gym for a nice and sweet little jog on the elliptical.

Later in the afternoon, Dana and I got busy rearranging some furniture in our office and guest bedroom. I was in dire need of a better work space for my computer. Before I had it in the kitchen on a little bar that over looks our backyard, but in order for me to type I had to hunch my back and curve my wrists at an angle that just screams problems in the future. Besides that, it was right in the kitchen so the temptations were endless and I found myself sneaking for snacks often, and the other distraction was the television which was right to my right in the living room. When I am trying to concentrate I really need a quiet space. In college, I would often have to turn my fan on in my room and even use ear plugs when I needed to study. I have never been a good test taker and I think it’s because I get so distracted by noises; people clicking their pens, snapping their gum, tapping their foot, etc.

That was a slight tangent. We moved my computer into our back office where Dana has his office space as well. I already have my desk in there but I have been using it solely as a place to get ready in the morning (makeup, hair). I converted it to a desk as well with a space for my computer now. It is working out really well so far, and actually it will probably help me to not be on my computer as much too because it isn’t out right where Dana and I usually hang out at night. A break from technology is always a good thing, and I sometimes forget that.

Moving on to dinner. We made a super simple meal last night of pre-made turkey burgers on the grill, and grilled zucchini. I rolled the zucchini in garlic olive oil, and sprinkled it with garlic powder and salt and pepper. Dana manned the grill, and we were eating in about 15 minutes.

Alright, I have got to head out for the day. I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday. I will catch up with you soon.

Question of the Day: What’s your most productive study environment? 

I clearly like nice and quiet, but I know Dana prefers background noise. When he was in college he would almost always study and do homework with the TV on.

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Cabin Weekend Photo Recap

We had such an absolutely amazing time away at the cabin this weekend. It was a sunny, relaxing, laugh-until-your-cheeks-hurt, 100% laid-back good time. 🙂 The family members at the cabin were my aunt and uncle Chip and Patti, two of their kids Aaron and Ali, my aunt and uncle David and Doreen, their two boys Matthew and Nathan (their cabin is next door to Chip and Patti’s), my mom and dad, and Dana and me.

This post doesn’t need many words, so how about a photo cabin recap instead? Here it goes…

I didn’t want to leave on Sunday; I had such a blast. This is definitely what the doctor had ordered. Thank you to my gracious aunt and uncle/Godfather for having us out to your lake place. I hope we can make this happen more often!

In case anyone was wondering, I did manage to stick to the SCD all weekend. It wasn’t easy, but I did it. I really want to reach my hands into the popcorn bag and the peanut M & M’s, but I resisted and snacked on some cantaloupe instead.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend as well! I have a healthy and delicious nacho recipe coming your way tomorrow. You’re probably going to want to check back. 😉

Have a great day!

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She’s a Maniac in the Kitchen

I was a machine in the kitchen yesterday. I mentioned that we were going to be heading to my uncle’s cabin this weekend, and since we are following the SCD, we decided it would be easiest for everyone if we just brought our own food for the day. That means I had to get busy.

Friday Recap

Friday morning started out with a purple smoothie. I decided not to bore you with yet another nearly identical smoothie photo. It looked like this and was extremely tasty. While I slurped my smoothie, I attempted to blog, but our internet was moving at snail speed and I was getting extremely a little impatient. I decided I would hit the gym and run my errands in the meantime while the computer took an hour to upload one photo (exaggerating only slightly).

At the gym, I started off with a two-mile run while listening to Pandora. I am a little disappointed in the television show selections at the gym these days. They used to always have one TV that played Bravo/E! shows like The Real Housewives, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, you know, all of those thought-provoking shows. 😉 I would always make sure to plunk myself in front of that TV. Lately, I’ve had to settle with Fox News. Anyway, the run felt pretty good, the entertainment not so much. Then, I hit the weights for some bicep and back work. Once I was done with the weights, I hopped back on the treadmill to finish off one more mile. I was sweatin’ big time by the end of this workout!

After the gym, I had to make a few stops to pick up some last food items for the weekend. Back at home, I attempted blogging again. This time around the internet was working much  more efficiently, thanks to the hubs. I ate a completely random lunch before getting busy on food prep. If I recall, I ate cooked carrots, pulled chicken, half of a banana, a couple bites of peanut butter.

