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Thirsty Thursday: Refreshing Mocktails

Post author:Melanie
Post published:January 23, 2014
Post category:Misc. / Recipes / Sweet Treats
Post comments:14 Comments

The first thing I did this morning upon waking was look at my Weather Channel app and guess what it told me? That it is -18°F and it feels like -39°F with the windchill.

Schools are closed but work is still open. The cold weather does make us tougher though I do have to admit. That is me trying to stay positive right there. When the above zero days shine their faces on us, it feels like a heat wave. Bring on the heat wave tomorrow!

Speaking of heat wave, let’s use our imaginations today. Imagine you are on a soft sandy beach in the Caribbean. You have a lounge chair set up on the beach so that the ocean hits at your feet just enough to cool off from the sizzling sun. In your right hand is your favorite book, and in your left hand is a refreshing cocktail or mocktail. 🙂

You lay there all day because you have nothing else to do (don’t forget the sunscreen!), just sipping away at your mojito and gazing out at the blue waters.

Are you there? Let that thought get you through your day. Dream a little dream!

Need some mocktail ideas? I have got you covered. I’m currently not drinking alcohol because it tends to wreak havoc on my digestive system, so I compiled a handful of non-alcoholic beverages that are refreshing and will help you to live in your imaginary moment whenever you want.

Crank up the heat and whip up one of these beverages! It’s what I plan to do this weekend!

Click on the links to view the recipe and source.

1. Strawberry Watermelon Spritzer

2. Mint Limeade

3. Non-Alcoholic Sangria

4. Pomegranate Spritzer (Thanks, Sarah!)

5. Blueberry Spritzer

6. Blueberry Mojito

Who says you can’t have a taste of the tropics in your very own home? You can do whatever you want.

I’ll be here today…

beach

In my mind.

Happy Thursday!

If you could travel ANYWHERE today, where would you travel?

Any good mocktail recipes?

Maple Mustard Salmon and Sisterhood

Post author:Melanie
Post published:January 6, 2014
Post category:Blog / Dinners / Friends / Misc. / Moose / Recipes
Post comments:7 Comments

This was one of those weekends that went so fast it hardly seemed like it existed. The only proof I have is that I took a few photos from the weekend. 🙂 Kidding, I have fond memories from the weekend to remind me that it existed too. But seriously, it did fly by.

My weekend was full of exercise, cleaning, putting Christmas decorations away, hanging out with girlfriends, and running errands. Today as the weather is dramatically low, I will be keeping warm and hibernating as best as I can.

A couple of snap shots from the weekend:

Quinoa salad bowl with spinach, quinoa, tomato, muffuletta, and hummus. It was pretty darn good even though I was forced to scarf it down in the Target parking lot and even though I was really craving peanut butter. But, it’s what I had packed!

On Friday night I switched up our typical salmon (my favorite salmon) for a maple mustard salmon. Dana grilled the salmon on the grill per usual as I prepared the maple mustard mixture. You are actually supposed to slather this mixture/sauce on the salmon before and as they are being grilled, but I didn’t want to waste any of it down the grates of the grill so we kept them separate.

The mustard maple sauce was from a recipe on Chow. Here’s the recipe from their website: Maple-Mustard Grilled Salmon

For the glaze:

1/3 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

The changes I made were I used dried thyme instead of fresh and halved the recipe since we were only making two salmon fillets.

After the salmon were done on the grill, we set them in the saucepan inside and then transferred them to our plates pouring the sauce over the salmon. It was good but not as good as my favorite sesame oil, almond, and caper recipe!

On Saturday evening I had some of my girls over for girls night. We had an array of snacks: Chex Mix, apples with peanut butter Greek yogurt dip, cheese (havarti–my fav) and crackers, veggies and hummus, chocolate, and wine.

We chatted, played games, ate, watched part of a movie and then crashed before midnight. Oh how the times have changed. I love those ladies with all of my heart and can’t wait to be reunited again!

Speaking of ladies, my dear friend Katie (Running4Cupcakes) has nominated me for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award! I am always grateful for these nominations so thank you Katie for nominating me!

sisterhood-of-the-world-bloggers-award-w500

The Rules

1. Post the logo on your blog
2. Thanks the person who nominated you
3. Answer the questions
4. Choose 10 or so other ladies who blog as your nominees
5. Post the links to the nominees’ blogs and notify them on their blog

Favorite color – I really don’t have a favorite color. I like them all and my color choice depends on my mood mostly. I guess I could say I’m a red gal though. I have a lot of red accents around my house and I love wearing red.

