Cookies And Candy For Breakfast

This morning I had a good breakfast, none of that poptart crap. I fixed two 3 minute oatmeal cookies. I used a chopped dark chocolate fruit & nut caramel from my Christmas candy (instead of chocolate chunks or chips), walnuts, & dried cranberries in these. I had one and Lucas ate the other one. I hate caramels that stick in my teeth, so this was a good use for them.

I also had a cup of applesauce with added cinnamon along with my cookie.

My coffee was still brewing when my breakfast was ready, so I had a few bites before pouring myself a ginormous cup, half caf. as usual.

I was late getting started on this mornings post, but still managed to get it published on time, actually a little early, maybe it was the coffee. I started undressing the Christmas trees today, but I still have a few decorations to put away. I was hoping to get the trees down. I also cleaned my bathroom. I would love to remodel it, not to mention the kitchen.

After cleaning & dreaming of decorating, I finally got around to fixing lunch. It was a quick fix, with leftovers from New Years Day. I had corn on the cob, a couple of cabbage rolls, and a piece of cornbread.

I still haven't found the dime Mom hid in my cabbage rolls. I'm hoping I would have realized it before swallowing had I eaten it.

I had to wait a while before having a snack. I was a bit too full after lunch. I had my piece of snowball cake (angel food cake, cool whip, pineapple, jello, coconut & cherries) and then Lucas and I made a dog food run.

It was extremely cool out. The wind was cutting right through me. The temperature has dropped about 10 degrees, just since we got back and the wind hasn't let up. I am so glad to be inside where it's warm. 

For dinner I'd thought about having something hot, but I decided to go with pea salad and fresh veggies with Garlic Caesar dressing.

I used butter lettuce, cucumber, red & yellow bell pepper, cauliflower, & carrot. I sprinkled on a little fresh cracked black pepper.

My after dinner snack was a couple of pieces of peanut brittle and a handful of dry roasted peanuts. I think I like posting at night better, if I could just get it done early and get to bed. Morning are so much more relaxed with no blogging to do. For now I'll just do what I can when I can. Maybe I can get a routine established in 2012. Fingers crossed. I guess that's it for now. I found my place in my book, so I think I'll read a bit before bed. Have a great night/day!!!

Fried Apple Smoothie Recipe

 

This smoothie uses canned fried apples. It's extra cinnamon-y and a little smoother than fresh apple smoothies.

Ingredients
3/4 C. Lucks Canned Fried Apples
1/2 C. Vanilla Yogurt
1/2 C. Milk
1/4 C. Old Fashioned Oats*
2 tsp. Ground Flax
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Directions
Throw everything in your blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

*You can put the oats in a spice or coffee grinder first and grind into a powder for an smoother smoothie. Be sure to get any leftover spice or coffee residue out of the grinder before adding the oatmeal.

For a slightly sweeter smoothie, add a tsp. of honey or raw sugar.

Do you think I should have a section in recipes just for smoothies?

Mandarin Orange Smoothie Recipe

This smoothie is a sunny Mandarin Orange smoothie. Cool, sweet and refreshing. It's a little thinner than most of my smoothies, so you could use a third cup of oats if you want, but it's fine the way it is. It didn't really need the honey, but I added it just because I could. It was just enough to bring out the flavor a little more.

Ingredients
3/4 C. Canned Drained Mandarin Orange Slices
1/2 C. Chobani Vanilla Yogurt
1/2 C. Milk
1/4 C. Old Fashioned Oats*
2 tsp. Ground Flax
1 tsp. Orange Blossom Honey (optional)
3-4 Ice Cubes

Directions
Throw everything into your blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

*You can put the oats in a spice or coffee grinder first and grind into a powder for an smoother smoothie. Be sure to get any leftover spice or coffee residue out of the grinder before adding the oatmeal.

I Need To Do Better

Yesterday was Zumba day and the beginning of my new routine. The morning went smoothly, but it didn't start early enough apparently, since my email subscribers got a little messed up. Sorry. I was afraid of that, because I'm not exactly sure when the delivery goes out. It was suppose to be between 7-9, but it was nearly 9 before I got it posted, so it missed it's chance, I guess. I delayed the delivery a little more and set my alarm a little earlier. It was a little more difficult this morning since I was getting up around the time, which I usually sleep the best. I am in slow motion this morning....but, I'm up.

 

I had a banana smoothie for breakfast. I am missing my vanilla wafers. My morning smoothie didn't taste right yesterday, so I added a little maple syrup for some reason, which made it worse. I think it was because I woke up with what I call an "allergy hangover". That's when I forget my allergy meds and it doesn't really hit me until the next day. I get a terrible headache and my nose gets stuffy, my eyes itch a lot, & breakfast doesn't taste good, not mention I've misplace my eye drops, so it feels like I've got sand in my eyes. I'll be sofa diving today.

 

I was still hungover at lunch time. I was lazy and only had half an everything bagel from Panera with cream cheese and cucumber. It was very good though.

