Big Dog, Little Dog

Good morning! My day started off with a trip to the gym where I polished off 4.25 miles on the treadmill and then the same leg workout from last saturday. On the way to the gym I scarfed down a half of a banana with a schmear or peanut butter. This is a typical pre-run snack for me. It has a little bit of carbs and a little protein to tide me through my workout, yet it’s not so much food that it makes my stomach upset. It does the trick perfectly for me.

Once I got home I blended up a protein smoothie made with 1 cup almond milk, 3/4 scoop chocolate protein powder, and a the other half of my banana. Now I’m off to run some errands!

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After work yesterday I stopped over at mom and dad’s for a bit. There is something about going home that is so comforting and I always look forward to going to their house. The first thing I do is give hugs and kisses to mom, dad, and Abbie, and then I usually head to the pantry because they have THE BEST snacks. While I was there I snacked on some cinnamon sugar pita chips and dark chocolate raisinettes. There are also ways to train your dog click here now and find out how.

Mom and dad are heading up north to see my brother this weekend. It’s cooler up north than it is here, and since they are planning on going for a hike while they are up there, and bringing Abbie, I asked mom if she was bringing a sweater for Abs. Oh you bet she is, and she put it on her so that Abbie could model for us. Photo shoot time! On the catwalk, yeah.

When I got back home Moose sniffed me out and then accused me of cheating on him with another dog. It is always so funny to see Moose after seeing Abbie because he is SO much bigger! Abbie is 11 lbs and Moose is 92 lbs. See and compare.

Big dog, hear me roar…
It’s dinner time…my favorite time of day. Besides breakfast.
Don’t even think about stealing my food. I’m not kidding.
No pictures while I’m eating please. Do I take pictures of you while you eat?

Moose is hysterical when it comes to his food. Whenever Dana feeds him, Moose goes and finds me wherever I am in the house. I have decided this is either to let me know he is excited about his meal, or he is keeping tabs on me to make sure I don’t come and eat his food. I think it is the latter of the two. If only he knew how much I loved dog food, then he would really be worried. Kidding obviously. K, so once he has told me it is time for him to eat, he then goes and sits by his food. He waits and waits until either Dana or I says “good boy.” I find when it’s me feeding him, I have to be extra exuberant when I say the two magic words or he won’t budge. It’s like he doesn’t want to get in trouble for eating. Also, he is EXTREMELY protective over his food. If you come near it while he is eating, he growls. This is something we are working on with him. Hey, he’s not perfect.

So there you have it, big dog, little dog. I love them both so much. Dogs are seriously hilarious.

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Dinner last night was a lazy attempt at a meal. Dana and I pulled out some Morningstar Garden Veggie Patties from the freezer and cooked them up on the stovetop. I snacked on some quinoa and soy sauce while they were cooking.

Dana’s creation:

Melanie’s lame creation:

Pretty embarassing. Dana wins by a landslide. He is always trying to out-do me. 🙂 Morningstar veggie patties are my favorite veggie burgers that I have found so far.

Later gators.

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Great Friends & Homemade Sushi

Man, yesterday was a great day!

When I left you yesterday, I immediately went and made myself some lunch. Homemade bread (recipe coming soon), with cinnamon pB2, bananas, and chia seeds, with a clementine on the side.

After lunch we went and picked up Moose from the groomer…

He was brushed and looks so handsome!

Then, Dana and I registered for our very FIRST HALF MARATHON! June 3rd, 2012. I was so nervous to hit submit in the registration because that means I have actually committed. It’s official, submitted, fees paid, and there’s no turning back. I am so pumped! Bring it on!

Dana’s parents came over shortly after and visited for a couple hours. It was nice to catch up with them as always.

Next, I got ready for our sushi night with friends. I prepped some of the veggies for the sushi and also made some chocolate dipped pretzels to have out for dessert. I had to decorate them with Christmas sprinkles because I didn’t have valentine sprinkles on hand, but they were still pretty and tasty! I snacked on a bunch of pretzels while I made those sweet treats.

The night was full of Asian-inspired snacks: Baked sugar snap peas (crunchy and salty, so good), edamame, and we even tried seaweed snacks. I wasn’t a fan of the seaweed at all. I know they are supposed to be extremely good for you, but I just don’t love the taste of sea and plants combined very much. At least I tried.

We ate lots of homemade sushi which turned out awesome! We stuck to California Rolls with carrots, cucumber, avocado, and crab.

