Cabin Weekend Photo Recap

We had such an absolutely amazing time away at the cabin this weekend. It was a sunny, relaxing, laugh-until-your-cheeks-hurt, 100% laid-back good time. 🙂 The family members at the cabin were my aunt and uncle Chip and Patti, two of their kids Aaron and Ali, my aunt and uncle David and Doreen, their two boys Matthew and Nathan (their cabin is next door to Chip and Patti’s), my mom and dad, and Dana and me.

This post doesn’t need many words, so how about a photo cabin recap instead? Here it goes…

I didn’t want to leave on Sunday; I had such a blast. This is definitely what the doctor had ordered. Thank you to my gracious aunt and uncle/Godfather for having us out to your lake place. I hope we can make this happen more often!

In case anyone was wondering, I did manage to stick to the SCD all weekend. It wasn’t easy, but I did it. I really want to reach my hands into the popcorn bag and the peanut M & M’s, but I resisted and snacked on some cantaloupe instead.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend as well! I have a healthy and delicious nacho recipe coming your way tomorrow. You’re probably going to want to check back. 😉

Have a great day!

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Kabobs and Family Time

Well, we survived Monday! I always feel a sense of accomplishment from making it through my least favorite day. 🙂

Breakfast

For breakfast I made a bowl of yogurt with honey and bananas and drank a cup of weak coffee (that’s allowed!).

Lunch

Pulled chicken with honey mustard dressing and cooked carrots with a touch of honey and salt.

And a half a ‘naner with peanut butter, plus 2 more bites of peanut butter with some homemade SCD crackers.

Dinner

After work, I headed to mom and dad’s to enjoy our last evening with Jeff before he headed back to Colombia.

Kevi and I were wearing the same shirt last night so of course my nerdy self had to snap a photo. Wooo Warriors! Thanks for humoring me so often, Kev. You’re such a good sport.

For dinner mom and dad were busy making and grilling shrimp and chicken kabobs. The copious amount of food looks like they were feeding an army, but in reality, I would say all but one of those bad boys got eaten. There were a lot of men at our house! We had Dad, Grandpa, Jeff, Kevin, and Dana all there, and they were hungry. Mom and I didn’t do so bad ourselves either. This is basically what our food quantities looked like growing up with three teenage boys and my dad around the house. Mom would always joke that her paycheck went right to the groceries.

I asked mom and dad to keep mine and Dana’s separate because we have to be careful with our sauces and seasonings with the SCD. I found a “jerk seasoning” in their cupboard that had all legal ingredients, so I sprinkled our kabobs with that prior to grilling. The seasoning definitely had a kick but it wasn’t too spicy that I couldn’t handle it.

On the kabobs: bell pepper, mushroom, shrimp, zucchini (no skin thanks to mom), chicken, and onion.

I had at least one and a half of these plus a whole lot of watermelon. We had so much fun together last night. We sat around for a couple of hours and chatted away, and amidst our conversation I came to the conclusion that if I were stuck on a deserted island and could only have one food item, mine would totally be peanut butter. If I had two food items, it would be peanut butter and banana. Dad’s would be hot dogs. That still cracks me up! Grandpa’s would be roast beef, Dana’s would be a club sandwich on sourdough but everyone decided that was too complex and that’s cheating, mom would want lobster, and Kevin and Jeff both were being too difficult to give me a straight answer. Jeff said Whole Foods Market and Kevin said a sandwich full of steak and chicken and meatballs,and veggies, etc.

After our imaginative conversations, it was time for us to hit the home-front .We said our good-bye’s and Jeff gave us a gift he brought from Colombia: Colombian coffee. Oh yes. I am excited to break into that! It’s always hard saying good-bye, but this one was a little easier knowing I was going to be seeing him in the Fall, and being that time has been absolutely FLYING by, I know it won’t seem like long. We sure love having him home though!

It was such a great night with the family, we were just missing our Scotty. Jeffrey, can’t wait to see you in the Fall but feel free to come home before that if you want though. 😉 I love my family so much I can’t even begin to explain. I feel so lucky.

Have a terrific Tuesday. I’ll catch up with you later. Oh and btw, not too happy with the Bachelorette outcome last night…

Question of the day: What one food item would you choose if you were stuck on a deserted island?

