Hello September

Tags

agave nectar, Amy's, barney butter, Bob's Red Mill, greek yogurt, justin's, kobocha, oat bran, oven fried green tomatoes, peanut butter, pumpkin ale, pumpkin whoopie pie, quorn, september goals, shipyard brewing company, Whole Foods

It’s official.. September is upon us. Fall is almost here. So WHAT is with the hot temperatures?! At least around here. Bring on the fall weather…

As I said in my last post, September is a new start for me. Right now, it feels like my life is not where I want it to be… I’m not WHO I want to be at this point. I’ve somehow lost something along the way this summer. The gorgeous Gracie put up the following quote earlier today on facebook..

‎"There are moments that mark your life, moments when you realize nothing will ever be the same. And time is divided into two parts, before this and after this."

This quote really struck a chord with me. For me, this summer is that moment. Good or bad, I’m not who I was back at the beginning of May. May is when it began.. the summer that changed me. Because it has. I can’t go into details about some things on the blog but… certain things that have happened, have changed me. Some for the better, some for the not so better. All I can do is go from here… take the good and carry it with me and learn from the bad and put it in the past. The important thing is I’m moving on, I’m moving forward… I’m not looking back. I’m not going to live in the past.. because the past is the past. To get my drive back, my fire for life, I have to move on and figure out what makes me happy, what makes me tick. So this is what I’m going to do. And to help me do so, I plan to:

• Try at least one new recipe a week
• I used to have this fire for cooking and that’s one of the things that I have lost. Yes, I still love cooking… but it doesn’t excite me like it used to. Why? I’m not sure. So, I’m going to try to branch out and experiment a bit more.
• Remember things that I do have, things that I am thankful for
• Remember back when I wrote down 3 things that I was thankful for each day? As simple as it may be, it helped me to see the things that I DO have, rather than focus on the things I DON’T have.. especially when my life isn’t going… ideally. So I’m bringing it back.
• Work on my relationship with my Lord
• Another thing that I have lost… When my focus is off of Him, things seem to fall apart in my life. Likewise, when I stop asking Him for directions and instead follow my own desires. My relationship with Him has declined this summer… this has the been the worst summer of my life… coincidence? Probably not.
• Listen to my body
• This goes for exercising, eating, sleeping, etc. Yes, my diet is healthy overall. BUT lately, I’ve been eating more junk and fast food and less veggies, drinking more alcohol, exercising less, sleeping less,… you get the idea. My body is NOT happy with me right now. I do believe in everything in moderation… so I’m going to try to clean up my act a bit, while still enjoying myself.
• Be happy with ME, myself
• I need to learn to be a little more independent… less dependent on my others for my own happiness. I have to be enough for myself sometimes.
• Improve the blog
• I’m not judging this by how many visits I get… I mean more as in improve the content of the blog and use it as a tool to also reach out to others and bring positivity and a good example into the blogging community.

And these are just things that I can put into bullets, put into words… I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and my mind is still processing everything. Obviously, these are not just things I want to do in September, but lifestyle changes. Some may take time.. but the important thing is that I’m moving towards them, moving in the right direction.

 

Now.. the food <3

I brought back the oat bran for breakfast Wednesday morning

Simply 1/2 cup oat bran, 1/2 cup 1% milk, 1/2 cup water, pinch of salt, cinnamon, 1/2 of a banana

Topped with Barney Butter and Honey Almond Butter and a mixture of raw sugar and cinnamon.

Thursday morning, leftover pancakes.

Pumpkin butter and Barney Butter..

Cream cheese and blueberry preserves… SO good.

And Justin’s Chocolate Peanut Butter.

Justin’s… I love your Chocolate Hazelnut Butter but I think I prefer PB & Co.’s DCD over your Chocolate Peanut Butter.

Buuuut it was still delicious! Chocolate with breakfast? I’m not complaining!

Annnnd lots of blueberries and 1/2 of a banana.

 

Lunch was an Amy’s Veggie Burger

With lots of ketchup and mustard

And a fresh tomato!

Along with this yogurt mess that looks disgusting but was out of this world!!

It had 1/2 of a sweet potato, sprinkle of oats, ground flax, cinnamon, maple agave nectar, and Greek Yogurt.

The BOMB!

 

Dinner was a Quorn Chik’N Patty…

With Barbecue sauce and ketchup.

I’ve been craving barbecue sauce like MAD!!!! I just go with it…

Also, oven fried green tomatoes…

If you haven’t tried them, you must!

And this corn concoction I came up with that was BANGIN!

I simply sauted 2 ears of corn (one white and one yellow) with a bit of butter and olive oil until done. Then, I added goat cheese, cream cheese, cilantro, salt, and pepper.

Oh my days… Seriously, TRY THIS! My mother, who doesn’t even LIKE corn, couldn’t get enough!

 

And today I tried a new pancake mix… Bob’s Red Mill!

And it’s whole grain!

One topped with Barney Butter…

One with peanut butter and blueberry preserves..

And one with plain whipped butter.

All topped with blueberries, 1/2 of a banana, and maple syrup.

Yes, I am on a pancake kick. There are worse things to be addicted to I say…

Lunch was leftover oven fried green tomatoes…

 

And an egg white puff (1/3 cup egg whites microwaved) with ketchup

And yogurt with blueberries and raspberries.

I then went out to eat sushi with my parents, which I didn’t take a picture of. BUT I wish I had! It was probably the best sushi I’ve ever eaten! One had a spicy crab salad inside with barely seared salmon on top… and the other had all sorts of things but included apple… apple, in sushi! It added the PERFECT touch!

I then went to Whole Foods (yeah, I spent my Friday night in Whole Foods… I’m cool) where I found…

Pumpkin Ale!!!!!!!! I’ve waiting to get my hands on this!

And the time has now come to embrace all things pumpkin.

This would be half of a (local) pumpkin whoopie pie and half of a WF chocolate chip cookie.

Best of both worlds

 

Guess what else I found?! A kobocha squash!!!!!!! Guys… I’ve been looking for these things since this time last year. FINALLY. Now… how the heck do I cook it?!

