House Hunting

Breakfast

Yet another mid-week meal scrounged together because we haven’t been to the grocery store yet.  I sure can get creative!

Fortunately, chocolate peanut butter oatmeal saved the day!  I microwaved 1/2 cup Quick Cooking Oats with water, stirred in 1/2 tablespoon of natural peanut butter, and 1/2 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder.  If only I had a banana…

Workout

After breakfast, I headed to the gym.  I did 15-minutes on the elliptical before heading into a BodyPump class.  I heard a rumor that a new release is out, but I think my gym is behind the times.  I officially know all the words to the songs, so I’m ready for the new one!

Lunch

After the gym and running some errands (including grocery shopping!), I was more than ready for lunch.

I threw together a lovely salad that included:

-Organicgirl 50/50!

-Celery

-Baby Carrots

-Chickpeas

-Feta cheese

-Organicville Sesame Goddess Dressing

On the side, I had a bowl of cherries.

Oh, how I love when cherries are on sale!

In other news, Corey and I have gotten into quite a routine the past few weeks.  After work, Corey scoops me up and we drive around to look at houses!

When we moved out of our apartment and into our current place, we knew the move was temporary.  Just how temporary, we weren’t sure.  After some serious consideration, Corey and I decided that it would be ideal for us to buy a house before our wedding in November.  So, the search is on!

Last night, we met with our realtor after work to look at some potential homes.  Now I know why they call it house hunting– if you don’t pounce on the one you want immediately, it’s gone!

We made a list of “deal-breakers”, which include:

-No backyard

-On a busy street

-2 bedrooms/1 bathroom

-LOTS of work needed

Dinner

Corey’s parents invited us to dinner, so we met them at Antonio’s.  I ordered the Grilled Salmon Salad:

It was delicious, and made me wonder…why is it so hard to order something healthy like this when you go to a restaurant?  I never regret it when I’m finished!

You can read about our previous visit to Antonio’s here.

If you were buying a house, what would be a deal-breaker for you?  

 

My Dress is Here!

Workout

I slept absolutely terrible the night before last, so by the time Corey’s alarm went off at 6:15AM, I was already wide awake.  He convinced me to go for a run with him.  Somehow, he’s become some sort of marathon runner in a matter of days, and our usual 3-mile distance (which was quite a feat for me) has turned into 5 or 6 miles for him.

I like to run.

Luckily, I was able to threaten his life effectively enough that he stuck to a 3-mile route this time.  I actually hung in there pretty well, up until the very end, where I may have dropped a few F-bombs.  But, I survived!

Breakfast

I started the day with a bowl of Quick Cooking Oats with 1/2 tablespoon of natural peanut butter stirred in, topped with fresh blueberries.

After breakfast, I headed to the bridal store to…drum roll please…

PICK UP MY WEDDING DRESS!

I was so excited, but at the same time, really nervous.  I originally purchased my dress in ivory, but at the last minute, I changed it to white without seeing that version of the dress, or even trying it on.  Risky, I know.  I was so happy when I put it on and realized that I loved the white 100 times more than the ivory.

Ivory

White

Now that my dress is actually in my house, I can’t stop thinking about it!  I’ve already tried it on twice 🙂 .  4 more months until I can actually wear it!

Lunch

I was starving by the time I got home, and one of my favorite childhood meals was calling to me.  Grilled cheese and tomato soup! I heated up a can of Amy’s Organic Chunky Tomato Bisque:

And served it alongside a toasted whole wheat bagel thin, topped with a melted slice of Meunster cheese.

Dinner

Being the coupon lovers that we are, Corey and I couldn’t resist a “Buy One Meal, Get the Other Free” deal at a brand new Panera that opened by our house.  I ordered French Onion Soup and half of a Greek Salad.

 

Road Trip!

Happy 4th of July Weekend people!

Breakfast 

I started my day yesterday with a big bowl of hot oatmeal.

I mixed a 1/2 cup cooked oats with 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, and it was perf.

Lunch

Lunch was another wonderful salad, which I have been fully enjoying lately.

