pb&j oats

Today is Week 4, Day 1 of my half marathon training. Mike joined me for 3 miles this morning and it was actually a really good run. Tomorrow I will need to get up a tad earlier so I can squeeze in 4 miles, but I will worry about that tomorrow.

I made it the entire 3 miles without having to stop for my knee. Towards the end, I definitely started to feel it flare up a bit, but it didn't really ever slow me down. I went ahead and iced it down this morning anyway, just to be safe. Actually, I am currently sitting here with my leg elevated under my desk and an ice pack on my knee, I am such a good patient. :)

A while ago, my friend Layne (hi!), told me about peanut butter and jelly oatmeal. She raved about this combination and although it doesn't sound too far off from my normal oatmeal concoctions, I resisted making it because I am not the biggest fan of pb&j. I eat it when I am hungry and there is nothing else, but it is never my first choice in a sandwich combination. Well, last night as I was packing my lunch, I realized we are literally out of everything in our kitchen. I had no fresh fruit or yogurt to add to my oatmeal, so I decided to make things easy and try pb&j oats. I combined chocolate protein powder, oatmeal, a scoop of peanut butter, and a small teaspoon of homemade raspberry jam in a bowl and covered it with skim milk.

It was amazing. Probably one of the best oatmeal combos I have ever had and you better believe that it will be making a regular appearance in my breakfasts.

I am trying to get more food back into my posts, but it has been very difficult with the amount of eating out and quick meals we have been throwing together lately. Now that things have settled down a bit, I hope to get back in the kitchen and making some full dinners again!

meatloaf in july

We had a pretty low key weekend, not nearly as exciting as the weekend before. We had dinner with friends on Friday for Natasha's birthday, then called it an early night so that we could tackle our huge to do list on Saturday.

Saturday morning, we were up and out of bed by 6:45, partly because of annoying dogs, and partly because we wanted to get an early run in before the humidity got too bad. We were out the door by 7:00 and did 5 miles around our neighborhood. I was absolutely drenched by the time we got home, so I guess the humidity was already bad. It was a slow run, but it was pretty good. I am glad we got it over with early, so we had the rest of the day to work on other things.

Starting this upcoming weekend, we have a very busy schedule. Each weekend, we are out of town until we leave for a week and a half of weddings/vacation in Mexico and Providence, RI. We used this past weekend to prepare ourselves and get some things done that will need to be done by the end of the summer. 

One of the items on my to do list was to go bridesmaid dress shopping with Lindsay. We definitely found "the one(s)" and had a blast trying on bunches of dresses. After shopping, I introduced Lindsay to the fabulous world of ring cleaning, and we grabbed lunch while our rings were soaking at the jewelers. During lunch, Lindsay mentioned she was making a turkey meatloaf for dinner. I thought that was a little weird considering it is July and 100+ degrees outside, but for some reason, I began to instantly crave some.

Lindsay assured me it was a lighter version of the winter time favorite and forwarded me the recipe from Real Simple.  The spinach, egg white, and ground turkey combination definitely had me interested so I decided to give it a try. It turned out fantastic.

I made a few adjustments to the recipe by subbing whole grain oats for the breadcrumbs, cutting the parsley measurements in half, and per Lindsay's suggestion, cutting the onion and spinach measurements in half as well. I decided to make mashed red skinned potatoes and corn on the cob to summerfy this meatloaf even more.

Mike and I both really enjoyed this meal and I am really glad Lindsay suggested it. Thanks so much!



While everything was cooking, I decided to use up some kale in the refrigerator the only way that I know how... kale chips. :)

They were a great snack to have while we were waiting for dinner to be ready.

We had some great fruit this week in our weekly produce box, including cherries (love), strawberries, and more blueberries. I feel like I hit the produce jackpot with this delivery. The only problem, how are we going to get rid of all these blueberries before we leave on Thursday? I know we will get through the strawberries and cherries, but I really only take a small amount of blueberries in my oats everyday, and we have 2 full pints to get through.

Since the lemon blueberry muffins that I made last week were such a huge hit, I decided to make more yesterday.  This time, I threw in some chopped strawberries to make them a little more exciting.

They turned out so delicious. The strawberries give them a gooey, sweet flavor that goes so wonderful with lemon.

I had one this morning with a little butter on top and it was absolute perfection. This recipe is so easy and I plan on continuing to make these for as long as we have blueberries. I am considering making an extra batch to throw in the freezer for when we don't have any... That might have to happen before we leave on Thursday.

I also made some super creamy overnight oats with greek yogurt, strawberries, and blueberries for breakfast this morning.

Don't want those berries to go bad!