Favorite animal – Dogs and monkeys and gorillas. They all make me laugh!

Favorite non-alcoholic drink – Turtle Mocha Northern Lite Lattes, Skinny Peppermint Mocha, sparkling water, water.

Facebook or Twitter – Facebook I guess. I kind of get tired of both actually and yet I check both of them all of the time.

Favorite pattern – Zebra print, leopard print, stripes, polka dots.

Favorite number – Growing up it was 32 which was my basketball number, but today I don’t have one. Maybe I should follow Katie’s lead and use birthdays; so 16.

Favorite day of the week – Friday! I bet you could have guessed that based on my excitement in my Friday posts.

Do you prefer getting or giving presents? – Giving a perfect gift and seeing that person’s face light up is the best BUT I will not lie…I like getting presents too.

Favorite Flower – tulips, gerberas, roses…

What is your passion – Family, food, health, fitness, cooking, positivity, travel, happiness, and love.

Now it’s your turn:

Sarah
Caroline
Becky
Shannon
Chelsea
Hannah
Kim
Christie
Jackie
Kate

It’s your turn too even if your name isn’t listed above! Answer some of the questions in the comment section! HAAAaaaave fun!!

Favorite Memories of 2013

Post author:Melanie
Post published:December 31, 2013
Post category:Blog / Misc.
Post comments:9 Comments

Happy last day of 2013! I just ate my last breakfast of 2013, a delicious fruit and kale smoothie. This is going to be a fabulous day to end out the year. I have plans to relax today, paint my nails, workout, and be with friends tonight to ring in the new year.

Like all of us, this year had many ups and downs for me. I am looking forward to starting fresh in the new year and looking forward rather than dwelling on things I can no longer change in the past.

I will continue to take care of my body: fueling it with the healthy nutrients it needs, being proactive about my healthcare, staying active, having fun with exercise, laughing, loving, having fun, and staying positive.

I took a few minutes to glance back at my year of blog posts and I wanted to put together a list of some of my favorites from the year. This list doesn’t include ALL of my favorite moments, but a lot of them!

We took SO many great vacations and mini-vacations, and although I won’t be listing them all below, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy each and every one. They were all a blast! You can see my travels on my travel page if you’re interested!

Here are some highlight posts of this past year:

A healthy start to 2013: Polar Dash 10k! A cold but very fun run! Vacation to the Turks and Caicos! We stayed in a gorgeous villa in North Caicos and fell absolutely in love with TC islands. Turks and Caicos Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 Clean Eating Camping Menu: I did a whole lot of meal and snack prep and executed an entire camping trip with only clean foods. This was part of my clean eating program I was following. Chances are this won’t ever happen again but I guess you never know! The food WAS delicious although I did miss s’mores a whole lot! 😉 Surprises from Bethenny Frankel. It started with one thrilling cocktail party in Minneapolis and before I knew it I was celebrating with Bethenny Frankel in New York! Cocktail Party with Bethenny in Minneapolis Bethenny in New York Part 1 Bethenny in New York Part 2 Thai Chicken Salad with AMAZING Peanut Sauce. My lovely friend Kalley was over for dinner and we seriously killed this salad. It was to die for! Kal–can we do this again please? Vacation to Vancouver Island! We celebrated our two-year anniversary with a trip to Seattle, Vancouver Island, Vancouver, and then flew down to California to catch a cruise to Ensenada, Mexico! Vancouver Island Seattle California—Ensenada Healthy Living Summit 2013. A weekend with some of my favorite girls. Need I say more? Spin Class with Olympian Dara Torres. Thanks to Dara Torres and Koss Corporation, Katie and I were able to attend a spin class led by Dara Torres! I had so much fun!

My first on air experience with Fox 9 for National Oatmeal Day! To watch the video, you can click here: National Oatmeal Day Fox 9 Here’s to a healthy and fresh start in 2014. Continue to live in the present and look forward to the future instead of dwelling in the past. The past is the past and there is nothing we can do to change it. We can however control how we handle changes. Think positively and surround yourself with people who lift you up.

Happy New Year’s Eve and Happy New Year in case I don’t get to you tomorrow! xoxo

What were some of your favorite moments from 2013?

Any fun plans tonight to ring in the New Year?

Christmas Survey Time

Post author:Melanie
Post published:December 19, 2013
Post category:holidays / Misc.
Post comments:11 Comments

It’s the most wonderful time of the year and it’s time for a little Christmas fun. It’s survey time! Thank you to Amanda for this one! Are you ready? Here we go…

Favorite…

Christmas Movie?
Elf, A Christmas Story, and White Christmas.

