Memorial Day 2013

It has been a good day today...

I made the above oatmeal cookies for my mom, minus the raisins (we didn't have any). Do yourself a favor and make them. Recipe is on the bottom of the Quaker oats lid. I only used a 1/2 cup of brown sugar and replaced the 2 eggs with 4 tablespoons of liquid egg whites. Delicious!

This picture was made using the PhotoCollage app. I like it so far. :D

Until next time!

What's your favorite cookie recipe?

Last place you went shopping? Hollister, Forever 21 and Papaya for me. It had been a while!

Catching up...and thing's I'm loving...

Moving...

Mini packed with clothes!

I won't be moved completely until next Thursday! I'm pretty excited! It's definitely bittersweet though. Thankfully I also just got a job. At a restaurant, but hey, it's a job. I can't really complain when I've got bills to pay!

Definitely can't get enough of this little girl...

Cutest child in the world!! :D

Imitation Nutella...aka Kroger Brand...

So so good! Gone in a week!

Sex and the City mug I found!

My apartment bathroom is SATC themed :D

 Omelettes are making a comeback...

Stuffed with pine nut hummus. Yum!

Taking the cats to the vet...

Gigi is not happy...

Toulouse wasn't too thrilled either!

This week's workouts have been a tad bit sporadic.  With all the moving I've been doing, by the time I've gotten home I would be too tired and burned out from carrying boxes, a ton of clothes (see above photo) and carrying my dresser and tv table. I have managed to get in a few though:

Monday: moving, it totally felt like a workout!

Tuesday: Moving, and about an hour of circuit training with workouts from PBFingers, Tone it Up and Pinterest!

Wednesday: more moving

Thursday: 30 minutes on the elliptical at a fairly intense rate.  It had been a while and I was feeling it!

Friday: 40 minutes on the elliptical, intense once more since I was really feeling the need to train hard, and 10 minutes of weight training; arms. 

Saturday: 30 minutes on the elliptical, 5 minutes circuit training; back.

Sunday: not sure just yet...elliptical I'm sure and hopefully some weights and abs all while watching the new season of Arrested Development! :D

Until next time!

Eggs and Two Recipes!

Eggs...they've been my breakfast for the past two days.  Yesterday (photo above) with spinach and topped with parmesan cheese. 

Today, 1 egg and a serving of liquid egg whites with spinach, chicken and parmesan cheese and a serving of this...

Sweet Tooth Sweet Life's healthier corn bread! Recipe HERE!

I followed it exactly with the exception of the milk. I used water instead.  Our refrigerator is awful and freezes everything, so the almond milk I had was completely frozen with no way of getting it thawed out fast enough. Oh well. The recipe turned out just great! I also added two packets of Splenda because I remembered my last attempt at this recipe turned out awful and not the slightest bit sweet. 

It came out good!!

Now, I remember I said I would post the recipe for Citrus Chicken.  Not gonna post the pictures since they really weren't that great. So here's the link to the recipe! Try it! You'll like it!!

The Gracious Pantry Clean Eating Citrus Grilled Chicken!

Yesterday's lunch:

I guess the title of this post should have also included spinach because there's been lots of that too! I don't let anything go to waste. :) Spinach grilled chicken salad with none other than cucumber ranch dressing to top it off! Delicious! You could definitely amp this salad up by adding any other toppings you love like nuts, fruits, chia seeds, anything!

This came on today as I had my iTunes on shuffle. I love her!

Gigi and I. :D Isn't she a cutie?! 

Until next time!

Who says you can't have breakfast for dinner?

A few things making me smile today...

Gigi!

My niece Rafaela..."Check out my abs!"
She is too beautiful for words!

Toulouse...both of my cats actually sleep with their paws like this!

Breakfast for dinner...

On the menu tonight...

Eggs, egg whites, spinach and potato scrambler.  Scrambler?? It felt right at this moment so I'm going with it.  And of course, I topped this with a bit of ketchup and cholula. Yum! Healthy carbs, protein and a starch.  200 calories, not too shabby! (Nutrition info calculated by MyFitnessPal)

Until next time!

Favorite breakfast for dinner recipe?

Cats or dogs? I've always had cats but for the past 7 years we have introduced 2 dogs into our lives.  I love all animals, but I definitely have a soft spot for cats!

