Hiatus...

Morning, folks!  Well, I think it's about time I put the ole blog on hiatus while we get the last few odds & ends ready for our new arrival.  And by 'odds & ends,' I mean spending all my extra time with Katie, considering I've been acting like we're shipping her off to Europe vs. her becoming a big sisterJ.  Just can't get enough of her at the moment.

So I'll be back once I get everything settled.  Itll probably be a minute, thoughJ.  In the meantime, I'll still post some quick updates from my My Tasty Journey Facebook page.  Since...I still just can't shut up about food & working outJ.  I'll just have to do it QUICKER at the momentJ

Talk to you again soon...hopefully!J

Yogi eats, part 2...

Morning, everyone!    ...OK, maybe I should cut it with the exclamation point since I'm sure this has been a sllllooowww moving morning for everyone adjusting to the time change.  But how bout that post 7 o'clock sunset last night??  That felt FAB!  That one was exclamation point worthyJ

What else is also exclamation point worthy??  Yet another weekend with my yoga peeps at yoga teacher training this weekendJ  Weeeeee(exclamation point)

Which also meant another weekend of AMAZING custom eats from edoFoods from start to finish.  I can honestly I say I've never felt more nourished by this incredibly healthy, fresh and DELICIOUS food.  Each little bundle came with an ingredients list that looked as healthy and natural as THIS:

BLISS.

Healthy CHOCOLATE banana bread?  Well, that was a great way to kick off the weekend.  That and the adorableness of these mini loaves coming labeled with our names and wrapped in little bundles tied in twine.  It's the LITTLE, sweet things that amuse us yogisJ 

Our main lunch entree for the day was the mere definition of fresh:  Fit Fuyu Salad lettuce wraps... 

Talk about a meal to transition us right from winter to the delights of spring, these little lettuce cups were filled with fuyu persimmons, FENNEL (which no one could believe, since that's such a strong flavor and was soooo mellow here), pomegranate seeds & edoFoods specialty citrus dressing...

Light, refreshing and full of cool & citrus-y flavors, the lettuce and pomegranate seeds gave a great crunch and the rest of the ingredients melded into an incredible bursts of fresh, bright flavors.  So incredible.

And as a side dish, some good ole pasta salad made so fabulously healthy with brown rice quinoa fusili & edoFood's stellar vegan mayo.... 

Filling and studded with veggies & herbs to give it such a lovely, fresh flavor, this had all the flavor of pasta salad without that icky, heavy feeling from its traditional high fat ingredients.  A perfect side for the light wraps. 

And for our final treat of Saturday: 

I mean, how cute???  My friend combined the 'blues' of winter with a little hint from what has become the collective 'yoga baby'J to name her fabulous bar.  (so honored!J)  A RAW blueberry oat bar over an oat base, this just tasted like a bite of sweet berry summer mixed with the cool, PURE ingredients.  Just heaven.

And Sunday brought even MORE goodies with a few extra treats thrown inJ  Oh, it was a good dayJ

We started the morning with pepper, carrot & zucchini sticks paired with a side of homemade hummus....which is always such a treat and about heads & tales better than any store bought... 

And for lunch, how's this for a cool duo???  Sweet eggplant soup sided up with FALAFEL WAFFLES!!! 

How clever was THAT to take a traditional deep-fried falafel and make it healthier by crisping it up in a waffle iron??  Not to mention the sweet soup paired perfectly since the falafel, which had quite a hit of spice.  Perfect sweet & spicy combo that was soooo filling.

Nooooottttt that we didn't have our fair share of 'extra' treats in the afternoon.  First up was our final treat of the weekend from edoFoods...which combined one of my most favorite things EVER...

I nearly died with excitment when I heard we were having COCONUT MOUSSE!  Coupled with the baby's favorites of late:  Chocolate & fresh berries = oh, so very HAPPY!

