Birthday Skate, Fro-Yo, Pizza...Oh My!

How long has it been since you wore roller skates?  10 years?  20??  If you had asked me that yesterday morning I'd have had to say closer to 15 years...but now I'd get to say 1 day! :P

That's right! Yesterday we went ROLLER SKATING!!!

Actually, yesterday has so many highs I feel a little bad for today.

There's just no way it can compete.

First I started the day with...

Wait for it....

OATMEAL!

You'd think I'd get tired of it, but with so many topping options who could get bored??

Oatmeal + Wheat Berries + cinnamon + pumpkin + frozen apple
+ chia seeds + pumpkin seeds + agave nectar

Then I hit up a Step Class with my friend.  My bum is a little sore today.  Man, does Instructor Carrie like to do Lunge Walks!  It's a little unnerving how much she likes them...Like she's not really human...hummmm?

Lunch was left over chili from the night before & some more pumpkin.  Only this time I added some Yogurt on top.  Wow, I wish I had thought of that the night before.  I didn't think it could get better and then it did!!

Anyway, I'm glad I went to the step class in the morning because after lunch the Hubs, Kai and I headed out to do our grocery shopping.  We went to Avon and passed by a little shop that's been threatening to open for a while and finally did it...

YES!!!  We HAD to stop. 

I ran in and got 2 FroYos...

For me, a mix of white chocolate (BEST), cheese cake & peanut butter

topped with EVERY fruit option.

For the Hubs, vanilla topped with mini-cups, sprinkles, cherries, coconut & cookie crumbs.

Kai got to share each of ours...She may have shared more of the Hub's than mine...

I'm not very good at sharing...maybe I should have watched more Care Bears as a child?

Sorry, consumed WAY TOO FAST for a picture.

I consumed mine VERY fast.  And I loved EVERY LAST DROP.   Now I need an excuse to head back out there.  Maybe my blog readers really want me to taste test some more flavors (they have 12!)?  I mean, I couldn't let my readers down, could I?  :)

So already I've had an amazing breakfast, workout, lunch and froyo,

how can it get any better?

How about a "surprise" birthday party at a roller skating rink for my sister-in-law?

That's right, I still rock the skates!

Yep, the party last weekend was a decoy!  Ha-Ha!  Of course she recognized cars before she got in and it's possible her hubs isn't all THAT sneaky but we all jumped up and shouted Happy Birthday and she played along. :)

Birthday Cup Cakes from Longs

After the Kid-Friendly-Skating-Party we headed out for the Adults-Only-Party at the Mucky Duck on the South East side of Indy.  We sat outside listened to music and enjoyed adult company.  Good times.

My mother-in-law and I split a Veggie pizza & a drink.  I wanted her to try the Pinnacle Whipped Vodka but they didn't have it so the waitress recommended UK Cake Vodka.  Oh my, I thought it was a great recommendation.  SO tasty when mixed with a bit of sprite! :)

I know not the best picture!

The pizza was OK.  I like black olives on my pizza but there was a LOT of olives.  And a LOT of cheese.  But since most people like globs of cheese I'm sure others would have really enjoyed it.  :)

So that was it.  An AMAZING day of good food and good friends. :)

Eating like it's Fall...

Yesterday's high was 86° and the leaves on the trees are all still green....and yet my stomach seems to thinks it's Fall.  


Last night I was on my own.  No hubs and no Kai.  That meant I could eat ANYTHING I wanted.  And I wanted Chili???  What is wrong with me?


Seriously, I could have had the biggest salad in the world and there was no one to comment on all that green.  But I wanted Chili...and pumpkin.  Is there anything more Fall-Themed than chili and pumpkin?  Add a little Apple Cider, a football game and some costumes and we might as well call it October.  Actually, now that I think about it there was a Colt's game last night.  Hummmm


Now since I'm not one to deny myself, I made some chili.  And it hit the spot perfectly! :)

BUT FIRST...

Breakfast:  Once again Kai wanted cereal and I wanted oatmeal...

Cheerios + Kix + Wheat Berries + milk

Oatmeal (1/4C oats, 1/4C water, 1/4C Almond Milk) + Cinnamon + Raisins

AND THEN THERE WAS LUNCH...

We had decided to go to the zoo and wanted to eat first so lunch needed to come together quickly.  Sadly we didn't have any left overs so it was a little random...

