Tag Team Dinner

I should have known that Tuesday would go by slow considering how Monday seemed to fly by. The morning wasn’t bad, but the afternoon went at a snail’s pace.

Breakfast was another Horizon Organic milk box and an in-the-car egg white sandwich with a Laughing Cow Light cheese wedge. No picture (again) because I was on the run.

I was swamped at work most of the morning which is probably why it seemed to go by so quickly. I munched on some more Annie’s White Cheddar Bunnies around 10:00.

I have found heaven and it is a Clif bar. I found the Clif Iced Gingerbread bar at the grocery last weekend and bought quite a few. Good thing I did because they are deeeelicious! I had one around 11:30 before my lunch time “workout at work” session.

My afternoon snack was a banana and a few cups of hot water with True Lemon. It’s just crystallized lemon in convenient little packets. It’s a great option when you don’t want plain water, but don’t want anything sweetened either. I keep a box in my desk and I’ve gotten my coworkers hooked, too. I was sporting some alma mater love with my mug choice today. Go Bobcats!

Five o’clock finally came and I hit the door running. It was a rainy drive which I’ll take over an icy commute any day.

Dinner was a team effort. I made Macaroni & Cheese with Cauliflower from the February issue of Real Simple magazine. I did modify the recipe quite a lot. Skipping the breadcrumb topping saved some time. I just sprinkled the top with Parmesan cheese & some crushed up croutons before popping it in the oven.

While that baked, my husband grilled some portobello mushroom caps. Besides omelets, these are one of his favorite things to cook. This time he just brushed them with a mixture of minced garlic and extra virgin olive oil before cooking them on the grill pan. It made the whole house smell divine.

The mac & cheese recipe says it makes 6 servings which ends up being a HUGE portion. I had about half of a serving with one my my husband’s grilled portobello caps. I was way too full. The mac & cheese was a hit and we have plenty for leftovers.

Clean up was pretty easy. I used my Rachael Ray enameled dutch oven for every step of the mac & cheese which meant only that and the grill pan to clean. All the work was done in time to watch The Biggest Loser. I made it through the first half just fine, but was asleep off and on for the last hour. I did wake back up for the elimination, but I won’t spoil it for you DVRers.

Do you watch The Biggest Loser? Who are you pulling for? Who do you wish would go away?

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Weekend Recap

Sorry for the sporadic posting lately. It’s been a hectic past few days and my mind has been going in a million different directions. Unfortunately, none of those directions has involved my camera so it’s been spending more time at home than in my purse.

It’s time to spill the beans on my surprise now that we’ve shared with our parents and my sister-in-law. In case you haven’t figured it out, my husband and I are expecting our first child. We’re absolutely thrilled! My first doctor’s appointment is on Thursday so I should find out my due date then. Right now my best guess is early October.

On to the weekend eats!

For breakfast on Saturday I had a biscuit with spray butter and blueberry jam along with a glass of milk. Afterwards I headed out to the grocery.

The good grocery news: I found some Clif Iced Gingerbread bars! The bad grocery news: My store is no longer carrying plain Fage. Yes, the very same Fage I was so excited to find just weeks ago. I almost cried when the lady told me. It was a sad, sad day.

I was STARVING when I got home so I made some Annie’s Whole Wheat Shells & Cheese.

I also made a mini-parfait of organic vanilla low-fat yogurt, blueberries & Bear Naked Fit granola.

My appetite and my energy headed south for the rest of the day. I did a little laundry, cleaned out the refrigerator and took the recyclables to the bins in town. My husband was craving pizza for dinner so we ordered from the little local place. It smelled really good when he brought it in so I had two small squares. We spent the rest of the evening curled up on the couch watching TV with the dog. I enjoy lazy evenings like that every once in a while.

Sunday I slept in waaaay later than I had intended. Honestly, I probably would have slept longer if my growling stomach hadn’t woken me up. I wanted something quick and filling. The result is something I can see myself eating on a regular basis. It was just an organic banana (cut in half lengthwise) spread with peanut butter and sprinkled with granola. It tasted like dessert!

