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?

A Non-Mexican Cinco de Mayo

Happy Monday my fab friends!! I come to bring you yet another delicious recipe from my adventures in the kitchen! But first, a little recap of my weekend, shall we?

On Saturday evening, I organized a pre-cinco de mayo gathering at a yummy Mexican restaurant in town. A bunch of my friends came and we feasted on mango margaritas, burritos, and enough chips and salsa to choke a horse!

Sooo yummy..

The weather yesterday was lovely, so RJ and I took Daisy and went on a picnic in the park, followed by a long walk. It was nice to just be outside in the sunshine with one of my favorite people :)


When dinnertime rolled around, neither of us were in the mood for more Mexican food (a sin on Cinco de Mayo, I know), so I perused my cookbooks for a recipe to use up some boneless, skinless chicken breasts I had thawed. I found this recipe from a Cooking Light cookbook and adapted it to fit the things I had in my cupboards.

Ingredients

• 
  1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• Cooking spray 
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 4 (4-ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves 
• 1/3 cup seedless apricot preserves
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper 

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes. Combine thyme and 1/4 teaspoon salt; sprinkle over chicken. Add chicken to skillet; sauté 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from skillet; keep warm. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, preserves, vinegar, and pepper, stirring constantly until the preserves melt. Spoon apricot sauce over chicken.

As you can see, this recipe was very easy and perfect for a weeknight meal. I have made this recipe before with the raspberry preserves, but I much prefer the apricot. It added a completely different flavor that I was quite happy with!

Do you ever alter recipes to accommodate what you have? Was it successful?

Butter of the Peanut

happy Friday loves! Sorry for the inactivity as of late. My life has taken a pretty boring turn and I don't have much to post. Unless you want a rousing post about cleaning... I will try and post more in the future, because I truly enjoy it and I know you all can't go about your days without knowing what I'm up to ;)

Breakfast this morning was a good ol' standby-an egg sandwich!! I have perfected this sandwich recently and now I can't seem to get enough of them! I fried two eggs over hard and slapped them on a wheat English muffin with cheese and turkey. It kind of reminded me of an Egg McMuffin, but obviously with turkey instead of ham. On the side, I chopped up some fresh strawberries for some sweetness and nutrients!! Such a great way to start my Friday!

The other day, I was reading one of the many blogs I follow and she mentioned making your own peanut butter. I was intrigued, especially after my parents bought some raw peanuts from a farmer's market a few weeks ago. Apparently, if you out the nuts in a food processor and blend the heck out of them, they turn into creamy, yummy peanut butter! The end result didn't have as much taste as regular peanut butter (there is no oil or sugar in it), but it is alot healthier and great for those eating "clean". 

Before...

A billion years later...

Have you ever made your own nut butter? How did it turn out?

Meatless Monday!

Oh, hello there! You look very pretty today!!

Today was a very dreary Monday in my hometown and I needed something to break my rainy day blues. For a few months now, my family and I have tried to institute "meatless Mondays" in our household. For those of you who don't know, "meatless Mondays" just what they sound like- you try and skip the meat in lieu of more healthy options like vegetables, tofu, pasta, etc. Why, you ask? It reduces your carbon footprint and is simply more healthy. Meat, especially red meat, can be very high in fat and cholesterol and should be eaten in moderation, anyways. 

Now, let me get off of my soapbox...

Right, so when dinner time rolled around I knew I wanted to make something packed with protein to keep me full, but had no meat. This can be quite tricky.. Some of the best forms of non-meat protein are nuts, whole grains, beans and soy. For this meal, I chose to use the latter two ingredients. I made a serving of brown rice and tossed in some black beans (these are my favorite bean), spinach, and a chopped up Boca burger (Original Vegan). 

My dinner was very filling and very yummy as well! I definitely recommend going meatless for one meal a week in your house. After all, it's a great reason to experiment in the kitchen!! 

Do you like vegetarian meals? Or are you a strict carnivore?

Downtown Adventures!

Happy Thursday everyone! Since today was a pretty boring day (I ran errands and baked birthday cupcakes), I figured I would give you guys a recap of yesterday which was very busy!

For my workout, I did a quick 20 minutes on the elliptical and followed up with an ab routine similar to this one. I also added in some oblique crunches on a roman chair. It looked like this. Man! Do those things burn!! My obliques are really feeling it today.

Candid shot!

Afterwards, I had lunch plans with my friend CJ. He is RJ's best friend and I consider him one of mine as well. I can always count on him for good intellectual discussions about life :). Anyways, we decided to go to a small cafe called Cafe Nola downtown that caters to a more health-friendly crowd. Their menu had a variety of vegan and vegetarian options so I was very excited to try it!