Then it was food prep time. I started by making our dinner meal which was turkey and vegetable lasagna. I used zucchini as the noodles. To prepare the zucchini for the lasagna, I cut the zucchini on a diagonal to give long 1/4 inch thick or less strips. I threw them into a strainer, sprinkled them with salt, and let them sit in the sink for about 20 minutes to help remove excess liquid. After 20 minutes, I blotted each strip with a paper towel then got to layering my lasagna. I didn’t measure exact proportions but I can give you some idea of what I did.

Layers from bottom to top:

  • marinara sauce (homemade SCD)
  • zucchini
  • ground turkey, browned
  • a sprinkle of oregano and basil
  • spinach leaves
  • sauce
  • repeat
  • top with cheddar and parmesan cheese
I baked this in a bread loaf pan since I was only making the lasagna for Dana and myself. I baked it at 357° for about 55-60 minutes. I finished by turning the oven to low broil to lightly crisp up the top.

I placed it into the fridge to let it cool. Once it was cooled I cut out to large pieces and packed them up for the weekend.

Then I got to making a loaf of almond bread but am using a different recipe now than the one I posted here. The new recipe comes from livinglavidamama and I like it better than the other one because it doesn’t have butter. The taste is nearly identical to the other recipe.

Recycled reused photo:

While the bread was baking, I cut up a perfectly ripe cantaloupe. Cantaloupe isn’t usually my first choice of melon, I prefer watermelon and honeydew over it, but being the loving wife that I am and knowing the hubby likes it, I went with the cantaloupe this time. I munched on a few pieces while I cut it up and enjoyed it. It’s not that I don’t like it, I just don’t prefer it. It will be a perfect snack for us today.

Okay, so lasagna done, bread done, cantaloupe done (I learned how to spell cantaloupe today btw, yet another perk of blogging), next on to lunch.

In the morning I started up two chicken breast in the crock pot. At around 2:00, I removed them and cut about 1 1/4 of the two chicken breasts into chicken salad size bites. I added one peeled and chopped apple spritzed with lemon juice, mustard, celery seed, and pepper and mixed it all together. I then prepped a handful of lettuce cups. For lunch: chicken salad lettuce cups. Easy! Lunch, done.

So what was left? A veggie with dinner perhaps and breakfast.

After I cleaned out the crock pot, I thought I would do a little experiment. We have a bag of sugar snap peas that had been in the fridge for quite some time. They weren’t bad yet, but since I’m not able to eat them raw at this point, I wanted to try to use them up before they went bad. I wanted to try to “steam” them in the crock pot. I added the bag of snap peas to the pot, added a cup or two of water, a squeeze of honey, covered them, and set them on low. I let them go low and slow for 2-3 hours. The result was a sort of smoky snap pea. They definitely taste different, but I kind of like them and so does Dana. I added a little salt, packaged them up, and voila.

Last prep was breakfast. I made us both banana egg pancakes like the one I had on Thursday. This time I added cinnamon, a touch of nutmeg and allspice to the batter before pouring it on to the sauté pan. Once they were cooked, I packed them up and also packed about 2 tablespoons of peanut butter (1 Tbsp each) for us to add to the top of our cakes.

Are you ready for the entire day’s worth of meals in one photo?! Get ready…..

Ta da!

Lunch: Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps with Cantaloupe.

Dinner: Turkey and Vegetable Lasagna and Slow-Cooked Sugar Snap Peas.

Breakfast: Banana Pancakes with Peanut Butter.

She’s a maniac, maniac…in the kitchen! I am pretty proud of my work. That is how you do camping SCD style.

Oh what was that? I still need to make dinner? Darn it! I decided to go real easy and made myself an omelete with one egg and one egg white, and topped it with leftover veggies from the other night, a sprinkle or parmesan cheese, and served it with a big dollop of homemade ketchup. MMmm ketchup!

It came together in less than 5 minutes which was just what I needed. I spent the rest of the night relaxing, packing, and painting my toe nails. Today is going to be a GREAT day. I am super duper excited. Can’t wait to fill you all in. Have an amazing day friends!

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Feeling Overwhelmed

Happy Thursday to all!

