Over The Top!

Hip Hip Hooray!

Crys @ Fit & Flabless thinks my blog is over the top.

Thanks Lady! Yours is too.

So in order to accept the award, I have to answer the following questions with one word answers.

Here goes nothing.

1. Where is your cell phone? Table

2. Your hair? Short

3. Your mother? Maureen

4. Your father? Who?

5. Your favorite food? Oatmeal

6. Your dream last night? Blank

7. Your favorite drink? Vino

8. Your goal? Quality

9. What room are you in? Living

10. Your hobby? Plenty

11. Your fear? Fear

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Alive

13. Where were you last night? Work

14. Something you aren’t? Blonde

15. Muffins? Please


16. Wish list item? Wii

17. Where did you grow up? Canada

18. Last thing you did? Eat

19. What are you wearing? Scarf


20. Your TV? Tabatha

21. Your pets? Hennessy

22. Your friends? Inspirational

23. Your life? Blessed

24. Your mood? Chill

25. Missing someone? Lincoln

26. Vehicle? Maxima

27. Something you’re not wearing? Lipstick

28. Your favorite store? Target

29. Your favorite color? Plum

30. When was the last time you laughed? Today


31. Last time you cried? Awhile

32. Your best friend? Sissy

33. One place that I go over and over? Bed

34. One person who emails me regularly? Joanne

35. Favorite place to eat? Moms


Now it's my turn to crown 3 bloggers "Over The Top"
In turn, they are to copy and paste the questions to answer on their blogs and pass the award on.

I enjoy so many great blogs and get so much inspiration from so many of you.

The 3 I chose to recognize today are:

Toni & Ashley @ Black Girls Run

Jaime @ Embracing Balance

MochaTrina @ Me So Hongry...

Go ahead and take a peek at their sites to see for yourself what makes them "Over The Top"

Happy Blogging!

Pumpkin Muffins

My cute little pumpkin is no longer a cute little pumpkin.

I made a pumpkin puree and from that made some pumpkin muffins.

{Halved and gutted}

{Baked covered in foil at 325 for 1 hour}

{Blended and smoothed}

Pumpkin Muffins! Yum Yum!

Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients
2 cups sugar pumpkin puree
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

2/3 cup light olive oil
2 eggs
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together 2 cups pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, vanilla and eggs. Stir pumpkin mixture into flour mixture until smooth. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Eat and Enjoy!

Hi Little Pumpkin

I like you all round and cute,
but you can't stay this way forever.

What do you want to transform into?

The guys of the house want pumpkin pie...

How does that sound to you?

Lunch Bag

It's Friday and the rain has stopped, at least for a little bit.

For my work lunches/dinners, I had been using any old plastic bag I could find to carry them. Not any more.
I found this really cute and spacious lunch bag at walmart on clearance and had to snatch it up.

It's made from Neoprene (the wetsuit material) and is machine washable.

"Bring Your Own"

So my first dinner in the new bag was a can of soup, sf jello, a juicy pear and some peppermint tea. It all fit with plenty of room to spare.

Yay for sacked lunches!

Halloween

We spent Halloween in Houston.

It was all about the kiddos. We started out at the Halloween Celebration given at the City Center. There were games and Trick-or-Treating. Lots of fun.

Afterwards, we did a bit more Trick-or-Treating around the neighborhood.

Eric and I put these clown costumes on for fun to walk the neighborhood with the kids.

Here is Jaelyn and 2 of his cousins.

Farmer, Princess and Ninja Turtle.
I love Halloween.

PB & Co Chocolate Dreams

I've been seeing Peanut Butter & Co. in food blog world for quite some time. Me being the crazy PB lover that I am, have been trying to find it everywhere. I've only been able to find the regular PB up until I went to a Kroger while in Houston.

Of course I had to buy some.

I got the both the Chocolate Dreams and Cinnamon Raisin flavors.

I was so excited to try it.

A quick spread on a toasted english muffin, yum.

I think it's really good.

Not as great as Nutella, but that's not fair, because what is better than Nutella?

A Little Bit of Texas

We had a blast in Houston visiting family. We got to see a lot of the huge city and spent great time with our family.

I really tried to stay aware of my eating choices but of course it wasn't always perfect. Most of the time, I just shared what ever the Hubs got and added a side salad when we went out. When eating at my BIL's house, I just stuck to small portions.

Here are a few pictures from our trip.

My BIL took us to a drive-up convenience store called The Eskimo Hut, where we ordered daiquiri's. Yes, real daiquiri's with alcohol, at a drive thru window. Crazy!

Each daiquiri had a funky name like "Jang-A-Lang", "Shoulder Lean" and "3 Some"

Fried Chicken Anyone?

You see the side salad? That was mine.


Eric and I had a chance to hit up a club one night.
We got to experience the "Dirty South's" night life.
Had a blast.



After the club we tried Chacho's. It was recommended to us by a friend. Really delicious but definitely not easy on the hips.

We did lots of sight seeing downtown. Here we are in front of the Sunkist Baseball Field.

Eric loves to try the fast food restaurants that we don't have here in Washington.

Whataburgers were everywhere, so we shared a burger. Not bad, your basic fast food greasy burger.

Another restaurant we tried out was Razzoo's Cajun Grill.

I had a glass of wine and a caesar salad, with a few bites of Eric's Cajun Platter, that included gumbo, dirty rice, sausage and crawfish jambalaya.

While we were there we went to the Reliant Center to watch the 49er's vs. Texans.

Eric and his family are originally from Cali's Bay Area, and are die hard 49er fans.