I took advantage of my morning energy to finish up laundry, scrub the kitchen and clean the floors. While I was doing that, my husband was busy cleaning all of the vehicles. My car looks so shiny and new!

Lunch was four Ling Ling’s vegetable dumplings drizzled with reduced-sodium soy sauce and dipped in Ben’s Sweet & Hot mustard. I bought these the first time because I had a coupon and they looked interesting. Now they’re a regular purchase. They’re frozen, but taste pretty fresh and flavorful after they’re cooked. The bag comes with a sauce packet, but I don’t care for it. The mustard is a local favorite.

I also had the rest of my Annie’s Mac & Cheese.

After lunch I cut up lettuce to make a big salad for the week. Then I headed back out to the front porch to enjoy the sunshine and my February issue of Martha Stewart Living. It’s amazing how quickly the temperature changed! Early last week it was in the low teens. Sunday it was almost 50! It makes me so ready for spring. In fact, when I took my break from reading we wandered around the yard and planned a few landscaping projects.

I had something new for snack, a CocoaVia bar.

*Product Review*
CocoaVia Crispy Chocolate Bar

Yum, yum, yum! This was the perfect cure for a chocolate craving. It’s dark chocolate (which I prefer) and has a really rich taste. My take on the texture was that it’s both chewy & crispy. The nutrition information was very reasonable. I can’t wait to try the other varieties I bought!

Dinner was kind of rushed and frazzled. I was getting everything together for our nachos when my in-laws pulled in for an unexpected visit. I put them on hold so we were both pretty hungry when they left. No picture, but I can assure you they were good.

After dinner I got clothes ready for the work week and made sure everything I needed was in my bag. I don’t typically watch awards shows, but I somehow got sucked into the Grammy’s this year. All of the performances I saw were really good. However, it seemed like their sound was a bit off and I could barely hear the people singing over the musicians. I was disappointed that I fell asleep before Sugarland performed. Love them!

Would you rather watch an awards show for acting or one for music?

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A Boring Two Days

I’m afraid that the food portion of my blog may become very, very random. Please don’t try to make sense of it. It’s not rational. According to my doctor, when I’m hungry I should listen to my body and give it what it needs. I’m trying to take that advice and get something in me when I’m hungry while still remaining as health-minded as possible.

Yesterday I forgot my camera (again) which was no huge loss because my eats basically consisted of cheese, more cheese, milk and green beans. Exciting, huh?

Today was a little bit better. I started my day with a peanut butter and blueberry jam (Amish store again) sandwich on a multigrain Arnold’s Sandwich Thin as soon as I got to work.

A little later I was hungry again so I snacked on Kashi TLC crackers and the last of my Cabot Reduced Fat Cheddar cheese. I was so hungry that I forgot to take a picture before I scarfed it down.

Lunch was another variety of Cedarlane wrap.

*Product Review*
Low Fat Beans, Rice & Cheese Style Burrito.

This was basically like a burrito with lots of beans, a little rice and some cheese. Very gooey, tasty and filling. It reminded me a lot of the Amy’s burritos I’ve had in the past. I could see bulking this up by topping it with lettuce, salsa, sour cream, olives and other veggies for a hearty dinner. For nutrition information or ingredients list, click here.

The only other thing I ate at work was a sugar-free vanilla pudding cup. My husband wasn’t hungry when I got home which was fine because I really wasn’t either. I did decide to eat something after I changed out of my work clothes and did some laundry. I had a little whole wheat pasta drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with some grated parmesan cheese.

In honor of my completely random menus the last two days, here’s a completely random question of the day:
What’s your favorite color?

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Working Out at Work

The way my day started of was strange to stay the least. I remember waking up around 1:15AM and not being able to fall back asleep. The next thing I remember is waking up on the couch as my husband was saying goodbye and leaving for work. I don’t remember a thing in between. According to my husband, I got up when his alarm went off (2 hours before mine does, hit the snooze button and headed for the living room. I’m usually a really sound sleeper and I’ve never had issues with sleep walking or talking. So strange.