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Banana Soft Serve on a Summer Day

Yesterday’s weather could have not have been more perfect for the pool party. We celebrated our friend Greg’s birthday while lounging at their pool and catching up with friends and family.

I mentioned yesterday that my brother Jeff is home from Bogota, Colombia and it was almost surreal seeing him yesterday at the party. I don’t like going 9 months without seeing him! Dana and I are planning a trip in the fall to go out to Colombia and see him. I’m already excited for it.

We had all but one family member at the party yesterday (we missed you Scotty!), so we, well I, had to make sure and snap a photo. I should photoshop Scott in and then we would be set! Who’s that misfit in the back with the dark hair and dark skin? 😉 Kidding.

I didn’t take any food photos yesterday because I was enjoying myself way too much. It was definitely a little bit of a challenge to find things I could eat that were SCD allowed, but I snacked on boat loads of watermelon (I made sure to bring a ginormous bowl to share), and some other fresh fruit. I did eat some fresh sugar snap peas and grape tomatoes which I probably wasn’t quite ready for but the good news is I feel fine today! For dinner I ate a grilled beef burger with mustard which really hit the spot.

We had a really great time at the party. Thanks for putting that all together Cheryl and Greg!

I was hungry again when we got home that evening so I made a batch of homemade peanut butter. Oh em gee so good. I ate some peanut butter with banana and cooked carrots with honey and salt. Oh, did I mention I had to start all over on the homemade SCD yogurt last night too? Yea, I did. The yogurt was about 20 hours into the cooking process when I remembered that I forgot to put the “starter” yogurt into the milk. I was not a happy camper last night. We made a quick trip to the store and bought another half-gallon of 1% milk and started all over. It will not be done until 11:30 pm tonight. Ha ha…oh well, what can you do besides crab about it a little and get over it?

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Sunday

For breakfast this morning I ate a banana with peanut butter (again). Dana and I were off to a late start because we once again slept in until 8:45 am! We did our standard Sunday morning newspaper and grocery store routine, and I was starving by the time we got home at noon.

For lunch: sautéed spinach and mushrooms in garlic and olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and topped with cheddar cheese and a runny egg.

Yes, that was delicious. Now, it is time to try and be productive around here. I am hoping to get some food prep done for the week ahead, including cooking up some chicken breast, and possibly making homemade marinara sauce!

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In case you’re looking for a healthy cool treat this afternoon, I’ll leave you with this idea for inspiration…

Banana Soft Serve

In your blender (2 servings):

  1. 2 frozen bananas
  2. 1/4 cup (?) homemade SCD yogurt or whatever yogurt you have on hand. Milk would also work here. You may need to add more  yogurt or milk. Use your discretion.
  3. Squirt of honey

Blend away but be patient. It takes a while to break down the frozen bananas. You will need to stop the blending process here and there to mix around the bananas, mash them a little, and incorporate them into the mix. Trust me though, it’s worth it. If you have an ice cream hankering this will do the trick, and that’s coming from an ice cream fanatic.

Happy Sunday friends!

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Banana Muffins and Yogurt Bites

Happy day everybody!

The weather has finally cooled down around here and it is so pleasant again. I was getting a little tired of the 100° heat. I live in Minnesota, now come on I’m not used to that. It is in the mid-70’s right now and supposed to warm up to the 80’s or so which is just perfect considering we are going to a pool party today. Want to know the most exciting part? My brother is here all the way from Bogota, Colombia! I haven’t seen him since our wedding in October and I am psyched to see him!! YYYYYaaaayyyyy!

This morning, Dana and I made our way to the gym after sleeping in until 8:40 am. I couldn’t believe we slept in until then, we don’t ever do that. We must have needed it. Anyway, we warmed up with a mile run then hit the weights and cranked out triceps, shoulder, and chest work. Dana was my personal trainer today and he whooped my butt. My arms are already sore. I couldn’t take a picture without holding my arm with my other hand to stay steady. I’m a serious wuss. But hey, I strength trained today! I said I wanted to get back on that train, and although I may be a little weak right now, you have to start somewhere. I feel like I am starting over now that I am starting to get my energy back again. That’s okay though.

I have a large watermelon to cut up before the party today and a few other things I want to do, so I am going to try to whiz through the rest of this. Here goes a recap from yesterday!

Saturday Lunch

This is a sorry attempt at a photo of a banana with cashew butter. It was really tasty but the photo sure doesn’t present itself that way!