Let’s talk about this Specific Carbohydrate Diet for a second. I’d be lying if I said the SCD has been easy. It hasn’t quite been two weeks yet but I can honestly say I am exhausted from it already. The biggest issue I’m having is simply finding enough time to do all of the food prep, not to mention clean up afterwards, especially since I am still going in to work. This diet looks into every last ingredient in a food item, which means I have to make all of my dressings and sauces from scratch and then there’s the meals of course, snacks, bread, crackers, etc. This is obviously pretty time consuming, and not the most practical in my life. I may be speaking out of sheer exhaustion right now, but I am thinking I may convert to a more modified version of the SCD. I have some thinking to do.

First things first. A recap from yesterday.

In the morning I wasn’t feeling the best, but I still wanted to attempt a run. I went into the run telling myself it was okay to walk if need be. I started off in a slow jog and continued that pace for a couple of miles. I kept my route real close to home in case I needed to make it home quickly, and towards the end of the 2nd mile, I really wasn’t feeling too well, so I made my way home. I still managed to work up a nice sweat in that short period of time. Although it was only two miles, like I say, two miles is better than no miles at all.

I wasn’t hungry for breakfast which rarely happens. I think it can be attributed to my cookie monster fiasco the night before. I knew I had to eat something before work and it needed to be substantial enough to hold me over for four hours until lunch. I made cinnamon honey peanut butter alongside a banana. That did the trick.

For lunch, I still wasn’t very hungry (again, cookie monster), but I made myself a plate of cooked carrots, pulled chicken, and topped it with homemade honey mustard.

I had to work late again last night so once I got home, I was finally hungry. It was just a matter of making dinner that sounded like the biggest task in the world. Not only could I not decide what sounded good, I also didn’t want to be spending the next 45 minutes in the kitchen, so I needed to choose wisely. We still had lettuce cups leftover from the Thai lettuce cups, so I started off with that idea in mind. Then, I began sautéing carrots, zucchini, spinach, and mushrooms which I spiced up with basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Once they were thoroughly cooked, I placed a heaping spoonful of veggies on top of three lettuce cups and topped them with pulled chicken.

I thought I would leave it at that, but the meal was tasting pretty bland to me (I feel like this has been a common theme lately), so I topped the remaining two lettuce cups with a small dollop of peanut butter.

I am starting to think I could add peanut butter to anything and I would enjoy it: a sock, a shoe….anything. 😉  This minor addition to the meal improved the dish a little, but this still wasn’t my most favorite ever. But, it wasn’t so bad either. I am just really missing my sauces, especially soy sauce in this case. I am a saucy gal. Dinner tasted very  fresh and healthy, I just don’t think it was really what I was in the mood for.

For dessert, I controlled myself and had only two of the cinnamon cookies. I also made up a batch of honey almond butter and had a few samples of that, you know, to make sure it tasted okay.

Today is my Friday of work because I have tomorrow off. I am really looking forward to it. I feel like after vacation, the week back is always so exhausting and really wears you out.

Back to the SCD.  I will be updating you soon on my decision to possibly deviate slightly from the plan. It is important to remember that each person and each case is different, and each individual heals differently and at varying rates. I know this may not seem like a good idea to those of you reading this who have been following the diet for quite some time, but it may be what I need to do in order to maintain my sanity, control my stress level, and enjoy my summer fully. If anything I would continue to eat grain-free, but I may look into buying some store-bought dressings and sauces. I would scan the ingredient labels carefully and try to stick to ones that were the closest to “legal.” I am trying to remain as stress-free as possible, but this diet is really starting to exhaust me, and I think these minor changes would help me to not feel so overwhelmed, and would help me to heal.

I don’t want to discourage anyone out there who is following this diet exactly as it is supposed to be followed. I strongly admire those of you who have been following this for years or even months. Your dedication is truly something that should be recognized. I will continue the SCD and continue to support all of you who are following the SCD.

I am off for the day! I’m keeping my head up, and I hope you all are too. The sun is shining, and I just finished my morning cup o’ Jo. Have a great day.

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Kabobs and Family Time

Well, we survived Monday! I always feel a sense of accomplishment from making it through my least favorite day. 🙂

Breakfast

For breakfast I made a bowl of yogurt with honey and bananas and drank a cup of weak coffee (that’s allowed!).

Lunch

Pulled chicken with honey mustard dressing and cooked carrots with a touch of honey and salt.

And a half a ‘naner with peanut butter, plus 2 more bites of peanut butter with some homemade SCD crackers.

Dinner

After work, I headed to mom and dad’s to enjoy our last evening with Jeff before he headed back to Colombia.

