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)

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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.

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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

Simple Chicken Roll-Ups and a GIVEAWAY WINNER

With the whirlwind of the holidays among us, I am doing my best to remember these stress reliever techniques so that I am able to enjoy this busy beautiful time. I really truly am trying to relish every second of the holidays because to me this really is the most wonderful time of the year and it comes and goes so quickly, but I’m only human, and I’m pretty darn exhausted. My two cups of coffee in the mornings have been very helpful though. 🙂

Monday

I had the majority of my Christmas shopping done but still needed a few things so I set out to finish it up.

For lunch I refueled with a deli chicken wrapped pickle and havarti cheese as well as carrots and hummus. There was no time to waste, it had to be quick!

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I made myself a batch of homemade trail mix for the road and headed out again.

trail mix

Want to know one of the great benefits of having a birthday in November? I still have birthday gift cards, which means when I go Christmas shopping for others, I also get to go shopping for myself and I don’t have to feel guilty one bit because I am not spending a penny on myself!

I found this workout tank at Macy’s on sale, plus I had a coupon…so the grand total was $9. I thrive off finding good deals like these!

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workout tank

For dinner I had a very tasty salad made of mixed greens, broccoli, black beans, olives, sunflower seeds, avocado, and ranch dressing.

salad

Mom, dad, and Abbie stopped over after dinner to hang out for a bit.

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Tuesday

Tuesday was a doozy of a day. I ran 3 miles on the treadmill before work, went to work, ran some errands, then came home to a leaking fridge which was flooding the basement. It was a stressful day to say the least. Again, I need to remember the stress reliever techniques!

My evening meal was extraordinarily simple yet very delicious. Lettuce cups with hummus, deli chicken slices and avocado. I rolled them up and really enjoyed the cute little concoction.

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Wednesday

I took the day off from any type of workout on Wednesday. My body was needing a day to just chill.

On Tuesday evening I got a batch of butternut squash soup ready in the crock pot. The recipe is very similar to this carrot pumpkin soup recipe, except I used butternut squash puree instead of pumpkin or carrot. At noon on Wednesday, we covered the crock pot and set it to low for 6 hours.

butternut squash soup

The result:

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A dish you can feel real good about eating. Healthy, delicious and ready for me when I get home from work. Perfecto!

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PARKERS FARM PEANUT BUTTER WINNER
It’s that time to announce the big winner of the case of Parkers Farm peanut butter. The winner has been randomly selected using a random number generator and the winner is…
Becky @ Olives n Wine!!
Congrats Becky! Please email me at beautifullynutty@gmail.com with your address so we can get those goodies sent out to you asap!
Thank you to all of you who entered! I am so incredibly thankful for all of you.
Continue Reading Simple Chicken Roll-Ups and a GIVEAWAY WINNER

It’s Peanut Butter Giveaway Time! {GIVEAWAY CLOSED}

Hi friends! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Mine was very low-key and pretty darn fabulous. I have an amazing giveaway to announce, but I would still like to catch you up from the weekend so…..

The last time I left you was Friday morning, so I’ll take off from there.

Friday

I had a few appointments, one being a hair appointment. It was time to brighten up the golden locks. The last time I had my hair highlighted was in February, and it was starting to look dull, so I figured it was about time. It’s amazing what a simple change to your hair can do for your spirit. 🙂

Before and after:

Melanie hair

melanie hair

                                                                          You know what else helps lift my spirits? A box of pita chips from Wild Harvest delivered right to my door. They have recently come out with natural pita chips and sent me a few samples to try! They sent sea salt, parmesan garlic, and cinnamon sugar flavors. The sea salt ones were opened this weekend and I am VERY happy with them. They have a slight buttery taste to them and just the perfect amount of saltiness. I’m excited to try the other flavors.

