Pumpkin Waffles and Super Bowl Snacks

Hello, hello! How did everyone’s Sunday pan out? Mine was pretty darn fantastic.

It started out with Sunday morning waffles and coupon cutting. On Saturday night I pre-made pumpkin waffle batter so that on Sunday all I would have to do is crank on the waffle iron and get pourin’. I adapted a pumpkin waffle recipe from PaleOMG and they turned out very tasty!  waffle IMG_1569 waffle

The first couple of waffles didn’t come out very easily but I think it was because I was being slightly impatient waiting for them to finish cooking and opened up the iron too early. The last few turned came out way better!

I made a big batch because I wanted extra waffles to freeze so that I could have some quick breakfasts in the future. I could even slather one of those bad boys with peanut butter and call it lunch!

waffle

Pumpkin Waffles
Recipe Type: Gluten-Free Breakfast
Recipe adapted from PaleOMG at http://paleomg.com/paleo-pumpkin-waffles/
Ingredients
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
  1. Preheat waffle iron–(you could use a flat griddle instead and make pancakes).
  2. In a small bowl combine dry ingredients, mix well, and set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl combine remaining wet ingredients. Use a hand-mixer or a whisk to beat ingredients together.
  4. Slowly mix in dry ingredients into the wet.
  5. Spray your waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray or butter and use a half cup measuring cup to scoop the batter onto the hot iron. Close and let cook for about 4-5 minutes (keep an eye on them).
  6. Serve with honey, peanut butter, syrup, or whatever you please! It would be really good to mix a small handful of chocolate chips into the batter too!

 Speaking of lunch, after running our grocery store errands, I put together a snack plate with veggies and turkey wrapped cheese, avocado, and mustard.snack plate

For dessert I had a spoonful of peanut butter.

I got into my workout gear and cranked out this leg workout with dumbbells, my plank-a-day, and other core work. I continued my workout by dusting and vacuuming (<—-such a weird word if you think about if for too long) the house. That absolutely counts as exercise in my book!

In the afternoon I snacked on a super sweet tangelo that mom and dad brought home from Florida, and a handful of cashews.

Then it was time to get ready for a Super Bowl party with a bunch of our friends. I seriously couldn’t decide what to bring for a snack to share (I am the world’s worst decision maker, ask anyone), but decided on simple yet tasty garlic parmesan popcorn.

To make the popcorn:

  1. Pop up a big batch of plain popcorn and place in a big brown grocery bag.
  2. Melt a half a stick of butter on the stove with two garlic cloves that have been peeled and cracked open.
  3. Scoop out the garlic and discard.
  4. Pour butter over popcorn and mix well.
  5. Use a mini grater to grate fresh parmesan all over the popcorn while it’s still hot. Give the bag a good shake. Serve warm if possible!

superbowl parmesan popcorn

The night was filled with great friends, kiddos, football, and of course tons of snacks.

There was jalapeño popper dip…

superbowl jalepeno popper dip

Saucy BBQ meatballs…

superbowl meatballs

Bacon wrapped lil’ smokies with a brown sugar glaze(!!)…

superbowl wrapped little smokies

Warm and hearty taco chili, beer bread…

superbowl chili

Fruit salsa with cinnamon chips, soft pretzels with cheese sauce, chips and dip…

And of course, the desserts.

superbowl cupcakes

I had good intentions of not touching any sweets but that intention was lost in the breeze as soon as my eyes caught the Special K bars. Those babies are definitely up there on the list of my favorite dessert bars. I kept shaving off piece after piece and wound up eating what would probably be equivalent to one of those big bars you buy in the bakery, but who’s keeping track?

As far as the clean eating goes, yesterday was what we call “a wash.” I am definitely okay with that though because it was GOOD, and it was just one day. Today’s a new day. 🙂 I had such a great time last night. Although I can’t say I watched a whole lot of the game, I thoroughly enjoyed the halftime show and catching up with friends. Beyonce’s still got it!

I have some very fun and relaxing plans on the agenda today. I can’t wait to tell you about it! Have a great day! xoxo

Question of the day: Did you watch the Super Bowl? What was your favorite snack?!

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My Sweetened Taste Buds: Regaining Control

Where or where do I begin? I feel like I have so much to share with you. I may end up all over the place so just bear with me please.

