oats|Chia Seed Me

Feb 11, 2011 Posted by candice on Feb 11, 2011 in breakfast, mental notes, our life, recipes, vegan | 6 comments

ice cream and oats – a perfect combination

Happy Friday, friends!

This week has flown by so fast…and leaves us with only two weeks until we move. Two!! And I’m probably about one one-hundreth of the way through packing. I’m in trouble.

So, I realize I’ve been writing some heavy posts lately, and while I usually like to keep things light on a Friday, I’m going to shamelessly bombard you with more deep thoughts. Because that’s how I roll these days, folks.

I think all this uprooting and moving business has gotten me all worked up over what I’m doing with my life. I’ve caught myself trying to plan so many years into the future I might as well have my grand-children’s names picked out (exaggeration). I feel like I have all these ideas, aspirations and concerns that in turn leave me with endless confusing decisions; every outcome affects other decisions and those outcomes affect more…and so on. You see what I mean?

So the other day as I was pondering what my next steps should be, I had an epiphany. Are you ready for this?

I do not have to plan out my future or know exactly where I want to be in x number of years.

I do not have to know how my next job will affect my future children or how it will look on my resume in 20 years.

I do not. I do not. I do not.

While I know it’s good/responsible to plan for the future as much as is reasonable, I also know that there are things that will happen in my future that are unplanned or that I have no control over. If you had told me when I was a freshman in college that four years later I’d be living in Thailand, I would have called you crazy and laughed in your face. And I certainly did not plan that the husband and I would be moving out of Stillwater right now. As I’ve said many times before, God’s plans for me don’t necessarily match up with the plans I have for myself. And when it comes down to it, that’s what makes life so fun and interesting. Embracing the unknown and being willing to change directions at the drop of a hat if that’s where my heart is leading me.

We must focus on making the best decision we can in the present moment…with the information we have. And then make the most of it. Each turn we take in life is a stepping stone to the next place. And I truly believe that as long as we’re willing to take risks and step out into the unknown, we will achieve our goals…they may not pan out exactly how we imagined them, but they’ll be even better because they’re real. And because we made difficult choices each day based on our own intuition, desires and guidance found through prayer. What can be better than that?

So, here’s to not putting pressure on ourselves to have everything figured out. Here’s to embracing the unknown and living in the present moment!

Thoughts? I’d love to hear your input on this topic.

Aside from spending waaay too much time thinking (if you’re like me it’s very difficult to shut down your mind - hello savasana), I’ve also been dying over this amazing breakfast the last two mornings.

I think the idea of overnight oats mixed with banana soft serve was originally Angela’s, but I could be wrong.

First, mix together 1/3 cup of raw oats and 1 tablespoon of chia seeds with just under a cup of water. Set it aside in the fridge for overnight (preferably) or at least a half hour.

After it has set, place one frozen banana (cut into half at least, if not slices) in your food processor or blender and blend until it achieves a creamy, soft serve like consistency. You may have to stop it a couple times and scrape down the sides. After it is about half way done blending, add one tablespoon of natural peanut butter and blend until smooth.

Now pour your creamy, cold peanut butter banana soft serve over the (still cold) oats, admire it for several seconds and then mix it all up!

The absolute best part of this breakfast, in my humble opinion, is how the textures work together. The creamy cold oats weave together with the frozen banana “ice cream” so with each bite you get a combination of smooth oats with a little bit of icy cold peanut buttery goodness.

Now, let’s just say (hypothetically of course) that when you reached into the fridge to pull out your oats, an entire container of salsa fell out and busted on the floor, throwing bits of tomato all over the floors and walls. Well, in that case you might just need a little added craziness in the form of chocolaty indulgence. Go ahead and add crumbles from the leftover chocolate brownies that are wrapped in foil on the counter. There, that’s even better.

Now be prepared because your husband or your roommate might look at you like you’ve lost your mind, mixing cold oatmeal with blended frozen bananas…but it will all be worth it. In fact, my sweet husband commented that he “couldn’t think of any worse combination.” Now honey, that simply can’t be true. Let’s not be crazy.

This morning I taught an earlyish PiYo class and then tutored Hye kyoung. I’ll be spending the rest of the day trying to make our house appear as though humans live her and not animals…and desperately trying to avoid laying down for a nap. I was up late last night busy having epiphany’s about planning out my future…and my eyes are paying the consequences. So tired. All the more reason to celebrate the fact that it’s Friday!

Any big plans for the weekend ya’ll? Will you be celebrating Valentine’s Day or just laying low?
The husband has some plan up his sleeve for Sunday…but he won’t tell me what it is.

thankful

Only one day left until Thanksgiving – I can hardly believe it! I am so looking forward to spending time with family over the next few days. We’ll be leaving tomorrow afternoon, heading to my hometown for all kinds of fun. I’m so thankful that I have a home and family to spend time with. In fact, I have two!

Something I’m really feeling so thankful for this year is that I have my grandparents to go home to. My grandma and grandpa will cook Thanksgiving dinner at their house on Thursday, just like they have every single year since before I can remember. And I feel so blessed to be able to spend time with them.

This morning when I got up, I really was not feeling a workout at all. I just felt like I had zero energy…but I decided that if I just made myself go, I’d get more energized once I got there. Works every time.

Until today.

I felt completely drained the entire time, and it was all I could do to keep myself going from machine to machine. I ended up putting in about 40 minutes on the treadmill – a combination of walking, speed walking, jogging, running and pretty much everything in between. It wasn’t super intense, but I was moving!!

Unlike most days, I ate some breakfast before I went because I was starving from the second I woke up. I knew that oatmeal was in the cards, and in the end I decided to keep it simple. I love putting tons of different toppings on my oats, but sometimes it’s nice to just get back to the basics.

I cooked 1/2 cup of oatmeal in 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk for about 2 minutes. Actually, I cooked it for 1 minute and 50 seconds, and then the oatmeal overflowed out of the bowl and all over my microwave. oops! I seriously hate it when that happens!

Anyway, after getting everything cleaned up, I just stirred in about 1 tbsp of pumpkin butter and then put a little dollop on top. It was so simple tasting…and delicious!

I spent the rest of today doing laundry and working on preparing the photos I took for a family last weekend. Here is a little glimpse of two of the cutest little baby boys ever:)

Tomorrow is going to be a busy one, trying to get ready to go! I think I know what I’m taking as far as food, but I still need to work out a few more details before I share. Other than that I just have to pack, tutor and get some Outbox work done. And then we’ll be off! yay!

What are your plans for the holiday? What special dishes are you making?

a bit heavy for a morning run

“People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.”

- Audrey Hepburn

This morning I hit the treadmill just as the Ellen show was coming on. How convenient…great entertainment for an entire 45 minutes. My goal was 4 miles, no matter how I got there. And with a little bit of walking and a lot of jogging, I made it.

Today Ellen featured Michelle Obama on the show, and they talked about a plethora of topics. But one thing in particular that interested me was what Michelle had to say about the culture of bullying in our country (you can see the video here).