Wild Harvest Pita Chips

I only had a few minutes for lunch but managed to whip up a tasty plate of shredded chicken with avocado, feta cheese, and pepper.

chicken avocado feta cheese

Dinner was protein-packed and simple: a Morningstar Garden Veggie patty with a runny egg on top.
morningstar with an egg

After dinner, Dana and I hopped into our warm car and made our way around town looking at Christmas lights. It’s a tradition we started last year which includes a trip to Dairy Queen and gawking at lights like little kids. I LOVE IT!

Christmas lights

Saturday

It was raining and 35° on Saturday morning, so our plans to run outside were deviated. We headed to the gym and ran out 5.5 miles on the treadmill. It was miserable to be perfectly honest. The boredom factor was at an all-time high, BUT we made it through.

My pre-run breakfast of banana with Parkers Farm peanut butter, cinnamon and honey…

parkers farm pb and banana

The afternoon was spent deep cleaning our house. Dusting, mopping, windexing, shining up the stainless steel appliances we’d gotten from Unclutterer, catching up with the laundry, washing the drapes….I mean deep clean. Such a gratifying way to spend a rainy Saturday!

What adds to the gratification? Knowing that a pot roast would be ready in the crock pot at dinner time after a day full of crazy cleaning.

pot roast

The pot roast came out a little tougher than usual and I’m blaming that on the fact that I tossed it into the crock pot completely frozen, but it was still good! I used this roast recipe from the last time I made it, except minus the beef broth (because we didn’t have any) and I substituted with water instead.

Later in the evening I dominated a game of Skip Bo while Moose snuggled by my side. Kidding, he literally sat by me for 5 minutes before moving elsewhere, but I still thought it was sweet.

moose/skipbo

Sunday

The usual Sunday morning ritual of reading the paper, cutting coupons, and going grocery shopping, then home around noon for a sweet lunch…

Mixed greens, strawberries, avocado, black beans, mandarin oranges, and poppy seed dressing.
sweet salad

I made my way downstairs to the treadmill for a 40 minute walk, managed to wrap some presents, and clean the kitchen, but besides that, it was a pretty quiet and very relaxing day. I really needed a weekend like this. I am well-rested and have a very clean house. I hope you had a great weekend too!

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Now onto the realllllyyy good stuff…

IT’S GIVEAWAY TIME! {GIVEAWAY CLOSED}

Parkers Farm, a Minnesota-based company, makes the most phenomenal peanut butter, one that you see throughout many of my posts (including this one actually). They also make other products like salsa and cheese spreads. Because I am such a huge peanut butter lover, I am stoked about this giveaway.

They are offering a case, which is 12 jars (16 ounces each) of their peanut butter to ONE lucky reader. The winner can choose between 1 of 3 varieties: creamy, crunchy, or honey creamy!

The peanut butter is perishable so this giveaway is only open to continental U.S. residents only (sorry to all of my other readers!) and no P.O. Box addresses please. The PB can be frozen for up to a year so no need to worry about not being able to use it all right away although in my house it wouldn’t be an issue. 🙂

To enter the giveaway: Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite way to eat peanut butter. Earn an extra entry by tweeting or posting on facebook “I just entered to win @ParkersFarmInc peanut butter from @NuttyMelanie http://wp.me/p2J5VV-1lF.” Just be sure to leave a second comment on this post with your tweet or facebook post. I will randomly pick a winner on Thursday. Good luck!

Continue Reading It’s Peanut Butter Giveaway Time! {GIVEAWAY CLOSED}

I Witch You a Happy Halloween

Light up those pumpkins, get your bowl of candy ready for those trick-or-treaters, the day is finally here. Since we already had our Halloween party last weekend, and since we aren’t going to be home for Halloween, I actually feel like the day has come and gone already. But no no. ‘Tis here.

How about some old snapshots from past Halloweens? Shall we?