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETSY!! Love you peanut!

betsy and melanie

Second of all, it is -11°F outside right now but feels like -34°F. Is that not insane? I wish I didn’t have to go anywhere today but unfortunately that isn’t so. It’s a good thing I have all of the appropriate winter weather gear–thermal insulated coat from this page, insulated boots, hat, gloves, scarves. I’ll be needing it today.

This weekend we didn’t have too many plans except for Friday night’s birthday celebration, so I took the liberty of getting creative in the kitchen.

A quick snap shot of breakfast yesterday: FAGE Greek yogurt honey with blackberries, strawberries, and homemade granola (recipe below).

greek yogurt with fruit and granola

I am on a mission-get-rid-of-sugars around my house, but wanted to have something sweet and fun in the cupboards, so I got bakin’. The product: Sweet and Nutty Bites.

sweet and nutty bites

In a bowl I mixed together chopped pistachios, almonds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, dried cranberries, and chopped dates. In a small saucepan I melted together 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil and 1/4 cup (or so) of honey. Once melted, I mixed the honey mix into the nuts and then pressed it into a 9 x 9 baking dish. I baked these gems for about 20 minutes. I let them cool on the counter for a good hour or two, and then attempted to cut them into bite size pieces but they were too sticky so they just turned into misshapen bites.

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These are not low-calorie or low-fat by any means, but they do provide healthy fats from the nuts and the only sugar in the recipe is natural sugar from the honey, so I do feel better feeding my body this dessert than I do say two handfuls of chocolate (that’s okay some days too though!). Just a bite does a great job of satisfying my sweet cravings.

I wasn’t going to go in this direction today, but since I am already on track for it, I’m going to go for it. It’s time to talk about my “sweetened taste buds” and my mission to eliminate added sugars to my diet.

I can comfortably admit that I have a large sweet tooth.

Everyone has their “thing” and that is mine. I love sweets. I always have and I always will. Growing up I would ask my mom if we could make cookies together only to wind up leaving her in the dust after the dough was made (sorry mom!). I didn’t do it on purpose, but I loved the dough and then got tired when it came to rolling the dough balls. To this day, I enjoy licking the mixers when making brownies, and helping myself to a few bites of cookie dough in the cookie baking process.

I am okay with having a sweet tooth, but ever since the holidays rolled around, my sweet tooth has spiraled out of control after one-too-many cookies. It’s time to regain control. I noticed that my gut didn’t appreciate the added sweets either, and this is something that I was fully aware of. Every day I would say I’m going to cut out the chocolate and the sweets, but sure enough another piece would present itself in front of me and I would cave. Okay, tomorrow I’ll start that shenanigans.

After reminding myself of my education, motivating myself by reading up on holistic living, and whole-heartedly knowing exactly what I needed to do if I wanted to feel well, I cleared all of the chocolates and candies out of the house. I wanted and needed to curb this sweet tooth. I got my husband on board too which helps immensely.

The hardest part of “cleaning up my act” wasn’t the chocolate, but my coffee creamer. I adore a cup of coffee in the morning with hazelnut creamer and stevia. Sweet on sweet. It had to go. I don’t like the ingredients on the label, and never have, but talked myself into using it just for a short while longer. No more my friends, no more. It’s gone.

If I do want to use a little sweetener it is going to be stevia which is a natural sweetener from the stevia plant. However, I am hoping to wean myself off of sweeteners all together.

Some may ask why I don’t just switch to regular sugar because that’s natural too, and they’re right it is, but the thing about sugars (carbohydrates included) is they are not digested well by the body. A lot of the starch from the sugar gets trapped inside of the intestines causing gas, bloating and irritability, and for someone who deals with irritable bowel, this isn’t a good option.

So how is the sugar wean going? 

To be perfectly honest, NOT BAD at all. The first couple of days I could have gone for a piece of chocolate, but I had other options in the house like dates, berries, and the sweet and nutty bites mentioned above, and they have really helped the process and satisfied my cravings. Another thing that helps is having a cup of tea with a touch of honey. I am now on day 4 of “no sugars added” lifestyle, and I have no sweet cravings. This may sound like a small fete but it is something I am very proud of.

