Breakfast with sprinkles + Breakfast for dinner...

*I planned on this day being ALL fruits & vegetables until dinner.  You'll see how well THAT plan workedJ...

Tuesday Recap:

10:00am:  Breakfast- Skinny Funfetti Cake Batter Oatmeal

Well, cold & rainy weather came back to Jersey yesterday and I knew oatmeal just had to trump a 'smoothie morning' for breakfast.  And breakfast with sprinkles???  Ummmm....OKJ

Now I KNOW I just talked about artificial sweeteners YESTERDAY (the irony was not lost on meJ), but this recipe does call for 1/4 teaspoon of butter extract to give it the 'cake batter' taste.  I also added 1/2 teaspoon of both vanilla & brown sugar for sweetness.

And I knew as soon as Katie saw my dish, she was going to want to share, especially with her new-found love of "Spink-els", so I just doubled the recipeJ  Getting your kids to eat oatmeal with the help of 'spink-els'?  I'm OK with thisJ

12:30pm:  Lunch- "Happy wrap"

The oatmeal was all fun & games, but by the time lunch rolled around I was hungry and craving EVERYTHING!  So before I could tear into all of the crunchy & sweet things I was craving, I quickly whipped up this wrap and it killed all those cravings flat.  (I'm starting to think anything tart or tangy, al la lemons or pickles, is a good craving killer for me)

OK, OK...it killed 95% of the cravings.  There was still room in that 5% for the last Banana Oatmeal Chocolate chip cookie that was staring at me from the fridge...

Scott already requested I make these again.  They are ACES being made with bananas, all natural 'fillers' and mini chocolate chips.  I also swapped the canola oil for coconut oil and it seemed to give the edges a little crispness  (it also did the same for the coconut cupcakes.  Which, if you were a betting person, you can put a million bucks on how this post is going to endJ)

3:00pm:  Snack- Hot Chocolate with skim milk

Yep...told you this 'fruit & veggie planned day' got whipped out the window as quickly as the wind that was howling outside yesterdayJ  I went full-on winter and knew nothing else was going to hit the spot quite like this little number.  I used milk as the base for protein and it held me over perfectly until dinner.

AND NOW LET'S GET TO THAT DINNER, SHALL WE???

6:00pm:  Dinner- SAVORY FETA & THYME FRENCH TOAST & bacon

OK????  As soon as I spied this recipe on Pinterest about a week ago, I have been a woman OBSESSED.  Seriously.  Just ask Scott how many times I've managed to mention it in a week's time.  I'm betting that number is somewhere in the high double digitsJ.

But I loved, loved, loved the idea of taking the normally sweet breakfast & giving it a savory twist.  And who, pray-tell, doesn't love an excuse for breakfast for dinner?  (the, ummmm, 10 minute cooking time doesn't hurt eitherJ)

I knew I wanted to serve it up with bacon since we had some in the fridge, so after I crisped up 4 slices of bacon, I gave the pan a quick drain with a paper towel, but left enough of the oil to give the pan a thin coat to brown up the toast.

I think using stale bread and a thin coating of oil to cook this bread is KEY.  I was afraid it was going to be tough & soggy, but I think both steps helped prevent these troubles.

The outside was crisp and CHEESE-COATED (OK!), while the inside stayed chewy & filling.  And let's not forget about the extra sprinkle of feta after the toast came out of the hot pan.  You didn't think about OR miss the sweetness of regular French toast AT ALL!

Oh my, oh my...totally lived up to my 97 mentionsJ  I INHALED those 2 slices and then admittedly went back for 1 more.

And then I stole 1/2 of one of Scott's pieces.

I think I could have eaten the entire 1/2 a loaf I had used if left to be own devices.  It was THAT good.

Katie?  She had about half a slice of french toast, but didn't enjoy that as much as piling the feta cheese on top of the 1/2 slice of bacon I had shared with her and trying to shovel the entire contraption in her mouth.  I like the way she thinksJ

Anyway...LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this dinner!  Try this the next time Sunday morning rolls around OR you need an excuse to make a QUICK 10 minute dinner.  You will LOVE it!

8:00pm:  Dessert- Wait for the shockJ

Can't stop.  Won't stop.

9:30-10:30- Advanced Pilates

And with thoughts of that extra slice & a half of toast on my mind, I knew I'd feel a lot better if I fit in this workout that I had been putting off all dayJ.  Even better, I found a copy of it on Youtube (it was the 2nd workout in that series), so I just had it running on my phone while I caught up on my shows for the night (cough, Dance Moms reunion, cough).  Win/win.

Andddddd we Jersyians woke up to more rain this morning (although seeing all this flood footage from the south makes it hard to complain) so my brain went into full-on comfort food thoughts this morning...which is SO bizarre for the END of April.  Oh well...we shall see what comes out of this dreary day.