I think it is safe to say that bullying has gotten worse in many ways in America. Not only are our children experiencing more bullying in schools than ever before, but also in other areas, such as politics. How many times a day do we see a commercial where one politician is slandering his/her opponent? How many times a day do we hear our President bashed in some way? For as long as I can remember it has bothered me that people rally behind someone running for office, and then the second that person gets voted in, suddenly they’re being attacked in one way or another. It seems that many people (not all) have a lack of awareness or sensitivity when it comes to the way they treat other people.

Michelle’s main point was that if we as adults are treating our peers this way, what can we expect from our children? What kind of example are we really setting for them? She made a call to action for all of us to start being kinder to one another, recognizing that we don’t all have to agree, but we can still respect each other. We can respect the fact that we’re all different, and we all have different values and ideals. And just because someone sees things differently than we do, doesn’t mean they’re a bad person or that they have bad intentions.

Honestly, I really appreciated the way she handled this topic, and I agree so much with what she had to say. I did not vote for Obama in the election, but I think it is so important to still respect him as a person and as our president. Even if I don’t necessarily agree with his stance on certain issues.

Anyway, this just really got me thinking this morning about how we really can make a difference for ourselves, for those we know, and for future generations if we let go of the judgment and animosity toward people who are different than we are and love each other simply because we’re all human. We obviously have a long way to go as a culture and as a country, but I really believe that every little thing we can do makes a difference. Amen?!

Heavy stuff for a morning run.

And then I came home and ate oatmeal:)

Thick n Creamy Pumpkin Oats

Ingredients

1/2 banana, mashed and melted in the microwave
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 water
1/3 almond/soy milk
1/3 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 to 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
a dash of cinnamon
dried cranberries

Directions

Mash half a banana in a bowl and heat in microwave for 45 seconds – 1 minute
Mix together oats, water, soy milk, pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and microwave for 2 minutes, stirring after one minute
Add banana to oat mixture and mix well.
Sprinkle with dried cranberries and enjoy!

You could also use maple syrup or molasses to sweeten instead of mashed banana, and it would be really delish I think. And you could add chopped walnuts for some extra crunch – the possibilities are endless!

And lunch was so simple it’s not even funny.

This times two! Ezekiel bread with a layer of Trader Joe’s flax almond butter and a thin spread of TJ’s pumpkin butter. I figured out that if I think of the pumpkin butter as more of a jam than a butter I actually really like it. Score!

Today was a busy day, and although it started off pretty swell, the afternoon was not so dandy:( It was just one of those days where you just want to crawl into bed and have a good cry. And I may or may not have done so…and then driven straight to Starbucks for a little comfort (aka decaf soy pumpkin spice latte with no whipped cream and half the syrup). If you follow me on twitter, you may have sensed some tension in my tweets. But tomorrow is a new day!

And for one of my favorite phrases: onward and upward!

Love you guys!

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway if you haven’t already!

Do you love pumpkin? What’s your favorite way to use it?! And decorating counts:)

want some cookies?

And the celebration of fall continues…

Breakfast this morning.

Overnight oats prepared with 1/3 cup soy vanilla yogurt, 1/3 cup almond milk, 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 canned pumpkin, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 tsp molasses, and a sprinkle of unsweetened dried cranberries. I also made a trip to Panera with the husband before work – a bagel for him and a half decaf black coffee for me.

Today has been ultra busy because I’ve been preparing for a trip! We are leaving tomorrow night with some friends to roadtrip somewhere across the U.S. I’ll leave you with a hint as to where it might be.

I’ll choose one comment out of all of you who guess correctly by tomorrow night at 8pm, and I’ll mail you a batch of my very favorite homemade vegan cookies.

Let’s face it – I’m really just looking for an excuse to bake cookies for one of my fabulous readers. I love you guys:)

G’night!

let’s celebrate

All was quiet on CSM last night. I just needed a little bit of time to unwind and disconnect from everything. Jon and I took Olive and went on a walk, which we haven’t done in awhile bc we’ve been so busy. I’ve missed our walks so much!

Yesterday afternoon I took a trip to a new Farmer’s Market on our university’s campus. It was fairly small, but each farmer had a good array of fruits and veggies. I was hoping to pick up some swiss chard, and while they didn’t come through for me on that, I did score all of this

cucumbers, zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, canteloupe, squash

I love all the different shapes of produce you find at the Farmer’s Market. When food is grown naturally, you don’t get the perfect, uniform look that you see in the grocery stores. It reminds me of how fresh and natural these veggies are. Beautiful!

It also reminds me of us as humans. We are all so different in shape and size…and that is something to celebrate! It’s our individuality and uniqueness that makes us beautiful. I know I need a frequent reminder of that! All too often I find myself envying someone else – their job, their body, their personality – but I try to redirect my thoughts to focus on what I love about myself!

squash the size of my arm!

This morning I got up and enjoyed a bowl of plain soy yogurt, fresh berries and raw oatmeal before heading off to PiYo class!

A little while after getting back home I snacked on a whole wheat tortilla and some salsa. I usually try to base snacks around fruits/veggies, but when a serious craving strikes…I have no choice but to listen!

I’ll be spending the rest of the day working on Outbox tasks and practicing PiYo. Things are moving along with preparing to teach. Slowly, but surely.

Tonight Jon and I are going to make a run to the city, so I can look for a dress to wear to the Healthy Living Summit cocktail party! Hopefully I’ll be able to find something on sale! Wish me luck:)

What is one thing you can celebrate about yourself? It can be something about your body, personality…whatever! And you can’t avoid commenting on this post because you don’t want to answer the question;) We all have wonderful amazing characteristics, and it’s good for us to remind ourselves of those things.

I’ll get the ball rolling: I love that I have a high sense of compassion for people. My heart breaks so deeply when I see other people hurting.

Ready…GO!!

babies…babies and more babies

Lots of craziness goin’ on up in here!

Last night some friends of ours called at the last minute and were in town, wanting to come see us. They are fixin’ to move to North Carolina in about a month, and we’re going to miss them so much!

Fun fact: Molly was my roommate in college and Stewart was Jon’s roommate at the same time. Fun times for sure:)

Now they have these two cuties:

Sophia

Lydia

After they left, Jon and I hurried to the kitchen to fix some dinner! We were in a bit of a rush because my sister had called to see if we could babysit my fur-nephew this week; so, I needed to drive to meet her halfway between my hometown and our house.

While I wasn’t looking forward to the drive, it ended up being quite nice because the sun was setting and the two lane country hightway became almost magical. So pretty. No camera, though:(

Back to dinner.