A June Challenge

Tags

almond breeze, almond butter, almond milk, anxiety, challenge, Crofters, Jay Robb's, oat bran, Odwalla, physical therapy, pubic ramus stress fracture, running injury, salmon, trader joe's, water jogging, whey protein powder, worry

Sooooo water jogging is hardcore stuff. Which is why PT kicked my butt today. For real, I am super sore. But it was pretty fantastic to do anything that resembles jogging or running, I have to say. But ouch… Chilling with the end of the last season of Sex and the City is in order for the night, for sure. Which, by the way, I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to do with my life once I get through these last 8 episodes.. Sadness. Must see the movie SOON!

Did this week go by super fast for anyone else? It did for me! I can’t believe tomorrow is Friday! But I’m super glad because I have fun plans for the weekend… shopping and a girl’s night tomorrow, hanging out with a friend Saturday night, church and a pool day Sunday… oh yes. Hopefully seeing the boy somewhere in there… but his best friend just came home today after being gone for 2 weeks and well, there are like joined at the hip and so they must do the “manly bonding” thing to make up for those 2 weeks.. AKA lots of golf and grilling and hanging out being men. Boys…

And that brings me to a June Challenge! As I shared with you on a previous post, I’ve been having issues with worry and anxiety lately. This is not good. Anxiety is not good. Therefore, I’ve declared this month Worry Free June. It’s simple really.. anytime worry creeps up, I’m going to simply change the channel in my head. Easier said than done, I know. But practice makes perfect, right? And life is too short to live each day worrying about one thing or another. I am going to embrace life, enjoy it, and live in the moment. Goodbye worry! Anyone else up for a challenge? Let’s kick worry out of our lives!

 

Let’s see, where did I leave off…

I ended up going out on Tuesday night and staying with someone and so I didn’t make it home until lunchtime Wednesday. I had plans to spend the day at the pool so I grabbed an on-the-go breakfast and off I went.

This would be 2 whole wheat waffles (frozen waffles), TJ’s salted almond butter, Crofter’s, and 1/2 of a banana.

Delicious!!!

And a butt-load of coffee.

Since I ate breakfast at lunch time and I was at the pool all day, I really didn’t have a structured lunch. It was basically a pack of peanut butter crackers and 2 wine coolers. Yep. It’s all good

Dinner was really random, but it worked.

A salad with romaine, tomatoes, and croutons. And light ranch.

2 scrambled eggs…

Whole wheat toast with Crofter’s.

Dessert was another sundae.. but the picture was really blurry.

Light vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, and whipped cream. So bad but oh so very good. Again, not my healthiest day but I survived.

 

I ended up sleeping late again today, which is CRAZY for me. But I guess that’s what happens when you get 5 hours of sleep the night before and spend all day in the sun. So I kind of had “brunch” today..

A bowl of oat bran! It’s been so long..

This was:

• 1/3 cup oat bran
• 2/3 cup almond milk
• 1/3 cup water
• pinch of salt
• cinnamon
• 1/2 of a banana

And I topped it with VT maple syrup (only the BEST Jess!), blackberries, blueberries, and TJ’s almond butter.

This was my lunch and afternoon snack..

That would be a protein shake with 1/2 a scoop of Jay Robb’s vanilla and 1 cup or so of almond milk.

And a banana and an Odwalla bar.

Dinner was a little bit more well-rounded.

Salmon in a Chardonnay marinade (this was bought so I can’t take credit for it).

Macaroni and Cheese… I was having an INTENSE craving people..

And roasted zucchini seasoned simply with salt, pepper, and rosemary.

I will also have dessert of some form, I’m sure!

Good night loves!

Jess

“Nothing worth having comes without some sort of fight.”

Short & Sweet

Tags

carrot fries, demi baguette, french bread pizza, frozen yogurt, Great Harvest, oat bran, PB & Co., physical therapy, pubic ramus stress fracture, publix, running injury, the wedding planner, white chocolate wonderful

Thank you so much for the support of my Game Plan! I really appreciate the support, so very much

And after yesterday’s massive post, I’m going to keep it short and sweet today. I seriously need to unplug myself from the internet and chill out with a book (some Harry Potter perhaps?). I have my first day of physical therapy tomorrow and have no clue what to expect so I’ll be back with a recap tomorrow night. I know you are just on the edge of your seats waiting for that

 

I had something that I haven’t had in a while for breakfast, oat bran. I really wanted a waffle but I didn’t feel like going through the hassle of making one.

It had:

• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 of a banana
• raspberries
• blueberries
• PB & Co. White Chocolate Wonderful

It was good but it didn’t hit the spot since I had been craving something else. Lesson learned, go with what you are craving.

And I did with lunch.

After seeing an avocado topped English muffin on this lovely lady’s blog, I followed her lead and topped an slice of Great Harvest honey wheat from the depths of my freezer with 1/2 of an avocado and some salt.

Simple but GOOD.

And then some more carrot fries. You know it.

I totally ate 3 huge carrots in the form of delicious fries. YUM. I am addicted. I’m sure I will be turning orange pretty soon from all of the carrots, oranges, and sweet potatoes I consume of late.

Speaking of which, I had an orange for a snack too. I was a bad blogger and didn’t take a picture but we all know what oranges look like.

 

So do you remember the Stouffer’s French bread pizzas? I used to eat them all of the time as a child. They have returned…

Sort of. This was actually a demi baguette from the Fresh Market (that was frozen) cut in half and stuffed with marinara, mozzarella, and this sharp Irish cheese. And mushrooms.

I do believe this rivaled Stouffer’s.

I also had some Publix Cookies and Cream Frozen Yogurt and some dark chocolate for dessert.

 

And with that, I’m peacing out kids. Have a good night and happy Friday!

Love,
Jess

"When the  clouds are full of water, it rains.

When the wind blows down a tree, it lies where it falls.

Don’t sit there watching the wind. Do your own work.

Don’t stare at the clouds, Get on with your life.