My morning coffee…

At first I had told myself that I was just going to give up coffee because I really don’t enjoy coffee without cream, but I have gone back on that statement. I bought a product called Sweet Drops by Sweet Leaf. It is a natural sweetener made from the stevia plant that adds a subtle sweetness to your coffee, tea, or other beverages. This is what I am using in my coffee now along with a tablespoon of coconut milk.

sweet leaf drops

Do I really think I can keep up with this lifestyle? Am I cutting out sugars forever?

Yes and no. I am learning more and more about my body, the science of food and digestion, and know ways I can help to keep myself in tip-top shape. Cutting down on sugars will help me in so many ways and it is a lifestyle that I want to adapt for the health of myself.

I am NOT saying that I am cutting out sugars forever, but for now, I HAVE GOT to get this colitis under control. This has been going on for way too long. Needless to say there are other things going on with my health that may be contributing to this current “flare” but knowing that I can possibly help the situation through diet encourages me to maintain this lifestyle forever. I WILL be eating chocolate again once I get my health under control, but I will be moderate in my intake; one small piece of dark chocolate a day, a piece of birthday cake on special occasions, etc.

Some other natural remedies I am trying…

I am also taking a multivitamin in the morning along with probiotics. In the evening I am taking calcium plus vitamin D. I am incorporating coconut oil into my daily routine because studies have shown it can help heal the gut and sooth IBD symptoms.

Wow, I really opened up a can of worms with this one, huh?

As a Registered Dietitian it is sometimes hard to admit that I have “sweetened taste buds” and that I need to regain control of the issue. Shouldn’t a dietitian know what to do? It’s hard because I know exactly what I need to do in order to control it, but my stubborn self fought back for so long along with every excuse in the book. None of us are perfect, so why is it so hard for us to share our weaknesses?

Even though it has only been four days without “sweets” I already feel better. I have control already. I just feel better all around.

This turned from me sharing a recipe into divulging a weakness. The important thing to remember: we are given one body, and we have control over what goes into it, the activity it gets, and the decisions we make for it. Take care of your body and remember, no two people are the same, so do what’s best for YOU.

I have much more to share but it’s going to have to wait! Have a GREAT day my friends. xoxoxo

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Peanut Chicken Salad RECIPE

Oh, happy day! I hope you are all having an amazing weekend.

I originally wasn’t planning on posting today but just had to when I got the a-okay from Dana’s mom to share her delicious peanut chicken that I mentioned on Friday.

oriental peanut chicken

peanut sauce

oriental peanut chicken

I know some of you had mentioned your interest, so here you go! I did adapt it just slightly, so what you see below is Sue’s recipe but with my adaptations.

Peanut Chicken Salad
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
  • 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 2 cups quinoa, cooked
  • 1/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter
  • 3 TBSP low sodium soy sauce
  • 2 TBSP red wine vinegar
  • 1 TBSP sesame oil
  • 3 TBSP water
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ~4 cups veggies: broccoli, onion, mushroom, carrots (whatever you have on hand)
  • 1 cup cucumber, cut into strips
  • 3 cups shredded romaine lettuce
Instructions
  1. Cook chicken on stove top until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.
  2. While chicken cooks, combine peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, oil, garlic and water. Stir until smooth.**You may have to warm the peanut butter in the microwave to soften.
  3. Add veggies into pan; stir. Let cook for 6-8 minutes until veggies are beginning to soften yet still have a slight crunch.
  4. Toss peanut butter mixture into chicken and veggies. Stir to combine well.
  5. On a large serving platter arrange the lettuce on the bottom, next the cooked quinoa, and finally the chicken and veggies.
  6. Finish by adding the cold cucumber strips to the top.
  7. ***If you have chopped peanuts, sprinkle some on top of the dish to further improve presentation***

 

This one is definitely a crowd pleaser. What’s so nice about this dish besides the fact that it tastes amazing, but it also serves as a full course. We didn’t serve anything for our guests besides the chicken salad. I suppose you could serve some type of fruit on the side, but I just didn’t feel it was necessary since there are so many components to the dish. ENJOY!