It was a great, relaxing night with friends including getting my tush whooped in Scattegories (and Dana didn’t even cheat)!

Can we please, please do this more often? Love you guys.

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This morning began with a fruit and yogurt bowl and coffee (“the best part of waking up, is Folger’s in your cup!”).

Coupon clipping, grocery shopping, and Byerly’s salad bar for lunch while we were out and about. My salad was loaded with: edamame, peas, zucchini, beets, mushrooms, carrots, jicama, pumpkin seeds, sprouts, cheese, sunflower seeds, tofu, ground flaxseed, and light ranch dressing. Holy cow I guess I got my veggies in!

After lunch, we scoped out Byerly’s fresh fish selection for our Valentine’s Dinner. I think we are going to go with the swordfish. Swordfish and roasted artichoke hearts and fennel. Dessert is to be decided still but we are leaning towards warm brownie with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.

And now I am home, and can’t keep my paws off of chocolate. That’s all I want to do the rest of the day…veg out and eat chocolate. I’ll probably do some laundry too, and also I plan to post that bread recipe for you all too, and maybe go to the gym or for a walk on the treadmill.  We’ll see what happens! Okay, that’s it for now. Enjoy a relaxing Sunday!

Continue Reading Great Friends & Homemade Sushi

Let the Body Rest

I am so happy it’s Thursday!

Today is my Friday off because ever other week I have Friday off and this just so happens to be the one. I look forward to it for many reasons: I get to sleep in, I can stay in my sweats, eat breakfast when I want, eat lunch when I want, leisurely sip my coffee, go to the gym, run errands, clean the house….and the list goes on. Who doesn’t love a day off though, right? I always find that my to-do list is usually pretty lengthy on these days, but so far it’s not too bad. I am definitely a list person. I get satisfaction from writing out tasks I need to complete and then crossing them off with such pleasure once I have accomplished the task. You can say it, I’m a total nerdo.

By the way, yesterday I did take a day off from physical activity. It felt pretty good to have a ‘rest’ day even though I’ll be the first to admit I have a hard time actually giving myself those days. However, I know the importance of letting your body recover, so I do take them once a week (twice if it is a rough week). It is important to listen to your body telling you to slow down sometimes. I will be back in full swing tomorrow!

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Breakfast was once again a fruit and yogurt bowl but this time I mixed in some Kashi Berry Blossoms cereal. This was a definite winning combo. I also snagged a half a piece of homemade zucchini bread at work.

At lunch break today, a couple of my coworkers and I braved the weather and went for a walk outside. It really wasn’t too bad once you got moving and the sun was out so that helped. We stuffed our lunches in our pockets and walked for about 40 minutes. I am so glad they pushed me to go for a walk because I felt the endorphins for a good two hours after the walk! I sipped on a couple of decaf Chai teas in the afternoon as I cruised through the rest of the work day.

Now I am home and in the process of cooking up dinner. It’s going to be a good one! I will post it later and you better believe it involves vegetables. Until then, Moose says “keep it real homies.”

Continue Reading Let the Body Rest

No Dreadmill

Good evening friends! How was everyone’s Tuesday? Mine was pretty good. Work was smooth and flew by, but what helped my mood the most today was the beautiful weather! We are having some seriously out of season weather here but I LOVE it! I’m not sure what the official temperature was today, but my car said 43° when I was driving home from work at 4:00. Talk about a heat wave! 🙂

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First things first. I didn’t take snap a photo of breakfast this morning because I kinda flopped on it. I was trying to make Oatmeal No Oats again but decided to “wing” it and make  it from memory versus looking at the recipe. Whoops. I forgot the cinnamon and it completely changed the taste and ended up with a slightly egg-y taste. It wasn’t horrible, and I still ate it after adding a little brown sugar and some banana. It was actually kind of good in a weird way, but next time I will remember the cinnamon.

Fast-forward to lunch… I actually decided to pack a lunch today versus coming home. I had an errand to run so I packed a peanut butter banana wrap, Pink Lady apple, mini bell peppers, carrots, clementine, and string cheese. I always pack more than enough when I do pack a lunch because I never know how hungry I will be. Today I ate everything pictured below minus the string cheese and clementine.

After I ran my errand I parked my car in a sunny spot and pulled out my book. I am still reading the Help but am getting towards the end of it. I am loving it still and will probably finish it tonight before bed! When I was driving back to work after break I decided since it was so beautiful outside that I was going to run outside after work. No “dreadmill” today! Alleluia!

