It'll still be chili....

First of all:  HAPPY HALLOWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN! J

Wednesday Recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer

9:30am:  Breakfast- Protein Pancakes with peanut butter & maple syrup

Oh, and in discussing "allowing myself to have pancakes" last week, I should have mentioned that these are definitely pancake-LIKE, but I usually count these as more of an oatmeal/protein item.  They taste more like french toast anyway, but definitely a good swap in the 'cake department!  

10:30-11:45am:  Power Yoga

My favorite Wednesday morning teacher came back from his 2 week hiatus vacationing in Hawaii refreshed and ready to "torture" us yesterdayJ hahahahahaha...  It was tough, but I was SO happy he was back!  He teaches the best, random combosJ

1:30pm:  Lunch- Roasted Tomato & red pepper soup and black beans

I was FREEEEEEZING yesterday afternoon for no reason...so I ate this soup with the heat on, wrapped in a hoodie & blanket...mmmmmmmmmmmJ  

2:30pm:  Snack?- Coffee with creamer

Yep....still cold!  And after this, I spent the rest of the right H-O-TJ  Can't winJ

6:00pm:  Dinner- Veggie chili over cornbread waffles (with cheese & nonfat greek yogurt)

We were out of ground turkey in the house last night and since I didn't feel like serving red meat two times this week (also out of turkey when making the burgers), I decided to check the fridge and threw together whatever we had on hand to make chili!  Including a peeled & diced eggplant...

2 diced orange peppers...

1/2 a large onion and 3 diced garlic cloves.

Then I mixed the rest of the ingredients, tossing in a little PUMPKIN (recipe inspired from here) for an extra Halloween kick!

• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 1 can rinsed & drained black beans
• 1 can rinsed & drained kidney beans
• 1 cup pumpkin
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 small can tomato sauce
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder

Tossed it all in a crockpot & cook on low for 6 hours (or high for 4)...

And what better way to make dinner MORE fun??  Serve it over cornbread waffles!J

I mixed ready made cornbread mix with enough egg, milk & canola oil (and a little shredded cheddar) to create a waffle batter, poured it into a waffle iron and cooked the waffles until they were brown and crispy!

YUM!

The waffles were nice & crisp and made a perfect "shelf" to shove chili in your faceJ  And I've said it before and I'll say it again:  As long as you 'spice' chili with the right seasonings, you can pretty much throw ANYTHING in there and it'll STILL BE CHILI aka-sneak as many veggies as you can in there!

And to keep with our tradition of chili on Halloween (or pre-Halloween, in this year's case!)  we had it while watching our annual Roseanne Halloween DVDJ

7:00-8:20pm:  Kundalini Yoga

I'd be lying if I didn't say I had EXTRA motivation for getting out of the house and fitting in this extra workout last night.  I'll let this e-card do the talking for meJ

#oneofthosenights

9:00pm:  Dessert- Chocolate pudding

Well...I better get out of here and get this holiday show on the road!  HAVE A GREAT HALLOWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!J

95% mental....

Tuesday Recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer

10:00am:  Breakfast- Banana with pumpkin spice almond butter

12:30pm:  Lunch- Salad with olive oil, sea salt, 2% cheese stick & mini turkey pepperoni

2:00pm:  Snack #1- Coffee with creamer  (my 'nap time/unwind' excuse yesterdayJ)

3:00pm:  Snack #2- Wheat toast with butter and flax

6:00pm:  Dinner- Five-spice chicken with HALLOWEEN NOODLES!

This wasn't my original plan for last nights dinner, but was SO glad it was our 'final destination' because it just hit the spot!  I used this recipe (which neither Scott or I could BELIEVE it had been THREE years since we last had this dinner.  Leave it to us to use FOOD to really show us how fast TIME FLIES!J) and it came together in NO TIME!

While a pot of water boils for the pasta, I just mixed some diced chicken with a little salt & some five-spice powder, tossed it in a pan drizzled with olive oil and cooked over medium heat.... 

Then whipped up a quick sauce of... 

• 4 minced garlic cloves
• 1 diced orange pepper
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 15 oz. can of pureed pumpkin
• BLACK sesame seeds....MWAHAHAHA!

I think this one is really cute AND really delicious!   Scott voted to make this with chicken rather than shrimp from here on out (ya know, when I make it in ANOTHER three yearsJ) 

It was a hit all-around... 

Peanut butter pumpkin noodles for ALL!

And after dinner, we got to the REAL business of HALLOWEENJ

Or at least one of MY favorite partsJ  Katie sat through MOST of it...although I think she liked the part where Snoopy danced to Linus playing the piano the mostJ

(what?  You don't watch TV while precariously balancing on a toy car??J)

8:00pm:  Dessert

Well, my BIG PLANS for baking in honor of CANDY CORN DAY descended into NON-motivation around 2pm (hence, that extra cup of coffee!), so I had to settle on a small handful that I found in a bag my cousin had given Katie for Halloween.  Ceeeellleebrate good times, COME ON!