Character from any Christmas Movie?
Randy from a Christmas story, especially the scene where he is all bundled up in snow gear and has to waddle around to get anywhere. What a cutie.

Christmas Song?
Night of Silence/Silent Night. It is absolutely beautiful and we always hope that they will sing it at Christmas mass.

Christmas Memory?
I loved going over to my grandparent’s house on Christmas eve. My grandma would make her insanely delicious spaghetti and meatballs and we would all hang out and exchange gifts among the siblings and to mom and dad and grandma and grandpa. It was always a relaxing and cozy evening. After dinner my mom would often put my hair into rollers so that I could have curly hair for Christmas day. I would practically fall asleep as she put them in. I have lots of good Christmas memories.

Christmas Cookie?
Peanut butter blossoms, monster cookies, special k bars (I realize not really a cookie)….notice a theme? Anything with peanut butter and chocolate!

This or That…

Give or Receive?
Give…it takes me a while to pick out the perfect gift, but once I do I am thrilled. I can’t wait to give the gift to the recipient and watch their expression as they open it. I won’t lie, I like getting gifts too. Who doesn’t?

Ham or Turkey?
I prefer turkey, but I can enjoy some ham around the holidays too!

Star or Angel?
Currently we have a star.

White Lights or Colored Lights?
Colored lights. This year we have a bunch of colored lights up in the front of the house, and some white ones in the back. We have colored lights on the tree. I definitely prefer the colored ones.

Blinking Lights or Still Lights?
Still lights, but I love driving around to the houses that have tons of blinking lights that they have programmed to music. You set your car radio to the station that they are programmed to, and you can watch the lights dance to the song!

Were you Naughty or Nice this year?
Nice.

Presents…

What do you want for Christmas this year?
Good health.

When do you open your gifts?
This changes yearly now that I am a married woman, but this year I will be opening gifts from Dana’s family on Christmas eve and from my family on Christmas day.

Do you like wrapping gifts?
I enjoy wrapping gifts if I’m wrapping with someone else, but on my own I can take it or leave it.

Random…

Can you name all the reindeer?
Uh, chyaa. Just sing the song.

Have you ever gotten a kiss under the mistletoe?

Yeaaa. 🙂

Do you go caroling?
Do people still do this? I caroled one time in elementary school. I thought it was a blast. I think it would be fun to do it again!

Do you drive around and look at the Christmas lights?
Yes! For the past few years Dana and I have gone out to look at lights. We stop at Dairy Queen first and then head around town ooing and awwing. I turn into a kid when it comes to looking at lights.

Have you ever had a white Christmas?
Always! There may have been one year that wasn’t?

Who do you celebrate Christmas with?
Both of our families.

Have you ever had your picture taken with Santa?
Yes, and I have a good feeling I was terrified of him. I didn’t like strangers a whole lot.

What part of Christmas do you look most forward to?
Spending time with family and going to evening church together.

Now you go! Answer a few of the questions and have fun!

Friday Favorites: Holiday Spirit

Post author:Melanie
Post published:December 6, 2013
Post category:holidays / Home Life / Misc.
Post comments:13 Comments

One of my best blends, Katie and Running4Cupcakes, has started a Friday Favorites link up and since I truly enjoy writing about Friday Favorites sometimes otherwise known as Five Things Friday, I just had to join in!

Her theme for Friday favorites is to focus in on “the little things that made you smile over the past week. And anything goes! Because we all know that it’s the little things in life that make it count, right?” source

I am really getting into the holiday spirit as I’ve mentioned before. The minty coffee drinks, the Christmas music, the lights, the cookies….I am just full of Christmas spirit and loving every second of it. A few of my Friday Favs are holiday related, and a few are just completely random. So without further ado….

Friday Favorites

1. Online shopping. I am not one for crowds, so online Christmas shopping at Flyp has been something wonderful to me. It keeps me stress-free and we all can appreciate that, I always shop at Macy’s during Christmas since it literally has everything you could think of, I always look for coupons online, you can click for more info.

2. Watching Gossip Girl while walking or running on the treadmill. This keeps me occupied for a good hour! The drama gives me a little bit of anxiety, but then I remember it’s just a show and then I’m okay. It’s ridiculous but I’m addicted.

3. Snow. It finally snowed around here and I love how much prettier it looks outside. Many people complain about it but I think it’s gorgeous. Sure we have to be more careful on the roads, shovel our driveways, and give ourselves extra time to wipe off our cars, but it’s worth it.

4. Christmas Lights. We have the front and back of our house decorated with Christmas lights along with our Christmas tree and they make me so happy every time I look at them. The simple joys.

