New Pasta Pack

Since I basically passed out early last night and Ryan ordered us pizza for dinner, we didn’t make it to the grocery for our usual Sunday evening shopping trip.

Instead we headed out after work this evening to pick up the essentials.

As we passed the fresh pasta section, a new flavor of Monetery Pasta Company ravioli caught our eye.

Monterey Pasta Company Smoked Mozzarella and Artichoke Ravioli

While I boiled the pasta, I also steamed broccoli to include a lil’ more veggies in the mix.

Pasta Poofs

Along with the steamed broccoli, I topped the ravioli with marinara sauce and lots of Parmesan cheese.

Dinner

Dinner Time!

My Bowl

Overall we both liked the smoked mozzarella and artichoke flavor, though I think I enjoyed it more than Ryan did. The smoked flavor was really strong, but I found myself enjoying the bold flavor more and more with every bite.

Now I’m off to watch an episode of Girl Meets Gown that I DVRed. I love wedding TV! 🙂

I have a pretty big day ahead of me tomorrow… 😉

It’s All About the Smell

The smell of food is one of my favorite things about making a meal.

Smelling something baking in the oven or grilling in the backyard gives me a sense of comfort and happiness. I love how a simple whiff of a neighbor’s burgers on the grill can make you instantly want to pop over and have a BBQ!

The smell of my lunch today was delicious and prompted several people to ask me what I was making as it cooked in the break room.

What caused the heavenly sent, you may be wondering?

MorningStar Farms Pizza Burgers

Pizza burgers!

These babies smell so good. Luckily they taste pretty good, too!

I incorporated a MorningStar Farms tomato and basil pizza burger into my lunch by placing it on top of a steamed veggie salad with marinara sauce and ricotta cheese.

Veggies + Marinara + Ricotta

Pizza Burger = Yum

These pizza burgers used to be my go-to snack at work. I ate them so much that I eventually got sick of them! I always seem to do that with new foods I love!

What is your favorite food smell?

To me, there’s nothing that smells better than chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven… Though cinnamon rolls do come close!

Back on Track Smoothie

After a weekend filled with birthday cake, funfetti cookies and cherry pie, my body was ready for a nutritious back-on-track breakfast smoothie this morning!

I made a strawberry banana smoothie, using the same ingredients from my smoothie on Thursday.

Strawberry + Banana

I think I may have added a little more xanthan gum than before, because this smoothie was extra thick!

Monday's Breakfast

I had to bust out the ol’ spoon to eat the first half.

Mr. Spoon to the Rescue!

Monday's Breakfast

While I was making my smoothie, I also snacked on a small handful of Just Bunches cereal, given to me by my mom because I always pick the “bunches” out of Honey Bunches of Oats cereal. 😀

Just Bunches

Tasty!

Thank you

I am not going to get into it, but to those of you who stuck up for me last night, thank you. You mean the world to me. 🙂 Big kisses your way…

(Oh, and by the way, I am not bulimic, nor do I advocate cursing in the comments section of blog posts. 😉 )

The Abs Question

On Saturday I received several questions about my abs routine following this post, so I wanted to take a minute to address them.

Here’s what I say about my ab routine on my Q & A page:

I naturally gain weight in my lower half first (hips, butt, legs). However, if I do notice that my stomach is getting a little softer, I’ll up cardio and try to incorporate more intense cardio sessions (like interval training) into my routine which my body seems to respond to best. Also, I cannot stress the importance of healthy eating when it comes to carrying weight in my stomach. I will literally be walking around with a food baby belly if I have a weekend full of ice cream, cookies and other indulgent foods.

As far as abdominal workouts, I do not have a set routine when it comes to working out my abs. I typically workout my abs during BodyPump classes three times a week, but find that cardio and healthy eating is really what keeps my stomach the flattest. Eating a lot of fibrous foods (veggies! fruits! whole grains!) keeps me “regular” and I think this helps with the appearance of a flatter belly.

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To me, a flatter stomach is achieved by healthy eating and more intense cardio sessions more than any amount of crunches or sit ups. I also have a go-to abs routine that I do when I do not take BodyPump classes which I may post about if you guys are interested.

How often do you work out your abs? What is your ab routine?