Floats, Frapps and a First

Yesterday

Ryan and I were still in vacation mode throughout the day yesterday. Ryan even refused to unpack until 8:30 last night so the vacation wouldn’t be officially over until the evening. 🙂

Since the vacation mindset still plagued us, we decided to keep the yummy vacation eats going and enjoy two ice-cold favorites: a light pumpkin spice Frappuccino for me and a root beer float for Ryan.

Light Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino

I ordered this while we were running errands at a nearby outlet mall and the icy cold drink definitely cooled me down… a little too much! I was freeeeezing in every store for an hour after I finished the delicious drink.

Made Just For Me! 🙂

Shocking news of the month: Ryan and I left the outlet mall and he was the only one who bought anything! Victory!!!

We stopped by the grocery store on the way home where Ryan was instantly drawn to the ice cream freezers. He picked up a pint of vanilla ice cream and a two liter of root beer to make a good old fashioned root beer float.

Blue Bell Vanilla Ice Cream

Cold and Creamy

Mug Root Beer

Naturally I enjoyed quite a few spoonfuls of his vanilla ice cream before it made it into the float. 😉 I’m not a huge root beer float gal. I like ’em, but I prefer milkshakes about 1,000 times more.

Root Beer Float

Close Up

We sure do love our ice-creamy treats in this household. 🙂

Today

My day started on a good note when the morning BodyPump instructor heard that Ryan and I recently got engaged and gave me a big ol’ hug at 5:40 a.m.  Hugs that early in the morning feel great! Other women in the class were also excited, so I started the day with a big smile on my face (that quickly disappeared as soon as we started doing squats. 😉 Ugh! )

Last night I planned ahead for my breakfast and made my first attempt at baked chips! I baked a Joseph’s lavash bread into cinnamon sugar chips for dipping into my Greek yogurt.

Lavash

I cut the lavash into chips with kitchen sheers and placed the chips on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. I then lightly sprayed the chips with cooking spray and topped them with a sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar.

Lavash Chips Pre-Cooked

I baked them at 350 degrees until the edges were slightly brown and the lavash bread became slightly crispy.

Cinnamon Sugar Chips

The chips came out perfectly… very tasty! They reminded me of cinnamon sugar pita chips.

For breakfast today, I used the chips to dip into my Greek yogurt. I stirred freshly sliced strawberries into the yogurt and then scooped ’em out with the sweet lavash chips.

Dippin' Chips

Monday Breakfast

I paired the chips and yogurt with a tumbler of hot Barnie’s cinnamon butter cookie, complements of my gym! Gotta love free coffee.

Question: What are your favorite kind of chips (healthy or not)?

I think my favorite chips are sea salt and vinegar chips or cheddar and sour cream chips. Yummmm. Greasy goodness.

Cheeseburger (Pizza) in Paradise

With lean ground beef leftover from last night’s dinner and a boyfriend who is a self-proclaimed “meat man,” I wanted to find a way to incorporate the beef into tonight’s dinner but avoid having burgers again. I am a big pizza fan and with a package of Joseph’s lavash bread sittin’ comfy in my fridge, I figured I could use the bread as crust for a cheeseburger pizza that would satisfy both Ryan’s love for meat and my love for pizza.

I began by gathering all the necessary ingredients.

All the Goods

I rounded up Joseph’s lavash bread, ketchup, pickles, relish, mustard, light Miracle Whip, a plum tomato, light mozzarella cheese, lettuce and lean ground beef and was ready to begin!

First I preheated the oven to 350 degrees and sprayed a cookie sheet with cooking spray before placing the lavash bread on top.

Lavash Pizza Crust

I then mixed a little more than 3 tbsp. of light Miracle Whip (mayo will also work fine) with 2 tbsp. ketchup and a big ol’ squirt of mustard to make the pizza sauce. The mixture kind of reminded me of Thousand Island dressing, but in a less-complicated way.

Mayo, Ketchup and Mustard

Stir Baby, Stir

I added relish to the mix as well.

With a Lil' Relish

I then popped the lavash crust into the oven to crisp a bit while I tended to the beef.

Lean Ground Beef Burgers

We had leftover burgers from last night, so I got to work crumbling them into burger bites!

Meaty!

After the lavash was warmed and slightly crisp, I pulled it out of the oven and smothered it with the sauce before topping it with the beef crumbles and a generous sprinkling of the light mozzarella cheese.

Saucy Pizza

Lots o' Burger

Gotta Love That Cheese

While this was baking, I sliced the plum tomato to place on the cheesy pizza once it was ready.

Lettuce and Tomato

The pizza was ready for the toppings once the cheese was ooey-gooey and melted.

Melted Cheese

I sprinkled the cheeseburger pizza with lettuce, tomato and pickle slices.

Topped Off

Pizza! Pizza!

I cut the pizza in half and split it between me and Ryan. The portions were nice and big.

My Slices

 We ate our pizza with a side of steamed green beans, broccoli and cauliflower. The cheeseburger goodness was definitely the highlight of the meal and I think our veggies may have felt a little left out. I didn’t even snap a proper picture of the poor greens. 😦

One More Time

This meal managed to satisfy two cravings in a healthy, tasty way! Hooray for cheeseburger pizza.

A Package and Roasted Veggie Pizza

When I walked in the door and saw a big brown box on the coffee table, I immediately locked eyes with Ryan and asked, “Is that for meee?”

Considering I was expecting a package of various foodie goods, I was already on my way to grab a pair of scissors to rip that baby open when he said “Yep!”

Me and My Goodies

Getting a package in the mail is one of my very favorite things in life. I think that’s why I continue to shop online even when I live less than five minutes from a mall and less than  15 minutes from a mall that’s actually decent. It’s like Christmas morning everytime I pull up to my apartment and see a glistening (albeit dull and brown) package waiting for me.   

Aside from my package, I also received two free samples (my other favorite thing to get in the mail) from Fiber One and Bear Naked granola to add to my goodies from Netrition.com (Carba Nada pasta, Joseph’s pitas and lavash bread and Baskin Robbins sugar-free mint chocolate chip hard candy).

After receiving Joseph’s lavash in the mail, I decided I’d make a roasted vegetable pizza for dinner using leftover roasted veggies. I began chopping the leftover vegetables and steaming some broccoli while I crisped the lavash in the oven.

Zucchini, Brussels Sprouts, Plum Tomato

Once the lavash was slightly crisp, I took it out of the oven and topped it with marinara sauce (every last bit that I had remaining).

Any more in there?

I then spread the colorful veggies all over the lavash.

Roasted Veggie Pizza

I sprinkled lots and lots of MontChevre goat cheese over the veggies to add a flavor punch.

The Best Goat Cheese Ever

Yum!

Roasted Veggie Pizza with Goat Cheese

After baking for less than 10 minutes, the goat cheese melted slightly and the smell of the lavash and roasted veggies began to fill the apartment. I was gettin’ hungry!

Done!

Though the goat cheese really made the pizza for me, the bright roasted veggies added a healthy and tasty dimension to the meal.

A Slice of Yum

I will definitely be makin’ this bad boy again!