--

This morning I did 3 miles around Mike's office and it was pretty sluggish. I just didn't have it in me today and I ran super slow... maybe that meatloaf had something to do with it? I felt heavy and tired, and HOT. It was only 8:15 in the morning, but the heat was so miserable. A friend told me over the weekend that runners only get a few "great" runs per week. 3/5 runs are just bad but you have to get through them. That is a pretty true statement and I guess today was one of my bad ones. I can look forward to my next run and hope it is a good, or great one.

Have a good Monday, everyone! I've got leftover meatloaf and mashed red potatoes for lunch with cherries for dessert. It is going to be a good day. :)

hungry no more!

Since we have been really busy over the last several weeks, we haven't taken a lot of time to stock our kitchen with the foods that we normally have on hand. Our grocery trips have been quick and short lately, getting just enough to get us through until the next week. We are still getting the weekly produce delivery, and without that, I think we would be living on take out or eggs. Because of this, our breakfasts and lunches have seriously sucked... like I mean peanut butter and jellies and granny smith apples.  Who eats granny smith apples for lunch? ugh.. not this girl.

Each evening, as we are driving home from work, I am STARVING. Like, I mean, I can't even focus I am so hungry. I know it is because I haven't been eating a solid breakfast and lunch, leaving me starved by 5 pm. Last night, I decided that I had had enough.

We stopped by a friend's house on the way home from work and I raided their pantry. I sampled several different chips, crackers, and chocolates as soon as we got there. I thought about what to make for dinner the entire time we were there and couldn't wait to get home to start cooking. Even though we didn't get home until almost 8, I went ahead and made what was on my mind.

My sister and I are always sharing recipe ideas and last week, she sent me a message with a picture of her leftovers that said; "I think my new favorite meal is roasted veggies, pasta, parmesan cheese, olive oil, and garlic." Ever since I got that message, that combination would not leave my brain.

I know that my sis just uses what ever veggies she has on hand, so I decided to do the same, even though I have some really random vegetables right now, thanks to GoLocal.  So, no matter what veggies you have on hand, here is a recipe for Jaime's Roasted Veggie Pasta. Don't mind the massive amount of olive oil in the recipe, I got 8 servings out of this dish, so per serving, it is just right. 

Jaime's Roasted Veggie Pasta

1 sweet onion, chopped
Vegetables, cubed (last night I used an ivory eggplant, garden carrots, and an acorn squash. Jaime has used broccoli, cauliflower, brussell sprouts, etc. so have fun with it!)
4 garlic cloves, left whole
5 tablespoons EVOO
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
2 lemons
Sea Salt, to taste
Red Pepper Flakes, to taste
1 package of whole wheat penne pasta (or whatever pasta you like)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Place your cubed vegetables, garlic, and onion into a baking dish (I always use parchment paper to reduce clean up). Add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil to the veggies, along with sea salt and red pepper flakes. Mix with hands and rub the veggies with the EVOO. Roast in oven for about 30-40 minutes, depending on the type of veggies you have, until soft. While your veggies are roasting, cook pasta according to package directions.

Last night, I decided to also use up some of the red and green peppers we had, so I sauteed those in olive oil while everything was cooking. I also threw in some chopped tomatoes at the end of the roasting so that they would still be crisp.

Once the vegetables and pasta is done cooking, mix them all together in a large serving bowl, along with the last 2 tablespoons of EVOO, parmesan cheese, and squeeze the juice from the lemons onto the mix. Stir together and serve! I had some avocado that I was afraid would go bad, so I diced it up and threw it on top of our servings for last night.

By the way... ivory eggplant is delicious! The skin is not bitter like purple eggplant and is so good!

I am currently eating my leftovers for lunch and am sooo happy I made plenty. We will be eating this for lunch all week!

--

Mike and I got up a little early today so we could run together. The weather was perfect for a morning run, considering lately it has been so humid and miserable before 8 am. We did the normal path by his work, a quick 3 miles.

When we got to 3 miles, we were both done! We went our separate ways and headed to the gym/work to get ready for our day.

I had packed myself some overnight oats for breakfast this morning and they were AWESOME. I don't know what I really did differently, but they were amazing. Here is what I threw in: old fashioned oats, skim milk, chocolate protein powder, 1 teaspoon peanut butter, a little sprinkling of shredded coconut, and a few squares of dark chocolate.

It was like heaven. Seriously, try this combo today.

Look at me, 2 posts this week?? Whaaat?!

dinner al fresco

Back when Mike owned an Audi, we dealt with car trouble monthly. Since we traded in and got a Chevy truck, we haven't had too many issues, besides cosmetic and audio. Yesterday, Mike's truck wouldn't start... so he ended up working from home and we will be carpooling the rest of the week. I don't understand why Mike has the worst luck with cars in the world. It is truly a mystery.