I also stuffed my face with a load of watermelon which again, I forgot to take a photo of it but you know what watermelon looks like.

Afternoon workout and snacks

In the afternoon, I made my way down to the treadmill and got a half hour walk in while watching The Doctors. I also weeded the garden in the back which is looking real good! I can’t wait for all of the fresh veggies soon to come.

I made myself a snack of yogurt with honey and cinnamon a little while later.

And whipped up some nummy little frozen treats for Dana and I.

Please welcome strawberry-banana yogurt bites.

I simply blended:

  • Homemade SCD yogurt (you could use whatever yogurt you prefer)
  • Strawberries (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 banana
  • Touch of honey (because the yogurt is slightly tart)

Once blended, I poured the smoothie mix into the star freezer molds and place in the freezer overnight.

Today I popped them out of the molds and taste-tested. They turned out perfectly sweet and are such a nice and healthy way to cool down in the heat of the summer. These are perfect for adults and kids alike. If you don’t have fancy freezer molds, you could simply use a mini muffin tin or an ice-cube tray.

So cute, right?!

Speaking of mini muffin tins and cuteness…a few days ago I gave you a little sneak peek to a muffin that I had made. Well, it’s sharing time. 🙂

I am working on making snacks for Dana and I that are quick and tasty, and that can hold us over for a little while. I searched around and found a recipe for SCD Banana Muffins from this site. However, knowing me, I adjusted the recipe slightly. I am so excited to share these little gems with you. I prepared them in mini muffin tins so they are perfectly snackable.

Mini Banana Muffins SCD-friendly (makes 2 dozen mini muffins)

Ingredients

  • 2 cups almond meal
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp cloves
  • 2 medium overripe bananas,  mashed
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 honey
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease 2-mini muffin tins with sunflower oil (or whatever you have on hand); set aside.
  2. In small bowl, combine almond meal, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves; mix well and set aside.
  3. In large mixing bowl, beat together bananas, eggs and vanilla.
  4. Add vinegar and honey and mix.
  5. Mix in dry ingredients until combined; do not overmix.
  6. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pans half-way through.
  7. Muffins are done when toothpick inserted in middle of muffin comes out clean and tops of muffins begin to feel firm. Remove from oven and enjoy!
I am loving these little guys just plain jane or with a little smear of cashew butter.
For Dinner…
We brought dinner over to the Greg and Sue’s (my in-laws) last night. We brought lean hamburgers seasoned with salt and pepper, SCD ketchup, butter lettuce to use as our burger “buns,” and asparagus to grill on the side. I topped my burger with legal cheddar cheese and a slather of mustard and loaded my plate with asparagus. I went back for seconds of the asparagus. What is it about grilling asparagus that makes it so absolutely delicious?! LOVE! Before we grilled the asparagus, we nuked them in the microwave for 4 minutes to make sure they was cooked enough and easier for me to digest.
This was OH so GOOD!

When we got home I started making another batch of homemade SCD yogurt because I ate up the first batch. Then I was led out back where there was a little excitement. Our neighbors just got a 4 year old golden retriever and they met for the first time last night. Moose was introduced to a new friend named Sadie. Moose goes crazy over golden retrievers; he absolutely adores them. Remember this photo from the dog park?

Ok, that may not have been a golden retriever, but close.

It was so sweet watching Moose and Sadie together. Sadie was a little apprehensive but she was also just introduced to a new home and is working on adjusting to a lot of changes. I give it 2 weeks and they will be BFF or lovers, one of the two.

Alright, I am off to prepare for the day! Enjoy your Saturday wherever you may be. I am loving life.

Continue Reading Banana Muffins and Yogurt Bites

Day 2 of SCD Intro Diet

Hi friends! I hope everyone’s week is off to a great start. Can you believe tomorrow is July 4th already? I can’t! For those of you who missed yesterday’s post, you may want to check it out here. Otherwise you are going to look at my diet for the day and wonder what has gotten into me.

Monday

Yesterday was day two of the introductory diet on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. The morning began with a slice of SCD cheesecake which looks pretty good right? I wish I could say it tasted as good as it looked, but it didn’t. You have to use this special dry curd cottage cheese aka Farmer’s Cheese in the recipe, and I despise it. It leaves the world’s worst after taste in my mouth that makes me nauseated.

