Change of Pace

Organic, Natural, Raw

2012-01-31T14:53:00.000-05:00

Today's key point from Amazing Grass talks about raw, natural, and organic foods. In our house we try to keep our food in one of those categories. Almost everything in our cupboard is natural. We keep as many raw foods as we can but feeding babies and toddlers raw food is hard. My kids eat little raw veggies and nuts because they just don't have the mouth muscle to chew it. Choking hazard!

We recently ditched red meat and only eat it on occasion. Since we've saved on not buying hardly any red meat we've been able to afford organic chicken. This fact was in that Amazing Grass article:

"Most people would be surprised to know that while 10% of the pesticides ingested in our country come from produce, 90% are found in animal products. Produce is treated with pesticides a set number of times during its growth, while factory farm animals are fed pesticide-laden crops regularly. The pesticides eaten daily by the animals are absorbed into their tissues and stored there. When you eat these animals or the milk products they produce, you are consuming concentrated doses in uncontrolled combinations of many of the most deadly chemicals ever known."

I did not know that at all. Thankfully, we buy anything related to animals organic. Milk, butter, yogurt, eggs... Organic is expensive. Period. Like really expensive. For produce we buy the dirty dozen organic. For the rest I see if it's on the clean fifteen list and if it's not then hopefully it's on sale. If not I don't buy it organic. It's hard because we just don't have the money to buy everything organic and not many people do but we try to make it work. I think it's all about priorities. Bottle of wine or organic broccoli? Hmmm.

Last night's dinner was leftover pizza from Friday with some leftover avocado.

I seriously need to go grocery shopping.

I had a little before bed snack of vanilla yogurt with unsweetened coconut, blueberries, and flaxseed.

This morning I really wanted some loaded yogurt.

I got these guys on sale for .90 a piece.

I dumped the yogurt in a bowl with blueberries and Kashi go lean crisp cereal. Then I drizzled the honey over it.

Plus coffee.

I got my sister to watch my sick babies so I could get to the gym. My trainer was sick so I ended up doing the same workout we normally do just alone. It's much harder alone. I pushed myself but not as hard as he does. I also did 30 minutes of cardio.

I snacked on some carrots on the way home...

And I had an Amazing Grass shooter (unpictured) while I made lunch....

Lentils, white beans, and kale all cooked in veggie broth with plain greek yogurt on top. I did the lentils last night. My kids really eat anything but for a meal like this I usually make them something separate. I made them grilled cheese sandwiches and neither one of them ate any of it. I'd forgotten how much they both like lentils! They devoured what I had left over in the pan.

I'm headed to make my iced coffee! It's 3:00 here. COFFEE TIME. Whoo hoo!

What do you buy organic? If you don't then what are your reasonings for not?

Mishmosh

2012-01-30T15:18:00.000-05:00

About a month ago Teri Jo over at Amazing Grass asked me to be a part of their two week challenge. I thought it would be perfect to jumpstart my weightloss. I've always been a fan of Amazing Grass super foods so I couldn't wait to try this.

What is the challenge? It's a 14 day long program that promotes amazing health and amazing energy. It guides you in the right direction for two weeks so by that third week you are on the right path. You purchase a tub of the Amazing Meal and have one serving a day plus focus on eating whole organic foods. Each day Amazing Grass sends you a link to an article that pertains to healthy living.

Today I started day one. Today's topics were:

- Transforming your belief system as it relates to food
- Replacing old habits with new practices
- It takes 21 days to create a new habit

So what I took out of all of that for me is focus. Decide what you want and focus. The article also mentioned something about always being prepared. That's my number one advice for anyone trying to eat healthy. Do I follow it all the time? No... Sometimes I'm unprepared but normally I'm on top of things. Have snacks and meals planned and prepped ahead of time. Easy and it really works to keep you on track!

I started the morning off with a smoothie made with Amazing Meal. Not sure if I'll share with you every green drink but I'll at least share the key points of the day.

The gym spells it "smoothee"... Should I correct them?

Amazing Meal has 10g of protein plus you get all of the nutrients from the fruits and veggies.

In to the blender went my favorite green ~~smoothee~~ smoothie.

1/2c soymilk
1/2c water
3c spinach (all I had)
1 mushy banana
1 scoop of Amazing Meal
1T almond butter
And a couple ice cubes.

Looking at it now I forgot the chia seeds this morning. Dang.

I took it to go because I had to take the kids to the doctor.

I had an interesting weekend with sick kids and a sick husband which is why there wasn't a post from yesterday. Turns out both kids have ear infections.

I forgot a snack (see I'm not always prepared!) so we had lunch a little early.

Lunch was a mishmosh of all sorts. My favorite kind of thing! We are runnin' low in the fridge. Seriously.

Sweet potatoes cooked low and slow- Cut thick (1/2in), 30 mins at 350 and 20 mins at 425.

With left over pasta salad, greens...

a small chunk of leftover cornbread, and a sneaky cinnamon stuffed date (my new favorite thing in the entire world).

I just finished walking outside for an hour. Sick kids=no gym. I probably walked slower than I do on the treadmill but I got a lot accomplished. I got a bunch of meal planning done and thought up some new recipes.

Do you like a mishmosh on your plate? I think my lunch would drive my husband crazy. He's pretty particular with his food.

Some Alone Time

2012-01-28T16:18:00.000-05:00

Let me tell you something I learned yesterday. I learned how to actually wash broccoli. The other day I quickly rinsed some broccoli and steamed it. It was so gritty and gross I had to throw it out. I figured I didn't wash it well so I googled how to do it.

Almost all the google results said to soak it in salt water. When I did it for last night's dinner it wasn't too bad... Lots of little particles and pieces of broccoli.

But then there was this little guy floating in the bottom.

Thats a bug.... and that is disgusting.

Squeaky clean broccoli for dinner!

Pizza Friday!

Whole wheat pizza crust with olive oil and minced garlic as the sauce. Plus baked chicken, bug-free-broccoli, part skim mozzarella, and parmesan. It was SO good! I'm loving the sauceless pizza.

I was munchy later last night so I raided my tea shelf. My tea has it's own shelf.

I'll admit it. I have a tea problem. I have 27 boxes of tea. I counted.

If you've been reading awhile you've probably noticed I don't drink tea. Well not enough to go through 27 boxes. All of the tea comes from my addiction to coffee. When I try to give up coffee I buy a box of tea. Tea isn't as good as coffee.

Out of all the boxes of teas I have I picked a random Tazo Calm that I think we got from our hotel room in Charleston.

1 out of 300+ tea bags gone.

We had a long night with the kids last night. Well I did. They both have a cold and were really restless. Between the two of them they were up every hour. At 5am I decided to give up. I put them both in my bed with the husband and snuck downstairs.

I thought of doing something productive but instead I parked myself on the couch with a cup of ~~tea~~ coffee and The Help. I thought I'd enjoy the alone time since I don't get it very often.

Have you seen The Help? I loved it. This is the second time I've seen it. I read blogs, watched my movie, and drank an obscene amount of coffee.

I also made breakfast.

3 egg whites, spinach, feta, a little minced garlic all on a toasted sandwich thin.

The husband and I did some crossfit workout and then made lunch. 10 sit ups, 10 pushups, 10 squats x 10. It was boring. I don't like crossfit for this reason.

Lunch was something I'm lovin'.

Hummus and 2% cheddar on a wrap grilled . Plus kale chips with ketchup.

I love these things!

What do you do when you have time to yourself? Watch movies? Read food blogs?

Recipe: My Favorite Baked Chicken

2012-01-28T07:28:00.000-05:00

*This recipe does use 3 kitchen tools you may not have. They are inexpensive and so useful.

All I do is smash four organic chicken breasts with a meat mallet until they are about 1/2in thick. Really as thin as they'll go.

*I use the meat mallet on chicken breasts all the time because I hate a big chunk of chicken. The day I bring the chicken home from the store, I smash it, and put it in freezer bags.

Then I let them marinate overnight in 1 cup of light italian dressing.

When I'm ready to make dinner I mix together 1/2c italian seasoned breadcrumbs, 1/2c whole wheat panko breadcrumbs (you can use regular panko), and 1/4c-1/2c parmesan cheese (really how ever much I end up grating).

There isn't any need for liquid because of the italian dressing so I just coat the chicken in the breadcrumbs and put them on cooling racks over a foiled cookie sheet. Make sure to spray the racks with non-stick spray.

*Those cooling racks were $2 a piece and I use them ALL the time. For baking purposes- these let everything get crispy all the way around (homemade chicken nuggets, pork, bacon). For cooling- cookies and cakes. For icing- these let all the icing drip onto a paper towel underneath.

Bake at 350* for 30 minutes flipping half way...

or until the meat thermometer says 175* or above.

*Every kitchen should have a digital meat thermometer. I bought this at Walmart for $10. I follow cooking times in recipes but a lot of times they are off. I use the meat thermometer and everything is cooked perfectly every time!

We love this chicken over salads, with rice, dipped in ranch, rolled in wraps, on pizza... Anything!

What I'm Lovin' Friday

2012-01-27T18:23:00.000-05:00

I love this concept. I love blogging for many reasons. Recipes, products, techniques, meal planning... This hits all of those so I love reading what other people are lovin! I'm not sure who started it, what day I'm supposed to share it, or how many "what I'm lovins" I'm supposed to share. I figured I'd do it on Friday just to break up the monotony breakfast, lunch, dinner posts. So here we go.

1. Iced coffee at home. I really look forward to these every afternoon. Gives me the extra boost I need to get through the afternoon.

(Starbucks regular iced via, 4oz soymilk, 12oz water- shaken in a shaker and poured over coffee ice cubes)

2. Etsy Prints. I bought these two prints and frames for under $40. They are so unique and you can customize your colors! I got the frames at Michaels for $4 a piece.

I got the bird and utensil print here. The eat print here.

3. Pandora (free!) radio "90s Pop Radio". This is keeping me sane during my hour of cardio every other day. I love listening to music from my teenage years. Nsync, Alanis Morrisette, Spice Girls, TLC... I know every single song! My kids and I also love the toddler station on Pandora.

4. Reading blogs on the stationary bike. I use Byline (free too!) on my iPhone and just browse everyone's blogs and comment while I pedal. I actually look forward to those 30 minutes of cardio!

5. Grown up grilled cheese. Hummus and cheese grilled on a sandwich thin. Forget the turkey! I've actually been craving it.

In a Hurry

2012-01-26T14:34:00.000-05:00

The husband had a night flight last night so we ate at nana's house for dinner.

About 2 scrambled eggs with ketchup, 2 small slices of toasted sourdough with butter, and a piece of bacon.

My alarm didn't go off this morning. I had an appointment with my trainer early. I hate it when that happens.

Everything changes when you have kids. You can't just get up and go anymore. I could have easily thrown on some clothes, grabbed a banana, and been out the door. However, I had two more people to get dressed and those people needed a full breakfast before the gym. Those two little people weren't happy about being abruptly removed from their nice warm beds and rushed out the door.

My kids hate being rushed and when they are rushed they shut down completely.

From now on my alarm is on everyday. If I hadn't had the trainer appointment it would have been ok. I don't want to make a bad impression on him so we all had to suffer a little today.

Breakfast for example:

Coffee and a protein shake. Hey now I always have time for coffee. It made this morning almost bearable.

The kids breakfast's were a little better. A banana, a kids clif z bar, and a cup of milk. Worst mom of the year here. I figured it was just one morning and the minute we were home from the gym they got the most nutritious snack ever.

I spent 30 minutes at the gym getting my butt kicked. I love this trainer because I can't really tell you what we did. Maybe 15 different exercises? This included running up and down stairs, weight machines, free weights, and real sit ups. REAL SIT UPS. The worst thing ever. Not crunches... Like ground to your knees sit ups. Doing 15 real sit ups sucks and my trainer knows I hate it... so he makes me do them a lot.

Then I did 30 minutes of cardio.

I was tired from my workout when I got home but mostly I was hungry.

I had overnight oats in the fridge from last night.

1/3c rolled oats, 1/3c vanilla greek yogurt, 1/4c soymilk, 1T chias, and blackberries. Plus a sprinkle of granola this morning. I cut back the soymilk and it makes it so much better. Really doughy!

Lunch was my new favorite:

A grilled turkey, cheddar, and hummus sandwich. Plus greens, grape tomatoes, .5oz blue cheese, and a drizzle of balsamic.

The sandwich was- 4 slices of turkey, 1oz 2% cheddar, and 1T Sabra hummus on an arnold sandwich thin- all heated in a pan like a grilled cheese sandwich minus the butter on the outside.

What do you eat when you are in a hurry? I bet it's better than my protein shake and coffee!

Feels Like Summer

2012-01-25T13:23:00.000-05:00

I love your responses about the calorie counting. I guess I should have explained my calorie counting flaws. I am knowledgable about how many calories are in things so I am aware of about how many calories I am consuming. I hate math so adding up all the nutrition facts are annoying and I am terrible at actually recording it. I do measure out high calorie foods like cheese, nut butter, syrup, honey. The rest of it I estimate.

Last night I did bison burger meatballs with spaghetti and broccoli sprinkled with garlic gold.

The meatballs were incredible! I love bison burger!

Since I ate a bunch of pasta last night I decided on egg whites this morning.

3 leftover egg whites (from that chocolate mousse), mama pea's salsa from her book, spinach, and 1T of feta.

Today was one hour of cardio at the gym. 30 minutes on the dreadmill (it's really becoming that) and 30 minutes on the bike.

I drank a protein shake on the way to the gym and snacked on carrots on the way home.

Remember yesterday's weather? It was over 70* yesterday. We had a similar day today so lunch was summer inspired.

Mama Pea's thai veggie burgers+pineapple (I had these frozen) and BBQ sauce on a sandwich thin. Plus some Alexia sweet potato fries and puffs (3 ounces to be exact) and ketchup.

I also had one of these:

I love the regular LaCroix sparkling waters and I found these awhile ago. They are so summery that I was having a hard time drinking them. Today was a perfect day for one!

What's your favorite summer food?

Counting Calories

2012-01-24T18:06:00.000-05:00

I bought a bunch of pizza dough at the store. They were 10 for $10 so I bought 5 dough balls. I figured I'd better start making pizza so that's what we had for dinner last night.

Whole wheat pizza crust with a little bit of olive oil and garlic as the sauce, chicken, leftover roasted veggies, and part skim mozzarella. It was so good. I need to do that more often. Kitchen sink pizza!

Last night I also made myself overnight oats.

So I did some calorie counting last night... I hate calorie counting but it seemed like I was losing control of what I was putting in my overnight oatmeal. I want my breakfast to be right around 500 calories. When I added everything up this is what I came up with. 1/3c rolled oats, 1/3c soy milk, 1/3c yogurt, 1T chias, 1T Wild Squirrel peanut butter, and a half of a banana. It all came up down to the peanut butter and granola. The high calorie stuff. Peanut butter won. I skipped the granola. This came to around 450. I was overdoing it for sure.

Plus I had soymilk in my coffee so I'm thinking it was right around 500 total.

I was at the gym at 8:00 on the dot and worked out for a half an hour with my personal trainer. I did about 15 different exercises. I never thought my body could be so exhausted after just 30 minutes. Then he told me to do 30 minutes of cardio!

In a rush to get to the gym on time I forgot my snack at home. I found a kids clif bar in my car and ate that in the car.

We ate lunch at Zoes Kitchen.

As always a lean turkey pita and fruit.

Check out the weather today.

Isn't that insane?!

You could say it's been a mild winter here. 70* one day and then 30* as a low the next day! Come on weather.

Are you a calorie counter?

Kodiak Cakes Winner

2012-01-24T16:40:00.002-05:00

I forgot to post this last night but here's the winner:

Lauren C said...
Maple Syrup and butter...yum!
JANUARY 17, 2012 4:49 PM

Lauren just shoot me an email with your name and address and I'll send your pancake mix and syrup to you!

Thanks to everyone that entered. I love giveaway!

Healthy Start

2012-01-23T12:20:00.000-05:00

Last night we made a pork loin for dinner. We used a recipe from Paula Deen. It actually didn't have any butter in it!

Plus I made roasted potatoes and carrots, bread, and a salad of greens, red onion, feta, cherry tomatoes, and homemade balsamic.

We rounded out dinner with homemade chocolate mousse and homemade whipped cream.

I started the morning off with some loaded yogurt. When I start my day with something healthy everything else falls in to place. Vanilla oikos, blackberries, strawberries, chi as, and granola.

I got in an hour of cardio- 30 mins treadmill + 30 mins bike at the gym.

When I got home I made a protein shake and had a handful of pistachios.

That tided me over until lunch.

I made a grilled turkey, 2% cheddar, and hummus sandwich on a sandwich thin. Plus spinach with a tiny bit of gorgonzola, pecans, and cinnamon dressing.

The hummus on the grilled turkey sandwich was so good! I'll definitely be doing that again!

We've got some running around to do this afternoon. Pizza is scheduled for dinner!

What is your favorite post-workout snack?

Busy Busy!

2012-01-22T20:31:00.000-05:00

Whoa what a busy weekend.

Last night we grilled out and I forgot to take a picture. Picture a steak, cornbread, and baked beans. Small portions of everything.

Breakfast this morning was loaded yogurt.

Oikos vanilla yogurt, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries. banana, granola, and a drizzle of honey. I'm loving the yogurt bowls right now!

Lunch was a tasting plate.

Parmesan cheese, kasha pita chips, carrot sticks, pistachios, and hummus. I need to do this more often!

Dinner was delicious and I can't wait to share it tomorrow. Hope you had a great weekend!

Something Small

2012-01-21T22:44:00.000-05:00

This post is short and sweet.

Last night's dinner started off with some vino.

Since I've been watching what I eat I haven't drank much alcohol. It seems like such a waste of calories. I needed it though last night.

I made chicken stir fry but added leftover brown rice instead of noodles.

It was just ok. Noodles are just better.

Since I was drinking wine last night squirrel said she needed a glass while she talked to daddy on his way home from work.

These pictures crack me up. That's a plastic glass and water in case you are wondering.

She looks so grown up!

Breakfast was kodiak cakes pancakes!

With banana and maple syrup.

Lunch was eaten out at Buffalo Wild Wings. 4 honey BBQ boneless wings and a side of fries. Have you ever tried to order something healthy at a place like BWW? Using this website I guessed my calorie intake was around 700.

Y'all remember how I feel about salads? I hate ordering salads from a restaurant. It just isn't good and it got to the point where I didn't even want to go out to eat.. I was telling my husband about my salad anxiety and he said to me "why don't you just get something small?" Here I'd been stressing out about having to get a salad that I never thought outside the box. Why can't I get something I actually do like just in a smaller version? We rarely eat at places like BWW so I should enjoy it when we do go. 700 calories is a lot especially for a meal that wasn't nutritious but I really really enjoyed splurging on those wings and fries. It was totally worth it!