The Reliant Center was huge, very exciting game, unfortunately the Texans took the victory.

One of the restaurants my BIL was excited to take us to was Thelma's.

Do you see that pile of BBQ meat? Underneath that was a huge baked potato. It was so ridiculously delicious.

Eric also ordered a rib sandwich. Literally 3 huge ribs sandwiched between a hamburger bun.

Thelma came out from the kitchen to say hello. She even though Jaelyn was so cute, she gave him a slice of lemon cake. Tasted so good, reminded me of my great-grandmothers cake.

We had such a great time.

Traveling is fun, but it's great to be back home.

I'll post about our Halloween night later.

Good Eats

You all know how I feel about a fast and delish pita pizza!!

I tried a new Clif bar today. Chocolate Brownie. Let's just say it was so yummy, I was better off not knowing it exsists.

TJ's Veggie Samosas on a bed of Sauteed Veggies. These are so good. Love Love. The veggies were perfect too. So filling and wonderful.

***
Well peeps, tomorrow we leave for Houston. It's gonna be a great vacay with family. Can't wait. But, I am a bit nervous about the eats. Everything is large in TX and that includes the portions. My Hubby is a BBQ and Soul Food fanatic so I know he will be trying to hit up some restaurants. He's the type that will see a BBQ joint and pull right over, hungry or not.
With that said, I know I have to go with a game plan.

I have to tell you that I did really well with this weeks daily goals. Got to the gym on my planned days, ate well, paid attention to my portions and listened to my body. So, I plan to continue this while in TX.

-No eating, unless I'm actually hungry
-Stay away from high fat foods
-Limit my meat intake
-Water, Water, Water

Have a healthy weekend!

Pumpkin Carving

Last night we carved the pumpkins we picked up from the pumpkin patch.

Usually I look up patterns online but this time we decided to go at it free-hand. Jaelyn said he wanted scary faces.

We sipped on some hot chocolate. I made Eric and Jaelyn's with regular hot chocolate mix and used a 25 cal pack for mine. I also spiked Eric's and mine with some Baileys. Yum!

Jaelyn did a good job scraping out the guts and seeds.

{Boo!}

So much fun!

Busy Weekend.

H-to-the-Izzo, V-to-the-Izzaay!!!

Saturday night The Hubs and I went to the Jay-Z concert. Downtown Seattle was buzzin with Jay-Z fans decked out in Roca Wear and NY Yankee hats.

While getting ready, I had a glass of wine.

Had to get a quick pic, before hitting the rainy night.

The Key Arena was sold out and the energy was wild. The tickets sold fast, so we were only able to get seats in the way way back, but still had a great view.

The place was packed, not an empty seat in the whole spot. Loved it.

The set and band were off the chain. Lots of color and lights.

This was my first real Jay-Z concert. The only other time I seen him perform live was an impromptu performance he put on at Club Love in DC during the Obama Inauguration festivities.

He really gives a great show.

Eric and I waiting for the show to start.

***

Yesterday my MIL and I hosted a baby shower for my niece-in-law.

Baby showers are so much fun. A bunch of women, chatting and laughing, playing games and being silly.

{Eat Cake}

We both contributed to the food. The dishes I contributed to the spread were,

a veggie platter

deviled eggs

Ambrosia salad, zucchini bread, 7-layer dip w/ tortilla chips, tortilla roll-ups, punch and wine.

My MIL made hot wings, garlic spare ribs and macaroni salad.

{Hey, how did that hot wing get on my plate?}

{Here I am with the Mother-To-Be}

Great weekend.

DeChe in Joseph.

The play last night was so good. The music was fantastic, the costumes were amazing, the cast was talented but best of all, my nephew DeChe was awesome. He was so cute and I just had tears of joy for him. I don't know if theatre is were he will continue to focus but I am so glad he is experiencing this exciting art form.

-Here we are in front of a pic taken of the 5th Ave theatre in 1929.

After the play we got to go to the Opening Night After Party for the Cast.

The food spread was laid with Salmon Crustini's, Fruit & Cheese platters, Greek Chicken Skewers w/ tzatziki, A Chili bar and fancy Mac & Cheese. Oh and the dessert table was full of Mini Cheesecakes, Chocolate Covered Strawberries, Cake Bites and so much more.

Of course I can't forget to mention the Wine Bar and Technicolor Cocktails.

I had a small bowl of chili, some fruit and cheese, and 1 (yes only 1) bite of mac & cheese. All washed down by a glass of Chardonnay.

It was a great party. I played photographer for DeChe and followed him around so he could get pictures with all the cast members.

-Here's DeChe and Anthony Federov who played Joseph.

So Far So Good

I've been true to my healthy plans so far. And I have to say, I'm happy about it. I think I got my "groove" back. I've stuck to my plan to make it to the gym everyday after dropping Jaelyn off at school. Yay!!

My eats have been great too. No mindless snacking and lots of healthy choices. Here are a few of my meals from the last couple of days.

{Oatmeal w/ Pumpkin Butter}

{This fruit bar was really good}
{Garden Salad}

{TJ's dried Apple Rings made a great snack}

{Golden Delicious Apple & a Sandwich Thin w/ Almond Butter and Honey}

{Kashi Go Lean w/ ff milk and a Banana}

We went out for Italian Tuesday night. I wanted Fettucine Alfredo so bad. So creamy, so yummy. But I decided to have the Penne Primavera with a side salad.
Jaelyn and Eric had pizza.

The pasta was way too much, I ate all the veggies and almost half of the pasta.

