Tea, Toast, and POM Juice

Ryan over at POM Wonderful sent me some sample pomegranate juice to try.


I've seen it in stores and all over the blog world but have never tried it. As soon as I got it I opened a bottle and took a big gulp. First thought? Cranberry juice but without the bitter aftertaste.

The husband took a chug too. His thought? He didn't like it. The squirrel didn't care for it either. Neither are big juice drinkers though.

I really liked it. I'm not a big juice drinker either but POM juice is filled with antioxidents. Plus it's not rot-your-teeth-out-sweet. The only thing I ever drink is water and an occasional diet soda so I think drinking some POM will be a nice change.

Last night we had people over and since I'm pregnant I can't drink. So I made my self a mock-tail. Stolen from Kath.

This was just 1/2 POM juice and 1/2 sparkling water. It was so good! I didn't even want a real cocktail! It would probably be even better with diet 7up!

I'm now on the lookout for any POM juice recipes. Do you guys have any ideas?

After a crazy night (the husband didn't crawl into bed until 2:30am) it was a tea and toast kinda morning. For some reason toast with butter and tea makes me feel like a kid. I love it but it definitely doesn't keep me full!

I just did multigrain toast with probably a teaspoon of Earth Balance. Plus some chai tea with almond milk.


Since I just had toast for breakfast I was hungry around 10. I snacked on a SOYJOY bar I had bought awhile ago.


I like these. Not too many calories, they aren't too big, and they taste like I'm eating something I'm not supposed to.


Lunch was my favorite salad in the whole wide world! Just spring mix (or any leafy green lettuce), gala apple, walnuts, reduced fat feta, and light balsamic vinaigrette.



Plus some of my leftover bread!



While I was making my salad the husband decided to make him one for lunch too. He cracked me up with he pulled out one of our big mixing bowls. Check out his salad compared to mine!




And for a snack I had a new (to me) flavor of Larabar.



My new favorite bar. I love these!



Well it's sunny and gorgeous so I'm headed outside! Hope you guys have an amazing weekend!

I'll Try Not to Bore You

I loved reading your comments on WAT-AAH! Did y'all get a chance to read this comment?

"I was in my son's First Grade Potluck yesterday and one mom brought in wataah. I was wondering what was the commotion and why kids started to scream wataah watah. It was incredible, kids grabbing the bottles and saying i love wataah. All of us parents were shocked. There were plenty of sodas and juices on the table, but the kids grab the water. It has a number of "flavors" but all taste like water and with added minerals. Seeing how it works with the kids (and my first grader), I'm all for this brand. It's about time we make watr more cool for kids, any help to stop their soda drinking....even if it means replacing only 2 out of the 3-4 cans of soda some kids drink during the week.......I can't criticize this company. I think this is progress!"

Honestly, I had NO IDEA it would have that effect on kids! That is incredible. I didn't want my review yesterday to sound like I didn't like the company because I really think it's a great idea. I guess I am just doubtful of the concept. I guess that comment is my proof though haha!

As I was uploading these pictures today I was thinking of how boring this post was going to be. I need to keep track of my food intake though so I had to post. Do you guys ever do that? Just post to post?

So anyways... Dinner last night was another bean and cheese quesadilla. With lettuce, a dollop of light sour cream, and a farmer's market tomato.

Breakfast this morning was a yogurt parfait. This had plain yogurt, honey, dried fruit, and Galaxy Granola Hint of Honey.

I had a doctor appointment with the squirrel today so afterwards we went to Chick-fil-a. I did my normal grilled chicken sandwich and side salad with berry balsamic.

To make this post not-so-boring I figured I'd share some baby pictures with you. I had an ultrasound yesterday and got a couple pictures.

Since the squirrel came early I've been labeled "high risk". So I see a high risk doctor every 2 weeks. All the doctor does is an ultrasound to look at the baby. It's nice in a couple ways. I get to see the baby and it eases my mind.

Here's him at 21 weeks.

Here's the squirrel (on the left) and him both at 21 weeks. They already look a little different!

Bread and Wat-aah!

Hey guys! Since reading that darned book Bread Alone I've been obsessed with bread! Which explains why I haven't posted in awhile. I've either been in the library, had my nose shoved in a bread book, or in the kitchen baking bread.

Before I get into all of that I've got to share with you what I had for breakfast this morning!


OIAJ! I'm not really a fan of hot oatmeal but this was SO GOOD! I just did 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Muesli, 1 cup skim milk, a teaspoon of maple syrup and the rest of my Maple Pecan Quinoa Granola. Ohhhh all that mapley goodness...


So onto the bread. I checked out a ton of books from the library and tried quite a few recipes. My favorite was Jim Lahey's master recipe from his book My Bread. I did everything the recipe stated except... I didn't have a pot to bake it in. So I just dropped the temperature to 350 and baked it on a clay pizza stone.

The result?


Chewy, crusty, moist, delicious bread!



This bread dough rises for 12-18 hours. Which I think did the trick.




So for lunch I ate a small slice of my bread plus an oikos. I had been "sampling" the bread all morning so between the oats and bread nibbles I wasn't overly starved around lunch time.



And for dinner was pesto.


I followed my friend's pesto recipe but I didn't add any parm. I just sprinkled the parm on the top before I served.


I used cheese tortellini and whole wheat pasta. Plus bread of course!


So last week the squirrel got her first blog sample!

Christine over at WAT-AAH! sent her 4 sample bottles to try.

Bones - water with magnesium
Brain - water with added electrolytes
Body - pure spring water
Energy - water with oxygen


The goal of WAT-AAH! is supposed to steer soda drinking, sugar crazed kids to drink more water. After I did some research on it and talked to Christine I expected it to be flavored water.