Just as you’ll never understand

the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman,

So you’ll never understand

the mystery at work in all that God does.”

-Ecclesiastes 11:3-5

Food Revolution

Tags

Eggland's Best, food revolution, jamie oliver, Maddalena's Gnocchi, Moo Moo's, Naturally Nutty, oat bran, smoked salmon, trader joe's, Wallaby yogurt

Good evening everyone! I hope you had a fabulous Saturday! And saw more of the outside world than I did Fill me in, how did you make the most of your Saturday?

Me, well I made a serious dent in Gossip Girl, Season 1. I have been watching the show since it first aired on television and I forgot how GOOD season 1 was! And it’s amazing how different the show is now and how much has changed since then. I also watched this past week’s Grey’s Anatomy and Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. Did anyone else see it? It was eye-opening!! After being in the public schools a good bit, I’ve seen what the meals are like and its horrifying what we are feeding our children these days. They grow up eating all this crap processed food. When a person eats stuff like that from the time they are 5 years old until high school, is it any surprise that they are going to develop health problems and be addicted to this junk? If children grew up eating real, whole foods and not just fed “kid-friendly” things like chicken nuggets and pizza, I think that it would make a HUGE difference. Thoughts?

I have to say, nothing too exciting going on in the food department today. My meals were delicious but I’m also going for quick and easy to prepare these days.

I started with some oat bran (1/3 cup oat bran, 1/3 cup milk, 2/3 cup water, pinch of salt and cinnamon, 1/2 banana) that I topped with some Greek Yogurt, raspberries (they have RETURNED), blueberries, and TJ’s almond butter.

By the way, in answer to a comment, to drizzle the almond butter… well, there’s not real trick to it. This brand and type of almond butter is just runny. BUT for other almond butters, you can use Kath’s method for nut butter sauce or you can just put the nut butter on your spoon and let your spoon sit in your hot oats for a minute – it will be perfectly drizzly!

My mom actually made my lunch for me. And let me tell you, it was a HUGE test of my OCD. My mom is an amazing cook but I like things the way I like things, you know? In any case, she did an amazing job.

This was a scramble with 1 whole egg, 2 egg whites, tbsp or so of light cream cheese, smoked salmon, and baby spinach.

YUM!!! The end.

I then had a Fuji apple with a little Naturally Nutty peanut butter later on…

Peanut butter and apples is just a match made in food heaven.

Dinner was… well it was fast. I had a frozen dinner… yep. I found this delicious sounding meal in the depths of my freezer that was from a Whole Foods run months ago.

This would be wheat gnocchi in a tomato-basil sauce with mushrooms and other veggies.

It was pretty good. Especially for a frozen dinner.

And the ingredients list was awesome!!

It was full of actual, real ingredients and you could tell by the taste.

I also had some Kale on the side that I sautéed with some garlic and parmesan cheese.

Gotta get my greens in!

And finished off the meal with a little Swiss Milk Chocolate from Trader Joe’s.

And then, another Wallaby Yogurt with 1/2 a banana, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.

The yogurt was banana/vanilla flavored and it was GOOD.

And it should’ve stopped there but my dad brought home some birthday cake from my niece’s birthday tonight and I had some. Now, I love me some cake. Cake is one of my most favorite things ever. But tonight, I was not hungry, at all. I had had my dessert. Yet I still ate some cake <- total emotional eating.

 

And now for another edition of Ask Me Anything…

Who is your favorite blogger? Or blogger friend?

As much as you are going to hate me for saying this, I can’t pick just one!! C’mon now! I love ALL of you!!! You are so special to me and I adore each and every one of you. You all brighten my days and give me encouragement. You inspire me to keep pushing. You tempt me with delicious dishes and inspire me to try new dishes and new foods and push my boundaries just a bit.

But if you would like to read some awesome blogs, check out my blog roll, which is full of some AMAZING ladies!!! How about you? Any blogs that I should check out that I may have not heard of? What blogger has inspired YOU the most?

 

I have some fantastic guest posts coming at you soon by some lovely ladies so you won’t have to hear as much about my super exciting days… ha. But if you would still like to do a guest post for me, I would love for even more!!! If so, feel free to email me at cutiekitty1788@gmail.com.

Have a great night!

Just Call Me The Sushi Master

Tags

oat bran, Sushi, Whole Foods, Naturally Nutty, greek yogurt, trader joe's, Foodnetwork, Cook's Mission, Quinoa, vegan muffin, pubic ramus stress fracture, pumpkin granola

Day 2, check and check.

I’ll be straight with you guys, today was HARD. I am struggling and I am doubting. I am trying to stay strong but it’s hard when I have all this time to think. The doctor said I should be feeling better within 2-3 days and it’s been two days and I’m not. I’m having pains in my lower back on my left side (injured side) and the place where my injury is is still sore and tender. And just still having pains in general. Is this normal? Should I be seeing more progress by now?! Or am I just freaking out for no reason? Meh.

I did figure out today that rolly chair are my friends They give me the ability to get from place to place while transporting things (a.k.a. food), which is certainly helpful. I also took a shower today and I must say… it was interesting. Very tricky. (Not that you really wanted to know that I took a shower today…) Otherwise, my day has been full of some television watching and lots and lots of blog reading. Thank you guys for the entertainment!

 

I did start the day off on the right foot with a yummy bowl of oats… sans raspberries today, I might add

This lovely bowl has a base of oat bran (1/3 cup oat bran, 1/3 cup milk, 2/3 cup water, cinnamon, salt, 1/2 banana) that I topped with Greek Yogurt and Naturally Nutty goodness.

Mmmmm… It was nice I just love how voluminous oat bran is and how long it takes me to eat it. Is that sad?

I was craving some fresh veggies for lunch but I nothing really stuck out to me, so I kind of just threw a bunch of stuff on top of lettuce.

The salad had:

• lettuce
• tomato
• cucumber
• avocado
• raw sharp white Cheddar
• leftover pineapple quinoa

With some honey mustard for dipping.

It was also delicious! The flavors just went together..

And a bowl of grapes and strawberries.

