Pinterest Trends...

Hola Friends!!

In a meeting to plan future wellness events the topic of West Coast Trends came up.  Apparently Acai Bowls are all the rage in California these days...this lead me to hitting Pinterest where I discovered not only Acai Bowls but Smoothie Bowls in general... O...M....G....  I have a new obsession.  These little babies are Awesome!!

My recipe is:
Smoothie:
1 C. Unsweet Vanilla Almond Milk (I like Silk)
1 tbsp unsweet Dark Cocoa Powder
1/2 Banana (previously frozen)
1 tsp Honey
1 tsp natural chunky Peanut Butter
2 C. Baby Spinach or Baby Kale
Ice to texture
BLEND to smooth

Pour smoothie in bowl and add toppings :)  I like: Blueberries, Kind Granola, half a banana and sliced almonds :)  YUM!

I have actually started having this before I head to aerobics so I'm not hungry but there isn't anything too heavy on my stomach (I almost puked the 2nd week of class) :/  hehe

I don't know about you but once I start to pinterest it is hard to stop!!  During my smoothie bowl adventure, I stumbled upon Salads in a JAR!!!  BRILLIANT!  This inspired:   http://www.theyummylife.com/Quinoa_Salad_In_A_Jar.  Then I went crazy...

Last weeks was:

From Bottom to Top: Lemon Vinaigrette (fresh lemon juice, zest, EVOO, S&P and Honey), Yellow Peppers, Cucumbers, Quinoa, Goat Cheese crumbles, Beets and Field greens.

This week I made these:

From Bottom to top: Balsamic Vinaigrette (Balsamic vinegar, EVOO and a little honey), Shredded Chicken, Black Beans and Corn, Red Peppers, Avocado, Fresh Cilantro and Baby Kale.

I ended up having to work from home this afternoon so I had one of these little babies from here and it was so amazingly fresh and delicious.  The cilantro really made it GREAT!  I realized that adding chicken made it a meal but last weeks salads were really good as a little snack :)

My advice...reach outside of your box and try something new...Pinterest is a great place to start!
TTFN

Snowmaggedon!!

More snow and my birthday made for a fun few days here:)

I work with great people...my day included a wegman's gift basket, chocolate covered strawberries and a veggie burger with my mom/day and family :)

Snow dau (20 inches) resulted in death by chocolate cookies (not for me) and apple chips (for me) :)

Sweet potatoes and canned soup happened.

Below are just some funnies I've observed lately...  this sign on a window near my work made me giggle...and apparently only bad witches are ugly :)  When we went shopping before snowmageddon, these were the only eggs theyt had at Target...UGG!!  Honestly, they didn't taste any different and cost about 50% more... oh well, my family are egg eaters and we needed them :)

This is the Tempeh I'm obsessed with...I just like to top a salad with it :)

here is the snow fort from our neighbor's house...the kids have been having a blast!

This weekend has been pretty great!!

(a) this lemon pound cake ALT bar rocked!!

(b) I didn't eat the Outback Bread even though it was calling out to me

(c) grilled shrimp ceasar with dressing on side ROCKS

(d) smootie bowls are my new fav!!!

My smoothie bowl is a new obsession.  It is so delishous and refreshing!!  Ingredient - Smootie: 1 banana, 1 tbsp dark cocoa powder, 1 tbsp natural peanut butter, 1 tsp honey, 1 C almond milk, 1 C baby spinach, ice...blend til smooth and pour in bottom of bowl.  Toppings: strawberries, blue berries, almonds and kind granola :)  YUM!!!

Today is President's Day and we are just chillin...I'm thinking about the gym now then maybe making a spa appointment for this afternoon (I have a gift card)...

More later

TTFN

Where have I been?!?