What is your healthy game plan at restaurants?

Two in One

2012-01-20T13:01:00.000-05:00

Two posts in one day? Say... WHAT?!

Last night's dinner was unplanned.

Do you see what happens when I don't plan things? I ended up with an Amy's veggie burger with 2% cheddar, ketchup, mustard, and pickles. Plus roasted sweet potatoes. The kiddos had sweet potatoes and cheese ravioli's. I've got to stay on top of things!

This morning I tried 2 new things!

A chobani apple cinnamon and Kashi Go Lean cinnamon crumble. Both were SO good! I'm not really a fan of chobani but I love this one. Plus I had an unpictured protein shake and coffee.

I went to the gym this morning and walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes.

I went to the doctor on Wednesday night and the doctor said I pulled a muscle in my back. She said it was so bad that she could see exactly where it was. She prescribed pain meds and muscle relaxer. I don't think the meds have helped but I do feel better. Probably just from healing. It actually felt amazing to walk on the treadmill and stretch that muscle out.

After the gym and between picking squirrel up at preschool I had carrots and hummus.

I caught up on google reader and before I knew it it was time to pick her up.

I was really craving a chef salad today so I made one for lunch.

Greens, broccoli, carrots, turkey, ham, 2% cheddar, and lite ranch.

It hit the spot!

Tonight is supposed to be pizza night in our house but I'm really thinking chinese food.

What do you have planned tonight for dinner?

My Favorite Things

2012-01-20T10:24:00.003-05:00

I just thought I'd share with you some of my favorite products that are staples in our house. I also have a kid-friendly product post here.

Oikos vanilla greek yogurt

Light french onion laughing cow cheese

Starbucks sumatra- the only coffee we ever buy.

Bertolli organic tomato and basil- great on pasta and pizza.

Earth balance spread- I use it in baking or as a spread. Even the husband likes it.

Kashi 7-grain waffles- The kids eat these all the time and they really are delicious.

Amy's veggie burgers

Silk dark chocolate almond milk- I use this as chocolate syrup. Just a splash of this and skim milk makes the best chocolate milk!

Garlic gold- I sprinkle this everywhere!

Trader Joes almond butter & Smuckers natural peanut butter- My two favorite nut butters!

Tiger Sauce- sweet and hot at the same time. My favorite hot sauce!

Sabra hummus- even the kiddos like this hummus.

Lacroix seltzer water- when I get tired of just drinking water.

Kodiak Cakes pancake mix and syrups- so light and fluffy you won't even know its whole grain.

What are your favorite must have food products?

My Favorite Baked Chicken

2012-01-19T16:50:00.001-05:00

Don't forget about my Kodiak Cakes giveaway!

Well my back feels better. It didn't this morning but it does as of right now. It is beyond frustrating when I can't physically do things I want to.

Dinner last night was smashed baked chicken over field greens plus some broccoli on the side. I added some mmmm sauce to the greens.

We eat this chicken once a week.

Breakfast this morning was a little weird. A protein shake, 2 egg whites with ketchup and coffee.

I snacked on clementines midmorning...

And had an Atlanta Bread balsamic blue salad for lunch.
(Green, blue cheese, chicken, apples, cranberries, walnuts, onion, and balsamic dressing)

I had my usual afternoon snack...

I found out a little trick to make it even better.

Shake it all in my shaker!

Oh the foam!

What is your favorite afternoon snack?

My Aching Back

2012-01-18T12:37:00.000-05:00

Don't forget about my Kodiak Cakes giveaway!

I usually don't share my afternoon snack because they are usually pretty boring. Yesterday's was not!

A new LUNA BAR! I'm not sure if Luna Bars are actually a good snack but they are a nice treat and aren't that bad for you.

My favorite is the chocolate peppermint but this one definitely comes in second. Infact, I bought 2 to try. I ate half of one and then the squirrel noticed what I was eating. She ate the other half and requested more. Her and little buddy polished off a whole one. That's how good they are!

Dinner was at my mom and dad's last night.

2oz. of whole wheat pasta with 1/2c organic tomato sauce. Plus broccoli and parmesan. I could probably eat this every night. I love it!

So on Monday night I was reading the babies a story and when I got up I twinged something in my back. I was alright yesterday. My personal trainer didn't do anything back related so I was fine.

However, last night I woke up in the middle of the night and could barely move.

This morning I'm doing better but geez it still hurts... BAD. This is almost like the stomach flu. I don't even want to move. All I want to do is lay in bed.

I've been taking higher doses of ib profen but you know what the best medicine is for things like this and the stomach flu?

REST.

What in the world does that word mean?

Do you think they let me rest?

NOPE.

So I've been on the go since early this morning. I'm cranky and irritable.

I wasn't in the mood for breakfast so I had a protein shake.

My trainer recommended the body by vi challenge to go with my training and to help me lose this baby weight. Twice a day for 90 days... This is so hypocritical of me. I am the last person to put any supplement in my body especially if it isn't all natural. Y'all I am so sick of this weight. I eat healthy and I exercise but my weight remains the same. I've been exercising and eating really well for the past two weeks.... I weighed myself yesterday. I gained 2lbs. WHAT?! I don't want to hear anything about the gaining muscle... It was really defeating so thats why I decided to do the body by vi challenge.

By lunch I was hungry! I had a half an avocado from yesterday's lunch and I was tempting to just recreate it but I got a little creative.

We had some leftover shredded chicken so I smashed 1/4 of an avocado and 1t lite mayo into it. Plus salt. Then I slice up the other 1/4 and put everything on a sandwich thin. IT WAS SO GOOD!

Plus more butternut squash soup.

Well I'm off to try and get some rest...

Have you ever taken a supplement to achieve your fitness goals?

Freezer Soup

2012-01-17T15:15:00.000-05:00

Don't forget about my Kodiak Cakes giveaway!

Last night's dinner was random. We were hungry and unprepared.

Breakfast for dinner. 1 egg, 1 egg white, ham, onion, and 2% cheddar. Plus a kodiak cake pancake with raspberry syrup. See what happens when I don't plan? NO VEGGIES.

Salted chocolate mousse for dessert.

I've made this dessert several times and just love it!

Today was my first workout with my personal trainer so we were all up at the crack of dawn.

I actually had to wait until the sun came up for some natural light. Yogurt with granola, chias, banana, and wild squirrel pretzel pizazz.

I worked out at the gym with my trainer. Legs, back, and 30 minutes of cardio. It actually wasn't bad but I think he was going easy on me...

I brought snacks just in case I was hungry or we did something after the gym.

I ended up munching on carrot sticks on the way home.

Lunch was turkey on sandwich thin with smashed avocado.

Plus butternut squash soup!

I forgot this was in the freezer and pulled it out last night for lunch today. I LOVE this recipe. No cream, butter, or milk... It's delicious and freezes so well. Just make it, let it cool, portion it out, and freeze.

What's your favorite meal that freezes?

Family Meals

2012-01-16T18:21:00.000-05:00

Breakfast this morning was loaded toast for everyone.

Whole grain toast with wild squirrel sneaky cinnamon, banana, and chias.

Even the husband had some. He's more of an eggs and bacon kind of guy. He was infatuated with the wild squirrel peanut butters I got so he wanted to try some.

As a family we are on round three of clementines. I think I buy the 3lb bag.

We all love them so that's what we snacked on midmorning.

Definitely our winter fruit!

We were lucky to have daddy home today so lunch was eaten out at Zoes Kitchen. We like Zoes because it's fresh and the kids eat anything there.

We all shared hummus and pita bread.

I had the lean turkey pita with turkey and feta coleslaw.

And I got a soy vanilla latte at the Starbucks next door for dessert.

Coffee makes me happy!

I love that our family usually eats the same. I rarely make a separate meal for the kids or my husband.

Does your family eat separate meals?

Don't forget about the Kodiak Cakes giveaway!

Kodiak Cakes Giveaway

2012-01-15T12:39:00.000-05:00

One of my family's favorite products is Kodiak Cakes. Who doesn't love pancakes on Saturday morning? It's so hard to find a good whole grain pancake mix that doesn't taste "yucky"... Kodiak Cake pancake mix makes everyone in my house happy so I've been a customer for a couple years now.

I've always wanted to do a giveaway because I obviously like the pancake mix so much.

Want to win some?

Here's your chance!

I am giving away one box of the buttermilk & honey pancake mix...

Plus a bottle of our favorite syrup- marionberry.

All you have to do to enter is:

1- Leave a comment telling me your favorite pancake topping. OR
2- Like Change of Pace on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did. OR
3- Post about this giveaway on your blog and leave a link for the post.

I'll randomly pick one winner on Monday, January 23rd.

Iced Coffee Treat

2012-01-14T18:10:00.000-05:00

We did something unusual last night. We went to one of our favorite pizza places for dinner. Little buddy is at the worst age for any type of sit down take forever to get your food kind of place. We might go somewhere for lunch only because it's usually quick. Last night we got a large pepperoni. Guess how many pieces I had?

UNO.

It was some amazing willpower but I did it.

Breakfast this morning was an instant pack of organic oatmeal.

Topped with banana and wild squirrel bright eyed and bushy tailed.

Peanut butter and coffee. My kind of thing!

Breakfast was instant oatmeal because we are low on groceries.

We did some grocery shopping and stopped at Chick-fil-a for lunch.

Grilled chicken sandwich and fries. I can't resist the waffle fries.

This afternoon I had my new favorite treat. I have one of these every afternoon. It gets me to dinner time and I have something to look forward to!

Starbucks instant iced coffee.

I make coffee ice cubes especially for this.

Just pour extra coffee in ice cube trays and then store them in a freezer bag.

Sometimes I add some of the kid's chocolate milk... ICED MOCHA!

Usually it's an instant coffee pack, coffee cubes, and soy milk.

Gets me through the afternoon.

I'm planning on doing a grocery shopping post... I love to see what other bloggers get at the grocery store!

Do you???

Wild Squirrel!

2012-01-13T15:37:00.000-05:00

Dinner last night was something we haven't had in awhile. Stir-fry!

I've been using that recipe from all recipes for a long time. It turns out amazing every time and both kids gobble it up. It isn't overwhelmingly "asian-flavored" and is super healthy. I follow the recipe except I omit the celery and onion. I usually use part sesame and part canola oil and I always use whole wheat spaghetti. I use about 8 ounces of pasta or 2 ounces per person in our house. The babies usually don't eat 2 ounces a piece so this leaves extra for the husband. I just toss the cooked pasta in the pan right at the end to coat the noodles in the sauce.

Easy, healthy, one pan meal.

Breakfast this morning was a Mama Pea zee bar.

I really like these but the kids picked the chocolate off the top and didn't eat the rest. WEIRD. My kids will eat anything...

Plus coffee.

I had to drop squirrelly-o off at school and take little buddy for his 15mos check up. I packed a chopped apple for the road.

When I got home there was a package at the door.

FINALLY. I was so excited to try these. Wild squirrel nut butter is just one of those cute companies. The website is cute, the label is cute, the girls who own it are cute, the titles are cute. Plus their name is wild squirrel!

Like this wild squirrel!

Their nut butter is not cute though... It's DELICIOUS!

I cracked open the sneaky cinnamon and put it on toast for lunch.

Along with a salad of mixed greens, leftover chicken, carrots, toasted pecans, and cinnamon dressing.

I am SO glad it's FRIDAY!!!

Have you tried any new products lately?

A New Workout Plan

2012-01-12T16:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I got my bake on.

Mama Pea's zee bars.

These were good... Except they didn't really taste like the clif z bars. Mine weren't dense enough and I knew they weren't going to be by the batter. I think I did something wrong somewhere.

Dinner was eaten at my parents house but I was good and brought a salad. The last of my pre made salads this week plus a thai veggie burger and cinnamon dressing. They didn't last me long!

Breakfast this morning was overnight oatmeal.

1/3c rolled oats, 1/3c soymilk, around a 1/3 cup of chobani vanilla yogurt, and 1T chia seeds all left over night to cook in the fridge. This morning I added 1T almond butter and a half of a banana.

This is my favorite combination.

So I went to the gym today. As I was doing an arm workout on the machine I saw one of the personal trainers working out near me. I've noticed him at the gym before and I like what he does with his clients.

Randomly, I decided to talk to him. His rates were reasonable and I liked him. I signed up.

I've been thinking about personal training for awhile now and I've been watching a lot of the personal trainers to see which one I like best. I've got to lose this baby weight. I've got 20lbs to lose. UGH.

My first training session is next Tuesday. Stay tuned for that one!

My sister and I took the kids to play and went to Atlanta Bread Co. for lunch.

Just a bowl of french onion soup and a chunk of bread.

Plus frozen yogurt for dessert.

Did you know you get a dessert after every meal? Mmm hmm.

Vanilla yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, waffle cone pieces, a little bit of cool whip, and a teaspoon of nutella.

Are you trying a new workout plan this year?

In a Rush

2012-01-11T12:21:00.000-05:00

We had kid food last night for dinner.

Gardein nuggets and vegan mac-n-cheese. I had quite a bit of that daiya cheese leftover so I decided to try the kids on vegan mac-n-cheese. I really don't care for faux meat products. I didn't really care for those but I got them on a whim. I have no desire to go vegan or even vegetarian however, those cooking styles intrigue me. It's amazing to me to make cookies and mac-n-cheese and not use a single animal product!

The mac-n-cheese was really delicious.

Kid approved!

My alarm didn't go off this morning so we were rushed out the door.

I made sure to grab my coffee...

And everyone got loaded toast.

Ezekiel, sunflower butter, banana, honey, and chias.

On my way home I stopped at PCJ and grabbed a soy vanilla latte.

My new favorite. These are amazing.

Lunch was another salad. I'm going through these pre made salads like crazy.

I know the pictures are boring but these are easy to prepare and loaded with nutrients.

Spring mix, leftover broccoli slaw, carrots, toasted pecans, almonds, dried cranberries, raisins, and a chopped up Amy's veggie burger. All drizzled with cinnamon dressing. SO GOOD.

It's such a dreary day here....

Getting ready to make the kiddos some chocolate chip zee bars.

What is your quick to go breakfast?

Vegan Cheese

2012-01-10T16:53:00.000-05:00

Last night we did quesadillas for dinner. I love it because it's kind of a "one pot meal". I just stuff everything in a whole wheat tortilla and we are good to go!

I bought some daiya vegan cheese the other day on a whim and decided to try it...

I used the cheddar cheese, added beans, and grilled everything in a pan. Plus I had greek yogurt and homemade salsa for dipping.

Honestly, I was a little scared of the "cheese". It was DELICIOUS. No funky taste at all and it was really cheddary. If that's a word. I could totally go vegan if I had the money to spend on this stuff. I'd put it on everything. It's just ridiculously expensive .

Breakfast this morning was blah. 2 egg whites and one whole egg split with little buddy on a sandwich thin. Plus a banana with Justin's chocolate almond butter.

Speaking of the Justin's almond butter....

The maple is one of my favorites but again expensive... Check out these packs I got as stocking stuffers!

So yummy and they even sell these at Walmart! No excuses for not eating healthy. No natural food stores required on this one.

That's my midmorning snack by the way. Apples and half of a pack of almond butter.

The kids even love this stuff.

They eat it straight out of the pack.

This afternoon I went to a friends house and I brought lunch.

Mixed greens with apples, toasted pecans, feta, and Mama Peas cinnamon dressing.

That ones in the book too. One of the best salad dressings I've ever had.

Have you ever been scared to try a new food?

Finally Back to the Gym

2012-01-09T15:12:00.000-05:00

Last night's dinner was one of our favorite dinners as a family.

Grilled chicken, 1/2c brown rice made in the rice cooker, and salad (the kids had corn). I made sure I stuck to portion sizes. Half my plate is veg, 1/4 protein, 1/4 carbs, and good fat on my salad.

Plus I had 2 vegan peanut butter, chocolate chip cookies.

These are great. I made them and threw them in the freezer. When I start making dinner I take some out and they are thawed for dessert.

Breakfast was overnight oats...

1/3c rolled oats, 1/3c soymilk, 1/3c chobani vanilla yogurt, 1T chias, 1/2c frozen blueberries.

Amazingly, we were all up at 6:30 this morning so I had time for the gym before squirrelly had to be at school. We slept in during the holidays so it's time to get back to our earlier routine. I just did 20 minutes on the treadmill using Ida's workout:

Set the treadmill to a comfortable walk. I did 4mph for most of it but bumped it up to 4.2 for a little bit.

Min 1- incline 1
Min 2- incline 2
Min 3- incline 3
Min 4- incline 4
Min 5- incline 5
Min 6- incline 6
Min 7- incline 7
Min 8- incline 8
Min 9- incline 9
Min 10- incline 10

Then come down

Min 11- incline 9
Min 12- incline 8
Min 13- incline 7
Min 14- incline 6
Min 15- incline 5
Min 16- incline 4
Min 17- incline 3
Min 18- incline 2
Min 19- incline 1
Min 20- incline 0

Then I jogged the last 10 minutes.

I haven't been to the gym in 2 weeks! It felt great going back.

After the gym I snacked on some Kashi pita chips and Sabra hummus.

Mon, Wed, Fri always feel crazy for me. I do the gym at 8, drop the squirrel off at 9, come home to shower and have to leave at 11:30 to go pick her up.

Mondays we meet a friend after school for lunch at Atlanta Bread.

I always get the same thing.

A balsamic bleu salad. It has romaine, blue cheese, tomato, dried cranberries, red onion, apples, walnuts, and balsamic dressing.

It's dreary here and the kids are both sleeping... Saaaay WHAT?! That never happens... Headed for the kinect. See you tomorrow!

What's one of your favorite dinners?

Recipe: My Favorite Green Monster

2012-01-08T12:58:00.003-05:00

My favorite recipe is:
layered in the blender in order...

4 cups spinach (just one large handful)
1 cup milk (soy milk, almond milk, skim milk)
1 scoop protein powder or green powder (I use Amazing Grass but you can totally leave this out)
1 cup frozen banana
2 T ground flaxseed or chia seeds (also optional)
1T nut butter

Blend on high speed.

Pour.

This probably makes 2-2.5 cups. It filled my mason jar just to the top.

So delicious!

If my 3 year old and 1 year old love these then you have no excuse.

Try it!

Freezing Veggie Burgers

2012-01-07T12:15:00.000-05:00

Friday night is always pizza night for us.

Homemade pizza is always better... I get whole wheat pizza crust dough balls in the deli section of our grocery store. When they are on sale I get a bunch at .99 each and put them in the freezer. When you are ready to use them put them in a bowl and cover it with a towel for awhile. Maybe 10 hours?