A few things real quick before I head to the living room to cut coupons, I was a maniac in the kitchen yesterday. I made dried fruit, nutty granola bites, and a savory lentil dish for dinner. I didn’t do a great job of writing recipes down but I think I will be able to remember and hope to share with you this week.

dried fruit

Also, my lunch yesterday rocked my socks off. I threw together the remains of our container of dark leafy greens, then added quinoa, black beans, tomato, avocado, salt, pepper, cumin, and garlic powder. IT WAS SO GOOD.

quinoa bowl

Oh, and one more thing. It is 0°F in Minnie this am and feels like -17. After we go grocery shopping this morning I may not want to leave my warm home for the rest of the day. 🙂

Happy Sunday!

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Surround Yourself with Positive People


Can I get a “whoop whoop” for Saturday?! It was so nice not waking up to an alarm clock this morning (sigh). I am feelin’ completely rested and ready to go.

I had a fantastic day yesterday. In the morning I had an appointment and then made my way to the gym for a quick sweat sesh. Then off I went to meet up with my friend Courtney at Whole Foods.

Courtney and I were both completed our Dietetic Internships at Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI. When we were first accepted into the program, we were sent a list of information of all the other interns. Ironically, Courtney lived about 15 minutes from my parent’s place. We met up one time before we moved out to Wisconsin so that we could both have the comfort of knowing at least one person out there. We had the immediate bond of being “Twin City Girls.”

courtney and melanie

Throughout the 11 month internship, our friendship continued to grow. We shared many emotions together and many memories both good and bad. Courtney was my saving grace when I was running a 105°F fever. She picked me up in no time and rushed me to the Urgent Care without hesitation.

We related on so many levels; both having such love for our families and being home. We struggled through the emotions of being away from home and the stress of the internship. We both traveled home quite a bit on the weekends. We shared our dreams, studied vocab terms, and sang at the top of our lungs as we carpooled home.

I don’t know what I would have done if she hadn’t been there. We got through it together and grew as individuals on so many levels throughout the process.

I am so lucky to have her in my life. She is one of the most positive, genuine, selfless people I know. One of my unofficial new year resolutions is to surround myself with more people like her. People who look for the good in others, who imagine positive outcomes, and pour their hearts out for those they love. These are the people that make the world a better place.

We will continue to follow our hearts and reach for our dreams.

I don’t know how to transition into food smoothly after that, so I’m just going to go for it. Lunch was from the Whole Foods salad bar which is a glimpse of heaven for me. The veggie packed salad bars basically having me drooling just thinking about them.

  whole foods

 I tempted myself by walking through the frozen treats aisle. I mean seriously they have everything I could ever want: Coconut Bliss, Frozen Kefir, Soy Ice Cream…I wanted to try them all! Can you believe I walked out of there without purchasing one? That’s because I forgot.  whole foods
 In the afternoon I completed another session of the 30 Day Abs Challenge. Here is what week 2 workout looks like:
week 2 ab challenge
For dinner I headed over to my brother Kevin’s place for spaghetti with mom and dad.
 I had a gluten-free version with spaghetti squash. The sauce was amazing; full of italian sausage, ground turkey, veggies….YUM. Mom also made her Italian salad which tops Olive Garden salad if you ask me.
SO stinkin’ good and so nice to be with my beautiful fam bam, who are also such positive, genuine, beautiful people.
Being that I forgot to buy a frozen treat for Dana and myself at Whole Foods, I thought it would be a good idea to stop by Cherry Berry on the way home to fulfill my frozen yogurt wishes.
I went easy on the toppings (for once). I chose the non-fat vanilla yogurt with marshmallow sauce, sprinkles, and one mini Reese’s peanut butter cup.
cherry berry frozen yogurt
It was a delicious, warm-hearted, lovely day. I can’t wait to make today just the same. Embrace the day. Spread the love. Surround yourself with positive people. Xoxo.
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A Great Day on So Many Levels

Yesterday was a GREAT day on so many levels.

For one, I received wonderful news regarding some of my friends and family. I am so blessed and thankful for my family and friends and my heart is so full of love for all of them.

Also, this box of goodies from Parkers Farm landed on my doorstep.