We were going for something quick and easy, low mess, but delicious (of course:)

Presenting: Quick and Easy Pesto Pita Pizzas

Ingredients

whole wheat pitas
pesto sauce (we had some on hand, but you could also make your own)
tomato
chopped onion
canned artichoke hearts, chopped
soy cheese

1. Spread pesto onto whole wheat pita
2. Sprinkle on a thin layer of soy cheese (or whatever you prefer)
3. Place tomato slices on top
4. Spread chopped onion and artichoke hearts all over
5. Place in the oven on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees (This makes the pita edges nice and crispy)

The key to this recipe is to really lay on the veggies. The more veggies the better! You can also play around with all different variations.

Other great combinations:

Barbecue Chicken Pita Pizzas (pre-veggie days) – barbecue sauce, cheese, chopped chicken, onion and bell pepper

Basic Tomato Pita Pizzas – tomato sauce (doctored with italian seasonings), cheese, endless array of veggies!

So, after dinner I hopped in the car and headed to pick up this our new house guest

baby Bentley

He and Olive are quite the pair. She is really laid back and he is…well….not. So, sometimes she gets a little bit (okay, a lot) annoyed with him. Usually it gets better after they’ve been together for a couple of days. I think Olive finally gives up on being a recluse and submits to B’s playful ways. Let’s hope so anyway:)

They did get some play time in the backyard this morning. I was having a hay day taking pictures until I looked down and saw 5 million mosquitos on each leg. We high tailed it to the house!

I did also make it out for a run with Jon this morning. We ran/walked just under three miles. It was so humid, you could have sliced through the air with a knife. We are going to have to get up earlier if we’re going to run outside; it felt like we were suffocating!

Once we got home, I convinced myself to head to the gym for the Butts n Gutts class I told you all about last week. We did lunges. We did planks. We did squats. We jumped rope. Did jumping jacks. Abs on the bosu ball. Pretty much if you’ve ever heard of it or seen it, we did it. It was great! Tough, but great:)

Breakfast

I finally took the time to try the vegan overnight oats plus banana soft serve that Angela’s been raving about. And while my pics don’t really do it justice – you really must have a clear bowl to get the full effect – it was decadent!

Last night before I went to bed I combined 1/3 cup of oats with about 1 cup of almond milk + 1 tablespoon of chia seeds.

This morning I made peanut buttter banana soft serve using 1 whole banana and about 1/2 a tablespoon of natural peanut butter.

Then came the magnificent layering!

I topped it all off with fresh blackberries

Oh glorious day!

Loved this. Seriously loved it.

Well, I’m off to go try to salvage the babies’ relationhip before Bentley drives Olive over the edge! I hope you all have a marvelous, chia filled day!!

If you get a chance, stop by Peas and Thank You and say hi to Mama Pea. She’s doing a great cookbook giveaway, and I’ve got my fingers crossed for Eat, Drink and Be Vegan!

a savory morning

As I mentioned a few days ago, I have been craving savory breakfasts! I used to live on oatmeal, yogurt or cereal for my early morning meal, but lately the sweets just aren’t doin’ it for me.

On my way home from piyo this morning (and admittedly a bit during) I started brainstorming breakfast. I knew I wanted something savory, but I wasn’t really feeling eggs. I contemplated hummus and toast…and then suddenly it hit me.

Savory oats.

I think I first got the idea for savory oats from Angela. But honestly, I really didn’t think I could go there. “There “meaning…to a world where we mix things like black beans and veggies with oats. So, if you feel repulsed by this idea (ahem, Jon), don’t worry. One day you’ll find yourself pondering what to eat for breakfast, and boom, it’ll hit you too. Maybe:)

I immediately went to work. First, I sauteed some swiss chard and corn in a skillet with garlic powder, sea salt and black pepper.

Next I mixed up some humnut sauce by combining a couple tablespoons of hummus with about a tablespoon of nutritional yeast and some water for thinning.

Meanwhile, I cooked 1/3 cup of oats in 3/4 cup of water for a minute and thirty seconds in the micro. Watch ‘em closely so they don’t overflow!

Lastly, I mixed the humnut sauce in with the oats, which created a cheesy, creamy consistency. It was at this point that I started feeling pretty dang good about this recipe:) mmmmm.

Once the chard and corn were finished, I laid them on top of the cheesy oats….and sprinkled on some chia seeds!

Barely able to contain herself next to the creamy oaty goodness:)

After our little photo shoot, I took my first bite and….

it was fantastic! But still missing something.

How about some homemade salsa?

There…that’s it.

While savory oats aren’t my favorite breakfast ever, I definitely will be making them again and trying new variations! If you’re having trouble with the whole idea, just think of the oats as a grain rather than a breakfast food. You wouldn’t think twice about adding humnut sauce and greens to bulgur or quinoa, would you?

Before I go, I’d like to say a huge thank you to my sweet blog friend, Heather from Where’s the Beach, for passing on the Fabulous Sugar Doll Blogger award.

The rules of this award are to tell 10 little known facts about myself and pass it on to three to five other bloggers. So, here goes!

1. I learned to ride a bike when I was 3 (no training wheels!)
2. I used a pacifier until I was 4…get the picture?
3. I played basketball from the age of 5 to 18
4 I am obsessed with anything that has birds on it
5. I flew in an airplane for the first time when I was 20 years old
6. I am a clean fanatic. I absolutely hate being dirty. worked out great in Thailand:)

don’t judge;)

7. I am a chapstick fiend. As my husband says “you are obsessively freaky about it”
8. I changed my major five times in college
9. I love rainy days more than sunny days
10. I never get tired of spending time with my husband

I pass this award on to

Sarah at Gluten Free Tries Vegan

Sarah is one of my very favorite blog friends…if you haven’t visited her blog…go NOW!

What do you think about savory oats? Can you “just not go there?” Or is your mouth watering just thinking about them?

Tonight Jon and I received a special visitor who will be staying with us until Sunday. Can you guess who it is?

baby cuteness

Morning!

Yesterday ended up being a whirlwind of a day. I made a last minute decision to hop on the road and go visit my family for a couple of hours. My baby cousin, whom I see very rarely, was in town so everyone was gathering at my grandma’s to hang out.

I was able to get a few things accomplished before I left as well as hit up a new class at the gym – turbokick. It was my first time to try this one, and I really liked it. If any of you have ever tried turbo jam by Chalene Johnson – it’s the live class version of that. I’ve done turbo jam about a million times, so turbokick wasn’t entirely new to me, but they’ve added in a lot of new moves since I bought my DVDs. I think I’ll probably go back…it gave me a really good workout to say the least!

Anyway, here are some pics from the day

Breakfast before Turbokick – Greek yogurt, 1/3 cup raw oats, the last of the frozen cherries and chias

Midmorning snack – brown rice cake with the last of my almond butter:( I think I need to run to the store

Lunch – spinach lavash wrap (love these!), Morningstar black bean burger (not vegan btw) Sabra garlic hummus, broccoli slaw and spinach

Afternoon snack at my grandma’s – watermelon!! Seedless watermelon!

I also had an unpictured apple pie Larabar on my drive back home

Dinner last night was also unpictured because I figured you guys don’t need to see enchiladas yet again on CSM. I promise we didn’t actually make them again last night…we had leftovers; however, not promising we wouldn’t have made them had there not been leftovers;) What can I say?