Of course I tried it before I gave it to the squirrel. Tasted like plain water to me...

Here's the deal. Of course she loved it. She loves water. She prefers water over any other beverage. She also eats a semi-balanced diet so she doesn't need the additives like other kids do. We are also refilling the bottles so they are cute and reuseable.

However, I find it hard to believe that WAT-AAH! will get the soda-kids to drink it. My kid? Sure she'll drink it but she can also just drink tap water. To a kid that drinks soda all day why in the world would they drink boring ol' water? Because it's good for them? I don't think that's what they are thinking about and I don't think they really care if it is or not. Because the label is cool?

Maybe if the water was flavored could they get them to drink it. But I don't know how they could do that without adding additives and crap. Or maybe if their parents only offered them good healthy foods/drinks from the beginning...

Overall, I do like the concept of WAT-AAH! and I really hope it gets even just one kiddo to drink more water. I don't want this review to sound negative because I personally wish soda companies would go out of business. Than more companies like WAT-AAH! would be around. Childhood obesity is a serious problem and I am thankful that someone is trying something to help.

Anyways... What are your thoughts on it?

Do you have any amazing bread recipes I should try?

More Galaxy Granola!

What a busy weekend this is becoming. Isn't it funny how if you have one thing planned your whole weekend just flies by?

Breakfast the past couple days has been this loveliness...

Chocolate chip banana bread. I've been craving banana bread so I made some the other day. This recipe isn't healthy at all but it is delicious! (I added 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips to it). I've just been eating it in moderation. One slice paired with fruit in the morning. I made the recipe then cut the bread into slices. Then I put all the slices on wax paper in the freezer. Then I put all the slices in a freezer bag. It froze so well! In the morning I just pop a slice in the oven at 350 and it tastes like it just came out of the oven! YUM!

Around Christmas time the husband and I bought this...

The Fresh Market Christmas Blend. At the time we really didn't care for it. We made a couple pots and then pushed it to the back of the cabinet.

Well I was out of coffee the other day and made this. As soon as it started brewing I saw our Christmas tree in the living room. I had a serious urge to make sugar cookies and I started humming "Silver Bells". No joke. I was amazed at how I felt about it since we didn't like it last winter.

Needless to say I've had a cup of it every morning for the past few days.

Lunch yesterday was a beanie cheesy quesadilla. It's something I need to make more often. I just took a multigrain tortilla and filled it with cheese and pinto beans.


Then I just coated a pan with PAM and grilled it. I ate it with rice and veggies.


One thing the husband and I pride ourselves on is the way our kiddo eats. Before we had children we both vowed to never cook something different for our kids. Sure there are times when the squirrel cannot physically eat what we do. Steak is still hard for her and she can't eat a salad for lunch. But 99% of the time she eats what we do. See...


What we've accomplished with this rule is that we can take her anywhere and she'll eat whatever is there. Plus its so much easier to have her eat what we do. She loves vegetables, shrimp, asian noodles, veggie burgers, cottage cheese... She'll really eat just about anything! You can read my post here about the squirrel's eating if you are really interested.

Yesterday I got spoiled. I got a package in the mail from Galaxy Granola. In June Galaxy Granola is launching 2 new flavors! Hint of Honey and Maple Pecan Quinoa. I got a sneak peak of the flavors!


Since I've been pregnant I've been addicted to anything with the word "maple" in it. I knew instantly what I was going to do with the Maple Pecan Quinoa...


Put it on top of my maple vanilla yogurt!

I swear Galaxy Granola is the best granola I've ever had. The reason being is it's so light and crunchy. It also doesn't make me feel like a cow eating it. I don't really have to watch my portions with it as much as I would a regular granola. 1/4 cup of the Maple Pecan Quinoa has 120 cals, 2.2g fat, 4g fiber, and 5g of protein. The ingredient list is flawless. Plus it's delicious! I haven't had a chance to try the Hint of Honey but I'm sure it's good!

There's another reason why I love it...


The squirrel is HUGE fan! She was eating it straight out of the bag before she decided to add some to her yogurt.


So the reason this weekend is so busy is because a couple good friends of ours are getting married. Last night we had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Today is the wedding. Everything is on the beach so it will be beautiful.

Here are a couple pics from last night's rehearsal dinner.



Oh and before I forget!

I need your help!

What in the world do I do with these?!

I bought those chia seeds the other day and was super excited. I got them home and started thinking. What in the world do I do with them? Sprinkle them on cereal?

For now they'll stay in the cupboard...


Let me know what you guys do with your chias! And is it pronounced CHEE-AH or KEY-AH?!

Beach Day!

Breakfast this morning was boring... I had a ProBar for the first time. It was just the original flavor and honestly... It wasn't that good :( The flavors were odd. I'll have to try some other flavors. I also had some grapes and almonds in what we call, a snack cup.



After the breakfast my sister, the squirrel and I headed to the beach...


We packed a lunch to take with a couple local goodies. Wednesdays are farmer's market days here for me and my mom went with us yesterday so I got spoiled.

I packed some more grapes and local blueberries.


Plus a PB&J made with Great Harvest white country bread.


The squirrel got a PB and honey sandwich. She isn't a big fan of jelly which I'm ok with... Jelly isn't that good for ya. I'd rather her eat honey.


And my sister brought these guys...

The ingredient list really isn't too bad... I expected a lot worse. Of course I ate too many.

The squirrel loves the beach.


At one point we look over and she's doing this...


I guess she was doing pilates in the sand?


Who knows! And she made it rain sand...


Crazy kiddo. She was COVERED. And I think covered is an understatement.


Congrats again to Amanda on winning that giftcard! See y'all tomorrow!