9 Years

November 21, 2000 was mine and Charlie’s first date.  He took me out to dinner to a very lovely restaurant.  And yes, I was just as much a picky eater back then as I am now.  It is amazing just how much we have experienced together in the past 9 years.  Parenthood being the biggie.

This morning I ventured out for a run.  It was actually really nice out there today – not too chilly.  After my 8 mile run it was time for some oaty goodness. 

I had to resort to the microwave method since I was pressed for time (Saturdays D has karate at 9 so we need to be on the road by 8:30).  My oatmeal turned out delicious regardless. I find stovetop oats to be more creamy but in a pinch I will take a nuked bowl too. 

In the mix today:

1/ cup oats, 1 cup water, frozen blueberries & pineapple chunks and sunflower seed butter.

I gobbled it up quickly so that we could be on our merry way. 

 

 

I am currently at Borders – a usual stop for us after class. My main squeeze and I usually have tea and chat. 

 

 

I am having a cup of English Breakfast. Perfect accompaniment while blogging.

 

 

 

I decided to try out the new free wi-fi.  This location just started to offer it a couple weeks ago. 

 

 

D had hot cocoa and a cookie.  Now he is browsing the kid books.

 

 

 

So last night I made one of the best salads. I wanted to share it with you because I used canned veggies – something that I usually do not use.  I tend to stay away from canned vegetables since they can contain high amounts of sodium – even if you do the drain and rinse thing.  Well I found no salt added green beans and sliced beets – 2 tummy friendly veggies.  I also tossed on raw broccoli, almonds, cashews, pistachios and raisins. A little drizzle of Briannas dressing and I was good to go. 

 

 

Staying on the veggie subject, my sweet tart is still chowing down on broccoli on a daily basis – I know, who is this kid.  I bought a 2 lb bag yesterday so lets hope he doesn’t go turning on me.  I think as long as I let him dip it in ranch dressing he is happy. 

After D was all snuggly in his bed last night, Charlie and I watched Twilight. I enjoyed it but the book was WAY better. Now I really want to see New Moon. 

I am not sure what is on the agenda for the rest of the day. We are having really great weather, especially for the middle of November. 

I hope you have a great weekend. 

NuNaturals

There once was a time when I consumed WAY TOO MUCH artificial sweetener.  I used to drink diet soda daily, eat the “light” yogurts and I would sometimes add a little packet of Splenda to my warm beverages.  I finally realized that it was one of the causes of my puffy bloated belly and gas – yes I did just say gas & don’t say you have never passed wind.  I was able to eliminate all the fake sweeteners pretty easily.  The lack of tummy trouble was a huge driving force. 

I am sure you have all seen and read about stevia whether it be on a food blog, magazine or on-line.  I did some reading up on it myself and I am very curious to see how my body reacts to it. 

I purchased a box of NuNaturals NuStevia White Stevia Powder packets to test.  I want to try the liquid form too but I thought that I would give the powder a go before buying the more expensive product.  This box was only $5.99 where the bottle of liquid stevia with the dropper was $14.99. 

 

 

This morning I added a packet to my Pumpkin Blueberry Oats. 

1/2 cup oatmeal, water, 3/4 cup pumpkin, 1 cup frozen blueberries, cinnamon, PB2 and sunflower seed butter.

It may be due to the fact that there was just so much going on in my bowl – I really did not taste that much of a difference.  I will have to try it again with a much simpler concoction – if that ever happens :) You know how I like to make my oats a little on the busy side.

 

 

I also had a packet in my coffee.  I could, in fact, taste the difference there.  It was really good.  Not overly sweet and there was not that weird aftertaste present that you get with Splenda or Equal. 

 

 

 

So I consumed the stevia over an hour ago and my belly still feels good – no bloat what so ever.  When I used to have the other products, I would feel the effects pretty quickly. 

What is your feeling on Stevia?  Do you use it? Have you tried the liquid version? If you have, do you like it? How about the flavored liquid – like vanilla? I really was leaning towards getting that one.  I would love some feedback on the product before I run out and get it. 