Crazy Life…

I’m still here…I promise!!  I’m still here making healthy choices and still lovin my healthy world!!  My choices are in line with my goals (exercise each day and healthy choices…mostly veggie based)  Since last week a whole lot has happened…

An Ice Storm on Wednesday (last week)

This tree decided it didn’t want to be rooted in our back yard any longer and wanted to take a rest on our roof/porch…..CRAZY!  Luckily there was no damage except to the size of my hubbies head as he was the “lumberjack” who took care of the mess and took down the whole tree with his chainsaw.  Haha……it was actually pretty impressive

Then we lost power!!!  UGGG

We didn’t get power back til Thursday night!  It was a chilly chilly Wednesday/Thursday.  Thursday evening, we weren’t sure if power was going to come back on so we headed to Panera Bread for Soup then went to 5 Below to get the kids little flashlights.  When we were leaving my darling hubby decided to monster truck over this SUV…  kidding…  He actually just pulled out and had to cut his turn short which caused him to hook her front fender and rip off her bumper.  NUTS!!  The lady was very nice and there is literally zero damage to his truck…CRAZY…see I’m telling you.  It has been a crazy week…

FRIDAY Night…we went to an opening ceremonies Olympic Party and had a BLAST…no pics but it was really fun

SATURDAY – Hubby and I went out for our birthdays where I enjoyed this amazing Shrimp Dish AND a CRUSH!!  YUM…OK, maybe I had 2 crushes and a decaf irish coffee J  SO GOOD.  Then some friends came to hang and I did some line dancing…boo ya.  Exercise + Alcohol = PERFECT STORM J

SUNDAY

Hubby and my Birthday Celebration with my Family.  I asked for soup and salad and a fruit salad for my candles J  haha…  Hubby had a Pineapple upside down cake and it was kind of tough to deny myself (but I did) J  still haven’t had a pastry or baked good since January 1^st! 

Oh…of course I made some brussel sprouts, because I NEED REHAB!!!

It’s all about choices!!!

 My favorite party of my birthday – PRESENTS!!! YAY!!!!  I’m such a bag whore and LOVE MY NEW DOONEY!!! 

Monday was back to life but still crazy J  My new breakfast is Whole Wheat English Muffin with PB, a banana, and a drizzle of honey J  SO GOOD!  AND FILLING!!!  I’m back to taking pictures of my food…every single bite J  See Monday and Tuesday (so far) below:

in the upper right corner was dinner...I know it looks gross but it was very yummy.  Turkey Sausage with potatoes and peppers and onions :)  ...the bottom gorgeous pic is my lunch from the cafe at work.  Curry Chicken *250 calories with some brown rice and brussels.  That is a squash medley in the back, YUM!

Today's lunch was a chicken quinoa salad that was TO DIE FOR!!! YUM!

That's all I got for now
TTFN
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P.S. SO NOT IN THE MOOD FOR ANOTHER SNOW STORM (Targeted for Wednesday night into Thursday)!!!!

Chugging Along

Hola Amigos -
Just a quick check in...Still doing great but without power (thanks to the ice storm)...

Eatin Brussels
Goin to the Gym
Check and Check!!

More later - I promise
TTFN

Healthy Taste Buds

So my friends…

What I didn’t tell you about Super Bowl was that I had some tortilla chips and pretzels.  This, in and of itself, wouldn’t be a big deal for anyone except for April Floyd.  There is some malfunction that happens in my brain when I eat junk food.  If for one minute I let that will power of my slip…I’m up shits creek.  Yesterday I ate more pretzels…why??  Yes yes yes…I know pretzels aren’t that bad but they are carbs and unnecessary…I didn’t really want them but I was home and a little hungry so instead of having another small bowl of veg chili I ate pretzels…then I ended up realizing I should have just eaten the chili and made a small bowl of that for myself J  I’m over and done with that but this weekend was a little outside of my comfort zone with the eating so I’m going to tell all…