Last nights pizza flavor combo was Pioneer Woman inspired.

My whole wheat pizza crust topped with fresh mozzarella, parmesan, caramelized onions, and prusciutto baked at 425 for 20 minutes.

I had two pieces...

Along with a Jones Vanilla Bean soda.

The pizza was DELICIOUS. However, the recipe calls for red onions. I didn't really like this idea and should have stuck with my instinct. Red onions just don't caramelize like yellow. They were a tad bitter :(

Breakfast this morning was a yogurt bowl. Chobani vanilla with banana, chias, almond butter, and half a piece of crumbled pumpkin bread.

We spent the morning at the park.

And came home just in time for lunch. I made a batch of thai veggie burgers yesterday and froze them.

I laid them and pineapple on a cookie sheet with wax paper and put them in the freezer for an hour (to prevent them from freezing together). Then put them in a freezer bag.

I cooked one in a pan along with 2 pineapple rings.

Genius time saver!

Do you have any time saving techniques?

Last Salad

2012-01-06T13:21:00.000-05:00

Dinner last night was spaghetti. I have a love hate relationship with spaghetti. My whole family loves it, it is nutritious and it is easy to make. However...

Oh the mess.

Last night I made the pasta, added a jar of Bertolli organic tomato basil, added some homemade meatballs and put it all in a 9x13 dish. I put fresh mozzarella and parmesan on the top and baked it for 30 minutes.

I skipped the meatballs and had pasta, sauce, and cheese.

Plus I made roasted garlic cauliflower. This was a HUGE hit in my house. The kiddos loved it.

I've been working out with the kinect at home. Yesterday I did 30 minutes of yoga. It felt amazing. I'm loving Your Shape on the kinect. There are a bunch of different work outs some short some long.
Beats dragging two kids to the gym or on a run when it's 19* outside.

This morning was a microwaved egg kind of morning. I just didn't have time. It would have been a perfect overnight oat morning but I wasn't prepared.

This morning I did a whole egg...

On Ezekiel toast spread with laughing cow cheese.

And I know you are tired of seeing lunch...

This was my last tupperware of salad.

Mixed greens, celery, carrots, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, leftover roasted garlic cauliflower, chickpeas, a couple of Alexia sweet potato puffs, and Mmmm Sauce.

I am so glad it's FRIDAY!

What are your favorite at home workouts?

Just Call Me Mama Pea

2012-01-05T14:39:00.000-05:00

Might as well. I'm flying through her cookbook. Should have planned for a Julie and Julia kinda thing!

Last night for dinner were thai veggie burgers out of Peas and Thank You. Just go buy the book. Seriously, only $13 on Amazon. Worth every penny.

These burgers are amazing. A thai veggie burger with grilled pineapple and a little bit of light mayo. I'd rather have this than a regular burger.

What?! Did I just really say that. Yep.

Plus we had smashed potatoes with broccoli on the side (potato, broc, milk, earth balance). Random but those taters needed cooked.

And pie for dessert. I hope this never ends....

This morning I made a yogurt bowl with a new-to-me Oikos.

Yogurt, granola, banana, chias, almond butter, and fig spread.

Plus:

Yesterday I bought a bunch of clementines at the store. I really don't like oranges. They are a pain to peel, messy, and honestly not that tasty for all the work. I've seen clementines all over the blog world so I thought I'd give them a shot.

These little babies are great. No problem peeling, no seeds, no mess.

So for lunch I did a salad with mixed greens, carrots, celery, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, chickpeas, a crumbled thai veggie burger, and mmmm sauce. One of the best salads ever. Plus 2 clementines.

I also really don't like salads... Well I don't like your typical salad. Iceberg, cucumber, tomato, cheese, and ranch. Those are good but not healthy. When I try to order a healthy salad it doesn't taste good. I usually end up with fat free dressing, iceberg lettuce, and tomato and cucumber. Blah.

At home I buy a big tub of organic mixed greens and divide it into tupperware. Then I add other veggies and yummy random toppings like nuts and fruit.

So today for instance, I grabbed one of my tubs that had greens, carrots, celery, sunflower seeds, and dried cranberries already in it. All I had to add was the veggie burger, chickpeas, and sauce. DONE. No chopping required.

I make them for myself and my husband so we can easily grab a quick lunch, just buy adding protein (beans, chicken, tuna), or use them as a side salad for dinner.

What's your favorite salad combo?

Blogger Food

2012-01-04T11:55:00.001-05:00

The one thing that always gets me back on track is reading other food blogs. I love reading about recipes, meals, and new products. Plus it inspires me to try new things. Yesterday was an overload of new recipes.

Squirrel and I made Mama Pea's vegan funky monkey pie.

It's in her book and it's worth buying just for this recipe.

We literally could not stop eating the filling.

It barely made it to the pie crust.

Unbelievable.

I've made several recipes already and haven't had one that hasn't been flawless.

I have so many more to try...

So last nights dinner featured two more blogger foods. Mama Peas cornbread (another winner).

And Kath's chili. Which was good but more like a soup.

Topped with greek yogurt and a sprinkle of cheese.

For dessert?

Pie of course!

We put the babies to bed and worked out with the kinect.

Breakfast this morning was a microwaved egg sandwich plus coffee.

I could eat these everyday!

And finally lunch today was a salad made with mixed greens, carrots, celery, chickpeas, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, and an Amy's veggie burger. Topped with Mmmm Sauce.

Hope you are having a great day!

What's your favorite blogger recipe?

Microwave Egg Sandwich

2012-01-04T08:12:00.000-05:00

Spray a ramekin or coffee mug with cooking spray.
Crack in your eggs. I did 2 egg whites.
Add your toppings. Spinach, spoonful of salsa, and salt and pepper for me.
Cover it with a wet paper towel and cook it at 30% power for 1 minute.
Take it out and stir.
Again cook it at 30% power for 1 minute.
This is when mine started to look done so I started 30 second intervals at 30% power. It only took 30 more seconds.
I put my egg on a sandwich thin with laughing cow cheese.

Delicious!

Cold for the Carolinas

2012-01-03T13:23:00.000-05:00

Boy was it cold this morning when we woke up. Everything was icy.

This kind of morning makes me want my sweatpants, a blanket, and an endless pot of coffee.

I settled for my pajamas and a bowl of coffee.

Plus a piece of Ezekiel toast with almond butter, fig preserves, banana, and a sprinkle of chias.

I made the kids mac-n-cheese (just whole wheat pasta, 2% cheddar, and a tablespoon of earth balance) for lunch and made myself a small bowl as well. Plus carrots and celery on the side.

I have had Kath's chili simmering in the crockpot all day.

This recipe calls for a ton of beans and no meat. We'll have to see what the husband thinks. I'm also going to try Ashley's cornbread recipe tonight as well. Hopefully they both turn out!

If it's cold here than I'm sure it's cold where you are... Stay warm!

Hello 2012!

2012-01-02T11:56:00.000-05:00

This is going to be a good year. I can already feel it.

Breakfast this morning was overnight oats in a jar, the only way I'll eat oatmeal.

1/3c greek yogurt, 1/3c rolled oatmeal, 1/3c soy milk, 1T chia seeds left to sit overnight. Plus 1/2 a banana this morning.

All in an empty peanut butter jar.

Plus coffee.

With a new coffee creamer.

Lovin' this stuff!

Lunch was a bit random but it usually is with leftovers.

Leftover brown rice and black beans on a whole grain tortilla. I added Mama Peas salsa (from her book), a teeny tiny bit of cheddar, and greek yogurt.

Plus the last bit of kale chips on the side.

We are headed to a friends house tonight for dinner to see their new baby! Can't wait!

Vegan Christmas Cookies

2011-12-09T16:18:00.001-05:00

Whoa. It sure did feel good to open blogger in my browser this morning. It sure has been awhile. What a better way to kick of blogging than COOKIES. Last year I made both of these cookies and continued to make them throughout the year. They have a distinct flavor that I prefer over the regulars.

This recipe is so forgiving. It turns out perfect every time.

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
(adapted from Oh She Glows, taken from Une Vie Saine)

- 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (this is where that distinct flavor comes from)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup natural peanut butter
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 cup chopped chocolate

Preheat oven to 350*F. sift together flour, baking soda and sea salt in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat together peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla and milk. Add dry mixture to wet and mix until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Roll dough into golfball-sized lumps (wet your hands periodically to make this process easier) and place about 2" apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until the tops have begun to crack slightly (be careful not to overbake!). Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks. Makes 20-24 large cookies.

Vegan Sugar Cookies
(Taken from Food.com)

- 3 tablespoons extra-firm silken tofu (mashed)
- 1/2 cup vegan margarine
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream margarine and sugar for about 5 minutes until fluffy.

Add mashed tofu and vanilla. Mix well. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the mixture.

To try to go a little more natural this time I used sucanat (dehydrated cane juice) instead of plain white sugar.

It wasn't bad but it wasn't as light and fluffy as it is with regular sugar.

After it was all mixed I put it in the fridge for a little bit to firm up. When it wasn't too sticky I formed it into a log and rolled the log in sprinkles. I covered it in plastic wrap, pressed the sprinkles down a bit and put it back in the fridge.

Use a sharp knife and cut into cookies.

Put them on a baking sheet:

Bake for around 10 mins in 350 degree oven.

I love them dipped in almond milk!

These are still light and fluffy after a couple days.

You've gotta try both of these recipes!

Feeding Your Kids

2011-07-26T20:49:00.002-04:00

One question I am frequently asked what do you guys eat when the hubs isn't home?

I've been wanting to do an example kid meal post for awhile now and so I've been working on this post for awhile. Trying to photograph squirrels food is much harder than mine. She eats on Target plates from the dollar bin so most of this isn't pretty.

I'm not a perfect parent and I'm sure what I'm about to type will bite me one day but my neither of my children are picky eaters. Here's what I think has helped that.

Keeping it simple.
I don't try to go all organic or all natural... I just like things simple. It usually ends up fresh and both kids eat better if it's simple. I've found that they eat more when there are just a couple things on their plates instead of a variety. A lot of times I put everything into one thing. Whole wheat tortilla with cheese, broccoli and chicken for dinner. What else does it need? Carb, protein, veggie, dairy. Done. Less clean up, healthy, and easy to make.

Preparation.
Maybe I go a little too far with this one. I have the kids meals already planned out. I know on Monday they eat oatmeal for breakfast and a pbj for lunch. Tuesday they have waffles for breakfast and mac-n-cheese for lunch. This helps me feel less overwhelmed with meal time and I can always deviate from my meal plan. Plus it helps on the grocery bill. I buy the same things all the time.

Presentation.
It is obvious that little buddy is a good eater but so is the squirrel. Both will try just about anything and there are very few things they don't like. However, sometimes it can be a struggle. With squirrel it's all about presentation. For instance, if she has a hotdog it's in a blanket (bun). Chia seeds and granola are sprinkles on yogurt and toast. I cut toasted waffles into strips to dip into syrup. Sometimes we have a picnic outside or inside. She loves it when things are hiding and she has to find them. She likes to find peas hiding in the shell pasta. For a snack she loves to break open edamame pods. And the child will literally eat anything on a stick. I mean anything.

Giving in.
Make a boxed cake mix. Let them eat nuggets and french fries. Use a can of green beans. Having those options keeps me sane sometimes. It's nice knowing that it's OK to give into convenience foods once in awhile. My child eats goldfish crackers, chicken nuggets, french fries, and teddy grahams.

Some of our favorite kid friendly prepackaged things are:
Kashi waffles
Sabra hummus
Kashi crackers or pita chips
Clif kid Zbars
Squeeze applesauce packs
Stonyfield organic vanilla yogurt
Annie's cheddar bunnies
Alexia sweet potato fries
Cheerios
Annie's single pack microwavable mac-n-cheese
Graham crackers
Smucker's organic all natural peanut butter
Kodiak Cakes pancake mix and syrups
Near East whole grain rice mixes
Back to Nature mac-n-cheese
Amy's frozen cheese pizza
Amy's veggie burgers
Silk dark chocolate almond milk

Here are some meal examples.

For breakfast we do toast, oatmeal, waffles, cereal, overnight oats, french toast, and pancakes. They love peanut butter and syrup on waffles and pancakes. Breakfast is always served with fresh fruit and milk.

Examples:
-Whole wheat toast with Earth Balance butter and honey + strawberries.
-Waffle with natural peanut butter and pure maple syrup + banana.
-Overnight oats (soymilk, rolled oats, yogurt) with granola + banana.
-Waffle with Earth Balance butter and blackberry syrup + blueberries.
-Cheerios with milk + pear.
-Whole wheat toast with Earth Balance butter and pumpkin butter + blueberries.
-Chocolate chip pancakes with Earth Balance butter and pure maple syrup + banana.
-Whole wheat french toast with Earth Balance butter, pure maple syrup, powdered sugar + strawberries.
-Whole wheat cinnamon raisin toast with Earth Balance butter + blueberries.
-Oatmeal made with milk, bananas, and brown sugar.
-Whole wheat toast with blackberry jam + pear.
-Waffle with peanut butter, chocolate chips, and pure maple syrup + raspberries.

Lunch is hard with both of them. They would eat nuggets everyday. And since they are kids they do eat nuggets... Sometimes... If they have nuggets I definitely make sure it's balance with fruit and veggies. They also love mac-n-cheese. Instead of buying the boxed kind I just cooked whole wheat pasta then add 2% cheddar cheese and a little bit of Earth Balance spread. It melts perfectly and is super yummy. We rotate mac-n-cheese, pbj, cheese and crackers, nuggets, and grilled cheese.

Examples:
-Grilled cheese on whole wheat bread with grapes.
-Mac-n-cheese (noodles, cheddar, and a little butter), cooked carrots, turkey.
-Grilled cheese on whole wheat with strawberries and carrots and ranch.
-Organic boxed mac-n-cheese and peas.
-Turkey, crackers, grapes, cheese.
-Nuggets, strawberries, broccoli.
-PBJ with lima beans
-Grilled cheese, cooked carrots, yogurt.
-Peanut butter and honey sandwich with apple.
-Mac-n-cheese (noodles, cheddar and butter), carrots, and kale chips.
-Mac-n-cheese (same thing... noodles, cheddar, and butter) plus broccoli.
-Nuggets, lima beans, and oranges.

Dinner is whatever we eat when the husband is here. When he was deployed we rotated quesadillas, pasta, baked chicken, pizza, and breakfast for dinner.

Examples:
-Chicken, wild rice, green beans.
-Soba noodles, veggies, chicken.
-Chicken, corn, and cheese quesadilla.
-Brown rice, baked chicken, roasted cauliflower, broccoli, and sweet potato.
-Whole wheat shell pasta, peas, and parmesan dressed with olive oil.
-Whole wheat rotini with olive oil and parmesan with broccoli.
-Pesto pasta.
-Broccoli and cheese quesadilla and strawberries.
-Leftover supreme pizza. (yep she eats it!)
-Brown rice, baked chicken, steamed broccoli and carrots.
-Amy's frozen cheese pizza and broccoli.
-Baked chicken, brown rice pilaf, and corn.

Snacks are a staple in our house. They expect snacks at 10am and 3pm everyday. It's crazy how their little bodies work!

Examples:
-Squeeze applesauce
-Peanut butter graham crackers
-Bananas and peanut butter
-Cup of organic juice
-Sabra hummus with Kashi crackers
-Cup of milk and half a banana
-Chex mix with fresh blackberries and cashews
-Edamame
-Strawberries and cheese
-Cashews, dried papaya, and banana chips

Both my husband and I agree on everything when it comes to feeding our kids. I'm lucky he believes in the same things I do. There are two things we think are important. Exposure to different foods and involvement.

Let them be involved in cooking and where food comes from.

Focus on what they DO like not what they don't. They both like broccoli, kale, carrots, sweet potatoes, and lima beans. Neither like tomatoes, peppers, or mushrooms. That's OK! I don't push it. Try to look at all the good things they DO like.

I hope this helps answer some of your questions!

*PLEASE REMEMBER- Disclaimer: I am not a registered dietician nor do I have any type of medical training. Anything documented on this blog is my personal opinion or a learned experience.

Cool in Carolina

2011-07-15T12:05:00.000-04:00

We woke up to cooler weather this morning.

I got the kids ready and instead of going to the gym we walked outside.

That's what I love. Walking outside.

Blue skies, fresh cut grass, happy kids, and a constant cool breeze. Even the sun felt a little further away.

I've been running around on overdrive all morning.

We are headed to Charleston in a few hours.

Check these pictures out. This was of the squirrel a year ago.

What a big difference now!

See y'all in Charleston!

Winner winner cookies for dinner!

2011-07-13T16:41:00.000-04:00

So just to let you know I changed it up this morning. No overnight oats.
Egg whites, spinach, light french onion laughing cow, on a sandwich thin. Plus pear.

I've been super busy today. We are headed to Charleston this weekend for a wedding. Ever packed for 4 people and 4 dogs? The dogs are taking a vacay over to Nanas so they need their stuff packed too. It's super fun... And super time consuming.

SO I did the random number generator. I had squirrelly-o click the button.

Number 29 is:

Alyssa Bubble Tea

Shoot me an email Alyssa - kristen@changeofpaceforme.com

For those who didn't win go make these and indulge...

These are from Jessica over at How Sweet It Is.

This cookie has the best texture. One of the best cookies I've ever had... Let alone made!

Have you ever been to Charleston, SC? Any good places to eat???

Squirrelly Cupcakes

2011-07-12T15:22:00.001-04:00

So it looks as though I've got quite the competition for the mother of the year award!

Yesterday afternoon the squirrel wasn't feeling very well. So we made cupcakes.

She obviously loves helping in the kitchen so I'm hoping between that and the cupcakes she felt better.

We just used a cake mix and frosting. We rarely make something like this. Especially from a box so I enjoyed the ease of making it.

I never follow the box when I do make these. I found this recipe a long time ago.

I also never fill it 1/3 of the way.... I fill them up to the top!

Makes perfect cupcakes every time!

Squirrel approved. Of course.

Last night the husband wasn't home for dinner so we had something simple.

This is my favorite pasta salad. Especially for the summer!

Whole wheat pasta shells, diced tomatoes, fresh basil, feta cheese, olive oil, and seasalt.

A bowl of that plus some water and I was set.

That is how I lose weight when he's gone. Unlike times like these...

Breakfast was overnight oats. You tired of them yet? I am... a little...

1/3c rolled oats, 1/3c vanilla yogurt, 1/3c soymilk, half a nanner. Plus coffee.

What's your favorite meal to eat when you are alone?

Last day to enter my Sprout Wellness giveaway!

Family Time

2011-07-11T16:20:00.000-04:00

Yesterday afternoon/evening was great. Spending time with family and making good food is probably my favorite things to do in life.