Since Mike worked from home yesterday, he was able to get an even earlier start on the yard work than normal. By the time I came home, he was wrapping up watering and straightening the garden. I immediately started on dinner, which turned out to be a big hit.

I didn't want to go to the store, so I decided to use up everything I could from our fridge. Thanks to GoLocal, we had a bunch of veggies to use and dinner turned out fantastic. I browsed the web and found this recipe, which looked like a good starting point. I actually changed it entirely, but it was definitely my inspiration.

Coco-Chicken Noodles with Fresh Veggies
Serves 4
0.5 box of whole wheat pasta (we used spaghetti)
2 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
1 large poblano pepper, chopped
1 medium zucchini, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 baby portabella mushrooms chopped
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 cooked chicken breast, cut into bite size slices
1 lb baby bok choy leaves
1 tablespoon flour (optional)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (add more to taste)

Cook pasta per usual and set aside. In a large skillet or wok, heat the coconut oil over medium heat.

Add in the onion, pepper, zucchini, garlic, and mushrooms until all are tender, probably 10 minutes. Next, add in the water, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, chicken breast (already cooked) and half of the red pepper flakes. When everything seems to be heated throughout, add in the baby bok choy leaves and allow to wilt a bit.

If the sauce seems a little too watery, sprinkle in a tablespoon of flour to help thicken it up. Add more red pepper flakes to create the desired heat and then add in your cooked noodles. Toss together and serve.

We dined outside, which was such a nice change to the usual couch or dining room table scene. We talked about what we wanted to do about our back yard and how we want to make some big improvements this year. We are really hoping to create a really fun backyard, perfect for entertaining and enjoying.

While we were out there, we took a closer look at the garden and we saw cauliflower!!!

It is so tiny right now, but I am so excited that it is actually growing! Mike was also able to harvest an entire head of romaine lettuce last night.

I cleaned it up and put it in a container, so we have salads ready to go anytime we want them. Having a garden is so much fun... as long as you have a Mike to handle the planting, watering, monitoring, and harvesting. I just enjoy the eating part. :)

The dogs were cracking us up last night with their chasing game. Franklin will grab a toy and seriously just run in circles while Deluca chases him. Why isn't Deluca smart enough to cut him off and go the other way? It is pretty entertaining to watch.

Of course, if you just say Franklin's name, he will stop in his tracks and come running over to be pet.

They love the backyard too, and I hope with the changes we plan on making, we can be out there enjoying it with them more often.

--

Yesterday's lunch was provided by my bosses in honor of Nurse's Day. It was really nice of them to buy me lunch and give me a card from all of my co-workers. It is nice to work for such nice people who appreciate you and your work.

When I got into work, there was an e-mail to myself and my cube mate asking what we wanted for lunch. Since she had already responded requesting Chinese, and I didn't want to be a pain, so I agreed and decided to request my sauce on the side. I took this picture and sent it to Mike with the caption, "the most boring Chinese ever."

Even if it was boring, I am still really thankful and appreciative that my bosses were so nice to buy me lunch. I ate about half of my food, except for the egg roll, and brought the rest home for Mike to have for lunch today. Someone should enjoy all that sauce on the side!

--

This morning, since I am working the later shift, I dropped Mike off at work and then headed to the gym. It has been probably 3 weeks since I was last there, but I am really glad I went. I did a 5 minute warm up on the treadmill, and then did arms and abs. I did an ab workout using an iPhone app and realized it would be really easy to do at home. I am going to try to make it a goal to do that workout at least 3 or 4 times a week to tone up the tummy. Since I am almost to my goal weight, I would really like to get everything toned and in shape, which means I HAVE to get to the gym more often. It just has to happen.

I came into work and made some awesome oatmeal. Strawberry and banana, chocolate protein oats.

I added a few sliced strawberries, sliced bananas and a half scoop of chocolate protein powder to my oatmeal with hot water. So good!

Well, that is all I have for today, catch you all tomorrow!

Yesterday's Stats:
Calories (-) 19
Sodium (-) 214
Protein (+) 14

Weekend Happenings and Jalapeno Popper Turkey Burgers

I thought I would do an entirely separate post on the rest of our weekend, because we jammed a lot in. We got some major cleaning done, finally got around to finishing our foyer and downstairs bathroom, and ate some amazing food. This is going to be a pretty long post, so there is your warning. :)

On Friday night, we met some friends out to dinner at Beasley's Chicken & Honey. Remember how we went to that burger and liquor place a few weeks ago called Chuck's and Fox's? Well, the same owner, also has 2 other restaurants. One of them is Beasley's.