Well, I’m off to piyo class! I’ll be laying low, working at the house today until I meet Mohammad for tutoring.

Don’t forget to stop by and enter the chia seed giveaway! If you haven’t tried them before, I promise you’ll love ‘em…what’s not to love?

Have you tried chia seeds before? Tell me what you’re favorite way is to eat them!
If you haven’t had them before, what would you do with them if you win?

turbo kick = a bust

Hello!

Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement on yesterday’s post about my decision to leave my job. That post was very difficult to write because putting it all down on “paper” made it seem more real…and more scary. I honestly can’t say that I woke up this morning feeling no fear or doubt, but nothing worth attaining is every easy, right? Your comments completely made my day and helped calm my racing mind. I just keep re-analyzing the situation and the what ifs over and over in my head, and I know that is getting me nowhere good. I’ve got to be able to let it go and get excited about moving forward!

You all really do mean so much to me, though, and I’m so thankful for you:)

This morning I tried to ward off Satan’s attempt to bring me down by spending some time with the Lord over a seriously good yogurt bowl

blueberry soy yogurt with 1/3 cup raw oats, 1/2 tbsp chia seeds and some dried cranberries

Later I headed to the gym – I’ve been wanting to try out the Turbo Kick class and today seemed like a great day to do it! Maybe not. I was the only one who showed up! The instructor and I ended up striking up a conversation and talked through the entire class. I was kind of bummed that I didn’t get to try it out, but I found out a lot of interesting things about certifications that might help me in the future, so I suppose it was worth it.

After we finished chatting I hopped on the treadmill and cranked out 3 miles. I forgot to reset the treadmill after my walking warm-up, so I don’t have final stats unfort. It was a pretty good run though, and my last mile was my strongest, so I consider that a win!

I followed the run with some of Polly’s yoga for runners. I’ve been doing this after every run this week, and I feel like it really is helping me to loosen up a lot, which helps with my runs. My legs haven’t been feeling as tight, and I feel lighter on my feet. If you haven’t checked out her site, you should stop by – she has a plethora of great yoga videos! And she’s cute as a button:)

Lunch!

I whipped up a new, but very simple little dish for lunch. I’ve been craving this new organic pasta sauce we bought last time we were at the store.

I tried it once before and loved it! And check out the stellar ingredients.

I mixed 1/2 cup of sauce with 1/3 cup of black beans and a handful of frozen spinach. Popped it in the micro for about a minute and a half and poured it over top 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa. It was delicious! The flavors combined perfectly.

On the side I also had a sliced pear sprinkled with cinnamon.

You should try this concoction!

This afternoon I’ve been working on some stuff for Outbox (our business), and I talked to my sister for a loooonnng time! Love conversations that are so good they go on for hours:)

I’m off now to meet with Mohammad for some tutoring. Hope you guys have a great day, and I’ll see you tonight!

The long weekend is almost here! What are your plans?
Will you be shooting any fireworks or just watching them?

Are you a phone person? Do you have trouble keeping in touch with long distance friends?

weekend in pics

Friday I took off work so that Jon and I could leave early for the Train concert. I started my morning off with an ice cold green smoothie and Pilates at the gym. Bliss. I miss going to the gym in the morning. Only four more weeks until I can go everyday!

Later I had some carrots and hummus to hold me over until lunch.

A little while later we packed up, hopped in the car and headed south. The concert was at a casino about 3 hours away, so we had quite the drive! It was nice, though, and we arrived just in time to check into our hotel, eat some pizza for dinner (sorry, no pics!) and make it to the concert with plenty of time to spare.

Guys, the concert was awesome! If you don’t listen to Train, you should, and if you do listen to Train, you MUST hit up one of their concerts. They put on a great show and played all my favorite songs. Jon and I sang and danced the night away:)

The concert was over by about 10:30. We just headed back to our hotel and spent the evening just hanging out. It was the best night.

Saturday morning we slept in a bit, then hit the road. We picked up some Starbucks for breakfast – I had the perfect oatmeal made with soymilk. I added about half the amount of nuts and dried fruit that they gave me. This was my first time to try Starbuck’s oatmeal, and it was fantastic! It was the perfect serving size and was so delicious! I would definitely get this again.

Next, we met up with my MIL and FIL in the city. My FIL was going to play some golf, so we planned to hang out with my MIL for a couple hours. Not before joining in on a little family golf and juggling.

I promise there is a ball there:)

Later we hit up PeiWei for lunch. Yum! My favorite. I had a nice ice water with orange…

one vegetable spring roll…

and the Korean Spicy dish which consisted of brown rice, tofu, mushrooms, carrots, long beans, broccoli, sugar snap peas, onions and sesame seeds. I cannot get enough of this dish! I ate almost all the vegetables and about half the tofu and rice.

After lunch and some quick shopping, we stopped at my mom’s house to pick up Olive and headed back home. It was such a great weekend…I totally wish I could go back and re-live it all!

I started off this morning with a bowl of cereal. I found a new Nature’s Path cereal that has corn flakes, amaranth flakes and quinoa . It’s awesome! We found it at Big Lots ( a bargain store) of all places. So random! I’ll be doing a real review over it later.

After church, we had lunch at Panera (I had my usual – black bean soup and mediterranean veggie sandwich), then spent the rest of the day taking a nap, watering the flowerbeds, doing laundry, washing the car, cleaning out the fridge and buying groceries! Such a productive and fun afternoon.

Olive even made a new friend:)

And I ended the afternoon with another energizing green smoothie. This one had a TON of spinach, Amazing Grass, 1/2 banana, almond milk, a bit of soy yogurt, ice and a sprinkle of granola on top!

Well, that’s it for tonight! I’ve got to do some work for school still, and I need to be off to bed in about a half hour. eek!

super fun news

What a day! I have got some super fun news.

We’re going to Paris!

Jon and I have been working on planning our summer vacation for awhile. Remember this post? Well, Jon has been spending a lot of time researching flights and hotels, trying to get us a good deal. We really haven’t been picky about where to go…we just knew we wanted to go overseas because we haven’t been outside the U.S. since Tokyo almost 2 years ago!

Anyway, we were looking more into South America because the flights are much more affordable than Europe. On a whim the other night, Jon typed in the information to find out how much a flight to Barcelona would cost, and in another instant a round trip flight from Dallas to Barcelona to Paris and back to Dallas popped up. Whoohoo! I’m so excited. I’ve never been to Europe, but have always wanted to go. We leave just a few days after I get out of school. It’s already almost time to start packing, ha!

Now I just have to survive four more weeks of madness and we’ll be on our way!

I’ve been bursting at the seams all day, but now on to breakfast.

I had an Ezekiel English muffin with almond butter and 1/2 a sliced banana. One of my favorite breakies. Gotta love the fine paper dishware as well. Great for on-the-go!

Lunch today was Pita Pit, and unfortunately I didn’t get a picture. It was delicious as always, though!