I topped a bed of Organicgirl 50/50! with 3 leftover turkey meatballs, chopped baby carrots, garbanzo beans and Organicville Sesame Goddess Dressing. Delish!

Workout

I spent 25 minutes on the elliptical sweating it out to the Casey Anthony trial, and then I ventured into a BodyPump class at 9:30AM.

Dinner

Corey talked to our friends, Austin and Laura, on the phone, and randomly decided that Friday night was a perfect time to drive to Clearwater for the weekend!  After this news, I thought dinner should be relatively light and healthy.  Corey and I pan-fried some Ready-to-Cook Publix Breaded Chicken Cutlets, and laid them on top of a bed of Organicgirl 50/50!.

After dinner, we hopped in the car and made the two hour drive to Laura’s house in Clearwater, FL.  We enjoyed a glass of wine before going over to her friend, Kristen’s house.

We played drinking games with cards and laughed the night away, as expected of 23-year-olds.  Don’t judge.

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

Tabata Method

Raise your hand if you’re ready for the weekend!

You can’t see me, but both of mine are raised.

Tabata Method

Lately, I’ve been trying to take the 7:15AM spin class at my gym once a week, after finding an instructor that I absolutely love.  Yesterday, I decided to sleep in and shoot for the 8:45AM class.  Unfortunately, I forgot that this class is taught by an instructor that I do not absolutely love.  She’s very boring, has a monotone voice, and walks around for practically the whole class.  On top of that, the spin room is under construction at my gym, and they took out the black lights and removed the blinds from all the windows!  Um, hello awkwardly bright room…(spin connoisseurs know that classes are always dark!)

Anyways, I was determined to make the best of a less than ideal situation.  The class was off to a very boring start, but then, the instructor surprised us by introducing the Tabata Method.  She explained that this is a method of working out that activates both your aerobic and anaerobic pathways simultaneously, which optimizes results and gets you in much better shape in a significantly shorter amount of time.  The key to this method is doing a total of 4 minutes of extreme exertion- you do 20 seconds of an exercise at maximum capacity, recover for 10 seconds, and repeat 7 times.  That’s it!  The studies showed that people who did the Tabata Method 3 times a week lost more fat and were in better cardiovascular health than people who did 60 minutes of cardio per day, 5 times a week.  Pretty crazy, huh?

By the time our 4 minutes of misery were over, everyone was drenched and pretty fatigued.  We recovered for a song or two before powering back up for the rest of the class.

I don’t know if I believe the statistics, but I think it’s a very interesting theory, and I don’t see the harm in incorporating this method into my workouts.

Have you tried the Tabata Method?  What do you think of it? 

Breakfast

After class, I was more than ready for breakfast.  I was planning to have a yogurt bowl with strawberries, but this idea went out the window when I discovered that my fresh strawberries had frozen solid overnight!

Whoops.

Frozen fruit can only mean one thing- smoothie!

I made a chocolate strawberry smoothie by blending up:

– 1/2 cup skim milk

-7 frozen strawberries

– 1 scoop Chocolate Muscle Milk Protein Powder

– 1/2 tablespoon natural peanut butter

– Handful of ice cubes

Clearly, not my mug 🙂 .

Lunch

Lunch was a fabulous repeat, with a twist.

I topped a bed of Organicgirl 50/50! with tuna salad (1 tablespoon  Light Mayo, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard), garbanzo beans and…pickle chips!  I secretly love pickles on salads, even though basically everyone thinks it’s weird.

Dinner

I used the help of a box of Annie Chun’s 100% Natural Pad Thai for dinner.

I cooked the noodles according to the directions, while microwaving a bag of frozen vegetables.  After draining both, I mixed everything together in a big pot with 1/2 pound of shrimp and the sauce that came in the kit.  It was ready in 10 minutes flat!

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I also just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my fabulous mom!

I love you so much!

 

 

 

 

Turkey Meatballs

Last night was a rainy one here in Orlando.  I don’t know what it is about rainy weather, but it seems to always call for comfort food!  To me, Italian = ultimate comfort food.  I decided to make classic spaghetti and meatballs, using my recipe for Turkey Meatballs to lighten it up.