5. Victoria’s Secret Boyfriend Sweatpants.

Dana got me these for my birthday (light pink top and navy blue bottoms) and I LOVE them. These pants are so amazingly comfortable. I feel like I should stock up on a bunch of these they are so great.

Happy FRIDAY my loves!

What are some of your Friday Favorites?!

Live Your Life. Love Unconditionally.

Post author:Melanie
Post published:November 23, 2013
Post category:Misc.
Post comments:7 Comments

Life has its challenges. It throws you for a loop when you least expect it. It’s unexpected. It’s real.

When your world turns upside down and you feel like all you want to do is stay curled up in your comfortable bubble, you push yourself to face reality. You have to move on because life goes on.

This isn’t to say that you forget about the challenges you were faced with; you don’t. They become a part of who you are. They strengthen you, and they make you a better person a lot of the time.

These times in our lives make us more gracious. They make us look at what is truly important and they open our eyes to the important people in our lives. The people who lift us up throughout times of struggle, who are by our side whether we need a shoulder to cry on, a friend to laugh with, or a person to simply sit with in silence. I know I say this often, but my family and friends are my world. I feel so lucky to have such an incredible network of people who love me unconditionally and who are there for me day and night.

I am so gracious for love that I am able to give and to receive.

On this beautiful Saturday, think about all of the amazing people in your life. Give gratitude for the ability to love and to be loved.

Live your life. Love unconditionally. Be hopeful for good things.

Footprints

Post author:Melanie
Post published:November 14, 2013
Post category:Misc.
Post comments:7 Comments

Becky’s Paleo Pad Thai & One Year Anniversary

Post author:Melanie
Post published:November 13, 2013
Post category:Blog / Friends / Misc.
Post comments:14 Comments

Today is a very special day. Today is one of my very best blend’s one year blog anniversary! To those of you who haven’t run across the blog Olives ‘n’ Wine, you absolutely must. Becky, who I was lucky enough to meet this past year and become great friends with, offers incredibly funny blog posts full of nummy food, adventures, recipes, and her quest to find healthy balance in her life.

Me, Katie, and Becky this summer at Spoon River.

Caroline, me, Becky, and Katie at this year’s Healthy Living Summit.

And speaking of recipes, I have one of hers to share with you all today. In honor of Becky’s blog anniversary, about thirty of us bloggers have teamed up to make this day an extra special one for Becky. We have all selected one of Becky’s recipes to create and enjoy at home, and we will all be posting about it today to celebrate our special friend and her achievements!

My recipe decision was an easy one when I stumbled across her paleo pad Thai post. I have made some form of paleo pad Thai in the past and absolutely loved it, but I was all about trying Becky’s recipe this time!

I love that her recipe not only included spaghetti squash, sunflower seed sauce, and veggies, but that it also includes scrambled eggs! What a nice little surprise, right? Considering I didn’t have any meat protein on hand, I felt good about eating this dish knowing I was getting protein from the eggs (and a little from the sunflower seed sauce).

Here is her recipe:

Paleo Pad Thai (Slightly adapted from The Clothes Make The Girl)

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tsp coconut aminos
2 tsp coconut oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 cups snap peas
1 roasted spaghetti squash, shredded
16-20 ounces baked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 Pad Thai Sauce recipe (See below!)
4 eggs

Directions

Heat a non-stick pan or wok over medium heat and pour coconut oil into the pan. Saute the onion, peas and any other vegetables you want to include for approximately 5-7 minutes, until they are tender but still crisp. Add the spaghetti squash and chicken to the pan and cook until warm, about 5 minutes. Pour in the Pad Thai Sauce and stir until everything is combined. While everything is heating for an additional 2-3 minutes, scramble eggs in a small pan. Serve with the scrambled eggs and a handful of sunflower seeds on top. Enjoy!

Pad Thai Sauce

Makes 1 Batch

Ingredients

1/4 cup sunflower butter
1 lime, juiced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBSP red pepper flakes
1 TBSP coconut aminos
1 tsp rice vinegar
½ TBSP cayenne pepper
1/3 cup coconut milk

Directions

Place all ingredients except the coconut milk in a food processor and blend well. Once blended, add in coconut milk and blend until smooth and creamy.

You can also go to the recipe on her site here: Paleo Pad Thai

Besides dirtying up a few pans, this recipe was relatively easy and extremely delicious (no surprise).

The only alterations I made were that I excluded the chicken because I didn’t have any on hand and added in some broccoli! Oh, and I scaled down the heat in the recipe because I’m a big baby when it comes to spicy food.