{Jaelyn loved the ooey gooey cheeeese}

{Yogurt Mix w/ Strawberries, Raisins, Puffins, Fiber One and Bare Naked Fit}

~~~

Hey check this out.

I received my giveaway from Jen. Thanks Girl.

***

Tonight, Eric and I are going to see my nephew perform in his very first major production.

He is in this show

playing at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle.

I'm so excited. This is right up my alley, I was a big drama head in High School and really wish I stayed involved in theatre after graduating. Maybe I will again someday.

But for now, I get to watch my nephew do his thing.

I hope I can get a pick of him afterwards in his costume.

Ugh.

That's how I've been feeling lately. I just can't seem to find my "Happy Healthy Place"
It really time for a hunger makeover.
Let me explain. I got my grub on this past weekend, I did well with Thanksgiving dinner, but everything else was a disaster. I had cookies, apple pie, pumpkin pie, Chinese food, too many slices of toast and butter, wine, candy, a few mini chocolate bars and I'm sure I'm forgetting a whole handful of more "big booty" foods. There is just something so difficult about sticking to a health plan while away from home, esp. around the holidays when there is food at every turn.

So today, I am committing to turn that all around. I have eleven days before we leave to TX to visit some of The Hubs' family and I do not want to feel bloated and heavy.

My Plan

• No Meat. This doesn't mean, I'm going Vegetarian for life, it just means I'm not going to allow any heavy meat into my food plan for the next week or so. This is not meant to be a challenge for me, and it really isn't, I don't eat a lot of meat anyway, I just want to concentrate on a veggie/fruit based diet. I might allow a little fish, we'll see how I feel each day.
• Tracking. I plan to track my meals. Those of you who do track, know the impact of tracking each thing that enters your mouth. It keeps me accountable and keeps me aware of what I'm eating. If at the end of the day, I can look at a list of the things I've eaten, I can easily find any problem areas.
• No Cheating. Yes, I admit, I cheat sometimes. But not this week. I am going to be honest with myself and not allowing any temptations to get the best of me.
• Activity. 30 mins per day, no matter what. No excuses. It's just too important for me to ignore.
• Listen & Obey. I'm going to listen to my body and hunger signals. No eating just because I want to.

That's it. That's my plan. I put it out there for the universe to see.

Wish me Luck!!

When you fall off track what are the things you do to get back on?

Thankful for Family.

The Hubs, Jaelyn and I are visiting my fam in Surrey, BC for our Canadian Thanksgiving. I love this time of year. The days are beautiful, the trees are changing color, the holidays are approaching, and the flavors are comforting.

We had our Thanksgiving dinner yesterday and it was delish.

Before we got down on some turkey with all the fixings, we had the chance to get a family picture. It's not often we are all together, so times like these are priceless and I know how happy it makes my Mum.

{Left to Right, Nichelle (Sissy), Me, Eric, Sharif (Bro), Wesley (Bro), Chantal (Sis-in-Law)
Dejia (Niece), Jaelyn, Mum, Dad, Lincoln (Nephew) and our dog Hennessy}

Before dinner was served, the table was full of chips with a variety of dips, homemade crab and artichoke dip, tortillas and hummus and beverages. I tried to stick to the ww tortilla strips and hummus, but did have a few bites of some chips and dip. I also, enjoyed a glass or two of vino blanco.

While making my dinner plate, I chose to have small portions of my fav items.
Mac & Cheese, turkey with gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and veggies. I think I did pretty good, one half of my plate was veggies, and I didn't go back for seconds.

For dessert, I had a slice of homemade apple pie with a scoop of cool whip on top.

***

Instead of sitting on our bootay's all day today, (which pretty much is tradition the day after a big family dinner) my Sissy Nichelle and I decided to take Jaelyn and Dejia to the pumpkin patch. It was the perfect day for it, sunny and crisp.

We got lost in the corn maze, but eventually found our way out.
We to a hay ride to the pumpkins where we all picked out little pumpkins to take home.

Jaelyn liked the really little ones. Too cute.

On the way home, we stopped at Timmy's for some warm brews. I got a pumpkin spice tea.

What a great 2 days spent with my family, whom I am extremely grateful for.

Birthday Dinner

We took our niece Jasmine, out for her 14th birthday. She wanted Mexican, which you already know I was down for. I love me some Mexican.

Here's a pic of the Birthday Girl and Jaelyn.



I tried to make a smart decision when ordering. I got the veggie fajitas with corn tortillas. I came with steamed rice and rancho beans. No matter what you order at a mexican restaurant, the portions are always out of control.

I have to tell you, it was delicious.

Eric, Jaelyn and I, stuffed after a great meal.

Happy Birthday Jazzy! Love you.

Cute Apron Giveaway Winner.

Hello blogger friends.

With the help of random.org, I have a giveaway winner.


The winner is
(drumroll please)

#7 - Kiera @ Tasty Health Food. (Check out her blog, she has lots of great healthy food item reviews)


Congratulations Kiera and Thanks for entering.

Please send your mailing address to me at morapiggy@hotmail.com

Apple Pancake.

I had a leftover pancake from yesterday's breakfast so dressed it up with some apples.

I sliced up an apple, threw it in a pan with a bit of non-stick spray and a touch of Smart Balance. Spiced it up with some cinnamon and nutmeg. The trick to keeping the apples moist and softened just right is to add a little water and letting it evaporate. Repeat until your desired final product.

Snack and Dinner

For my only snack of the day yesterday, I bulked up a Chex Mix Sweet & Salty 100 cal pack with some raisins, craisins and Fiber One Original cereal. It was the perfect portion snack and gave me a little boost of energy to hold me over til dinner.

Speaking of dinner, I made Spaghetti with ground turkey and a small side caesar salad. It was delish and even got a "Babe, that spaghetti was delicious last night" from The Hubs.

Happy Healthy Eating!

Soup & Sammie

One of the easiest and filling lunches is this combo, soup and sandwich.
I made a salmon salad sandwich on 1/2 a kaiser bun with cheddar and lettuce.
I had the other 1/2 of my huge nectarine from breakfast to add some fresh sweetness.

My soup was Pregresso Veggie Barley. It was alright, not the best flavor, but warm and filling. Full of chunky veggies, so I can't complain too much.

Pannie-cakes

This mornings breakfast was more exciting than last night dinner.

I made whole wheat pancakes. To the batter, I added chopped pecans and pumpkin pie spice.
I sliced up a huge peach to have with it.

Jaelyn enjoyed his pancakes with pumpkin butter instead of syrup. I think I've created a new Pumpkin Butter fan.

A perfect cuppa joe, and breakfast was complete.

I'm not %100 satisfied with my pancake mix. It's a store bought mix that calls for an egg and milk to be mixed in. They don't come out light or fluffy.

Does anyone have a suggestion for me to make them fluffy or a new store bought mix or recipe?

Last night's dinner was quick and easy. Lean Cuisine Pasta Romano with a side of mixed veggies.
Not the most exciting dinner, but it got the job done.

BK for Din Din.

To finish off Meatless Monday yesterday I had a bowl of oatmeal for dinner.
Yes, I said oatmeal for dinner.