Every single bite of every edoFoods treat just tasted so PURE.  It feels nice to have an entire weekend of foods that you just KNOW makes your body so very happy.  Thank you again SO MUCH, Ricky & Jenn!  We were ALL so grateful and excitedJ

And even though we had PLENTY, we actually got a few EXTRA treats yesterday, starting with some homemade cinnamon & citrus rice pudding.....

Ummmm...happinessJ

And thanks to our lovely fellow student, Cristina, we learned all about the celebration & tradition that is International Women's Day.  And even though Women's Day has its roots in America (thanks Eleni for THAT lesson), Cristina told us that it is a HUGE deal in Europe.  And since the yellow mimosa flowers are in full bloom in Italy this time of year, the night before you will find all of the men plucking the trees since your husband, brother, boss, doctor, etc. delivers these flowers to all of the women every March 8th.  And not only did Cristina festoon our room with pretty yellow flowers to mimic the mimosa (as well as bring us a little sprig...that smelled like HEAVEN!).  She made us the traditional Italian favorite:  Tiramisu... 

Needless to say, we were all very excitedJ 

Scott's definitely the tiramisu fan in our house, but her homemade amaretto version was just BLISS.

The perfect way to celebrate the end of yet another INCREDIBLE weekend.  We all left so very happy, grateful...and FULLJ

Even Katie got a little taste of the weekend with a sniff of the mimosa and an edoFoods chocolate cococnut mousse mustacheJ 

THANK YOU to ALL involved in a fabulous weekend!  Especially edoFoods, Gaby for her rice pudding, Cristina for the tiramisu and, of course, all of our teachers, facilitators & fellow students aka-the greatest peeps you'll ever be fortunate enough to knowJ

Alrighty...now after that peaceful, blissful recap, it's hard to jump back into a 'normal' Monday, but Katie's not interested in any more of my yoga reminiscingJ 

Hope you guys have a great Monday!

I even organized socks??...

Morning, everyone!  Hope you guys had a great weekend.  Now that I think of it we barely left the house the last 2 days and that was A-OK with me.  We still managed to have a lot going on around here, starting with our traditional "Winter Wine & Cheese" (think HOT DIPS being B-I-G business) on Friday night...

...where my favorite highlight was my BFF's Pinterest-worthy cheese, fruit & nut plate...esp. since these are some of my most FAVORITETHINGSEVER.  Just skip any meal EVER and hand me THIS and I'll be a happy girlJ

Saturday brought our only venture outside of taking Katie to dance class and very soon after we walked in the door, the snow started falling and didn't stop until way past sunset.  The snow canceled the plans I had for Saturday night, but lounging around the rest of the day in PJ's with Scott & Katie was a pretty damn awesome way to take its placeJ  We even made one of our all-time favorite dinners of Spinach Meatballs with Parmesan sauce over egg noodles... 

...butttttt I guess the baby wasn't too crazy over it just yet.  We'll leave it at thatJ  I think I probably maxed out my weekend cheese quota around 7pm on Friday night and the sauce on this dish didn't do me any favorsJ

Sunday's meals proved to be a bit more of a hit, starting with our breakfast of...

Bacon in the oven for 20 minutes = check.  Potato Pancakes in the oven for 10 minutes = check.  Breakfast = Complete!  (topped with a little sour cream & chopped dill) 

These little babies were exactly what I was dreaming of in December.  Crisp, full of onion flavor (my fav!) and ready, sans standing over a frying pan.  I have a feeling this will be a new staple from Trader Joe's from here on out.  Scrumptious!

And they must have been pretty filling, because short of a yogurt & 22 COUNTED OUT CRISPY BLACK BEANS (cause portioning them out is a MUST), I was full for the rest of the day and managed to have one of the most productive Sunday afternoons in AGES.  I'm chalkin the CRAZY amount of energy I had yesterday up to the fact that I've been eating pretty well/balanced + getting in a lot of exercise.  After Scott & I banged out a 2 mile walk before 10am, I tackled a 'to do' list and got things done that I have been putting off for MONTHS (like, ummm, organize Katie's SOCKS...???)  I just never stopped moving and it felt GREAT!  As much as I love a nice, loungy day (like SaturdayJ), a day where you feel SUPER productive is also at the top of my LOVE LIST.