Turkey Meatballs

Servings: 4 (3 meatballs each)

Ingredients: 

1.3 lbs. ground turkey meat

1 tablespoon capers

1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon of:

garlic powder

salt

pepper

red pepper flakes

basil

oregano

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, add all of the above ingredients.

Use your hand to combine all the ingredients with the turkey.

Working with approximately 2 oz. portions, roll the meat in between your hands until you form a perfect ball.  Lay them on a nonstick cookie sheet, and pop them in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Serve on top of whole wheat spaghetti with your favorite marinara sauce.

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Other meals of the day…

Breakfast

Fage 0% Greek Yogurt topped with fresh strawberries.

Lunch

Organic Girl 50/50! topped with tuna salad (made with 1 tablespoon Light Mayo, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard), garbanzo beans and Organicville Sesame Goddess Dressing.

Workout

After taking a week off from BodyPump, I was definitely ready to get back to lifting weights.  I went to the gym ahead of the scheduled class time so I could get in some cardio beforehand.  I did 25 minutes on the elliptical before Pumping it up 🙂 .

Leftover Salad

Breakfast

The yogurt bowl is ruling my life these days.  I’m trying to keep carbs to a minimum during the week, just for the next few months, in an effort to look bueno in my wedding dress.  We’ll see how long that lasts.  All this really means is that instead of having a carb-heavy breakfast, followed by a sandwich for lunch and something carb-y with dinner, I’m trying to stick with yogurt-centered breakfasts and salad-heavy lunches.

I filled a bowl with Fage 0% Greek Yogurt, topped with a handful of Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds, for some crunch.

Lunch

Corey and I were talking last night about our favorite lunches.  He asked me what I would eat for lunch if I could pick anything to make at home every day.  I said, “Honestly, I just like leftover dinner on top of lettuce!”

Anytime we have a little leftover chicken, fish, or even burgers, with some steamed or roasted veggies on the side, I love to chop up some Romaine lettuce and throw the leftovers on top (heated, of course).  I just add a few other salad toppin’s and my favorite dressing, and lunch is ready to go.

Yesterday’s creation was a small leftover turkey burger and steamed brussel sprouts with a sprinkle of 2% cheddar cheese and Naturally Fresh Ginger Dressing, on top of a bed of Romaine.

Workout 

I put off my workout for as long as possible yesterday.  Generally, I really prefer to wake up in the morning and get my workout over with.  It’s a great feeling to be finished and know that you can spend the rest of the day doing other things.  If I don’t, the thought of having to workout later looms over my head all day.  Yesterday was one of those days.

I loaded up my iPod with all kinds of new songs (basically 3 new Nicki Minaj jams, duh), and headed out the door around 4:00PM for a run.  Well, that didn’t last long, thanks to some shooting leg pains and a severe thunderstorm over my head.  I made it for about 10 minutes before coming inside to complete a treadmill workout for 35 minutes.

Dinner

Corey and I needed to make a grocery store run, so we decided to eat dinner first at one of my favorite places- Green Lemon Cafe.  I ordered my go-to salad- Tuna with Balsamic dressing.

Afterwards, we decided to venture over to Whole Foods next door.  After realizing that we could barely afford a lemon in that place, we started to make our way out the door.  And then, the bakery caught my eye.  Everything looked so great!  I picked out a Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie that was size of my face for us to share.

Corey also picked up a treat.

His version of the word “treat” and my version are clearly very different 🙂 .

What is your favorite leftover meal? 

Nothing to Do

For the first time in a full year, I officially have absolutely nothing to do.

I am not complaining!

I’ve spent the last year working my butt off trying to finish my nursing pre-requisite classes, working different jobs, and dealing with lots of stress.  I honestly couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, but now, I’m finished!

On Friday, I finished my last day of a week-long training course to become a Certified Nursing Assistant.  Now that I’m done with that, I just have to wait for a letter telling me when and where I can take the state board examination.  I will have to take a written exam, and then complete 3 different nursing skills that a supervisor will choose at random.  Once I pass, I can start applying to jobs!  Fortunately, there are a lot of places hiring CNA’s right now, so getting hired shouldn’t be a problem.  I cannot even express how excited I am at the thought of finally having a job- and not just any job, a nursing job!  I hope that letter gets here SOON.