Kevi and I were wearing the same shirt last night so of course my nerdy self had to snap a photo. Wooo Warriors! Thanks for humoring me so often, Kev. You’re such a good sport.

For dinner mom and dad were busy making and grilling shrimp and chicken kabobs. The copious amount of food looks like they were feeding an army, but in reality, I would say all but one of those bad boys got eaten. There were a lot of men at our house! We had Dad, Grandpa, Jeff, Kevin, and Dana all there, and they were hungry. Mom and I didn’t do so bad ourselves either. This is basically what our food quantities looked like growing up with three teenage boys and my dad around the house. Mom would always joke that her paycheck went right to the groceries.

I asked mom and dad to keep mine and Dana’s separate because we have to be careful with our sauces and seasonings with the SCD. I found a “jerk seasoning” in their cupboard that had all legal ingredients, so I sprinkled our kabobs with that prior to grilling. The seasoning definitely had a kick but it wasn’t too spicy that I couldn’t handle it.

On the kabobs: bell pepper, mushroom, shrimp, zucchini (no skin thanks to mom), chicken, and onion.

I had at least one and a half of these plus a whole lot of watermelon. We had so much fun together last night. We sat around for a couple of hours and chatted away, and amidst our conversation I came to the conclusion that if I were stuck on a deserted island and could only have one food item, mine would totally be peanut butter. If I had two food items, it would be peanut butter and banana. Dad’s would be hot dogs. That still cracks me up! Grandpa’s would be roast beef, Dana’s would be a club sandwich on sourdough but everyone decided that was too complex and that’s cheating, mom would want lobster, and Kevin and Jeff both were being too difficult to give me a straight answer. Jeff said Whole Foods Market and Kevin said a sandwich full of steak and chicken and meatballs,and veggies, etc.

After our imaginative conversations, it was time for us to hit the home-front .We said our good-bye’s and Jeff gave us a gift he brought from Colombia: Colombian coffee. Oh yes. I am excited to break into that! It’s always hard saying good-bye, but this one was a little easier knowing I was going to be seeing him in the Fall, and being that time has been absolutely FLYING by, I know it won’t seem like long. We sure love having him home though!

It was such a great night with the family, we were just missing our Scotty. Jeffrey, can’t wait to see you in the Fall but feel free to come home before that if you want though. 😉 I love my family so much I can’t even begin to explain. I feel so lucky.

Have a terrific Tuesday. I’ll catch up with you later. Oh and btw, not too happy with the Bachelorette outcome last night…

Question of the day: What one food item would you choose if you were stuck on a deserted island?

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Banana Soft Serve on a Summer Day

Yesterday’s weather could have not have been more perfect for the pool party. We celebrated our friend Greg’s birthday while lounging at their pool and catching up with friends and family.

I mentioned yesterday that my brother Jeff is home from Bogota, Colombia and it was almost surreal seeing him yesterday at the party. I don’t like going 9 months without seeing him! Dana and I are planning a trip in the fall to go out to Colombia and see him. I’m already excited for it.

We had all but one family member at the party yesterday (we missed you Scotty!), so we, well I, had to make sure and snap a photo. I should photoshop Scott in and then we would be set! Who’s that misfit in the back with the dark hair and dark skin? 😉 Kidding.

I didn’t take any food photos yesterday because I was enjoying myself way too much. It was definitely a little bit of a challenge to find things I could eat that were SCD allowed, but I snacked on boat loads of watermelon (I made sure to bring a ginormous bowl to share), and some other fresh fruit. I did eat some fresh sugar snap peas and grape tomatoes which I probably wasn’t quite ready for but the good news is I feel fine today! For dinner I ate a grilled beef burger with mustard which really hit the spot.

We had a really great time at the party. Thanks for putting that all together Cheryl and Greg!

I was hungry again when we got home that evening so I made a batch of homemade peanut butter. Oh em gee so good. I ate some peanut butter with banana and cooked carrots with honey and salt. Oh, did I mention I had to start all over on the homemade SCD yogurt last night too? Yea, I did. The yogurt was about 20 hours into the cooking process when I remembered that I forgot to put the “starter” yogurt into the milk. I was not a happy camper last night. We made a quick trip to the store and bought another half-gallon of 1% milk and started all over. It will not be done until 11:30 pm tonight. Ha ha…oh well, what can you do besides crab about it a little and get over it?