I was super excited to try this place... fried chicken? honey? local, fresh made sides? Count me in. We got there and had to wait just a bit before a table was ready, so we each got a beer. A beer in mason jars, which could be the coolest thing ever. Have I shared my love for mason jars? Well, we can get to that at another time, but let's just say, I heart them.

The beer that I had was a sweet potato beer, but I can't remember the name of it. It was really, really good though.



Mike and I each ordered the Chicken Biscuit with a side. I got mashed yukon gold potatoes with gravy and Mike got the pimento macaroni and cheese custard... holy crap. so. good!

I wasn't a huge fan of the biscuit itself, so I pretty much just had the chicken and pickled green tomatoes (yes, really). Just like Chuck's, Beasley's was decorated really simply, but it was really cute.

After dinner, we went out for another drink. Thankfully, the bar we went to happened to have my favorite brown ale in the world... Bell's. So delicious. I had 1.5 of those and then we headed home for the night.

Saturday morning, we headed to the gym for a full work out. We planned on being there a while to really get in a good chest and cardio work out. We ended up meeting our friends, Fred and Lindsay there, and worked out a bit with them. We spent nearly an hour and 45 minutes at the gym, and we felt WORKED by the time we had left. It was a great gym day.

When we finished at the gym, Lindsay and I had some errands to run, so I showered at her house and had a late breakfast. She has recently started adding barley to her oats, so I was excited to try them. They are amazing. The chewy texture is sooo good!

I threw some dry cereal, blueberries, chia seeds, and peanut butter into my oats as well. I was so full and satisfied!

Mike and Fred decided they would get chinese for a post workout meal and both regretted it pretty quickly... silly boys.

New Recipe
Saturday afternoon was a combination of cleaning our house, finishing up some house projects, and making an awesome dinner. For some reason, I was in the mood for crappy food. I have been thinking about jalapeno poppers a lot lately and really wanted to make some wrapped in bacon... thanks for planting that seed, Lindsay! Thankfully, we didn't have any bacon at home, and I wasn't going to buy any, so I decided to try to make a new recipe; Jalapeno Popper Turkey Burgers.... they were a smashing success.

Jalapeno Popper Turkey Burgers

1 lb ground turkey
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1/4 cup oatmeal
1 poblano pepper, 1/2 chopped, 1/2 cut for topping
1 egg
1/4 tsp garlic nuggets
1/4 tsp onion powder
Sea Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp cream cheese - for topping
1 tbsp cheddar cheese - for topping

Saute poblano peppers and set aside (I also sauteed some mushrooms for Mike's burger). Mix the ground turkey, jalapeno pepper, oatmeal, egg, spices, and the chopped poblano in a large bowl. Once mixed, divide into 6 patties and set aside. Heat skillet to a medium heat with a small amount of olive oil in the pan. Once hot, begin to cook the burgers, uncovered. Flip the burgers when they are halfway cooked and cover to cook the rest of the way.

Once the burgers are done, leave in pan and add the cheddar cheese and cream cheese to the top. After those have melted a bit, top the burger with the peppers (or mushrooms).

These burgers were beyond amazing. They were spicy and creamy, and exactly what I was craving.

On the side, I made some sweet potato fries seasoned with EVOO, Sea Salt, Pepper, and red pepper flakes. My new favorite way to make them. This was 1 potato, it was huge!

We got some sweet potatoes in this week's GoLocal produce box, so we will probably be having them for the next few days. All the peppers in the above recipe were from our produce box last week (sorry, I forgot to take a picture). This is what this past Saturday's box looked like.

Grapefruit!!!! So excited about that. Also, spinach, green beans, and more purple cabbage! I will be sauteing that bad boy up this week.

Pinning
Finally, and then I promise this post will be done... my pinterest projects. We all know how pinterest works and how it is a great place to get creative ideas and projects. Well, I have been wanting to create a collage of our wedding photos in our foyer since we painted it almost 5 months ago... yeah, it took us 5 months to finally finish what we started. Ugh...

Here it is! And I couldn't love it more. I love the black on green and how it fills the wall space.

We also finished the powder room decor, which is connected to the foyer. I love the canvas squares, but I am still not sure I love this color green. It is a little too limey for me, but I am trying to see if it will grow on me.

Mike made the frames and we bought some fabric last week to cover them with. These things cost a whopping $14 to make and I have a ton of fabric leftover. I may want to make this into a 6 or 9 square piece... but not today.


I hope everyone had a great weekend.

BTW - I had the the new chobani apple cinnamon flavor yogurt for a snack today and it is sooo good! Thanks for the recommendation, Lindsay! I can't wait to try the blood orange tomorrow!

Lunch yesterday, party leftovers

Monday's Stats:

Calories (-) 78
Sodium (+) 1579 :( but expected with the leftovers...
Protein (+) 33 (!!)