I perused the menu and found something called the "Fresh Start". It was a breakfast sandwich that had hummus, greens, feta, and tomato on it. I am awkwardly obsessed with hummus so I decided to give it a try along with a side salad.

This wrap was soo good. The hummus was perfect and the cool greens and salty feta all blended for some healthy yumminess! I will definitely be going back to this place to try all of their sandwiches and a black bean burger that caught my eye ;)

Do you like vegetarian wraps/sandwiches?

Five Ingredient Muffins!

Apologies for the long absence my loves!! It's been a crazy few days and I am just now able to get online to update you all!!

Let's start with something easy, like a quick breakfast recap!! This morning, I was in the mood for something savory for my morning meal. I fried up two eggs over hard (I have a texture issue with runny egg yolks) and the slapped them on a wheat English muffin with some cheese. On the side, I cut up some gorgeous strawberries and of course my vitamins! I take vitamins everyday to help me feel and look my best. I take a multivitamin, a cranberry pill, vitamin D and Biotin every day.

Egg sammy!

I also have a pretty interesting recipe to share!! I am always browsing the net for easy recipes with a short list of ingredients. I love to cook, but sometimes you just want to make something easy. So, I found this recipe for 5-ingredient Paleo muffins from Tessa the Domestic Diva I hope you enjoy!!

5 Minute Muffins – High Protein, Grain Free, Sugar Free!

Prep time:  5 mins

Cook time:  8 mins

Total time:  13 mins

Serves: 24

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup any nut butter ( I have used cashew, peanut, almond, and sunflower seed. My favorite is cashew)
• 2-3 VERY ripe banana w/ tons of black spots (I have also used some prunes to help sweeten in place of the some of the banana)
• 2 eggs (I have also tried a chia/flax egg, and while very delicious, the texture is more moist and they do not rise as high)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 10 drops liquid vanilla creme stevia, or a a tablespoon or two of honey to taste (optional) This amount here greatly depends on personal taste and the sweetness of your bananas.
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor.
3. Blend until well mixed: batter will be sticky.
4. Pour batter into a greased mini muffin tins.
5. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 8 minutes or so, slightly longer with chia eggs. I am sure you could use regular muffins too, but you will have to increase the cooking time to 12-15 minutes

Overall, these muffins turned out pretty yummy. The texture is not that of a regular muffin because there is no flour but they taste peanut-buttery and keep me full for a while. An excellent snack!

Where do you find most of your recipes? 

I find mine on Pinterest usually..

Knee Update

Just popping in for a quick update! Yesterday morning I finally(!) went to an orthopedist to see what was going on with my knee. As you guys know, I injured my left knee running on a treadmill about a month ago. Since then, I have not been running at all and have been taking it easy on the cardio front.

My doctor said that I most likely have something called Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS). This is a common injury among runners and bikers. In laymans terms,  there is a ligament that runs from your hip to the outside of your knee called the Iliotibial Band. When you run often, the band rubs against your knee bone, causing inflammation and pain. You can read more about it here.

He gave me a prescription for anti-inflammatory medication and that will hopefully clear it up. Thank you to those who were worried about me. It seems like I will love to run again :)

Toodles!!

Swimmingly Good Date Night!

Hola, internet friends!! I hope your weekend was fantastic and I am just popping in for a Saturday recap!!

On Saturday morning I went to a diner with some friends for a yummy breakfast. In case you were wondering, I ordered oatmeal and a fruit cup. They brought out my bowl of oatmeal with a side of coffee creamers and butter. Now, I am no oatmeal expert, but do people really eat oatmeal with creamer and butter? I am more of a sweet kinda girl, and I just added some sugar to mine and gobbled it up!

After breakfast, I drove back home and met my parents at a local indoor pool to swim some laps! I know I have been talking about swimming more recently and I know some people wonder about swimming workouts. They are a great way to exercise with no impact on your knees. So if you're like me and have a recent injury or just want to give the ol' knees a break, swimming is probably the best alternative.

I want to post my usual swimming workout but I don't want to confuse anyone so I should explain something before I post the workout. One length of a standard lap pool is 25 meters. Which means if you go once up and back, you swam 50 meters. Up and back twice would be 100 meters. Get it? Okay, now on to the workout:

• 200m freestyle
• 200m breast
• 200m backstroke
• 100m kicking with kickboard
• 100m freestyle only using arms
• 100m breast only using arms
• 200m freestyle cool down

Let me just tell you, my arms we a-burnin'!!! I love feeling muscles you haven't used in a while!