The Hubs made BBQ ribs for him and J while they watched the football game. Me, I really wasn't in the mood for dinner food. I just really wanted some oatmeal. So I made some. Raisins and pecans were what jazzed up my yummy oats and I loved it.

This morning I woke up with a taste for yet another yogurt mix. FF strawberry yogurt, a peach, raisins, Puffins cereal, Fiber One cereal and Bare Naked Fit granola.

We had our couches and carpets cleaned today, so Jaelyn and I met up with my MIL to have lunch with her on her lunch break while the carpets got their makeover.
I had the salad bar. A good mix of all things yummy for salads with some rf ranch.

***

To Snack or Not to Snack?

I've been really paying attention to my snacking. I have not allowed myself to mindlessly snack or taste or lick without considering why. I ask myself am I hungry? Bored? Or do I only want to snack b/c the food is there staring at me? Usually, I'm just bored or looking for something to do with my hands. So I walk away from the kitchen and find something else to satisfy boredom.

So far so good.

***

Want a free apron? Click here.

New Routine.

Exciting day for us. Jaelyn started his first day of Preschool today!! I think he was a bit nervous, I know I was. He has never gone to daycare so I didn't know how he would react to the structure of a classroom and the authority of a new person. But when he got home he was happy to tell me about his day and had a "Good First Day" note from his teacher.

So, now with J going to school, my plan is to drop him off in the mornings and head straight to the gym. Yup, that's what I did this morning and it worked out beautifully.


I did a good 45 mins on the treadmill then came home.

For breakfast I made a yogurt mix with nf vanilla yogurt, a small nectarine, puffin cereal, fiber one cereal and Bare Naked Fit granola.

After picking J up from school, we headed to the park. It is such a beautiful day today and I wanted to feel the sunshine.
By the time we got home, I was hungry for lunch. Keeping in mind it's Meatless Monday, I decided to try these Veggie Samosas.

I heated to according to the package instructions and while I waited for them sauteed up some veggies. Mushrooms, red bell pepper, onion, carrot and some spinach went in a pan with a bit of EVOO, seasoned with S&P, curry powder and smokey paprika. Just before removing it from the heat, I added some leftover brown rice and a splash of teriyaki sauce.

I ended up with a lot of food, but it was really good. The samosas had a great crispy wrap and were a bit spicy inside. I used sweet chili sauce for dipping which was the perfect flavor combo.

Happy Monday!

***

Only 3 days left to enter my Apron Giveaway.
And if you act fast you can win some Chobani Greek Yogurt from Yum Yucky, contest ends tonight.

Party Time

Last night The Hubs and I were invited by a good friend of mine to celebrate two birthdays.
We all met up at this really cute restaurant were they had a separate room reserved for the party.
*

{D'Nika & I}

D'Nika was the very first friend I made when I moved to Seattle 15 years ago, and we've been good friends ever since. Love Ya Nika!

*
{The Birthday Cake}I didn't get a better shot, but the cake was awesome. D'Nika's cousin made it from scratch. She's self taught and has only made a handful so far. She's found a great hidden talent.
The microphone represents D'Nika's brother, Ernest and the shoe represents D'Nika's boyfriend Jamal. See their names in the cord and shoe string? Oh and the cake tasted good too.

*
{Jamal & Ernest}
The 2 birthday boys. Obviously having a great time with the microphone.

*

{Eric & I} I was the designated driver, which is not the norm, so The Hubs definately took full advantage of that.

Another great and safe night out with friends.

Breakfast

This morning The Hubs made french toast, bacon and fresh fruit for breakfast. I passed on the bacon but did have a slice of french toast with some pumpkin butter and some fruit.
It was delish, I'm just hoping it will hold me over for a few hours.

Instead of my routine morning coffee, I had a cup of tea. I havn't had any tea all summer. It's usually something I have on cold fall and winter evenings. I just find it comforting to curl up with a blanket and some hot tea. This peach tea was a great change but I'm sure I'll be wanting some coffee later.

Snacks.

I've been trying to be accountable for each snack I have. Snacking and little bites and tastes here and there are really my challenge. I know every bite counts and eventually adds up but I still manage to sneak them in.

Starting today, I am going to re-think each snack and make sure it is worth putting in my mouth. I need a snacking "rule" to stick to.
Maybe I'll limit myself to 1 fun snack per day and if want another it will have to either be fruit or veggies.

Here are a few I've enjoyed lately.

I love black licorice.

This ThinkFruit bar was different. I think I didn't really enjoy it until about the third bite. That's when I got over the chewy texture and really started tasting it. I don't know if I'll buy this flavor again but I will try another.

***
Do you have a rule when it comes to snacking?

Food

What have I been eating lately?

A little of this and not too much of that.

Here are a few of the lunches and dinners I've had in the last couple of days that I haven't had a chance to blog about.

***
A Lean Cuisine Asian Potsticker Dinner.
This was my second time trying this one, I remember it tasting better the first time. A bit too gooey.

***

For lunch one day, I whipped up some sauteed veggies with tofu, sprinkled with teriyaki sauce. I'm not a huge fan of the texture of tofu but as long as it's flavored well and cooked enough, I can dig it. This dish was Yum Yum.

***

Dinner one night was chicken caesar salad.

***

I finally got a chance to have a NF Pumpkin Spice Latte. I love the fall flavors for coffee. Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

Pancake Breakfast.

TJ's pumpkin butter makes me happy.

I've been eating it in so many ways.

My latest use was to top a homemade buttermilk pancake. Oh My. Yum Yum.

I so wanted more that just one, but I was a good girl and stopped at one with a juicy nectarine.

Today's a shopping day. Not for me, but for Jaelyn. He starts preschool on Monday and I want to make sure his winter wardrobe is ready for the cold mornings.

Peace.

Turkey Chili

Now that fall is here, I've been thinking of warm eats. Chili is one of my fav fall dinners. It's warm and comforting, filling and delish. Not to mention, it's incredibly easy to make, and I always have enough of the ingredients on hand. Like most other soups and stews, there is no real science to the recipe so, what I have, is what I use.

Turkey Chili

I browned 1 pound of ground turkey with a bit of EVOO

Added half of this pack of chili seasoning to the browning meat.

The other half of seasoning went into the crockpot with chicken broth.

*Add as much or as little liquid as you like depending on how thick or thin you like your chili.

Once turkey is browned add it to the pot as well.

Roughly chopped, tomatoes, onion, green bell pepper and jalapeno peppers were added to the pot.


Along with a can of corn. I like to add corn for the slightly sweet bite and color.

Beans Beans, good for your heart.
The more you eat, the more you ____! (fill in the blank)

Add beans, whatever you prefer. I had a can of plain pintos and a can of southwestern flavored pintos.


Stir it all together.
Put the lid on it.
Set to low.
Walk away.

(Notice my new crockpot? Remember my old one?)


The final product!
I topped mine with a few slices of polenta and some light sour cream.

Yum Yum!!