They sent me:

  • Mild Salsa
  • Roasted Garlic Salsa
  • All Natural Honey Crunchy Peanut Butter
  • All Natural Creamy Peanut Butter
  • 2 Gourmet Cheese Balls (smokey bacon and cheddar ranch)
  • 2 Cheese Spreads (port wine and sharp cheddar)

IMG_0425

I am so excited to try out each and every one of these products and share them with family and friends! I’m especially pumped about the honey crunchy peanut butter because I’m pb obsessed obviously. There will be some recipes coming your way involving these products–you can bet your bottom dollar.

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Parkers Farm, I Love You. Thank you for this very generous gift.

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And as if it couldn’t get any better, I also had this wonderful package delivered to my house from Driscoll’s Berry. They kindly sent me six cans of their Perrier Sparkling Water in original flavor, lime, and grapefruit. I really enjoy a sparkling water beverage on occasion. I feel like it’s a special treat when I drink one. I was very happy when they asked me if I would be interested in giving them a whirl.

Along with the Perrier, they also send me $20 coupons towards a Driscoll’s berry purchase. Are you kidding me? I hit the jackpot! I am in berry heaven.

photo

I will be tossing a review your way as soon as I crack into these cool crisp beverages, and you will be seeing some fresh berries in my posts over the next couple of months. Wooop woopp! How fun, right?!

I realize this post is quickly turning very random but, I have to share a newly discovery snack that I have fallen in love with. It is Angie’s Boom Chicka Pop lightly sweetened popcorn. At just 37 calories a cup, an ingredient list that gets my stamp of approval (popcorn, cane juice, sunflower oil, and sea salt), and an absolutely delicious taste, this little snacky snack gets an A+ in my book. ANNNNnnndd…it’s made in Mankato, MN which is my alma mater! I love when I find local products!

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I snacked on a few handfuls of the golden kernels after work before heading over to Dana’s parent’s house for dinner. They invited Dana, me, and my parents over for a nice casual dinner.

Dinner was incredible! Green beans with lemon and roasted nuts…

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A chicken dish that I went nuts over full of flavor and olives and cooked prunes. There is a fancy name for this dish but I can’t recall it.

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And wild rice with mushrooms and celery…

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Seriously, everything was AMAZING. I cleaned my plate in no time. For dessert we had some Christmas cookies and chocolates. It was so great having our families together post-Christmas. It was very low key, casual, and a great way to finish off this beautiful day.

I have to be perfectly honest with you all, I have let my healthy living habits fall slightly to the wayside. The Christmas cookies tend to take control over me and I can hardly resist, the workouts have been few and far between this last week, and I feel completely sluggish. I am ready to turn this truck around and get back to the cleaner eating and increase my physical activity again. Bring on the New Year baby! It’s time to work off those extra cookies I enjoyed (and don’t regret eating) so thoroughly over the holidays.

Who’s with me?!

Thanks for bearing with me and my randomness today. HAPPY FRIDAY!

(Disclaimer: I received free products from Parkers Farm and Driscoll’s Berries. All opinions expressed regarding their products are solely my own with no outside influence).

Continue Reading A Great Day on So Many Levels

A Cozy Day to Make Cookies

I had every intention of making actual cooked meals this weekend but for some reason when it came time to do it, I just wasn’t in the mood. You saw Friday night’s dinner and now here you have Saturday night’s dinner…

On Saturday night we stayed in and watched “The Change Up” which was an okay movie. I did like that it was filmed in Atlanta, more specifically in Piedmont Park, which I loved so much when I visited Kate and Luke last month in Atlanta.

We were also entertained by the dog per usual…

Sunday

Minnesota got slammed with snow yesterday…12 inches of snow where I live. It is a winter wonderland around here and I LOVE IT!

What a perfect day to head to mom and dad’s and bake some cookies. Check out this little one out in the snow. She’s my little furry snowball.

Mom and I baked for about 5 hours. I’m always amazed at how long it ends up taking to make Christmas cookies.

We made peanut butter blossoms…

Spritz cookies and chocolate spritz cookies, chocolate chip M & M cookies, and homemade caramel.

We had tentative plans to make peppermint popcorn but being that is was 4:00 pm and the sun was going down, coupled with the fact that I had about 8 inches of snow to wipe off my car, we decided to wait on it.