Raw Veggies & Humus, Apple, Cottage Cheese & Quinoa with Parm. Cheese on top

Random, but tasty. :)

THE MAIN EVENT

Dinner was what I was craving:

Chili

1/4 Onion - chopped

1/4 Bell Pepper - chopped

BIG Handful of Spinach

1 Roma Tomato - chopped

1 Can Diced Tomatoes with Chili

3/4 C cooked Black Beans

3/4 C cooked Wheat Berries

1/2 T Chili Powder (more or less to taste)

1/2 T Paprika

1/2 T carob or cocoa powder

1 t cumin powder

Saute the onion in a little EVOO until clear. 

Add the Bell Pepper, Spinach & Roma Tomato then cook until spinach is wilted.

Add the rest of the ingredients and let simmer.

When you just can't wait any longer put it in your bowl and top with some lime juice and avocado.

But that wasn't enough to quench my Fall craving.

No, I needed pumpkin!

That's right, for dessert I had a Big Ol' Bowl of Libby's Pumpkin Puree.

Topped with a drizzle of maple syrup & molasses,

pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg & ginger), chia seeds & pumpkin seeds.

And with that, my craving was satisfied...

For the night anyway. :)

ZLT?!?

Breakfast for the second day of school was eaten!!  The key?  Wait until she up to decide what to make.  Once again the night before she wanted eggs but upon waking she wanted cereal.  So cereal it was...A combination of Multi-Grain Cheerios and Kix (if you can eat cereal with just one type in the bowl then kudos to you - I can't do it!).  I on the other hand don't find cereal nearly filling enough for breakfast.  A midnight Snack? Sure.  But enough energy for the day? No Way.


So I had....Oatmeal.  I know, shocker!

Today I topped it with some frozen plums, coconut, chia seeds, & pumpkin seeds.  YUM!


Lunch was leftovers again.   And again I don't have a picture.  It was just the chickpea & sweet potato mix.  It was still delicious.  And don't worry, I don't have any left overs from last night's dinner so our next lunch WILL be something new. :)


Then for dinner I wanted to make BLTs.  Of course I'm not a fan of bacon and the Hubs isn't a fan of Tomatoes.  What to do???


Change the abbreviations of course!


So the hubs got BLC:  Bacon, Lettuce & Cheese on whole grain bread.  
Pretty simple (and a little boring in my opinion).  
Oh, and some Jalapeno Sun Chips (his newest favorite).


Now mine was much more interesting...

much better than a sad little sandwich!

I made myself a ZBLTSKSAWB:  Zucchini Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Spinach, Kale, Sprouts, Avocado, Wheat Berries

Wow, I need an abbreviation for the abbreviation!  We'll just call it a ZLT  :)

The key to this was the "Zucchini Bacon".

Kai and the Hubs wouldn't even try it (shocker!) but that just meant more for me.

Zucchini Bacon

1 Zucchini

drizzling of Tamari (soy sauce)

drizzling of Liquid Smoke

Slice your zucchini into strips.  You want it pretty thin.

Heat some oil in a pan and add your zucchini strips

Cook up both sides then add your Tamari & Liquid Smoke

Smokey & Salty.  Just the trick to get that bacony-flavor. :)

See all those strips in that pan?  

Remember how I said Kai and the hubs wouldn't go near it?

Remember how I said we didn't have left overs?

Yep, I ate it all.  By myself.  If there had been more I'd have eaten it too.  And I'm ok with that.

Then I just piled everything into a bowl:

Greens: Spinach, Kale & Lettuce

Sprouts: Mung bean, alfalfa, radish, and something else (I can't remember the mix)

Grain:  Wheat Berries (just simmer them for an hour - I make up a large batch & then throw them into my meals for a couple days)

Toppings:  Avocado & Tomatoes...And the Zucchini Bacon!

I knew Kai was much more likely to eat a sandwich than a bowl of salad so hers looked a bit more traditional:

1 slice of whole grain bread with bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, Zucchini Bacon & American Cheese.

With a side of wheat berries (she likes them, I swear.)

The sandwich was eaten in pieces and I helped her with the zucchini, but her plate was pretty clean when she was done.

Which meant we got a special dessert....

