Last Pack

Tonight we used the last of the chicken. 

Three chicken dinners in three days! Phew. 

As a girl who gets really bored of chicken really easily, I was surprised to find myself excited to dig into tonight’s dinner. I think it had more to do with the veggies and the bagel also included in the meal than the actual chicken. 😉  

While Ryan grilled several chicken breasts outside, I was on veggie duty.

I chopped roasted yellow squash, onion and mushrooms before tossing them in a bit of olive oil and seasoned salt and roasting them at 415 degrees for about 18 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Roasted Veggies

The veggies went perfectly with my grilled chicken bagelwich, which included Ryan’s grilled chicken and an Alternative Bagel topped with spinach, dijon mustard and light Miracle whip. 

Grilled Chicken Bagelwich

Squash + Onion + Mushrooms

Dinner

Sometimes all you need to make a boring chicken sandwich a little more enticing is a toasty bagel and some roasted veggies on the side, I guess. 

I’m so happy tomorrow is Friday. I’m really looking forward to quite a few things this weekend and can’t wait for the fun to begin! 🙂 

I’m off to pack for an overnight trip tomorrow! G’night!

And That is All

Normally I don’t pop in to post about my morning or afternoon snacks, but today I’m making an exception.

Around 3 p.m. today I enjoyed a cup of this:

Soft Serve with Rainbow Sprinkles

And instantly felt like this:

Happy Dog

And that is all.

Would You Like to Stay for Dinner?

Back in high school I loved eating dinner at my friends’ houses. That’s not to say that my mom didn’t make us fabulous food, because she definitely did, but I loved trying out the goods other people ate on a regular basis.

I loved it when dinnertime approached and I’d hear the fabulous question, “Would you like to stay for dinner?” Yes, please!

One of my favorite dishes was served at my friend Kristen’s house. Her mom made the best pasta salad, full of noodles, veggies and Italian dressing. (I tried my very best to recreate it in December.)

My love for pasta runs strong, but I almost always enjoy it hot and often topped with marinara sauce. Today I changed things up and drew inspiration from Mrs. Bauer’s pasta salad.

Italian Pasta Salad

My noodle bowl included:

• 1.5 servings Carba Nada pasta
• 4 tbsp. light Italian dressing
• 100 grams chopped yellow squash
• 50 grams chopped portobello mushrooms
• 60 grams chopped broccoli

Pasta + Veggies + Italian Dressing

Close Up

I made the pasta salad after dinner yesterday and let it soak up the goodness from the Italian dressing overnight.

By lunchtime it was cold, zesty and delicious!

When you were growing up, did you enjoy eating meals with your friends’ families? Any favorite dishes?

Tax Day Treats

Tax Day Treats

I hope your taxes are done!

"Money, Money, Money, Money... Money!"

I finished mine with the help of Ryan (Okay, he basically did them for me) on Monday and I found out that I owed almost $340. Talk about a total downer. 😦

We used TurboTax to do our taxes. I love how at the end of the program they ask you if you’d like the TurboTax fee of $50 deducted from your refund. Well not everyone gets a refund now, do they, TT? Thanks for rubbin’ it in. (Yes, I did just get mad at a software program…)

Fortunately there are several companies offering free or discounted treats in honor of tax day today.

According to Yahoo Finance, the following companies are offering giveaways:

FREE COFFEE AND TREATS

CINNABON: Get two free bite-sized cupcakes from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at participating mall locations as part of “Tax Day Bites!” Flavors include Chocolate Passion, 24-Carrot Cake, Vanilla Bliss and Cinnacake Classic.

MAGGIEMOO’S: Get one free slice of ice cream pizza — ice cream with red frosting to look like sauce and white chocolate to look like cheese — at participating locations from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday.

STARBUCKS: Get free brewed coffee all day Thursday if you bring your own mug, a promotion the cafe chain says is friendly to the environment as well as taxpayers.

DISCOUNTED MEALS

BOSTON MARKET: For a “last-minute tax break” — one free meal for each one you buy Thursday through Sunday — show this coupon: http://bit.ly/d1YlRO

IHOP: Expanding on the tax deduction parents get for kids, the restaurant chain is offering free dinner for one child age 12 or younger with each adult meal purchased 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. all month long.

MCCORMICK & SCHMICK’S: The seafood restaurant is offering $10.40 dinner and drink specials in the bar on Thursday — a nod to the 1040 tax form. Bar guests who come in April 15 also receive a $10.40 gift certificate for a later visit. And professional tax preparers, who may have to work right until the midnight deadline Thursday, get their freebie Friday: dessert on the house plus a $10.40 certificate if they show a business card.

P.F. CHANG’S: Get 15 percent off food purchases for dine-in or take-out, excluding alcohol and happy hour food and beverages.

STRESS RELIEF

HYDROMASSAGE: Get a free massage Thursday through Sunday at participating locations. The mall-based massage chain suggests calling ahead to book an appointment. Find a location at http://www.hydromassage.com/taxday.

Enjoy!

French Toast Strips

Have you ever tried French toast sticks? The fried French toast-like sticks they offer at Burger King and often serve at breakfast buffets? Well, they’re pretty darn delicious, but also pretty terrible for you from a nutritional standpoint.  

Today I created my own French toast sticks… but they were more like French toast strips. 😉  

They tasted nothing like French toast sticks, but were still tasty in their own right and were made with nutritious ingredients. That’s gotta count for something, right?  

I made my French toast strips by pulling apart lavash bread (you could also do this with a whole wheat tortilla) and dunking it in a mixture of egg beaters and cinnamon before cooking the strips on the griddle.  

Egg Beaters + Cinnamon

 

While the French toast strips were cooking, I combined 1/4 cup of cottage cheese with 1/4 cup of frozen raspberries and a dash of Almond Breeze almond milk. I used my immersion blender to blend everything together to create a creamy, fruity filling.  

Raspberries + Cottage Cheese

 

Pink!

 

Once the French toast strips were done, I spread the filling in between the strips, sprinkled them with nutmeg and smothered the strips in syrup.  

French Toast Strips

 

French Toast Strips with Raspberry Filling

 

The Finishing Touches: Nutmeg + Syrup

 

I love weekday breakfasts that remind me of weekend breakfasts! They make me happy.  

This particular breakfast actually reminded me a lot of my raspberry ricotta stuffed French toast. Deeelish! 

Workout 

Before breakfast, I headed outside with Sadie for a 5.25 mile run.  

On our run we saw lots of baby ducklings and goslings. It’s definitely spring!  

The weather in Central Florida is still great for running and I hope it doesn’t get too hot too fast.  

What is your ideal temperature?  

I think mine is somewhere between 78 and 80 degrees. I like it nice and warm, but not sweltering.