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Sunday

For breakfast this morning I ate a banana with peanut butter (again). Dana and I were off to a late start because we once again slept in until 8:45 am! We did our standard Sunday morning newspaper and grocery store routine, and I was starving by the time we got home at noon.

For lunch: sautéed spinach and mushrooms in garlic and olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and topped with cheddar cheese and a runny egg.

Yes, that was delicious. Now, it is time to try and be productive around here. I am hoping to get some food prep done for the week ahead, including cooking up some chicken breast, and possibly making homemade marinara sauce!

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In case you’re looking for a healthy cool treat this afternoon, I’ll leave you with this idea for inspiration…

Banana Soft Serve

In your blender (2 servings):

  1. 2 frozen bananas
  2. 1/4 cup (?) homemade SCD yogurt or whatever yogurt you have on hand. Milk would also work here. You may need to add more  yogurt or milk. Use your discretion.
  3. Squirt of honey

Blend away but be patient. It takes a while to break down the frozen bananas. You will need to stop the blending process here and there to mix around the bananas, mash them a little, and incorporate them into the mix. Trust me though, it’s worth it. If you have an ice cream hankering this will do the trick, and that’s coming from an ice cream fanatic.

Happy Sunday friends!

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Banana Muffins and Yogurt Bites

Happy day everybody!

The weather has finally cooled down around here and it is so pleasant again. I was getting a little tired of the 100° heat. I live in Minnesota, now come on I’m not used to that. It is in the mid-70’s right now and supposed to warm up to the 80’s or so which is just perfect considering we are going to a pool party today. Want to know the most exciting part? My brother is here all the way from Bogota, Colombia! I haven’t seen him since our wedding in October and I am psyched to see him!! YYYYYaaaayyyyy!

This morning, Dana and I made our way to the gym after sleeping in until 8:40 am. I couldn’t believe we slept in until then, we don’t ever do that. We must have needed it. Anyway, we warmed up with a mile run then hit the weights and cranked out triceps, shoulder, and chest work. Dana was my personal trainer today and he whooped my butt. My arms are already sore. I couldn’t take a picture without holding my arm with my other hand to stay steady. I’m a serious wuss. But hey, I strength trained today! I said I wanted to get back on that train, and although I may be a little weak right now, you have to start somewhere. I feel like I am starting over now that I am starting to get my energy back again. That’s okay though.

I have a large watermelon to cut up before the party today and a few other things I want to do, so I am going to try to whiz through the rest of this. Here goes a recap from yesterday!

Saturday Lunch

This is a sorry attempt at a photo of a banana with cashew butter. It was really tasty but the photo sure doesn’t present itself that way!

I also stuffed my face with a load of watermelon which again, I forgot to take a photo of it but you know what watermelon looks like.

Afternoon workout and snacks

In the afternoon, I made my way down to the treadmill and got a half hour walk in while watching The Doctors. I also weeded the garden in the back which is looking real good! I can’t wait for all of the fresh veggies soon to come.

I made myself a snack of yogurt with honey and cinnamon a little while later.

And whipped up some nummy little frozen treats for Dana and I.

Please welcome strawberry-banana yogurt bites.

I simply blended:

  • Homemade SCD yogurt (you could use whatever yogurt you prefer)
  • Strawberries (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 banana
  • Touch of honey (because the yogurt is slightly tart)

Once blended, I poured the smoothie mix into the star freezer molds and place in the freezer overnight.

Today I popped them out of the molds and taste-tested. They turned out perfectly sweet and are such a nice and healthy way to cool down in the heat of the summer. These are perfect for adults and kids alike. If you don’t have fancy freezer molds, you could simply use a mini muffin tin or an ice-cube tray.

So cute, right?!

Speaking of mini muffin tins and cuteness…a few days ago I gave you a little sneak peek to a muffin that I had made. Well, it’s sharing time. 🙂

I am working on making snacks for Dana and I that are quick and tasty, and that can hold us over for a little while. I searched around and found a recipe for SCD Banana Muffins from this site. However, knowing me, I adjusted the recipe slightly. I am so excited to share these little gems with you. I prepared them in mini muffin tins so they are perfectly snackable.