Have a good Wednesday...half way there!

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Homemade gourmet..

Monday Recap:

9:30am:  Breakfast- 1 Lemon Blackberry Cookie & yogurt

So I've been trying my best to avoid artificial flavors & sweeteners for about 3 years now.  I still have some and do still have coffee creamer (a few teaspoons daily) & diet soda (occasionally, usually only if I'm out), which doesn't really affect me.  This yogurt, however, DID.  Much like the last time (and it WAS the LAST TIME) I attempted to eat a little Splenda, by 3/4 of the way through this container I felt space-y & gross and had a headache by early afternoon.  Not sure why my body can eat certain sweeteners and be fine & not others (not that I don't want to eliminate ALL of them!), but it was enough of a 'hint' to not make me attempt this kind of yogurt again.  I'll take a few more calories in the name of feeling 100%!

12:00pm:  Lunch- Avocado/pickle/hummus/Laughing Cow wrap 

I'm about to start calling this the 'happy wrap,' cause it's another one of those lunches that is satisfying every single time I have.

1:30pm:  Snack #1- Coffee with creamer (the headache won out on this one)

3:00pm:  Snack #2-  Guess...J

5:30pm:  Dinner- Spring Salad with pecan encrusted goat cheese

Well, you knew it wouldn't be long until this salad graced your screenJ  And since the Kale & brown rice salad went over so well last week, I thought I'd toss in the last reheated leftover cup of brown rice right along with this winner, winner, salad dinner... 

• Diced kale 
• Halved grapes
• Craisins
• 1 cup warm brown rice

Toss everything together with a quick vinaigrette of:

• 5 tablespoons white vinegar or white balsamic
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• salt & pepper

(the original vinaigrette called for diced fresh basil & chives, which is SOGOOD, but it works without the fresh herbs too)

Finally, toast up some diced pecans (or walnuts/pistachios/etc) in a pan until golden brown.  Then add the sliced goat cheese and roll in the pecans.  The goat cheese becomes more pliable the longer it sits in the pan...so your cheese will shape depending on how patient you are. (aka-I wasn't patient AT ALL last nightJ)

This salad tastes almost gourmet with its ingredients of the rich & mellow dressing, tangy & cool goat cheese, crunchy pecans & sweet grapes and craisins.  You will want to make this again and again and again...as we haveJ 

And another person who will request it again and again?? 

Dinner is normally a guessing games with kids.  Some days this kid will HOUSE the most random things that you think she'll hate (like fennel & cilantro quinoa).  Other times, she'll take 2 or 3 bites of something you think she'll LOVE and be over it (like zucchini pancakes or pizza).  The one thing she will INHALE 100% of the time (besides beans, corn on the cob & soup)???  KALE SALAD. 

I said to Scott that WE didn't even eat kale until about 5 years ago and this kid inhales it like it's going out of style.  I thought it was just a fluke, but it's pretty crazy & consistent.  I hope she never looses it.  Time will tell, but I'll take it for now!  Any day without a whiny, cry-fest is a winJ

5:31pm:  Dessert- Coconut cupcake

Seriously, I think our plates were clean for half a second before I started thinking about these cupcakes.  Two seconds later Scott wanted one and that was all it took for me to go running for the kitchen.  LOVE. THESE. THINGS!

6:30-7:45pm:  Beginner's Power Yoga

8:30pm:  Hot Lemon Water

Since we ate our dessert RIDICULOUSLY early and I had gotten home from yoga earlier than usual since I only took one class, I found myself craving SOMETHING while watching "Dancing with the Stars" last night (I HEART, HEART, HEART Davies & White!  The world needs more role models like those 2!)  So instead of reaching for something salty or sweet, I downed this lemon water and it killed those cravings FLAT.  And on top of that, I woke up this morning nearly buzzing with how healthy I felt.  It would have been a MUCH different story had I given into those temptations.  I'll take this one as a win.

Alright...I better get a move on.  But I will leave you with the tease that at least once a week I normally have a recipe I'm REALLYEXCITED to make and TONIGHT is that recipeJ  It's a savory take on a normally sweet dish.  Stay tuned...

Have a great Tuesday!J

Weekend recap...with coconut;)

Morning, all!  Hope you guys had a great weekend!  Mine started bright & early Saturday morning with my Beyond Expectations family to participate in the annual Comcast Cares volunteer day.  As part of the 7,000 volunteers participating throughout NJ alone, our group helped spruce up the Anchor House in Trenton, NJ.

The crew spent the day painting, gardening, baking cookies, wrapping gifts and organizing the incredible youth shelter.  Check out the Beyond Expectations website for more photos, info & a link to a NJ.com featureJ  Pretty cool day with some incredible, genuine people.