It was the perfect cozy day to make cookies. The snow was coming down, we had the football game on for part of the time and Christmas music on for the other part, it was cozy, we were energized…it was wonderful.

I’m hoping to get back on the ball this week with making actual meals again. Wish me luck!

Question of the Day: What are your favorite holiday treats?

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Get Your Laugh On

Happy Friday! Holy cow this week flew by and I am NOT complaining!

I’ve been a busy bee this morning already; I got a quick run in and then ran a couple of errands. I still have a boat load of things on my to-do list today though so I’m not going to get too windy in today’s post.

We’re talking Thursday…

Lunch: diced pear with walnuts, fontina cheese, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey. This would be a GREAT breakfast as well. I also snacked on a couple of other fruits and veggies to hold me through the afternoon.

After work I wanted to get movin’, but didn’t want to get sweaty because Dana and I had date plans for later in the evening, so I opted for a 40 minute walk on the treadmill. I kept a pretty easy speed the whole time while enjoying my favorite channel, Food Network.

I really haven’t been in much of a cooking mood this week but we managed to throw together a pretty nice dinner considering.

On the menu: turkey burgers seasoned with worcestershire, seasoned salt, and pepper topped with sautéed mushrooms and onions and melted fontina cheese, served alongside roasted asparagus.

So good.

Now, on to date night. 

Our first stop of the evening was at Cherry Berry where we treated ourselves (actually got it for free because I had a birthday gift card there) to a nice bowl of frozen yogurt. Date night shouldn’t be complete without it. 😉

Next up, a whole lot of laughs.

A while back we had bought a Living Social discount deal for a show at a comedy club called “The Joke Joint” which is a family owned business established just six years ago. As life gets so busy, our date nights become less and less, so buying the tickets in advance was a really good push for us to get out and do something fun, because if you know me at all you know I am not one to throw away money.

The actual show room was very casual and intimate and kind of smelled like a really old home but in a welcoming sort of way. Is that weird?

Dana and I were seated literally belly up to the stage. Our entertainers for the night were Geoff Tate and Chris Maddock. They were HILARIOUS. My cheeks hurt from laughing and I had perma-wrinkles around my eyes. It felt great. Laughter is the best medicine.

I would absolutely recommend this place to family and friends that are in the area. Find a comedy club near you and get your laugh on!

Happy FABULOUS Friday! xoxo

 

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One of My Favorite Meals

Thanksgiving 2012 was a success! 

The day started off with a pre-run breakfast of banana with peanut butter and cinnamon and a cup of coffee.

Then off to Hale to the Bird 5k for a gorgeous morning run. It was mid 50’s and absolutely perfect running weather. I ran my fastest 5k ever yesterday and am super pumped about it!

Photos courtesy of the beautiful Amanda 🙂

I was a co-sponsor of the event and Beautifully Nutty made it on the back of the shirts! I was a whole lotta excited about that!

After the race, Dana and I made our way home to get the turkey in the oven, look through the Black Friday ads, and have a couple of snacks to hold us over until dinner.

Dinner Time

Our guests arrived at 2:00 pm and we enjoyed delicious appetizers, drinks, and company. I also opened up birthday presents from my mom and dad and Kevin. Now my birthday is officially over. Bummer! I guess three weeks is long enough. 🙂

The turkey took a lot longer to cook than I expected (ahem 5 plus hours in the oven–are you kidding me?!), so when it finally came time to eat everyone was pretty darn hungry.

But you know what, it all worked out. Here is our lovely Thanksgiving meal…

Ta da! My very first turkey!

Cornbread stuffing, gluten-free (recipe to come!), and cheesy broccoli and cauliflower.

 

Mashed potatoes with a few lumps which is my FAVORITE. One big dog sitting by our feet while we ate just in case something were to drop. Sorry, no luck there pup.

 

My pretty plate. To the upper left of the photo is homemade cranberry sauce. Cranberry sauce often gets neglected. It was good though!

I cleaned my plate and then had two more bites of mashed potatoes before calling it quits. I wish I could temporarily grow a second stomach just for Thanksgiving so that I could eat a little bit more of this delicious meal. This is one of my favorite meals of all time.

Birthday Dessert

When dessert rolled around everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to me and I blew out my birthday candles! I feel like my birthday is not complete until that song is sung. I love that my mom always harmonizes when she sings it.

