Oats Remix

Good Morning! I am happy to report that I didn’t eat any sweets yesterday, YAY! Just had to get that out first thing :)

I finished the last of my holiday baking yesterday. Peanut butter treats for the doggies in our life. I tried my best to make them look like bones with the little cookie cutter I found. Elli wouldn’t leave me alone while these were baking.




Last night after dinner I curled up to watch football with a mug of Sugar Cookie tea.



While watching the game we heard several fire trucks pass our house. This is pretty common since we live on a busy city street but they just kept coming. Soon we heard helicopters and police and quickly peaked outside. Oh my goodness, there was a huge fire just two blocks from our house. It’s sad but I immediately grabbed my camera and took this terrible picture.



Now for today…

I skipped a workout today since my butt is still sore from Jillian. (Damn her!) My body could use some rest though so it feels nice.

With no more bananas I decided to try a different mix with my oats. I added apple butter to my normal pb oats. Why haven’t I done this sooner? OMGosh it was amazing! I definitely found another great combo. With just a little peanut butter left I’m looking forward to oats in a jar on Thursday. Tomorrow I’ll be having brunch with my co-workers so oats will not be necessary.



• 1/2 Oats
• 1 tbs peanut butter
• 1 tbs apple butter
• cinnamon
• stevia
Cooked in about 1 cup hot water.

Pure deliciousness! You know it’s good when you plan breakfast two days in advance.

Today was yet another freezing cold day in the office. My lunch warmed me up a bit.



Remember my impulse buy from last week, this Pad Thai soup? Besides the rice noodles it didn’t resemble the Pad Thai I know but it was tasty. For a convenient soup it was fairly healthy too and number one, it warmed me up! Along side my soup I had an apple and baby carrots. Overall this was a very satisfying and filling lunch.

I don’t know how you’re feeling about work these days but it’s rough. This time of year work is the last place I want to be and I really have to push myself to get things done. Does anyone else have that problem? Man, am I looking forward to vacation next week!

Time to make dinner... have a great night!

Running Blues

Its official I have the blues. This is when my no-gym membership decision kicks me in the butt. I can’t run outside! Ugh! Have you looked out there lately? It’s a mess. Not only do I have cabin fever but I’m supposed to be training and am extremely anxious. I did yoga this morning but that didn’t help my anxiety. This afternoon it was pretty nice outside so I decided to give it a try, to run that is. Since we had movies to take back to the Redbox I decided to attempt a run to Safeway to return them.

It was nice to get outside and the sun was shining. But this was pretty dumb to say the least. First of all, not many people in Canton shoveled their sidewalks and the city still hasn’t plowed any side streets. So needless to say it was very dangerous and I couldn’t do much running. I had to hop over snow and run in slush so my feet were soaked.

Ok, enough complaining but I really miss my runs. So I’ll be hanging out with Jillian for the next couple days or week. Santa, please bring me a treadmill!

Have a good night everyone :)

Cabin Fever

Happy Monday everyone! We got over 12 inches of snow this weekend so I’ve been stuck in the house. Needless to say it was a pretty uneventful weekend. I stayed home today as well since the city still hasn’t plowed our side street where we park. Can you say Cabin Fever!

Still sore this morning from Jillian’s No More Trouble Zones that I did yesterday, and not able to run because of the conditions outside, I opted for yoga today. Every time I do yoga I describe it as “much needed” yoga. It feels that way since it gives my whole body the tender stretching it needs and leaves me feeling calm. The rest of my day seems so peaceful.

Back to yesterday, Jillian kicked my butt! I’ve been doing her 30-Day Shred on weekdays, when not running, since it’s only 20 minutes. I had extra time on Sunday for this other DVD that is 50 minutes total. What an amazing workout! I felt like I was in boot camp and sweated my ass off. I highly recommend this one but will have to get myself pumped up to do it again.

Not too much went on this weekend. While stuck inside I took the opportunity to wrap all our Christmas gifts, clean the house, do laundry, and play with Elli in the snow. Oh yeah and I had fun trying a few new recipes! I shared the pumpkin spice pancakes but we also made Mama Pea’s whole wheat pizza dough for dinner on Saturday. Jeff added some spices (garlic, oregano, parley, and what ever else) to make it an herb crust. This was so easy to make and it rolled out nicely. We may have found a replacement for the Trader Joe’s pizza dough- sorry TJ’s!

We we not able to get very creative with the toppings. Lack of groceries. But we doubled the recipe and got two of these.


I also have to fess up about my consumption of sweets over the weekend. We can’t wait to take all the baked goods to our family this week and get it out of the house. I’ve had absolutely no willpower and it’s driving me crazy. I wish I could just suck it up and move on but it bothers me when I eat healthy all day than blow it will cookies and crap. My goal this week is to stay away from sugar, period!!

That’s about all for today. Pretty boring, huh? I’ll leave you with the cutest pup ever :)


And this new book I found. If it wasn’t too late I’d add it to my Christmas list.

Namaste.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Good Morning everyone! Elli woke me early this morning, I think she wanted to play outside in this



yep this is what I woke up to. At least 6 inches of snow and its still going strong. These are the best days! I love being stuck inside a warm house watching movies, baking whatever comes to mind, and relaxing with my family.

Feeling very thirsty and just a bit hungry this morning I made my very first Green Monster.



• kale
• banana
• soymilk
• flax
• wheat germ
• peanut butter
• ice

This was very tasty but I wish I had some berries to add. They're now on the grocery list just for my next GM!