 

Then I had the other half of the frozen Cookie N Creme donut from Krispy Kreme, which was a mistake. Way too many carbs. I've gained everything I lost this morning + another pound. Ugghhh!

On top of that I had another banana smoothie, but with peanut butter as my pre-Zumba snack. It was super yummy. I added about a tablespoon of PB + 1 tsp. of honey. (More carbs)

 

Zumba was hot. We had a big storm before I went which cooled everything off outside, but I was still sweaty after Zumba. I had the a/c on in the car. When I got out my glasses were fogged up. I couldn't see a thing and they didn't clear up, so I had to take them off. 

I had dinner partially fixed when I got home. I made brown rice with spinach, tomatoes, & garlic (a new fave) and I heated a Gardein Chick'n Scallopini seasoned with barbecue seasoning & paprika (another new fave) to go with it.

The rice, way better than the frozen stuff you buy and the Scallopini yummy.

I enjoyed everything I ate, until I stepped on the scales this morning. I also didn't drink enough water yesterday. I never lose when I don't drink my water.

 Also the Function Water I got from FL is a no go unless they make a larger bottle. It left me hangin' towards the end of Zumba and I was running back and forth to the water fountain after that. I need the full 33 oz. bottles for Zumba. 

 

Ok, that's it for today. I'm going to fix breakfast. Looking at all this food is killing me. Have a great day!

Smoothies, Salads, And A New Routine

Yesterday's smoothie was Strawberry Banana, more strawberry than banana. The strawberry were looking sort of puny and I figured I would use them up before they went to waste. My new routine went fairly smoothly yesterday. I hoping it is going to workout. I still didn't get to bed until 12:30, but that was still way earlier than usual.

 

 I had an outing planned yesterday, a day out with Mom & Lynda. We went to Panera Bread and picked up some bagels. I got the last four everything bagels and a free Mango Smoothie. You have to be there pretty early to get those everything bagels. They go pretty quickly. There was quite a line and we thought all the good stuff might be gone before we ordered. Fortunately we got what we wanted.

 

The Mango Smoothie was great. I love Mangoes. It was pretty thick, but came with a huge straw.  Mom & Lynda got something next door at Starbucks.

 

 

We checked out Habit's Restore, Kohl's, Michael's, Goodwill & Target, but not necessarily in that order. I got a tee shirt from Kohl's and some more Gardein Chick'n Scallopini & Lemon Chobani from Target. 

 We also went to Salsarita's for lunch and we all had vegetarian taco salads. We got shredded lettuce, black beans, rice, roasted veggies, tomatoes, red onion, fresh salsa, shredded cheese, spice sour cream. I also got black olives and jalapeños. I got a pack of light ranch, but didn't need it so, I saved it for later. I got a drink instead of water, a mixture of Sprite, Light Lemonade and Hi-C Punch. It was pretty good. The salad was good too, except the shell wasn't to fresh. It was crispy, but not fresh crispy. I just ate half of it.

 

I made the mistake of wearing sandals yesterday. My feet and legs were killing me by the end of the day. I will remember my tennis shoes next time. 

When I got home I still have to make a run to Walmart. I was sort of hungry so I grabbed half a bagel, toasted it, spread some cream cheese on top & out the door we went. I still had my sandals on, but had to take them off on the way home.

 

When I got home I had another salad. I still had corn & black beans to use up, but I didn't make this one like a taco salad, since I'd already had one. I used onion & tomato, Mozzarella cheese, the packet of ranch from Salsarita's and black pepper. 

 

 It was sort of late, by the time I got my salad. I uploaded the photos for the day and called it a night. I even got my yoga in before 12:30am, not bad for the first day of my new routine. I going to wrap this up. Hopefully it will make it to my email subscribers. See ya tomorrow!

Over Indulging

Strawberry Apple Smoothie breakfast. Smoothies are the best breakfast I've ever had. I was never a "breakfast person". I guess because breakfast is mostly about meat & eggs, neither of which I am fond of, although I will eat eggs, they aren't usually first choice.

 

I used some of the leftover granny smith apple. There were flecks of green in this one from the peel. I don't peel the apples, that's the best part, of course you can, if you don't like little bits in your smoothie; I don't mind. 

 

 Lunch was half a stuffed bell pepper, with salad.

 

The salad was spinach, iceberg, corn, black beans, salsa, & light ranch dressing.

I had chocolate cake for dessert, too close to lunch. I was slightly miserable afterwards, but it was good going down. 

We went on a water run this afternoon. No actual running involved, although there probably should have been, since I've been indulging in chocolate cake lately and over eating too often. Along with my water, I picked up a bag of pretzels. I've been wanting something salty to snack on. I should have gotten a pack of gum, but unfortunately it never crossed my mind. Once I got home I had some water and a few pretzels.

 I went down to the garden after my snack and did some long overdue weeding. The crab grass is starting to take over. I now have a few tiny tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. It won't be long until I'll be eating garden fresh veggies. I can't wait.

