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These ladies are my true inspirations. Whenever I start getting in a food rut or headed in the wrong direction I go to their blogs. They keep me on track!

Carrots 'N' Cake
Eat Live Run
Graze With Me
Healthy Happy Place
Let Them Eat Lettuce
Pickley Pear
Runs on Green
Simply Life
Sweet & Savory
The Candid RD

A Downward Trend (A Lengthy Post)

So last week I didn't tell you guys that I went to the doctor and they did a weight check... Since my first visit I've gained 15lbs. I am 5 months pregnant. When they weighed me I was shocked.

While I was in the waiting room I got to thinkin'. 15 lbs is on the higher end of the weight gain spectrum for 23 weeks. However, I've got everything working against me. 1) I'm not allowed to exercise. I can walk but it's near 90 degrees here already and walking outside just isn't appealing. 2) The husband leaves in July so we are trying to have a good time together. Lots of eating out and relaxing. 3) I'm an emotional eater. Him getting ready to deploy has put a serious strain on my eating habits.

Another however...

Does all of that give me an excuse to eat an entire pint of Ben and Jerry's while on vacation?

NO.

Does this give me an excuse to stop going to the gym to walk?

NO.

Does this give me an excuse to shove the veggies aside and reach for the french fries?

NO.

Y'all I need to get back on track. My weigh in at the doctor was a wake up call. 15lbs is ok. My doctor expected a 25-30lb total weight gain. But the last part of your pregnancy is where you gain the most weight. I'm not about to start trying to lose weight. But I'm sure that our Hatteras trip has pushed me more towards 20lbs.

When I uploaded all the pics I took I was a little embarassed about what I ate.

I'll show you...

Hatteras has an abundance of amazing local restaurants. We went to one breakfast place there quite a few times. It's called the Orange Blossom Bakery & Cafe.

For the majority of the time I just opted for a slice of homemade lemon poppyseed bread and coffee.

But this bakery is known for their "apple uglies" so I had to try one. They were unreal.

We also ate at my favorite place for breakfast, Island Perks. There I had an egg scrambler with potato, egg, and cheese. Plus a homemade biscuit.

We actually ate quite a few sandwiches for lunch. We tried a sandwich shop in Frisco called Frisco Sandwich Co. It was just ok.

My favorite sandwich shop was actually in Manteo called Poor Richards Sandwich Shop. It was cheap, fresh, and delicious! I inhaled my ham and cheese before I could even take a picture!

We found a great pizza place for dinner called Toppers in Avon.

And by far our favorite restaurant was Rusty's Surf and Turf. They had the best crabcakes I've ever had! Everything was delicious!

See a trend in my eating? Fat, fat, and fat... This doesn't even include my fill of fried shrimp, coleslaw and hushpuppies. It was out of control. Normally, when I order at a restaurant I try to find something semi-healthy. I didn't even think about it while we were there.

I know some of you might have the excuse "well you were on vacation". I like that excuse too. BUT every single meal doesn't get that excuse. I did eat some of my Umpqua Oats and we did buy fresh fruit to snack on.

The husband didn't do much better. Check out what he ate for breakfast every day... I'm not even kidding...

We didn't just eat on our trip... Even though it kind of felt like it. We saw all of the lighthouses. Hatteras and Currituck.


We did some serious pool time...


We got a bunch of cute family pictures...


And we visited the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island.


Let's just say though, I'm happy to be home drinking tea (in my new mug) and eating my veggies.


How do you guys stay on track during a vacation? Or maybe you just throw in the towel like I did...

Umpqua Oats

Through my almost one year of blogging I've received a couple product samples and done reviews.

I have never been more excited about any sample than this one. I literally stared out the window waiting for my Umpqua Oats samples.

They came in the mail on Saturday.


Mandy over at Umpqua Oats sent me:

Take A Hike - NW hazlenuts, pumpkin seeds, apricots
Monkey Bars - Chocolate, peanut butter, and coconut
Old School - Apples, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts and almonds
Mostly Sunny - Northwest dried fruit mixture
Kick Start - Nut and fruit medley with a cinnamon and carmely surprise
RU Nuts? - Walnuts, almonds, flax, and sunflower seeds

I was dying to try the Monkey Bars flavor.


When I opened the top I was pleasantly surprised it full of oatmeal. I think I was expecting just 1/2 a cup of oats and toppings for the amount of calories in it. Monkey Bars only has 250 calories! That's with chocolate and peanut butter chips.

What I love about these oats is how quick and easy they are. If you are on the go these are perfect! All you do is add 2/3c-3/4c hot water, put the lid back on, and steep. Seriously, it's that easy.


Plus the ingredient list is simple. Rolled oats, sea salt, dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, seeds... Really everything you already put in your oatmeal at home. Just in one container!

It was delicious and filling! Plus the squirrel loved it! The squirrel eats oatmeal at least once a week and it is such a pain to fix it for her on the stove. She eats about a 1/4 cup of oats plus toppings (nut butter, brown sugar, fruit). I have been so tempted to just buy packets of instant oatmeal but either 1- can't find something nutritionally comparable or 2- find something as tasty. These oats have made my life so much easier. Sometimes it's the little things!

I was really excited to take them to Hatteras with us because I knew they would be easy.

So far we've tried Take a Hike, Mostly Sunny, and Monkey Bars. All have been fabulous!

My mom eats oatmeal every morning for breakfast so I passed the "Old School" flavor to her to sample. She LOVED it! The only thing she said about it was to make sure you stir it really well because your "toppings" will settle to the bottom while it steeps.

As soon as my samples run out I'll definitely be placing a bulk order! They also sell them locally so be sure to visit their website to see where you can find it!

Follow Umpqua Oats on facebook.

The internet is awful here so I probably won't be posting for awhile.

Bye from Cape Hatteras!