 

I had a snack of 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/2 tbsp or a little more of Chia seeds, TJ’s Pumpkin Granola, and 1/2 banana.

Calcium… yum yum. I wonder if my extra dairy intake is really helping in the calcium/building strong bones department?

Well it’s tasty anyway

 

And then I channeled my inner sushi master and made some delicious sushi… Haha I kid, I kid. I did, however, make some sushi by following the directions in the latest Foodnetwork Magazine.

It was actually not that hard!! If you have a rice cooker because you can’t manage to cook rice like a normal person… well, they work like a dream.

The rolls weren’t completely beautiful but that’s ok. The ingredients that I used were smoked salmon, cream cheese, avocado, and cucumber and I tried out different combinations in different rolls.

You can’t beat the salmon/cream cheese combo – YUM!!!

They tasted absolutely delicious, I have to pat myself on the back. Not really, it was pretty easy and anyone could do it!

If you like sushi, give making it at home a shot! It’s super easy!

 

And then for dessert I had some more yogurt, Greek this time, that I topped with 1/2 of a Vegan Blueberry Muffin from Whole Foods.

These muffins are the BOMB. Delish

 

 

So I have been getting some great questions from Ask Me Anything (keep ‘em coming!). I’ll answer one or two in every post for as long as I get them. Prepare to learn more about me than you even knew you wanted to know…

Where do you go to school??

Right now, I’m technically not in school anywhere. After I graduated from high school, I went to USC Upstate and I was there until this semester (3 1/2 years). I will be going to Spartanburg Community College in August and then on to Culinary school at Greenville Technical College.

Do you have a boyfriend??

No, I do not. I am kinda/sorta dating someone but not really at the same time. If that makes any sense. We are friends right now and are just taking it slow. After my last relationship, it’s taken me a while to be ready to be in a relationship again and learn to trust – hence the taking it slow. I always thought I’d be married by now. What was I thinking?! Life never works out as how you plan in your mind.

 

Don’t forget,  you can vote for me over at Cook’s Mission!!

 

Guest Posts: As my life is not going to be very exciting or eventful in the coming weeks (here’s to hoping the only eventful thing is my healing), I’d like to throw in a couple guest posts each week. SO if you would like to write one for me, please send me an e-mail (cutiekitty1788@gmail.com)! You can write about whatever you would like – recipes we should try, your story of how you got on the road to health, running, swimming, other forms of exercise you enjoy, a poem, a story, overcoming an injury or eating disorder, product reviews,  absolutely ANYTHING!!! I would really appreciate it if you would be so kind – I think it will make the blog a little more interesting

 

Good night my dears!! My love to you all

 

”The most beautiful people are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggles, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These people have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”

Pisgah Falls

Tags

almond butter, apricots, baked potato, chocolate chip muffin, earth fare, oat bran, oikos, Pisgah Falls, salmon, spelt, stress fracture, subway, trader joe's, yogurt

Happy first day of Spring!!! And how has your day been? I have had an absolutely fantastic day! I think it’s the weather… spring just makes me happy! It was gorgeous here in SC today with highs around 75 degrees – I wore shorts and flip flops!! Oh the simple joys of life…

On the injury front, (if you’re  not sick of hearing about it by now) it was feeling fabulous this morning. I iced it my hip area that was sore yesterday while eating breakfast and it helped a lot. I was in the car most of the day (more on that in minute) and it got sore at the end of car ride but I think it was from not moving. I think my body is slightly confused after finally doing something active yesterday and then resting a lot today. So I then iced it again around 5:00 and it helped. Does anyone know if this means that it’s a muscle pain and not pain from the bone since the icing helps it? [edited to add: It’s now about 9:00 and pain is back in hip bone. CRAP] I also have to add that I am SO sore, oh my gosh (in a GOOD way though). When I woke up this morning, I immediately noticed that my arms were practically screaming from the weight training that I did yesterday. OUCH. But it’s a good kind of I-worked-my-arms-good ouch, you know? Oh how I have missed that… And my legs are slightly sore from the swimming but not bad at all, which surprises me.

So what did I do most of the day? Well, I made the most of the weather and went with a friend up to see this waterfall in North Carolina called Pisgah Falls.

[source]

It was actually supposed to be about an hour and ten minute drive BUT we got lost so it took about 2 1/2 hours. We both have no sense of direction… But it was ok because we had plenty of time to talk and the waterfall was SO worth it. The picture does not even do it justice… absolutely beautiful!!! And so was the scenery all the way up to the falls. I love the mountains If I didn’t have my injury we would have gone hiking but we both figured with my clumsiness and whatnot, the chances of me falling and injuring myself further were too high. My friend said that he did not want to me to hurt myself “on his watch” haha. All in all, it was a perfect way to spend the day!

 

Now my eats for today… let me forewarn you that I have been a bottomless pit today. I almost cannot get full. I think it’s from the weight training yesterday and the fact that I did something even slightly active for the first time in… months! And a very important lesson that I have learned throughout this journey is to listen to your body. So I did.

I started my day off with a fortifying bowl of OIAYC (Oats In A Yogurt Container) that was the BOMB.

 

I filled an almost empty container of yogurt with a base of oat bran (1/2 cup oat bran, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup milk, pinch of salt, cinnamon) that I topped with raspberries, yogurt from the bottom of the container, and TJ’s creamy salted Almond Butter.

 

Oh. My. There are almost no words for how darn good this was. Seriously…

 

I think I had a goofy smile on my face the entire time I was eating… it was THAT good!

We stopped at Subway for lunch today. Overall, I like Subway because they offer MUCH healthier options than most fast food. And we were in the middle of nowhere so our options were extremely limited, to stay the least. We decided to split a foot-long so we each had a 6 inch sub. It had turkey, cheese, lettuce, and… mayo. The mayo issue strikes yet again. But honestly, I was too the point of so hungry you could eat your arm so I pretty much inhaled my half, mayo or no mayo. And you know what? No guilt! Woohoo! (Current score – Jessica:1, ED:0)

Once back home and running some errands, I had an apple for a snack. I missed my fruit at lunch!