I also drank a glass of pineapple juice to try and wash out the flavor. No such luck.

After breakfast I was working on my blog when Dana comes rushing in with Moose saying something about how he thinks Moose broke is toe. Holy cow, okay, wasn’t expecting that, what do I do? I ran over to Moose to see that his dewclaw is completely bent to the side and dripping blood. I ran and got a towel to try and catch the blood and Moose howled from pain. We loaded him into the car immediately and headed to the Animal Hospital.

When we got there they weighed Moose (90 lbs–he lost weight!) and headed back to the clinic room to wait for the doctor. I caught this photo of him for the very brief moment that he was sitting. He was so incredibly anxious and wouldn’t sit still. He knows this place…

They ended up numbing the area, and had to tear the dewclaw off which they said is the pain equivalent to us ripping our nail off. That news made me cringe. They sent us home with a laundry list of meds and a cone head to keep him from licking his bandage. Our poor baby. I feel so bad for him. We hate to have to have him wear that thing because he is miserable in it, but we don’t want him licking his bandage or gnawing at it while we are gone.. He can’t relax so he just sits there with his head lifted the entire time.

We gave it a rest after a little while because we were going to be home with him. He was fairly sedated at this point and konked out for the majority of the day.

That was a lot of excitement before 10 am! When I got home I was hungry again, so I snacked on a hard-boiled egg.

Lunch time rolled around and since my options were pretty slim due to the restrictive two-day intro diet, I sipped on a cup of chicken carrot soup.

And some pineapple jello.

I hit the road to go meet my mom during her lunch break and visit with her. I brought a picnic blanket and we sat under a nice shady tree and chatted for a good 45 minutes. Loved it! Dana and I hit the gym in the afternoon. I wasn’t feeling very energetic, so I brought a magazine along and hit the elliptical for an easy 30 minute workout.

For dinner, I made myself scrambled eggs with salt and pepper.

Bearing the 100° heat, I wanted to whip up a batch of SCD allowable bread so that Dana could have something to make a sandwich with. It was super easy and the bread looks awesome. I’ll try to remember to get Dana’s report back so I can let you know what he thought.

And yes, our house was a sauna after this got done baking!

SCD Bread (Recipe from this site)

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 cups almond flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 Tbsp butter, melted
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup homemade yogurt
  • 1/4 tsp salt
Directions
  1. Mix all ingredients in food processor
  2. Bake for 55-60 minutes at 350°
**Note: this bread is not meant to be eaten during the introductory phase of SCD. I made this in preparation for the stages to follow.

I spent the rest of the night cleaning up the kitchen, I seriously cannot tell you how many dishes are involved with this SCD. I also watched DVR’ed Bachelorette which I have decided is my preferred way of watching the show. Some of the conversations can become pretty darn boring, so I fast-forward and get to the good stuff. In case you haven’t watched it yet, I won’t say who went home. I will say I was very happy with her decision, but I don’t know how she is ever going to pick between the last three guys. They are all great!

I am in a very good mood today because I have moved past the introductory diet and moving on to incorporating more fruits and vegetables today. I hope everyone has a wonderful day and I will catch up with you soon.

Continue Reading Day 2 of SCD Intro Diet

Not Quite a Warrior, More Like a Pansy

Hello there! Happy Sunday to all. I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend. Mine has been busy, but a lot of fun.

Saturday Morning: Warrior Dash

It was Warrior Dash morning which meant I was going to have my typical pre-race meal: perfectly ripe banana with a light smear of Smart Balance peanut butter.

I gathered the first set of troops for a “I-just-got-out-of-bed-but-let’s-do-this” pre-race photo.

We made our way to Afton Alps and picked up some of our friends on the way. Parking cost $20 so we figured we would pack everyone in to one vehicle to cut the cost, and hey, we were going green too. The parking scene was an obstacle in itself–driving through farms, weaving around cones, riding over some seriously bumpy terrain; it was actually hysterical. Once we parked, we took a shuttle bus over to the race.

Here is my brother Kevi, and our friends Matt and Steph.

Dana and I, and behind us are our friends Adam and Stacy. Peace.

We arrived super early, which I love. We went and picked up our bib numbers, timing chips, t-shirts, and warrior headgear. We then had plenty of time to relax, pin our numbers on, use the facilities a couple of times, and snap some clean pre-race photos with our group.

