Reader’s Recipes

I arrived home today to one of my favorite things in the entire world: packages!

One of my packages was a big ol’ box from POM Wonderful.

Me 'n' Pom

I’m a lucky lil’ blogger! Though I am excited to enjoy several bottles of this 100% pure pomegranate juice, I think Ryan was even more excited. He’s been quite the POM fan for several years.

Juicy Julie

The bottle shape is quite funky and inspired Ryan to do some POM presses and POM curls.

POM Workout

Clearly our entire family had a little extra energy today, so we leashed Sadie up for a romp at the dog park.

Funky Sadie

 I took what may be one of my top five favorite pictures of Sadie as she was spitting out leaves and dirt. Her jowls got all caught up in her mouth and she looked like such a goof.

My Lil' Goofball

We could not stop laughing at this picture! She looks ridiculous! 😀

Dinner

Tonight’s dinner was another simply delicious simple meal!

Chicken prepared in the ol’ crocker with BBQ sauce and roasted veggies on the side. Mmm, mmm good!

My Plate

BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwich

 I also had a small bowl of artichokes on the side.

Artichokes

Reader’s Recipes!!!

I think one day you guys are gonna find me and throw all the meals I make week after week in my face. I hope you’re not too sick of them(!!!)… Buuut, just in case you are…

I’d like to reach out to all of you for your help! I’m going to try out a new READER’S RECIPE each week in March.

I’ll make a recipe based on a recipe submitted by one of you, or I’ll create a new recipe using key ingredients you guys suggest. Fun, huh?

Please comment on this post with a recipe (or a link to a recipe) you think I should try. If you don’t have a specific recipe in mind, simply comment with a key ingredient you think I should incorporate into a meal.

Feel free to submit recipes for any meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) and baked goods as well! I don’t discriminate.

(Please do not suggest catfish or any catfish-based recipe because I can 100 percent guarantee your suggestion will not be selected… I have my reasons. 🙂 )

Woohoo! I’m already excited to try out some new delicious dishes!!!

I’ll select a recipe to try tomorrow and then after I make the recipe and post about it, you can comment with more recipes for me to select from for the next round. Sound good?

Let’s get cookin’!!!

Phew!

I’ll thank my mom for today’s wonderful lunch!

Following our dinner party with Ryan’s family on Saturday night, we had a lot of roasted chicken leftover, so I took a big bag of it back to Orlando with me.

It made quite the stellar appearance in my lunch today!

Chicken Salad + Roasted Veggies

I had chicken salad (made with light Miracle Whip, Dijon mustard, relish and sweet corn) with a side of roasted veggies.

I prepared the vegetables last night by tossing them in olive oil and garlic salt and roasting them at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Wednesday's Lunch

Which do you prefer: Chicken salad or tuna salad?

I’m a tuna salad kinda girl, though this chicken salad was awfully tasty!

Dessert

A coworker also brought in homemade chocolate chip cookies. They were made from scratch and who am I to refuse warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies? 😉

Chocolate Chip Cookie

It was the perfect sweet ending to my lunch!

AMA: Final Round

This is it… the final round of Ask Me Anything questions.

Phew!!!

Thank you to everyone who submitted questions. This whole “Ask Me Anything” ordeal was a much bigger undertaking than I anticipated, and I appreciate your support and kind words throughout this somewhat revealing process.

I tried to address most of your questions and I apologize if yours slipped through the cracks! I’m happy to answer your questions privately as well. You may email me at pgfingers@gmail.com if I didn’t get a chance to answer your question and you still have something on your mind.

You say you use a food scale but don’t count calories, is that right?  So why do you weigh oatmeal and what not? How do you know how much you want?

I do not count calories, but I am aware of calories. While I do not count calories, I try to keep my portion sizes in check and using a scale is a great way to ensure that I’m eating just one portion of oatmeal (or whatever food I’m measuring) rather than two. I do not use it to weigh everything, but I do use my scale a lot for portions of food I’d likely overestimate.