 

I then also had 1/4 of a Cliff bar (no picture) and a dried apricot.

And for dinner… well what does any sane person do on the first day of spring that just so happens to have gorgeous weather? Grill out, duh!!! And grill we did.

I had a salmon fillet that was marinated in this bourbon marinade (ok, so the Fresh Market marinated the salmon and I bought the salmon already marinated, whatever).

Yummy! As if grilled salmon isn’t flavorful enough, add some bourbon and you have a winner!

Also had a Yukon Gold Baked potato and a little butter and salt.

Some mushrooms.

And a scallop Isn’t it cute?

 

I had another dried apricot after dinner. I forgot how good they are!

And then for dessert, as if you couldn’t guess, I had a yogurt mess (haha I rhymed!).

I topped a chocolate Oikos with 1/2 a crumbled chocolate chip spelt muffin that was from  Earth Fare a while back.

How I love melty chocolate, let me count the ways…

 

OH, I also went to the library today (and paid my $20 fine for overdue books – the reason I haven’t been to the library in forever) and got some really cool cookbooks!!’

(ok this isn’t a cookbook but still interesting!)

Has anyone heard of these? I love Moosewood cookbooks so I’m dying to try something from this one!

And I received a fun package from the lovely Kate, in the form of a 1 lb. bag of Chia Seeds! Jackpot!

And I’m bringing back my thankful list because well… I need it today. I am thankful for…

1. spring
2. a good friend
3. fun new recipes to try out!

 

Good night my dears!

Day of Green

Tags

almond butter, greek yogurt, Green Monster, injury, kefir, oat bran, SIAB, st. patrick's day, stress fracture, trader joe's, vegetable soup, wades, yogurt

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! Did you remember your green today? I sure did! When you work with kids, you remember because if you aren’t wearing green… you WILL get pinched. There is no question about that

I have to say, I did not celebrate St. Patty’s day in a big way. Honestly, it was one of THOSE days… you know? It started off with a very vivid dream of an ex last night and well… it went downhill from there. BUT the day is over so I am moving onward and upward to good things.

 

Thanks for all the feedback on the new layout! I will share anything that I learn about blog layouts as well

 

I started off my day with a bowl of oat bran. It contained an oat base of 1/3 cup bran, 2/3 cup water, 1/3 cup milk, pinch of salt, cinnamon, and 1/2 banana. I then topped it with blueberries, raspberries, and almond butter.

In a green bowl, of course

And then I had a cinnamon bun…

HA make that cinnamon bun coffee

In a Christmas mug. Cuz that’s how I roll

 

And what better way to celebrate the day than a green monster SIAB for lunch?! And this was, by far, without a doubt, the BEST green monster that I have ever had.

Isn’t she pretty?

It had:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp or so of vanilla protein powder
• 1 frozen banana
• lots of baby spinach
• 1/4 of an avocado
• 1 cup or so of crushed ice
• Topped with: plain Kefir and Trader Joe’s Honey, Almond, and Flax Cereal (see below)

 

Ok so I know that this is basically made after Kashi Golean cereal but I have to say, I prefer the TJ’s version. It’s a little less… hard than the kashi and delicious!

I’d say that the keys to this exceptional green monster was the whole frozen banana and the avocado. The frozen banana added so much flavor and the avocado added plenty of creaminess and healthy fats.

This monster kept me full ALL afternoon!!!!

I also had an apple on the side but I only ate about half – I was stuffed!!!

I went out to dinner with my mom before church and we went to a local place called Wade’s. I’d venture to say that you probably haven’t heard of it but it’s a very “homey” restaurant that serves meat and veggies and the variety changes daily. I always get a veggie plate but today I was craving some soup So I had some of their veggie soup. It was a tomato base with CHUNKS of potato, tomato, carrots, corn, green beans, and more. SO good!! You could tell that it was homemade. I also had some corn bread crumbled up in the soup. And half of a yeast roll (theirs is to DIE for!!!) with some strawberry jam. Unfortunately, I was a bad blogger… ok a forgetful blogger. I was so hungry and so involved in conversation with my madre that I dug right in without taking a picture. I remembered my mistake when my bowl was about empty so I snapped a picture of it but it’s not very pretty.

I promise that it was delicious

And then I had a piece of Dove Dark Chocolate that was in my purse. What… you don’t carry chocolate with you at all times?!

 

After I got home from church, I was hankering for some dessert (yes I just said hankering… ) so I created this waffle/yogurt bowl.

It had a base of greek yogurt that I topped with one waffle (of the frozen variety but this one is GOOD) and a mix of TJ’s creamy salted almond butter and my PB & CO. Dark Chocolate Dreams.

Oh this hit the spot… tasted almost like a Reese Cup, which is never a bad thing in my book

But you will never guess what happened… I opened up my jar of DCD to discover that it was half gone!! [enter shocked face and lots of screaming “who ate my dark chocolate crack?”] I then discover that my father is the culprit. *sigh* I couldn’t get upset because I’m happy that he’s getting on the healthy living bandwagon and satisfying his sweet tooth with something better for him than usual… but dang I hate it when people eat my food, you know?  But of course he could eat it all and leave me the jar for OIAJ and then buy a new jar of DCD for me… I wouldn’t be complaining then

 

P.S. – I hate to ask but I’m seeing a new sports doctor tomorrow about my stress fracture and I would REALLY appreciate all the positive thoughts/prayers you could possibly send my way. I’m really nervous but I’m hoping and praying for some good news and at least a move in the right direction. Thank you so much!!!

 

And tomorrow night, I have a VERY fun dinner in store! Stay tuned…

 

Around the blogging world…

• food scale giveaway
• Chobani giveaway
• Peanut Butter giveaway

 

I also wanted to share this song/video that was brought to my attention by a very lovely lady It struck me in a very powerful way and I think you’ll understand why…

Fear

Tags

almond butter, brussel sprouts, Dark Chocolate Dreams, Fage, greek yogurt, Green Monster, kale chips, oat bran, PB & Co., peanut butter, pizza, raspberries, trader joe's, Whole Foods

Happy Sunday to all you lovely ladies (and gents?)! How was yours?