It’s been a while since I ran outside due to unkind Minnesota weather and due to the fact that I am pretty much a big baby when it comes to cold temperatures.  After work, I geared up in my long underwear, headband, gloves, and hit the road running. It was challenging but felt SO good to be outside. It makes a world of difference breathing the fresh air, having the constant changing scenery, the entertainment of other walkers and cars, and the challenge of hills. I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t love the hills but they are great for training and building stamina. I think I had a little bit of a hard time maintaining any sort of steady pace because I noticed myself breathing heavier than normal. I have a lot of work to do in order to feel more confident in my running. I will get there though! I know it doesn’t happen overnight.

The good news is I didn’t have any shin pain today. I am hoping I can get another outside run in soon so I can see if I have ditched the shin problems all together or not and then see what happens when I run on the treadmill again. Experiment time!

Get it 40 for forty degrees? Neat.

I will be the first to admit that the picture above totally grosses me out. I am not one of those people who thinks it’s cute to get slobbered on by their dogs. This picture was an accident as I was trying to get Moose to sit with me for a picture. It was too funny not to post though. I immediately washed my face after this happening occurred. Gross. I love you, Moose but honestly you don’t have a clean mouth. I don’t care what everyone says about “dogs mouths are cleaner than human mouths.” I know where that mouth has been. Ew.  Sorry to anyone eating while they are reading this.

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After a nice little shower, I started pulling dinner together. I threw some Alexia’s Sweet Potato Crispy Bite-Sized Puffs, aka tator tots  in the oven along with a whole bunch of broccoli sprinkled with garlic powder. As I waited for the tots to cook, I snacked on some broccoli and  Holy Land  Roasted Red Pepper Hummus which is made in Minneapolis. I love supporting the locals.

So let’s see, I had a starch, a veggie….I needed a protein. How about an egg? Sure, why not. I cooked an egg over-easy and topped it on the roasted broccoli alongside the tator tots. I dabbed a bit of good old Heinz Ketchup on the plate, sprinkled a little parmesan cheese, cracked black pepper, and a dash of salt over the whole rainbow bright dish. Then, dug in.

Random, but good and very pretty! I would do it again! Dessert was a handful or two of Craisins. Now, on to the rest of the evening involving relaxation and possibly a cup of tea. Good night good night, and tomorrow is Wednesday. I love Wednesdays!

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Love

I am so happy today is Wednesday. I really like Wednesdays because it’s halfway through the work week  and especially like today because my wonderful co-worker brought me home-made chocolate chip cookies that were to die for (you are the best). Thanks for the nice surprise!

Breakfast

My day started with a favorite but with a little extra jazz. A perfectly ripe banana topped with slightly warmed peanut butter, sprinkle of cinnamon, and chia seeds. It was so so tasty and did a great job of holding me over until lunch which is a good thing because work was VERY busy.

Quick morning snap shot before heading out the door….

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Lunch

I decided to head home for lunch which I have been doing more often than I ever used to. I used to run errands on break but instead of going to spend money, I am going home. Plus, I love not having to pack a lunch every day. I have a hard time knowing what I’m going to be in the mood for until the time comes to eat! Ya know?

Today’s lunch looks a lot like last night’s dinner except in a bowl, and I added some bright banana peppers on top. It was so delicious. I also had a couple of Pepperidge Farms Cheese Chips then finished off lunch with a dark chocolate Adora disk and another bite of peanut butter.

I gave Moose a kiss, then headed back to work to finish off the afternoon.

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Dinner

Driving home from work I felt so hungry, but couldn’t decide exactly what I wanted for dinner. I had a feeling it was going to be a snacky kind of dinner, and I was right. I started off with some carrots.

Then moved on to some protein. Hot pinto beans with BBQ sauce (I’m in a BBQ sauce kick apparently) and a sprinkle of onion powder.

A Wasa hearty grain cracker with a Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese wedge.

The last of my chocolate chip cookie gift.

And that’s when I stopped taking pictures of my snacks/dinner. I continued on to have some almonds and dates. I will probably have another snack before bed because that’s just the kind of mood I am in and have a bottomless pit stomach today. Off to stretch the legs a little while on the treadmill and then call it an early night hopefully!

Buenos noches amigos!

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Buggin’?

Good Evening! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thursday.