Chocolate-Almond-Banana Ice-Cream-Smoothie

It was really too thick for a straw.

But hey, we have stronger cheeks for it now. :)

1.5 frozen bananas

1 heaping spoonful Almond Butter

1 big spoonful Carob Powder

1 Handful of Spinach

1 small spoonful of Chia seeds

Approx 1/4C of Almond Milk to thin it out (Use your judgement on how much to use.  You want a soft serve consistency)

Puree in your blender & enjoy!!

In the mood for Chocolate

This morning we had company.  Kai's BFF got to spend the day with us so we were ready to have some fun!  When she first got here I asked if anyone was hungry for pancakes and the answer was no.  Then the two of them ran off to dress up.  Well I was hungry.  And I was hungry for almond butter...and chocolate...and banana.

Chocolate-Almond Butter-Banana Oatmeal

Into the bowl went: 1/4C oatmeal, 1/4C water & 1/4C Almond Milk.  Nuked for 1 min. 

Then the magic happens...

Topped with chia seeds, carob powder (like cocoa), a glob of almond butter and 1/2 sliced banana.

It was everything I had dreamed of. :)

Then just as I was digging in, the girls popped back out (all fancied up in their rings, necklaces & hats) and informed me they were ready for pancakes.  

Ok then.  I'll make another breakfast...

Now I like to include spinach in my pancakes, and Kai sees nothing wrong with green pancakes, but since we had company I thought it may be best to "hide" the green.  Chocolate to the rescue!  And seriously, who is going to say no to chocolate pancakes??

Chocolate Pancakes:
Basic Pancake - 1/3C Cottage Cheese, 1/3C oatmeal, 1 egg & almond milk to get consistency.
Bonus Ingredients - Handful of Spinach, approx 1/8C Carob Powder, 1T milled flax seed.
Puree & cook (I use a griddle set to 375°)


Toppings - Drizzle of Agave Nector, a few shakes of cinnamon,  a few dark chocolate chips & a few Kix cereal we had in the pantry...and an apple slice smile.


If that wasn't enough chocolate we also decided to make some Brownies!  I love these brownies.  They're just so good and they're full of protein. :)

BROWNIES

2C Black Beans

2 frozen bananas (slightly defrosted)

1/2C total of agave nector & honey

1/4C Cocoa Powder

dash of cinnamon & splash of vanilla

    - puree together then add...

1/3C oatmeal

    -pulse so that it's all mixed

Pour into a greased 8 x 8 dish & put into a 350° pre-heated oven & bake for 30 minutes.

LET COOL.  It's hard to do but you have to or it will completely crumble when you cut into it. :)

And with that my chocolate craving was satisfied...

for now anyway.

Back to Oatmeal & a Yummy Salad

This morning it was breakfast as usual - oatmeal

I start out with my oatmeal base (1/4 C oats, 1/4 C almond milk, 1/4 C water) nuked for about a minute.

Then I added some chopped frozen peaches, cinn., chia seeds, pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of Agava Nector.

Delicious!!

But not as delicious as lunch...

And I got to use one of my FAVORITE kitten tools...

My veggie slicer!!  It's the best invention ever.  I can make spirals, chips, "noodles", practically anything.  And all while keeping my fingers fully intact. 


I used to use a mandolin slicer.  In fact I used it to slice off a rather large part of my finger.  Now it sits in the back of my big "stuff" cabinet.  You know, the cabinet where you house all those "As seen on TV", this product is going to make my dinner tasty, health & done in less than 10 seconds, amazing finds.  Yup, it's in the back of that cabinet where it will sit in shame for all of time.  Mean, nasty little tool. >:[


But back to my better slicer.  Isn't it pretty?  I usually use it to make chips out of sweet potatoes & beets but today I switched out the slicing option and made myself a cucumber noodle salad.

Into the bowl went: 

1 entire cucumber - fresh from my garden (jealous?).  

Some cherry tomatoes (not from my garden.  My tomatoes are refusing to turn red!). 

A couple spoonfuls of cooked Quinoa (left over from a batch I made the other day)

About 1/6 an avocado

Some raw sunflower seeds

And a BIG dollop of my Spinach Lime Hummas

Then for a dressing I drizzled a bit of Maple Syrup, 1/2 a fresh squeezed lime and a bit of EVOO.

It was AMAZING!!