Later I had a snack of Whole Soy vanilla yogurt and raw oatmeal. And some carrots for later on.

Raw oatmeal is SO good in yogurt! I used to eat it in Greek yogurt a long time ago, and I hadn’t had it in awhile. The other day I ran out of granola, and decided to throw in some oats instead, and I fell in love all over again! You MUST try it.

I had a meeting after school today that lasted until 5, which means I didn’t get home until 6. As soon as I walked in the door, Jon had some casual clothes laid out for me and said “get dressed, we’re goin’ out!” What a guy!

Needless to say, it’s been a busy evening, and I’m about to peace out and get some sleep. This is really Thursday night for me because I took off work Friday. The plan is to stay home and grade essays all day, and then head south to hit up the Train concert! We’re staying in a hotel Friday night, stopping in the city to see the inlaws on Saturday and then heading home! Blogging may be a bit “hit and miss” this weekend, but I’ll def. be around.

Hope you’re all having a great night!

make it happen

Happy Thursday:) I honestly can’t believe we’re only a night’s sleep away from Friday. I am SO glad. I’m just counting down the days until school is out – only 6 weeks and 1 day to go.

I received my Women’s Health magazine in the mail today, and it has some great stuff. Women’s Health and Oxygen are my favorite magazines – I feel they are the most down-to-earth and real of all the fitness magazines. This issue has Jillian Michaels on the cover and a great interview with her inside. It’s funny how when you need a certain kind of affirmation about something, it just keeps popping up everywhere. In her interview, Jillian gives some great tips on how to achieve success, so I thought I’d share them with you!

Define your goal and be specific: you have to know exactly what you’re going after before you can go after it.
Believe in your ability: A lot of times people don’t really believe they can accomplish their goals. If you don’t believe in you, then who will? This is the one I have the most trouble with. At times I’ll feel so confident and self assured, like I could become the next Oprah if I wanted…other times I have trouble believing that I can make it through my next workout. This is something I am really working on in my life right now.
Stay positive: the minute you turn around to bash yourself, reverse it and give yourself a compliment.
Imagine your goal: Visualization allows you to get comfortable with the idea of change. I was just thinking about this today. I took a few minutes to visualize my goals. I pictured myself as I would be a year from now if I actually stepped out and tackled my goals. I even envisioned what the blog post would look like when I recap everything I will have accomplished (obvs. I think of everything in terms of blog posts:) This was really motivating for me. I desperately want to live that story!
Get educated: Studying up before pursuing your goal helps you make powerful choices that effect change. Knowledge is power.
Don’t fear failure: It is an integral part of success. I fear failure all the time! I think the big point here could even be – it’s okay to fear failure, as long as you don’t let that fear hold you back. Conquer it!
Get feedback: look for someone who’s educated in the goal you’re trying to achieve and seek out constructive criticism from him/her.

I think I’m going to type these up and post them where I can see them on a daily basis. Keeping things like this in front of me helps me stay motivated and inspired!

Today was honestly pretty stressful. Work was more stressful than usual (I won’t even go into that), and I got a call from my mom this morning, letting me know my grandpa had an accident. He had climbed up on the roof of our lake cabin to clear off some limbs, and when he went to climb back down, one leg of the ladder sunk into the ground, causing him to fall from the roof level. Unfortunately, he cracked three ribs. Fortunately, he didn’t have any other injuries. I am so thankful to still have my two grandparents, and all the time I think about the possibility of something happening to them. I don’t know how I would handle it. Even this got me all worked up, and I just wanted to go visit him, not be at work! I got to talk to him on the phone for awhile after work, though, and he seemed to be in pretty high spirits, considering.

For lunch, the parents at our school put together a luncheon for the teachers. I knew right away (from past experience) that there would be nothing there for me, so I packed this

Overnight oats! 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup plain soy yogurt, 1/3 cup almond milk, 1 tbsp chia seeds, sprinkle of cinnamon, 1/2 chopped banana. Let sit overnight. Add toppings! Almond butter to be specific. Delish! My coworkers give me the strangest looks sometimes;)

Here’s the rest of the day’s eats

Yes, that would be cheeseless pizza again. Yes, I just had it last Saturday. What can I say? I was having a serious hankering for it, and I was exhausted from the day. What’s a girl to do?

I also am proud to say I worked out today, even though it was all I could do to keep my eyes open during the commute home. I threw on my gym clothes and headed to the gym. I cranked out a quick 2.5 miles on the treadmill, and followed it up with some ab work using the Bosu ball. Yay!

What is your favorite fitness magazine? Or would you rather read online articles/blogs instead?
What strategies do you have to help you stay motivated and inspired?
Chia Seeds Direct is having a sale on white chia seeds. Get 10% off by using the code WCS. Also, U.S. residents get free shipping. What are ya waiting for??

Well, that’s it for today, folks! Hope you all have a great Friday! G’night.

where have you been?

Hey! How is the end of your weekend treating ya? I love Sundays, but I’m not too crazy about Sunday nights because I start feeling not too excited about the week ahead. Do you ever feel bummed out on Sunday nights at the thought of starting the work week? Or do you feel excited about the coming days?

Honestly, I don’t have a whole lot of exciting things for you tonight…sorry! We have just had kind of a lax day. I did snap a quick shadowy shot of breakfast

This bowl included 1/3 cup oats, 3/4 cup almond milk, 1 tbsp almond butter, a couple of spoonfuls of soy yogurt and homemade granola. I’ll never tire of this combination – the toppings are where it’s at! This granola is a homemade recipe that I created. I’m on a misison to create the best clean granola I’ve ever had, and while this one wasn’t quite it, it was pretty close. It was definitely tasty enough to sprinkle on for breakfast! As soon as I hit it, I’ll let you guys know, but until then…onward and upward!!

The rest of the day was spent napping, grading essays, going to visit some friends, working on some projects and watching Amazing Race. Tonight they were in Singapore, which was so fun because Jon and I were just there about a year ago. We saw some of the same places we had been – fun! Here are some pics from our time there

They ate ice cream sandwiches exactly like this on the show tonight

China town

The contestants took an overnight train from Malaysia just like we did, and I swear we saw this same sign on TV when they got off the train. It was definitely the same station. Ah, memories:)

Have you been on any international vacations? What has been your favorite place to visit? Jon and I are planning an international vacation for this summer, and we are trying to decide where we want to go. We’ve been to Israel, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan. Any suggestions on great destinations? I’d love to hear about your favorite trip!!

Apologies for the lack of food pics tonight. Hope you all have a great start to the week tomorrow!!

happy 1st day of Spring! ha!

Spring really came in with a bang today! The temperature dropped about 45 degrees and it’s been like a blizzard for the last 12 hours.

Mom and Dad McCoy left at about 11am this morning. We had a great time having them visit. Yesterday we hit up almost every bargain store in our little city (the McCoy’s love a good bargain!), ate some Mexican food for dinner, grabbed Orange Leaf for dessert, then topped the night off by playing a good couple hours of Wii.