I did get up and out the door for work on time. During my commute I drank a Horizon Organic milk box. I love these things! They’re delicious organic milk in convenient to-go packaging. There’s even a little telescoping straw.

I didn’t make my batch of oats over the weekend so I’ve been eating alternative breakfasts this week. Today that meant some organic mini-waffles with maple syrup. These aren’t usually considered an easy food to transport so I’ve had to get creative. I pop my waffles in the toaster before I leave for work, put them in a container and top with maple syrup. When I get to work I just pop them in the microwave for one minute. They’re a little mushy, but that’s the way I like them.

No picture of lunch. Sorry. I was really hungry and there were lots of people around my desk so I didn’t want to whip out the camera. It was just a can of Campbell’s Won Ton soup so you’re not missing out on anything exciting.

That brings us to the title of this post. Our benefits coordinator at work has been trying really hard to put together some healthy initiatives. One of those is a lunchtime workout. She found a program at the local hospital where an instructor comes to our building and brings equipment for a 30-minute session. We’ll be working out 2 times per week and the cost is $20 per month per person. Today was the first day and we had a good turnout. I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about how much of a workout I would actually be getting. Today gained my faith 100%. The exercises are set up circuit style and they’re mostly things that can be modified by each individual to match their own fitness level. I was surprised by how good my body felt after the 30 minutes were over. I could definitely tell that I’d just worked out. Can’t wait to do more on Friday!

I packed an apple for a post-workout snack, but didn’t feel hungry enough to eat it.

I was a bit late getting out of the office so I was pretty hungry when I got home. I forgot to put the meat for the meal I’d planned in the refrigerator to thaw so we improvised. My husband had soup & a turkey sandwich. I had leftover homemade enchiladas with reduced-fat sour cream, sliced black olives & some salsa. Not pretty, but very yummy and filling. On the side I had baby carrots and (You guessed it!) Annie’s Goddess dressing for dipping.

I’m pooped so bedtime isn’t far off. Hope everyone had a happy Tuesday!

Does your employer do anything to encourage employees to live a healthier lifestyle? If so, what? If not, what do you wish they would do?

There are some incredible giveaways going on right now in blog land! Heather & Mark over at Hangry Pants are giving away some Almond Butter. But wait! There’s more! Bobbi from N Her Shoes is offering up a Camelbak water bottle.

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It’s in the Mail

I work in the finance department of a medium-sized city. Income tax season has already begun so everyone pitches in to help with everything that goes along with this time of year. I spent almost the entire day folding letters and stuffing envelopes. Riveting work, lemme tell ya.

Overall today was a pretty good day. For starters, it’s Friday. To make that even better, it’s payday. My checks are direct deposited so the only thing I see is a pay stub. I don’t physically touch my money, but I know it’s there.

Breakfast was probably my favorite oat concoction so far. I stirred in a dollop of peanut butter and then put a plop (a scientific unit of measure) of Amish store blackberry jam right on top. That ended up being stirred in as I went, but the picture looked prettier this way:

Lunch was something new for me. I love tofu, but I’ve never tried it as a sandwich. Why? I have no idea. It was very tasty and very filling. I put some reheated leftover Gliding Calm tofu, a slice of 2% American cheese and some dijon mustard on 2 slices of low-cal toast. This picture was before I added the 2nd piece of toast:

One of my coworkers brought in a box of Celestial Seasonings Gingerbread Spice tea to share and, being the tea lover that I am, I was happy to accept. Unfortunately, I think it’s just seasonal. I may have to check my grocery and snag some if it’s still on the shelves because I really liked this one. It was the perfect balance of ginger and spice. One bag made two pretty strong cups.

Snack was very refreshing. I had slices of green and yellow peppers dipped in a cup of Chi Chi’s medium salsa. I love these individual serving packs. So convenient for transporting to work.

Shortly after I left for work I got some news that made my day even better. I won Kelly’s giveaway over at Every Gym’s Nightmare for the book The World is Fat by Barry Popkin. I’ve heard great things about this book from several sources so I’m really excited to read it. Thanks Kelly!