Squirrel helped daddy clean shrimp for dinner.

She's a pro! I get grossed out.

We did some grillin' at my parents house.

Shrimp, ribs, pasta salad, baked beans... I forgot to take a picture but it was all delicious.

Last night I made breakfast.

Raspberry overnight oats.

1/3c rolled oats, 1/3c vanilla yogurt, 1/3c soymilk, and probably a cup of fresh raspberries.

Midmorning I ate a pear that was annoyingly juicy but good.

And for lunch we went out to Hibachi Bistro in Wilmington. I had the veggie whole wheat noodle bowl. It was good but I was hoping for more veggies.

I also boosted my chances for the mother of the year award...

Ehhh it kept her entertained...

If you are a mom what would make you win the mother of the year award?
Yes sarcasm is being applied.

And don't forget to enter my Sprout Wellness giveaway!

Lazy Sunday

2011-07-10T12:49:00.001-04:00

I'm sure many of you have blogger... Every once in awhile I wander over to the stats section to see how people are getting to this blog. I don't really care about numbers (how many people visit it) but I am curious to see where people are coming from. This morning my husband and I got a good laugh.

When you go to the stats page you can see what keywords people have used to get to your blog.

My top 3?

squirrel sandwich (Do they seriously make squirrel sandwiches? This was searched 5 times haha!)
preemies weighing 1lb14oz (That's understanding)
chick fil a does iced coffee (I think I eat way too much chickfila if this is coming up)

Funny!

Check out last nights dinner...

That is why I can never lose any weight when my husband is home. I'm lucky to maintain it!

He floured chicken breasts and seared them in butter and olive oil. Then he added onions, garlic, mushrooms, chicken broth, and white wine. At the end he added a splash of heavy cream.

He put it over whole wheat pasta. I made salads and poured the wine. Only to get something healthy in there!

It was wonderful eating a nice dinner with him.

Our plan this morning was to go to Dixie Grill but we all got up a little too late. Instead I tried to replicate one of my favorite things there.

Half egg whites, half eggs, spinach, tomato, onion, feta. All on a biscuit.

And I had some iced vanilla rooibos with soy milk. SO GOOD.

There I go again with the dry erase marker!

We were pretty much lazy all morning... I played with a new toy I got last night...

LOVE IT.

Around noon squirrelly and I pretty much wiped out the rest of a Sabra container with Kashi crackers.

I also made an Amy's veggie burger with spring mix and some of Avery's peanut sauce

We are off later to my parents house for dinner. My uncle is in town! Can't wait!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Does any of your family members influence what you eat?

And don't forget to enter my Sprout Wellness giveaway!

Full of Summer

2011-07-09T15:09:00.000-04:00

Squirrelly and I were on our own last night for dinner. I just heated up a frozen black bean burger.

Plus I roasted some brussels sprouts and gave them a drizzle and shake with Garlic Gold. Loving that stuffs.

Breakfast this morning was more overnight oats. I'm addicted.

This time it was peaches and cream.
(1/3c rolled oats, 1/3c vanilla yogurt, 1/3c vanilla soymilk, 2 small diced peaches, sprinkle of cinnamon)

Lunch today was leftover summer rolls. They did keep well but I'm not sure if they'd last forever in the fridge. Notice my new obsession? Labeling everything with dry erase marker. Genius idea.

They were better yesterday but were still good today!

I spent part of the afternoon taming my garden.

We have 8 basil plants. I wanted to make sure we had basil for the summer... Now we have too much.

I collected quite a bit but didn't make a dent in it.

I made 2 batches of pesto.

Just 5 garlic cloves, 4 cups of basil leaves, 2/3c evoo. All blended in the food processor.

Into the freezer these will go.

The husband and I walked almost 4 miles today and now we are enjoying a typical afternoon thunderstorm.

And I'm enjoying one of these...

Iced vanilla rooibos with vanilla soymilk. YUMMMM.

Do you have a garden? If so, is any of your plants out of control?!

Summer Rolls!

2011-07-08T14:10:00.001-04:00

Last night we celebrated my dad's birthday.

Squirrel and I made him enchiladas for dinner and my mom made a Paula Deen chocolate peanut butter cake. Dinner was terrible... Hmm mmm...

We all woke up late this morning. In a rush I grabbed my coffee and a banana.

That's what not to eat for breakfast.

I did Ida's workout at the gym today.

Set the treadmill to a comfortable walk. I did 4mph for most of it but bumped it up to 4.2 for a little bit.

Min 1- incline 1
Min 2- incline 2
Min 3- incline 3
Min 4- incline 4
Min 5- incline 5
Min 6- incline 6
Min 7- incline 7
Min 8- incline 8
Min 9- incline 9
Min 10- incline 10

Then come down

Min 11- incline 9
Min 12- incline 8
Min 13- incline 7
Min 14- incline 6
Min 15- incline 5
Min 16- incline 4
Min 17- incline 3
Min 18- incline 2
Min 19- incline 1
Min 20- incline 0

Then I jogged the last 10 minutes at 5mph.

I love this only because I'm a button masher. I like messing with the buttons. Gives me something to do.

I am going to try to increase my walking speed. Not totally sure how to do this. Any advice? 4mph is good... Anything faster throws me off balance.

Lunch was Averie insipired over at Love Veggies and Yoga.

The star of the show was Averie's Peanut Sauce. I could seriously drink the stuff. UNREAL.

Averie’s 2 Minute Peanut Sauce (Garlic, Added Salt, and Soy Free!)
1/3 C Peanut Butter
1/4 C Maple/Agave Blend (in whatever ratios you have/prefer)
1/4 C Sesame Oil (this is the Key Ingredient. Do not skimp on this!)
1/4 C Apple Cider Vinegar ACV (if you don’t have ACV, use orange juice or regular vinegar)
1 Tsp Ginger Powder (optional)

I did exactly what the recipe said and used her veggie ideas in the spring roll wrappers. Spinach, zucchini, carrot, and red pepper.

Then for dessert (because you know you get dessert at lunch too) I had a Justin's PB cup.

It was awful. Absolutely horrible.

If anyone does have any advice on increasing my walking speed let me know! I've googled it and have had no luck...

And don't forget to enter my Sprout Wellness giveaway!

Sprout Wellness Giveaway!

2011-07-06T14:31:00.000-04:00

A few months ago I won a Sprout giveaway over at Merf In Progress.

Sprout products are organic, handmade, and natural. Plus they have minimal, simple packaging. Even the bottles are made from recycled glass.

I was a little skeptical trying the Sprout line only because my skin is tempermental. I break out easily. After trying the product I realized that my current face care just wasn't working. How could I have been missing this? My skin has never looked, felt, and smelled better. Seriously. I do love that it doesn't make me break out and I do like that it's natural. But my favorite thing is the smell! It is so relaxing right before I go to bed.

Because I want to share the love I contacted Sprout for a giveaway.

Here's what you will win:

Cleanser- This smells SO yummy!
(Rosewater, Vegetable glycerin, Tea tree oil)

Toner- This makes you feel squeaky clean!
(Water, Raw apple cider vinegar, Pure witch hazel from Wild Crops Farm (MO), Essential oils of sandalwood and clary sage)

Exfoliant- Makes your skin GLOW.
(Atlantic sea salt, Oat flour, Almond flour)

Cream- Seals in all the goodness and does not make my skin break out!
(Wildcrafted, unrefined shea butter, Extra-virgin coconut oil, Extra-virgin olive oil)

So here's how to enter this giveaway:

5 Entries
Please leave a seperate comment for each entry!

Visit Sprout Wellness and tell me something you learned about one of their products
Follow Sprout Wellness on Facebook
Blog about this giveaway and leave a link to the post
Follow Change of Pace here on blogger
Follow Sprout Wellness on twitter.

The winner will be chosen on July 13th at noon Eastern time.

Happy 4th!

2011-07-04T12:30:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in a little while. The 4th of July is probably our favorite holiday. I've been party planning the past week...

My 4th has been full of this:

This...

This....

This...

And this...

Happy Birthday America!

Garlic Gold Addiction

2011-06-27T12:52:00.000-04:00

What an amazing weekend. We really didn't do much but for some reason I couldn't find time to blog.

When I uploaded these pictures I realized how much time we spent together as a family this weekend. No wonder I was so happy. We did have anything planned or scheduled. Just hanging out and doing whatever we felt like.

We did need dog food and on a whim got squirrelly a goldfish.

She named her Louise. Where she comes up with stuff I'll never know!

Grilling bison burgers just might be an every weekend thing. I deprive my poor carnivore husband of meat all week so he seems to want to go all out on the weekend.

Round two was just as good... We did sharp white cheddar, onion, and dill mayo (just mayo, fresh dill, lemon juice).

Our sides this time were sauteed kale and grilled asparagus.

Last week Julie over at Garlic Gold sent me some samples to try.

We used the parmesan nuggets on the asparagus.

Holy moly.

I cannot wait to try the rest of the Garlic Gold samples. It was incredible. I've been sprinkling it on EVERYTHING.

I really don't think I'm going to get tired of bison burgers...

For dessert we had raw strawberry oat bars from Whole Living.

• 1 1/2 cups pitted dates
• 1/4 cup raw macadamia nuts
• 2 tablespoons old-fashioned rolled oats
• Pinch sea salt
• 1 cup strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced

Pulse dates, nuts, oats, and salt in a food processor until combined.

Press the date mixture into the bottom of a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.

Mash half the strawberries and spread on top of date mixture. Top with remaining strawberries. Slice into rectangles.

Those are SO good and I'll definitely make them again.

FOOD

Today's food was really boring compared to this weekend.

Breakfast was strawberry banana overnight oats and iced coffee.

1/3c rolled oats, 1/3c almond milk, 1T chias, 1/3c strawberries, and leftover banilla (prob 1/2c)

And lunch was veggie chicken nuggets (that have been in the freezer forever) on a wrap with 2% cheddar, lettuce, and lite ranch. Plus broccoli with garlic gold and a salad to try out a new salad dressing recipe.

And a date for dessert.

EXERCISE

Ran 2 miles on the treadmill at the gym. It felt good to get my body moving after being sick.

Can you believe this week it will be July?! Where is time going???

I hope you guys enjoyed your family this weekend!

Kale Kick

2011-06-24T19:03:00.002-04:00

FOOD

I have been craving pancakes for breakfast for awhile now. We are always pretty busy in the morning so making pancakes is the last thing I want to do. The husband also doesn't like pancakes so we normally make eggs on the weekend. Plus I like pancakes when it's cold outside. And lately it's been HOT.

This morning though I broke down and made some. I used Kodiak Cakes mix and syrup.

I added almond milk and blueberries to the pancake mix. Then topped them with earth balance spread and the marrionberry syrup.

Hit the spot.

After breakfast I started dinner. Tonight we had mexican flatbreads. I started the chicken in the crockpot.

Just 2 chicken breasts, a can of diced green chilis, taco seasoning, and about 1/2c water. I normally do chicken broth but I didn't have any. And sometimes I add salsa and taco sauce. This recipe is a no fail one. Put whatever mexican ingredients you want in it and cook it on low. Easy.

I make my own taco seasoning. Why not? I have all the spices and those packets you get at the store are full of junk. Of course I found the recipe on allrecipes.

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Tastes just like the taco bell taco seasoning packet.

Lunch was leftoverrice and sauteed kale.

Awhile ago I made this recipe but now I just wing it. I do that a lot. Learn the concept and make it my own.

So for this kale I started some chopped onion in the pan with olive oil. Then added a splash of water (again no broth) and a splash of red wine vinegar. I added the kale and dried cranberries. I let it simmer for a little bit. Maybe 10 minutes. Enough for the kale to be wilted. Then I heated up some leftover rice, added the kale mix, and topped everything with sliced almonds.

This will be done again... and again... and probably again. It was incredible. I am loving kale right now.

So dinner...

Mexican flatbread. Chicken from the crockpot, cheddar, red onion, blackbeans, and avocado. The husband did them on the grill but you can easily do it in the oven.

Check out this crust.

I did a Naan bread recipe for the flatbread crust. Just used half whole wheat pastry flour and half all purpose flour.

EXERCISE

Getting ready to head out on a walk now with the hubs. I've won this cold battle. Almost feel 100% already!

Do you have a good kale recipe?

New Pasta

2011-06-23T17:48:00.000-04:00

FOOD

Breakfast this morning required CIAB. I made up my own blog acronym appropriate for myself. Coffee in a bowl. Plus pumpkin overnight oats. (1/3c rolled oats, 1/3c banilla yogurt, 1/3c cottage cheese, 1/3c pumpkin, 1T chias). Not sure if I like the cottage cheese in the mix. It gave it a weird texture.

I really don't like salads. Except for this one. I eat this combo a lot. (Romaine, roasted sweet potato, crumbled veggie burger, feta + drizzles of olive oil, red wine vinegar, and honey).

This afternoon squirrelly-o played in the much needed rain...

While I made dinner.

Since it was just her and I tonight I tried something new... and vegan. Can't try those with the hubs around. I say the word vegan and he bolts.

I saw Angela's recipe for 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta over at Eat Live Run.

It was really good! Just evoo, avocado, garlic, basil, salt, lemon, and pasta. It was similiar to pesto but creamy.

Squirrel loved it.

EXERCISE

Working out has been put on the back burner. I'm sick... I'm tired... Blah. Hopefully tomorrow!

Do you try new healthy recipes on family members?

Get Well Food

2011-06-22T12:54:00.000-04:00

Sorry guys. I had to add that post yesterday. Especially after the downer post before that. Those cupcakes are one of the best things I've ever made... Plus if you are gonna splurge make it good. Really good.

Anyways,

Yesterday I started feeling awful. Like the body aches, stuffy nose, sore throat kinda thing. I'm not a meatloaf, mac-n-cheese, icecream kind of sick eater. I don't wallow in self sick pity and I don't seek comfort foods. I just want to get better and I know what my cure is.

When I'm sick I eat a crazy amount of fruits and veggies. It may not make me feel better right away but it shortens the amount of time I'm sick.

Breakfast this morning was my sick breakfast. I've done this forever.

Tea, Amazing Grass with almond milk, and toast with honey and chias.

As soon as I start feeling sick I usually start the Amazing Grass. Sometimes the sick feeling goes away. Sometimes it doesn't. This sickness hit me so suddenly that I didn't get to start. I normally do 3 Amazing Grass shooters throughout the day when I'm sick. I don't use it everyday because it's so expensive. I just keep a tub in the freezer and use it for occasions like this.

We went to the pool hoping fresh air would help.

It didn't. The muggy, humid air made things worse.

When we got back I put the husband to work.

He sauteed zucchini, onion, and kale in a pan. Then added fresh tomato, sprouts, hummus, and laughing cow cheese. All on a toasted sandwich thin.

YUM.

Plus veggie soup.

I don't eat canned soup often because I always think I can make it better. This was REALLY good!

Are you a comfort food or good food eater when you are sick?

I think I'm both because I see a cupcake in my future!

Triple Salted Caramel Cupcakes

2011-06-21T15:24:00.000-04:00

Mix

Pour

Bake

Fill

Drink

Frost

Stare

Love

Indulge

Stuff

Enjoy

Triple Salted Caramel Cupcakes from Sprinkle Bakes
Makes 15 Cupcakes

Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin tins with papers. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until pale fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Add vanilla. Mix and scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about halfway full. Bake for about 25 minutes. When done, transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.

Salted Caramel Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons salted butter cubed
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoons heavy cream, at room temperature

Melt the sugar over medium high heat in a large pot. Whisk the sugar as it melts and cook until it becomes a deep amber color. Add the butter and stir it in until melted. Pour in the heavy cream (mixture will foam) and whisk until you get a smooth sauce. You may have some lumps but keep stirring until they have melted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Cut a small round piece out of the tops of each cooled cupcake and pour in 1 teaspoon of caramel. Replace the cake piece and set cupcakes aside.

Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick salted butter
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a saucepan, stir together granulated sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cook without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber color. Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla, stirring until very smooth. Let caramel cool for about 20 minutes, until it is just barely warm and still pourable.

In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and salt together until lightened and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add powdered sugar. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the caramel. Beat on medium high speed until light and airy, and completely mixed (about 2 minutes). Mixture should be ready to use without refrigeration. If your caramel was too hot when added, it will cause your icing to be runny. If this happens refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.

Top caramel-filled cupcakes with frosting.

Another Change of Pace

2011-06-20T15:49:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I wonder if people wonder why I eat the things I do. Maybe this post will help explain things.

FOOD

Breakfast- overnight oats (1/3c rolled oats, 1/3c banilla yogurt, 1/3c almond milk, 1T chia seeds + 1/2c pumpkin)

I don't think this could get old! Overnight oats + COFFEE.

Lunch was a homemade veggie burger on a sandwich thin. I added homegrown sprouts, sabra classic hummus, and light french onion laughing cow cheese. Plus sweet potato chips (sweet potato, olive oil, salt- roasted at 425) and a pickle.

We've been buying those Claussen pickles in the cold section. HOLY MOLY. There's no turning back now. They are SOOOO good. I could eat one at every meal. We bought the jar this weekend and there are 3 pickles left.

SO

The past few months have been full of shocking news for me. Kind of like that mouth open, eyes wide, what in the world kind of news..

My grandfather had a stroke. We found out one of my nurses for little buddy has stage 4 colon cancer. She's in her 30's. And a member of our military family's 2 year old has a malignant brain tumor.

In the past my goals of this blog, eating well, and exercising were all about losing weight. Sure feeling good was a bonus too but mainly I wanted to look good.

Recent events have made me take a step back and really analyze my health and this blog.

This blog used to be a diary for me. To keep me on track and to come back to if I lose track. Along the way it seems as though I've inspired a few people. People are trying Sabra hummus, overnight oats, green smoothies, sandwich thins, and almond butter. I love the fact that I am inspiring people but I feel like I was doing it without a good reason.

Again, my life is taking another change of pace. My healthy eating goals have changed yet again. The reason I am going to eat healthy is to live longer. The reason I'm going to exercise frequently is to be illness free. I never want to be put on medication when lack of diet and exercise is the problem. I want to ward off strokes, heart attacks, diabetes and cancer. Are you one of those people who think good food and exercise don't matter that much?

Look at what I found online about reducing your risk of cancer. And what about strokes? Diabetes? Heart attack?

You know what they all address? Physicaly activity, smoking and/or alcohol, and nutrition.

I am not a registered dietician nor do I have any type of medical training but I'm not stupid.

If you could live just one day longer by eating your broccoli wouldn't you shovel it in? I'd swallow it whole if it meant spending another day with my husband, daughter, and son.

I hate it when people ramble on blogs. I don't have time to read a book and I bet you don't either.