And then it was time for THE BIG GUNS:

This was the ONE candy I actually bought for us this year since it's the first year we're not handing out candy, but rather taking Katie out for the FIRST TIME instead (weeeeeeee!)  And I must say: I don't think I'm a fan of the PUMPKIN cups!  Sure, they're cute....but I got a littttllleee queesy about 3/4 of the way through and there's just something about that black wax paper that gives it an extra boost of flavor, amIright??J  Not to mention, what's a cup without ridges??J

Is that too much analysis about a Reese's pumpkin??

Don't answer that.

9:00-10:00pm:  Body by Bethenny (40 minute yoga + 10 minute arms + 5 minute "Booty Blast")

This was EXACTLY what I wanted to do last night, and because of that, it was the ONLY reason I had motivation to fit it in even at 9pm.  All day I had been bouncing back and forth over what workout I wanted to do and at one point I had settled on a tougher DVD I knew I didn't really WANT to do.  And what happened??? Within 10 minutes, I had convinced myself I didn't need a workout because I just didn't want to do that DVD.  HOW DUMB IS THAT????  When I finally said "no, THIS is the one I want to do and THAT'S THAT!" I got myself off the couch and got it done!  Would you rather FORCE yourself to do something you're not interested in only to (probably) eventually skip it...or would you rather do something you ACTUALLY LIKE AND GET IT DONE???  The answer is OBVIOUS and I STILL need the reminder on some days!  Seeshhhhh...weight loss REALLY IS 95% mental.  It REALLY is!

ANYWAY, since we'll be busy, busy, busy tomorrow night, we're planning on doing all of OUR traditional HALLOWEEN 'events' tonight to spread out the holiday love...and to that I say: WHY NOT?!J

Have a great Wednesday!

Who am I??

Monday Recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer

9:30am:  Breakfast- Avocado toast with mayo & sea salt

11:30am (yepJ):  Lunch- Salad with olive oil, sea salt, 2% cheese stick and 5 diced pepperoni

I liked this salad mix so much that it was my lunch for 2 days in a row.  I love just being able to have lettuce ready for a quick lunch, but I'm not really a huge fan of most bagged lettuce varieties.  I think most (with the exception of Trader Joe's) have an 'alcohol taste' that I'm not really crazy over.  So lately I've been springing for the 'more expensive/fancy salad in a box'...

They don't have the same aftertaste and a box will last me for about a weeks worth of lunches, snack salads & side dishes.  I figured that's five WORTH IT dollars well spentJ

2:30pm:  Snack #1- Banana with pumpkin spice almond butter 

It's moments like this that I still wonder 'who the hell am I?' when I tell you I made my own homemade almond butter yesterday afternoonJ  If you told me I would have been doing that about 10 years ago, I would have said you was crazyJ 

I followed this recipe to nearly the letter (only skipping the extra molasses in the 'final whirl') and it came out superb.

I didn't really think it would work... 

...but then about 5 minutes later... 

...we have almond butter! 

The recipe suggested whirling it for 15 minutes.  Not sure what brand of food processor she has, but I was afraid any more than 5 minutes and my Cuisinart would ignite in flamesJ  Therefore, mine isn't as smooth as it could be...but I'd rather have a little texture than a burnt kitchen.  #prioritiesJ

4:00pm:  Snack #2- Caramel Apple bread 

My late afternoon "I knew I wasn't gonna make it to dinner without collapsing" snack de jour came courtesy of this little Fall treatJ  I must say, I think I liked this one even better than the pumpkin spice bread.  The little apple chunks and sweet swirls of caramel were really unique & fun. 

6:00pm:  Dinner- "Jack o Lantern" Burgers & sweet potato fries

Well...sort ofJ

I think this recipe was one of the first things I ever pinned on Pinterest because I thought it was so cute & clever for something SO SIMPLE!  Ya just carved some jack 'o lantern faces into orange cheese slices... 

Pop em on your cooked burgers (which I had mixed with Worcestershire, salt & maple for an extra Fall kick!)... 

And tented them with tinfoil until the cheese melted... 

They came out alittttle off but still pretty cute, me thinks!

The sweet potato fries were just mixed in a tablespoon of melted coconut oil & a sprinkle of sea salt and roasted at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes or until crisp.  Nice little extra orange BOOST in there for the holidayJ

7:00pm:  Dessert- Pudding 

An early dessert for us tonight, so we let Katie join in the fun (vanilla pudding for Scott & apple pie ala mode for Katie & I)

...while watchin one of our "Halloween flicks" for the week:  Garfield's Halloween Special from a 1986 VHS!  CLASSIC...it even has the old commercials, which really makes it the BESTJ 

8:00-9:15pm:  Gentle yoga

My busted hip & I haven't seen much exercise since last Wednesday night, so I thought this class would be a good way to easssssse myself back in with this class.  Felt good to get in there and at least STRETCH!

Well, not only is another festive dinner on the menu tonight BUT I also recently discovered that today is NATIONAL CANDY CORN DAY!  Me thinks I'm gonna have to do something to celebrateJ   Weeeeeeeee!