Sorry for the iPhone photos! I ordered enchiladas with spinach and mushrooms and verde sauce on top (subbed for the cheese sauce). I ate one of these enchiladas and most of the rice and beans. I try to not usually order rice and beans with my meal, but for some reason I decided to splurge. They were pretty good, but probably not worth it. O’well. I also had about half a basket of chips. Dang tortilla chips – almost always get the best of me. Little know fact – chips and salsa is my all time favorite food!

This pic does NOT do my yogurt justice. Next time I’ll have to cart my dslr into Orange Leaf. I had the non dairy Pineapple yogurt. For toppings I added strawberries, blueberries, cashews and one each of a piece of snickers, brownie and reeses. I figure that’s the wonder of self serve yogurt shops – you can get the teeniest amount – too bad you can’t do that at all restaurants!

So, I’ve basically spent the entire day sitting on the couch with Olive and Jon watching the snow fall out the window and working on a combination of work stuff and blogging. We did take a little break earlier to catch up on 3 episodes of LOST – which were awesome by the way. It has been a glorious second to last day out of school. I’m really bad about dreading going back to work so much that I let it taint my time off work. Yes, I realize this is ridiculous, and it’s something I’m really working on. I’ve been okay today, though.

Oh, and somehow I forgot to mention that I’ve kind of been eating all day as well. It’s one of those days where I just keep finding myself snacking. I think it mainly has to do with being cooped up inside all day with bad weather. Here’s a quick recap of my eats so far today:

Breakfast was 1/3 cup of oats cooked for a minute and half in 3/4 cup water. I added about half a container of soy yogurt on top with a bit of cashew butter and a sprinkle of granola. Yum! I absolutely die over cold yogurt on hot oats.

Next up was lunch – a new concoction that I like to call Veggie-tel (veggies+rotel, kind of corny I know:)

To make Veggie-tel

Sautee brussel sprouts and carrots in a bit of Evoo and garlic
Meanwhile cook 1 cup of bulgur
Add one can of rotel tomatoes + half an onion chopped in big chunks
Add one can of chickpeas (rinsed to eliminate extra sodium)
Simmer veggie/rotel concoction over medium heat
When almost all the water has cooked off the bulgur, dump the entire pot of bulgur into veggie mixture
Last, add your favorite spices (which for me is ground red pepper) and a couple handfuls of fresh spinach
Heat through until spinach is wilted
Serve with chopped avocado on top!

I loved this meal!! It is so fun to me to just throw together my favorite ingredients- i.e. rotel, brussels and chickpeas – and create a fabulous meal!

While watching LOST a couple hours later I may have eaten a couple handfuls of M&Ms, which I seriously regretted about 30 minutes later because my stomach was not agreeing. I don’t know why I do that sometimes. It’s like I just get in a zone and eat mindless things that I know are not going to make me feel good. Live and learn I guess.

Does this ever happen to you? I have gotten a lot better about not beating myself up over such instances, but I still regret them. How do you avoid/deal with times when you mindlessly eat foods that basically just make you feel like crap? Do you think this is something that can be overcome? Or is it something that as humans we will always deal with?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic, and I hope everyone has a great Saturday evening! Jon and I are going to rent a couple of movies me thinks – maybe Precious or Time Traveler’s Wife? Maybe both? We shall see!

70 today, snow tomorrow

I can’t believe it’s already Friday of Spring Break. This week has gone by so fast! I still have a couple of posts I want to get up from the last few days, but I thought I’d sneak in a little daily post this morning. Jonathan’s mom and dad are going to be cruising into town in about an hour and a half, and we still need to finish cleaning up the house and go grocery shopping…eek!

We started off this morning with a two mile walk/run. It was supposed to be a two mile run, but the wind was blowing so hard so we wimped out for about a half mile. We finished strong, though!

As soon as we got back I realized how fast we were going to have to fly to get everything done before my MIL and FIL arrived. So, we put it into high gear – so much so that I didn’t stop to eat anything until about 11:30. By that point my body was not very happy with me. It cheered up really quick though after I practically inhaled this

This was a super green monster! I put in 2 big handfuls of spinach, 1/4 cup oats, 1/2 tbsp almond butter, a little over a cup of soymilk + splash of almond milk to finish off the carton, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1/2 banana and one scoop of Amazing Grass. I added in the oatmeal today because I’m not sure when I’ll eat again. Plus, because I ate so late I was ravenous!!

I am loving this day so far because it is so nice outside – I even got to snap my monster photos on the deck! I just realized this morning, however, the extent of the snow that is forecasted for tonight and tomorrow. They are now predicting “blizzard like conditions” and about a foot of snow! That’s OK for you – 70 degrees today and a blizzard tonight/tomorrow. I guess I better jet so I can get some groceries stocked!

I hope everyone has a fantastic day! Happy Friday to those of you who have worked all week:)

exciting news

Jon and I are going shopping for a new camera next week!! I am so stoked. I have been taking all my blog pics with my iPhone, and it’s become so uninspiring. I’m sure you feel the same way;) We have wanted a new one for awhile, and since Jon’s side business has really taken off we’ve finally come to a point where we can get one. Now the problem is just deciding which one to get. Neither of us knows much about them, so we’re going to have to learn a lot…not only to buy it but to figure out how to use it!

Does anybody have an recommendations? I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Canon Rebel, but aside from that I don’t have much to go on. I’d love any suggestions you guys might have!

These past few days have been CRAZY. On Saturday, my mom, step dad and sister came up to visit for the afternoon/evening. I love hanging out with family. My mom and I cooked dinner together while my stepdad and Jon went to Lowe’s to get a deadbolt for our front door. Awhile later my sister got here, and we spent the rest of the night eating and just hanging out. It is not often that my mom, sister and I all get to spend time together, and it was definitely the highlight of my week. I wish we could do it more often.

Sunday also involved family, but was not nearly as pleasant. My grandma recently found out she has pancreatic cancer, and her health is declining quite rapidly. She doesn’t have much longer, so we drove to my hometown on Sunday, picked up my sister and went to visit her. While I’m so glad we went, it was really hard to see her in the state that she’s in. Needless to say these last couple of days have been a bit dismal feeling.

I do have some random pics of some eats from the last couple of days. I promise that once we get our new camera (and figure out how to use it;) food pics will be much more exciting. I can’t wait!

Regardless…

One of my favorites as of recent – stir fried carrots, zucchini, spinahc and brussels with soba noodles, doused in nutritional yeast obvs.

This is the kombucha that I brought home from Whole Foods when we went there on Valentine’s Day. I saved it ever since then and finally broke it out after our 5 miler on Saturday. It was totally worth the wait!! Now I just need to figure out how to get another one…

This has become my current favorite way to eat oats – cooked in water and topped with soy yogurt on one side and almond butter on the other. Sprinkled with a bit of Bob’s Red Mill cinnamon apple granola. This is addicting. I am so addicted to the combination of yogurt and granola. I may have to add that to my challenge list. haha! yeah right.