Halloween 2008: Sheriff and a convict, college style. I made my costume myself by using black duck tape across old white clothes that I never wear. I went to the dollar store and bought plastic handcuffs too. Sheer genius right? 😉

Halloween 2009: Danny and Sandy from Grease

Halloween 2010: I thought I would throw a nerdy pumpkin picture in this mix…

And we were a birthday party princess and a piñata this year. This was one of my all-time favorites. Dana’s costume was NOT easy to make but so worth it!

Halloween 2011: No dressing up this year because I was in my dear friend Angela’s wedding that weekend.

Halloween 2012: As you’ve seen already, we were Ms. Kourtney Kardashian and Mr. Scott Disick this year.

I love getting creative when it comes to Halloween, but it seems like every year when the time rolls around I am always scrambling until the last minute to pull something together. Why is that? Oh yes, such is life.

Anyway…we are off to Colombia! Wooooo! I won’t be blogging while I am away but I do have a couple of posts lined up for ya including a special guest post. Don’t miss me too much! I can’t wait to fill you in when I get back.

Oh and if you’re anything like me, you’re possibly interested in what I ate yesterday, and since I have some photos lying around, here ya go!

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with spinach, cheese, and ketchup.

Lunch: Carrots and sugar snap peas, an apple, a banana with peanut butter and cinnamon, and a handful of peanut butter M & M’s.

Dinner: hodge-podge salad with mixed greens, tomato, bell peppers, peas, avocado, and turkey bacon. SO GOOD!

There may have been a couple of halloween candies that jumped into my mouth too. Just maybe.

This post is finally ending now. Sorry for all of the exclamation marks!!! I’m excited for vacation! Will miss you all!

 

Continue Reading I Witch You a Happy Halloween

Cowboy Caviar Mini Bell Peppers

What a great weekend that went by all too fast as always. How about catching you up a bit from the last time we touched base which would be Saturday around lunch time.

In my belly…a harvest pear salad with romaine lettuce, pears, walnuts, feta cheese, and poppy-seed dressing. Complete with fall leaves in the background of the photo.

After lunch I got to work preparing an appetizer for a Halloween party we were going to that evening.

Cowboy Caviar Mini Bell Peppers

I combined tomatoes, black beans, corn, avocado, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper to make a cowboy caviar. I then halved orange and yellow mini bell peppers, took out the seeds and the stem, and filled each boat with cowboy caviar. Delicious, healthy and beautiful to boot!

To the Halloween part-ay we went. We were greeted by this beautiful witch brewing up a secret potion and making snarky remarks at us.

Before I reveal what Dana and I dressed up as, let’s have a little fun and let me give you some hints and see if you can guess.

  1. I am holding our newest child Penelope.
  2. Our son Mason is at auntie Kimmy’s for the night.

Any Kardashian fans out there? I was Kourtney Kardashian and Dana was her boyfriend Scott Disick. That’s alright if you didn’t get it, most of our friends didn’t know either.

Our lovely hosts for the evening were Freddie Mercury (Adam) and Katniss (Stacy). It made me feel better that I didn’t know who either of them were dressed up as either. It was a general theme for the night—no one knew who anyone was supposed to be.

Except for the egg. I knew that Amanda was an egg. 😉

We had a great time as always being with our friends, munching on some great chow, and  laughing at everyone’s ridiculous costumes. We were home and into bed by midnight and I was wide awake at 8:00 am Sunday morning.

Sunday

I made myself a chopped banana with Parkers Farm peanut butter and cinnamon.

I also drank a cup of coffee while we flipped through the Sunday paper. Next, we hit the road for our grocery shopping extravaganza. We will be leaving for our vacation to Colombia in just a few days, but we needed to stock up the fridge for a very special guest who will be staying at our house with the pup.

We got a late start on running our errands so by the time we got home it was 1:00 pm and we were both very hungry. I notice that’s a common theme around our house. I was excited that I had leftover cowboy caviar from the appetizer on Saturday, so we cooked up a few over easy eggs, topped them on top the leftover cowboy caviar with some cheese, and had a protein packed and super tasty meal within minutes.