I think that I will use these packets now and then.  I really like my tea black so I can’t see myself using it there.  As far as the coffee, I really did enjoy this mornings cup with a little sweetness. 

Anyone going to see the New Moon movie?  I still need to see the first one. I hope you have a fabulous Friday, whatever you have planned. 

A Spot of Tea

This afternoon D and I sipped some tea while playing Uno. 

 

 

He likes his with honey and milk.  Of course I only let him drink decaf.  Can you imagine this little firecracker all hopped up on caffeine?

 

 

 

We also ate granola.  I had mine with almond milk ..….

 

 

 

…….D had his with yogurt. 

 

 

Dinner was 2 rice cakes topped with sunflower seed butter & jelly, zucchini, almond cheese and a Turk’y Burger.  Ketchup for dipping is always necessary. 

 

 

 

I just got home from a Girl Scout meeting.  The girls made holiday cards that we are going to send to a nursing home.  They crafted the cards out of paper that they made themselves.  The room was oozing with creativity and artistic talent – I loved it.

Time to go relax.  I hope you had a fabulous day.

What color are you?

This morning I stumbled onto an article on Divine Caroline.  I recently started to venture there daily to curb my desire to read about healthy living.  The article I read today is all about what your exercise says about you.  I took the test and my fitness color is True Blue, tried and true.  I would have to say that the description is pretty accurate.  What color are you?  Do you like reading health & fitness related articles?  I am a kind of a junky when it comes to that sort of thing.  I could spend countless hours reading articles that focus on exercise and healthy eating.  I do not subscribe to any magazines, but if I did they would all be fitness/health living related. 

Somehow I managed to delete the photos of my breakfast this morning – Pumpkin Oatmeal.  Without my technology guru here, I can’t seem to retrieve them.  Thankfully this post will not be picture-less since I still have all the ones that I took of my eats yesterday.

We had a busy day so I opted for the day off from blogging Wednesday.  After heading out early to babysit, trucking D off to school and then playing at the playground, I was in the mood to chill out last night.  D was so thrilled to have extra time with his 3 best buddies from school (they are triplets – 2 boys & a girl).  I really enjoyed getting to know their mom better – we actually have quite a lot in common. She is a runner too. AND she goes to the Hot Yoga studio that I was going to a few months back. 

Ok, onto the eats.

Breakfast yesterday was overnight oats – 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup Vanilla Almond milk, 1/3 cup water, frozen blueberries & strawberries (they thaw during the soaking process), PB2 and almond butter.  I nuked it for a few minutes to take the chill off.

 

 

 

Lunch was an open face sunflower seed butter and jelly sandwich, an apple, zucchini and tortilla chips.

 

 

And dinner was an English muffin topped with almond butter, another apple, more zucchini, and a Turk’y Burger.

 

I also had Pumpkin Pie for dessert.  It is actually better the second day.  I guess patience is necessary for this pie. 

So on the hair growing front – I can actually clip my hair up to keep it out of my face.  The main reason that I need to wear hats is I HATE MY BANGS IN MY FACE!!!  I am either an all or nothing kind of gal when it comes to bangs.  I kept them super short with my latest style but when my hair is long I do not have bangs.  I like to keep my hair off my forehead.  The feeling of hair on it actually drives me nuts.

 

 

I am off to spend some time with my sidekick. I hope you have a great day.

No Need for Crust

I had a typical day of “Sammie” eats.  Lots of veggies, fruit, nut/seed butter – you know the drill.  

Here was my lunch – oh yeah, there was a piece of almond cheese in there as well.

 

 

And some leftover spaghetti squash.

 

 

 
My very circular themed dinner – maybe I should have served it on a square plate?

This would be the ever so popular (at least at my dinner table), Turk’y Burger with my favorite crimson dipper.  As well as an English muffin topped with almond butter, sunflower seed butter and jelly. 

