Taco Pasta

I told you a pasta craving was sparked after lunch today! 😀

Tonight’s dinner included fettuccine noodles, but *shockingly* marinara sauce did not make an appearance.

Before I left for work, I prepared taco-seasoned chicken in the crock pot which made our apartment smell amazing when I walked through the door this afternoon.

I used the chicken to create taco pasta!

I made the pasta by combining the following:

• Cooked fettuccine pasta
• 1 c. broccoli slaw
• 1/2 tomato, chopped
• 1 wedge Laughing Cow light original Swiss cheese
• 3 oz. taco-seasoned ground chicken

I added the cheese to the noodles right when they were done cooking, so the cheese melted and coated all of the noodles perfectly.

The addition of the chicken made the dish take on a Mexican flava that was delicious!

This was a great twist on my normal noodle bowls which almost always feature marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese.

YUM!

Rollin’ In

Look what have started rollin’ in…

Wedding RSVP cards!

We got a bunch in the mail today… and so far every single one is a YES!

I’m off to sort the RSVP cards in a mini filing box that my mom gave to me before doing some dishes.

Why do dishes seem to accumulate so quickly?

An Almost Restless Workout

Ryan always leaves the gym super sweaty.

His strength training workouts are no joke. To me, they seem like a combination of cardio and strength training because he never stops moving. In between sets of one exercise, he does another less-intense exercise that typically only uses his body weight (such as crunches), so his heart rate never drops too low.

Though my workout today wasn’t nearly as fast-paced as Ryan’s, I did make an effort to not rest for more than 30 seconds between sets of each exercise. At first I thought this would be plenty of time, but those 30 seconds of recovery fly by!

My workout today looked like this:

Slam Jam Those Muscles!

I also did 10 minutes of cardio on the stair master to warm up and completed 10 minutes of cardio on the elliptical to cool down.

Post workout, I came home to shower and made a concerted effort to tone-down my Swamp Beast habits. (You guys should know I’ve come a long way in my Swamp Beastliness, though I still hop out of the shower right away because it’s grossss to linger. 😉 )

Breakfast

I was achin’ for some bacon for breakfast today and turned to the freezer to grab some Morningstar Farms veggie bacon to include in my morning meal.

Morningstar Farms Veggie Bacon Strips

I used the fakie bacon in a breakfast sandwich that I made with a wedge of Laughing Cow light Swiss cheese and an egg white.

Veggie Baconified Breakfast Sandwich

On the side I also enjoyed a cup of strawberry banana Chobani Greek yogurt.

Strawberry Banana Chobani

If you’re not so sure about the whole Greek yogurt thing, you should know that Ryan thinks plain Greek yogurt is gross, but loves this flavor. The strawberry banana Greek yogurt has officially replaced his typical plain strawberry yogurt.

I think he was swayed to convert to Greek yogurt when I showed him that a serving of the yogurt he was buying had almost 40 grams of sugar… more than a serving of ice cream (which is 10x more delicious… I’ll take my sugar consumption elsewhere, thankyouverymuch).

Tonight

Stay tuned for information about our plans tonight! I am beyond excited for what we have in store. I felt like it was Christmas Eve as we were going to bed last night… Okay, total lie, but I am pumped! 😀

Question of the Morning

What is your favorite sugar-laden food?

Do I really need to tell you mine? ICE CREAM!!!!!!

Edamamemole (+ Q & A)

The highlight of my lunch today was a concoction I’ll call edamamemole because it reminded me of guacamole, but it was made with edamame!

To make my edamamemole, I combined ½ cup of edamame with one wedge of Laughing Cow light original Swiss cheese in the food processor. After pulsing the ingredients several times, I had a bright green mushy mix that spread easily onto a Toufayan thin everything-flavored bagel.

Edamamemole

On the other half of the bagel I spread Robert Rothschild raspberry wasabi mustard for an extra kick of flavor.

Raspberry Wasabi Mustard

Raspberry Wasabi Spread

Along with my edamamemole bagelwich, I enjoyed cucumber slices and fresh strawberries.

Cucumber Slices

Fruit!

The Whole Spread

Q & A Time!

It’s that time again!

