Some Rainy Quality Time

Sorry for the long delay, lovelies!! I've been going through some personal stuff lately and haven't been posting, and I apologize. But, I am back and better than ever!! So let's get on with it :)

How cute is this little town?

My grandparents came into town yesterday afternoon for a quick visit. They live in North Carolina, so it's always a pleasure when they come up and visit. Today, we went to Harper's Ferry, WV to visit a museum and walk around the shops in old town Harper's Ferry. For those of you who don't know, Harper's Ferry played a big role in the Civil War and has a rich historical history.

A rare dry moment...

Me and my big brother!

Around noon, my grandparents, my brother, and I left for a very rainy day of educational fun! I was very excited to get to spend the day with my brig brother. He is usually very busy with work and we rarely get to see him for more than a few hours, so today was a treat! We walked around the town, saw the old shops and enjoyed the scenery. The mountains around Harper's Ferry are absolutely stunning and I could not stop taking pictures!




When we got home, we went out to dinner to celebrate my parents 29th wedding anniversary as well as my grandparents 55th anniversary that was a few weeks ago. We went to Carraba's where I enjoyed a yummy citrus arugula salad. It had spinach, arugula, chopped fennel, orange slices, and chicken and it was delish and fresh! Sorry for the lack of pictures, I was starving and I dug in without snapping a photo.

I did, however snap some shots of the happy couples:

Happy Anniversary to the people who taught me how to make it last forever!!! 

A "Sludgey" Thursday

The other day, I was catching up on some of my favorite blogs, when I saw an interesting recipe I just had to try. I bookmarked the page, and today I finally got to make it!

Savannah from Muffin Topless creates some awesome healthy recipes that look so tempting! One of her more, shall I say, quirky recipes is called Sludge. Sounds appetizing huh? This is a fantastic low calorie/ low sugar option for dieters or if you are just in the mood for something light and chocolatey after dinner! I tallied up the recipe, and all together  the bowl was only 160 calories! Enjoy the Sludgey goodness!

My Peanut Butter Cup SLUDGE

Ingredients:

• 1 Scoop chocolate casein (I used MOM's "Show Me The Whey" Protein Powder)
• 2 TB PB2 (powdered peanut butter) or you can swap this out for 1 TB natural peanut butter
• 2 TB unsweetened baking cocoa
• Stevia to taste (I used a packet of Pure Via)
• 1 TB Nevada Manna sugar-free chocolate chips (I omitted these)

Before the freezer...

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Then, add water BY THE TABLESPOON. This is very important, as you will soon encounter a watery mess. I stirred in one tablespoon, then mixed, then another, mixed, and one more until it reached the perfect texture- similar to icing. Then, just pop it in the freezer for a half an hour before you gobble it up!

After!! Yum!

This stuff was soo good! I smell a new go-to dessert!! It tasted like dark chocolate pudding and I loved the texture. Next time, I will be sure to add more sugar, as it was just a touch under-sweetened. Live and learn...

What's your favorite easy recipe?

How to Deal with Weight Criticism

When someone loses weight, they are often bombarded by compliments an positive praise from friends and family. After all, losing weight is hard. Really hard. And if someone does it the right way, they deserve to feel proud of their accomplishment.

But what happens when your weight loss brings negative attention? 

At my smallest

When I lost my weight, almost everyone I saw told me how great I looked and how much more healthy I seemed. I loved the positive attention and secretly looked forward to meeting up with old friends to show them how much progress I was making. 

Then, on occasion, I got the rare negative comment: "Haven't you lost enough weight?", "You look emaciated", "You really should eat more...it's unhealthy." At first, these comments devastated me. Was I taking my weight loss too far? Did I look too skinny? And more importantly, was I making unhealthy choices? I began to question everything I was doing and even contemplated giving up all together. 

One day, I was talking about my worries to a trusted friend and she said something that really resonated with me. I told her about the most recent verbal lashing, and she said, "Oh, that has nothing to do with you." She explained that when people see someone lose weight, it reminds them of their own insecurities and they  make these comments to make themselves feel better. Maybe they have attempted to lose weight and failed, or they are too afraid to try. Either way, sabotaging your efforts is a way for them to ope with their own insecurities. Now, don't go thinking that these people are terrible and malicious. We all have insecurities, and some people express them in different ways. This does not make them horrible. 

So,what should you do if you encounter these negative comments first-hand?

• Examine yourself. This is the most important piece of advice I will give you. If you are constantly encountering people telling you to eat more or you look way too thin, examine what you are doing. This is especially true if it's coming from many different people. Your loved ones have your best interests at heart and only want the best for you. They would not all be worried if there wasn't a good reason. Write down what you are eating in a week and calculate if you are getting enough calories and nutrients. If you are, and you feel healthy and strong, then don't stress about it. 

• Don't get upset. Remember that this is most likely their battle, not yours. Try and let their comments roll of your back, or maybe even make a joke about it to diffuse the situation.

• Fight back. If the comments become too much to handle and you are at your wit's end, you should say something to the offending party. Don't get angry or emotional, maybe just say: "I realize that I have made a significant life change and that may be a shock to you. I appreciate the concern, but I promise that I am eating enough and I am not doing anything unhealthy. There is no need to worry about me. But, I would appreciate if you would stop making comments about my body or about my eating habits." This approach will assure them that they have no need to worry about you in the future, and sternly gets your point across. If they care about you, they will respect your wishes. 

I hope these tips help you, and I would love to hear any of your experiences! Happy Saturday :)

Of course I'll have another cheddar biscuit!