What? You don't put cucumber ranch on your baked potato??

Well you should! It's absolutely delicious.

Easy and yummy lunch, well part of it at least.  I scrubbed and washed a small potato, microwaved it for about 6 minutes and then put a bit of olive oil on it and then baked it for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.  I then topped it with Kraft's Cucumber Dressing which is an amazing dressing by the way! Salads, potato's, it's good!

Half a gala apple with some Jiffy peanut butter because I was too lazy to stir up the natural peanut butter I have. 

Toulouse! Cats are out right now since I was sorting through stuff in the storage room that's in the room where the cats usually stay.  Prepping for the big move! Parents are already in Indiana with the dog, hence the reason why the cats are out (dog has allergies), and I move to my first apartment by myself the first week of May! :O Exciting but I definitely miss seeing my mom everyday and will very much hate to have to leave this house. :/ 

Moving, looking for a job, sorting through a bunch of shit...it's crazy.  And stressful!

I swear. I can eat a whole batch of these pumpkin bars by myself. Oh wait, I pretty much have! ;)

Until next time!

Anybody else out there currently job hunting?? I swear, it's quite the bitch.  I must have sent out resumes to every administrative assistant job I felt qualified for today for over an hour. I need a job!

For those of you who still have a can or two of pumpkin left...

This recipe is a must!

I love Chocolate Covered Katie's blog.  Perfect for any vegans out there and even for you carnivores. ;)

PUMPKIN BARS

(click above link to view original recipe with cream cheese frosting recipe!)

These bars were so, so good! I will definitely be making these with the other half of the can of pumpkin I have! 

Since I didn't have the same size dish she used to bake these with the amounts listed in the original recipe, I doubled it.  However, I doubled everything but the brown sugar! Oops! Despite not being as sweet as it was probably intended, these bars were still absolutely delicious thanks to the spices.  I really didn't mind the absence of the 3 tablespoons of brown sugar and 2 splenda packets I left out.

Try them! You'll love them!

And check out Chocolate Covered Katie's blog. She has some great, healthy recipes!

On another note, I'm really missing these two girls sooo much!!

That would be my sister and my adorable baby niece Rafaela!! :D I miss them so much.  As if leaving Tucson after a visit wasn't hard enough, I've now got this beautiful baby niece that I did not want to leave!  They are some good looking gals! I love them! She barely about to be 3 months next week but she is one strong and smart little thing! I mean, she's been lifting her head since the day after she was born! Baby Huey! ;)

Until next time!

Anyone have any leftover canned pumpkin? I have another big ass can and I need to figure out what to do with it!

Whole Wheat Bread Recipe From Love, Food, Eat Review

The title of the post where I got this recipe from is not even joking. This recipe is super simple! And just what I was looking for when I wanted to make a loaf of bread instead of going to the store to buy some. 

Recipe here!

I followed this recipe exactly with the exception of the flax and sesame seeds since I didn't have any on hand.  I thought this bread was delicious even without the seeds, but some crunch would have been nice too.  I definitely would have added another tablespoon or two of sugar since the bread tasted a bit bland since I didn't include the other additions that the original recipe called for.  However, when I put some peanut butter and jelly on it, I didn't even notice the fact that the bread itself didn't have much flavor.  

I would highly recommend this recipe to anyone as it was super simple and can easily be made within an hour since it doesn't call for yeast.  The texture was great; I loved the crispy crust!  It even tastes good cold with desired toppings.  I would definitely make this again next time with the added seeds or even play around with some other herbs! Rosemary and garlic sounds great! 

RECENT EATS

Dr. Praegger's veggie burger topped with lentil sloppy joes.

Odd but delicious combination!

Calabacitas cooking...

Citrus chicken.  Will definitely be posting this recipe! It's a winner!

Such a good hard cider! Reminds of me of fall, which I cannot wait for! :D  Not exactly the lightest or healthiest beer as it contains 210 calories, 30 grams of carbs and 24 grams of sugar per bottle. :/  I would suggest Red's Apple Ale for a healthier alternative!

Until next time!

Any fans of hard apple cider? Any recommendations?

Favorite veggie recipe?

Do you like veggie burgers or are you all about the good ol' fashioned meat ones?