Being that I have not been feeling my best lately, I was slightly nervous that this race wasn’t going to be a good idea. I become fatigued very easily, I feel weak, and my stamina isn’t where it could be, and mostly, I was afraid to be far from the restrooms. That’s the ugly truth. Not only that, I felt very sick the night before. I woke up Saturday morning feeling pretty good though, and mornings are usually better for me than night-time when there isn’t a whole lot of food being digested yet, so I decided to give it a go.

Off to the race we went. The first obstacle was a bunch of car tires tied up in a bunch, and you had to run through them kind of like you were playing football and knocking through everyone. I liked that one but that’s probably because I was the first one to run through and didn’t get knocked in the face by any of the swinging tires. 🙂

Let’s see the rest of the obstacles from what I remember:

  • Balance beam that slanted up down up down.
  • Climbing wall with uneven foot holdings and a slanted top which made it challenging to climb over.
  • Cargo net wall
  • Snow blowers set with water that basically blind you as you run through
  • Crawl under barbed wire on rocky grounds
  • Slightly slanted wall with rope to pull yourself up and over
  • Grassy steep hill and rope to pull yourself up
  • Hurdles and barbed wire so you had to go over a hurdle and then under a barbed wire, over a hurdle, under barbed wire, etc.
  • Water slide!
  • Jumping over fire twice
  • Mud pit
But the most challenging part of the race wasn’t the obstacles, it was BY FAR the insane amount of hills. In between the obstacles was 3 miles of “running” through the grassy, truly beautiful views of Afton Alps, but I would say (and I don’t think I’m exaggerating) that 60% of the running part was uphill. And I don’t mean little bunny hills, I mean crazy steep hills that even the most incredibly in-shape person would struggle to run up. My team walked most of the hills and even walking them was hard for me! I kept losing my breath and had one scary moment where I couldn’t catch my breath at all and felt like I was beginning to hyperventilate. This happened to me during the half marathon as well. I think what happens is when I begin to feel so short of breath, I begin to panic and the panic only makes the breathing more difficult. It is such a scary feeling though, not being able to catch your breath. The group I was with was so supportive and everyone kept cheering each other the entire way.
The race ends with the mud pit where you have to crawl on your elbows in 1-2 feet of wet mud under a barbed wire. This year they sprayed us with a hose while we crawled, which made it even more messy (but so fun!). Dana and I were very cliché thanks to me, and held muddy hands through the finish line.
We all finished in one piece. Kevin completely tore it up and finished probably 25 minutes before we did. Next year I tell ya, he is taking the prize. Seriously. (BTW the guy on the left in this photo is Stu, and he is Matt and Adam’s uncle and a friend of ours as well. He wasn’t in the previous photos).

After all the muddy shots, we headed to the rinse area where they had a snow-making machine shooting out a thick mist of water. It was very cold but felt good to get all the muck and dirt off! We then donated our shoes, dried off in the sun, and headed home.

I don’t know if I’m a true warrior. I’m more of a pansy, but I still finished the race. 🙂 Intestinally speaking, I was fine during the race, but I could tell my stamina wasn’t where it used to be. My body is fighting hard right now and I understand that, so just completing the race at all was a big accomplishment for me.

Wedding Reception

Dana, Kev, and I had a wedding reception to get to. We showered up, making sure to clean out the mud in the ears, and headed to my cousin Mike and Jess’ wedding reception. They got married in Mexico in March and are having their reception back home to celebrate with everyone. It was set up in a large outdoor shelter near a public lake. It was so nice to be outside; it was a little hot, but I kind of liked it. They had the reception catered with the great classic barbecue foods: burgers, brats, chicken, beans, watermelon, pasta salads, and lettuce salad. I didn’t snap a photo of my lunch but I had a few bites of chicken, a half a burger, and a huge lettuce salad with mustard.  Mike and Jess did a wonderful job planning for the reception. Thanks for a great time!

At this point in time, I was completely beat, but Dana and I had a few errands we needed to run. It started with what was going to be a quick trip to our nearby natural food store, but we ended up having to make a trip to Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s in search of almond flour among other very particular items. If you’re looking for almond meal/flour, Trader Joe’s has the BEST deal. The other stores had the almond flour as well but it was about double the cost.

For dinner, I ate 1 1/2 leftover turkey burgers from Friday night with a side salad.