In the afternoon I made myself change into workout clothes and took the dog out for 2.6 mile run around the neighborhood. I could tell I was tired and dehydrated because it was a pretty difficult run for me.

A very good friend of mine was in town for the weekend so I got to see him and his beautiful girlfriend for a little while, then mom and dad stopped over too! After that we did a little packing and got ourselves ready for the week ahead.

Oh and we ate dinner too…a turkey burger served on top of a salad with onion, tomato, cheese, and green olives.

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Yoga Challenge

Since it’s Monday that means it’s time to check in on the last October Yoga Challenge for the month! I can’t believe the month is over in a couple of days. I kind of feel like October didn’t happen it flew by so fast, but IT DID. Don’t let me fool you.

This past week I got in not one, but two yoga sessions. The first one was a full body session and the second was a session geared towards athletes. I completed the whole month’s challenge using OnDemand yoga sessions. Once again, I loved every second of this challenge.

Yoga is about connecting the body and the mind, and it is good for all of us to take the time to practice that. Whether or not you are lying on a yoga mat, or sitting in your office, take 30 seconds periodically to become aware of your mind and body. Focus on your breathing if you are feeling overwhelmed. Remind yourself to live in the moment.

I said this before but I do truly mean it again, I really hope to continue to include yoga in my life even though this challenge comes to an end. I feel better after every session and it reminds me to stay calm and helps me to control stress. Thanks to Courtney for hosting this challenge once again!

Namaste.

*****Thinking of all of my friends and family on the east coast. Stay safe!*****

Continue Reading Cowboy Caviar Mini Bell Peppers

Peanut Butter’s Third Appearance

My appetite has been super goofy lately. The last couple of days I haven’t felt very hungry especially for breakfast. I preach the importance of eating breakfast to my clients and even though I haven’t had much of an appetite, I am still making sure to feed my body to kick-start my metabolism within 2 hours of waking up.

For breakfast yesterday, I made myself a bowl of diced banana, peanut butter, and cinnamon.

After a couple cups of coffee, and checking off a few items on the to-do list, I headed out the door with Moose with the intention of going for a quick mile walk around the neighborhood. Well, the beautiful fall weather got the best of me and my walk turned into a 3 mile run. I can’t believe how much I am loving this fall weather lately. It motivates me to run and run and run outside!

Moose wasn’t too phased by the run. He was ready to go for more.

After the run I baked up two loaves of my Nutty Gluten-Free Bread. The house smelled muy deliciouso after those were done baking. The smell of baking bread… yet another comfort.

Lunch time rolled around, and again I wasn’t hungry, but I made myself a great salad anyway. Romaine lettuce with grapes, walnuts, chicken, feta cheese, and Ken’s Lite Poppyseed Dressing.

I made a trip over to mom and dad’s in the afternoon to go for a walk with my mom and Abbie, and give mom a mini tutorial of her new food processor as well as her new iPad.

We walked around their neighborhood for a good half hour and the weather was still perfect. Walks are so much more fun when you walk with good company versus by yourself. They go so fast too!

Dinner…

Again, not hungry, but I knew better than to not eat. I sautéed some mushrooms, onions, broccoli, lima beans, and chicken, seasoned with garlic powder and ginger powder. I embedded the sautéed mix into two butter lettuce cups, and topped them with a squeeze of lime juice, cilantro, and a drizzle of Pb2.

I always make room for dessert so I finished the night off with a handful of dates with peanut butter. That was peanut butter’s third appearance yesterday. I guess that’s what I feel like eating when I don’t feel like eating? 🙂

I’m hoping my appetite gets back on track. Eating isn’t as enjoyable when you don’t feel hungry. Alrighty, I’m off to change the world…Catch up with you all soon!