Have a great Tuesday!

If you haven't noticed....

Morning, everyone!  Hope you had an excellent weekend!  I told you this weekend was going to be wall-to-wall food and I was NOT lying!  This blog would have been food packed had I simply told you we headed to Maggiano's on Saturday night to celebrate one of my BFF's birthdays...

Maggiano's, much like Carmine's, serves HUGE portions that are split family-style.  It's such a fun place to celebrate special occasions because it just seems so HAPPYJ  I mean, how could carbs served in HUGE portions and shared amongst the table do anything BUT make you happy, right??J

I was pretty full after sampling our appetizer selection of Maggiano's salad, bruschetta & mozzarella marinara... 

But still managed to find some room to sample the chicken Parmesan, spaghetti & meatballs, fettuccine Alfredo (if you're gonna have it, might as well have it when you can have a SMALL portion and NOT as an entire entree!) and Parmesan tilapia.... 

Maggiano's food is REALLY good for being SO LARGE...and even more surprising, their LARGE desserts are surprisingly awesome!  So I still made sure I had enough room for their delectable creme brulee... 

...and the only chocolate/chocolate cake that I ever actually CRAVE (I'm not really a CHOCOLATE/CHOCOLATE fan, for the most part.  I know...) is their monster Chocolate Zuccotto cake! 

Since this thing is so big, I would swear that it would be tasteless and bland.  OH NO!  It is super moist and filled with frosting layers that are tinged with sambucaJ  I guess that'll put anyone in a good mood, huh??J  Such a fun & festive nightJ

Sunday morning kicked of Halloween week around here in appropriate style with a little sugar & spice and everything nice... 

Being whirled into PUMPKIN DOUGHNUTS! 

I halved this recipe and made 4 rather LARGE baked doughnuts (probably could have stretched out the batter to 6-8).  But either way, it was just enough for usJ 

And the last little piece de resistance??  A little roll in melted butter & a dip in some cinnamon sugar... 

Weeeeeeeeee! 

Needless to say, these were a hit all aroundJ 

And because I'm a dork and love to be OVERLY festive (ya know, if you haven't noticeJ)  I have an entire week planned of FESTIVE HALLOWEEN MEALS leading up to the big day!  (cause WHY NOT, right??)  And to kick off the week, let's give it up for the adorableness of these GHOST MONTE CRISTO SANDWICHES!

A layer of cheese, ham & turkey on potato bread... 

...trimmed with a little help from my friend!  (you could try this freehand, but I ended up finding this cookie cutter yesterday in my grocery store for about $1.50) 

(ps-none of the corners went to waste as Penny was the happy recipient of all of the 'scraps.'  She gets a festive treat tooJ)

I nearly SQUEALED at the cuteness!! 

OK...who am I kidding??  I totally really DID squeal J

And since Scott was a LITTTTTLE leery about them being dipped in "French toast dip," and since we're SUCH fans of the "Hawaiian sweet roll ham & cheese sandwiches", I did the next best thing and just made both! 

2 sandwiches were dunked in a mix of:

• 1 egg
• a little 2% milk
• dash of sea salt
• dash of nutmeg

While the others got a brush of:

• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire
• Sprinkle of onion powder

I put a small pat of butter under the "French toast side" and cooked them on a nonstick skillet over medium low heat for about 3 minutes on each side or until the cheese was nice & melty...

Once they were cooked, I let Katie help me out by splitting the 'ghost flavors' and getting a little sample of each!

Once the above photo was taken, the ghosts were sent to their adjacent corners (errr....curves??) and the french toast got a hit of some powdered sugar...

I enjoy any excuse to break this thing out, ya know?? J 

We knew the 'savory' side with the butter & onion was going to be irresistible, but we were both surprised how good the french toast one was too!  Sweet & savory to the max!  You MUST try out both varieties because they are both SOOO good....and so DARN cute, wouldn't ya say??   (that powdered sugar really makes em extra ghostly whiteJ)

Katie liked her sandwich...but LOVEEEED the roasted broccoli.  I'm OK with this. 

And our other order of the day for Sunday was a visit from the "Great Pumpkin," who brought Katie the big Jack 'o Lanterns we were going to carve...

I had thought of this little 'tradition' before she was born (still letting her pumpkin pick her own small 'kin) and was SO excited to actually do it!  Even if she only gave the pumpkins a fleeting glance before moving on to reading her 'Alice in Wonderland' bookJ  Hahahahaha...maybe it'll be more 'magical' for her next yearJ

Then we got to business...

 Slimy hands, a paint covered 19-month old and one bath later and here were our results for the yearJ

And what better way to end the night/weekend than with some roasted pumpkin seeds rolled in a bit of melted coconut oil and a sprinkle of cinnamon & sugar!  Might as well get all the money you can outta those pumpkins, right??

PHEW!  Alright, I knew that was gonna be a lot to share!  Hope you liked our little recap and you had a fun weekend, as well!  Needless to say, I have another "festive" dinner on the horizon tonight...stay tuned & Have a great Monday!J