After swimming, I got ready in the locker room (and what an adventure that was. Let's just say, applying mascara with a 5 year old girl staring at you is a little unnerving.) and drove back to RJ's  for date night!! We went out to a restaurant called Austin Grill which serves tex mex style food. I ordered the Chicken Silverado off their "Lite Side" menu, which are options under 650 calories:

CHICKEN SILVERADO
Grilled chicken topped with a citrus salsa, served with green rice and seasonal veggies. 

It was so good!! According to our waiter, Zach, the "green rice" is actually just regular rice with some lime juice and cilantro added for some extra flavor. I probably could have had a plate of nothing but that rice and been overjoyed. I happily ate every bite!

Afterwards, we walked around a bit and just enjoyed our surroundings. It was a lovely night and there were tons of people out walking around and having a lovely Saturday evening out!

We saw this awesome street performer using plastic tubs as drums and we stopped to watch him for a bit. He recruited some kids to help him play for a few minutes. It was so cute and you could tell the kids got a kick out of it!!

Overall, it was a wonderful night with a wonderful companion ;) I hope to do it again soon!!

Breathe and Let Go

Good evening, beautiful! I hope you had a wonderful Thursday and you're excited for the upcoming weekend!

Before I get into the bulk of this post, I want to get dinner out of the way, because it was yet another experiment in the realm of crock pot cooking. If I could marry a single appliance in my kitchen, the crock pot would be it. I love that you can stick some meat in it, live your life for the next 6-8 hours, and walk in to your house to a delicious-smelling meal waiting for you. God Bless you, Crock Pot.

Anyways, I had some boneless, skinless chicken breasts defrosted and I threw them in the pot with a can of Ty Ling Stir Fry Vegetables, some fresh grated ginger, some ginger powder, and a pinch of cayenne and cumin for some punch. After the allotted six hours, I tasted the chicken and it seemed a little bland to me. I searched through the fridge and found some Kikkoman Stir Fry Sauce. I removed the chicken and vegetables from the crock pot and tossed them into a skillet with the stir fry sauce. After a few little tosses, the chicken was browned and  ready! I served my Asian inspired crock pot chicken with brown rice, and green beans. Overall, a great meal that was definitely a success!

Get in mah tummy!!

If there's one thing in this life that I love, it's having enlightening conversations with people. The kinds of conversations that make you say "huh." and stick with you long after. I had one of these conversations today that I wanted to talk about. One of the most difficult lessons for humans to learn has to be "you can't control everything." 

Like most people, I like to be in control of my environment and my surroundings. I feel most comfortable when I know exactly what I'm doing and if I know the outcome. 

Today, I was told, "You can't control everything. Sometimes you just have to breathe and let go." I had heard this sentiment before, but for some reason it stuck with me this time. I am constantly worrying about things that are completely not in my power. A few examples: "Will the weather be nice this weekend?", "I wish my family would eat more healthily", or "I really hope my knee isn't hurt too bad..." 

All of these obsessive thoughts do nothing but drive you crazy. And yet, day after day, we stress about things that we have zero power over. So, starting today I am going to breathe and let go. No one person can control everything, even you, Superwoman. So just let go...

You'll be so glad you did. 

What's the best advice you've heard lately? 

Preview of Summer??

Happy Tuesday, friends! I promised you all a regular post and I am here to deliver!

My day was pretty normal, went on a bike ride around my neighborhood, walked around downtown with my pal CJ, then came home to make dinner! My dad was in the mood for hamburgers, so we went to the grocery store to buy all the fixins'! Instead of ground beef, I chose to go with ground extra lean ground turkey as it was much lower in fat and calories. (Plus, my dad is watching his cholesterol so too much red meat is not a wise choice for him.)

We got home and tossed those burgers on the grill and I began making the rest of the food. My plate consisted of a turkey burger topped with Dijon mustard, spinach and radicchio salad, and a large sweet potato. My meal was fantastic and I gobbled it up!

My mom cut up a fresh watermelon on the side to eat with our dinner. I am not usually a big watermelon fan, but this one was juicy and delicious!

watermelon-y!

The taste just reminded me of summer. And with the temperatures topping at 89 degrees today, it sure felt like summer too!

After dinner, we decided to get some Rita's for dessert and I thought it would be fun to give Daisy her first taste of ice cream! Let's just say, she is a fan of vanilla custard...

The middle picture makes me laugh every time I see it. She looks like a little platypus or something!!

Does a particular food remind you of a certain season?