Slow and Steady Wins the Taco Race

All day at work I was dreaming about coming home to an apartment filled with the smell of tacos. Before leaving in the morning, I placed a pound of lean ground chicken breast meat in the slow cooker on low with a packet of reduced sodium taco seasoning and 2/3 cup of water. The chicken was moist and full of taco-flavored goodness when I walked through the door.

I couldn’t resist snagging a bite before Ryan and I took Sadie on a walk.

Couldn't Resist

One more bite…

Just a Taste

Sadie was going nuts by then, so Ryan made her “shake” and then we were out the door on our evening walk. She’s such a lil’ smartie pants. (I’m a little Sadie-obsessed, so millions of Sadie pictures will show up in this blog, I’m sure.)

"Shake"

With every step I took on the walk it seemed like my tummy was grumbling “tacos… tacos…” Needless to say I was more than happy to dive into this plate when we got back:

Taco Time

Ground Chicken Tacos

 Ole!

Veggie-rific Salad

Leaves and dressing… this was how I used to view salads and this was also the reason I’ve always preferred sandwiches, wraps, soups or other savory selections for my daily lunch. Not anymore! I finally realized the key to a salad I actually want to eat is incorporating lots of yummy veggies and toppings. My salad for lunch today was chock-full o’ veggies! I’ve been on a sweet corn kick and the addition of my favorite little kernels really made this salad perfect for my Hump Day lunch.

Veggie-rific Salad

The base of the salad was broccoli slaw, which is phenomenal and keeps for much longer than normal lettuce. I topped the slaw with cold steamed broccoli florets, plum tomato, cucumber, sweet corn and feta cheese and tossed it with balsamic vinegar. It was a huuuuge salad and I love eating and eating and eating and eating… this was right up my alley!

I’m a Texture Kinda Gal

When it comes to food I am all about texture. I love the crunch of nuts in a bowl of oatmeal, the seedy sweetness of fresh raspberries in yogurt or the crisp coolness of a cucumber in my salad. After discovering the amazing thickness that comes along with any decent cup of Greek yogurt, I found that I could enhance the yogurt even more by incorporating various add-ins for extra flavor and texture.

After a nice workout this morning (a BodyPump total-body weights class followed by 25 minutes on the elliptical and a 2.5 mile walk with Sadie), I sat down to a creamy cup of Greek yogurt with several yummy additions.

Greek Yogurt with Lots of Additions and a Mug of Hot Hazelnut Mocha Black Tea

In this cup of yogurt I included dried apricot, Raisinets (yes, the candy!), cocoa-dusted pumpkin seeds and a small handfull of HiLo Maple Pecan protein cereal. It was delicious!

Greek Yogurt with Apricot, Raisinets, Pumpkin Seeds and Maple Pecan Cereal

I served it with a cup of Kalahari Cafe ChocoLatte Black Tea (Hazelnut Mocha flavor).

Kalahari Cafe Tea

I like to add all sorts of yummy goodies to my Greek yogurt. Earlier this week I enjoyed this combination:

Greek Yogurt with Prickly Pear and Honey-Flax Pumpkin Seeds

Greek yogurt topped with sliced prickly pear and Pumpkorn honey-flax pumpkin seeds. There’s just somethin’ about that extra crunch that I just love!