 

For dessert I had a piece of mom’s homemade french silk pie (she made it gluten-free for me) and a small piece of pumpkin pie (minus the crust). Both were delectable!

With only a few minor set-backs during the meal preparation, I would say it was a very successful Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for my family for keeping my stress level under control when things don’t go as planned.

Now it’s time to start thinking about eating up those leftovers! I hope you all had a happy and healthy holiday and were able to enjoy time with family and friends.

Catch up with you all soon! xoxo

 

 

Continue Reading One of My Favorite Meals

Birthday in Atlanta

I had the most amazing weekend in Atlanta celebrating my 27th birthday with great friends. I have lots of photos to share so I am going to get right to it.

Friday

I made it a priority to go to Caribou Coffee and get my free birthday coffee. I chose a light salted caramel mocha and HOLY COW, it was sooo good. It was like taking a bite of dessert each time I took a sip.

We took our coffees to Piedmont Park which is like walking in a dream for me. The park is huge, the leaves are all turning colors, it is very fitness friendly with fitness stations set up throughout the park, I have a free coffee in hand and am walking with Dana and my girls. Dream. Love.

Kate, Me, and Heidi at Piedmont Park

Three little monkeys sittin’ in a tree…

The views were gorgeous everywhere you looked. Combine that with friends who humor me by posing for photos throughout the weekend and you have yourself some great pics. 😉 They love it.

Later in the afternoon we went to Olympic Park which held the 1996 Summer Olympics—woop woop Kerri Strug and Dominique Moceanu. The park was decorated for the holidays so we took full advantage of the photo opps.

Next we made a spontaneous decision to visit the Georgia Aquarium which is the world’s largest aquarium. We went an hour before they were going to close and only had to pay half price for tickets. SCORE! This place was incredible. I especially loved the whale shark and dolphins. The aquarium had the best filters for betta fish, and so, surprisingly, the fish were in the same tank as the sharks.

 

For dinner Friday night we went to JCT Kitchen and Bar. We sat on the “rooftop” patio outside under heat lamps. The evenings cooled down to about 50° F, but sitting under the heat lamps kept us nice and warm. I enjoyed being outside while we ate. They had live music too!

I order the “Day Boat Fish of the Moment” with creamy cauliflower, brussels sprouts, toasted hazelnuts, and lemon vinaigrette. I couldn’t tell you for a million dollars what the name of the fish was that I ate. It was very tasty though; mild and not fishy tasting. Right up my alley.

Dessert=amazing. Chocolate stuffed pastries of some sort with ice cream and a birthday message written on the plate?! Yes please.

The red lights from the heat lamp made for some snazzy glamour shots.

After dinner we walked over to a bar across the street that had ski-ball, bocci ball and a fun laid-back atmosphere. We spent a couple of hours competing in ski-ball (Heids was the champ) and Dana and Heidi dominated in a game of bocce against a couple of Atlantans (is that a word?).

Saturday

We finally got ready and out of the house by noon the next day. It wasn’t that we weren’t up until then because we definitely were, we were just all feeling a little too lazy to get moving very quickly.

The girls parked over at Piedmont Park to go for a little walk before meeting the guys for lunch at the Park Tavern. We sat outside while we ate and enjoyed the sun and people watching in the park.

Dana and I split an order of edamame and a crab cake salad with avocado dressing. It wasn’t until we were all done eating our seafood lunches that someone made the comment about how it is ironic that we ate fish last night and today after visiting the aquarium yesterday. Womp wompppp.

It was once again a beautiful day. I was happy to be back at Piedmont Park again. I could spend hours there. We were going to go check out another park in the area but decided against it since we were all feeling extraordinarily lethargic. We went home instead to rest up instead so we could enjoy our last night together.

For dinner on our last night we went to a restaurant called Seasons 52 Fresh Grill aka one of my new favorite restaurants. Their menu is full of seasonally inspired dishes and nothing on their menu is over 475 calories!

We ordered the ceviche appetizer to split. In it was cooked shrimp and scallops (again with the seafood), pineapple, cilantro, lime, and a bit of pico de gallo type mix. Oh my goodness this stuff rocked my socks off.