I think the burgers tasted even better the second time around!

The rest of the evening was spent with some food preparation.  Tomorrow’s post is going to be a big one. I am beginning a new way of eating, I don’t like the word diet so I am going to try and not call it that. It is going to heal my colitis, I know it is. I have already begun to feel better and I have only just started the process. I can’t wait to break it down for you, so check back tomorrow! I don’t mean to leave you high and dry, but there is a lot that goes into it, and I want to make sure I have adequate time to tell you everything I need to tell you. I have tomorrow off of work so it will be the perfect opportunity.

Alright, off to hopefully cut some awesome coupons. Have a great Sunday!

Continue Reading Not Quite a Warrior, More Like a Pansy

Two in One Day

Holy cow this weekend was awesome but it completely flew by too fast. Times flies when you’re having fun definitely reigns true.

I have officially fallen into a smoothie kick. I am so excited to be able to incorporate more fruits and veggies into my diet albeit certain veggies may need to be in puree form for the time being.

My smoothie kick started on Friday after becoming so fed up with eating the same old foods day in and day out and not only needed more variety in my diet, but really needed more fruits and vegetables. I am not able to eat raw veggies because of the U.C. so I have been racking my brain for any type of creative ideas to incorporate more green into my diet. There are options such as steaming and baking to soften the veggies and make them easier on digestion, and I have been doing some of that, but I was looking for something else still. This is where the smoothies have been coming into action.

My smoothie on Friday was okay. It wasn’t wonderful but wasn’t horrible. Since then, I made a smoothie Saturday morning and Sunday morning and with each creation I am improving my skills. However, there was ingredient that I really wanted to add: strawberries. As mentioned before, berries are a no-no for me right now because I can’t eat the seeds, but I was determined to find a way to add them to my smoothie. I decided I would experiment a bit. I pureed them in the blender, then poured them through a small sieve, strained the puree through, and caught the seeds in the sieve. It worked like a charm and I ended up with this beautiful red concoction.

I added 3 tablespoons to my smoothie on Sunday morning and it completely changed the flavor, for the better. In the Sunday morning smoothie mix was frozen mango and peaches, half a banana, cooked spinach, hemp protein which I bought from the best brands & smoke shop products, the seedless strawberry puree, almond milk, and a pinch of stevia.

Way better. I am on to something!

After my smoothie I hit the living room for a gentle yoga session. Then, Dana and I ran to the grocery store, and came back home to hang out with my bro and Nicole before they headed out for the weekend. We made them killer egg burritos Sunday morning and I am kicking myself for not taking a photo.

In the afternoon we headed to my cousin’s house for a surprise 30th birthday party. It was SO nice to be with my cousins and hang out with them and my cousin’s adorable baby girl, Evie. Jen pulled off a great surprise, hosted a wonderful party, and supplied a seriously awesome spread of food for everyone. Olive and feta salad, Italian pasta salad, veggies and dip, pickles, pickled veggies, stuffed olives, potato salad, chips, burgers and brats.

We stayed for a couple of hours before heading out to get some things done before the weekend was over. On the way home, we stopped at Petco and got $5 back on dog food because it went on sale yesterday and we had bought it the Sunday prior not on sale. Cha-ching! Five dolla make you holla. It pays to read the those Sunday ads.

We spent some time with the pup in the backyard and took him for a walk around the neighborhood. I also worked out to an On Demand Walk and Sculpt 24 minute video. I was completely skeptical but I ended up really enjoying it. The instructor kept you walking the entire time as you worked with light weights to sculpt the upper body. I am lovin’ these On Demand workouts lately!

The rest of the night was spent finishing some laundry, planning a day trip around the 4th of July (more to come), and oh yea, I whipped up another smoothie. Oh my gosh am I becoming obsessed?

I wasn’t very hungry for dinner but wanted veggies in a bad way. I also knew I needed more protein and I just happened to have some tofu in the fridge. Into the blender: frozen peaches, fresh mango, half a banana, spinach, V8 Fusion Strawberry Banana, almond milk, tofu and a tablespoon of hemp protein.

This smoothie was the bomb. It was thick and creamy and protein packed. Melanie is getting her 5 a day one way or the other. This two smoothies in one day thing probably won’t happen too often, but it sure was a smooth and tasty day.