And by the time I got home, we were ALL ready to get out and EATJ  And thankfully, a Groupon helped pick our final destination of Mamitas Restaurante Latino, a bright & friendly restaurant in Newtown, PA.  It was only moments after being seated that I decided it was perfectly acceptable to have the 'rice pudding' drink known as Horchata to go along with my dinner...and this one may have been the best one I've ever had!  

Sweet & cinnamon-y, it even tasted more "rice pudding-y" than my brown rice/chia seed attemptJ.

I just KNEW Katie would ADORE it...and I was rightJ 

After swooning over the Horchata for a good 10-15 minutes, we started swooning over our appetizer choice of chicken Pupusas...

...which tasted almost identical to my beloved Arepas, except these are flour cakes vs. corn.  Perfectly crisp and stuffed with spiced chicken...kinda hard to dislike em!

And for my entree, I went with the steak enchiladas drenched in Mole sauce.  The tender steak wrapped in fresh corn tortillas were delish, while the mole sauce was JUST spicy enough to keep my portion in checkJ  The heat just seemed to build & build while you ate, so by 1 and 1/4 enchilada, I was maxed out... 

...although you know I'm a weakling for spiceJ  I'm sure a normal person would have no problem devouring this whole thingJ

Katie, meanwhile, was super happy to have her favorite meal along with us:  Rice & beansJ 

And to finish off the meal:  As soon as I heard the words "Coconut Flan," you know it was OVAH!

While Scott & Katie HOUSED this Tre Leche cake.  I was able to sneak a SINGLE bite without my child biting off my handJ  She loved this pretty much as much as her beloved BEANSJ 

After dinner, we took advantage of the gorgeous night to burn off some calories and some energy from Katie and wander around downtown Newtown (thinking of you, Lea!J)...

...although we did get rained on a bit, we got this beautiful sunset in returnJ  Not too shabbyJ

And while Sunday was spent with a mix of boxing class, 'promised' everything bagels with caramelized garlic cheese (epic idea!)...

...3 mile park walks & a dinner of leftover Easter ravioli & ham, I figured yesterday was a good day to remember to make my favorite "Sunday homemade dessert"...which I remember exactly every 4 months or soJ  And since we've been inhaling FAR too much Easter candy AND I had such success with my 'healthier baking' last week, I went the more "natural" route and made Bethenny's Vegan Coconut Cupcakes...

I swapped the vegan shortening for Coconut Butter with MUCH success...but the best part was THE FROSTING!

• 1/4 cup coconut butter 
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/4-1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon coconut extract

It was actually a halved-version of the original frosting recipe and was MORE than enough for the 8 cupcakes Bethenny's recipe makes.  These cupcakes will cure ANY sweet tooth as these are SWEET & COCONUT: 101!  I'd actually consider halving the sugar in the cupcake recipe because the frosting was more than sweet enough.  If you have a coconut fan in your life:  MAKE. THESE. NOW!

Alright, that's enough from me for the day!  Hope you have a great one.J

Oat flour info overload...

*Random FYI:  As you may have heard, Facebook has limited what you can see from 'business pages.' So if you would like to continue to receive updates from My Tasty Journey in your timeline, please 'like' or 'comment' on a post on my Facebook page to show you're still interested. 

...or you can just go about it the 'old fashioned' way and just check MyTastyJourney.com for updates!  Thanks!! 

Thursday Recap:

11:00am:  Breakfast- 2 Lemon Blackberry Breakfast Cookies

So yesterday was a rare bird, in that I wasn't really hungry all day (despite CHUGGING lots o' water)  And on top of that, I didn't really know what I wanted for breakfast....well, except for one thingJ  I had planned on making these Lemon Blackberry Breakfast cookies later in the day, but when 10am rolled around and my hunger was still at bay, I knew these were the ONLY thing I REALLY wanted for breakfast...so I rolled up my sleeve and got to workJ

Blackberries were finally reasonably priced at the grocery store this week, so I picked up enough to make a 1/2 recipe of these cookies.  Problem?  The bananas I purchased were still WAY too green to make this recipe.  Solution???  A quick Pinterest search let me know that you can bake a banana at 350 degrees for a 1/2 hour and it will speed up the ripening process, so that they are sweet and ready to go for baking!  And it actually worked:

I know, I knowJ  Not really attractiveJ

Next, I put Katie to work whipping up these gluten, egg & dairy-free cookies (no one in our house is allergic to any of these, thankfully, but it never hurts to use 'better for you' ingredients if you're baking homemade anyways)

And for the record, I think I might be swapping oat flour for any white, wheat, etc in my 'healthier' baking recipes.  (This does not include holiday cookies & treats!  Don't get crazy now!J)  If you can't find it in the store, oat flour is as easy as tossing cup-for-cup of rolled oats into a food processor and whirling it up for a minute into fine flour. 