****

I am so proud to be able to call Becky a friend. She is so incredibly thoughtful, giving, funny, smart, and beautiful.

Happy one year blog anniversary my dear friend! You have achieved so much in just one short year, I can’t wait to see how you will continue to grow! I am so proud of you. I love you!

Now, go check out Becky’s blog at Olives ‘n’ Wine and wish her happy thoughts!!! http://www.olivesnwine.com/

Here are the links to the other blogger’s posts to honor Becky in case you are interested! Lots of nummy recipes going on here!

Blog URL

coffeeandquinoa.com

blondeambitionblog.net

sproutsnsquats.com

Http://www.nachoaveragerunner.com

dailycupofkate.com

eatgreatbegreat.wordpress.com

http://www.runningwithspoons.com

http://www.thedailymoderation.com/

http://running4cupcakes.com

http://snacktherapy.com

thelittlehoneybee.com

http://www.cleaneatingveggiegirl.com

http://betterwithsprinklesblog.com

Thehealthymaven.com

makingthymeforhealth.com

alishasappetite.com

haveyourcakeand.com

Http://www.Proteinandpumps.com

http://fitncookies.com

http://www.chelseashealthykitchen.com

hisnhershealthynhappy.com

thealmondeater.com

http://www.frhuman.com

http://www.9tofit.com/

www.brunetteanthem.com

www.fitcupcaker.com

http://peaceandpizza.wordpress.com

Thetrendytrainer.com

Weekend Update: Clean It Up

Post author:Melanie
Post published:November 11, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Lunch / Misc. / Restaurants / Sweet Treats
Post comments:8 Comments

Happy Monday my friends. Yes, we are going to make Monday happy today. Think of one thing you are thankful for and make that your happy thought for the day. My happy thought: it’s my birthday month! What’s yours?

It’s going to be a real quick weekend update for you all today. Friday night, Dana and I were feeling so super creative and motivated in the kitchen that we ordered ourselves a Domino’s veggie pizza. 🙂

I whipped up a batch of Julie’s raw brownie bites in the Ninja Ultima. Holy cow you guys. If you haven’t made these yet you absolutely must. They taste like a fudgy brownie. SO GOOD!

Dana and I actually went out to eat this weekend. For those of you who have been following me for a while, you know this just doesn’t happen very often. I ordered chicken fajitas and they did not disappoint. Although, my favorite part of the whole meal was probably the beans on that side plate.

We spent the day on Saturday with friends and it was such a great time. It was very much of an impromptu hangout, and sometimes those are the best! We grilled up burgers and hung out with the kiddos and the babies! Loved it.

On Sunday I got cozy in the kitchen and made a batch of beef and veggie soup. I am realizing I need more zinc in my diet and the best way to get that is through meat. This soup was completely amazing! I may or may not share the recipe.

My body wasn’t too thrilled with me and my not-so-healthy weekend. I am going to do my best to get back on the clean eating track as best as I can within reason. It starts with that soup; mostly clean and veggie-packed! My body will thank me.

It was a quiet weekend once again which ends our quiet weekend marathon for a little while. We have lots of birthday celebrations coming up and I am obviously super excited!

One more thing before I leave you. My girlfriend Jen who blogs over at Brunette Anthem, is going to be featuring me and some of my healthy recipes over the next two weeks! Go check out her site. She is my fashion inspiration.

Happy Veteran’s Day to all. Today and always, we honor our nation’s veterans and those who are currently serving.

The Seasons of Cozy

Post author:Melanie
Post published:October 25, 2013
Post category:Home Life / Misc.
Post comments:15 Comments

This wintry weather has got me feeling all warm and fuzzy. Being inside my warm house on a cold evening, dressed in my sweats and my slippers, and eating a bowl of hot tomato soup…it is just such a cozy time of year. I put together a photo montage of photos that give me that cozy feeling as soon as I look at them. 1. A gigantic bean bag chair that hugs you. 2. Reading a book in front of a hot fire. 3. Fresh out of the oven homemade bread. 4. A cozy attic to read and relax. 5. Snuggling up under a homemade fort. 6. Hanging out in a homemade fort and watching Home Alone or another Christmas movie. 7. Being nestled away in this warm cabin on a crisp night under a starry sky. 8. Oversized sweaters and sweatshirts (love). 9. Down comforters! 10. A cozy breakfast by the campfire. 11. A warm bowl of soup. 12. Slippers. 13. And hot chocolate. These are the moments to relish. Get comfortable, be cozy, and enjoy a cup of hot cocoa! Happy Friday! What do you think of when you think of “cozy”?