I just know that from now on I am going to enjoy every sweet moment of my life with my family and friends.

What about you?

Blueberry Festival 5K

2011-06-18T11:26:00.000-04:00

Did you forget about my 5k? I kinda did until last night. Well I didn't forget I just pushed it to the back of my mind.

Guess what. I ran a 5k this morning.

Pre-race fuel.

Almond butter banana sandwich thin. One for me one for the hubs.

This was the NC Blueberry Festival 5k. It was perfect for me to get back into running.

There were lots of walkers and lots of fun people. Not too many were very serious.

I have been running 2 miles at a time on the treadmill and in our neighborhood. I haven't run 3 miles in a long time. Maybe a year?

I ran the whole time! I really wanted to walk but I didn't. My time was 38:43. BUT I ran the whole time!

Mostly thanks to this guy.

And this one.

I totally earned the t-shirt.

Post-race fuel. Besides the fruit cups.

This probably wasn't the best choice but I found them last night and was dying to try one. They are SO yummy!

Have you ever run a race?

Christmas in June

2011-06-16T05:40:00.000-04:00

FOOD

I hate hot weather. Seriously. I could live in Alaska.

It just keeps getting hotter... and hotter... and hotter.

As soon as the temperature hit 80 I've been craving Christmas. I want the bitter cold weather. The wreath on my door. The Christmas music. The Christmas cookies...

And most of all...

I saw it at the store the other day and bought it on impulse. This should satisfy my Christmas craving right?

To go along with it I made sweet potato overnight oats yesterday for breakfast.

I know y'all are tired of seeing a jar so I dumped it in a bowl for picture purposes.

1/3 cup rolled oats, 1/3 cup almond milk, 1/3 cup organic vanilla yogurt, 1/3 cup sweet potato, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. Plus a sprinkle of granola on top.

For the sweet potato I just used little buddys baby food. Organic sweet potato baby food just has sweet potato. No sense in wasting a can of pureed sweet potato.

For lunch we had Chick-fil-a.

Normally I have fruit or the side salad with the grilled chicken sandwich. I was feeling like some fries so that's what I got.

We spent the rest of the afternoon painting, play-dohing, and cleaning up the painting, play-dohing mess.

EXERCISE

I ran 2 miles yesterday morning OUTSIDE. It was amazing! and hard..... But I did it. I probably won't be about to totally run the 5k on Saturday but I'm getting better!

Date Night

2011-06-14T20:48:00.001-04:00

FOOD

Still on an overnight oats kick! This time blackberry oats...

1/3c rolled oats, 1/3c vanilla organic yogurt, 1/3c almond milk, 1T chia seeds, 1 cup blackberries.

Lunch was just ham and swiss on a sandwich thin plus kale chips and ketchup.

Later in the afternoon I had a little leftover "greek" yogurt. I still use this method all the time. Coffee filter, strainer, regular yogurt, bowl. Works every time.

See how thick it gets?

Since the husband had to work late tonight I took my little squirrel out on a pizza date.

She's so much fun to take out.

Plus she's an expert parmesan shaker. Learned it from her Grandpa...

I had a slice of greasy pepperoni for dinner. Is was really good... Worth it!

After dinner we did a little grocery shopping. I love these kids...

EXERCISE

Not a thing today. I started to feel a little funky around noon. My body started to ache and my throat is sore. I was going to run later but I wasn't feeling up to it.

Check out what I just made:

PS: Cynthia over at It All Changes is having an amazing giveaway!

See ya tomorrow!

Weekend Recap

2011-06-13T14:56:00.000-04:00

Wow what a weekend. Where in the world did it go?

Saturday night was one of the best nights I've had in a long time.

Maybe because of this?

Best stuff ever for the summer... Sweet tea vodka mixed with lemonade.

The husband and I made bison burgers. Never again will I have a regular beef burger. These were incredible. I can't say enough good things about it. Sure it was expensive but we don't eat red meat often. Maybe once a month? Worth the splurge for sure.

We grilled the bison burgers. Then added caramelized onions and pepperjack cheese.

Plus kale chips and rosemary potatoes.

The potatoes were just little yellow potatoes cubed. We tossed them in olive oil and rosemary. Then wrapped them in foiled and put them on the grill.

Kale Chips

1 bunch kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1.Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2.With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.

3.Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Perfect dinner.

Sunday morning we were all up early so we headed to Dixie Grill.
I went completely out of my comfort zone and ordered the dixie benedict. I'm not a big fan of fried food or tomatoes. This had fried green tomatoes and scrambled eggs on a biscuit. Covered in vidalia onion gravy.

It was amazing.

Plus I had a peppermint mocha coffee to walk around downtown with. I will forever get peppermint mocha. It's my thing. Christmas time or not.

We walked for over an hour. Downtown Wilmington is gorgeous.

The kiddos spent the rest of the afternoon in the play pool.

Why did the weekend have to go by so fast?!

Have you ever tried bison burger?

Blackberries and Gymnastics

2011-06-11T16:47:00.002-04:00

FOOD

Last night's dinner was probably my favorite dinner. Pesto pasta, broc, and a garlic bread cruton (just whole wheat bread with garlic).

Pesto

2 cups basil leaves
2 garlic cloves
1/2 parmesan

Blend in the food processor. Then stream in 2/3 cup evoo. Pour over pasta and garnish with more parmesan.

Everyone was snoozing when I woke up this morning. I was able to drink my coffee and make an egg sandwich.

I had to wake everyone up because squirrelly-o had her first day of gymnastics today!

I'm seeing a future Shawn Johnson...... What do you think?

Right across the street is a u-pick berry farm so we stopped by thinking we'd get a few berries for this week...

Those are all blackberries!

We went down one row...

And picked and picked.

We ended up with 3lbs of blackberries for about $5!

And really the main reason we go is for the homemade icecream.

And since we picked blackberries we got blackberry icecream.

You could say the squirrel enjoyed it!

EXERCISE

Blah. Haha nuff said.

The husband is lighting the grill right now for bison burgers! Bison burgers and kale chips.... YUM.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Overnight Oats Kick

2011-06-10T13:52:00.000-04:00

FOOD

I've been on an overnight oats kick the past couple mornings.

The concept of overnight oats is just stirring everything together in a container and leaving it in the fridge overnight. I hate oatmeal. It just doesn't set right in my belly. I love overnight oats. Totally different experience.

My favorite combo is 1/2c rolled oats, 1/3c almond milk, 1/3c vanilla yogurt, 1T chia seeds, and 1c fruit.

This had all that plus blueberries.

This mornings overnight oats were inspired by a new yogurt I picked up.

1/2c oats, 1/3c almond milk, 1/3c banilla yogurt, 1T chia seeds all sat overnight in the fridge. This morning I added half a banana and a sprinkle of granola. Banana crunch overnight oats!

SO yummy. Probably because the yogurt isn't totally fat free so that's a treat for me.

Guess who else had overnight oats for breakfast?

For a snack I had grapes.

And for lunch was tomato, spinach, and Sabra hummus on a sandwich thin. Plus curried cauliflower. It's just cauliflower, evoo, curry powder, and salt roasted at 450 for 20mins.

EXERCISE

Early this morning I ran 2 miles. It was HOT. Even at 7:30.

This afternoon I'm planning on hanging with these two kiddos...

They helped me start dinner today...

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Back to Blogger Food

2011-06-08T16:08:00.001-04:00

FOOD

Last night squirrelly helped me make dinner.

And it was inspired by the basil in my garden. I have 8 basil plants! It's my favorite...

Squirrel loves to help me make pizza. She does the sauce and cheese. She's actually pretty good at it with a little help.

For the pizza we used whole wheat flatbread. We also use whole wheat tortillas sometimes. By doing this we all get to make our own and its super quick!

We used flatbread, pasta sauce (we use bertolli organic tomato and basil), mozzarella, parmesan, garlic, and basil. Plus I added some caramelized onions to mine.

I always toast the flatbread before I add the toppings. And if you are a blog reader you know I always rub fresh garlic over the crust. Just cut a garlic clove in half and rub it all over the hot crust. It makes all the difference in the world. Trust me. Then add your toppings and throw it back into the oven.

I could probably eat that every night.

This morning started with coffee overflowing with foamy milk.

Plus oats in a jar.

1/2 cup of rolled oats, 1 cup skim milk, 1 banana, and a couple shakes of cinnamon. All heated on the stove then dumped into an empty peanut butter jar.
Lunch was a green smoothie.

◦4 cups of spinach (seems like a lot but it was just one big handful).
◦1 scoop (1T) of Amazing Grass (you can use protein powder, cocoa powder or just skip it all together)
◦1 cup of milk (almond milk is my fav).
◦1 tablespoon almond butter (you can use any nut butter)
◦1 cup of frozen banana
◦3 ice cubes

Plus I had a mini ham, swiss, and mustard sandwich on whole grain. This was about the size of the palm of my hand.

EXERCISE

The husband was home this morning so we walked with the kiddos. We walked for about an hour and covered 4 miles. Tomorrow I run again.... Hopefully on the treadmill!

Headed to the parents for dinner!

5 Minute Egg Sandwich

2011-06-07T13:07:00.000-04:00

Geez this week has been busy. Instead of blogging I've been doing some meal planning for the next couple weeks. Meal planning keeps us on track financially and eating healthy. I'll show you our week in meals soon...

FOOD

This morning was a 5 minute egg sandwich. Being a mom of two I rarely get a good amount of time to make myself something to eat. Most of my meals are premade (by me) or take less than 5 minutes.

This is what I eat for breakfast most of the time.

I start with a coffee cup and spray it with oil. Then I add about a half a cup of egg whites. Plus salt and pepper.

It gets microwaved for 1 minute. I stir it at 30 seconds. Meanwhile my sandwich thin toasts. When both are ready I add light french onion laughing cow cheese and my egg.

Done.

This mornings sandwich had light queso fresco laughing cow. I also added a spoonful of salsa to the egg before I nuked it. Fiesta.

Ideally, I'd like to add spinach but we didn't have any.

Have you guys seen this stuff?

Peace out PAM.

Lunch today was a grilled flatbread with ham, swiss, red apple, and grainy mustard. Plus the rest of the apple.

EXERCISE

I ran on the treadmill at the gym this morning. I ran 2 miles nonstop. It's soooo much nicer than running outside. I hate being hot. Seriously, I could live in Alaska. Running in 90 degree weather is not my thing. It's very discouraging.

After the gym we went to a gymnastics place for squirrel to release some energy.

This kid is a pro. We are going on Saturday for a trial class. I think she's ready for gymnastics class for sure!

Starting Over

2011-06-03T15:14:00.000-04:00

FOOD

This morning was a 5 minute egg sandwich.

I'm loving these things. I cook about 1/2 cup of egg whites in the microwave for about 90 seconds. I use a big coffee cup so the egg molds to fit my sandwich thin. I toast my sandwich thin and add french onion laughing cow cheese. Perfection.

I went for a run this morning so there was my EXERCISE.

On my run I picked a few blackberries for lunch.

My neighborhood is great.

We live in a big neighborhood but our house is back in the woods.

It's perfect for finding these little guys...

I picked a ton of them.

So for lunch I made a ham and swiss grilled on a sandwich thin. Plus a salad of romaine (that was on its last leg), strawberries, blackberries, sliced almonds, and sweet and sour dressing.

EXERCISE

Have you guys seen these shirts?

source

That's what I did today. We are going out tonight and I'm sure wine will be involved.

I walk/ran 2 miles today. I walk/ran 2 miles yesterday with the husband and had a mental breakdown.

Before I had the little buddy I ran a lot. Almost everyday... Since I had complications with the squirrel my doctor wouldn't let me exercise my entire pregnancy with little buddy. I went from running 4 solid miles and body pump to nothing.

Yesterday was the first time I've ran with the husband in a long time. I ran about a mile without walking. By the end of the run I was in tears and frustrated with myself. I used to be able to run 4 miles and now I'm starting over. Not only am I starting over with running but with blogging and weight loss. I gained 50lbs with little buddy. 50. I've lost quite a bit but still have some more to go.

And how did I motivate myself to run? I signed myself up for a 5k. June 18th.

Starting over is hard.... But I will run for wine.

Have you ever had to start over?

The Newest Addition

2011-05-28T13:29:00.000-04:00

FOOD

Last night was so hectic that I didn't photograph dinner... It was hectic because of our newest addition:

The husband got a new car. A VW CC.

This morning I was up before everyone so I started some coffee and made cranberry orange scones.

I actually only nibbled on one and had a bowl of Puffins with banana and almond milk.

Lunch was light because we are having dinner with friends tonight.

Honey ham, 2% cheddar and mustard on a sandwich thin.

Plus edamame.

And a sparkling water.

EXERCISE

Negative on the exercise for today. The husband and I walked yesterday but I think today we are being lazy!

We really didn't have anything planned for memorial day. Which was nice. Now we've got a lot of things lined up! Tonight is dinner with friends... Tomorrow we are doing bbq pork! Pulled pork, slaw, and beans are some of my favorite grilling foods.

What are some of yours?

Lacking

2011-05-27T14:46:00.000-04:00

FOOD

I'm obviously not lacking in the "food" department. I'm lacking pictures today. Usually I can't help myself and upload a bajillion of them. Yes, a bajillion.

We have a crazy busy day today. Fridays are my cleaning days. I finish up laundry, dishes, and anything else before the husband gets home. Only because I don't want anything pending for the weekend.

So I cleaned this morning and the husband came home early. We ate lunch, walked, and are headed out to do some shopping as soon as I hit "publish post".

I'll make this short and sweet. Which shouldn't be hard because again, I'm lacking pictures.

Breakfast was an egg white, spinach, and feta ~~omelet~~ scramble (I seriously need to learn to flip an omelet)...

And lunch was a BBQ chicken sandwich on a sandwich thin plus salad with fresh berries.

EXERCISE

Last night the husband and I walked about 4 miles and today we walked about 3. We don't really walk fast but I still consider it exercise. I love walking with him and the kiddos. The kids usually pass out so it's really the only time I get to talk to him.

Well I'm getting the look from the husband. He's ready to go look at cars.... Yep, a new car for him. Lucky guy.

Have a good and safe weekend everyone!

Blessed With The Beach

2011-05-26T14:36:00.002-04:00

I'm going to try blogging a little differently. I'd like this to almost be a journal for me. There have been so many times I've gone to my own posts to get food ideas. I'm thinking this needs to be more organized. I have a little bit of OCD. Therefore, everything in my life needs to be more organized. Blog included.

FOOD

It was just the squirrel and I last night for dinner. We made one of our favs. Tuna mac!

It's just organic boxed mac-n-cheese with a can of tuna. Normally I add a veggie. Broccoli, peas, green beans... But I just wasn't feeling it last night!

Breakfast was one of my favorite things. Dakota bread with laughing cow and a hardboiled egg. Plus strawberries.

The husband was home this morning so we headed to the beach. On the way I had a sparkling water.

These are addicting. I love them because they are almost like a treat for me. I used to be a diet coke addict. Not so much anymore now that I've been drinking these. It's all natural and bubbly!

The kiddos wore us out at the beach so we stopped for lunch at Just Baked.

Again, I got the veggie and hummus on 9 grain but this time I got a spinach salad on the side. I was making up for last nights no veg dinner.

And for a special treat we stopped at Luna Pops on the way home.

Luna Pops is an all natural handmade popsicle store. They even sell doggie pops! Seriously, what could be better?!

I get the sea salt caramel... every. single. time.

And I always get squirrelly something I think she'd like. This time it was cookies and cream with organic cookies!

She trades me... every. single. time.

Next time we BOTH get sea salt caramel. You'd think I'd learn.

EXERCISE

Well I did body pump yesterday and am super sore. I'll probably take the kiddos on a strolling nap later this afternoon. We'll see...

Doesn't chasing this kiddo at the beach count?

We really are blessed with the beach. We live 15 minutes from the ocean.

Why don't we go more?!

Freezin' Those Burgers

2011-05-24T20:34:00.000-04:00

Last night was lentil soup for dinner.

This is SO easy and SO healthy for you!

Lentils, veggie broth, celery, carrots, onion, basil, thyme, bay leaves. I added some bulgar this time for a different texture. Topped with parm. See? Easy.

Plus for dessert warm almond milk... Almond milk, cinnamon, and maple syrup. I'm loving this!

Breakfast was more of the bulgar soaked in almond milk and cinnamon overnight. I added banana and almond butter this morning. It was delicious!

So I figured out how to freeze those black bean burgers! I'm a freezer fanatic so I had to figure it out asap.

I made a double batch yesterday, pattied them, and put them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

I threw them in the freezer for a couple of hours and once they were frozen put them in a ziploc.

Just to be sure I made one tonight for dinner. This time I did it in a pan.

Turned out PERFECT.

I added it to a salad. Along with romaine, carrot, feta, and sweet and sour dressing.

Here's a little tip/trick. When I make my salads they may look huge but they aren't. I do a single layer of lettuce so all the dressing gets every leaf of lettuce. I hate it when I use just a tablespoon and the majority of it is on top. What a bummer.

Do you have a good freezer recipe?

A Nice Recovery

2011-05-23T14:39:00.000-04:00

Dinner last night was junky. I guess everything I ate yesterday wasn't that great. Ehhh, sometimes you need it.

I had dinner with my guys last night. Squirrel was at Nana's.

My husband is famous for his grilled chicken legs.

We had a couple left in the freezer so he threw them on the grill last night.

We had a couple glasses of vino while they grilled...

Dinner:

Grilled chicken legs with bbq sauce and a biscuit. Plus a garbanzo bean salad made with g beans, canned diced tomatoes, feta, oregano, and basil.

The chicken really is amazing.

I made up for dinner this morning.

I started with almond butter and banana on dakota bread.

And headed to body pump. HOLY COW. I'm sore already. I haven't done body pump in a year.

On the way home I snacked on a new Luna bar flavor. It's my favorite bar ever.

And lunch was a salad with romaine, strawberries, almonds, a hard boiled egg, and feta. Plus some more dakota bread on the side.

I uesd this dressing my mom brought me back from Ohio. It isn't the healthiest but it brings back childhood memories. Plus I only used a tablespoon.

And tonight for dinner is lentil soup!

Usually crappy eating throws me off and I get in a crappy eating habit.

Do you recover well?

Savoring My Sunday

2011-05-22T15:39:00.000-04:00

BBQ

and fro-yo.

Maybe pictures can be worth a thousand words... That's how my Sunday is going...

Sunny Saturday!

2011-05-21T14:15:00.001-04:00

Yesterday is why I wanted to be a stay at home mom. I want to actually enjoy my kids... Hard I know...

We woke up semi fever free and happy.

We ate a big breakfast and made Gabriela's chocolate chip peanut butter cookies.