And last but not least, dinner tonight. I kept it simple because Jon wasn’t home to eat with me, and I just didn’t feel like spending much time on dinner.

Avocado and hummus sandwiched between ezekiel bread. Exactly what I was craving. It totally hit the spot. I love simple meals like this. Obvs. this meal was lacking a bit in the veggie department, but I’m never low on veggies so I didn’t worry about it too much!

I hope everyone is having a great start to the week. Only four more days and I’ll be on Spring Break when I get to spend every waking moment with the Mr. It seems like a dream right now.

G’night!!

“breakfasty” things and some thoughts…

Wow, this week has been so busy! I’ve missed blogging so much. School has just been completely overwhelming, and I haven’t been able to spend the time posting or reading that I would like to. I know there are always going to be those times, but in the spirit of honestly, I am feeling a little “down-in-the-dumps” today. I’ve never really had the drive to be a career focused woman. I’m much more interested in being a wife and homemaker, but I’ve found myself in a job that takes up so much of my time, even outside of actual work hours. It’s really hard to find time to do anything else. So, I apologize for being a slacker this week. It wasn’t because I didn’t have plenty to say or because I didn’t miss blogging. It was simply a matter or no time! This coming week is not looking much better, but I’m going to try my best to carve out more time for other things, and, just as a side note, three weeks from now is Spring Break…yea!!

So, here are couple of things I want to share from the last few days:

A great oat combo!

1/3 cup oats
1 cup water
1 spoonful of canned pumpkin
cinnamon

Toppings:

almond butter
sprinkle of kashi go lean crunch
dollop of soy yogurt
blues!

This was a serious bowl of oats, lemme tell ya. I had high ambitions because Jon and I laid in bed for awhile after we woke up this morning; so by the time we got up, got dressed, went for an hour walk with Olive and then came back home, I was famished! This concoction definitely took care of my hunger.

Next up – my favorite breakfast from this week:

So sorry for the crappy pictures. Here’s the deal – I always borrow Jon’s camera from work to take my blog shots, but lately he hasn’t been able to bring it home, so I’ve been shooting with the iPhone – not ideal. We are working toward getting a camera of our own in the next few months, and I cannot wait. Until then, this will have to suffice at times.

This is an Ezekiel cinnamon raisin english muffin, topped with a spread of almond butter or cashew butter and sliced banana. So easy. So transportable. And delish. Love it.

Last…and certainly not least – is something new I tried this week for a midafternoon snack. The coconut milk yogurt that I got from Whole Foods last Sunday.

I topped this vanilla flavored coconut yogurt with some granola and sliced almonds. I did NOT like it. The texture and the flavor were just not working for me. The texture was very gel like, and the flavor just seemed off. I’ve seen a lot of coconut yogurt around the blog world, and I’ve been itching to try it. I’m glad I finally did, but I definitely won’t be buying it again. I tried to finish this one, but I just couldn’t do it. It’s very rare for me to try a new health food that I don’t like, but it happens. o’well…this stuff is not cheap and not available in Stillwater, so it kind of works out. I’ll stick to my Whole Soy, thank you very much.

Last thing before I sign off for the night. I have been struggling this past week or so with snacking. I try to stick to 5 small meals a day, with no random eating in between, and it totally works for me. The snacking I’ve been doing has not been out of hunger, and that’s why I have a problem with it. I am still working toward my goal of losing 20 lbs. I’ve lost about 8 lbs. so far, and while my goal was March 22nd, there’s no way I’m going to make that date. And I’m totally fine with that. I’d actually be happy for it to take a little longer, and for me to be able to enjoy life a lot more along the way! This is a lifelong lifestyle for me, so there really is no hurry.

BUT, I do still want to continue making progress. So, I’m really going to be working on cutting out the mindless/stress eating. It negatively impacts the way I feel, mentally and physically. I feel disappointed in myself and my body doesn’t take to it very well. Eating too much throughout the day makes me feel sluggish and heavy, with very little energy. One way I’m going to try to combat it is to think of something else specific that I can do when I feel the urge coming on. Some ideas include lighting a candle and laying down to rest for 15 minutes or so, taking deep breaths and thinking of the progress I’ve made and how I want to treat my body like the temple that it is, calling someone (hi mom!) and talking out how I’m feeling, or hopping on one of my favorite inspirational blogs to get motivation.

Questions of the day: do you ever eat due to stress or mindlessness? What kind of things do you do other than eating when you need something to just calm you down?

I hope you all are having a great weekend and getting some rest and relaxation in! See ya later!

on a scale of 1 to 10…

Hello!

Tonight is going to have to be a quick post because I’ve spent way too much of my time watching The Biggest Loser and grading projects for my sophomores, and I’ve got to head to bed!

I started my day off with overnight oats, primarily because we are out of soy milk, so I couldn’t make my usual green monster. Last night I mixed up 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup soy yogurt, 1/3 cup water, a heaping spoonful of canned pumpkin and cinnamon. I set it in the fridge overnight, and then this morning hubby added in sliced almonds and some blueberries. Yummo! I always love having overnight oats! I usually really enjoy them cold, straight out of the fridge, but it was so cold outside this morning that I decided to heat them up. They kept me warm all the way to work!!

*good oats…bad, bad pic

Dinner tonight was our usual Tuesday night enchiladas, aka “our addiction.” We LOVE this meal. Jon and I honestly just cannot get enough of Mexican food, so obvs. we have to healthify it. I like our version just as good or better as the restaurant version we used to get so often. I feel a heck of a lot better after eating this one though!

* this pic is so bad I almost didn’t post it. Don’t judge the ‘lada because of the sad iPhone pic.

1 Stacy’s whole wheat tortilla (more on these later)
2 slices of portabello mushroom
sauteed spinach
chopped onion
diced green chilis
nutritional yeast (protein)
green enchilada sauce

Wrap it all up and pop it in the over for about 10 minutes, and you’ve got yourself a gooey, smokin’ hot enchilada. Add a big scoop of homemade, healthy guac and a small side of refrien beans – perfection. If you love Mexican food, you would love this meal, promise.

Question for tonight: do you have levels of healthiness when you think about the food you eat?

Let me explain. Even though all the food I eat is clean, I still put it in levels in my mind for some reason. For instance, sauteed veggies over spaghetti squash would be about a 10 on the scale of healthiness, whereas my vegan enchilada meal is about a 5 or 6. In reality, neither meal is “not clean” or unhealthy in any way, but I still put these “labels” on my food sometimes. Does anybody else do this? I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing, but it’s kind of curious. Just wondered if I’m the only crazy person food labeler out there.

That’s it for now, friends. I’ve got to get to bed – I’ve got a busy day ahead involving a english department meeting over lunch, meeting with my principal during my planning period and a workout + hair appointment after school. Gotta decide whether to grow it out or keep it short. Ahh, decisions decisions!!

Night!

