First sign of spring...

Thursday Recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer

9:30am:  Breakfast- 1/2 French Toast Bagel with butter

Katie had 1/2 of this and so generously decided to share the rest with meJ.  And I'd be lying if I didn't say I enjoyed every last decadent morsel J

1:30pm:  Lunch- Oatmeal smoothie 

How PACKED was that thing???  This recipe made MORE than enough for me + a glass for Katie. 

I'm not the biggest fan of plain yogurt in smoothies, but the raspberries, oatmeal & banana were enough flavor to drowned out its tartness.  Plus with all those fillers, it was super filling too.

3:00pm:  Snack- Bowl of Frosted Flakes

Just pretend that picture is the bowl of Frosted Flakes I had sooooooooooo been wishing for all day, K??J

6:00pm:  Dinner- Shrimp & roasted asparagus risotto

Made possible by the first batch of THESE beauties this season:

You know spring is in the air when asparagus is sold by the CHEAP bundle!  I got this dish started by dicing up the bundle and giving it a quick toss with olive oil, garlic powder & salt before roasting it in a 375 oven while I got to work on the risotto.

And they had plenty of time to roast since, as I've mentioned before, risotto is as HIGH MAINTENANCE as they come when you have to stir... 

...and stir for about 1/2 an hour... 

I kept busy dancing it out to the Michael Jackson radio station while stirring awayJ

When I had about 3 ladles of boiling chicken broth left to add, I tossed in a pound of cleaned shrimp and let that cook up until they were pink.  (about 10 minutes) 

When you're down to the last ladle of broth, toss in the roasted asparagus, salt & pepper and a handful of grated cheese (which my Grandmom would disapprove of.  Italians always said you do not serve cheese with fish...but I like the added flavor)  Give everything the last few stirs and let all the flavors cook together for a few more minutes.

I had also tossed in a 1/2 bag of fresh spinach in at the last minute (since I had to use it or lose it),so that added even MORE vegetables to balance out this normally decadent dish.  You got plenty of creamy risotto mixed with lean protein from the shrimp and PLENTY of veggies to fill in the blanks.  And at 1 cup for a serving, you're keeping this rich & heavy dish to within a reasonably portion to fit into any healthy diet.  Weeeee!  Risotto for everyone!

Katie liked it toJ  I tried to get her to say risotto several times, but it came out more like 'sotto'J  Close enoughJ

8:00pm:  'Dessert'- Popcorn cooked in coconut oil 

I can't believe I haven't mentioned this little trick sooner since I feel like I've done it 1,000 times, but cooking 2 tablespoons of popcorn kernels in a 2 teaspoons of coconut oil is both healthy and DELICIOUS.  It gives the kernels just a little extra flavor so you really don't need much to flavor it up except for a sprinkle of salt.  Yum!

And unfortunately the only workout I fit in yesterday was my "Michael Jackson/risotto dance party," since a headache hit just as I was about to walk out the door to go to the gym.  This resulted in my turning into bed at the hot-shot hour of 9pm.  Although it's a good thing since Katie had us up at 4am with her stomach bug again...poor booger.

Oh well...please send all 'wellness vibes' to our house for over the weekendJ  Hope yours is a little bit 'healthier' than oursJ

Have a great weekend!J