Honestly, I woke up feeling pretty sorry for myself today. I try, really hard, to be positive about my injury, especially on the blog, because I want to be a good example and an inspiration. But I’m also human. And so I have my days. Today was one of those such days. And when I’m feeling like that, well, it’s a perfect chance for ED to worm it’s way in. And worm it did.

I know that several bloggers have talked about “fear foods” lately, those foods that we are/were afraid of eating or that may cause severe anxiety and stress. Well one of my fear foods has always been pizza, especially pizza buffet. Now, sometimes I’m on with pizza and I actually really love it! And when I want pizza, when I have a craving for it, I don’t have a problem eating it. But pizza buffet… well that’s another can of worms. I used to love going to Pizza Inn (a pizza restaurant that has a buffet) when I was younger; I’m talking we went once a week usually. But then ED appeared and I was horrified to realize how many calories that one could consume on any given pizza buffet meal. Needless to say, that was the end of Pizza Inn for me… I seriously haven’t been in years and years because of this stupid fear. Well, my parents suggested we go there for lunch today after Church and at first I panicked… but then I decided that I was going to conquer this stupid fear. I am strong. I can do this.

And then I got there and saw the food on the buffet and started to wear down. I fixed myself a salad with what limited veggies they had and then realized that they had no light dressings, just mayo based ranch and thousand island. So I did what ED said and at the dang salad with no dressing… And then comes pizza. The only ones on the buffet were either dessert pizzas or pizzas with meat, which I don’t eat. So my sweet dad requested that they make a veggie pizza for the buffet and they obliged. And then I got 2 pieces and sat down and saw all the cheese on them and I don’t even know what happened… except ED took over. I panicked. I haven’t felt this much panic/anxiety about food in SUCH a long time. It scared me out of my mind, the loss of control. I thought I was beyond it. So I did what I could and picked off most of the cheese and ate 2 tiny slices. And I scraped off the top of the chocolate chip pizza slice I had. This just honestly pisses me off SO badly. I was SO mad at myself afterwards that I just broke down, I could not believe that I gave in, let fear take over and prevent me from enjoying a meal that I used to love.

But after that little scene I was determined, more than ever, to beat this thing.. I will not let ED take over again, I will NOT listen to that voice. I will conquer this fear, among others. And to do this, I have to FACE my fears. Today, I may have gave in but I still faced my fear. Just the act of going to the restaurant was a big step for me, as sad as that may be. But next time, I will not only face my fear but I will conquer it. ED may have won this battle, but he will NOT win the war!

 

Breakfast this morning was epic. EPIC.

It may not win any presentation awards but it tasted out of this world.

This was oat bran (1/3 cup bran, 2/3 cup water, 1/3 cup milk, 1/4 banana, pinch of salt, cinnamon) in an almost empty yogurt container, topped with some of the leftover yogurt, raspberries, “melted” strawberry preserves, and TJ’s salted creamy almond butter.

YUM!!! The flavors all mixed together was just out of this world! I used to hate raspberries because of the seeds but I don’t know… I got them with my frozen yogurt yesterday on the spur of the moment and they were heaven! And now I love them! Isn’t it funny how tastes change over time?!

 

The infamous lunch:

 

I had a green monster as an afternoon snack. I literally felt healthier after drinking it… I needed some greens in me!!!

It had:

• 1/2 banana
• 2 cups or so of baby spinach
• 1/2 cup milk
• stevia
• cinnamon
• ice

 

I had lots of veggies for dinner, including two new things!

New thing numero uno: kale chips!!!

I have seen them around the blog world for a while now but have yet to try them. What have I been waiting for?! So freaking good!!! They were literally crispy like a chip but SO good for you! And talk about addictive…

To make them I simply popped them onto a cookie sheet, sprayed with some canola oil spray, seasoned with salt, and cooked them at 375 for 15 minutes. I dipped them in ketchup and they were fabulous!

I also had brussel sprouts for the first time. Yep… i’ve never had brussel sprouts before!!! And I really don’t get what all the fuss is about.. they are delicious!!!

I seasoned them with salt, pepper, and a little Agave Nectar and roasted them at the same temperature as the kale but for 25 minutes.

Mmmmm… I love brussel sprouts!!! Just goes to show that you can’t say you don’t like something unless you have tried it…Do you like brussel sprouts? How do you like to cook them?

And then some roasted baby Yukon gold potatoes on the side that were seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Roasted potatoes are one of my favorite things.. and so simple!

Ketchup made both the potatoes and the brussel sprouts even better!

And then finally, a oatmeal roll from Whole Foods with some whipped butter.

Yumm… buttery sweet oaty doughy bread! (enough adjectives for you?)

Needless to say, dinner was fabulous.

And there may or may not have been a girl scout cookie after dinner…

I then had some plain greek yogurt, 1/2 a banana, and some PB & Co.’s Dark Chocolate Dreams.

Which I promptly mixed up after the photo shoot, per usual.

I also had a handful of pretzels after this. I wasn’t really hungry but I felt like my body was wanting it.. or maybe I was just being snacky. Who knows.

 

I managed to remember to push my clock forward so I was NOT late today, woo hoo!!! Though losing an hour of sleep makes for a tired girl I’m loving the extra daylight, though it was somewhat strange to be eating dinner with it being light out. It’s finally starting to feel like spring…

 

Giveaway: Nuun giveaway

 

I hope everyone has a great night! I know that lately posts have been a bit… long and kinda emotional and I do apologize. Hopefully my life will calm down a bit soon

Cookware Winner & A Guest Post: Journey to Appreciation

Tags

almond butter, avocado, blueberryfrog, Cookware, Crofters, CSN, frozen yogurt, giveaway, greek yogurt, injury, oat bran, Publilx, salad, stuffed flounder, trader joe's, yogurt mess

Thank you so much for all of the well wishes about culinary school!! Each and every comment and word of encouragement means so, so very much to me. Thos comments were so very uplifting and encouraging Having the support of the blogging community behind me makes me so happy! And I can’t wait to share my journey with you!!!