~~~

Giveaways.

The Great Pumpkin Giveaway from Danica's Daily.
Leftovers For Lunch is giving away lots of great stuff here.

Date Night at the Ball Game.

Yesterday one of The Hubs' customers gave him tickets to the Mariners vs. Oakland A's game.
We went and had a great time.
I love spontaneous date nights.
It was a beautiful night in Seattle. The air was a bit chilly but not windy and the sky was clear.

The game was a complete blowout. Not sure of the final score, but the Mariners kicked Oakland Bootay!

Had to get shot of these two up at bat. Griffey hit a homerun!!

I had a Miller Light to sip on. We shared a cheese pizza and had sunflower seeds.

There was this really cool art display of all the MLB team logos made of license plates and aluminum scraps. I got a pic of the Mariners of course, the Expos and Blue Jays because I'm Canadian and the Yankees well, because they're the Yankees.

Great date night at the ball game.

Giveaway Love.

Sip Sip Sippin on some Coffee and getting my blog read on. Catching up on the last couple of days.

I found a couple giveaways, that I thought I'd share.

Click here to win some Pirate's Booty from And Her Little Dog Too.

Click here to win a really cute and colorful handmande necklace from Living and Loving in LA.

Click here to win a bonanza of Tropical Eats from Tropical Eats.

Click here to enter my Apron giveaway. Only 7 entries? What's up with that?

It's getting so Cold!

I woke up this morning and it was so dark and gloomy out. The sky was a crazy mix of black and grey. Brr. It was so cold and I just dredded stepping out into the cold air.

I offered to take a shift on a unit I'd never worked before for a chick who got ill. It was horrible. So busy, and I totally felt like a fish out of water. All the units run differently, but this one was completely different from any other I had worked. It was the Short Stay and Day Surgery unit, so naturally I was expecting a lot of patient traffic, but it was even beyond my expectations. All I can say is, I'm glad it's over.


Eats.

I puffy heart oatmeal!!
Esp. when it's dressed in goodness.
Chocolate chips and coconut flakes.




I posted another Operation Beautiful note in the Ladies Room at the Hospital.

Lunch was the last of my Trader Joes Reduced Guilt pita chips. I'm not happy about this, I definately have to get some more soon.

I also had a bowl of Progresso Wild Rice and Veggie soup. And a Diet Coke.

When I got home I had what is probably the last watermelon I'll have until next summer.
Dear Sweet Juicy Watermelon, I will miss you!

Dinner was Mexican. I didn't get a pic but I ordered a veggie burrito. Of course it filled a plate the size as Texas.