Time for another Q & A featuring questions submitted on my Q & A page and through the anonymous question form.

Let ‘er rip! 😀

What are some creative ways that you eat peanut butter?

• Peanut butter stuffed French toast
• Cinnamon peanut butter roasted chick peas
• Flourless peanut butter cookies
• Peanut butter pretzel truffles
• PB & fresh fruit sandwich
• Peanut butter protein smoothies (combine milk, a scoop of peanut butter, a frozen banana & a scoop of protein powder)
• Nutty oatmeal (Stir a spoonful of peanut butter into a hot bowl of oatmeal)

Peanut Butter Stuffed French Toast

If you were forced to choose only one condiment that you could eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Mustard.

Have you ever used a personal trainer? Would you recommend it?

I’ve only used a personal trainer one time (which you may read about here), and I absolutely loved it. It’s not a realistic expense for me at the moment and I actually enjoy putting myself through a good workout so I do not use one in my day-to-day life.

I definitely recommend making an appointment with a personal trainer if you’re new to working out or are just learning the ins and outs of strength training. A personal trainer can teach you various exercises and proper form, which may make working out less intimidating for those just getting into an exercise regimen.

What is your favorite perfume?

• Light Blue by Dolce & Gabbana
• Jadore by Christian Dior
• Fantasy by Britney Spears (It smells like vanilla!)

For guys I prefer none… Just Old Spice deodorant, please! J That stuff smells magical.

Do you follow package serving size recommendations for frozen pizzas, snack foods, cereal, etc.?

No. Well, I try to, but I find the serving size on most snack foods to be teeny-tiny. I try to stay away from snacking on foods like crackers or cereal because even two servings never seem like enough for me. I prefer to snack on some of the options that I mentioned in my last Q & A.

How often do you drink… I mean more than just a drink with a meal? I find that when I drink I eat gross amounts of unhealthy food. Any tips on how to prevent this?

I do not drink all that often and found that my alcohol consumption definitely decreased as I transitioned from college to the real world (isn’t it that way for everyone? 😉 ). My last drink-fest occurred a couple of weeks ago in Chicago during my Bachelorette Party and I loved every minute of it! 😀 I can assure you that after a night of drinking all of us came home and indulged in multiple servings of chips, dip, peanut butter bars and basically any other junky foods we could get our hands on. It was like a college flash back!

Aside from my bachelorette party, I really do try to make good decisions about the foods I eat when I drink. After a night out, I am often hungry when I get home, but try to snack on food that satisfies my junk-food cravings in a healthier way, such as:

• 100-calorie packs of microwavable popcorn
• Whole wheat tortilla with cheese
• Half of an English muffin pizza
• Small plate of leftovers from dinner
• Honey-roasted peanuts

English Muffin Pizza

Have you ever read the book French Women Don’t Get Fat? If so, what did you think of it?

I’ve never read it. Sorry!

I’m trying to gain weight. Can you give me some snack ideas that are high calorie, but won’t make me feel like I’ve eaten too much?

Nuts and nut butters are a great option. It’s so easy to eat multiple portions of nuts, so those looking to gain weight can easily ingest a lot of calories without feeling overly stuffed by including nut butters or trail mixes with a lot of nuts in their diet. Smoothies are a great option as well!

What is your favorite supermarket cookie?

I love “kitchen sink” cookies that include a little bit of everything: chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, oatmeal… the works!

Did you see a change in your abs when you started getting into BodyPump?

BodyPump definitely helps tone your entire body. I naturally gain weight in the lower half of my body, and didn’t really see any major changes to my abs that I can attribute directly to BodyPump, though I definitely “feel the burn” during the abs portion of the class. My stomach looks leanest when I keep up my workouts (total-body strength training + cardio) and maintain a healthy diet.

***

Thanks again for all of your questions! If I didn’t answer your question, check my Q & A page and the links from the Ask Me Anything series.

See ya later for dinner! 😀

Everybody’s Working for the Weekend

I really try to enjoy the workweek and make an effort not to wish weekdays away. I don’t want to wish five days of my life away each week, but sometimes I just can’t help hoping  for Friday to arrive a little faster than usual. 🙂

This week was one of those weeks because I have a super fun weekend ahead of me. My mom and sister are coming in town for a girl’s weekend to celebrate my mom’s birthday (which was back in July). Since my dad has a scuba trip planned this weekend and Ryan is off on his bachelor cruise, this seemed like a great weekend for some girly fun!

