Backyard Haircut

Since BodyPump totally dominated my morning post, lemme catch you up! 

(Special thanks to Vee, who is in the process of becoming a certified BodyPump instructor, for requesting a BodyPump post!) 

Breakfast 

I kept breakfast light this morning since I was heading out to the gym within 30 minutes of waking, and didn’t want to feel like a two-ton whale. 

I’m not someone who can workout on a completely full belly. I do much better on light fuel because a full belly makes me cramp up or want to curl up and go to sleep, neither of which are conducive to a good workout! 

This morning’s breakfast was brownie batter hot cereal. 

Pre-Cooked

The mix included: 

• 1 serving Flax-Z-Snax chocolate cream hot cereal
• 1 scoop All the Whey chocolate peanut butter cup protein powder
• 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
• Water

Microwaved for 90 seconds, stirring regularly to prevent ooooverflow… 

"A Spoonful of Chocolate Helps the Medicine Go Doooown..."

Brownie Batter Hot Cereal

This combination is so rich and chocolatey. I think I could bathe in this stuff. 😉 

After the gym, I came home, grabbed a Balance Bar, and took Sadie on a walk around the lake near our apartment. 

"Walk Me!"

There was a festival with lots of different arts and crafts and food vendors surrounding the lake. 

Festival

"I Saw the Sign"

I loved the sign that read, “If we are what we eat, I’m fast, easy and cheap.” 😀 

I think my sign would say, “If we are what we eat, I’m cheesy, fruity and sweet!” 

While walking around, Sadie and I both enjoyed a free sample of kettle corn. That stuff is dang delicious! 

I stopped to say hi to some of the dogs up for adoption and fell in love with these two pups: 

Puppy Eyes

Brody Look-a-Like

The second one reminded me so much of my friend Minda’s dog, Brody. He was adorable! 

Here’s the name of the rescue in case any of you out there live in Florida and want to adopt one of these cuties: 

A New Beginning Pet Rescue

When we arrived home from our walk, I was huuuungry. 

I made myself a bowl of roasted Nasoya tofu, broccoli and zucchini, ricotta cheese and marinara meat sauce. 

Veggies + Tofu

Cheese + Sauce

Stirred Up

Wanna know something crazy? I didn’t know you could bake tofu until like a month ago. Well you can, and it’s delicious! 

Backyard Haircut 

After lunch, Ryan and I headed to the backyard to catch some rays. 

Taking Pictures in a Mirror is Hard...

Another Mirror Pic Fail... Practicing on Sadie...

We both got antsy after a while and Ryan asked me if I would give him a haircut. 

Trusting, no? 

Of course I agreed. Check out Barber Julie’s masterpiece: 

Sad Long-Haired Boy

Happy Short-Haired Boy

Ryan's Please Stop Taking My Picture Face

Ryan now owes me $25, but I may settle for some soft serve. 😉 

Today’s Plans 

The rest of our Saturday will be spent running errands to work out some kinks with our cable box (ugh), and tracking down people on craigslist to get a boxspring and a mattress for the bed in our guest room! 

Catch ya lataaa.

A Spoonful of Sugar Would Have Been Nice

Remember that song from Mary Poppins that goes,  “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down?”

Well, I think I needed a spoonful of sugar to help my sugar-free Jello knock-off dessert to go down. It was NOT GOOD and tasted like cough syrup. Bleh. 😦

I love sugar-free Jello and eat a little snack pack after lunch almost daily. At the grocery store last night I saw a different brand’s sugar-free gelatin on sale for less than half the cost of Jello.

Being the savvy shopper that I am, I picked up a bulk-size pack of the stuff. Bad move. I don’t think I’ll be enjoying anymore Tylenol-flavored desserts in the near future.

Luckily, that was the only fail of my lunch.

My grilled zucchini and roasted red pepper hummus sandwich, roasted cauliflower and two dark chocolate Dove eggs saved the day!

Roasted Cauliflower

Sandwich

Tuesday's Lunch

I also had a cup of Greek yogurt for some protein which alluded any photographs.

My Jello knock-off dessert was the most disappointed I’ve been in a product in a while.

What product or food have you tried recently only to be disappointed?

Peanut Butter Cup Breakfast Quesadilla

Chocolate + peanut butter = best combination everrr.

Ghirardelli Chocolate

Creamy PB

My breakfast today was inspired by Reese’s peanut butter cups.

