Salmon Burgers

The solution for a girl who wants dinner now?

Frozen salmon burgers!

SeaPak salmon burgers are all-natural and packed with protein and Omega 3s and cook up in less than 10 minutes.

While I prepared two burgers on the stove top, I made a dill dijonaise to spread on the burgers using a tablespoon of light Miracle Whip, 1/2 tablespoon of dijon mustard and several shakes of dill.

Along with the dill dijonaise, I topped my burger with cucumber and plum tomato slices before digging in.

On the side, I enjoyed a sliced red pepper.

This meal screams summer! With September right around the corner, I’m enjoying all the summery meals I can before fall is in full swing.

I’m off to straighten up the apartment a bit before cuddlin’ on the couch. I think the lack of sleep from yesterday is catching up to me because I’m tired tonight. I’m planning the hit the hay nice and early this evening.

Enjoy your night! 😀

Bachelorette Party Reflections

Sometimes the fresh ingredients make the salad.

So Fresh and So Clean, Clean

Sometimes it’s the dressing that makes all the difference in the world.

Kraft Light Asian Toasted Sesame

Today’s salad was fresh and tasty, and while the veggies were perfectly crisp, the dressing stole the show.

Ryan and I both adore Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame salad dressing and have to turn a blind eye to the inclusion of high fructose corn syrup in the ingredient list because it really is that good.

My salad today included:

• Baby greens
• Shredded carrots
• Radishes
• 1/2 c. Seapoint Farms edamame
• Green pepper

The Goods

All Together

I often find that when I eat salads, I enjoy certain bites more than others. Typically the bites with the good stuff like feta cheese or somethin’ with a little extra flavor reign supreme.

Well, the good thing about using this salad dressing on my salad today is that I enjoyed every bite equally because this dressing is so dang good. My friend Caitlin brought this dressing to a girls’ night potluck dinner a couple of years ago and I’ve been a sucker for it ever since.

Bachelorette Party Reflections

Now that both of my amazing bachelorette parties are behind me, I wanted to type up a little post about my post-party thoughts.

I felt so, so loved and blessed during both wonderful parties and have received some emails from readers asking me to detail what I loved the most, as it seems many of you guys are planning parties of your own!

While I absolutely loved everything my friends did for me, here are some of the stand-outs that I think would make nearly any bride-to-be happy:

• Planning: I was absolutely floored by all the planning and preparation my friends put into both of my bachelorette parties. They all took the time to plan out the weekends’ activities so we were never left awkwardly wondering, “Okay, what now?”

Ready to Hit the Town!

• Decorations: I didn’t anticipate any decorations, but arriving at a party completely decorated in bachelorette party-wear made me feel special and like my friends were genuinely excited to celebrate my upcoming wedding. I also appreciated how my friends stuck to a pink theme rather than a phallic theme. 🙂

Pretty Glasses

Gorgeous Table Spread

Decorations!

• Homemade Touch: Both groups of friends put a lot of time into creating crafty goodies for the festivities. I received homemade itineraries, a scrapbook, cards, decorated drink glasses, pins, customized tank tops and more. The time and effort my friends put into making these things themselves meant the world.

Homemade Scrapbook

• Get Into It: I felt like every single one of my friends really wanted to party it up and have a great time. Everyone was all about sportin’ fun accessories like jumbo-sized rings, pins declaring that they were bridesmaids, etc. Their energy was contagious and we had a great time wherever we went.

Woop, Woop!

My Girl Likes to Party All the Time!

Dance Party

Let's Get Crazy!!!

• Thoughtfulness: The thoughtfulness of my friends was truly astounding. They planned activities, meals and nights out that they knew I would enjoy. We went to bars rather than clubs, ate sushi and homemade meals prepared by their families and played games to get the party started… all things I absolutely love.

Sushi Night

• Unique Games: Though games might not be fore everyone, I had the best time playing bachelorette-themed games. The Q&A/Jello shot game was so entertaining and the paper ring dare game was a riot!

Of course none of these things are necessary for a wonderful bachelorette party, but I must say that I felt like I had two of the best bachelorette parties in the entire world thanks to the time, effort and love of my friends.

They made me feel so special and I cannot thank them enough for two of the best weekends of my life!

Question of the Afternoon

• What is one thing you think is an important component of a good bachelorette party?
  

Back to Healthy with Homemade Granola

Talk about a good night’s sleep!

After functioning on about four hours of sleep yesterday, I slept like a rock last night.

It felt good to head to the gym feeling refreshed.

This morning, I took a BodyPump class and followed it up with a 40-minute walk with Sadie since I wanted to spend some quality time with my girl after being away for the weekend. BodyPump didn’t feel too hard today. I think the release that the instructor chose was an easier one which disappointed me a little bit because I was in the mood for a more challenging workout.

Breakfast

Today I waved goodbye to indulgent treats from this weekend and welcomed healthy food back into my life!

Hello, Greek yogurt, whole wheat toast and homemade granola.

Back on Track with Healthy Eats

The highlight of this meal was the homemade granola that I received from my friend Leah’s mom this weekend.

Homemade Granola

The granola is full of seeds, oats and nuts and tasted perfectly sweet and a little salty. It added a wonderful texture and a slight crunch to my yogurt. I need to get the recipe for this delicious mixture.

In Case You Missed It This Weekend:

• Ryan posted his first (surprise) guest post
• We went on a scavenger hunt and ate tons of food during a progressive dinner
• We had a fun lingerie shower and a crazy night in downtown Chicago celebrating my bachelorette party