Veggiefied

My lunch today was totally veggiefied!

Tuesday's Lunch

I topped a whole wheat sandwich thin with roasted red pepper hummus and portobello mushrooms.

On the side I nibbled on cauliflower and asparagus, roasted with garlic salt. It was d-to-the-e-to-the-l-i-c-i-o-u-s (Black Eyed Peas, anyone? 😉 ).

My Plate

Hummus and Mushroom Sandwich with Roasted Veggies

Sadie may be one of the biggest veggie lovers I know. I snapped this picture of her giving me the “feed me” look as I was packing my lunch today.

"Feed Me!"

Here’s a fun little information nugget: Sadie’s favorite vegetable is broccoli.

Morning Snack

My morning snack was a cheese-tastic microwaved quesadilla.

'Dilla

Easy snacks are my favorite and microwaving a Colby jack string cheese stick on a whole wheat tortilla is pretty darn easy. Why is melted cheese so much better than cold cheese?

How Old is Too Old

Question for you meat experts out there… Is it dangerous to eat chicken that’s one day past the “sell by” date? If it’s just gross, I’m okay with that, but I don’t want Ryan and I to keel over after dinner tonight.

I put my 2/21/10 chicken in the crock pot this morning and it smelled okay… but does that make it okay?

Do you always toss food that’s past expiration?

For me, I toss food depending on the type of food and the smell. Old milk – in the garbage! Old cereal – in my bowl! 😉

🙂

White Out

My lunch today was almost a complete white out!

• Carba Nada egg fettuccine noodles
• Laughing Cow light Swiss cheese
• Parmesan Cheese
• Cauliflower

White food overload! Fortunately I had some leftover Brussels sprouts to add a punch of green to my pasta bowl.

White (+ Green!) Pasta Bowl

Tasty!

There are so many things I love about food… the taste, texture, smell and even the color. A blah colorless meal isn’t nearly as appealing to me as one with fresh foods and vibrant colors.

I think certain foods are honestly beautiful.

I love the look of a plump apple or a bowl full of fresh, shiny cherries.

What food do you think is beautiful?

Easy Crock Pot Beef

Tonight’s dinner was easy… just the way I like it!

Before I left for work I placed chunks of beef (sold pre-sliced for beef stew) in the crock pot with one can of cream of mushroom soup and a half of a can of water.

Cream of Mushroom soup

I let the meat cook on low for approximately eight hours (though I’m sure six would be plenty).

By the time we were hungry for dinner, the beef was moist and delicious. After steaming broccoli, cauliflower and carrots and sauteing spinach we were ready to eat.

My Plate

Aren’t effortless dinners the best?

What’s your favorite crock pot recipe?

Two of my favorites include the easiest pulled pork ever and slow cooker chicken tacos.

I think I’d love just about any crock pot meal. 😀

Brrr Baby

Holy cold day outside!

According to my car’s thermometer, it’s in the 30s in Orlando today… Um, this is Florida. It’s not supposed to be this cold!

How cold is it where you are today?

36 Degrees!

On my morning walk with Sadie I looked like someone wearing every piece of clothing they own. My outfit included:

• Sports bra
• Work out top
• Hoodie
• Fleece coat
• Jacket
• Underwear
• Sweatpants
• Socks
• Ugg boots
• Scarf
• Hat
• Mittens

Thank goodness I still kept this stuff from when I used to live in Illinois!

New Year’s Resolutions Begin

I knew today was going to be a crowded day at the gym today since everyone is very enthusiastic about their health or weight loss-related New Year’s resolutions. (Click here for ideas for healthy New Year’s resolutions that may be easier to maintain in the long run.) I made sure to wake up five minutes earlier than usual to be sure to get a good spot in BodyPump since I had a feeling the class would be packed.

I was right! I like a full class because I feel like everyone feeds off each other’s energy. What I don’t like is when someone takes “my spot.” Is it weird that I prefer the same spot every time I take a BodyPump class? I’m a creature of habit, I guess.

After BodyPump, I rounded out my workout with 20 minutes of light cardio on the elliptical before taking Sadie on her freezing walk.

Breakfast

Breakfast was fit for a peanut butter lover like me!

Creamy PB

I made a peanut butter sandwich on a whole wheat sandwich thin with a sliced pear on the side. I already ate the majority of the pear by the time I snapped a picture. I’m a hungry gal!

Monday's Breakfast

Last Night

Our Christmas decorations remain. We didn’t get around to taking them all down for no other reason than we were feeling lazy and I was watching episode after episode of Gossip Girl.

I felt better when I saw that the holiday decorations throughout the city of Orlando still remain in tact as well.

Orlando Decorations

Despite our general laziness yesterday evening, we did manage to make it to the grocery store and cook up a yummy dinner of roasted cauliflower with sweet Italian chicken sausage and garlic toast.

Sunday Night Dinner

Deeelish

This dinner came together in a flash and was devoured in even less time.

For those of you back to work for the first time since the holidays, enjoy your return to the workforce. For those of you not working today, consider yourself lucky and me jealous! 😀

Lovin’ on the Squash

Yep, I’m still lovin’ on spaghetti squash. Don’t get me wrong, I adore noodles, but this tasty squash is a phenomenal substitute for spaghetti and when I want to eat A LOT it’s a better option for me than buckets full o’ pasta.

I prepared the squash just like I did last time, and forked out the “spaghetti” strands to serve as my “pasta” base.

I placed the squash in a bowl and topped it with steamed broccoli and cauliflower florets, MorningStar Farms veggie crumbles and fresh mushrooms.

Veggie Topped Squash

I then topped my veggified bowl with tomato basil marinara sauce and swirled it around until it looked totally unappetizing to most, but awesomely delicious to me!

Nasty? I Think Not.

Of course no decent pasta dish is complete without ridiculous amounts of Parmesan cheese.

Parm Cheese For Me Please

This dinner was tasty!

After dinner I was craving something sweet and decided to fix myself a sweet cup of hot chocolate to enjoy while I blog.

Hot Cocoa

(Note: J. Crew catalogs make fantastic coasters.)

I hope everyone is enjoying their Tuesday night! Hump Day’s almost here. 🙂