 

Continue Reading Peanut Butter’s Third Appearance

Reinstated Confidence in My Running Capabilities

I am pretty pumped about my morning and want to share it with you, but first a quick recap of my evening last night.

After a little bit of cleaning and a couple of errands, I had very little energy left to make dinner so I kept it real simple with Fresco Shrimp Tacos. I cooked the shrimp on the stove top for 3 minutes with some seasoning just to warm them up.

To assemble the tacos: Butter lettuce cup as your shell, then chickpeas (because that is what we had on hand), tomatoes, cilantro, shrimp, and salsa if you feel like it.

We didn’t have any ripe avocados but if we had you better believe there would have been some in the mix. These tacos were simple, fresh, and very tasty.

Later, we got the itch for some Fro Yo and made our way to Cherry Berry. I tried to control myself but ended up getting a little wild. I went with a mix of cake batter and s’more Fro Yo. S’more what? S’more FroYo. On top was a lot of chocolately heaven, a few sprinkles and a gummy cherry on top.

Should I have gotten frozen yogurt…probably not, but I don’t regret it.

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Saturday

So here we are now onto Saturday. I began with a piece of pumpkin bread with Parkers Farm peanut butter and honey…

I also drank 1.5 cups of coffee while getting dinner ready in the crock pot. Tonight my family is coming over to celebrate my mama’s birthday and it is going to be F.U.N. and DELICIOUS!

Any guesses on what’s for dinner? I am making enough food to feed an army even though there will only be 6 of us. I would rather have too much food than not enough!

Run Time

Once those crocks were rolling, it was time for me to get rollin’ outside. I geared up, laced up my pretty pink laces,s grabbed the dog and we headed out for a run.

The weather could not have been more perfect. It was about 50 to mid-50’s and overcast. I didn’t have a mileage goal set as I was leaving out the door, I had just planned on seeing how I felt throughout the run, and going as long as I felt like.

Well…something happened that hasn’t happened in quite some time. Let me premise by saying there is major road work going on in our neighborhood including sidewalk closures, which makes finding a running route slightly challenging. As I made my way through the known neighborhoods I was feeling really good. Like so good I wanted to keep going and going and going, which worked out in my favor because as I was trying to make my way home, I hit about 3 detours which led me back the way I came from. The mileage started piling up and I ran a distance that I haven’t seen in quite some time…

4.6 miles. 

I know that to many, 4.6 miles is a walk in the park, but considering I haven’t accomplished this distance in a very long time, it reinstated my confidence in my running capabilities and I owe thanks to the road closures I guess? Nahhh.

The run this morning really motivates me to sign up for a race, and to start running more often. The feeling you get post-run is indescribable and I always wish I could bottle that feeling up and release it during a time where I am feeling highly unmotivated.

After the run I headed to the living room and did 20 minute pilates stretch and breathe video OnDemand. It was just what I needed.

I am in such a great mood today. I’ll be excited to fill you in on the festivities taking place tonight. It’s looking mighty cozy in our humble abode.

Have a wonderful Saturday my friends!!!

 

Continue Reading Reinstated Confidence in My Running Capabilities

In case you were wondering…

In case you were wondering…

This is where I write the majority of posts for beautifully nutty.

In case you were wondering…this is how far I ran yesterday.

In case you were wondering…this is my biggest vice.

In case you were wondering…I ate pumpkin bread with peanut butter, cinnamon, and a light drizzle of honey for lunch yesterday.

In case you were wondering…I am excited to try these.

In case you were wondering…I am sweating pink in style with my new laces.

In case you were wondering…I will be traveling out of the country in TWO WEEKS.

Lastly, in case you were wondering, it is probably time for an update on my health status. After much poking, prodding, consulting, and tears, I am happy to announce that I am at about 93% in terms of kicking the Ulcerative Colitis flare. I have just 7% to go to get me back to normal, and I know my body is going to be there very soon.

