Summer Meal

Gosh, I love summer meals.

Hot-diggity-dawgs fresh off the grill just scream summer! And when those “hot dogs” come in the form of aidells Italian Style all-natural chicken sausage, that’s all the better!

Tonight’s dinner included grilled chicken sausage served on a fresh bun with sauerkraut, parnsip fries, ketchup and sweet pickles.

Grilled Italian Style Chicken Sausage

Parsnip Fries

 I made the parsnip fries by peeling and slicing several parnips before spraying them with cooking spray, sprinkling the fries with salt and pepper and roasting them in the oven at 420 degrees for 25 minutes, flipping them half way through.

These fries actually reminded me quite a bit of rutabaga fries!

Dinner is Served

After dinner, Ryan and I sat out back with Sadie to entertain her with several rounds of fetch.

We shared a couple of post-dinner treats like a bag of popcorn and an apple with peanut butter while enjoying the pre-rain breezes.

Apple + PB

Eventually the rain arrived and we were forced inside.

We’re thinking of making tonight a movie night after we head out for a lil’ dessert. One strawberry milkshake with two straws, please! 😉

I’m really happy to be enjoying a relaxing night at home. I feel like our weekends have been jam-packed lately and I’m thrilled to have a weekend in Orlando to get some wedding related things done!

See ya in the mornin’!

Sauerkraut Stinks

This just in: Sauerkraut is just as stinky as tuna salad.

I learned this valuable lesson as I assembled my lunch in the breakroom today and I heard several people proclaim, “Ew, what is that smell?”

I heated up my ‘kraut and headed on my merry way, making a mental note not to enjoy lunches that include sauerkraut during peak lunchtimes.

I served the stinky sauerkraut on top of an aidells Italian Style chicken sausage which I enjoyed in a super-soft Nature’s Own Whitewheat hot dog bun.

Sausage + 'Kraut

The sauerkraut/chicken sausage combo was delish!

I know sauerkraut isn’t for everyone, but for a German girl like me, it’s the jam!

Alongside my protein-packed sausage I enjoyed fresh grape tomatoes and cucumber slices for some color.

Nutrients!

Hump Day Lunch

Pre- lunch I also enjoyed an iced green tea from Starbucks that I picked up after stopping by my orthodontist’s office to get my permanent bottom retainer in. (How cool am I? 😉 )

An Intimate Look at PBF

(Wow. Can’t believe I just posted that pic. We’re all officially best friends now.)

Iced Green Tea

Sad news though… the green tea quickly went from this:

FULL!

To this:

G-O-N-E!

I seriously inhale any cold beverage other than water. Water is the only thing I seem to struggle chug-a-chuggin’.

Snikiddy Giveaway Winners

Congratulations to the following winners of the Snikiddy snacks giveaway:

• Diana: “My face cheese dish will always be twice baked potatoes… Seriously! Drool!”
• Yummy Sushi Pajamas: Her “tweet” was actually the entry that won… But here’s her yummy-sounding comment: “Oh these sound great! My fave cheese dish… is spring mix salad with dried berries, Italian dressing, and goat cheese. So good!”
• Meagan: “Grilled cheese is the best comfort food ever! Cheesy, Gooey, Deliciousness!”

Please email me at pbfingers@gmail.com with your mailing address so you can get your hands on some of this delicious grub for the free-zie! 😀

Stay Tuned

Stay tuned for an AMAZING giveaway soon! I get excited about pretty much every giveaway I do on the blog (because I am a freebie-loving freak), but the upcoming giveaway is my favorite one to date! 😀

Woop, woop!

Question of the Afternoon

What nationality are you? Do you like foods that are typically associated with your nationality?

I am German and Swedish (right, Mama?). I adore foods associated with my nationality, including brats, cabbage, apple strudel and pretzels.

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.

Farts Are Funny

Potty humor to come… But before I ruin your appetite, I gotta post about afternoon activities and mah dinner! 

Dog Fun 

After work today Ryan and I entertained Sadie by taking her to the dog park before swinging by PetSmart to pick up some chews for the pup. 

Hooray for Dog Park Fun!

Take One

Take Two

As always Sadie enjoyed playing multiple rounds of fetch. 

Air Sadie

"Throw the Baaall!"

When the sun started to set, we headed to PetSmart where Sadie modeled the latest in doggie fashion. 

Sadie the Fashionista

 By the time we got home we were hungry! I knew dinner needed to come together quickly to satisfy our rumblin’ tummies. 

Dinner 

My favorite way to enjoy vegetables is to roast them in the oven with a lil’ olive oil, salt and pepper or garlic salt. It seems like this tried and true way of preparing vegetables works on almost any veggie. 

Roasted Cauliflower + Zucchini

Tonight I roasted a whole bunch of cauliflower and zucchini to enjoy along with al fresco sundried tomato chicken sausage. 

The veggies and sausage were a great combination and the flavors really complimented each other. 

Sausage Veggie Bowl

Dinner

Fiber One Bars = Lots O’ Farts  

Following a discussion about Fiber One bars today, my friend send me a hysterical link to one person’s experience after eating Fiber One bars. 

Fiber One Granola Bars

 

Let’s just say things got a lil’ stinky: 

“Step aside Kashi GoLEAN Crunch, and say hello to Fiber One Bars. Never, ever in my entire life, have a dropped as much ass as I do after eating these. I mean, check out the nutrition label, it speaks for itself! 

I’ve done some research and evidently it’s the chicory root that causes the gas. I don’t know about all that, but I do know that the human body is not designed to do what it does after eating these bars. 

When I think back on the top ten loudest and longest farts of my life, I can honestly say 10 of them happened all at once about 2 hours after eating a Fiber One bar. 

I conducted an unscientific test to see if others were affected like I was. One person told me they farted so loud that they woke them self up in the middle of the night. Another told me that her drug-free childbirth was much more comfortable than her brush with the Fiber One bar.” 

Toot, Toot!

 

I apologize to any of my more mature blog readers who do not find potty humor as hysterical as I do. 🙂

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! 😀