No dinner picture tonight. My super sweet husband made spaghetti tonight. I started to take a picture, but my camera battery was out of juice. We were both really hungry so I didn’t want to wait for it to charge. Basically what you’re missing is a pile of whole wheat spaghetti noodles with sausage sauce and a some baby carrots with Annie’s Goddess dressing for dipping. Mmmmmm. I’ve been spoiled lately. I’ll be a bit out of sorts when he goes back to working 5 (or more) days a week. This is the off season for his company so they’re working four 10-hour days and getting Friday off. That will end as soon as the warmer weather kicks in. By summer, he’ll be working 80-90 hour weeks including LOTS of Saturdays. For now, I’ll just enjoy having him around more.

After dinner we digested and then hit the gym. I had a pretty good session of walking on the treadmill, upper body & lower body. I did all my strength training in front of the mirror today. I don’t do this every time I lift weights, but I do like to do it every once in a while as a way to check my form.

No big Friday night plans for our household. My husband is watching his favorite show, Friday Night Lights, and I’m catching up on blog reading. I hope you’re all having a fabulous Friday night!

What’s your busiest time of year? Why?

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“Fast Food”

I went back to work today which was probably a mistake. The news made it sound like the roads weren’t too bad. My husband called shortly after he left to tell me that the streets were snow covered where he was, but that I’d be fine if I slowed down and took it easy.

Wrong. What normally takes an hour and a half took over two hours today. Basically my entire commute was like driving on gravel because of the ice with snow packed on top of it.. My car was shaking. I was shaking. It was loud. I thought if I just kept driving a little further it would get better. That was not the case, but by the time I decided I should probably turn around I was already halfway there. I kept pushing and eventually made it only to almost get stuck trying to pull into the parking lot.

Anyway, enough of my whining. I got to work safely and that’s really all that matters. On to my eats!

I wanted to get out the door as early as possible so I grabbed a Clif bar for breakfast. This was the first time I’ve ever had the Chocolate Chip flavor and it was good. Just enough chocolate without being overly sweet. I really like the texture of these bars. Not only are they hearty, but the consistency forces me to slow down when I eat. Here’s an after picture of the wrapper:

Lunch was a Lean Cuisine Chicken Club panini. Not exactly the most “natural” food ever, but they have good flavor and stick with you. I don’t like to have packaged lunches like this every day. However, they do work well when you’re in a hurry and they’re better than icky fast food.

An hour or so after lunch I was feeling anxious so I had a cup of Tazo Calm tea and did some deep breathing at my desk.

Snack was a few Kashi TLC crackers (one of my new addictions) and a wedge of Laughing Cow Light swiss cheese.

I worked through my lunch and got to leave at four so I could pick up the pooch and be home before dark. They’re calling for more snow tonight and I didn’t want to chance getting stuck in that if it came early. The drive was a little better than this morning. Still pretty icy and slow going.

I cooked Ranch Chicken & Potatoes in the crock pot yesterday so that we could just heat it up for a quick dinner tonight. My friend gave me this recipe and I’m not exactly certain of the original source.

1lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 can cream of chicken soup (I use 99% fat free)
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix (powder)
1/4 cup diced onion
20 oz. Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed & parboiled 10-15 minutes

Put all the ingredients in a slow cooker and stir together. Cook on low 4-6 hours.

On the side I had cottage cheese and a romaine & green leaf lettuce salad with a drizzle of Annie’s Goddess dressing. I won’t bore you with a picture of another of these salads. Seems like it’s becoming a trend.

I’ve had a horrible headache all day and ibuprofen isn’t touching it. Not sure what’s up. I normally don’t get headaches, but they’ve been an every other day thing for about the last week. I’ll be taking it easy this evening and probably heading to bed early again. Looks like I’ll need to be up and at ‘em early again tomorrow.

I’m really excited to be participating in the Valentine’s Day Blogging Exchange! Click here for more information or to sign up. You need to do so by January 30th (which is tomorrow) so don’t wait!