As you have noticed, I have deviated slightly from the SCD. I will continue to live primarily gluten-free (minus when I had the stomach flu) and will be careful with added sugars, but I am very content with doing my own thing in terms of what works for me and my health.

I learn more about myself with each passing day. I am still learning how to handle my stressors and triggers and learning which foods to stay away from to help alleviate certain symptoms. If I feel a flare coming on again I will put myself back on a more strict SCD, but for now I will be following through with my modified SCD.

I will have more updates for you in the future regarding the U.C. as well as where I will be heading in 2 weeks! Lots of excitement to come…

You probably weren’t wondering any of the above, but now you know! 😉

Have a sweet Wednesday my friends. Catch up with you all soon!

Continue Reading In case you were wondering…

Veggie On and Sweat Pink

Hi friends!

I have just one little bit to catch you up on from the weekend then I think I will officially be caught up. On Sunday evening, I attempted a cauliflower pizza crust for the second time. I steamed the cauliflower, sent it through the grater on the food processor to give it the “riced” texture, drained it of liquid, mixed it with an egg, some cheese and seasonings, and baked it in a hot oven for goodness knows how long. The guidance/recipe I found had said 12-13 minutes but there was no way the crust was done so ours was going for at least 20 some minutes.

The crust still came out very flimsy and not very crusty. HOWEVER, it was extremely delicious. I mean super tasty.

I just don’t have a recipe for you yet because I have yet to get the cooking times and temps right. Maybe someday.

Monday

We have officially caught up from the weekend! Now, on to Monday. Breakfast was a banana with natural peanut butter. This is a reused photo from a short while back. Yesterday’s pb banana didn’t have quite the hefty amount of pb. Oh, and no honey yesterday either.

Lunch: mixed greens with peas, tomatoes, avocado, green olives, sunflower seeds and Newman’s Own Lite Honey Mustard dressing.

Dessert: homemade dried apples and chocolate chips.

In the afternoon I made my way to the gym and rattled off a sweaty elliptical session. When I got home look what was waiting for me in the mailbox! How fitting, right?! I just got my sweat on…

Now SWEAT PINK! It’s official. My Fit Approach Sweat Pink Ambassador gear has arrived. I continue to live a healthy lifestyle and hope to encourage others to do so as well, one step at a time, one bite at a time. To learn more about what it means to be a Sweat Pink Ambassador, click here.

Later in the afternoon Dana and I headed to pick out our perfect pumpkins. Surprisingly I ended up buying the first one I laid eyes on. It’s short and plump and has a nice round front. Oh the simple joys.

For dinner, kitchen sink hash was on the menu. I always use whatever veggies we have on hand at the moment and through them all into one large saute pan. Last night it was a combo of black beans, kale, green pepper, broccoli, brussels sprouts, onion, and tomato lightly sautéed in coconut oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, a dash of cumin, and a dash of garlic powder. Finish it off with a sprinkle of cheese and an over-easy egg.

Perfecto. The flavor and texture combo is right on. It was a veggie kind of day for me once again.

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing with the boys, and stealing precious moments with the dog.

He actually laid like this for a solid 3 minutes and just kept looking into my eyes. This is a good 2 1/2 minutes longer than he usually puts up with it so I was pretty impressed. It was pretty sweet. I was trying not to laugh the entire time because I didn’t want to ruin the moment.

Have a tasteful Tuesday and we’ll catch you on the flip side!

Continue Reading Veggie On and Sweat Pink

Peanut Butter Banana Cookies SCD

Well hello there and Happy Wednesday!

I am slowly but surely getting caught up on posting some meals from the past couple of days. Come tomorrow I think I will be caught up.

So, back-tracking to Monday. The morning after our anniversary celebration we woke up early and pondered over the breakfast menu for a bit. Nothing was really calling out to me that fit into the SCD so we decided to head home instead. Plus, we would save some money by eating at home.