I love Mexican, it's one of my absolute fav's, but it's so challenging to eat it out, b/c the portion are out of control. I try to only eat until my body is satisfied, but that is so hard to do, esp. when the food is off-the-hook delicious. So, needless to say, I ate more than what I should have. I guess it was just one of those days.

Meatless Monday.

Breaky Fast was quick and easy; Special K cereal with strawberries and Almond Breeze.

Lunch: Oroweat Sammy Thin with cheddar & swuiss, tomatoe slices and spinach. A side of TJ's Reduced Guilt Pita Chips and 1/2 a large navel orange. Delish, and filling.

Not sure what's for dinner, I'm not really in the mood to cook and I don't really have a taste for anything in particular. Hhmm?

What are your quick "go to" meals?

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Giveaways

You can enter my Apron giveaway here.
Danielle @ Sometimes Sweet is giving away pink nail polish, enter here.

Yesterday's breakfast came late. I wasn't really in the mood for oatmeal or cold cereal or eggs, so I went with 1/2 of a Sammy Thin with TJ's Pumpkin Butter. I'm really feeling this Butter, it's so yummy for fall.
Along side I had a banana.

This mini choco-zucchini loaf was calling my name, so I gave in. I really didn't have a lunch, so I guess you can call this lunch. Naughty Girl.

Dinner at work last night was a garden salad. I brought a can of soup too, but didn't get around to eating it. On my 2nd break I had a 100 cal pack of Ritz Mix.

To keep me from falling asleep at the Nurses Station, I had a Grande sf Almond nf Latte. I also had a couple of Hershey's kisses.

I gotta work swing tonight too, so I'm taking my soup and probably a deli sammy. Not sure.

~~~

You can still enter my Super Cute Apron Giveaway.

Morning.

I didn't get a chance to blog my lunch or dinner last night b/c my MIL convinced me to go to the Casino with her. No good news for me, I broke even but barely. My MIL walked out about $100 richer. She always wins something.

Anyhoo, I'm sitting here sipping on my morning joe, thinking about what's for breaky fast. Not sure what I'm in the mood for.

In the meantime yesterday's L & D went a bit like this.

Lunch:
Cut up a Gardenburger Black Bean & Chipotle Burger with some kidney beans and a touch of taco seasoning, then heated together in a pan.

Put it on a flatout wrap, with some rf sour cream, tomatoes, lettuces, & mexi cheese mix.

Jaelyn (and his Dinos) wanted Mac & Cheese. He always wants Mac & Cheese. And b/c Kraft Mac & I go waaayy back, I had a couple spoonfuls too.
What a yummy lunch for me and my little guy.

For dinner, I went to our deep freezer and pulled out a bag of unrecognizable frozen meat. (The Hubs doesn't write on the freezer bags, so it's always a surprise.)

Turned out to be pork chops.

I seasoned and coated them in panko crumbs then lightly pan fried them in a bit of EVOO.

Cheated on the rice and beans, 1 Uncle Ben's microwable brown rice mixed with a 1/2 can of kidney beans.

The only apple sauce I had was berry flavored, but it got the job done.

Dinner was served.

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Don't forget to enter my Apron Giveaway here.

&

If you wanna win some Zevia? Click here to visit Krittie's page and enter.

Leftover Remix & Food Find

Last nights dinner was left over cacciatore chicken in a Flatout Wrap with kidney beans, lettuce and sour cream.

Really Really Good.

I added a side salad with rf ranch. I've really been enjoying ranch dressing lately, weird b/c the only other time I really liked ranch was when I was prego. Hhmm?

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Food Find

I don't know if this is a new product at TJ's but it's new to me.

It's sweet and has all the great fall flavors I love; pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg.

The NI is great too; 40 cal/serv and 0g fat.

I sweetened my oatmeal with it this morning.

Also in my morning oats, was raisins, chopped walnuts and ff milk.

I bet the pumpkin butter would taste great on a simple piece of toast too.

~~~

Don't forget to Enter in my Giveaway!

Cute find, work, eats and a Giveaway.

Check out this cute apron I found while shopping yesterday. I needed one. Tired of splashing food all over me while cooking.

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I had to work today. I work on-call at a hospital as a Monitor Tech. When I work day shift, I have to be at work at 7am so my mornings are usually a rush job. For a quick breakfast I had already prepared my cereal, grain and flax combo, so all I had to do was cut a nectarine and add yogurt. Some coffee for the road and a Fiber One toaster pastry for my first break.

For my lunch I made a garden salad at the salad bar in the cafeteria.

Romaine, spinach, carrots, olives, cucumbers, tomato, egg whites, cheddar and rf ranch.

I'm so thankful that my hospital's cafeteria serves healthy options, because they defintately have plenty of really bad options. Luckily, the layout is so that I don't even have to see the "no-no" foods.

