Meatloaf Monday

I think we all get random cravings for certain meals sometimes. Yesterday Ryan had a hankerin’ for meatloaf, so that made tonight’s dinner decision an easy one.

I turned to Cooking Light, my favorite recipe resource, for a yummy yet healthy meatloaf recipe.

We started with lean ground beef, bread crumbs, chopped onion, BBQ sauce, spices and egg whites and mixed everything together before placing it in a loaf pan and letting it cook for an hour at 350 degrees.

Raw Meatloaf Mixture

While the meatloaf was cooking, we took Sadie on a quick 30 minute walk. She’s loving the cool Florida weather and was quite the energetic puppers.

"Walk Me!"

Helloooo

When we arrived home from our walk the apartment smelled fantastic! The meatloaf was ready for eatin’.

Meatloaf

I fixed myself a plate and included lots of green veggies to make up for the several days I severely neglected their existence.

My Dinner Plate

Tree Time

After dinner it was tree decorating time! Since tomorrow is officially December 1, I needed to have our tree up for the kickoff of Christmas month.

Ryan got the tree out of storage while I set up festive holiday music and did the dishes with Sadie’s help.

Dish Licker

Our tree is pretty teeny since our apartment isn’t too big, so it was up in a flash.

Our Little Tree

Last year Ryan and I were nervous to leave Sadie alone with our sparkly little tree, but she made it through the season without breaking any ornaments (though you may be able to see the blinds she attacked when she was a puppy last year in the above picture… grrrr).

I hope we have a successful repeat of no broken ornaments this year. I may have to bribe her to steer clear of all the holiday decor with some Snausages.

BBQ Meatloaf Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2  pounds  ground beef, extra lean (raw)
• 1/2  cup  dry breadcrumbs
• 1/2  cup  chopped onion
• 1/3  cup  barbecue sauce, divided
• 1  tablespoon  prepared mustard
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  chili powder
• 1  teaspoon  garlic powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 2  large egg whites
• Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine the beef, breadcrumbs, and onion, 1 tablespoon barbecue sauce, and remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl.

Shape meat mixture into a 9 x 5-inch loaf or a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Spread remaining barbecue sauce over top of meat loaf. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a thermometer registers 160°. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut loaf into 12 slices.

Nutritional Information:

(Recipe yields 12 slices, two slices per serving)

Calories: 203 (24% from fat)

Fat: 5.4g (sat 2.2g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.5g)

Protein: 27.3g

Carbohydrate: 10.5g

Fiber: 1.1g

Cholesterol: 61mg

Iron: 3.2mg

Sodium: 517mg

Calcium: 26mg

Don’t Forget

Tonight is your last chance to enter the Pumpkorn giveaway. The winners will be selected bright and early tomorrow morning. 🙂

Apple Pumpkin Bowl

I was cravin’ something sweet and crunchy for lunch today.

I figured a random concoction using cottage cheese, pumpkin, sweetener and an apple would hit the spot.

Crisp and Crunchy Apple

I stirred together the pumpkin, sweetener and cottage cheese before topping the mixture with a chopped cold and crisp apple.

Monday Lunch

It looks kinda gross, but it was tasty! Sometimes I just want something sweet for lunch and a wrap or salad simply won’t do. Combining several of my favorite ingredients to create this lunch bowl satisfied my sweet craving in a nutritious and delicious way!

Pumpkorn Giveaway

If you haven’t already, be sure to enter my Pumpkorn giveaway. I’ll be announcing the winners tomorrow morning.

Pumpkorn Breakfast and Giveaway

This morning I woke up with a serious crick in my neck. Yesterday I had the same pain and today it decided to stick around. Ick.

Needless to say, I skipped my typical Monday morning BodyPump class in favor of my own total-body weight routine (coupled with 25 minutes of light cardio) that didn’t put stress on my neck. I feel like a goober because I cannot look from side to side. When someone tries to talk to me, I have to completely turn my body. I’m so creepy today!

Breakfast was tasty! I enjoyed a cup of Chobani Greek yogurt topped with dark cocoa Pumpkorn and Dorset Cereal.

Dorset Cereal

Ryan’s mom sent him to Orlando with this cereal for us to try. It’s pretty good! The only sweetness I tasted is from the dried fruit in the cereal.

Cocoa Dusted Pumpkorn

The dark cocoa Pupkorn tasted like a treat in my yogurt! I love chocolate for breakfast. 🙂

Monday's Breakfast

Pumpkorn Giveaway

I am so excited about this giveaway! I adore Pumpkorn products and haven’t tried a flavor I didn’t like. Alex from Pumpkorn agreed to offer a giveaway on my blog, giving readers a chance to win packages of Pumpkorn.

Pumpkorn Packages

Since I have five packages to give away, I figured I would split the winnings in two so two readers will have the chance to win. Gotta love extra winning opportunities, right?

The first winner will receive three packages of Pumpkorn (sea salt, honey ‘n’ flax and adobo chili flavors). The second winner will receive two packages of Pumpkorn (dark cocoa *my favorite* and original tamari garlic flavors).

To enter simply comment on this post saying which Pumpkorn flavor you’d most like to try. I’ll announce the winners tomorrow morning.

Cyber Monday

I am a huge online shopper and am lovin’ Cyber Monday. Since Victoria’s Secret feels the need to email me with special offers daily, I figured I’d share this awesome deal with all of you!

Choose three sweaters for $30 and receive a free scarf!

VictoriasSecret.com Free Scarf!

You can also save 20% with the code vssave20. To receive the three sweaters for $30 use the code 3FOR30 at checkout. To get the scarf for free use the code scarf09.

Happy shopping!