I started the day off giving the Oatmeal minus the oats another shot. The goal was to get an oatmeal consistency versus cream of wheat consistency. The verdict is……..SUCCESS! Looks pretty good, huh? That’s because it was. This time I used frozen banana that I defrosted in the microwave and added a tiny bit of brown sugar and a scoop of peanut butter. It was fantastic.

It does such a good job of holding me over until lunch because of the combination of protein and fat  from the egg, milk, flax seed, and peanut butter (I chose to exclude the walnuts again).

Fast forward to lunch time. I decided to brave the cold and go home for lunch. I wasn’t sure what I was in the mood for so I started with banana and peanut butter (second time today I know-no surprise), next moved to an apple with a laughing cow wedge, carrots, and then dipped back into the peanut butter a few more times. I am a crazy peanut butter addict.

I’m not sure if I am dehydrated, fighting some kind of bug, or what, but I am not feeling very well this afternoon/evening.  After work I headed down to the basement to get a 3 miler in on the treadmill. I pulled through it but felt completely nauseous towards the end. Dinner time rolled around and I wasn’t hungry. Wheel of fortune was over and  I was still not hungry. I’m always hungry though.

I grabbed a Powerade zero out of the fridge hoping that I was just dehydrated and it did seem to help a bit. I poured myself a small bowl of Quaker’s Life Apple Cinnamon Crunchtime and Crunchy Corn Bran with almond milk. It was just what I needed. I love it when the cereal is a little soggy, and a little crunchy. I am starting to come around now.

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I am very excited that tomorrow is Friday. I am planning on working on the blog this weekend; I feel like it needs so much work! I want to fill you in on workouts, wedding recaps, Italy, recipes, hopes, dreams, etc. and will with time! Thank you to those who are reading this blog right now and supporting me. Feel free to pass my blog on to anyone who you think might enjoy it! I will try to keep you entertained.

Have a great night! Time to hang with the men…

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A nice little day off

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day everyone! I work in a public health agency in the area as a Registered Dietitian and had the day off today for the holiday. I am having a great day so far. I woke up and hit the treadmill for a morning walk while watching some Keeping Up with the Kardashians (guilty pleasure). It kept me walking longer than I was planning because I just had to watch Kim tell Khloe that she wasn’t happy with her relationship with Kris. OMG. I am pathetic I know.

After my walk I made myself a fruit and yogurt parfait, had a couple of cups of joe with cream and stevia, hit the showers, then headed out to take care of some errands.

For lunch I stopped at mom and dad’s. They only live about 15 minutes away and I am very lucky to be able to stop by whenever I please. I always love stopping by their place not only to see them and their adorable Yorkie Poo, Abbie, but also I love raiding their cupboards. They always have so many fun things that I don’t have at my house!

I decided on a piece of whole wheat toast with crunchy pb, banana, carrots, some whole grain chips (bean flavored they are delicious), then finished off with a couple of pieces of chocolate kisses. Mom asked me to make her favorite chocolate drop no bake cookies before I left and I happily obliged. I love baking/cooking because I get to “taste test” the batter which is my favorite!

I will be posting the recipe soon! You won’t want to miss it. I had two of the wonderfully chocolately peanut buttery oatmeal cookies then headed for the home front. Photo shoot time with Mooser:

The rest of the day has been dedicated to getting some things done around the house and hanging out with my boys before the work week begins. Dinner is most likely going to be a whatever kind of night. I’m not sure what I’m in the mood for. We’ll see! Have a great rest of your day!

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Dana and Moose

Now that I have given you a brief introduction of who I am, I want to introduce you to two other members of the household.

My husband, Dana. Dana and I got married just a few months ago, Oct. 1st, 2011. He is absolutely the love of my life and is so supportive of me and patient with me. We love being together whether it be cooking something up in the kitchen, hiking, running, grocery shopping, etc. He is willing to try my recipe renovations and continues to stay positive for me even through recipe flops.


Dana went to college with two of my brothers which is how we met. We ran into each other a few times, exchanged numbers, and started dating. We dated for two plus years, he proposed, and then we planned for our wedding which took place in MN. I plan to recap some of our memories from the wedding as well as our honeymoon in Italy! Plan on seeing this face quite a bit throughout the blog journey.

Next up: Moose aka Moosebear, Mooser

This is our 3 1/2 year old German Sheperd. He loves to play with his rope, chicken, chew on his bone, eat, whine, go running with Dad, play with friends at the dog park, and take naps. He keeps us laughing…all 92 lbs of him! Now that Dana and I are married, I am officially his mom. Love that little guy.

That’s our family in a nut shell!

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