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
(adapted from Oh She Glows)

- 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup natural peanut butter (I did half almond half peanut butter)
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 cup chopped chocolate

Preheat oven to 350*F. sift together flour, baking soda and sea salt in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat together peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla and milk. Add dry mixture to wet and mix until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Roll dough into golfball-sized lumps (wet your hands periodically to make this process easier) and place about 2" apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until the tops have begun to crack slightly (be careful not to overbake!). Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks. Makes 20-24 large cookies.

Kids are fun to have in the kitchen! Squirrel "read" me the recipe:

And little buddy entertained himself with a bowl:

These are fantastic.

I used whole wheat pastry flour (my new love) instead of whole wheat flour. I think adding all whole wheat flour is just a little too much for baked goods. Bread, ok. Cookies, yuck. Cookies aren't supposed to be healthy let alone taste healthy. Whole wheat pastry flour doesn't make things as dense and it doesn't have a funky taste.

This morning we got up early and headed over to Dixie Grill for breakfast. I've adopted a new concept from Kath over at KERF. Don't eat meat unless you know where it's been. Well to some extent. I don't really eat meat out anywhere anymore. Who knows how it's handled or where it came from. Dixie Grill has incredible veggie options. I got the huevos verduras.

Veggies, black beans, and cheese with 2 scrambled eggs. It came with two soft tortillas and two corn tortillas. I ate half a soft tortilla plus all the veggies and eggs.

After breakfast we walked down to the farmer's market.

I knew exactly what I was going for.

Great Harvest dakota bread.

What a great morning!

We are off now to spend some time with my parents.

What are you doing this weekend?

Black Bean Burgers

2011-05-20T12:22:00.000-04:00

Last night's dinner was a learning experience. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com and tried to make it my own. Everything worked except the technique. That's where the blogger in me failed.

See, I arranged everything in my food processor for the perfect picture. I failed to read the directions. When I blended everything together I ended up with big hunks of onion and garlic through out the mixture. Yuck.

I was able to pick out the majority of the chunks. Lesson learned.

Here's the right way to do it.

Black Bean Burgers

1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 c roasted red pepper from a jar
1/4 c onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 egg beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs*

1. In the food processor, blend the red bell pepper, onion, and garlic.

2. Add the beans and pulse until you reach the consistency you want.

3. Stir in egg, salt, pepper, and bread crumbs.

4. Divide mixture into four patties (I did 3 big ones) and put them on wax paper.

5. Put them in the fridge to firm up for about an hour.

6. Place patties on a baking sheet lined with lightly oiled foil, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

*All I do for whole wheat bread crumbs is take 2 slices of grainy bread. Really whatever bread you normally use. Pop them in the oven at 200 degrees for about an hour. Toss them in a food processor with whatever seasonings you like. I did dried basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. It keeps for a long time in an airtight container.

Black bean burger:

Amy's veggie burger:

They had the same flavor and texture. I'll have to figure out how to add more veggies!

I topped mine with laughing cow cheese and spinach. All on a sandwich thin.

Have you tried this new flavor?! YUMMO.

I normally buy Amy's veggie burgers but they are REALLY expensive. I've been searching for something cheaper and healthier. This recipe is cheap and so easy to add whatever ingredients you want. I'm sure you could even use brown rice or rolled oats instead of bread crumbs.

This was perfection. Now I've got to figure out how to freeze them. So I don't have to buy veggie burgers anymore.

And dessert for the night....

Cry Cry Cry

2011-05-19T15:41:00.000-04:00

Seriously it has been a long day and it's only 3:30.

I premade dinner last night since my meeting with a personal trainer at the gym was at 5.

Pea pasta is becoming a favorite in our house. Well for the squirrel and I. Not so much for the husband. He doesn't like peas. We eat it on nights when he isn't home.

All I do is boil whole wheat pasta (usually shells) with frozen peas. Then drain everything and add olive oil, a little garlic, coarse sea salt, and fresh parmesan. Squirrel likes it because "the peas hide in the shells". It gives her something to do. You could easily add chicken or tuna. Or switch out the peas for another veggies. I've done lima beans, asparagus, and brocolli.

Thank goodness I started my breakfast last night.

We woke up late this morning and for some reason that always makes everyone cranky.

Last night I mashed a banana with 1/3 cup muesli, cinnamon, almond butter, and a splash of amond milk.

I started to pour myself a bowl of cereal this morning when I remembered what I left in the fridge!

Perfect doughy mess.

Plus some foamy coffee.

Squirrel had a fever last week so inevitably little buddy had one this morning.

We were out of diapers so I braved Target around lunch time.

I ran by Chick-fil-a and the squirrel and I had lunch in the Target parking lot.

Terrible mom.

I like Chick-fil-a. They have good healthy options. I got a chicken garden salad with fat free berry balsamic dressing.

I snapped this picture and ate two bites before little buddy started wailing. Poor squirrel ate her nuggets in the shopping cart at Target.

It was my fault for poor planning.

This may not sound like a stressful day but I've listened to non-stop whining or crying since 8am. Whining and crying wears on my nerves.

Is it too early for whine? I mean wine ;)

Told Ya I'd Stick Around!

2011-05-18T16:04:00.000-04:00

Dinner last night was a classic for us. Italian chicken, wild rice, and green beans.

All we do is marinate chicken breasts in lite italian dressing. Then just throw them on the grill or in my case the George Foreman. I do use prepackaged wild rice because I'm not good with seasonings. And in this case I used a can of green beans because we are low on produce.

My husband and I use to make this when we first moved in together. Except back then we used instant mashed potatoes instead of the rice. It brought back memories.

Plus there was dessert.....

My kind of dessert.

This morning I had hazelnut coffee.

Plus a sandwich thin with pumpkin butter on one and almond butter on the other. With chia seeds sprinkled on top. This is one of my favorites for sure.

And half a grapefruit on the side sprinkled with truvia.

After breakfast we headed to the beach with my mom. Little buddy wasn't too happy to be there.

But this kid could have stayed all day.

We did manage one good shot of him!

For lunch we stayed on the island and went to Just Baked. I had a veggie and hummus sandwich

With pasta salad.

Check out those veggies! Mushrooms, greens, red pepper, green pepper, tomatoes, onion, and hummus. Definitely my kind of thing.

I am headed now to meet with the personal trainer at the gym.... I need some serious motivation. We'll see how that goes....

What is a meal that brings back a memory for you?

Back To Blogging

2011-05-17T12:22:00.001-04:00

Blogging takes time. More time than you think. Each picture needs to be uploaded from my camera, resized, edited, uploaded to photobucket, and then added to blogger. Then there are words. Pictures may be worth a thousand words but I can't get away without a description.

The husband and I were talking last night about my blog. I miss it. A lot a lot. I love taking pictures... I miss taking pictures and I miss reading blogs.

But where does it fit into my schedule? I may not work but good grief these kids keep me busy. I don't have time to sit for an hour and edit pictures. And to me if they aren't edited they aren't worth posting.

We've figured it out though. So here we go.

Dinner last night was amazing. I've got my husband to give up most red meat... Yep you aren't going blind. We aren't buying red meat anymore. However, since my husband is pretty much a carnivore I've got to get creative with chicken and turkey.

Chicken Stir-Fry from allrecipes.com

Ingredients
4 (4 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breast halves
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup sliced celery (1/2 inch pieces)
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 small onion, cut into wedges
1 cup water
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules

Directions
1. Cut chicken into 1/2-in. strips; place in a resealable plastic bag. Add cornstarch and toss to coat. Combine soy sauce, ginger and garlic powder; add to bag and shake well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. In a large skillet or wok, heat 2 tablespoons of oil; stir-fry chicken until no longer pink, about 3-5 minutes. Remove and keep warm. Add remaining oil; stir- fry broccoli, celery, carrots and onion for 4-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add water and bouillon. Return chicken to pan. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

I followed the recipe exactly but doubled the veggies. We need to eat more veggies in this family! I also tossed in soba noodles. Soba noodles are ahhhhhmazing. This is the first time we've used them and they will be a staple for sure.

Guess who else liked it...

She's easy though. The kid will eat just about anything. And she's a big fan of chinese food.

For dessert I had a lentil cookie. Great recipe by the way...

Breakfast is starting to get boring. Kashi cereal, bananas, almond milk.

I had planned on going to the gym and it was sprinkling when I loaded the kiddos in the car. We drove through a monsoon but check out the gym:

See that rainbow? It was worth the trip!

For a mid-morning snack the squirrel and I shared these:

Another new staple in this house. We like shelled edamame but unshelled is way more fun!

And lunch was leftovers from two nights ago.

BBQ chicken, brown rice pilaf, over spinach.

Plus a seltzer water.

YUM.

Is the rain demotivational for you?

Sprouting

2011-04-11T15:18:00.000-04:00

I remember doing this in like 2nd grade. I had to google the technique but caught on quickly.

Sprouting your own seeds is easy and rewarding. I'm one of those people that need instant results. This is perfect for that.

Here's what I do:

Put 1 tablespoon of seeds in a canning jar. I used alfalfa seeds which I found at a health food store.

1 tablespoon doesn't seem like a lot. It's more than enough. Promise.

Cover your jar with one sheet of cheese cloth.

Fill with water and dump out to rinse the seeds.

Fill about 1/2 full with water and let soak 4-6 hours.

Dump water out after soaking and let jar sit tipped on a plate or bowl to allow it to drain.

Rinse seeds twice a day. I did it while I made breakfast and dinner.

Then watch them grow!

I saw growth the very next day and they were ready to eat about 4 days later!

Easy, yummy, and good for you! Even the squirrel likes them...

You can add them to salads or sandwiches. My favorite is on a veggie sandwich.

Had Me Fooled

2011-04-09T20:46:00.000-04:00

Jenna's cake over at Eat Live Run had me fooled.

Cake can't be that easy...

This recipe doesn't have eggs, oil, or water.

I made the pudding: 1 small box of chocolate pudding + 1 1/2 cups milk

And added the cake mix: 1 box of yellow cake mix

It still didn't seem right. The batter was too thick.

I even stopped photographing because I didn't think it would turn out right.

I scooped the batter out into a jumbo muffin tin. I added butterscotch and chocolate chips (1 1/2 cups).

I was wrong.

Totally wrong.

This is not only the easiet cake I've ever made but one of the best I've ever had.

There are so many different ideas I have running through my head...

Banana pudding + white cake mix + peanut butter chips
Lemon pudding + white cake mix + white chocolate chips

For this I used chocolate pudding, yellow cake mix, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips.

Amazing.

Micro Preemie vs. Newborn

2011-04-05T13:29:00.004-04:00

This is a post that I've been meaning to write. I think some people are curious to know what it was like to have a micro preemie and a normal newborn. I guess I should explain how both my little ones came into this world first and I'll explain my feelings as I go.

Squirrel

My pregnancy with the squirrel was eventful from the beginning. It took us months to conceive and once I did I was in and out of the emergency room for bleeding.

5 weeks, 10 weeks, 13 weeks... Finally I stopped going because the bleeding was becoming normal.

One night around 24 weeks I was up about every hour with stomach pains. I went to work the next day and everything seemed ok. I had my husband take me to labor and delivery that night just to be on the safe side.

I remember looking at the ultrasound screen not really understanding what "no fluid" meant. I remember feeling the blood rush into my ears making it impossible to hear them tell me exactly what it meant. The look on my husbands face is something I'll never forget.

They rushed me to a hospital that had a level 3 NICU. The highest level of care available for sick babies.

We were told that the best thing for her survival would be to keep me from going into labor. If she were born that night she'd have a 50% chance of surviving and even if she did live she'd have complications. I was given medicine to stop the contractions. They were also worried about infection. Since my water broke the baby has no barrier to outside infections. So they started me on IV antibiotics. They also gave me steriod injections to mature her lungs. Since I never actually felt a gush of water they were also concerned that she was having problems making amniotic fluid.

I was on bed rest for month. The first week or so was strict bedrest. No getting up. No peeing, no shower, no nothing.

Even though she had no fluid you could still see her practicing breating on the ultrasound. She still got hiccups and still moved around quite a bit. I tried to stay positive but there were times when I just cried. I didn't understand why it had to happen to my little girl. I missed my dogs and my home.

On August 16th I started contracting. It started as again stomach pains and progressed into pain every hour. The morning of August 17th they ran bloodwork. I had an infection.

I was started on pitocin and delivered a screaming baby girl weighing 1lb 14oz. She was 12 1/2 inches long. She was immediatly rushed to the NICU.

(One day old)

The NICU was hard. It was hard leaving her there everyday after we'd visit. It was hard trusting the nurses would take care of her. It was hard having set backs and not having her home.

Amazingly, she did really well. She struggled with reflux, jaundice, and feeding issues. She had normal preemie issues with reflux, aspiration, tube feeding, and regulating her temperature. She also developed NEC which is an infection of her intestines. She had 2 blood transfusions, rickets, and developed MRSA. That doesn't sound amazing does it? It is for a baby born at 28 weeks.

Writing this and looking at pictures makes my heart ache. I still don't know why my little girl had to go through all of that. Why she had to struggle for her life.

She spent 67 days in the NICU. She came home at 5lbs.

(Homecoming! 10-27-08)

We never had any problems after she left the NICU. She was followed by neonatalogists, developmental physchologists, nutritionists, opthamologists, and any other "gists" you can think of for her first 2 years of life. Every doctor always said the same thing. They couldn't believe she was doing so well.

She chunked up quickly sometimes gaining more than a pound a week!

She was on target for all of her development at her adjusted age. Meaning she sat up at 9 months old but adjusted age 6 months.

At this point I don't even think of her as a preemie anymore. Her time in the NICU feels like a bad dream.

She is happy, healthy...

And super smart...

Little Buddy
First of all squirrel gave him his name of little buddy. Came up with it all on her own. It's just what she calls him...

Now with little buddy everything was completely different from the beginning. He was an "oops". I got pregnant with him while I was on birth control pills. Yep, it does happen.

Because of my history, I was immediatly referred to a high risk doctor. From 16-34 weeks I was given weekly injections (by the husband!) to keep my uterus from contracting. They did an ultrasound every 2 weeks to check his growth and monitor my cervical length.

From about 20 weeks until he was born I was seen every week by a doctor. I still saw my regular doctor and the high risk doctor. You could say they monitored me closely!

Did I worry about him? Of course. In the beginning I worried about preterm labor. The husband was deployed and I didn't think I could handle another nicu baby. I called my doctor at every little twinge. After 34 weeks my worry shifted to having a stillborn baby. I worried he'd crush his cord. When he was born I worried about SIDS. I'm currently worried about him suffocating himself in his sleep. It's a constant motherly worry.

He was due october 7th and I went into labor october 9th. I started contracting around 8, got to the hospital around 10 (was 9cm dilated) and he was born at 2:15. He was 8lbs 8oz born on 10-10-10.

Did you notice I didn't have any birth pictures of the squirrel?

Her birth was pretty chaotic. There was my doctor and nurse plus the NICU team during her delivery. I pushed twice with her. We weren't sure what to expect so no pictures were taken. I did get to see her for a second when she came out and the husband did get to cut the umbillical cord. After that I saw her through an incubator. I didn't get to touch her at all.

Little buddy's was entirely different. It was just my doctor and a nurse. Plus a nurse for him when he was born. I pushed for 2 hours with him. When he came out they put him on my chest and I held him until they weighed him. Then he was returned to me. He never left my side. Only for his circumcision and a few hours so I could sleep.

The immediate feelings after both were born were also different. I hate to say this but after squirrel was born I felt relief. I could finally stop worrying about when she'd be born. Everything I had been worrying about on bedrest was over. She was alive and breathing. With little buddy it was satisfaction. I had successfully grown and delivered a baby.

I'm sorry this is so scattered... As always, I've been writing this post for a few days. Taking breaks and losing track of what I was saying. Hopefully, though, this will answer some of your questions.

If you have any questions or have a preemie and need support don't hesitate to email me! kristen@changeofpaceforme.

Freezing Pizza Dough

2011-04-01T17:38:00.002-04:00

Unfortunately, this can only be a technique post. I would give anything to share this pizza dough recipe with you. I even tried to find where someone else might have blogged it illegally. No luck.

We use Marcella Hazan's pizza dough recipe from her book Essentials of Italian Cooking. I tried to keep the pictures to a minimum but good grief pizza is beeeeautiful. The whole process. The smooth dough... the bubbly toppings... Oh my goodness.

It has taken me literally years to find the perfect pizza dough recipe. Once I perfected this recipe I needed to cut the time down. This dough rises for 3 hours. The actually mixing and kneading isn't too bad but I don't have the time to babysit dough all day long.

Here's what I do.

First, I use my KitchenAid mixer. I would love to knead it by hand. I love making bread. But again, I don't have the time to do it or clean up the mess.

Second, I make multiple batches. I've memorized the recipe so it takes me no time to mix it up.

Third, I figured out how to freeze and thaw the dough.

I start the yeast in my mixer and add the flour, salt, and oil. I let it mix on low for 10 minutes.

Your dough should NOT be sticky. The bowl should pretty much come clean. It may take the whole 10 minutes to get to that point but that's how you know the dough is ready.

Let it rise.

Once it's risen, whatever time your recipe says, ~~pretend it's your husband and~~ punch it down.

Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. To where it looks like those mozzarella balls at the store. You want all the dough touching the plastic wrap. Then put it in a ziploc freezer bag.

When you are ready to make pizza take the dough out of the freezer. Unwrap it and put it in an oiled, covered bowl to thaw and rise again.

It took mine all day to thaw and rise. Maybe 10 hours or so. You can probably do it the night before or before you go to work in the morning. It may not rise as much as it did the first time.

Once it's thawed and risen roll it out and add your toppings.

I baked mine at 450. Baking pizzas at 500 scares me. Maybe I'll try it one day...

This pizza had jarred marinara, parmesan, fresh mozzarella, turkey bacon, mushrooms, and turkey pepperoni on the husbands side.

The toppings were perfect. The husband didn't mind the turkey bacon or turkey pepperoni... Too much...

Between the three of us we wiped out the whole pizza.

I can't tell you the last time we ordered pizza. We always make it. The crust is so much better and the toppings are endless! Garlic butter crust, bbq sauce, veggies, ham, alfredo sauce, taco pizza...

Warming My Soul

2011-03-31T20:18:00.003-04:00

As I was perusing through many of your blogs yesterday I got to thinking. There are two types of food blogs. The "here's what I ate all day" blog and the "here's a great healthy recipe/technique" blog.

Normally, I'm the "my food for the day" person with a couple recipes stuck in there. While reading, I all of a sudden got very bored with the "food for the day" blogs. I'm also getting a little tired of taking pictures of granola bars and handfuls of cashews.

