Sandwich vs. Sammie Showdown

Yahoo! Today is my last day of work before four days off for Christmas!

I am so excited and anxious to get home to spend some quality time with my family, Ryan and Ryan’s family. I made sure to pack up my bags last night so we can grab-and-go when I get off work today.

Dead Gym

This morning the gym was a ghost town. There was only a handful of people there gettin’ their sweat on.

After BodyPump, I once again I listened to my sister’s iPod during my cardio session. Notable song of the day: “You’re The One That I Want” from Grease. A classic, for sure!

"You're the one that I want, You are the one I want, O o o honey!"

“I’ve got chiiiiiills, they’re multiplyin’! And I’m loooooosing contro-ol…”

Breakfast

I did it! I made it throughout this mini-week at home without going to the grocery store.

Breakfast today made use of food we had on hand. I enjoyed a Canadian bacon and Colby jack cheese breakfast sandwich on an Arnold honey wheat sandwich thin.

Breakfast Sandwich

These sandwich thins are delicious. I love how doughy they are.

Notice how I called this a sandwich and not a sammie. Well, Ryan forbid me from calling anything a sammie anymore because he says the word is ridiculous.

To be totally honest, I completely agree with him and had a bit of a blonde moment over this particular word. I honestly figured a sammie was like a mini sandwich.

What food slang do you think is ridiculous?

When I think of a sandwich I think of something really substantial with lots of meat, veggies and cheese. A sammie, to me, was just a toned-down sandwich.

After Googling the word, it seems like this particular variation on the word sandwich annoys a lot of people. It annoyed me too just to write it, but I thought I was differentiating between a big ol’ sandwich and a little baby sammie.

Now that I know I’m not, I’m back to enjoying sandwiches. 🙂

Healthy Holiday Appetizers

With the holiday season in full swing, parties and potlucks are springing up on everyone’s calendars. In my latest Examiner article I’ve included a list of healthy holiday appetizer recipes so you can bring a yummy dish that’s also good for you to your holiday parties!

Lemon Garlic Marinated Shrimp Appetizer (EatingWell.com)

Click here to check it out. 😀

Cheese Sammie and Runny Veggies

Don’t you hate it when the sauce or liquid from one food runs into another food on your plate, altering the flavor completely?

Well that almost happened to me today!

Creepin' Sauce

See that veggie sauce creepin’ up on my cheese sammie?

Fortunately I saved my sammie just in time!

Safe!

The Culprit

I enjoyed my non-soggy cheese sammie with a box of Green Giant Healthy Vision veggies.

I always try to keep some frozen veggies on hand to incorporate into a meal if I don’t have time to saute some green goodies or bake something the night before when I pack my lunch to bring to work. The Healthy Vision veggies are my favorite of the Green Giant flavors because I love the mix of green beans, zucchini and carrots.

National Chocolate Covered Anything Day

Did you know that today is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day!?

The Classic: A Chocolate-Covered Strawberry

It’s true! I wrote an article about this fantastic reason to indulge in chocolate for Examiner today. Click here to read more about it in my article and get some great ideas for foods you should try covered in chocolate.

What’s your favorite chocolate-covered food?

I love chocolate covered nuts… any and all kinds! I also adore chocolate covered raisins.

On a side note, how awesome would National Peanut Butter Covered Anything Day be? Sign me up!

Sisterly Shopping

Tonight my sister is coming in town to hit up the stores with me for some Christmas shopping! I’m excited for sisterly bonding and hope to check some people off my “still gotta get ’em a gift” list.

Giveaway

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to enter my giveaway today! Yummy popcorn and almonds are up for grabs. 😀

Simple or Sha-Zaam?

This weekend Ryan and I are heading to my parents’ house in St. Pete for more wedding planning.

I have an appointment at a bridal boutique to look for a dress which prompted me to search the internet for examples of what I like.

After my first experience trying on dresses, I found out what I did not like: beading, the “bedazzeled” look and tons and tons of poofy stuff under the dress.

My taste seems to gravitate toward two completely different types of gowns: a simple lace gown or an elaborate ballgown. Simple vs. sha-zaam!

Here are a few examples of the lace dresses I like:

Lace Gown (minus the sash)

(Dresses in the middle and on the right)

And the sha-zaam ballgowns:

Big and Beautiful Dress

Ballgown

Wow-zaa

Pretty

I don’t think any of the above dresses are the dress, but I’m curious as to what you guys like…

Do you prefer simple or sha-zaam? Which dress can you see me in?

Knowing me, I’ll probably end up in a dress nothing like any of theses… something like my mom’s!

Remember that one?

Me in My Mom's Wedding Dress

Workout

Today’s workout was true to my normal Tuesday routine: all cardio. I started with 10 minutes on the stair master before walking on a slight incline on the treadmill for five minutes. Then the fun began! I did the treadmill HITT workout I saw on Jessica’s blog for 20 minutes. I worked up quite the sweat! That workout is no joke. It doesn’t seem that hard at first but the last five minutes really got my heart rate pumpin’! I cooled down with 15 more minutes of incline walking. Thanks for the great workout, Jessica!

Breakfast

With the holiday season comes tons of treats and goodies around the office. Fortunately yesterday we got a healthy delivery. Harry and David pears!!!

Harry and David Pear

Anyone who has tried one of these pears can attest to their amazing, juicy flavor. I ate one as a snack yesterday afternoon and packed one up for my breakfast this morning.

Breakfast was a pear sammie consisting of Canadian bacon, Laughing Cow light Swiss cheese and pear slices on a whole wheat Arnold’s sandwich thin.

Open Sammie

This sandwich was awesome and I enjoyed the combination of the sweet and salty flavors. Yum.

Tuesday's Breakfast Sandwich

I had several pear slices leftover and enjoyed them with my breakfast sandwich.

Slices of Delight

Carba Nada

Sadly not everyone could win my Carba Nada giveaway, but Lisa is hosting one on her blog today. Check it out! These noodles are beyond amazing.

Onion Bagel Sammie

My tongue did flavor flips when I first tried the Alternative Bagel onion bagel. So stinkin’ delicious.

When I was packing my lunch this morning, I wasn’t craving anything cold… I wanted a hot sandwich! I figured a toasty onion bagel would be a perfect base.

Onion Bagel Sandwich

I topped the toasted bagel with a wedge of Laughing Cow light Swiss cheese, two egg whites and a slice of Canadian bacon. Quite the breakfast-inspired lunch, huh?

Breakfast for Lunch!

I love breakfast foods like eggs and toast, but typically crave sweeter breakfasts in the morning like yogurt, French toast or oatmeal with sweet toppings. Eggs and scrambles always intrigue me later in the day. I adore breakfast for dinner!

What is your favorite meal of the day?

The Old Standby

When I first entered the working world, my lunches severely lacked variety. I would eat turkey sandwiches or wraps or a pizza Lean Pocket almost daily. I now get sick of the same foods over and over again.

This morning, however, I was craving my old standby: a turkey sandwich. I made my sammie on a whole wheat Arnold sandwich thin with oven-roasted ultra-thin turkey breast.

Old Faithful

I topped it with dijon mustard, mushrooms, spinach and sliced plum tomato.

I forgot just how darn delicious a simple turkey sandwich can be! This throwback meal hit the spot.

Your Good Deed for the Day

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Question: What’s your go-to lunch?