For now, I’m definitely savoring every precious moment of down time that I have, because I know my schedule will be back to crazy in no time- especially when I add wedding planning and nursing school to the mix!

Breakfast

I made a delicious yogurt bowl yesterday, made with a cup of Fage 0% Greek Yogurt, a handful of Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds, sliced strawberries and a drizzle of honey.

I’ve decided that honey + Greek yogurt is the ultimate combo.

Lunch

Yesterday’s lunch was something a little different, and totally inspired by Julie at Peanut Butter Fingers!

I made one of her “Cheese and Jelly Bagelwiches”, served with a side of baby carrots.

I spread a toasted whole wheat bagel thin with a little strawberry preserves, and melted a slice of Meunster cheese on top.  Delish!

Dinner

When Corey got home from work, we tossed around some dinner ideas before deciding that turkey burgers sounded perfect.  Corey seasoned the meat with garlic powder and a little BBQ sauce, and then I made the patties and popped them under the broiler for 10 minutes.

We served our burgers with steamed broccoli, brussel sprouts, and some Sante Fe rice.

Workout Motivation

Sometimes, the thought of working out sounds about as appealing as doing yard work on a Saturday at noon in Florida in the middle of August (if you live here, you know what I mean.)

This week I’ve been extremely busy- the same day that I finished my last nursing pre-requisite course, I went straight to my first day of training to become a Certified Nursing Assistant.  I have to wake up really early to leave for class, so my morning workout routine has been a no-go.  Luckily, it’s just for this week (which is almost over- hallelujah!).

Anyways, I ended up skipping Monday and Tuesday’s workouts, and yesterday, I still didn’t feel like working out.  I was on the computer doing some browsing on SHAPE Magazine’s website, when I came across a series of “Behind-the-Scenes” videos of celebrities shooting their SHAPE covers.  Let’s just say that after hearing Kourtney Kardashian, Marisa Miller and Brooke Burke talk about their workouts, I basically bolted off the couch and went straight to the gym.

"I would still look like this even if I didn't work out."

Now, don’t get me wrong- my days of pouring over gossip magazines and taping pictures to my fridge are long gone.  I do not condone staring at celebrities and envying their bodies, because, let’s face it, that won’t do anything positive for anyone.  However, I think that reading or listening to someone talk about fitness and health is a great way to get motivated for your own workouts- and if it happens to be coming out of the mouth of a gorgeous celebrity who is living proof that it works, then, hey, we better listen!

What motivates you to work out? 

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Breakfast

I started the day with a toasted whole wheat sandwich thin, spread with a little peanut butter and a drizzle of honey.

I could’ve really used a banana on top, but clearly, we didn’t quite make it to the grocery store this week.  I also enjoyed a glass of almond milk on the side.

Lunch

Lunch was a random mix of small snacks that went undocumented, but it included baby carrot sticks, an apple and a turkey sandwich.

Dinner

When Corey got home from work, he fired up the grill at threw on two Top Sirloin Filets that I had marinating in the fridge with olive oil, soy sauce and garlic.

On the side, we had some steamed broccoli and Steamfresh Lightly Sauced Roasted Potatoes in Chive Butter.

Eggcellent

A few weeks ago, Corey and I were at our gym having coffee after our workout, and we accidentally did some eavesdropping.  We overheard one of the trainers explaining to a client why it is so detrimental to work out on an empty stomach in the morning.

As someone who almost always does this, I was intrigued.  Her reasoning made sense- basically, your body will use up important things that you need if it doesn’t have some sort of “fuel” to run off of before your work out.  She told her client that even eating one bite of something like oatmeal or yogurt is better than nothing.

Ever since overhearing that conversation, I’ve been making it a point to eat a little protein before my morning work outs.  Enter, the eggcellent hardboiled egg!

I just eat the eggwhite and throw the yolk away, and I’m ready to work out!

Egghead

Workout

Yesterday morning started with yet another BodyPump class.  Afterwards, I got on the elliptical for 20 minutes.  I barely noticed I was sweating because I was so focused on what was happening in the Casey Anthony trial!  It will be sad when this local entertainment is over.