I think I go through phases. I'm in a recipe seeking/food ideas phase right now. Since becoming a mom of two my goals have changed. A lot of things have changed. The way I view other food blogs and how I want myself to be perceived through my blog.

My food goal is no longer creating healthy meals no matter the time or cost. Now it's more about how can I save time and money and keep it healthy.

This may sound terrible but my kids have brought my love for food to a halt. It's not my kids but being a parent. I give everything to my kids. Most importantly all of my time.

Blogging is nearly impossible. As many of you know it's time consuming. My kids don't nap at the same time so they need attention all... day... long... Which is probably why some of my blog writing might not make sense or seems out of order.

All the fun of cooking is pretty much out the door. For some reason 5:00 is my kids meltdown time. I don't have time to prepare a wonderful meal.

Shopping is scattered. I'm lucky to get in the door let alone actually shop.

Things will get better as little buddy gets older. In the meantime I'm learning to adapt.

I've been looking into freezing things. Can I freeze...cheese? bread dough? soup? It's much easier making something on the weekend while the husband watches the kiddos. Then I can reheat it later. I've learned to plan my meals in advance then write my list. I've also learned to write my list in order of the aisles in the store. Crazy, you might think. Practical is what I think. You don't want to backtrack in the store when you've got kids screaming.

I've learned to coupon. Today at the grocery store I saved $15 in coupons. It isn't hard to find coupons. A lot of websites for your favorite products have printable coupons. Organic Valley, Horizon, and Stonyfield, You can also use sites like coupons.com, smartsource.com, and mambosprouts.com.

I've learned to blog through out the day. I work on one blog post all day long. Whenever I get a free moment I work on it.

Honestly, blogging about everything I eat didn't keep me on track. Reading your blogs helps me stay on track. I'd rather blog about things that might be useful to you. Recipes, techiniques, food ideas, tried and true products.

So here's something I found over at Gabriela's blog.

I've been trying to stay away from coffee and have been desperately searching for a replacement. I'm so sick of tea. It doesn't have the warm you from your head to your toe thing I need. Hot chocolate isn't healthy the way I like it but...

THIS IS IT! I could kiss you Gabriela.

I'm not sure what her "recipe" is but here's what I did:

1 cup hot unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

It really does warm your soul... and so do my kiddos...

I can't wait to share a frozen pizza dough recipe with you tomorrow.

A Completely Different Birthday

2011-03-29T14:34:00.004-04:00

Thank you for the birthday wishes! After I posted yesterday my mood picked up. How could it not have when my birthday cake looked like this: I did request sprinkles. It was definitely a different birthday this year. Check out last year's post! Last year This year Crazy huh? Squirrelly was so little. And little buddy was soooo tiny... Maybe 2 months old haha! The husband was in Haiti... Can you believe that happened a year ago? Now our family is complete. The husband was home this morning so he made breakfast. Do you see what I have to deal with? How can I stay healthy when he's around? This is a fried egg, one slice of bacon, laughing cow cheese, on toast. It's not that bad.... Lunch was one of my favorites! I combined these two: One cup of rice, one cup of steamed edamame. Tonight for dinner I'm using my birthday present from my mom and dad. A George Foreman! WHOO HOO! Can't wait to try a bunch of stuff on it! Would your birthday this year be different from last?

Birthday?

2011-03-28T14:23:00.003-04:00

Happy birthday to me. Good grief. Having two children has really made it feel like just another day. Today has been long so I'm thankful we had such a great weekend. We spent most of the weekend doing this: Plus there was cake in all forms: (Coconut lime cupcakes) (The best ever coconut cake) This morning I had a slice of my mom's banana bread for breakfast. She makes the best banana bread. It's been raining since Saturday so we vegged out today. Lunch had remnants of our weekend. We had some BBQ beans leftover so I used them for a sweet potato topping. Plus I added a little more BBQ sauce. I love the beans and sweet potato. Yum! Not sure if it's the weather or the lack of squirrel's nap today but I'm in a weird mood. My kiddos have been sick from the gym kidcare but seem to be better now. I think I'll be headed there in the morning. I need a mood booster...

I'm Still Here!

2011-03-25T15:06:00.002-04:00

There's reason for the delay. The husband has been home this week. So we've been enjoying some serious family time.

Gardening

Sleeping late

That's love... Better enjoy it now that's for sure.

Growing... Seriously, he's able to sit up. Where is time GOING?!

Playing

I'll be back to blogging soon. Have a wonderful weekend!

Natures Way Farm Tour

2011-03-20T14:01:00.004-04:00

On Saturday the husband and I took the kiddos to Natures Way Farm.

I signed us up through our local co-op. It is right near our house and I love the whole concept of the farm. Farm made goat cheese, honey, fresh seafood...

It's a tiny farm (compared to most) of just 3 acres.

There were 13 baby goats for squirrel to ~~harass~~ play with.

And she did just that...

And so did little buddy...

Since it was sponsored by the co-op they provided lots of organic goodies!

I tried a new KIND bar. It was weird. Not sure if I like all the sesame seeds in it.

We loved this place. My first impression was that the owners were excited to have visitors. That's always a good thing. And the animals were HAPPY.

The owners new their products. They were informative about the animals, goat milk, honey, shellfish...

Did you know goats love snacking on pine needles?

We learned why goat cheese can taste "goaty" and that eating local honey can help your allergies.

Squirrel definitely bonded with the goats.

Can you believe her Daddy said she can't have one?!

She's a little goat whisperer.

And little buddy is a goat whisperer in training...

Even the husband loved the goats.

So after our farm tour we ended up with honey sticks:

Regular goat cheese:

And roasted red pepper goat cheese.

And this is the one we took home!

HAHA. NOT.

Grillin'

2011-03-19T15:57:00.003-04:00

What a good night we had last night. Started with my second favorite wine:

And ended with my second favorite beer:

We did gorgonzola cheese burgers on the grill.

Plus roasted potato wedges with parmesan and rosemarry, rosemerry, rosemarie... ROSEMARY. I had to google that one.

The burgers were just 96% lean beef mixed with gorgonzola. Plus bacon and caramelized onion on the top. It's currently our new obsession.

After dinner we roasted mallows.

Perfection.

And I made a smore.

This picture was taken seconds before my dog chomped it right out of my hand. (The one staring intently). Jerk.

I was up this morning before the rest of the crew so I made breakfast... all... by... myself...

This is what my family calls a howdy doody... (Had to google that one too).

This is all you do:

Bread

Biscuit cutter or a cup will work

Hole

Egg in the hole

Flippy dippy (Don't forget to toast the little cutout! He's important for dipping!)

So good and so simple.

We spent the morning at a goat farm learning how they make goat cheese! Pictures tomorrow!

Almost Summer?

2011-03-18T14:07:00.002-04:00

Last night's dinner was inspired by my new magazine I got in the mail:

It had a ton of sandwich ideas!

This was mozzarella, roasted cherry tomatoes, and arugula.

So light and summery!

Since I had such a small dinner I loaded up on dessert! Half a cup of vanilla frozen yogurt, chocolate sauce, banana, and peanut butter. It was heaven.

Breakfast was eaten super early this morning... Same as yesterday but on an english muffin.

As I was getting the kids loaded in the car to go to the gym I saw a package on the porch!

Check it out.

The new Amazing Grass flavor Orange Dreamsicle.

Plus a SHAKER!!! I've been dying for one of these since I started blogging!

Thank you thank you Teri Jo!

After I got back from the gym I tried some of the orange dreamsicle.

I just did 6oz. of almond milk and a scoop of amazing grass.

It's perfect for summertime. My favorite is still the chocolate but only because I love it in green smoothies. I loved this alone... I don't really care for the chocolate by itself. So I think when I place my next order I'll do one chocolate for smoothies and one of these just for a small snack.

For lunch we packed a picnic and headed to the park to play!

It was gorgeous outside! I made myself an avocado, cherry tomato, and spinach sandwich. Plus some salt and vinegar popchips.

And I had a yogurt.

Squirrel had a blast.

Right now both kids are napping and I'm sipping one of these:

Perfect for the beautiful weather!

Tonight's dinner plans are blue cheese burgers on the grill and roasted potatoes. YUM! Oh and the glass of wine I've been waiting for all week!

Have a great weekend guys...

Button Masher/People Watcher

2011-03-17T15:39:00.004-04:00

Yes, I am a button masher. A masher of the treadmill button.

Yes, I am a people watcher. If you are walking through the gym I'll be staring at you.

You know what all this means right? I'm back at the gym! I've taken the kiddos to the gym twice for about 20 minutes at a time to get them adjusted. They've done ok. Squirrelly cries and yesterday she told me she "Lost her Mommy". Poor kid. Little buddy could care less. Whatever mom.

So since they are getting adjusted I've just been hopping on the dreadmill. Good grief I get bored. I really am a button masher. Incline up, speed down, speed up, incline down... I must drive the people around me crazy.

I've mastered texting while running, making a gossip magazine last the entire 30 minutes, and going through my whole ipod in 5 minutes. And yes I'm the creepo on the treadmill watching you. I just don't have anything else to do.

Next week I'm hoping to get back into the classes. I can't wait!

I got brave today and hopped on the scale. It wasnt as bad as I thought. I've got 15lbs to lose.

I'm back at the gym and my eating is much much cleaner. Check it out:

Before the gym was an ogre. Spinach, frozen banana, almond butter, almond milk, and ice. I drank it in a wine glass... Because I'm missing wine oh so much.

Then added the straw to be real classy haha.

After the gym I had breakfast... My eating schedule was a little weird. Ogre at 7, breakfast at 10... Lunch at 2... Who knows about dinner.

I went back to a basic:

French Onion Laughing Cow. I've found out I don't like any of the other flavors as much.

So for breakfast was egg, honey ham, laughing cow on a sandwich thin. Plus ~~a half~~ ~~a quarter~~ no pear thanks to the squirrel.

And for lunch was an Amy's veggie burger with a scoop of Sabra hummus and roasted brussels sprouts. One of my favorite meals ever.

Well I've got some blog reading to do... Check out these blackmail pictures:

Those are keepers!

Any of you NOT get bored on the treadmill?

Seasonal Coffee

2011-03-16T16:52:00.003-04:00

I haven't blogged the past few days because I've been busy reading my own blog. I went back to about a year ago to get healthy food ideas... My own ideas. Weird.

As I went through post after post I noticed two things. First, all my meals were made of two things. A main dish (sandwich, pasta, pizza) plus a heaping portion of a fruit or veggie.

Second, dang I was happy.

I've got to get back to that balance.

It started last night with dinner:

Pasta with tomato sauce, parm, and a spinach salad with cherry tomatoes and goat cheese.

Guess what's in season?!

ICED COFFEE! Whoo hoo!

I am so excited. I've been waiting for this day.

Breakfast this morning was a whole wheat bagel with 2T light veggie cream cheese. I've been craving veggie cream cheese. I finally got some today.

The squirrel ate part of it. What kid likes veggie cream cheese? I was really hoping she didn't so I could have that little bagel all to myself. Not. A. Chance.

I didn't get a picture of lunch today so I'll share yesterdays... It was quite a creation of leftovers.

Simple as that. Leftover pasta, leftover chicken, roasted sweet potato, and feta. Plus a sprinkle of balsamic.

I've been seriously craving some sweet stuff lately so I tried making a food blogger creation. Somewhere I think I heard these called "babies". It freaks me out a little bit that I'd be eating babies... Plus dates freak me out because they look like bugs.

I guess I'm lucky I actually got one of these in my mouth haha.

I started with dates. So sickly sweet.

I chopped them in the food processor until it was doughy.

Then I rolled it into balls and rolled the balls into coconut.

These really taste like little ball of sugar. Perfect for my sweet tooth. Plus just 2 simple ingredients. Dates and coconut.

We are going out to dinner tonight. Hopefully. So I'll leave you with a picture of the sweetest two kids in the world.

What do you guys do to curb your sweet tooth?

Date Night (At Home)

2011-03-12T08:17:00.000-05:00

Mushrooms are one of those foods I've had to learn to like. Fish, green peppers, and sweet potatoes are others...

I am still learning to like them. They have an odd flavor and their texture to me is very unappealing.

My new way to eat them is actually on pizza. If we order pizza I want chicken and mushroom. So last night I decided to make my own.

I started with the chicken. I simmered 3 chicken breasts in chicken stock and italian seasoning.

It simmered on low for an hour. Then I added a splash of white wine and the mushrooms.

I made this yesterday during the day.

My children for some reason seem to melt down around 4:30-5:00 everyday. It's like clockwork. So try doing something creative in the kitchen when you've got 2 screaming, unhappy kids. Not fun.

I do 99% of every dinner in the morning. Whatever I can. Whether its throw it in the crockpot, grate cheese, start bread to rise... It's just the best time for me. Plus it's less dishes to wash when you are already tired.

For our pizza I made the crust from this book:

My husband loves this book. Maybe we were both Italians in some past life.

The dough is simple.

While the pizza baked I snacked on more pistachios. For real guys... You've got to go in the cupboard.

They are really good with wine...

So for the pizza we did chicken, mushroom, spinach, marinara, mozz, and parm. I forgot to rub the crust with garlic. BIG mistake. This is so so so important. It makes the pizza WAY more better.

We did do a quarter of it just cheese for squirrelly. She likes the other toppings but she doesn't have the "bite and hold the toppings on with your other hand" skill mastered.

The crust turned out amazing. Definitely the recipe I've been searching for.

I may have had one, or two, or possibly three pieces... Who's counting?

The squirrel ended up at Nana's so the husband and I watched Morning Glory. We did some serious damage on the pizza....

And the wine...

No we didn't drink 3 bottles... Maybe just 2

And since I didn't have enough calories in me I had a scoop of frozen yogurt with chocolate syrup, mini chocolate chips and a sprinkle of butterscotch chips.

I definitely needed my coffee this morning.

Everyone was sleeping when I woke up so I got to make my breakfast in peace and quiet.

Muesli, banana, water, milk, almond butter.

Oh oatmeal... Why can't you and I get along? I really want to like you...

I hate oatmeal.

I won't overwhelm you with anymore pictures today... I'll just do it tomorrow!

The Littlest Food Blogger

2011-03-11T15:02:00.000-05:00

Last night was mexican night. See I try to have these themes everyday for dinner. Monday- pasta, Tuesday- soup?, Wednesday- oh I can't remember!. Then I just vary recipes on the themes. Friday is always pizza. Keeps me organized but gives a little bit of play.

So last night was supposed to be mexican pizza night. You know like Taco Bell's. Layers of tortillas, beans, meat, cheese. It ended up being quesadillas. It's just easier. Then we can all three make our own:

Mine had refried beans, black beans, brown rice with taco seasoning, corn, and cheddar.

Plus a little taco sauce drizzle.

Yum yum. I love meals where you can include everything in one dish. I don't really see the need to have any sides if you've got everything you need in one thing. Right? What would you have served for a side with quesadillas? Rice? I've got the tortilla and rice already in the dilla. I've got my carbs, proteins, veg... I do that a lot with pasta dishes too. I'm not really a salad fan so we rarely have salads as a side. Usually just a bowl of pasta, veggies, and protein does the trick.

Anyways, I went off on a tangent there. Sorry.

Breakfast was chaotic this morning for some reason. I had coffee early and cottage cheese and pineapple midmorning.

Plus I snacked on these guys...

This was the dumbest idea ever. My grandpa used to have a jar of pistachios on his counter and I remember it being a complete social event. Everyone would stand there talking, pulling apart pistachio shells. Ahh the memories. Well I do a lot of the breaking and eating. Not so much the socializing part. They need to go in the cupboard. ASAP.

Around lunch time I had a new Luna bar. They sent me this one for my birthday. Isn't that sweet! Love the flavor.

For my actual lunch I had curry chicken salad.

Just light mayo, curry powder, and chicken.

Then I added almonds and broccoli. I ate it all on a spinach wrap. Curry chicken salad is some crazy stuff. I borrowed the recipe from a friend of mine. She puts water chestnuts and grapes in it too. I just like the curry powder and mayo taste.

As I was snapping a picture of my lunch squirrel said to me "Mommy take a picture of my lunch". So I had to.

(PB&J on wheat with broccoli and butter... by the way.)

Food blogger in the making? I think so.

I actually thought about blogging her meals too. That's a typical lunch for her. She eats natural peanut butter and jelly with no sugar. That's also vegan butter and I don't think the kid's ever had a piece of white bread. Healthy eating starts so early in life. Kids really aren't picky. I'm a believer in parents making them that way... You've got to expose them to everything whether they eat it or not. She eats kid things too. Nuggets are a staple here and so is mac-n-cheese. It's all about balance...

Whew off on another tangent.

Tonight is pizza night and I'm making my new favorite. Chicken, mushroom, and spinach. See ya tomorrow!

Potato Soup, Pretzels, & Popcorn

2011-03-10T15:37:00.000-05:00

What a blah day y'all. It was chilly and rainy all day long.

Breakfast was blah as well. Two kashi waffles with almond butter and syrup.

It wasn't too blah because the waffles were covered with this loverly stuff...

My mom got me this for Christmas. No. 55 Butterscotch Almond spread. I used my last little bit on my waffles. This is the kind of stuff you savor.

Thankfully, we really don't mind blah rainy days. We take advantage of it and do lots of fun stuff inside. Mostly, it involves food but crafts as well.

Dinner was for lunch. Last night for dinner I made homemade tater soup with soft pretzels.

Looks pretty gross huh.

I followed the soup recipe except added bacon instead of ham and then used the bacon fat instead of butter in the roux. Who the heck uses ham in their potato soup? You've got to have bacon!

And lets not even get started on those soft pretzels. Christa over at Le Petit Brioche has got it goin' on. This is an award winning recipe for good reason. These little buggers will be a staple in our house.

While the husband was gone, squirrelly and I got addicted to stove popped popcorn.

I randomly ordered a couple bags of Boulder Popcorn, found a techinique online, and we've been hooked ever since.

Squirrel loves to watch it pop!

And I make little snack cups filled with popcorn, candies, raisins, nuts, ect...

That's what we do on rainy days. What do you do?

I Think I'm Italian

2011-03-08T15:26:00.000-05:00

Don't I already have a post called that? Probably. Seriously though. I really think I am... Deep deep down...

Italian is my favorite food. I can't say that enough. Nothing beats a delicious pasta dish.

Tomatoes, cheese, pasta...

Can't get much more comforting.

That was dinner last night. Just organic hamburger, jarred pasta sauce, spinach, onions, mushrooms, and diced tomatoes all cooked on low in the crockpot. Then I added rigatoni pasta, covered it in mozzarella and parmesan cheese and baked it at 350. I added the spinach, mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes to get some more veggies in. Everything cooks down so you really don't taste any of it!

Plus we had a new vino...

This chianti is SO good.