Saturday I also had 5 Michelob Ultra Beers (90 cals a pop).  They were very yummy and partnered with the 3 jello shots I did…let’s just say, I was feeling good.  Normally when I drink I eat whatever the heck I want but I did restrain myself and enjoyed some bean dip (no chips, just a fork), shrimp and avocado with mango (that was supposed to be eaten like a taco – I passed on the tortilla and just ate the yummy filling) and some amazing chicken lettuce wraps which were prepared with spaghetti squash instead of noodles.  O….M….G….  they were so good.   All in all…good choices.  Then Sunday and the SB left me with my guard down :/

I can honestly say that my healthy taste buds are in full effect.  I really did crave the veggie chili I made for Sunday and I’m really excited about the Brussels that are sitting in my fridge waiting for me to make them J  I just need to be very very careful with my choices.

I’m feeling GREAT!!!!  Like…Really Really Great – and I want that to continue!

That’s all for today.

TTFN

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P.S.: New Gym Routine Rocks and feels really good – Aerobics Tonight!

Super kind of Weekend!

Hola Amigos!!!

It was a SUPER kind of weekend.  Obviously it was Super Bowl Weekend (Snooze fest game though) but in addition it was the Chinese New Year on Friday AND my favorite neighbor event of the year: The Not So Newlywed Game.  SO FUN!!!  We laughed our butts off...my sides hurt by the end of the night.

I know I haven’t written in a while and I’m sorry :/  We have just been SO BUSY…I didn't even get to sit on my butt the whole weekend

Friday

WORK!

5 leave work

530 Dinner at PF Changs (YUM) -Chinese New Year

Tuna on wontons 

7 Gym

9 Movie with hubby ("We are the Millers")  HAHAHAHA!!!  Ok so maybe I did sit on my butt to watch the movie J

Saturday

7 wake up

830 pick up sis to hit the UA outlet

Linc and Livie - BFF :)

11 Wegmans for lunch – YUM

12 Spa day with little princess

2 Gym

4 Prep, shower, drop kids with Mom Mom and Poppy for sleepover and make Cannoli Dip (click for recipe)

630 Not So Newlywed Game Party – SO FUN!!!!

12 BED

Sunday

8 wake up – DJ to get kids

815 CLEAN LIKE IT'S MY JOB!

10 am kids home – Mom to the Gym

11 Finish cleaning 

12 Grocery Shopping

2 Cook: Chili and Choc Strawberries

3 Bowling with Friends

5 Super Bowl Party

10 BED - Zzzzzzzz

I’m exhausted…tonight is nutzo also and we were supposed to get snow today but so far it is just rain.

Too pooped to type more - TTFN

Sister Love and Pain

I have to give a big shoutout to my sister!!!!  We started Aerobics together and this week has been tough but she is doing it with me and it is so much more fun when you have someone to go with!!!  I lover her :)  We laugh and have a blast!  I heart you sis :)

we are a hot mess but what do you expect for busting our ass in Boot Camp style aerobics for over an hour?!?!?  :)

I'm going to focus on my food this week because I've had some delicious stuff...

My breakfast has been alternating between my veggie sausage sammie and this:

PB with a little honey and a banana :)  YUM!!!

Lots of lunch meetings this week.  This was Wednesday's Lunch at The Wine Market.  I didn't think the soup was going to be creamy (dumpling soup) but as you can see it was.  I had 2 bites and let it go.

The Wine Market has the BEST brussels.  They have grapes, walnuts and BACON in them.  I only had a small serving even though I could have eaten them all.  Then I just had a ceaser salad with dressing on the side (fork dippin)

Today we had a meeting with Wegmans about their wellness prgrams for their employees and we decided to enjoy lunch there as well.  They had sushi without rice (just rice paper) which was only 130 calories (AND AMAZING) and this brussel sprout slaw which was TO DIE FOR!!!!

For dinner tongith I marinated some chicken and had zuchini with some brown rice medly from the freezer section.  Pretty delish!

Then aerobics :)

Great Week so far but I think I've hit a plateau of some sort.  Oh well.  I only lossed a half # but I'll take it.  

More later

TTFN

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