Later this morning once Jeff woke I made Pumpkin Spice Pancakes. After my impulse buy of PS Silk I had to make something with it. I veganized the recipe on the carton and thought they were blog worthing since the husband gave them 2 thumbs up.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

¾ cup flour
¼ cup whole wheat flour
½ tsp salt
1 cup Silk Pumpkin Spice
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbs oil (I used canola)
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

Whisk dry ingredients together. In another bowl mix wet ingredients together. Combine wet and dry ingredients, mixing gently. Cook on a preheated skillet.
Note: Batter maybe a little lumpy. Makes about 10 pancakes.
*recipe modified from Silk's Pumpkin Spice carton.



Top cooked pancakes with your favorite toppings. Here's mine with earth balance and agave.



Now it's time to finish wrapping Christmas gifts and watch movies.

Have a great day!

Impulse Friday

Happy Friday everyone! I’m looking forward to the weekend, how about you? In my area they’re calling for snow tomorrow. Apparently a blizzard with anywhere from 1 – 20 inches! I’m so glad we don’t have any plans.

Time to fess up and share my impulse buys for the day. I was so close to making it all week without any more buys! Today I headed to the grocery store during lunch for a trip to the salad bar and look what I spotted…



Pumpkin spice Silk! I had to try it, just had to. Anything pumpkin is a must have. Somehow I justified this purchase but not sure how or why. While waiting in line I was excited to see a recipe for pumpkin spice pancakes on the carton. There that’s why I needed it so I can make breakfast while we’re snowed in this weekend.

Here is what I really went for



This fixed my salad craving that I’ve had for a while now. I loaded it up with good eats.

• spring mix
• spinach
• mushrooms
• black olives
• chickpeas
• tomatoes
• broccoli
• shredded cabbage
• cucumber
• green pepper

Then I added my own toppings of edamame, Mary’s crackers and Annie’s organic balsamic vinaigrette. Exactly what I needed!

Somehow this ended up in my tummy too.



Freezing cold office + pumpkin spice Silk = pumpkin spice chia tea



I almost forgot to share my second impulse buy of the day. Man, I really blew it today. While at Sears picking up my Dad’s Christmas gift the latest Fitness magazine was screaming “renew your subscription!” and it jumped into my cart. On a better note I am finished Christmas shopping! Now I just have to stop shopping for me.

Workout

I froze my butt off this morning during my run. Just went for 2 miles (2.21 for those counting) with the sista. This is what she said

Mile 1- 10:03
Mile 2- 9:24
.21- 2:04


Yesterday I didn't post my workout or eats but I started the morning off with Jillian's 30 day Shred.

Also had this super huge and yummy lunch of baked tofu with leftover grilled vegetables and basmati rice.



The joys of working from home!

The rest is history... have a great night, do something fun before the blizzard hits :)

Season's Greetings

Hello there and happy Thursday! Rather than writing about what I ate and what workout I did today I decided to share some thoughts (some of other people) of the season.

I read such a nice post this morning over at Mama Peas about giving. It really got me thinking about the season and what it's all about.

You may remember when I posted about my Salvation Army Angel that I bought gifts for this year. This is something I plan on doing every year from now on. It's amazing how helping others makes you feel, it really brightens the season for me and hopefully for the little girl as well.

I encourage you to think of ways you can help others during this holiday season and over the course of the year.

Check out the Mama Peas post for great gift ideas for all ages. Also read about Holly's goal over at the healthy everythingtarian.

Sometimes I make excuses for not donating but than I remember how very blessed and fortunate I am and that every little bit counts. After reading about what Holly is doing I donated a little towards her goal. Again, every little bit counts!

There is no better gift than knowing you brighten someone's day :)

Before I wrap I have to share this beautiful clip with you...

Peace On Earth

(I saw this on Jessica's blog and it gave me chills)



Season's Greetings to all!

First Timer

After hearing so much about Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred on other blogs I had to check it out. Since I decided a few weeks ago that joining the gym wasn’t an option, I ordered 3 of her DVDs to keep me busy at home. Hoping these workouts will be good on my days off from running I gave one a try.

I started my morning off with Jillian’s 30-Day Shred workout. This is the one I’ve heard the most hype about. As a first timer I started with level 1 as she instructed. The DVD is made up of 3 workouts (level 1,2, and 3) that you progressively work through. Each level is 20 minutes of continuous workouts alternating between strength, cardio, and abs.

I have tried a lot of these quickie 20-minute workouts and never see results or feel very challenged. Jillian held her word and worked my ass hard during those 20 minutes. I have a feeling these workouts are going to be good! Come on, she is referred to as America’s toughest trainer.

Soon I’ll try the other DVDs- No More Trouble Zones and Banish Fat Boost Metabolism.

Once at work I had breakfast- PB oats :)

Amy’s came back into my life today around 1:00. I promise I’ll never cheat on her again! Today I had the low fat Minestrone soup that is by far one of the best. Next time I’ll look for low sodium in this flavor. No wonder I like it so much with all the salt!



After lunch I made some hot tea to fill the rest of my belly :)



Side note: I drink water all day long. I don’t see the need to post it everyday but I keep a 24-ounce bottle at work that I fill up at least 3 times a day. Yesterday I had 3 bottles before even eating lunch. Just to give you an idea. I’m always thirsty and can never get enough ice-cold water. I read once that you should drink half your weight in ounces of water each day. There’s my little fact of the day :)

Not too much going on this evening. Take a peak at my to do list.

Make dinner- grilled vegetables over brown rice

Pack Jeff’s lunch and my oatmeal

Set out work and warm running clothes for tomorrow

Bake M&M cookies with leftover candy (while Jeff’s at basketball)

Relax


There you have it! Stay warm tonight wherever you are.
See ya tomorrow!