What’s your “go to” lunch when you’re in a hurry to get something together?

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Ice Ice Baby!

As expected, we were blasted overnight with a pretty nasty ice storm. Here are some pictures I took as soon as the sun came up:

I went back inside and made called in to work to let them know I wouldn’t be there. Ice is pretty, but not very conducive to driving an hour and a half on mostly back roads. My husband didn’t go to work either, but he slept in. I fixed myself a nice hot bowl of oats with some maple syrup, a little brown sugar and unsweetened coconut. I swear there wasn’t that much syrup. It just looks like it in the picture because it got all hot and oozy.

I also had half of a delicious grapefruit…

…and some steaming hot coffee in another of my favorite mugs. Little did I know how that quote would come to reflect my day.

I even broke out a placemat!

So there I am sitting at the table sipping my coffee and admiring the winter scape when BAM…power goes out. I checked the breaker to make sure it wasn’t just us. Nope. The power company was busy so I used the automated system to report the outage and then broke out the flashlights and candles.

My husband got up a few minutes later. We listened to a Jillian Michaels podcast I had saved on my laptop until the battery died. Then we sat. And sat. And sat. It’s so funny all the things we take for granted that use power. I kept flipping light switches when I went in and out of rooms. I got the vacuum out of the closet and unwound the cord before realizing that it was futile. Finally I just bundled up on the couch and read a book.

Around noon we still didn’t have power or any word about when it would still be on. My coffee had gone cold in the pot and I had no way to reheat it. My husband was starting to get cabin fever. We decided to ride in (all of 2 blocks) to the only gas station in our teeny tiny town. It’s kind of the gathering point so it was packed with people swapping weather and power stories. While we were there we also realized we were hungry and that there wasn’t much at home that didn’t require a heat source. We ordered subs at their little deli counter and I fixed myself a cup of coffee. My sub was a toasted 6″ turkey on wheat with lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, pickles, mustard and just a little bit of mayo.

I found bags of something called Pogos. I’m not a big fan of most things you’d find in a convenience store “grocery” because of the nutritional information so I was surprised when I read the back of the bag. The nutrition information wasn’t too bad, the ingredient list wasn’t horribly long and there was only 1 thing on the list that wasn’t easily recognized.

They ended up being just okay. They didn’t have much potato taste and the Jalapeno Cheddar flavoring tasted a bit chalky. I might buy them again, but only in a pinch.

After our “adventure” we went home and ate our lunches. The power came back on as we were cleaning up the table. We flipped on the TV and watched all the weather reports for our area. The joy was short lived. It went back off about an hour later.

I bundled up again and went back to my reading. That’s pretty much all I managed to accomplish until the power came back on permanently about 5 hours later. I reheated some Lemony Shrimp leftovers from yesterday for dinner. I don’t think I’ve ever been so grateful for our microwave.

We’re skipping the gym tonight because on-street parking is the only option there and they’re asking people not to do that so the plows can do their thang. I’m trying to get caught up on all the things I wanted to do today that require electricity and I’m thinking about an early bedtime. I know this storm was a big one so I hope everyone is staying safe and warm no matter where you are.

What’s the last book you read?

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Cooking & Booking

I’ve seen the Gliding Calm tofu earn rave reviews on so many blogs lately and today was the perfect day for me to finally give it a try. Three words: Oh. My. Gosh. So good! I had some as an early afternoon snack with dijon mustard on the side for dipping.

Like Kath, I enjoy preparing and eating lunch at home. I typically eat at my desk during the work week so cooking is something I really look forward to when I have a day off. Today I tried something new. The original recipe is from the February 2009 issue of Real Simple magazine. I prepared it mostly as instructed and thought it was a little bland so I added my own flair. I made enough modifications that I’m sure it’s safe to post my version here. I apologize for some of the vague measurements.

Lemony Shrimp with White Beans

(makes 4 servings)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 15.5-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed & drained
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon(?) Old Bay seasoning
1/2 teaspoon(?) cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

2. Add the shrimp and cook until they are pink.

3. Stir in the beans, parsley, lemon juice, chicken broth, and all seasonings. Cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.