I find wheat flour DOES occasionally have an after taste (although wheat PASTRY flour is quite a bit smoother...although more expensive & harder to find), but oat flour is extremely mellow.   ...or maybe it's the fact that I just heart oats anyway, so even if it did have an aftertaste, I'd be OK with it..??

Is that more than you ever wanted or needed to hear about oat flour in one day/week/month??

OK, OK...so here's a picture of Katie waiting for the cookies to bake to change things up a bitJ

(and no...the oven door is not hot and it's locked.  I'd be wondering the same if I saw this picJ)

Oh yeah...back to the cookiesJ.  So I don't find blackberries to be particularly sweet, but the honey/coconut oil/mashed banana/lemon zest cookies SURROUNDING said berries was just so perfectly sweet, that they made the whole cookie just scrumptious.  Perfect breakfast treat for the spring/summer months with its fresh, lemony flavor.

OH yeah, and since I HALVED the recipe...but didn't want the 1/2 BAKED banana to go to waste, I also made a 1/2 batch of Bethenny's Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies.  Cause...well, why not??J 

2:00pm:  Lunch- "Avocado Pickle Wrap"

I know, I know...weirdest thing in the world, but I am in LOVEEEE with this comboJ  My only swap from last time was to replace the turkey breast with a spread of olive hummus.  I know, that just bumped that up to EXTREME weirdness, but this combo just WORKS.

• 1/2 tortilla (100 calories)
• 1 Laughing Cow wedge
• Thin spread of olive hummus
• 1/4 sliced avocado
• 1/2 sliced pickle

Plus, I think I just like any excuse to add more avocados & pickles into my daysJ  The 2 combined together are pretty epic-ly delishJ

3:00pm:  Snack- 1 Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie

Oh yeah...and back to those Banana Chocolate chip cookiesJ.  As much as I repeated the mantra of "you've already had cookies today, have a piece of fruit" 67 times, I just couldn't help but reach for one of these for a snack.  And OMG, they were so good.  The 1/18th piece of banana I probably got in that cookie probably counts as a fruit serving....right??J

6:00pm:  Dinner- Leftover Pizza & salad

Since Saturday night had just enough hints of Spring to pretend it was warmer out than it actually was (and I was beat from spending all day making PastiaJ), we spent it at our favorite little hidden gem: "The Pizza Kitchen" in Yardville.  And I say 'hidden gem,' because while this place does a GREAT take-out business -their tiny patio area out back is usually pretty deserted (perfect for a 'free to roam Katie') and the perfect place to have a pizza OUTSIDE without any crowds.  

Or maybe I shouldn't tell you thatJ  hahahhaha

ANYWAY, we split a Brooklyn Pie Saturday night (and the most PHENOMENAL buffalo waffle fries, pretty much EVER!  I'm sure we'll be back soon enough and I'll post a picture!) and had enough pizza leftover to get me out of cooking for the night...weeeeeeeeeeeee!

And while we ate pizza, we got to crack up in the hilarious phenomenon of the fact that they only thing Katie eats from "pizza & salad" night is the salad....AND THE PIZZA CRUST.  Seriously, this kid eats pizza BACKWARDS and stops once she reached the tomato & cheese...  

I'm sure she's not alone in this 'club,' but like most things your own kid does: we found this hilarious and fascinatingJ

And after that dinner, I knew I had enough with sweets for the day since I had the 3 cookies between breakfast & snack and called it a night.

Well...that all sounded good & right in my head.

But this little treat from my Easter basket was just TOOHARD to pass up!

And you probably would have enjoyed the fact that I had the GENIUS idea to microwave this for 10 seconds too long and it turned into a pool of melted chocolate and marshmallow all over the place.  But never fear, Momma still scooped up every last messy biteJ

That being said, the leftover Easter candy is going in the freezer, like, YESTERDAY!

7:00-8:15am:  Hatha Yoga

Hatha yoga falls somewhere between Gentle & Vinyasa, so ya kinda never know where it's gonna fall in the challenging scale.  Although with the announcement of there being a focus on CORE last night, I knew we were in for more of a challenge than usual and I was CO-RRECT.  I was pretty happy to get a bit of a tougher workout in after my day of....ummmmm...WAY too many treatsJ

Anyway...hope you guys have lots of fun plans this weekend.  Mine include scarfing MORE Lemon Blackberry cookies (as I just had 2 for breakfast THIS morning tooJ) and spending my Saturday with my Beyond Expectations family for a nice project.  I'll share more on Monday!

Have a GREAT WEEKEND, everyone!!J