Breakfast

It was ridiculously hot yesterday.  Pretty much every day from here on out is going to be that way, because summer in Florida is no joke.  The perfect breakfast for a sweaty day will always be a nice, cold smoothie.

Into the blender went:

-1/2 cup almond milk

-1 scoop chocolate protein powder

-8 fresh strawberries

-1 banana

-1/4 cup Greek yogurt

-1/2 tablespoon peanut butter

-ice cubes

Sluuuuuuuuuuuuurp!

Lunch

I had some spare time on my hands in the afternoon, and decided to take advantage of not being in a rush at lunchtime, like I usually am.  I got to choppin’ and threw together a big salad.

I topped a bed of chopped Romaine lettuce with tomatoes, raw broccoli, hardboiled egg whites, red onion, and reduced-fat cheese.  I drizzled some Organicville Sesame Goddess dressing over top and dug in.

Dinner

When Corey got home from work, we decided to go to happy hour at Caddyshanks.  I enjoyed a Magic Hat #9 while we chatted about wedding plans, work, and house-hunting 🙂 .

Sometimes, the things that happen to us are just comical.  Two weekends ago (when my blog space was dunzo), Corey bought a Groupon to a really expensive restaurant called Funky Monkey (strange name choice for a nice restaurant, no?) Even with the Groupon, we couldn’t afford a glass of wine each if we wanted to eat dinner there, too!  The food we ordered was seriously delicious.  As soon as we handed the Groupon to the waitress, she told us they weren’t taking them that night.  Of course!

The comedy continued last night when we decided we would go there again to actually use our Groupon.  We called to make sure they were taking it and the waiter told us they were, but they were completely booked until after 10PM!  When we were there last week, there were only 2 other people in the whole place.  Oh, well!

After our dinner plans fell flat, it started pouring rain, so we decided to stay at Caddyshanks and order food.  We split a cheesy calzone filled with veggies.

This was HUGE, even after we split it.  I could not finish the whole thing, even if I wanted to!

I’ve got a lot of studying ahead of me this weekend…oh, joy!

Taco Night

Workout 

I started off Wednesday morning the best way possible- with BodyPump!  I got to the gym a little earlier than usual, so I had time to hop on the treadmill for 15 minutes for some running intervals before class.  After class was finished, I got back on the treadmill for another 10 minutes of intervals before calling it quits.

Breakfast

I made one of my favorites for breakfast.  A PB+Banana Sammy!

I topped a toasted whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter, banana slices, and a drizzle of honey for good measure 🙂 .

Lunch

While watching TV (mainly the Casey Anthony trial) in the morning, I must have seen the same Subway commercial ten times.  It was advertising the new Turkey, Bacon and Avocado sub, and each time I watched, the more tasty it looked. I decided to save my 5 bucks and make my own healthy version at home!

I toasted a whole wheat sandwich thin and topped it with Dijon mustard and deli turkey.  I sliced an avocado and placed the slices on top of my sandwich.  Take that, Subway.

On the side, I had some baby carrots and a dill pickle spear.

Dinner

As I’ve mentioned before, I am definitely a creature of habit when it comes to meals.  I know what I like, and I’m OK with that!  I have a feeling when Corey and I have a family one day, we will definitely be the family that has certain nights of the week dedicated to the same meal.  For example, Taco Night!  Who wouldn’t look forward to that each week?  Well, it was taco night for us on Wednesday, and we let one of Old El Paso’s Soft Taco Dinner Kit take care of the details.  I generally like to buy my own taco shells so that I can get whole wheat, but I decided regular shells wouldn’t kill me.

I cooked some ground turkey meat with a packet of taco seasoning, and then got busy chopping up tomatoes, red onion, and lettuce for toppings.

We each had a salad to start, topped with lettuce, onion and diced mango.

I filled up two shells for myself, with all the toppings- tomatoes with red onion, lettuce, a little shredded cheddar cheese, salsa, and a small dollop of sour cream.

I love taco night!

Do you have certain nights of the week that you eat the same meal?