The original recipe said to serve over couscous, but I was in the mood for pasta so I plated mine over some whole wheat penne. Baby carrots standing in some Annie’s Goddess Dressing made a perfect side. Can you tell I’m a bit addicted to this dressing right now?

After lunch I did a little laundry and put away some clean clothes. It is unbelievable how much dirty laundry two people can create. It’s a neverending battle. Laundry is probably my favorite chore so I don’t mind too much. The pup and I went back outside and played for a bit. The freezing rain started and it hurt when it hit my face so we didn’t stay out for too long. I went back inside, got comfy on the couch with a warm blanket and read for a while. Incredibly relaxing and highly enjoyable. The pup was pooped and just slept on her bed.

My husband, sister-in-law and I headed to the gym this evening for my 2nd workout of the day. We did the Plyometrics workout from the P90X DVD set that my sister-in-law borrowed from one of her coworkers. Holy smokes! It was pretty intense and I could certainly feel my muscles working. Workouts like that are awesome in my opinion. The final count was 520 calories in 58 minutes.

A shower was the first thing on my agenda when I got home. I wasn’t hungry for dinner so I just had some Kashi TLC crackers, a wedge of Laughing Cow Light swiss cheese and lots and lots of water to rehydrate.

RIght now I’m chillin’ in my comfy fleece pajamas and watching The Biggest Loser with my husband. I don’t watch much TV, but this is one show I try not to miss.

The freezing rain is still coming down and we can hear it against the windows. It’s supposed to continue through the night and then turn back to snow early in the morning. Work tomorrow doesn’t seem too likely, but I’m not counting my chickens before they hatch. Have a great night!

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Monday, Monday

Da da. Da da da da.

(Obviously my creative energy is lacking in the post title department.)

Do you ever have those days when you don’t really feel sick, but you don’t really feel good either? Today is one of those days for me. I just feel ‘blah’ in general.

This morning I was STARVING. I related it back to my lack of appetite yesterday. I decided to start my day off with something filling. The obvious choice was oats. Today’s were topped with a stick of organic agave nectar, a few dates and some coconut. Along with that I had a cup of Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla Chamomile tea. I really, really have to figure out a way to make my work breakfast pictures more interesting. Same container = same photo every day.

I didn’t prep any food over the weekend and, since it’s Monday, we didn’t have any leftovers yet. I decided to try something new that I bought at the grocery last week.Here’s what I thought!

*Product Review*
Cedarlane Low Fat Couscous & Vegetable Veggie Wrap

At first glance it didn’t look like anything special, just an ordinary microwavable wrap. It smelled great when I took it out of the work microwave and many of my coworkers asked, “What is that?”

The taste was even better than the smell. The wrap part was a little bland, but the filling was full of flavors and different textures. It was nice to actually taste the various spices and vegetables since I find that most “heat and eat” options just taste like salt. This is the best picture I could get of the inside:

It really filled me up, too. The nutrition information (see photo above) wasn’t bad for a microwavable lunch option. I think it would have been even better with a little salsa and/or sour cream on the side for dipping. I still have a few wrap varieties from this brand in my freezer to try so stay tuned for more reviews.

I packed an afternoon snack, but ended up not needing it. Just not hungry. I’m not sure if it’s a credit to the fillingness (is that even a word?) of my lunch or just that my icky feeling was doing something similar to yesterday with my appetite. I drank hot tea for the entire afternoon. It was partly to settle my stomach, but mostly an attempt to keep warm in the frigid office. I think they forgot to turn the heat back on after the weekend.

Dinner tonight was one of my husband’s favorite dishes, Bubble Up Pizza Casserole. It’s super easy to make. One pound of ground beef (I use extra lean), 1 jar of pizza sauce, 1 tube refrigerated buttermilk biscuits & a cup of shredded mozzarella cheese. Brown the ground beef. Cut the biscuits into quarters. Mix everything together except the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until biscuits are done. Top with cheese and bake for another 5 minutes. We usually replace the jar of pizza sauce with a can of plain tomato sauce seasoned to our liking. It’s really not the prettiest dish, but I took a picture anyway. I paired mine with a romaine salad topped with jalapeno peppers and chunks of yellow pepper.