When I got home from work, I had a big bowl of watermelon. Probably the best watermelon I've had all summer.

~~~~

I have so much zucchini from my garden still.

So to use some of it up, I made some mini Chocolate Zucchini Bread. This stuff is so good. I make sure I give most of it away and what stays, gets cooled and freezed.

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Giveaway Time!!!

In honor of winning Jen's Fav Things giveaway, I'm doing one of my own.

I didn't just find one really cute apron, I found two.

One for me, and one for you.

Whoever you might be.

Entry is easy!

Just mention this giveaway on your blog with a link connecting back to it.
Don't forget to leave a comment.

The last day to enter will be 10-08-09

Happy Blogging!!

Ducks, Veggies & Pasta

Jaelyn and I had a great time feeding the ducks. He is animal crazy, so feeding the ducks is always an exciting activity for him.
While we were at the park we ran into his cousin and her mom. So they got to hang out for a bit.

So, cute.

Lunch was grilled zucchini, eggplant, and mushrooms, pan fried polenta all sprinkled with parm. I added some TJ's Reduced Guilt pita chips b/c they had been calling my name.

The zuc and eggplant came from my garden.

Really good lunch.

For dinner I made Chicken Cacciatore. I used a bottle of sauce I found at TJ's. I marinated the chicken breasts for a few hours with Italian dressing. Once ready to cook, I put the chicken in a baking dish, pour the sauce on top and baked it away.
Put it on a bed of ww pasta.

Added a small Caesar salad.
And Ate.
Yum.

Good Day.

Good Night.
_

Oh but before I go, I have a great give-away. Details to come tomorrow.

Morning All.

Today is going to be Hot, 85 degrees.
I'm going to take Jaelyn to the park, feed the ducks and then go do some shopping. I wish Jaelyn was hold enough to go bike riding with me. I've been craving a good bike ride.

Breakfast this morning was simple and delish.

Family Fun at the Fair

The Hubs usually takes Tuesdays off but he went into work for a couple hours this morning. So to surprise him, Jaelyn and I decided to make breakfast.


The Menu:

• Fresh Fruit
• Crispy Bacon
• Veggie Egg Scramble
• Whole Wheat Toast
• Cream of Wheat
• Coffee, Iced Tea

I had a small bowl of cream of wheat sweetened with Splenda.

Fruit, 1 slice of ww toast w/ sf blackberry jam, and eggs. Delish way to start the day.



For Family Fun Day we took a trip to the Puyallup Fair. Yes, another fair for us. This is the last of the year, Thankfully!!

Since it's just the 3 of us, Jaelyn is the only one who get's to enjoy the rides. Which is fine with us, we love to watch him and it saves us some moolah.

There is always great harvest displays, blue ribbon winners, and the giant pumpkins. This years winner weighed in at 1100+. Holy Big Pumpkin Batman.

Who says you shouldn't play with your food?

Isn't this cute?

Weird Al Yankovic had a 3D journey through the Human Brain. A 10 min 3D movie on the basic make up and function of the brain. It was really cool.

OK, let's talk eats.

I got a taco salad. It was huge and really good. Not as healthy as I would have made it at home but one of the better choices at the fair. Of course I didn't eat the shell but the huge dollop of sour cream did find a way into my mouth.
The Hubs got a onion cheeseburger with fries (huh? did you ask if I had some fries? were you spying on me?) Jaelyn went with a corn dog. Yuck, I never liked corn dogs. Which is a good thing, b/c I have plenty of "likes" as it is.

On the way out, I always get a scone. It's just what I always look forward to. I used to have one on the way in, maybe one during and one on the way out. But I've now decided that one on the way out is good enough.

The Hubs on the other hand, gets a scone but he always looks forward to having a caramel apple.

OMG, So Good!!

So, that was the run-down of our day at the fair. We had a great time.

Who doesn't like free stuff?

Quick Post.

Kelly @ Happy Texans posted some links to sign up for free samples.
Go on over there and get your freebies. I did.

I won, I won!!

Exciting news:

I won Jen's Fav Things give-away.

Way Cool!

Thanks Jen.

*

Yesterday I had leftover whole wheat pecan pancakes for breakfast.

One with sf syrup.

The other with sf blackberry jam.

*

The Hubs and I took Jaelyn and Hennessy to fly kites.

Hennessy did more watching than flying.

Jaelyn flying his first kite.

*

After our kite flying we went to our cousin's house to watch the Sanfransico 49er's vs. the Seattle Seahawks. Big game in our family b/c the Hubs is from the Bay Area in Cali and we live just outside of Seattle.

All the guys in their fav teams' jersey's watch the game, shouting at the TV, while all the girlfriends/wifes sat around the kitchen island chatting.

There was a ton of food. Luckily lots of great choices. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera memory card in my laptop at home, so I didn't get any pics.

I enjoyed:

• Chips and homemade salsa - probably more that a handful ;)
• 1/4 of a beef enchilada
• lots of veggies, little bit of dip
• apple slices
• 2 Budlight Limes
• a couple of jello shots

Not too bad, but could've been a lot worse.

When I got home, I was really tired for some reason. But also a bit hungry, so I heated up a Lean Pocket and hit the sack.

Yesterday' Eats

Yesterday, I woke up feeling good. Had a fun day a head. A baby shower and then Game Night at a friends house.

I wanted to eat a filling breakfast to hold me over for a while, so I started my day with some Pecan Pancakes with Bananas.
I've had this box of whole wheat pancake mix for a while so decided to give it a try. I added a touch of Cinnamon and some chopped pecans to the mix.


I topped them with sf syrup and banana slices. Yum, they turned out really well.

After doing some housework and getting ready for my day, I felt a slight bit of hunger. I knew I had to have a bite of something, so I wouldn't be starving when I got to the shower. So I sliced up an apple for the ride.

This was my first plate of food at the shower:


And this was my second:
{No Cake!!} Which is rare for me, I usually like to have a small piece of sweets but decided against it.


After the shower, I had some time to spare before meeting up with the Hubs and heading to game night, so I stopped of at the mall. I didn't buy anything, (which too is rare), I just wanted to walk around, window shop and people watch.
But by the time, I got home, I was hungry again. So I made a quick little deli-sammy before leaving for game night.