Mini Banana Muffins SCD-friendly (makes 2 dozen mini muffins)

Ingredients

  • 2 cups almond meal
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp cloves
  • 2 medium overripe bananas,  mashed
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 honey
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease 2-mini muffin tins with sunflower oil (or whatever you have on hand); set aside.
  2. In small bowl, combine almond meal, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves; mix well and set aside.
  3. In large mixing bowl, beat together bananas, eggs and vanilla.
  4. Add vinegar and honey and mix.
  5. Mix in dry ingredients until combined; do not overmix.
  6. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pans half-way through.
  7. Muffins are done when toothpick inserted in middle of muffin comes out clean and tops of muffins begin to feel firm. Remove from oven and enjoy!
I am loving these little guys just plain jane or with a little smear of cashew butter.
For Dinner…
We brought dinner over to the Greg and Sue’s (my in-laws) last night. We brought lean hamburgers seasoned with salt and pepper, SCD ketchup, butter lettuce to use as our burger “buns,” and asparagus to grill on the side. I topped my burger with legal cheddar cheese and a slather of mustard and loaded my plate with asparagus. I went back for seconds of the asparagus. What is it about grilling asparagus that makes it so absolutely delicious?! LOVE! Before we grilled the asparagus, we nuked them in the microwave for 4 minutes to make sure they was cooked enough and easier for me to digest.
This was OH so GOOD!

When we got home I started making another batch of homemade SCD yogurt because I ate up the first batch. Then I was led out back where there was a little excitement. Our neighbors just got a 4 year old golden retriever and they met for the first time last night. Moose was introduced to a new friend named Sadie. Moose goes crazy over golden retrievers; he absolutely adores them. Remember this photo from the dog park?

Ok, that may not have been a golden retriever, but close.

It was so sweet watching Moose and Sadie together. Sadie was a little apprehensive but she was also just introduced to a new home and is working on adjusting to a lot of changes. I give it 2 weeks and they will be BFF or lovers, one of the two.

Alright, I am off to prepare for the day! Enjoy your Saturday wherever you may be. I am loving life.

Continue Reading Banana Muffins and Yogurt Bites

Mashed Potato Add the Laughing Cow

Everyone do your happy Friday dance!

First things first. Since it’s Friday that means it’s time to check in on the very last week of the June Yoga Challenge hosted by the beautiful and talented Courtney at SweetToothSweetLife.

I am happy to report that I once again have met my goal of three yoga sessions a week.  Yoga On Demand has been great–I have been able to practice yoga in the comfort of my own living room at any hour of the day.

I began the challenge one week late into June, but I can honestly say that in the three weeks that I have been partaking in the yoga, I have improved my flexibility and have learned how to incorporate breathing techniques throughout my day if I begin to feel stressed. I also feel like my arms are beginning to tone up a bit from all of the planks and downward dogs.

Although the official June Yoga Challenge is over, I will absolutely continue to practice yoga, and hopefully move from a beginner status, to a more intermediate yogi. Hopefully someday I will be able to master the crow pose! Thank you, Courtney for such a great opportunity and for inspiring me to get my yoga on.

Thursday Breakfast

A piece of spelt bread toast with cinnamon honey PB2 and banana slices.

Lunch

Lunch included a potato which I cooked in the mini crockpot on low for about 4 hours with 1-1.5 cups of water (prepared on Monday). Once it was done cooking, I peeled the potato…

And whipped the potato with a small amount of chicken broth.

I then mixed in one light swiss laughing cow wedge, and added salt and pepper to taste.

I packed it up in a nice little tupperware container and brought it with me to work, warmed it in the microwave, and had a quick and nummy lunch. There is nothing to it really. Homemade mashed potatoes are well worth the small effort. I really enjoyed adding the Laughing Cow wedge into the potatoes. It gave a very subtle creamy cheesy taste to the potato.

If you don’t want to use the crock pot method for cooking your potato, you can always bake your potato in the oven, or for an even speedier cooking method, poke holes in your clean potato, and cook in the microwave for about 5 minutes, turning halfway through (cooking time varies depending on the size of your potato).

I also had some super juicy watermelon with lunch.

Dinner

Your eyes aren’t fooling you. This is a veggie-packed salad. I am taking a different approach to my colitis and only time will tell how my body reacts. This dish is full of mixed greens (kale, spinach, and other dark greens), broccoli tops, mushrooms, avocado, olives, carrots, Morningstar’s Griller Chik’n Burger, and Newman’s Own Lite Honey Mustard.

