Healthy Planning

In the midst of my sugar binge yesterday, I had the forethought to bake a spaghetti squash for use in my lunch today. Healthy planning while eating unhealthily… gotta love it! 🙂

I usually prepare my spaghetti squash with marinara sauce… as a pasta substitute or pizza (I’ll do this soon on the blog… it’s delish!). I love spaghetti squash with marinara sauce, but I’ve never tried it any other way. Any recommendations?

Spaghetti Squash Bowl

I topped the squash with marinara sauce and a blend of three cheeses: Parmesan, Asiago and Romano.YUM.

Stirred Squash

For a little added sweetness and protein, I enjoyed a cup of Greek yogurt with Kay’s Naturals gluten free apple cinnamon cereal on the side.

Yogurt with Apple Cinnamon Cereal

I think this was a little more nutritious than yesterday’s five minute chocolate mug cake lunch, huh?

Free Sample of Kashi Cereal or Kashi Granola Bar

Click here to receive a free sample of one of the following Kashi products:

• Go Lean Crisp! Toasted Berry Crumble Cereal
• TLC Dark Chocolate Coconut Fruit & Grain Bar
• Go Lean Crunch! Honey Almond Flax Cereal

Mmm... Chocolate...

Which one did you pick?

You know I picked the one with the chocolate! 😉

Cold Day, Hot Breakfast

Brrrr! Another cold day in Florida it is! The temperature is in the 30s and the weatherman said we could even get snow. This is unheard of in Orlando. No wonder everyone is freaking out!

The extreme chill in the air meant only one thing this morning… I needed a hot breakfast!

Creamy Vanilla and Cinnamon Oatmeal

I mixed a pack of Kashi creamy vanilla hot cereal with half of a scoop of cinnamon protein powder and microwaved it until it was steaming! I enjoyed a hot cup of honey lemon tea and a tangerine on the side.

Tangerine

The tangerine was juicy and tasty, but I definitely prefer clementines. Not only are they seedless, but they’re easier to peel too!

After digesting for about an hour, Ryan and I bundled up and went to the gym to warm up even more.

I did 30 minutes of light cardio on the elliptical while reading a magazine before taking a Zumba class. I had the best time at Zumba! The instructor was really into it and had amazing energy. I felt a little goofy swiveling my hips at first, but eventually let go and had a great time doing the salsa and other upbeat dance moves.

Do you feel self conscious during group exercise classes?

I feel self conscious during group exercise classes  if I canot seem to catch on to a routine. Classes like step where it seems like everyone who goes is a regular and knows the choreogaphy by heart make me feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t “get it.”

Post Gym Activities

After the gym Ryan and I ran to Target to pick up some essentials… and a bag of peanut butter M&Ms. The bag didn’t last long and we polished it off while waiting for our lunch to bake in the oven. Dessert before lunch… that’s how we roll. 😉

Thankfully lunch should be done soon. I’m hungry and though those M&Ms were delicious, they didn’t do much for my hunger.

After lunch I have plans to meet up with some girlfriends for pedicures before heading to my friend Ashley’s wedding with Ryan tonight.

Ashley and I worked together at the Orlando Museum of Art when I first graduated college. She’s the graphic designer for the museum and is super creative. I can’t wait attend her wedding tonight. 😀

I hope I can stay warm the rest of the day!

Vanilla Pumpkin Overnight Oats

The anticipation of a good breakfast makes getting up in the morning a bit easier for me.

Last night I prepped my morning meal: overnight oats with lots o’ pumpkin!

Vanilla Pumpkin Overnight Oats

The thick ‘n’ creamy mixture included:

• One packet of Kashi GoLean creamy truly vanilla hot cereal
• 1/3 c. pumpkin
• 1/4 c. cottage cheese
• 1 Oikos 0% Greek yogurt

Oikos

Kashi Vanilla Hot Cereal

I stirred it up and let it chill in the fridge overnight. This morning I dug in and loved every bite of this sweet and thick concoction.

Yum, Yum

What’s your favorite make-ahead meal?

As I said last night, my favorite make-ahead meal is definitely something in the crock pot. There’s nothing like coming home to an apartment filled with the smell of a delicious dinner.

Morning Work Out

Ryan is transitioning into morning workouts. Usually I work out in the morning, and he goes into work early and hits the gym after work… so by the time I’m off work he’s done working out. Lately though, he said he wasn’t in the mood to go to the gym after a full day at work. I don’t blame him and can’t remember how on earth I would workout after work when I first graduated from college. Ick.

Do you prefer a morning, lunchtime or evening workout?

I definitely prefer getting my workout done first thing in the morning. It feels good to check it off my list and accomplish something right off the bat!

Waking up at 5:30 a.m. seemed insane to me before, but like anything else, after a week or two of dedication it became habit.

After his first morning workout yesterday Ryan said he was in a good mood all day and was happy to be able to relax after work rather than rush to the gym. I’m sure Sadie likes the extra time with her daddy too! 😀

This morning I did 50 minutes of cardio:

• 10 min. stair master
• 10 min. arc trainer
• 20 min. elliptical
• 5 min. run
• 5 min. incline walking

I really enjoy breaking up my cardio into shorter segments on various machines. It really prevents boredom and makes the workout fly by!

