The other side...

Wednesday Recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer

9:30am:  Breakfast- Almond meal & flax pancake

I had to use an 'old' photo, because my cake wasn't even remotely close to a circular shape yesterday.  I don't know WHAT the heck happened, but that damn thing was a HOT MESS!

10:30-11:45am:  Power Yoga

12:00pm:  Lunch- Slim-n-Trim Skinny Vanilla Smoothie

Soooooo since they put a Smoothie King in next to my gym a few months ago AND I found an article online the other day about 'best low-cal drinks' (since Smoothie King is FULL of hidden calories in seemingly innocent liquids), I figured I'd try out this 153 calorie cup.  It was tasty and filling enough for a lunch...but at $5.34 for a SMALL, it will DEF be a very once-in-a-great-while TREAT.

2:30pm:  Snack- 11 Peanut Butter Pretzel Nuggets

5:00pm:  Dinner- Roasted Carrot Quinoa with Chicken

Why did I want to try this recipe??  One word:  DILL!

I LOVEEEEEEEEEEE DILL and never use it enough!  It's super VIBRANT and can add a great ZING to any dishJ

But let's get back to the carrots, which I roasted in a mix of 1/4 teaspoon of each:  olive oil, honey & ground ginger....

...at 375 for about 25 minutes until they roasted...or shrunk...J

While the carrots were roasting, I gave a quick stir-fry to some chicken coated in...you guessed it...DILL!  Once it was cooked, I set it off to the side until the quinoa was complete.

Which I started by toasting in a skillet for a few minutes with a little garlic... (AGAIN-BE SURE TO THE RINSE THE QUINOA BEFORE ADDING TO THE SKILLET!!!)

Then it was time to add the chicken (or veggie) broth...

When cooking with 'blandish' grains (brown rice, couscous, etc.)  ALWAYS use a broth or stock to flavor them up!  Honestly, I HATED brown rice till I started using this no-calories added trick.  It really makes all the difference.

After the quinoa is covered, simmered and all the water is absorbed (about 20 minutes), I added in the carrots & MORE diced dill...(AND SALT!!!  This dish is SUPER bland without it.  Just trust me on thatJ) 

 ...and then plated with a topping of the dill chicken, which I was VERY thankful for since I don't know if this dish would have been filling enough for us without it.  It tasted nice, light & spring-y.  If you're in the mood to look forward to brighter days, make this dishJ

5:30-6:30:  Body Jam Class

The "Kickin it to the 90's" is ALWAYS such a sweat drenching workout, but it felt SOOOOOOOO good to dance again after my 'sickness hiatus' last weekJ

8:00pm:  Handful of Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark

Thankfully, it was the LAST handful of pretzel bark for the seasonJ

And since I usually share my accomplishments with you, I MUST share the 'other' side today as I feel SUPERRRRRRRRR discouraged from loosing a total of ZERO on the scale this morning from the week.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr...it's EXTRA frustrating when you know you did really well and chose salads and quinoa over the burger & fries that you realllllllllly wanted but knew you didn't needJ  Oh yeah, and had a loss on the scale BEFORE going to power yoga & boxing class over the weekend.  UGH, makes my blood boil...BUT I don't really feel good if I DON'T choose salads & boxing, so I guess that's the point, right???  Just wouldn't have minded seeming some validation on top of it.  SIGH.  Oh well...onto next weekJ

Have a great Thursday!