Black Bean burgers...and BOKWA...

Tuesday Recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer

10:00am: Breakfast- Vitatop

I used to eat these for breakfast EVERY MORNING for YEARS.  I liked em so much (and they kept me so full) that I never got tired of them.  And for 100 calories, who could beat that?  But being home, for whatever reason, these do not keep me full AT ALL anymore.  By lunch (even with a snack of fruit), I'm PAST hungry and ready to eat everything in the kitchen.  But since I knew we were having a 'bigger lunch' yesterday, I thought I'd give one a whirl again...but like clockwork, by 11:51, I was ready to rip someone's head offJ  So it was a good thing, lunch was quick & hearty....

12:30pm:  "Lunch"- Black bean burgers with sweet potato puffs

Since Scott was home yesterday and I had to go out at night, we figured we'd whip up our dinner for lunch to keep us full for nearly the rest of the day.

These burgers started by whirling up:

• 1/2 can of black beans, drained & rinse
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1/4 onion
• 3 garlic cloves

(This is where Katie's baby bullet still comes in handy...thanks, Laurie!J)

Mix up the blended ingredients with:

• Remaining black beans
• 3/4 cup corn 
• salt & pepper
• 1/4 cup panko
• 1 egg white

Form into patties (mixture will be sticky) and place on a WELL-GREASED griddle or grill pan.  About 6-7 minutes and I happily lifted the lid of the grill to find fully cooked & STILL fully FORMED burgersJ

Topped them with a little extra "salsa"...in our case, this Red Pepper & Goat Cheese dip I had gotten from Whole Foods last week... 

Protein-packed & super filing, these guys were easy on the wallet, quick to make and super delicious.  Three reasons right there why adding a meat-free (or a few!) nights to your week is worth it. 

OK, OK....but I must admit our favorite part of this meal were the TOTS!  I found this sweet potato variety ALSO at Whole Foods...

...and baked them for AWHILE.  Long enough to get them crunchy & caramelized on top.  Oh man, they were heavenly!!  (about 45 minutesJ)

Even Katie got a little plate of her own of our delicious meal...

Which she DEVOURED...all while honing her fine dining skillsJ  Guess it's time to purchase some baby forks, huh?? 

After lunch, we gathered up Penny and headed out to the park to enjoy the sunshine...

...even if it was WAY hotter than I thought!  I was layering up Katie in tights & a sweater and was about to get a blanket for her...until I walked outside and realized my long pants were overdressed!  Ummm...can we start with mid-70's before we jump into the HIGH 80's, Mother Nature???

After the walk, I hightailed it over to the gym to try out a new (to me) class...

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Unlike classes like Zumba & Body Jam that use counting to dance, the choreography for Bokwa (yes, Scott made me pronounce it 3 times before he got it tooJ) is actually based on the alphabet and you do all of the moves shaped like letters.  Apparently it's just coming to the USA after sweeping Europe, Asia and Australia.  Who know?  It was fun, but maybe a little too much repetition for me .  I like lots of combos & choreography, thanks to my old dancing school daysJ

5:30pm:  Dinner- Apple with Peanut Butter

I slammed that apple & pb down my throat since I had to hurry up & get ready for...

OK, so I've never actually seen Theresa's show (although I'm gonna start!), but I LOVE all things 'paranormal' and have my own fair share of 'odd coincidences' regularly (shadows out of the corner of my eye, 'lost & returned' objects, TV's turning on by themselves, etc.)...so I was intrigued once my cousin wanted to round up a group to go and see her.  Am I soooooooooooo glad I did.  She was PHENOMENAL!  I don't know how you could be skeptical after seeing her show.  But HOLY TEARS!  I spent most of the night bawling as she talked to people with whom she was connecting with their deceased loved ones.  It was sooooo emotional.  You can only hope it helped those people find some peace.  All I know was I had to come home & watch "Dance Moms" before bed so I could 'detox!'J  Very overwhelming and she's a super entertaining character!

Alright...well, I'm gonna jet outta here before Katie wakes up from her napJ  Have a great Wednesday!