I had some MorningStar Farms Three Bean Chili w/ Griller's Crumbles. I started to eat half of it with a few hushpuppies, I waited about 20 minutes and decided to eat the rest plus 3 more hushpuppies; bad idea. I've been miserable again ever since. The chili wasn't bad, it wasn't the best either, but the hushpuppies were great, just what the chili needed. There was not many crumbles in it. It wasn't spicy hot, but it was spicy, hence my heartburn. I added the corn, some I had left from lunch.

 Two Rolaids later. I am almost comfortable again. I think I will work on not overeating. I have tendencies were I try not to waste food and instead of eating just a little more, if there isn't much left, I feel the need to finish it off. I'm also going to cut back on the sweets. It will just be up to everyone else to eat them. I've also been analyzing what I've been eating and I've been eating too much grains and not enough of everything else. Note to self....get more gum!

Super Smooth Oatmeal Smoothie

This morning I made a strawberry banana smoothie, but before making it, I was thinking about the oatmeal in the smoothie, about it being slightly grainy, even though I blend it thoroughly. I don't really mind it, but some people might, so I decided to try an experiment. I put the 1/4 C. of oatmeal in my spice grinder and ground it into a powder before adding it to the other ingredients. It worked perfectly. Be sure to wipe out your spice or coffee, before adding the oatmeal to get any coffee or spice residue. I used a paper towel with a little oil on it.

Usually after I drink most of my smoothie, there at the bottom of the glass is the grainiest part of the oatmeal. It's not much, but it's sort of hard to get it out of the glass. Today's smoothie was super smooth, with no grainy oatmeal at the bottom. Win! So if you didn't care for the oatmeal because it was a little grainy, you should try it again with the powdered oatmeal.

 

I had an Amy's Southwestern Burrito with carrots for lunch. I think I like the Southwestern version even better than the non dairy beans and rice. I heated my burrito in the oven today. I actually defrosted it in the microwave for about 5 min. and then in the toaster oven for about 30 min. vs. just the oven for 50-55 min. It was much better than just heating it in the microwave, even though it did take considerably longer. I'm very impatient when it comes to cooking, but I really hate microwave food.

 

I had a German Chocolate blizzard, with coconut, pecans, and some chocolate. All the coconut and pecans were mostly at the top. There was very little chocolate, but I loved all the coconut and pecans.

 

 

I only ate about 1/2 the cup, although it looks like more. You can see I was getting down to the white ice cream. I think the person who made the blizzard needs to have a few more lessons. Maybe next time I buy ice cream, I will try a homemade blizzard. Have you ever made a blizzard?

I had the grand babies this evening while Mom & Dad went to an adult only birthday party. We watched kids shows on Netflix, colored in coloring books, and played pretend. Lexi also read to me. It still amazes me that at 4 years old, she is reading. Unfortunately I didn't get photos.

We also had grilled cheese sandwiches. Mary had peanut butter and jelly. DH had fixed himself a sandwich, but Mary decided it was for her. Lexi also had a lunchable with turkey, cheese and crackers.

 

 I also had a couple of peanut butter Ritz crackers off camera & was tempted to eat the rest of my blizzard, but didn't. Now before I am tempted to eat anything else, I am going to put my booty to bed.

National Doughnut Day

This morning I had another banana pudding smoothie, minus the vanilla wafers and walnuts. I added a spoonful of peanut butter to this one. I used the last of my walnuts yesterday, but I did get some more flax this evening. I loved peanut butter in this one, it made it extra creamy.

 

We went to Mom's today. I had Havarti on Roasted Vegetable Ritz Crackers.

 

We also had taco salads with Tostitos Artisan Fire Roasted Chipotle Chips, shredded iceberg, brown rice, black beans, corn, tomatoes, shredded cheese, salsa, and southwestern dip. Better than Salsarita's.

Today was National Doughnut Day. I didn't know it when I got up this morning. I found out because I follow Krispy Kreme. I tweeted about it and posted it on my FB status to let others know to go out and get their free doughnut. I'm a sucker for free stuff.

 

 

We went and got ours.

 

I got the sugar donut. Mom fixed decaf to go with. You would think the sugar donut is really sweet, but it doesn't taste as sweet to me as the rest, that's why it's my favorite.

 

I brought a lot of frozen stuff home this evening. I had to make room in the freezer, so I ate the last of the Breyer's coffee fudge brownie ice cream. Just enough to make ya mad.

I fixed dinner, using the last Gardein Chick'n Scallopini. I sprinkled it with some barbecue seasoning and paprika. I made a salad of spinach, iceberg, tomato, & red bell pepper with light ranch and heated the last of my brown rice, tomato and spinach to go with my barbecued Scallopini.

The barbecue seasoning and paprika gave it the best flavor.

 

The salad and rice were perfect with it.

 

Did you get your free donut today? What kind did you get? Night y'all.