Pumpkin Protein Waffles

Happy Saturday blog friends! How is the weekend going so far? Mine is going way too fast. Today, Jon and I went to OKC so I could go to a baby shower for my friend. He dropped me off and went to hang out at Barnes and Noble, and I got to hang out with my girlfriends from college! It was so nice to see them…it had been way too long.

Since I didn’t get a post up yesterday, I want to catch up by highlighting a couple of meals from the last 2 days.

First up is this:

I finally got my Jay Robb! I’ve been wanting to try this protein powder for so long, and it finally came in the mail. The morning after I got it, I decided to try it in my green monster. That was one of the main reasons why I wanted to order it. So, into the blender went:

1 cup soymilk
2 big handfuls of spinach
1/2 a banana
chia seeds
2 tbsp Jay Robb

Okay, I have to admit that I didn’t love Jay Robb. I know, I know. It sounds crazy, but I really didn’t like it much.

Pros
24 grams of protein
short ingredient list- whole grain sprouted brown rice protein, natural flavor, stevia
eco-friendly packaging

Cons
a bit chalky
expensive if you have to order it online
flavor seems off

I just did not like the way this protein powder tasted. I very rarely sweeten things these days, so I think that may have something to do with it. If you are a person who really likes stevia or uses it a lot, you may like the taste of Jay Robb much better. I’m not much of a fan, though. I was a very sad girl, missing my usual green monster all the way to work.

Now, let’s move on from to the more positive side of things. I vowed to never use this protein powder in my morning smoothie again, BUT that doesn’t mean I’m unwilling to use it in other things. And with that I present to you my crazy good breakfast from this morning…

Check out the thickness!

Pumpkin Protein Waffles

1 cup oats
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 cup soy milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 heaping tablespoon of Jay Robb

adapted from original recipe from onefitfoodie.com

I threw all the ingredients into the blender and switched it on for about a minute. Then, I poured it into the waffle maker and let it cook for the normal amount of time (until the light went off). The batter was so thick I had to scrape it out of the blender with a spatula. I wondered how the thickness would affect the final product, but it just made it thick and hearty! The pumpkin flavor was subtle and it mixed so well with the almond butter and banana. Also, I didn’t miss syrup at all! The texture of the banana was enough to counter any dryness. Basically, this was just a warm, thick, soft plate of heaven! I topped mine with almond butter and sliced banana, but there are endless possibilities! It was so, so good! And it held me over for a good four hours or so. You’ve got to try this recipe. It will definitely be a good way to still use the Jay Robb because I couldn’t even taste it in the waffles, but it added some much needed protein.

And I’ll leave you with a picture of dinner tonight from Pei Wei. Pei Wei is one of my favorite restaurants to eat out at. It’s pretty clean if you choose the right thing, and it’s so delicious! I ordered the Spicy Korean with vegetables and tofu and brown rice.

I ate about half of this and brought the rest home for leftovers. The only negative about this meal is the high sodium content, but it’s certainly worth it on occasion!! Otherwise, the nutrition stats are pretty good.

I hope everyone has a wonderful night! Until tomorrow…

a happy weekend:)

Okay, so I’m off work AGAIN tomorrow. I just got the call that we are taking another snow day tomorrow because the roads are still not clear. This has turned into a 5 day weekend…crazy! It’s not that I mind having another day to stay at home and not have to commute, but I’ve got my classes on a planned schedule, and this is really cramping my style! I’m going to have to spend a few hours tomorrow working and rescheduling some things. I’ve got my fingers crossed that we’ll be back in session on Tuesday. As of today we’ve exceeded our built in snow days so we’ll be adding on a day in May. Blah. O’well, I’m just going to try to enjoy being home and get ahead a little bit with planning. I know I can’t complain about having a day off work!

Anyway! These last couple of days have been so nice! Jon and I have just been workin’ away on projects around the house.

First this:

This picture doesn’t even do it justice. I’m a little embarrassed to post the before pic because it was so bad. It feels so good to have that task done finally!

Then this:

What can we say? We love quirkiness;)

We’ve been needing curtains for our bedroom since we moved in last May. A few months ago we were at Wall’s Bargain Center and it just so happend that they had gotten a shipment of Anthropologie items in. We scored several things including this cool fabric. I knew immediately that I wanted to use it to make curtains for our bedroom. I’m so glad we finally made them, and we’re really happy with the outcome! What do you think?

And because I mentioned in a post about 3 weeks ago that we got a new bed and pictures were coming…

I also made a little blanket for my friend whose baby shower is next weekend. It’s a tag blanket, and the baby can chew/suck on the ribbons. I promise that moms really use these – any moms out there who’ve heard of a tag blanket??

Now for a list of tasty highlights from the last couple of days -

I made tofu for the first time! It turned out okay, but was a little tough. I need to find a different recipe to make the next batch. My problem is that most recipes I find for tofu marinade include high sodium sauces, which I try to steer clear of. Any ideas out there of low sodium sauces/marinades to use with tofu? Also, do you marinate your tofu before or after you cook it? My recipe said to marinate after cooking, but that just seemed weird to me. Here’s what I did for this meal:

sauteed brussels, broccoli, mushrooms and zucchini
added in some asian sesame salad dressing found in the fridge
heated up some pre-made brown rice
cut tofu into one inch slices and pressed between towels with books on top for one hour
threw the tofu into the pan with the veggies and pressed it with a spatula until brown on both sides
added the rice and a little more sauce and mixed it all together and heated through
garnished with sliced almonds

Overall this meal was really good, but I definitely need to work on my tofu making skills (or lack thereof:)!

Next highlight was dessert!

Banana soft serve with vegan chocolate chips/carob chips. Banana soft serve has floated around the blog world for a long time. I’m not sure who the original credit really goes to, but please let me know if you have any idea!

Breakfast this morning was oats of course!

I added:

sliced banana
dollop of soy raspberry yogurt
almond butter
sprinkle of Kashi Go Lean cereal – Kashi is my husband’s favorite cereal. I thought a small bit would complement my oats quite well – and I was right!

And last…today’s lunch. I had cooked up a batch of whole wheat couscous, but hadn’t yet figured out what to do with it. So, I ravaged the fridge and just threw in some things I had on hand.

leftover steamed green beans
steamed spinach
chick peas
black beans
corn
tiny bit of salsa
seasonings

This was pretty tasty. I love throwing together grain and veggie concoctions! I’ve been doing different variations for a long time, and you really can’t go wrong. If you make up the grain ahead of time and have veggies on hand, it’s super fast too!

What do you do for a quick go to meal? Sometimes I let myself get a little too hungry, and I just want something fast and easy, but healthy/vegan of course. I’d love to get some ideas from you guys!

Well, I hope everyone had a great weekend! I’m so excited that January is over, and February is raring to go:)

Oh, and tonight is the last chance to order Jay Robb Protein powder and get 10% off from Heather’s site. I just ordered mine, and I’m so excited to try it. I’ve been looking for a good protein powder.

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