Never thought I'd see the day...

It had to be done.  It could not wait ONE MORE DAY.

That's right...I'm talking about the return of Whipped Oatmeal:)

I woke up craving this bad boy somethin fierce and since I wasn't prepared and had made the oatmeal the night BEFORE...I literally walked out my house yesterday morning with a hot, partially covered Tupperware container full of smoking oatmeal pudding;) hahahahahhahaha  I just couldn't wait one more day:)  Made complete with a container of almond butter to drizzle over....to die for!

Lunch was a snack assortment:)....

Love Glenny's. Love Laughing Cow.  And love that I had a small stash of sesame almonds in my desk yesterday afternoon cause I was starrrving! :) hahahahhaha

Which brings us to dinner.  Now OK..I may just have to log this dinner in the "Ask me 6 years ago if I would have eaten this and I think I would have ran away screaming" file.  (OK..."Run" might have been a loose term for me back in the day:)  'Brisk walk' might be more accurate;)  Because I never would have thought I'd see the day where I would be excited to come home to:  Eggplant stew over polenta:) 

...or the fact that I got excited by all the pretty colors on my chopping board....

...complete with a 'summer worthy' scrap pile of all the veggie trimmings...   

And had I only known it was also going to TASTE so good, I would have been even MORE excited:) hehehehehe...

Eggplant Stew over Honey Polenta

Based on this recipe

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, peeled & chopped
• 3 cubanelle peppers, seeded & diced
• 1 eggplant, chopped into small cubes
• 1 red onion, diced

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil.  Once the oil is heated, add all of the vegetables as you chop them up.  Cover and steam the veggies for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Once the veggies have broken down, add salt, pepper AND....

• 1 can Whole San Marzano Tomatoes  (or any kind you have...but these are the best!:)
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Break the tomatoes up with the back of a spoon, stir and allow everything to simmer together for a few minutes.

While the veggies are cooking, you can start on the star of this dish:  THE POLENTA!

Bring:

• 2 cups Vegetable Stock
• 1 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons rosemary

...to a boil over medium heat.  Next mix in 1 cup of polenta and whisk until it masses (about 3 minutes).  Finally add in:

• 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 3 tablespoons honey
• Salt & pepper

Then you layer the bottom half of your dish with polenta:

...and top with the eggplant stew:

The polenta just MAKES this dish!  The stew is delicious, oh-so-healthy and really flavorful from all of the veggies (esp. the peppers), but layered with the sweet & savory polenta just makes this a 4-star meal!  Yum!

And the best part:  It went from fridge to table in a half hour...

(Rachael Ray is accurate in this one:)

So in workout news, yesterday brought:

Wednesday Morning:  Body by Bethenny 40 minute Yoga

I don't know WHAT I did this week, but my calves have been in KNOTS for DAYS!!!  Probably pretty similar looking to my Nutella pretzels:

Although I suspect it was those stair climbers on Monday morning...MAN!  Every day I just can't stretch them out enough:)

And in other news, I added my White Chocolate Pretzels to Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday Today:

Which means we're.....one day closer to Friday!  Wohoooooooooooo!  I already can't WAIT for this weekend.  I've already peppered Scott with a million questions over his "Surprise Valentines Saturday" and I gotta get to shoppin today for his "Surprise Sunday."

Yes...it's two days. 

and YES....I'm aware of the dork level. 

I'm OK with it:)

Have a good Thursday everyone!