For dessert I ate a spoonful of peanut butter with two squares of dark chocolate and later munched on a few handfuls of pretzels.

Happy day everyone.

Continue Reading Two in One Day

Saturday with the Family

Wow, Saturday was a great day. It started off with a pretty amazing 3-mile run. It felt SO good to be running again. When I got home I made myself another green smoothie. This one was similar to yesterday’s but I also added in frozen peaches, a tiny splash of vanilla, and omitted the lime juice and splash of V8 fusion. I was happy to get some greens in first off in the morning. 🙂

In the morning we hung out with my brother and Nicole before we headed out to meet Dana’s parents for a belated Father’s Day celebration. We decided to go to lunch at  Captain Jack’s in Prior Lake. We’ve all been wanting to check this place out for a while and thought this would be the perfect opportunity. It is a casual restaurant with indoor seating, outdoor patio seating right on the lake and fun swings at the bar.

Dana’s mom, Sue, and I split the Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich: teriyaki grilled chicken breast, pineapple, provolone cheese, lettuce, and tomato with a side of sweet potato fries.

We all split a brownie sundae for a sweet bite to end lunch.

The food was pretty good but the best part was definitely being able to sit outside right by the lake and of course catch up with my in-law’s. The weather held up just long enough while we were there because as we were leaving it began to sprinkle. Talk about good timing!

After lunch Dana and I tag-teamed the garden and weeded the heck out of it. The weeds had invaded our vegetable garden and I was not having it, so we slipped on our gardening gloves and got rid of those buggers. My biggest challenge was deciphering weed versus actual plant with the plants that hadn’t gotten too big yet like the peppers.

For dinner we headed over to mom and dad’s for a BBQ. We hung out on the deck and enjoyed the perfect summer weather. Eventually we fired up the grill and got to cooking up some mean burgers. We wanted to keep the meal very simple and planned on a “picnic” type of dinner. I plated myself up an awesome super lean hamburger, some chili cheese dip with pretzels (plus probably five more servings  of pretzels), mushrooms, and watermelon.

I had made a big batch of guacamole but completely forgot to put it out for dinner. Whoops! I realize my plate looks a little lame-o but I did my best to stay low-fiber and this is what I came up with. It sure was tasty.

Plus, I had to save room for dessert…

Rainbow sherbet with whipped cream and a lemon butter cookie. Num. When we got home we hung out with this booger and then called it an early night.

 

I had such a great Saturday with both sides of the family yesterday. I hope you did too. Now on to another day of fun. I’ll fill you in later!

Continue Reading Saturday with the Family

Pasta Bolognese Per Request

Hi friends! I hope everyone is having a good Monday so far…

It’s time to recap a super awesome Sunday that was spent with my husband and the dog. It started with BOGO coffees at Caribou. I stuck with a decaf coffee with sugar-free hazelnut (num) and Dana went for the Milk Chocolate Mocha with a shot or two of espresso.

Let the Father’s Day fun begin! Today was all about the hubby. Moose even made sure to get his dad a sweet card for Father’s Day. How thoughtful, right?

For breakfast I made myself a pb banana sandwich (I ate half of it before remembering to snap a photo). I ate my banana ‘wich and sipped on my coffee while we cut coupons.

Once again, the coupons were completely lame this week. We cut two measly coupons. TWO. And they were for household type things so they weren’t even exciting.

Next, we hit the Sunday usuals: Target and Costco. We stocked up on some good eats and even bought Mooser a new chicken. His last one had to be tossed due to a terrible stench that really raunched up his breath each time he played with it. Gross.

We got a few things done around the house, I completed a relaxing yoga session, and then I made Dana a special Father’s Day sandwich.

This beautiful creation is made up of:

  • Two pieces of whole wheat bread
  • 1 slice of lower-sodium turkey breast
  • 1 slice cheddar cheese
  • Sliced tomato sprinkled with onion powder and pepper
  • Mustard
  • 1 drippy egg.

All grilled to perfection with love.

I LOVE making special meals for the ones I love.

In the afternoon, we had to run a few more errands which included plans to take the pooch out for a walk around the lake. Our plans were hindered when the clouds opened up and mother nature watered our grass from 1:00-5:00 pm. I wasn’t sure if it was going to let up, so I decided to head down to our treadmill to get a little walk in just in case. I walked for 35 minutes while watching The Blind Side. Such a great movie.