Enjoy your Tuesday, fabulous readers! 🙂

Sunday at Sea

We woke up today and hooooly hotness! The Florida heat is back in full swing.

Though I wish there was some sort of chill in the air so it felt more Christmasy, it was perfect weather for a boat ride! My dad suggested taking the boat out and docking in Tampa for lunch at a restaurant on the water called The Hula Bay Club.

Sadie is a huge fan of boat rides and was by my dad’s side the entire time he was prepping the boat for our adventure.

Sadie at Sea

Dad, Ryan and Sadie on the Boat

It was hot in the sun, but when the boat got movin’ it was chilly! My sister and I bundled up in lots of towels to keep warm on our way to and from the restaurant on the boat.

Lunch was delicious! I ordered clams but we all shared and were impressed with the food.

As we were waiting for our check my mom spotted two dolphins in the water! We jumped up and watched them splash around and hunt fish. Since the water was pretty clear we were even able to see one catch a fish which was pretty neat!

Dolphin

I love days on the boat and it was definitely a treat to be on the water in the middle of December!

Breakfast and Jazzercise

I was anxious to tell ya about our day on the water, so let’s back up to breakfast!

Cheerios and Kashi Go Lean

Sometimes ya just want cereal! In this mix was Honey Nut Cheerios and Kashi Go Lean. It was crunchy and oh-so-sweet. I had another bowl, too. 🙂

After breakfast my mom and I went to Jazzercise, a 60-minute aerobic workout class. My mom goes regularly and I love the energy and upbeat atmosphere of the classes so I like to go along when I’m home visiting and get the chance.

Once we arrived back home, Ryan and I snacked on an apple with peanut butter (yum!) before our boating adventure.

Apple and PB

Dinner

Before heading back for Orlando tonight Ryan and I enjoyed one last homecooked meal! We had spaghetti with marinara and chicken sausage and it was g-o-o-d! Unfortunately my pictures were icky and since I didn’t post pics from last night’s feast, I’ll share those instead.  Sound good?

Last night my mom made a seafood-based dinner with peel-and-eat shrimp and crab cakes.

Crab Cakes

Her homemade crab cakes are the best.

The Spread

I helped by making a veggie stir fry and fruit salad.

Fruit Salad

Ryan got in on the action and peeled several clementines for the fruit salad.

So Helpful

Dinner was filling and fueled us up for a meeting with a potential wedding photographer.

Wedding Photographer Meeting

Our meeting with a potential wedding photographer went really well last night. I fell in love with her and think her style of photography is gorgeous and natural and really seems to capture emotions.

Unfortunately the money is a bit of an issue because her prices are over our budget. I’m trying to figure out where I can cut corners in other areas to make this one work. Any suggestions???

I really appreciate all of your wedding feedback. It seems like many of you agree that the photographer is one of the most important elements of the big day, so I want to feel confident and comfortable with the person we select. We’ll see!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I’m tired and hope to be in bed a little early tonight.

Homemade Cookies and a Pizza Buffet

I love days at home! The yummy kitchen smells, fun-loving jabs and warm, cozy feeling of being around family is the best.

I also got to enjoy one of my favorite snacks, thanks to a quick trip my mom took to the grocery store for Honeycrisp apples!

Apples and Peanut Butter

An oldie but a goodie.

Dinner was a “clean out the freezer” dinner since we’re off to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in the morning to spend the holiday with my grandmothers, aunts, uncles and cousins.

We had a pizza buffet featuring a Kashi Caribbean Carnival pizza and a tuscan chicken pizza.

Kashi Caribbean Pizza

Tuscan Chicken Pizza

I definitely preferred the Tuscan chicken pizza. I like my pizza to taste like pizza and the Kashi Caribbean pizza was a little too exotic for me.

Dessert

While grocery shopping last week, Ryan and I noticed the Christmas cookie dough on display and I asked him what his favorite kind of cookie dough was. He said oatmeal raisin and I think I’d have to agree. The mix of the oats, cinnamon and sugary dough is heaven.

Tonight I made homemade oatmeal raisin cookies using the traditional recipe found on the inside lid of Quaker oatmeal.

Traditional Recipe

Dough!

I made half of the recipe (and used whole wheat flour in place of white… healthy, right? 😉 ). We were supposed to have 24 cookies, but somehow with a house of five people, only 12 actually made it into the oven.

This house is filled with cookie dough monsters.

The 12 Survivors

Surprisingly I didn’t even eat a cookie! I think I was overloaded on dough.

Now we’re all hangin’ out, watching So You Think You Can Dance and packing up for our early flight tomorrow. We’re leaving for the airport before 5 a.m. Yikes!

Next time I post I’ll be doing so from Pennsylvania… in the freezin’ cold! Brrrr. I hope it snows!

Giveaway

Don’t forget to enter my Trio Bar giveaway!