I notice your meals are so small and hardly any calories. Like the other day you had some turkey tacos but all you ate with it was lettuce and tomato. Do you think you could eat more than that? Are you afraid to eat more calories?

I am never “afraid” to eat. With regard to the taco meal you referenced, I really only like tacos with the shell, meat, lettuce and tomato, so that’s all I put on my tacos. I had two tacos and a big plate full of taco salad. If you’re a calorie-minded person, I’d estimate that meal to have around 450 calories, which isn’t huge, but is a decent size meal. I make an effort to eat healthy foods. I definitely eat until I am satisfied and I do not go to bed hungry, I promise! 🙂 Also, as I’ve said before, I do not post everything I eat in a day, like the majority of my snacks or “random nibbles.” If I am still hungry after a meal, I’ll grab something else, like a handful of nuts, to satisfy any lingering hunger.

What is your greatest fear and why?

I know it’s cliché, but my biggest fear is losing a loved one. My family and friends mean the world to me.

Do you buy organic fruits and vegetables?

Not unless they’re on sale.

What kind of makeup do you use?

I am doing a post on my makeup routine within the next couple of days. Stay tuned!

I’ve been with my boyfriend for quite awhile.  We plan to get married one day.  I worry because we live together that  there won’t be a big enough difference or change once we get married to “feel married.”  What is your take on this?  Are you and Ryan doing anything different or special before the big day? I just wanted a perspective from you since you and your fiance seem very similar to my boyfriend and I!

I love this question and think it’s wonderful that you’re concerned about making the transition from a happy couple to a happy, married couple successfully. Ryan and I really aren’t doing anything differently. To be completely honest, I hope not much changes when we get married because I really like how our relationship is right now. I’m not naive enough to think that things won’t change, but I love our relationship as is. We’re getting excited for married life and have really enjoyed reading 1,001 Questions to Ask Before You Get Married. Though there are tons of silly questions, there are a lot of thought-provoking questions as well that touch on questions just like the one you asked, such as “What do you expect to change after we’re married,” etc. It’s fun to hear your partner’s answers!

Cinnamon Apple Ricotta Rollup

Warm apples with cinnamon must be one of the best comfort food combos out there.

This morning I incorporated apples, cinnamon and ricotta cheese into a delicious roll up.

I started by preparing a whole wheat tortilla French toast-style and dipped it in a mixture of one egg with cinnamon before cooking it on the griddle.

French Toast Tortilla

I then added more cinnamon to about a quarter of a cup of Sorrento ricotta cheese to use as filling in the roll up.

Sorrento Ricotta Cheese

After microwaving half of an apple (the other half went directly into my mouth), I placed the warm apple slices on top of the French toast tortilla to complete the roll up.

Cinnamon Apple Ricotta Roll Up

I enjoyed my roll up with a hot mug of sugar cookie sleigh ride tea. So good!

Wednesday's Breakfast

Of course I actually rolled this up to eat it, but those pictures weren’t very attractive. You guys are a smart bunch though and I’m sure you can picture it. 🙂

Workout

It’s chilly outside today!!! I was half hoping to skip my usual cardio after BodyPump today to take Sadie on an extra long walk, but the cold temperatures nixed that idea!

Instead I stuck with my typical Wednesday BodyPump class, followed by 25 minutes of light cardio on the elliptical while reading Orlando Magazine. I love local magazines because they always have a great list of upcoming events in the area. I saw quite a few that caught my eye!

Attune Bar Giveaway Winner

Using Random.org’s random integer generator, Katie is the winner of the Attune chocolate probiotic wellness bar giveaway!

Katie said, “Almond milk chocolate, definitely. Hershey’s with almonds is my favorite candy bar so maybe this would be a healthier replacement?!”

Congrats Katie! Please email me (pbfingers@gmail.com) with your mailing address to receive your 14 day supply of these delicious bars.

Ask Me Anything

I’ll be posting my answers to your final Ask Me Anything questions later today. If you have something you’d like to ask, please click here to submit an anonymous question before noon today. Thank yooou! 🙂

Last Laugh

Cute

Cute x2