Towards the end of my workout, the skies had cleared up and Moose really wanted to take his dad out for a Father’s Day walk :wink:, so we headed out. It had cooled off quite a bit after the rain and the sun was even peeking through. It was a perfect evening walk with my guys.

Since today was all about the dads, I told Dana he could have whatever he wanted for dinner. His decision: Pasta Bolognese. My version of course.

I started by sautéing 1 cup diced yellow onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, and 1 cup of chopped mushrooms in a light amount of garlic infused olive oil. After about 3 minutes, I added a jar of No-Added Sugar Ragu, added a shake of garlic powder, basil, and oregano. I gave this a stir, covered, and let simmer while I prepared the rest of the meal.

In a separate pan, I started browning up a package of lean ground chicken and began boiling my water for the pasta. Once the meat was browned, I sprinkled it with oregano and garlic powder. I like to flavor each part of the dish when I can. I added the meat to the sauce, then finished the sauce by adding about 3/4 cup of chopped green olives.

Once the pasta was finished cooking to al dente, I drained it and served up two heaping plates full of pasta and Bolognese sauce and topped with parmesan cheese.

Great decision, honey.

After dinner, we just had to have dessert because it was Father’s Day after all. So what did we decide to do? Head to the Frozen Yogurt shop down the road of course. Jeez louise this is the third Sunday in a row now that we have done this. We are getting a lot better at controlling our frozen yogurt pour and limiting the toppings at least. Last night we spent $7.00 between the two of us which was our cheapest fro-yo purchase yet.

Last night I chose non-dairy, non-fat Valencia Orange Sorbet mixed with the tiniest bit of sugar-free vanilla fro-yo (to get the orange creamsicle effect). I topped it with gummies and was extremely happy with this combo. You are probably aware by now that I usually opt for the chocolately, rich toppings when it comes to my fro-yo and ice cream, but I am trying to cool it on the dairy, and since the only sorbet flavor option they had last night was orange, I didn’t think topping it with cookie dough and brownie pieces sounded very appetizing. The gummies were just perfect.

Any time I eat gummies I am reminded of my childhood, and my college years. Growing up we had gummies as a special treat, and through my college years, my girlies and I would buy a huge bag of mixed gummies from the grocery store when we were having a girl’s night in. Sweet memories.

What a great Father’s Day weekend with my papa on Saturday, and Dana on Sunday. We will be celebrating Father’s Day with Dana’s parents next weekend. Let the fun continue.

***************

I keep forgetting to tell you all, that last week I DID reach my June Yoga Challenge weekly goal. When I posted on Friday I had only completed two yoga sessions and my goal is three per week. Well, you better believe that after I posted on Friday I hit up the yoga. I am really loving it and am feeling pretty sore from it as well. Work it baby!

I still need to share that awesome Lemon Blueberry Bar recipe with you all that I made on Saturday. I didn’t forget! It’s still comin. Have a great Monday.

Continue Reading Pasta Bolognese Per Request

Happy Day to the Men

Happy Father’s Day to dads of all kinds…Granddads, dads with grown kids, young kids, expecting daddies, puppy dads, cat dads. How about ‘Happy Day to the Men.’ I like that. They sure have to put up with a lot from us females, and they all deserve a day to celebrate.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon with my family to celebrate Father’s Day with my wonderful dad who makes me laugh constantly…

Knows how to seriously man the grill…

Knows how to present a good-looking plate and loves himself a big juicy steak…

Who cooks a mean marinated chicken breast for his not-as-much-red-meat-lovin’ daughter and wife…

And always has room for dessert (just like his daughter). Lemon Blueberry Bar recipe coming soon!

We spent the evening relaxing, opening gifts, eating a delicious meal put on by mom and dad, and cuddling with our favorite little girl.

Gosh, just a little love for that doggy, huh?

Happy Father’s Day to my incredible papa. Thanks for always finding the corniest, funniest jokes to cheer me up with when I’m feeling down and for all you do for me and the family. I love you so so much. Love, your baby girl.

*************

Today I am celebrating Father’s Day with my hubby….it started off right with BOGO Caribou coffee. 🙂

I’ll fill you in on the rest later. Have a great Sunday everyone, and again, Happy Day to all of you men today. I love ya!

Continue Reading Happy Day to the Men
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