To our meal I added canned green beans (we are running low on veggies) cooked with dill and garlic. PLUS Jessica's Grilled Herb Bread.

The bread was DELICIOUS. I just brushed my homemade wheat bread with melted butter, thyme, basil, and oregano. HOLY MOLY. It was waaaaay better than garlic bread.

And for dessert we did froyo at home. Vanilla frozen yogurt, strawberries, and chocolate syrup. Not as good as Fuzzy Peach but it sorta did the trick.

The husband had to work tonight late so he had the morning off.

Guess where we headed?

Dixie Grill.

P.S. That's why I love having the husband home. He carries both kids. He's a good guy. Most of the time.

I had the western omelet, homefries, and a biscuit.

I ended up eating most of the omelet and the biscuit. Not a huge fan of the homey~fries.

Plus I had one... or two... or maybe three cups of coffee... Who's counting?!

We walked for an hour downtown and then ended up at the park.

It's soooo good having daddy home. He does all the dangerous stuff.

For lunch we ended up at Zoes Kitchen and I had the lean turkey pita (turkey and slaw). Plus a side of fruit.

I was talking with my husband on our hour long walk today about my personal fitness and nutrition goals. I am going to do my couch to 5k Monday, Wednesday, Friday and on the other days my goal is to do something active. Like today we walked downtown. Whether its working in my garden, chasing squirrelly or walking. Little buddy turns 5 months old this week so next month he'll be able to go to the kidcare at the gym. That will be nice but I'm honestly in no hurry to be overwhelmed with weight watching and calorie counting.

We'll see how everything goes.

Oh! I got an email today from Teri over at Amazing Grass... They've got a new flavor out. Orange Dreamsicle! I CANNOT wait to try it! PLUS they are selling their shakers again!

Couch To 5K

2011-03-07T14:07:00.000-05:00

Breakfast this morning was a mix of overnight oats and a breakfast cookie.

Oats, almond butter, milk, cinnamon, and a mashed banana.

We had an eventful morning...

See anything different about this little squirrel? NO DIAPER. We did some serious potty training this morning. She did really well. She's 2 1/2 so its definitely time. Any tricks or tips?

After lunch (sweet potato, wild rice, and black beans)...

We tried out our new double jogger.

I hate running... I really do. I haven't ran in a year. I was up to running 3-5 miles at a time. I really just hate it though. I never get that runners high. I never feel exhilarated afterwards.

My neighborhood is nice to run/walk in though.

This time around I decided to do the couch to 5k plan. So today was run 60 seconds, walk 90 seconds, for a total of 20 minutes. It wasn't so bad...

The kids loved it...

Well I'm off to start some dinner. Have any of you ever done a running plan? I need something to keep me motivated.

What a Crepey Day. Ha. Ha.

2011-03-06T19:25:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago I was emailing my aunt back and forth about meals for kids. She mentioned that she makes crepes because my cousin doesn't eat eggs. Squirrelly doesn't either. It's the only food she will not touch. I can cover them in cheese, hide them in a tortilla... She knows. She'll pick it apart and wrinkle her nose. She says the same thing everytime. "Is it eggs mommy?" Of course I lie. "No baby it's just cheese". "I don't like eggs mommy". She won't eat them period.

So this morning we tried crepes. Crepes are one of those intimidating foods for me. It actually takes some skill to cook a crepe. I followed this recipe and they turned out beautifully.

The only thing I think you must have is a good nonstick pan.

We covered ours with nutella, bananas, and strawberries.

The bananas were my favorite.

Then we dusted them with powdered sugar.

What's wonderful about this recipe is there isn't any sugar in them. So you can make them sweet or savory. The husband made a bacon crepe with pepperjack cheese and tomatillo salsa. I have to admit... It was better than the sweet ones.

Squirrelly just ate hers with plain nutella folded up.

Plus this morning was "unlimited coffee morning". I had 2 cups...

It has rained all... day... long... I was hoping to get outside after breakfast and do some things but it didn't happen.

Instead I sipped on some hot chocolate.

With a chocolate peppermint stick (thanks tootsie!)

And for lunch we just had leftover pasta...

We had a lazy afternoon and had dinner at my parents house.

SUMMER FOOD.

Now it's time to snuggle with my little monkey's...

Eat Out Much?

2011-03-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

It's Dixie Grill Saturday! And since it was just Mommy, Daddy, and this little guy...

we decided to do some running around too!

Dixie Grill is a little restaurant in downtown Wilmington. The food is fresh and fantastic. We've been several times... Normally, I get the sweet potato pancakes. This morning I got the special. An egg, tomato, spinach, and feta scramble on a biscuit. With homefries.

It's something we make at home but it was cooked perfectly (I learned I overcook the spinach). Plus it was amazing on a biscuit!

We did some shopping and then ended up back at the South College Sandwich & Deli. I got the club this time.

Next time I'll get what everyone else gets.

The beef on weck. While we were waiting for our food I watched everyone elses food come out. 99% was the beef on weck. The husband got it both times we've been. It's pretty darn good.

We went home for a bit and then headed back out to meet friends for hibachi.

Oh and frozen yogurt.

Good grief I eat that a lot!

Notice a trend for the day? Don't worry. Check out what else we got today.

A double jogging stroller.

I see running in my future. Very, very soon.

My Favorite Pasta Dish

2011-03-03T15:15:00.000-05:00

I was up at 6 this morning and had an entire hour by myself. Both the husband and the kiddos were passed out! Usually I sleep until the kids wake up but for some reason I was UP this morning.

Unfortunately, the creative part of my brain was still sleeping. I had an overripe avocado so I made a ham, avocado, and egg quesadilla.

And I topped it with Tiger Sauce...

Plus coffee of course...

For lunch I had a leftover piece of pizza. We made pizza the other night for dinner. It was incredible. Started with whole wheat pizza crust from Fresh Market, and topped it with sauce, basil, mozz, parm, and pepperoni on the husbands side.

Its the good ingredients.

Let me give you an example.

Fresh mozzarella and not so fresh mozzarella. The one of the left was $6.99 in the deli section. The one on the right is a block Sargento mozzarella ($4 or so) in the cheese section. The fresh mozz just melts apart where the Sargento is more like string cheese. We never buy shredded cheese and from now on will never buy something from the cheese section. The husband and I agreed that we take advantage of cheese too often. Buying the cheap stuff and using way too much of it. We've noticed if we buy the more expensive stuff we don't need to use more. Does that make sense? To sum it up, splurge. It's worth it.

After lunch we met my sister for froyo. After I uploaded this pictureI felt a little guilty. Seriously, waaaaaay too much froyo. OH WELL.

Between lunch and dinner I ate the rest of my avocado. Avocado has definitely been an acquired taste for me. Now I love it with just a little bit of salt.

And now for the grand finale. This is by far my most favorite pasta dish EVER. EVER EVER EVER. And I'm super proud because I make it at home!

It's Amanda Hesser's meyer lemon linguine. This time I topped it with chicken piccata for the husband.

This dish is amazing. So simple and fancy! Between the lemon and creme fraiche it is so light and refreshing. If I can make this whole thing with two kids screaming you can do it! I followed everything word for word this time. The pasta has lemon rind, lemon juice, parm, creme fraiche, and arugula.

The chicken was so easy and something I've never done before. It was an interesting cooking method. You basically simmered the chicken in broth. It made it SO moist. It pretty much fell apart!

Whew what a day! Tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!

Just Eats

2011-02-28T20:09:00.000-05:00

Just my food for the day. Minus dinner. Keeping myself on track.

Kashi Heart to Heart cereal, soymilk, strawberries.

Apple with almond butter.

Local deli- Ham, swiss, honey mustard on wheat with homemade potato chips.

In a crummy mood... Don't ya hate that?

GLORIOUS DAY!

2011-02-27T15:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I made breakfast with my boys. This morning I made breakfast with my girl!

We made oatmeal banana nut pancakes with cinnamon butter.

For the pancakes mix together:
-1 cup pancake mix (I used Kodiak Cakes mix - of course!)
-1/4 cup rolled oats
-1/2 cup mashed banana
-1/4 cup chopped walnuts
-1 cup milk

For the cinnamon butter I just smashed equal parts butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, and a splash of vanilla together with a fork.

We topped the pancakes with the cinnamon butter and pure maple syrup. So yummy!

It was a gorgeous day today. Both kiddos were in really good moods so we spent most of the day outside.

The husband found a lizard and squirrel had a blast carrying him around. We eventually let him go.

For lunch it was my idea to have a picnic but daddy's idea for hotdogs. Go figure.

I couldn't pass up a hotdog on a day like today. I had a hotdog, a small handful of chips, and strawberries.

I'm thankful we ate outside. This kid made a MESS.

After lunch all hell broke loose. The squirrel is funny. She never tells us she's hungry so when she's cranky we know she's hungry and then as soon as she eats.... She acts like this...

CRAZY!

She's hilarious!

What a wonderful Sunday! We are off to my parents house for dinner. See you guys tomorrow!

Broccoli Soup Fiasco

2011-02-26T23:34:00.000-05:00

So like I said last nights dinner was well... interesting. It was an interesting lesson in cooking.

First I made bread. Which is the BEST and EASIEST bread recipe ever. Jim Lahey from Sullivan Street Bakery is a genius. Want to impress your friends with a rustic bread? You can find the recipe on the bakery's website. I also made this bread HERE. Turns out lovely every time!

Pure perfection.

Did you read the title of this post? We had a frustrating yet fun time making homemade broccoli soup. I really wanted to find a recipe that used real cheddar. Good luck finding that one. I know why now though... Every recipe called for velveeta and/or american processed cheese.

So I took this recipe and figured I could just use cheddar instead. WRONG. I did everything it said but when I added the cheese it all clumped together. Liked all in one ball. It probably took an hour of stirring to melt. I don't know why I even used the recipe. I don't like adding cornstarch to things. I'm more of a roux person. After we got the cheddar to melt it was ok. The soup itself is good but now I know what I need to do. I'm going to make my own next time.

The husband made breakfast again for me this morning. I love having him home. This morning was a spinach, garlic, and feta scramble. He made it using one egg and one egg white. Plus I had a hunk of bread with apricot jam.

Topped everything with a green tea latte made with soymilk.

The perfect breakfast with my boys! (Squirrel was at Nana's)

For lunch we met my sister and squirrel at The Fuzzy Peach.

I actually had two cups of froyo. One with york peppermint patty and vanilla yogurt topped with reeses and chocolate chips. The other was vanilla with fruit. The fruit was actually better.

Tonight we went out with friends for dinner... It was full of nachos, fries, chicken wings, beer, bowling, and best of all... NO KIDS.

I am headed to bed tonight feeling totally blessed and thankful for new friends and my amazing babysitters!

Another Random Day of Eating

2011-02-25T22:56:00.000-05:00

What a wonderful morning! I woke up to these wonderful overnight oats...

1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup soy milk, 1/3 cup plain yogurt, and strawberries.

So since I shared my most unhealthy guilty pleasure with you I felt... well a little guilty... So I tried to find something healthy about it. Check out the ingredients!

Honestly, the only thing I even know of in that list is vegetable oil and salt. There is nothing good about that stuff. Dang.

Oh well... I took a cup of coffee with peppermint creamer to go. I can't just throw it away and waste it haha ;)

Where were we going you ask?

Lowes of course! One of my ultimate favorite things to do with my husband and kiddos is go to Lowes on Saturday morning. We eat breakfast and I take my coffee with me. So silly but so sentimental to me.

Why were we going to Lowes?

For sand of course! Sand for squirrelly-o's playset... Under the house is a little sandbox area so we filled that up with playsand. This sucker took my husband and my neighbor a week to put together.

This is it in the box. Minus the two slides. The box says it takes 8-10 hours for assembly. They weren't kidding.

Well squirrelly enjoys it... So that's all the matters. We even planted strawberries in her play house flower box.

She has a blast out there.

Lunch today was a little random. It's kind of a trend with the husband home now. We wake up later, take too much time playing around, and so we eat breakfast later. Therefore pushing lunch back...

I started by roasting some potatoes. Just a sweet potato and white potato in olive oil and seasalt. All baked at 400.

This is the husbands idea of lunch. He gets crackers, cheese, salami, and banana peppers out and makes little sandwiches.

He distracted me and squirrel with his creations I had two of these. Triscuit, cheddar, salami, banana pepper, and spicy mayo.

Plus my taters.

Dinner was interesting tonight... So it needs it's own post! See you guys tomorrow... IT'S SATURDAY!

Leaving you with this little monster...

Daily Bloggin'

2011-02-23T22:07:00.001-05:00

Whoo hoo look at me go haha! I'm doing pretty good making some time to do this. God I love it.

I started my morning with this good stuff...

A breakfast muffin from Flying Pi. It seriously has everything in it. Cranberries, banana, carrots, apples, raisins?, bran?, walnuts?...... There was so much going on in this muffin. It was nice though. Really flavorful and dense. Filled my belly up!

I also had an iced green tea latte. Easy to make.

See. Easy. I used soymilk and green tea that I made a few days ago.

After breakfast at the crack of dawn we had a doctor's appointment for the squirrel. Since she was a preemie she sees a pediatric eye doctor every 6 months or so.

It was terrible. Our appointment was at 8:45 so we got there at 8:30. At 8:30 there were about 15 people in the waiting room already. FOR ONE DOCTOR. The lady at the desk said he was behind... They open at 8... HOW CAN YOU BE BEHIND ALREADY?!

As we were waiting we noticed there were quite a few children from hell there. You may think I'm exaggerating when I say "children from hell". For example one of them came up randomly and smacked little buddy... A two year old ran up and smacked my 4 month old. For real. It happened.

While squirrel was getting her eyes dilated and seen by the doctor, little buddy and I went back to the car.

He enjoyed a baby dvd in his sisters seat...

While I enjoyed a lemon luna. Waaay better than sitting in that room with terror children.

Afterwards, we decided to treat squirrel to some nuggets since she was EXCELLENT during her appointment. We were there over 2 hours and she didn't fuss one time. She's a good girl.

She got nuggets and fruit while we got Zoes. She likes Zoes but we had already promised nuggets. Once you promise you sort of have to go through with it. She remembers...

I had the lean turkey pita which is so amazing. Turkey, vinegar slaw, and cheddar. Plus I had a cup of fruit on the side.

The slaw is so good. Cabbage, scallions, and feta. YUMMMM.

The poor husband got harassed the whole time... I don't think he minds.

And to end our perfect outing (and to reward squirrelly some more) we stopped by The Fuzzy Peach for fro-yo. Like how I reward her with things I love?

I had peanut butter and cake batter frozen yogurt with reeses cups and chocolate chips. My sister and I always say we are going to get vanilla with fruit but it never happens. Who can pick fruit over chocolate chips?

Since you pay by the ounce squirrel gets her own cup! She's a fan!

The husband has been working on a week long project and he finished it today... Pictures coming tomorrow :)

Since he was pretty busy this afternoon dinner was a little random and quick.

We enjoyed the rest of our bottle of Santa Margarita... Our favorite wine!

And whipped up some quesadillas. Chicken, cheese, red peppers, and onion on a tortilla. We just baked them at 350.

I used some leftover BBQ chicken, cheddar cheese, red pepper and onion.

So good.

What a good day. It makes me sad that the husband goes back to work next week... Reality will set in soon :(

Flying Pi

2011-02-23T21:30:00.000-05:00

So this morning I fed both kids, showered, and got ready to go to lunch with my mom at 11. By the time I got in the car I realized I had 2 cups of coffee and a bite of squirrels oatmeal for breakfast. See what I'm talking about guys? NO TIME. It's silly really. Where does the time go?

It's ok though. I probably didn't need breakfast anyways since I ate my days worth of calories at lunch!

A few months ago I saw Flying Pi Kitchen on the news. Since then my mom and I have been following along with their specials through facebook. I love it when restaurants do that. There are actually quite a few local restaurants that post their daily specials on their facebook status.

We finally got the chance to go today.

It is a cute little restaurant in downtown Wilmington, NC.

We got there around 11:30 so it was pretty quiet. Squirrel entertained herself with chalk while my mom and I read the menu.

After talking to the owner I decide on the veggie lasagna with kale and apple slaw.

Look how hearty the lasagna is. It was all wonderful!

My mom ended up with the cheeseburger pie with a green salad. The dough surrounding the cheese burger is unreal. It had the texture of a soft pretzel with a little bit of sweetness. I liked the lasagna but I might get the cheeseburger pie next time....

Squirrel has been fasting. So she entertained us by stuffing as many choking hazards (grapes) as she could in her mouth.

What's the deal with this kid?! She eats like crazy one day and then literally won't eat a thing the next. She's going to send me to the loony bin.

We couldn't go to Flying Pi without having PIE! I got the coconut custard and my mom got the cranberry walnut. Holy moly. Nuff said.

And we tried getting the squirrel an oatmeal cookie. I ended up eating half and my mom ate the other half.

I loved finding cute local restaurants like Flying Pi. So much heart goes into making wonderful food and making their customers happy.

Do you have a favorite local restaurant?

No Time

2011-02-22T20:43:00.000-05:00

Good grief it's hard blogging y'all...

These kids are wearing me out. As I'm typing this now squirrel is doing ring around the rosie on our bed and little buddy is crying. UGH. This is something I've got to make time for though. It's something I truly enjoy. Plus my entire family benefits from it because it keeps our healthy eating on track.

Anyways,

I have two breakfasts to share with you, yesterdays and todays.

First I've got to get this guilty pleasure off my chest...

This peppermint mocha creamer is the opposite of natural, healthy, and low calorie. But omg its good. I've been using one tablespoon in my coffee every morning since... oh I don't know... November? HAHA!

We picked up this broccoli at the store the other day. Isn't it pretty!

I've been adding it to almost every meal. Yesterday morning was a broccoli and cheese omelet.

With TIGER SAUCE. Of course.

And todays breakfast was a classic. A sandwich thin with almond butter, jelly, and chias.

I've been slowly working on this jar. I can't wait to do oats in a jar with it.

The husband had a doctors appointment at 1 and for some reason time seriously got away from me this morning. By the time we fed both kids and got them and ourselves ready to go I ended up with squirrelly's lunch leftovers. Which consisted of brown rice pilaf and edamame. I ate it in the car.

While waiting for daddy we did a photo shoot...

The sweetest boy.

And tonight we had a mommy and kiddos night! The husband went to spend time with a friend so the squirrel and I made pizza for dinner in our jammies.

She's an excellent helper!

Crust from fresh market, jarred spaghetti sauce, mozz, fontina, parm, and red peppers.

Red peppers are my new thing on pizzza. I've also been into chicken and mushrooms. YUM.

So we basically did this all night....

SO, for those of you who also have kids... How do you make time to do the things you love?