 

 

 

The meal needed some greenery so I had a bowl of lettuce and broccoli drizzled with Briannas dressing.

 

 

This afternoon I did a little baking and made an Impossible Vegan Pumpkin Pie.  Can you tell what is missing?

 

 

There isn’t a crust.  The “custardy” filling actually forms a crust during the baking processes – very cool! 

You are supposed to let the pie cool completely before cutting but I am impatient and had to dig in ASAP.  I needed some dessert after dinner and this baby was calling me. 

 

 

 

In my typical style, I did make a few alterations to the original recipe. Instead of soy milk, I used almond milk.  And I used 1/4 cup agave nectar instead of 3/4 cup sugar.

It turned out pretty good – even Charlie thought it was tasty.  He does think that it needs to be sweeter so if you make it and want a sweeter version than up the agave or whatever you decide to use to sweeten your pie.

I am off to get some shut eye.  I am really hoping that my sweet tart does not wake me up in the middle of the night.  He is on a roll of harassing me 3 times a night – ugh, Mommy needs sleep too.  We are trying to keep him in his own bed but the little bugger just won’t give up.  He came into my room and asked to sleep next to me every hour on the hour from 2 am – 4 am.  I’m almost positive that he is lacking a good nights rest as well. 

I hope you have a good night.

Raisin Bran

I’ve tried to do the whole cereal for breakfast thing in the past but unfortunately I have a hollow leg when it comes to cold cereal.  Even a rather large bowl does not stay with me as long as a hearty bowl of hot cereal.  One of my favorite types of cereal is Raisin Bran. I adore the crispy flakes and the occasional sweet surprise you get when you find a little raisin. 

That being said, this morning I created my own type of raisin bran that I have no doubt will keep my hunger at bay. 

Here is what I whipped together:

1/2 cup Oat bran

1 1/4 cup water

3/4 cup (give or take) canned pumpkin

cinnamon to taste

 

 

I cooked it on the stove until it was to the consistency that I like – not too thick but not too soupy either.  Then came the toppings.

PB2

1 tablespoon Almond butter

2 tablespoons Organic Raisins

 

 

 

I loved every bite!!!  It was warm, filling and a great post workout refuel. 

The sun is shining today – looks like we are going to have a fairly decent day.  I’m not sure what is on our agenda but I must go get my side kick dressed seeing as it is almost 10 o’clock.

Does cold cereal satisfy you or are you in need of something a bit more filling?What is your favorite cereal?  I love anything with flakes and clusters like Honey Bunches of Oats. Too bad they are not filling in the slightest – kind of like eating air. I am pretty sure that would be because it is pretty skimpy in the fiber department. 

Have a great day.

Eating His Greens

 

Who is this kid eating broccoli?

 

 

And smiling about it!?!?  Somebody replaced my son with a veggie eater today.  He not only ate broccoli at dinner, but he also ate carrots & cucumber (at lunch) and bell pepper (at school) today.  He is quite fond of Marie’s Creamy Ranch dressing – a discovery made at school.  After he kept eating veggies there I asked his teacher what her trick was – it’s all in the DIP. Although, he did not need the dipper to eat the carrots or cuke today. Those he was willing to eat o’natural.  I am still shocked that he ate peppers. Go D!!! 

 

 

 

My dinner was veggie-riffic as well.  I had spaghetti squash, broccoli, a Turk’y Burger and an English muffin topped with a tbsp of almond butter & jelly.

 

 

 

For dessert I had some of the best sorbet on the planet – Banana Mango by Ciao Bella. The banana flavor is outstanding and it really mingles well with the tartness that the mango delivers. This is, by far, my favorite frosty treat of all time. I LOVE THIS STUFF!!! 

 

 

 

 

I combined it with a few frozen strawberries, frozen mango chunks and PB2.  It was divine. 

 

 

 

Well I am off to call my mom.  I need to catch her up on the happenings of the weekend.  I bet she saw the pictures of the Karate Tournament and wants to get all the details.  I hope you have a great night.