And now what you have been waiting for.. the winner of the $40 credit towards anything from www.cookware.com

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:47Powered by RANDOM.ORG

 

#47, Emily!! Congratulations girl!!! If you will e-mail me your contact info, we will get you working on receiving your prize! And thank you again Jason from CSN for setting this up!!!

I am going to quickly breeze through today’s eats because I have a special guest post from a very special lady.

Feast your eyes on this bowl of deliciousness…

 

The base was oat bran (1/3 cup oat bran, 2/3 cup water, 1/3 cup milk, pinch of cinnamon, pinch of salt, 1/2 banana) that was topped with Greek yogurt… topped with TJ’s salted almond butter… topped with Crofter’s.

 

Do I even have to tell you how good this was? I think the pictures do it justice.

 

The combination of the sweet oats with the salty almond butter with the tangy yogurt was just pure perfection. Mmmm….

 

Lunch was another hit!

 

This salad had:

• romaine and butter leaf lettuce
• avocado
• strawberries
• tomato
• pineapple
• TJ’s poppy seed dressing
• wheat berries
• cilantro (AWESOME in this!)

 

This was SO good!!! It was like a tropical salad of happiness

 

 

Today was just one of those days that required some frozen yogurt. Know what I mean? So I made a frozen yogurt run to Blueberry Frog.

 

It was plain frozen yogurt with raspberries, oreos, and blueberries.

And it was a medium, not a small.

Totally necessary.

 

My mom and I then met some family for dinner at a small seafood restaurant, One Fish, Two Fish. Cute name… the food? It was ok.

I started with a hushpuppy… times two.

 

Hushpuppies are SO addicting!!!! And these were excellent, I have to say.

Next up, a salad.

 

Um, not that great. It contained some iceberg lettuce (some of which was wilted) with 2 grape tomatoes, 2 cucumbers, onions, and 3 croutons. With a raspberry vinaigrette.

And then for my main course I ordered stuffed flounder (stuffed with crab and shrimp). Sounds good right? I usually adore stuffed flounder. But now, I don’t know if you have ever had stuffed flounder well.. this was not what I was expecting.

 

It came in this little ramekin and it was flounder and stuffing but it was DROWNING in butter. I mean totally drenched. Now, I like butter and I do enjoy it but not when my food is completely covered in it. SO I ate a couple bites but I couldn’t stomach anymore. I did eat my sweet potato that came with my dinner and it was good. Thank goodness for sweet potato love!

So the dinner was slightly disappointing but the company was great

I then had dessert in the form of a yogurt mess when I came home. I’m sure you are sick of these yogurt messes by this point but they are fabulous…

This one started with this yogurt from Publix. I usually prefer plain Greek Yogurt but every once in a while, change is nice

I then topped it with raspberries, strawberries, and some Quaker Oatmeal Squares.

YUM!!

 

 

I’d also like to share the story of amazing reader who had shared her story of her experiences with injuries. Her story inspired me so much that I asked her to share it with you lovely readers and she graciously obliged. Now, without further ado…

Name: Kristina

Age: 27

Blog: www.FreestyleFitnessAddiction.com

Activities pre-injury: gymnastics (former competitor); break dancing (I would actually get paid to perform); boxing; a little bit of everything

What happened: 2008 Right ACL reconstruction, arthoscopic meniscectomy (twice), synovitis (inflammation of the synovial membrane)

Playing the victim: Sitting in the house, months upon months upon months…frustrated me beyond tolerance. I felt utterly despondent, felt victimized, hopeless…felt separated from all the friends I had who I had been active with, felt so much of my identity disappeared, felt all my cherished activities vanished and I had no more joy in life. I felt bitter, angry, frustrated, disappointed, defeated, and wanted to give up, stop caring, stop working out, stop trying. I felt my mind scanning, searching for answers, the meaning behind these challenges. I just wanted to MOVE, to be a kinetic frenetic bubbling, flame-ripping, torrent through the gym, through wood-chipped trails, across grassy fields, hopping and skipping and striding from landscape to landscape. I then ATE to distract from these emotions and ended up gaining weight then feeling helpless and depressed because I couldn’t over-exercise to compensate for all the food I was eating. (I could barely walk.)

Realizing my power: I get stronger from each challenge. My mind grows more resolute every time I test it with resistance. I learn to control myself more, be at peace with myself even when scenes crumble around me. I control the meanings I attach to things. Will I let this tear me down? Will I just collapse and fall in an ocean of tears? Or will I reinforce the quality that I am a positive person, and still be positive? I will. I will learn what the universe is offering me. This is an opportunity to grow. I will demonstrate my expertise and challenge my CREATIVITY by working around my injuries! I believe that when my body and mind are ready, everything will fall into place. I am more patient and understand that I have more to learn. Even so far I can see how life has changed for me in ways I never would have imagined if I didn’t hurt myself.

Ways my life has completely changed (for the better):

1) Chatting about injuries connected me to the love of my life

2) After I tore my ACL, I decided to change careers and became a certified personal trainer to learn more about fitness and corrective exercise/rehabilitation. I am now a trainer as well as earned an advanced certification as a Corrective Exercise Specialist from the National Academy of Sports Medicine. I know so much about injury prehabilitation and rehabilitation that I never would have known, if it wasn’t for my experiences. Not only that, but I would never had learned all the things I know about training, nutrition, and other skills I’ve developed in the past two years if it wasn’t for the time AVAILABLE that I had to invest in studying, because I was not consumed with my athletics.

3) Recently, I started my own business, called Freestyle Fitness Addiction. I never would have done that if it wasn’t for the circumstances originating from my torn ACL!

Message: Appreciate the ways that an injury steers your life in another direction and opens you up to new opportunities.