Just the Girls

The agenda for our girl’s weekend includes:

• Dinner at a tapas restaurant
• Cupcakes and presents
• Wine tasting
• Tea at the Ritz Carlton (Faaancy!)
• Veil shopping
• Church
• Farmers’ Market

Woohoo! Let’s get this party started!

Lunch

When lunchtime rolled around I was a happy camper for two reasons:

1. I love to eat.
2. It meant the workday was half-way over!

My yummy lunch featured a noodle bowl made with Carba Nada egg fettuccine pasta, Parmesan cheese, one Laughing Cow light original Swiss cheese wedge and fresh arugula and spinach leaves.

Yummy Bowl

Close Up of the Cheesiness

On the side I enjoyed a cup of Mott’s natural applesauce for a little sweetness.

Mott's Natural Applesauce

The Spread

As Tony the Tiger would say, this lunch was grrrrreat!

Good news: Only a couple more hours until the weekend officially begins.

Can I get a yahoooooooo??? 😀

Question of the Afternoon

What is your favorite activity to do on a girls-only weekend?

I’m a simpleton and my favorite thing about girls-only weekends is lounging around in my pajamas just chattin’ with my favorite ladies.

Day Off = Cookies, Day On = Carrots

Sundays are often my day off from they gym and yesterday was no different.

Last night I tweeted about something I’ve noticed on my workout-free days:

Tweet, Tweet

(Side note: Please excuse my terrible grammar… that was a fly-by tweet. I’m literally cringing right now.)

Apparently I am not alone in this feeling, because several people  tweeted back that they feel the exact same way when when they take a day off from exercise.

I think there’s something about a “break” from the gym that makes us want to take a “break” from our healthy lifestyle. When I say that I crave sweets on my off-days from the gym, I don’t mean I want a cookie… I mean I want an entire batch.

Since I don’t deny myself sweets throughout the week, I know my day-off cravings are not due to deprivation. I simply want cake. And cookies. And ice cream.

Thank goodness I got back in the gym this morning and my body wanted some healthy food again! 😀

Workout + Hurtin’ Heel Update

This morning I took my typical Monday-morning BodyPump class. We’re still working on the new release, which I really enjoy. It’s so challenging!

Can one of you BodyPumpers out there confirm that the lunge track on this release is re-flippin’-diculous!? It’s the hardest one yet and I love it, in a sick and totally twisted way.

Post-Pump, I came home and decided to test out my hurtin’ heel and take Sadie on a one mile walk.

My heel is actually feeling a lot better today, though it’s definitely not 100 percent. I’ve been icing it, stretching and and babying it all weekend. The one mile walk  with Sadie wasn’t pain free, but my heel felt a lot better than it did on Friday.

All those well-wishes you guys sent my way seem to be working a bit. Don’t worry though, I’m not going to jump the gun and run (it still hurts too bad to do that anyway). Healing and preventing further injury is my priority!

Breakfast

Since I made it into the gym today, my body wanted healthy food for breakfast (though I’m sure it would’ve happily accepted an ice cream sundae).

I decided to make myself a healthified Egg McMuffin on a toasted Thomas’ light multi-grain English muffin.

Canadian Bacon + Egg Whites

My modified McMuffin contained two egg whites, a slice of Canadian bacon and a wedge of Laughing Cow light original Swiss cheese.

Healthified Egg McMuffin

I enjoyed my breakfast sandwich with a dark chocolate Adora calcium disk for a little sweetness.

Breakfast is Served

Sadie was quite jealous.

"Ooooh. That looks goooood."

Lucky for her, she got to enjoy the yolks from my egg whites. 🙂

Yum, Yum Yolks

(Kinda looks like she’s puking, no?)

McDonald’s ain’t got nothin’ on my healthified breakfast sandwich!

Healthy & Delicious

Yum!

Question of the Mornin’

Do you find it easier to eat healthy on days that you work out or on days that you take off from the gym?