Breakin’ Out the Grill

Good news! The rain has finally decided to let up and the lovely spring sun is shining in Orlando again.

Good weather = Grilling!

Meat Man

For the first time in 2010, we fired up the grill to make tonight’s dinner… and by “we” I mean Ryan. The grill intimidates me. 😉

Do you grill or leave the grilling duties up to someone else?

While Ryan tended to the grill, I prepped our sides and roasted fresh zucchini and cauliflower in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, flippin’ the veggies halfway through.

Within 25 minutes we had a tasty dinner of BBQ grilled chicken breasts with roasted veggies. It felt like a summer meal!

BBQ Chicken + Roasted Veggies

My Plate

Dessert

Guess what little treat I picked up at the grocery store yesterday?

Cadbury Eggs

Hooray for Cadbury mini eggs!

Great dessert… Just great. 😀

If I Were…

I saw this on Linda’s blog and just had to participate! SO FUN!

If I Were…

If I were a month, I’d be June.

If I were a day of the week, I’d be Friday.

If I were a time of day, I’d be the morning.

If I were a sea animal, I’d be a dolphin.

If I were a direction, I’d be South.

If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a daybed.

If I were a liquid, I’d be a milkshake.

Shake, Shake, Shake

If I were a flower, I’d be a daisy.

If I were a kind of weather, I’d be a sunny day.

If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a guitar.

If I were a color, I’d be yellow.

If I were an emotion, I’d be excited.

If I were a fruit, I’d be watermelon.

With or Without Seeds, Totally Delicious

If I were a car, I’d be a Toyota.

If I were a food, I’d be ice cream.

Lick, Lick

If I were a place, I’d be the beach.

If I were a material, I’d be cotton.

If I were a scent, I’d be cinnamon/vanilla.

If I were an animal, I’d be a dog.

If I were a facial expression, I’d be a smile.

If I were a song, I’d be “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves.

If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be Badgley Mischka pink sandals.

Hello, Lover

So tell me…

If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be?

Food Addiction

You know by now that I don’t shy away from leftovers!

Last night Ryan and I enjoyed al fresco sweet Italian chicken sausage with peppers and onions for dinner and I used leftovers to make a sausage, onion and pepper hoagie for lunch today.

Here’s the food preparation process from last night…

Freshly Chopped Green and Red Peppers and Onions

Ryan Slicin' Onions

Ryan is the onion slicer in our house. They make me cry!

We put the peppers, onions and sliced chicken sausage in the oven at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, stirring half-way through.

Sausage + Peppers

The leftovers made an excellent lunch today!

Sausage, Pepper & Onion Hoagie

Monday's Lunch

Addicted to Food???

Many people claim they are “addicted to food.” Whether they are addicted to the food itself or the feeling they derive from eating the food is often debated.

Do you feel like you’re addicted to food? Do you know someone who is?

I don’t believe I am addicted to food, but I will admit that when I start eating ice cream or certain other indulgent foods, I sometimes feel a little out of control. I consider these foods my “trigger foods” and I know myself enough to know that one little “taste” simply will not do. I know that once I take one bite of ice cream or break a teeny piece off a freshly baked cookie, I’ll immediately go back for more.

A recently published study examined two groups of rats. One group was fed junk food while the other group was fed a healthy diet.

Results from the study showed that the rats eating junk food continued to compulsively eat the calorie-dense food even when they knew they’d receive an electric shock (Those poor rats!). Those eating the healthy foods stopped eating when they knew a shock would occur.

Interesting, huh? I’m not sure if this really applies to people, but it’s pretty interesting nonetheless.

For more details on this study, click here to read my latest Examiner article.

Soaked

Aaaand the rain continues!

This morning as Ryan and I walked to the gym, we side-stepped many puddles on our way inside. I figured the rain was over, but apparently we happened to walk to the gym during a short reprieve. 

In between tracks during BodyPump, I could hear the pounding rain on the roof. Yikes!

By the time my workout was over, the rain let up a little bit, and I took Sadie on a short walk. When we were about two blocks from home, it started pouring again!

Sadie is a big baby when it comes to the rain, but she sure does love what comes after a wet walk: Towel off time!

"Dry Me, Mama!"

I should really capture the toweling off process in a video, because Sadie is in pure bliss.

I think she just likes the extra attention. 😉

Breakfast

After drying the dog, I made myself a yummy breakfast.

When I made yesterday’s mid-morning snack, I cooked up extra barley to use in today’s breakfast.

I love breakfast barley bowls!

Strawberries + Barley

Yummmmmy

I topped fresh strawberries and barley with a cup of Chobani Greek yogurt.

Topped Off

The removal of the top of the yogurt cup is music to Sadie’s ears because she knows what comes next…

Nom, Nom, Nom

She’s a yogurt lover, too!

I’m off to shower… Unfortunately a simple “toweling off” just won’t do for me. 😉

In Case You Missed It Over the Weekend…

I have a hard time keeping up on blogs over the weekend, so just in case you’re like me, here are some highlights from the weekend:

• I tried out a new sports bra and made delicious raspberry ricotta stuffed French toast.
• Ryan and I went out for sushi and frozen yogurt.
• I got a piiiink pedicure.