Now I’m relaxing for a bit while watching The Big Bang Theory (most underrated show ever) and How I Met Your Mother. I think I’m going to call it an early night. They’re calling for more snow overnight so I may need to be up and out the door early in the morning. Have a great evening!

Giveaway alert! Kelly over at Every Gym’s Nightmare is giving away a copy of The World is Fat by Barry Popkin. I saw this featured recently in Shape magazine and it looks like an extremely interesting read. Check it out!

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Easiest Muffins Ever!

Happy Sunday! Today was a pretty lazy day. My husband was up all night with restless legs & a couple nosebleeds (lovely) so he was going to bed as I was getting up.

I started the day off with some Kashi 7-grain waffles topped with maple syrup, a little bowl of blackberries and a cup of coffee with Pumpkin Spice creamer. I don’t really like creamer in my coffee except for some of the seasonal flavors that are only around this time of year.

That was follwed by more coffee (sans creamer), coupon clipping and catching up on some reading. This picture sums up the morning pretty well:

I saw this post over at The Fitnessista earlier this week and re-discovered an old favorite food. I’d forgotten all about my love for tomatoes and cheese topped with balsamic vinegar. In my version today I used fresh mozzarella instead of goat cheese and added some of the leftover polenta from yesterday. Delish! Pardon the wimpy tomatoes. It’s winter in Ohio and the produce selection is quite lacking.

After lunch it was back to reading for a while and then watching part of a Real Housewives of Orange County marathon. That show (along with the NY & Atlanta seasons) is my guilty pleasure. I know I shouldn’t watch, but I can’t help myself. I started to get a little stir crazy midway through the second episode. We’ve been inside a lot the last few days because of the cold so I really wanted to do something. I decided to make the easiest muffins in the entire world: Pumpkin Spice muffins.

I can’t say that they’re pretty. They are quick, simple to make, require few ingredients, very filling and fairly healthy.

• 15 oz. can pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 box cake mix of your choice (I used spice this time, but I’ve done yellow cake before and it’s good, too.

Stir both ingredients together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. It is very thick and sticky so use your muscles! Divide the mixture into two 12-cup muffin tins sprayed with non-stick spray or lined with cupcake liners. Bake according to the directions for the cake mix. Makes 24 muffins.

…and then I ate one. It was a perfect pre-workout snack. Today was the beginning of my last week of the 12-week plan from the book Buff Brides by Sue Fleming. I did the 24-week workout plan from this same book before my wedding and it really toned me up. The workouts aren’t especially difficult, but they’re easy to step up a notch by adding more weight or doing more reps. I also add cardio bursts between each set for extra burn. Roughly 45 minutes today = 363 calories.

Afterwards we headed home and made some pizzas using pre-made crusts. I had two slices of the taco veggie pizza topped with shredded romaine lettuce and reduced fat sour cream. This meal doesn’t top the “healthy” scale, but it wasn’t horrible and tasted really good.

We had an in-home vaccuum sales demonstration tonight so we hurried to shower and straighten up the kitchen. The sweeper was amazing. It doubles as an air purifier and uses water to clean rather than a bag or canister. It also does about a bajillion and one other cool things. Being the neat freak that I am I was in complete awe and ready to write the check…until we saw the price.: $1,800. Oh, and that’s after a $300 discount if we bought within a week of the demonstration and a $200 discount because we don’t have any carpeting and thus don’t need the special attachment for that. Maybe someday, but not today.

Now we’re watching football (GO STEELERS!!!) and praying that the guy from Baltimore team is okay. That was a rough hit.

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend and those who go back to work tomorrow are well rested. I’m off for the holiday and looking forward to some cooking, an extended work out session, Australian Open tennis and more reading.

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