Amazing Inspirational Quotes:

It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up. ~Vince Lombardi

My life tomorrow will be the result of my attitudes and the choices I make today. ~Anonymous

We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems. ~Anonymous

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will. ~Mahatma Gandhi

Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success ~Napoleon Hill

Opportunity often comes in disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat. ~Napoleon Hill

A positive mental attitude is an irresistible force that knows no such thing as an immovable body ~Napoleon Hill

I am, indeed, a king, because I know how to rule myself. ~Pietro Aretino

He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still. ~Lao-tz

 

Thank you so much for sharing Kristina!! I think everyone can be inspired by her story. She is right, even things like injuries, things that we see as roadblocks or difficulties in our journey of life, may sometimes lead us to and open doors to greater things than we could ever have dreamed possible!

So again I will ask – if you have a story of an injury, whether you have recovered or are still going through “the process of healing,” I encourage you to share! You never know who may read your story and be touched in a way that you could never have imagined. You just never know who you may encourage and inspire!

Mighty Maple Madness

Tags

apple, blueberries, boars head, Fage, fat, giveaway, greek yogurt, kefir, Mighty Maple, oat bran, oatmeal, PB & Co., peeps, publix, salmon, sandwich, sweet potato, wheat berries, Whole Foods

Thanks to everyone for the advice!! I am getting both sides of the spectrum of what to do and obviously, still have not decided. I have to say that I am a big believer in “signs” and as a Christian, I do believe God reveals things to us through “signs” and other ways. But even those who don’t believe in God, many still believe in signs, right? Well I’m looking for them. And today, two things happened that kinda made me think a bit. First, I follow this daily quote thing on twitter (Greatest Quotes) that will tweet these quotes (obv.) and one quote that I saw this morning said “"If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something." – Franklin D. Roosevelt.” This spoke to me because I am finally admitting that I hate business. I thought I would enjoy it… but I do not. And yesterday was the first time that I admitted it. I feel like after doing something so drastic as switching from education in my final semester to business and shocking my friends and family and at the time, I really felt it was the right thing to do, well I feel like admitting that I hate it is admitting failure. But really, I had no reason to go into Business other than the thought of one day owning my own business. And I forgot to add, I still have about 2 years left of school now if I stay in business. So the time frame between now and graduating, no matter what I do, is going to be at least 2 years.

Second, I was talking to a co-worker and she mentioned that her cousin, who is 19 or so, is amazing at making cakes and she wants to start her own business. And she is going to culinary school. And we talked all about her cousin and the cakes and whatnot, and I kinda spilled my guts to her about my desire to go to culinary school. I’m not saying that this was a “sign,” but it was just kind of coincidental, you know? In any case, thank you again for the advice. I really appreciate you guys for taking time to share your own experiences and your wise advice. You gave me a LOT to think about and those comments really touched my heart I will keep you posted!

In other news, I greatly enjoyed the beautiful weather today! We had a high of around 69 degrees! Perfect. It was so beautiful that we spent about 2 hours out of our 3 our day at work, outside with the kids. Swinging on a swing set is one of life’s simple pleasures. Sometimes I really wish I was a kid again, you know? I’m definitely taking advantage of this weather as I hear it’s supposed to be back in the 50’s next week.. boo!

 

Breakfast was again made amazing by the addition of wheat berries! Did you know that wheat berries pack a nutritional punch?! They…

• are a whole grain
• have a nutty flavor
• packed with fiber, protein, and iron
• loaded with Vitamin E, a cel-protecting antioxidant
• have magnesium, which is good for healthy bones and muscles

[source]

And they are super easy to cook! I simply boiled 1/2 cup or so dry for about an hour and 15 minutes. The time may vary, you just have to taste them and see when they are done to your liking. If you like them chewier, cook for less amount of time.

The bowl had a base of whipped banana oats that I topped with wheat berries, Mighty Maple, and blueberries.

I’m totally loving the bite that the wheat berries give!

And I’m finding that simply adding this tbsp. or so keeps me full longer!

Lunch was one of the best sandwiches that I have had in a while!

I loaded up some Publix multigrain bread with Boar’s Head Chicken, Boar’s Head Monterey Jack Cheese (this brand is SUPER creamy… so good!), baby spinach, and Whole Foods hummus.

Total party in my mouth! Ha! Seriously, the combination of flavors was out of this world!

I also had a side of an apple and baby carrots with more Mighty Maple for dipping.

Yum!! Baby carrots and peanut butter is so good!!!!

 

And for dinner, my parents were out so I was on my own. I had a Whole Foods brand salmon burger that I cooked on the George Foreman with a little teriyaki.

And a microwaved sweet potato with some whipped butter. They are much better baked in the oven but microwaved does in a pinch!

There aren’t many ways you can prepare sweet potatoes that I won’t eat I’m sure you’re tired of seeing them at this point…

I also had some broccoli.

And then 2 Peeps for dessert #1

 

Dessert #2 was only one of the best things that I have put in my mouth in… oh… ages!!!!

I made some oat bran using 1/3 cup oat bran, 1 cup water, 1/2 banana, and cinnamon and then topped it with 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt, a splash of Kefir, blueberries, and almond butter.

Holy freaking yum!!!!! This was so good! Why have I waited so long to try yogurt in my oats?! The hot oats and the cold yogurt and kefir… to die for!!! I just can’t go a day with some yogurt in my life…

And I just realized that I had Mighty Maple in every meal today except for dinner… obsessed much?!

 

So I’m sure you haven’t noticed but I’ve been trying to add more fat (healthy fat) into my diet after seeing the amazing results that I’ve noticed other bloggers getting (Heather and Gracie). No, it’s nothing drastic as of yet but I thought I’d give it a try. I used to be afraid, no make that terrified, of fat at the height of my ED. I’m trying to conquer that fear and improve my health. We shall see… thoughts?

 

I’ve let this fall by the way side but I really need this today. Like bad. So today I am thankful for…

1. Sunshine!
2. Friends who have your back no matter what
3. My faith

 

And now… it’s finally here… Gossip Girl is back!!! Yay! Anyone else watch? 

Also, don’t forget to enter my giveaway if you haven’t yet!

Good night loves!

 

Life is short. Break the rules!
Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly!
Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably
And never regret anything
that made you smile!