Welcome back greenery. You are lovely and I have missed you so. This was my first time eating Morningstars Griller’s Chik’n which is a vegetarian chicken burger. Each burger is 80 calories, 3 grams of fat, 350 mg sodium, and packs 9 grams of protein. I prepared the burgers by placing them in a sauté pan on the stove top, and cooking on each side so that both sides crisp up and the burger is heated through.

The taste of this burger was great! I think they tasted like real grilled chicken. It is a nice substitute to meat every once and a while. I love Morningstar veggie products. They do a great job.

Etc.

Last night I started reading the book, “Breaking the Vicious Cycle” by Elaine Gottschall. It is all about treating intestinal problems including Ulcerative Colitis, through the diet.

The book focuses on scientific research which proves that individuals with intestinal distress can often benefit from a specific carbohydrate diet. I am only about 20 pages in but I am very curious about this diet and am anxious to read more. I’ll keep you posted on what I find and tell you more about the book later.

I took a rest day yesterday on the workout scene. I will probably take another one today. Tomorrow is the Warrior Dash! For those of you unfamiliar with the Warrior Dash, it is a 5k run combined with obstacles throughout. The very end of the race involves crawling through 2 feet of mud. It’s a beautiful site.

Photos from last year’s dash…

I’m excited to fill you all in on the details later. Happy Friday! Have a great day.

Continue Reading Mashed Potato Add the Laughing Cow

Ruby Red Jewels on My Salad

Wednesday Yoga and Breakfast

What better way to start the day yesterday than a gentle yoga session. I turned on Gentle Yoga On Demand and completed the calming routine. I have found that I appreciate the gentle yoga versus the more intense yoga first thing in the morning. It gets me stretched out and really allows me to focus on my breathing and tackle my day. I love the more intense yoga in the afternoons though once I’m more awake.

Breakfast was an easy to digest, old favorite: the Cream of Wheat bowl. In the mix was the usual cereal, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Although it was stinking hot yesterday, this warm breakfast still tasted great.

I headed off to work for a while then came home for a super speedy lunch. I had prepped everything in the morning for a protein smoothie so that all I had to do was toss it into the blender, whip it good, and enjoy in minutes. I included tofu in this smoothie along with protein powder because I needed extra staying power to hold me through the afternoon.

I finished lunch with a couple of animal crackers and peanut butter, and two dark chocolate squares.

Lunch completely held me over until dinner. Mission accomplished.

When I got home from work ,my neighbor greeted me in between our yards. She was telling me that their raspberry bush in the corner of our two yards has completely flourished over the years and is plummeting well into our yard and into our bushes. She wanted to make sure I was aware that there were fresh raspberries up in our yard so I wasn’t missing out. I thought it was sweet of her to tell me that. I was very aware of the amazing raspberry bush in the corner of our yard, and actually thought it was our bush all along. Now technically it is partly ours since it is our yard too. Yes!

Raspberries are by far one I my favorite fruits. I went ahead and popped a few in my mouth and then decided they needed to go into dinner somehow. Since I am experimenting with adding salads back into my diet, I made plans to incorporate the ruby red jewels into a nice refreshing salad.

In the salad: Mixed greens, raspberries, watermelon, avocado, feta, and Newman’s Own Lite Raspberry and Walnut dressing. Holy cow the freshness on this salad was for sure a Melanie pleaser. This is a summer salad if I’ve ever seen one. Check out the colors. Awesome.

I also had a few mushrooms with hummus (photo from Tuesday).

And a caramel rice cake.

It was so incredibly hot here today, and I think pretty much all across the country, so I didn’t feel like being outside, but I wanted to get some light exercise in still. My favorite show, SYTYCD  was on tonight so I laced up the sneaks and headed down to the treadmill to watch my show in a cool basement.

This sounds pretty identical to last week actually with the walking and watching the show bit. I am really not one to sit down and watch an entire show because I either feel guilty sitting there sedentary for so long, or I feel like I should be doing something else productive. Walking on the treadmill while watching my show makes me feel WAY better about watching TV, not that I condone watching a ton of it. I only have two, well really three, shows that I truly enjoy watching these days: Bachelorette, SYTYCD, and always Wheel of Fortune. I would never cancel plans to watch these shows, but I usually either DVR them, or watch them when they’re on when I can. Who cares anyway;  sorry that was a pointless rant about TV.

OK! It’s Thursday which  means tomorrow is one of my favorite days of all time. I hope you have a wonderful day! Catch up with you soon.

Continue Reading Ruby Red Jewels on My Salad
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