RJ finally finished up his finals this past Wednesday, so we were well overdue for a good date night! It was his turn to pick the restaurant and he was in the mood for some seafood. So, Red Lobster it is!!

Before we left, I perused the menu online and saw their new Lighthouse Menu. It lists a number of dishes that are 475 calories or less with 750 grams of sodium! I ordered the  Lighthouse portion of tilapia with double broccoli for my sides. I also got a salad with my meal, but I didn't eat most of it because I was full. The tilapia was perfectly grilled and had a fantastic grilled taste!

The infamous cheddar biscuit!

He enjoyed his shrimp :)

After dinner, we made our way downtown for some dessert. I was in the mood for ice cream, so we went to Ben & Jerry's! I ordered Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup (obviosly) and RJ got a scoop of vanilla...boring I know but the boy is obsessed with his vanilla!

Overall, a great date night with wonderful company :)

Where was your last date night?

A Day in DC!

Happy Friday!! Yesterday was a wonderful day thanks to some good friends. Leslie recently started dating someone name Eno and of course one of the first orders of business was to plan a double date! We decided to make the day of it and go to Washington DC for the day to peruse the museums and enjoy the lovely weather.

A whale!!

We got to DC around one o'clock and walked over to the Natural History museum as it's my favorite! I love the exhibits and the giant animal displays. We all had so much fun looking at all of the exhibits. Well, except the live bug exhibit. Those furry tarantulas are no joke! Blech!

"For me?? You shouldn't have!!"

Following our very educational wander through the museum, we went outside to walk around a bit and enjoy the eighty degree weather! We stumbled across an old fashioned ice cream truck that belonged to a company called Goodies. They are based in DC and they are dedicated to using real ingredients and old-fashioned practices to make amazing desserts. Eno got a root beer float and RJ got an order of their custard (which I had to taste of course to see if it was poisonous). Honestly, their vanilla custard was the best I have ever had! So creamy and the vanilla bean was the star of the show!

When dinner time rolled around, we headed over to Buffalo Wild Wings for some wings and beers! For my main meal, I ordered the grilled chicken salad with the balsamic dressing on the side. 

And of course I had to get my favorite, hard cider :) Unfortunately, they didn't have Angry Orchard, so I tried Woodchuck, but I wasn't a fan. It wasn't as sweet as Angry Orchard, but at least now I know!

I had a fantastic day and hope to repeat it very, very soon!

A delicious Mother's Day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend ans spent tons of time with their mommies! My weekend was spent with my mom, as it should have :) On Saturday, we went shopping and grabbed some dinner together. We also went to the grocery store to get ingredients for Sunday!

I woke up bright and early on Sunday morning to cook my mom's breakfast. She was in the mood for blueberry pancakes, so I happily obliged! She absolutely loved them!

After breakfast, we ventured to a nearby nursery to check out the gorgeous spring flowers for sale. My mom loves gardens and flowers so this was right up her ally! We walked through some stunning displays full of colorful flowers and plants. And don't get me started on the smells! It was like walking through a perfume store!!

Me and my momma!

Following the nursery, we went home so I could cook a yummy dinner! My mother and I both love scallops but rarely get the chance to eat them, so we decided Mother's Day would be a great time to try cooking them! I made a scallop scampi with spinach fettucine, fresh salad and olive oil bread on the side. The meal was delicious and the light sauce really showcased the scallops well.  

For desert, my mom requested banana pudding and I got so excited. I had been craving banana pudding for the past few weeks and was more than happy to make it for her. The recipe was SO easy, too!

I made a box of Jell-O Vanilla Pudding let it rest for 5 minutes to harden. Meanwhile, I sliced up 3 bananas and counted out 30 Nilla wafers. I put a layer of 15 wafers on the bottom of the dish, then added half of the pudding, next came the bananas, and then the rest of the wafers, pudding, and bananas. I topped the whole thing with whipped cream and let it sit in the fridge all day. I recommend letting it rest for a few hours because the banana flavor will seep into the pudding and it is utterly delicious!!

This ish is bananas!!

My mother's day was awesome, full of love and great food. I love you, mommy and I could not ask for a better woman to look up to :) 

Do you like cooking for family? 

Sneakers, and presents, and energy bars, Oh My!

I hope everyone is had a fantastic Saturday!! My day was very mellow, I did a little shopping with my mommy for her mother's day breakfast and dinner I will be making her for mother's day (so excited!)

I have a new delicious snack to tell you guys about! I was in Costco the other day and I stumbled across these Sunrise Energy Bars. The ingredients are all recognizable, which is a nice change for bars like this. Usually, they are packed full of chemicals to keep them from spoiling. Sunrise bars have rolled oats, cranberries, raisins, dried apples, etc. I have been eating them all for the past few days and I am in love!!

This week RJ starts finals and for those of you who attended college, you know what hell that whole week can be. To make his week a little better, I made him this quick little care package to make him smile :) I packed it full of his favorite snacks, a coffee drink, and some coupons for some fun things to look forward to after finals (like a dinner out on the town). I dropped off at his house yesterday and he absolutely loved it! He said it was very thoughtful and he will definitely be eating all of his snacks this week! 

This is a great gift idea any time someone you love is going through a stressful time whether it be a test or just a rough week at work. 

 Oh, before I go, check out my new babies!!!! I finally bought these new sneakers on sale at City Sports. They were originally $115 and I got them for $88. SCORE!! They are amazingly supportive and really help my knee feel better during my cardio workouts!

What's your favorite thing you've purchased recently?