For dinner I chose the Autumn Vegetarian Tasting which included “grains of life” (a quinoa salad), a soft taco with black beans, chili relleno, brussels sprouts, cedar roasted tofu with  mango chutney, and butternut squash with a sweet maple glaze.

I really enjoyed this sample platter. My favorite was the taco and the salad. Nummy!

And as if the meal couldn’t get any better, our waiter brings us out a complimentary dessert shooter mix. BTW if you go to Seasons 52 our waiter was Kason and he was awesome. There were nine different shooters each filled with a different dessert: pumpkin pie, pecan pie, s’more, peanut butter chocolate, berry something, raspberry cheesecake, key lime pie, and two more that I can’t remember. It doesn’t matter because all you need to know is that they were all fabulous. We all shared the desserts and polished them off in no time.

We called it an early night knowing we would be getting up early the next day to catch a flight back to Minnie.

What an incredible way to celebrate my birthday. A girl could get use to that. I had such a blast in Atlanta, and again thank you to our sweet hosts Kate and Luke for letting us stay with them. Can’t wait to see you again soon!

************

I am happy to be back home and I am getting ready to host my first ever Thanksgiving meal on Thursday. Yikes! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are having a good start to your week. Catch up with you soon.

 

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Cocoa Cookie Bars with Peanut Butter Drizzle

Let me tell you, if there is something I do not enjoy, it is packing. When it comes time to pack, I do everything in my power to not do it. I distract myself with snacks, internet, exercise, cleaning, dancing, and anything else I can possibly think of to keep me from the daunting task.

I think when it comes down to it, the reason I don’t enjoy packing is because it takes me so darn long to figure out what I want to wear on any given day, so having to plan for an entire weekend or a week full of outfits becomes so grueling. Inevitably I end up packing too much of everything, but it’s because I just don’t know what I will want to wear at any given moment.

(FYI this was a photo taken during packing struggles before Colombia)

I also have to take into consideration how I might be feeling… bloated, normal, tight jeans, loose jeans? Am I going to be walking all day or can I wear heels? What’s the weather like? All of these things a woman must consider as she is packing. My husband will never understand as hard as he tries.

Needless to say, last night as I was finishing up packing for my trip to Atlanta, I first ate dinner (that’s usually a priority), it looked something like this but different since this is a recycled photo…

I then cleaned, tried packing, gave up after 2 minutes, worked out on the treadmill, distracted myself on the computer, tried packing again…you see the pattern. Poor Moose was probably so confused as I tore around the house. He may have offered me a chill pill at one point, but I wouldn’t know. I was too busy distracting myself.

Does he not look GINORMOUS kangaroo in this photo? No offense to him or anything. 

The good news is, I am all packed. I am SO ready to take on Georgia. Bring on the southern accents, peaches, and Coca Cola.

Cocoa Cookie Bars (Gluten-Free)

A couple of days ago I flashed a photo of a dessert I made. Remember this?

The original plan was to make cocoa cookies (gluten-free style), but as I mixed away, the dough was actually more of a batter, so I rolled with it and came up with what I like to call Cocoa Cookie Bars (since they were supposed to be cookies after all).

They are gluten-free, made with almond flour, low in sugar, and super simple. I used Peanut Butter & Co.’s Dark Chocolate Dreams to drizzle on top, but you could use any creamy peanut butter you would like!

Cocoa Cookie Bars with Peanut Butter Drizzle
Print
Ingredients
  • 1¼ cups almond flour
  • ¼ tsp. baking soda
  • ⅛ tsp. salt
  • ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ⅓ cup non-fat Greek yogurt
  • 2 tsp. almond milk
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup Truvia
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Peanut butter drizzle (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat 9x9 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. In small bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
  3. In medium bowl, beat together remaining ingredients except peanut butter.
  4. Add dry ingredients gradually into wet ingredients. Mix until combined.
  5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of pan comes out clean.
  6. Drizzle with creamy peanut butter (place in microwave for 30 seconds and give it a stir to help with drizzling).

I hope you all have a fantastic day! I may or may not be checking in this weekend. If I don’t get a chance, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to filling you in on my latest adventure to Georgia when I return.

Continue Reading Cocoa Cookie Bars with Peanut Butter Drizzle
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