While at our friends house, I had two beers and a glass of wine. Nothing to eat, even though they had chips w/ chili cheese dip and wings. I knew if I started on the dip, I wouldn't be able to stop, so I didn't even go there.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with the choices I made, considering the entire day could have been a colossal disaster.

Today we are heading to yet another get together with friends to watch the football game...

Today was a good day.

I stayed true to my plan of journaling and making smart choices with my food today.

I started my day early with a bowl of Kashi Honey Sunshine w/ some Fiber One cereal and a cuppa joe.

I didn't eat the banana until later.

I been a bit bored and unhappy with my coffee's lately. I'm thinking of trying a new brand. Any suggestions?

After breaky fast, Jaelyn and I headed out the door, with my water bottle and banana. We had a interview to go to at an elementary school near by to see if Jae can be a peer leader in their special needs pre-school. He got accepted. His role in the classroom will be to help encourage playing and learning to the students who require extra attention, by leading by example. I think it will be such a fantastic experience for him and a great learning opportunity.

After our interview at the school, we did some shopping and visiting with grandma. Good thing I brought my banana to hold me over.

I was pretty hungry when I got home, so while I fixed dinner, I munched on some watermelon.

Dinner was a delish cesaer salad with salmon and a Morningstar Farms Chik burger topped with a 1/2 slice of cheddar, rf mayo, mustard and lettuce.

Right now, I'm sipping on a glass of white wine and enjoying a Hershey's Kiss.

Happy Healthy Eating!

Great Give-Away

Quick Note:

Jen has a great Give-Away over at Prior Fat Girl. Check it out here and check her out, if you havn't already.
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Seeing all the awesome Give-Aways has got me in the giving mood. Stay tuned.

Ugh...

It's been one of those days for me. I havn't been feeling well all day. A bit dizzy at times, tired and lazy. I don't know what it is. I really hope I'm not coming down with the flu or other virus.
I've been consuming more sugar than usual lately. For some reason there has just been more cookies, cakes and goodies around here. And I've been picking here and there. Maybe that's the problem.

Tomorrow, I'm waking up and starting fresh. No junk for me for a while. Also, I think I need to get back to journaling. That way, I will have time to re-think any bad food choices.

Oh and Water, Water, Water. I think I've been lacking a bit on the H2O.

-

Moving on.

Despite waking up and feeling like crap, I still managed to make a great breaky fast.

• 2 Special K Red Berries waffles w/ sf syrup
• A juicy nectarine
• 2 egg whites with a sprinkle of cheddar

Lunch was just as delish.

• A pita pizza w/ fresh mozzarella and fresh basil
• Diet Coke (had a sweet tooth)

After lunch it was all downhill.
I snacked on a few different things.

• PB and crackers
• Apple slices
• Yogurt and granola
• Handful of Honey Bunnies
• A couple bites of some salmon

It was bad.

I havn't had a real meal for dinner, but I'm craving Ice Cream.

Pear Cake = Yum!

Fresh Pear Cake

With some of the many pears I picked from my MIL's backyard, I made a Pear Cake.

I had never made one before so I didn't know what to expect. It turned out really good.

Moist and Sweet.

I found the recipe here.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups peeled, cored and chopped pears
2 cups white sugar
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour*
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves*
4 egg whites*
2/3 cup canola oil
1 cup chopped pecans

*Of course I made a few changes to the recipe. When do I not remix the recipes?

• I used 2 cups all purpose flour & 1 cup whole wheat flour
• I didn't have cloves, so I grated a bit of fresh ginger in it
• I used 3 egg whites
  

DIRECTIONS

Combine the pears and the sugar and let stand for one hour. (I didn't wait an hour)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Spray a 10 inch bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Slightly beat the egg whites and combine them with the oil, chopped pecans and pear mixture.
Stir the flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Stir in the pear mixture. Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan.
Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from oven ant let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing form pan.

Nutritional Information

Servings Per Recipe: 12
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 461
Total Fat: 20.1g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 371mg
Total Carbs: 67.5g
Dietary Fiber: 3.7g
Protein: 5.6g

Not the healthiest cake, but not the worst either. Moderation is key, once again.

Salmon Caesar Salad

Today's Lunch!!!

More than Delish!

Happy Healthy Eating.

Smile & Push

I did a lot of running around today. Got lots of things accomplished, boring stuff that's not worth mentioning.
But while I was out, I went to Borders Books to find Push by Sapphire. A gritty novel about a young girls struggle to find herself, her worth, her purpose and love, while growing up in Harlem. A movie has been made based on the book called Precious presented by Oprah and Tyler Perry.
Anyway, while I was at Borders I posted an Operation Beautiful note in the ladies room. My first post, but not the last. If you are not familiar with Operation Beautiful, check it out. I think it's a brilliant way to spread self love.

After all of my running around, I went to Starbucks, purchased an Iced SF Cinnamon Dolce NF Latte, found an outside table, munched on a banana, looked at some pics, and began reading Push. What a great slice of time to myself.

Note to Self: Post up at a coffee shop and get lost in a great book more often.

Lunchtime Picnic

After running errands yesterday, Jaelyn and I decided to have a picnic at the park. I picked up a grilled chicken club salad for me and chicken strips for him.

The salad was really good. I hardly ever get the specialty salads from fast food joints because I feel like I'm being robbed. I mean $5 for a salad? Come on!

But this one was really good and really big.

After our lunch picnic, Jaelyn had fun on the playground. The swings are his favorite.

I'm so not ready for fall. I love the sun, it's inviting, makes me wanna spend all day outside.

I do however, like fall fashions. I love scarves and boots and coats and sweaters...