As I was packing this breakfast last night, Ryan asked “Where are the eggs?” He couldn’t understand how this combination constituted as a breakfast and I politely explained that it is breakfast because I’m eating it at breakfast time. 🙂 Meal before 9 a.m. = breakfast.

I microwaved Ghirardelli 60% cacao baking chips on a Joseph’s tortilla until the chocolate was spreadable.

Joseph's Tortilla

I spread a big ol’ spoonful of peanut butter on the other half of the tortilla to round out my peanut butter cup breakfast quesadilla.

PB + Chocolate

Peanut Butter Cup Quesadilla

It was sweet, salty creamy, warm and delicious.

At first glance this might not appear like the healthiest breakfast, but the ‘dilla has protein from the wrap and peanut butter, fiber from the wrap, healthy fat from the peanut butter and satisfying sweetness from the chocolate. Nutritious is delicious!

Workout

I love BodyPump. It’s the best class ever! I love how it makes lifting weights a brainless activity. Monday mornings are often tough mentally for me and I am grateful for group exercise classes like BodyPump that take you through everything and challenge you along the way.

Do you like group exercise classes?

Today’s BodyPump class was a good one and I followed it up with 25 minutes on the elliptical with OK! magazine.

Jake, The Bachelor, was on the cover of the magazine… Tonight’s the season finale!!!

Any Bachelor fans out there? Who are you rootin’ for?

“Healthy” Drink Shocker

I think the Attune chocolate bar I ate last night sparked a chocolate craving in me this morning.

I figured a bowl of brownie batter hot cereal would ease my sweet tooth a bit and get some chocolate in my belly in a healthier way than a big bowl of chocolate ice cream with hot fudge sauce (which is what I really wanted) would.

Brownie Batter Hot Cereal

Thursday's Breakfast

I enjoyed my bowl of chocolate goodness with a hot tumbler full of my gym’s free coffee. Today’s coffee combination was Barnie’s cinnamon butter cookie and French vanilla coffee flavors combined.

I would have no problem downing a big ice cream sundae for breakfast. I see no boundaries between my meals (which is probably why I love breakfast for dinner so much). Growing up one of my favorite breakfasts was leftover spaghetti with my mom’s marinara meat sauce… I actually preferred it cold. 😀

Does eating foods typically reserved for dinner or lunch gross you out in the morning, or can you down a slice of pizza before 9 a.m. without a problem?

Bring on the pizza!

“Healthy” Drinks

My friend Katherine emailed me a pretty interesting link the other day. It was an eye-opening look at popular drinks Americans consume daily. The biggest shocker? The “healthy” drink (Naked Protein Zone Banana Chocolate drink, 15.2-ounce bottle) that had 70 grams of sugar… the same amount of sugar found in five Breyers Oreo ice cream sandwiches. Yikes!

Pick One: Protein Drink or FIVE Ice Cream Sandwiches

So which one do you choose?

Pass me the ice cream puh-lease! 😀

Rainy Day Dinner

Is is just me or do rainy days make you want a warm dinner that makes your whole house smell fantastic?

With the chilly, rainy weather outside, Ryan and I decided to make a hot, aromatic dinner of Italian sausage with peppers and onions.

Sausage, Peppers and Onions

Our friends Pete and Merri made this dish at their Super Bowl party this year and Ryan and I loved it.

Thankfully Pete shared his recipe with me today and I was pleased to see that it was super easy. You know I love simple recipes!

All you have to do is cut Italian sausages with scissors (do not use a knife or the meat will come out of the casings) and put the meat into a 2-inch baking dish (sprayed with cooking spray) with sliced onions and peppers. You can then top it all with olive oil, salt and pepper or omit all the spices since the Italian sausage is very flavorful on its own. Easy, right?

We let the sausage and peppers bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes, stirring the mixture every once in a while.

Yummy

Our apartment smelled like heaven!

I enjoyed my sausage and veggie mix on a big piece of Joseph’s lavash bread.

Dinner

For dessert I enjoyed a chocolate mint Attune bar. I received a package of these in the mail from the company today and was excited to try the bars. 

Mint Chocolate Attune Bar

Mint Chocolate

It was so stinkin’ delicious! I gave Ryan a bite too and he agreed. 

I’ll do a full review on the bars once I try the various flavors. 🙂

Off to keep warm by cuddlin’ on the couch watching Friends on DVD with Ryan. Good night!