What I really wanted was a piece of pumpkin bread (SCD) with Parkers Farm Natural peanut butter and the slightest drizzle of honey. In case you were wondering, I have eaten this breakfast every day for the past um, two weeks or so? I am lovin’ it.

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Lunch

Lunch was leftover Rudy’s green beans from dinner the night before. I am head over heels for these green beans. They come with some sort of light teriyaki sauce with sesame seeds and the beans are crunchy, not mushy. They are just perfect. I could seriously go there and just order the green beans and be a happy girl.

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I also ate what very well might have been, my one an only Honeycrisp apple of the season. They are SO delicious but they are so darn expensive! I had to have at least one this fall so I picked one up at the store. I also enjoyed a couple slices of muenster cheese and another piece of wedding cake.

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I hit up the gym in the afternoon complete with a 40-minute elliptical workout followed by biceps, triceps, and some core work.

Dinner

Baked butternut squash fries coated in a small amount of coconut oil and a lean bison burger with pickles, cheese, tomato, and mustard served on a butter lettuce bun.

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NUM.

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Get My Yoga On

To any of my readers who were following me back in June, you may remember I took on the June Yoga Challenge hosted by the beautiful Courtney of Sweet Tooth Sweet Life. In June, I challenged myself to complete 3 yoga sessions each week. It didn’t matter if they were hour-long sessions, 10-minute sessions, super intense, lower intensity….just as long as I did 3 sessions. On Fridays we would report in on Courtney’s blog to help hold us accountable and  to encourage each other along the way.

Well, since completing that challenge I am embarrassed to say I don’t think I have participated in one yoga session since. It’s terrible! I felt SO good during that challenge why on earth would I not continue it like I said I was going to? I just don’t know the answer to that.

Anyway, it just so happens that Courtney is hosting the challenge again this month and you better believe I’m joining in again. I find I follow through so much better when I am actually held accountable with these monthly challenges. (See September Push-up Challenge)

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This time around I am lowering the bar just a little bit. Considering I have been trying to incorporate more running into my routine, and still want to have time for that, I will be setting a goal of one yoga session per week. If I find that this challenge is WAY too easy, I may increase the goal to two a week. We shall see.

The most difficult part of this challenge will be finding the “right” time and most enjoyable time for me to get my yoga on. I prefer the morning however I have a really hard time getting up earlier than I have to for work especially now that it’s chilly in the morning and dark. I may just have to though. If only I could remember the endorphin rush I get after a workout, when that alarm clock goes off in the morning. I’ll work on that.

You can get in on the fun too, check out the complete challenge at: Sweettoothsweetlife.com

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Peanut Butter Banana Cookies SCD

This cookie recipe was mentioned to you last week and I’m glad I’m finally getting around to sharing it with you. These peanut butter banana cookies are 100% SCD legal. They are subtly sweet and the perfect dessert or snack. SCD or not, you can still enjoy this cookie.

If I wasn’t following the SCD, I absolutely would have thrown some chocolate chips in the mix. Peanut butter, banana, annnnd chocolate chips? You had me at peanut butter. Soon my friends, soon. This time you’ll just have to settle for the glorious in itself pb and banana combo.

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Peanut Butter Banana Cookies SCD
Print
Recipe type: SCD Snack, Dessert
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
  • 1¼ cup almond flour
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 over-ripe banana
  • ½ cup natural creamy peanut butter
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 Tbsp. honey
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In medium bowl, use hand mixer or stand mixer to combine banana, peanut butter, egg white, vanilla, and honey.
  4. Add dry ingredients; stir to combine.
  5. Use spoon to drop cookies onto non-stick baking mat or cookie pan coated with non-stick spray.
  6. Bake for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

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One last thing, today is the last day to enter into my LARABAR giveaway. Don’t miss out on a chance to win! You have until 9 pm Central Time to enter into the giveaway. The winner will be announced tomorrow, Thursday October 4th. Good luck!

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