Another item checked off was also tackling my first ever attempt at Swiss meringue buttercream...  

Me & whipped egg whites don't usually get along very well, but I somehow managed to temper them, whip them up into perfect peaks and add butter, vanilla and salted caramel without it all falling to pieces.  If I did nothing else for the rest of the day except THIS, it would have been a miraculously accomplished dayJ 

Back to the frosting in a sec, because first: DINNER!  Since my SIL & I are Pinterest ADDICTS, we decided over a year ago to have a monthly dinner where we alternate dinner & dessert duties and 97% of the time, the recipes are usually coming from our dueling overflowing boardsJ  So for her dinner pick of the month, she made us a chicken quinoa enchilada bake (complete with homemade enchilada sauce...yummm!!) 

I haven't had a stomach for quinoa since October, but here was a GREAT re-introduction to it since you could barely taste it under all the other fab flavors of pulled chicken, black beans and spices.  None of us could get enough!

Andddd of course that brings us back to the frosting, which was tucked between the layers of my HALF-A-CAKE of Salted caramel chocolate fudge cake topped with whipped chocolate ganache & MORE salted caramel... 

The cake was delicious (albeit, VERY sweet) but I was SO focused on the frosting that I didn't really notice the oddity of the actually chocolate cake portion of the recipe.  It called for nearly equal parts flour and liquid, resulting in a ...well, fudgy layer I suppose, but it also had that weird 'not completely set' texture, even though it baked for nearly an hour.  Strange...but we still managed to make do somehowJ 

Well...that about wraps up my post for today.  Ready to get today started since I have lots of odds & ends to tackle this week to get ready for:  KATIE'S THIRD BIRTHDAY!  Wow...I can't even handle it.  I was all fine with the thought of her turning 3 until we hit the 'two weeks till the day' mark and I nearly started freaking out.  Crazy how time flies, but her birthday is always one of my favorite day/weeks of the year, even with that slight twinge of bittersweet...as I'm sure all Moms can relateJ  Off to start compiling piles of PINK decor for the weekend...J

Have a great Monday, everyone!J

OK....so I lied...

But first:  HI!  How are you guys??  Long time, no chat!

And even though my given reasons for my blogger break were partially true, the real reason for the hiatus was:

Yet another round of ALL DAY/ALL NIGHT MORNING SICKNESS!

Yep, we're getting set for round #2 of baby around here and couldn't be more excited.  And terrified...but mostly excitedJ  And while yoga school & a more and more independent Katie were certainly a good excuse for a bit of a break, the real reason was that I could barely even LOOK or THINK about this blog for months.  I thought I'd get a bit of a break since morning sickness with Katie had been so bad, but that CERTAINLY was NOT the caseJ  It cropped up on Halloween night and rendered me to bed for nearly the entire months of November & December. (and that was ALL in thanks to Scott & my Mom who went above & beyond and took care of EVERYTHING for me those couple months.)  I DID recover enough to enjoy Christmas & New Years, but still felt lousy enough not to feel like delving in a daily food discussion for a bit longer.  I FINALLY feel like I've turned a corner (although it STILL comes and goes some days), but I think I might be feeling well enough to get back to it.  I've also gotten back to my exercise routines slow & steady after a two-month COMPLETE hiatus.  Some time around mid-December I toyed with the idea of doing a plank just to test my strength level, buttttttttt the thought of trying one ALONE made me nearly cry (as did even thinking about the word "quinoa"...shudder), so yeah-it's been a slow & steady build of strength over the past month & a half, but have been SOVERYHAPPY to get back to Power Yoga & dance, even if they're at about an 80-85% on a good day.

Soooooooo...I said all of that to say I think I'm gonna have a lot to share with you guys over the next few days and going into Valentines weekend!  We have our typical Valentines "road trip" meal planned (since...ummmm...the second week in JanuaryJ), but I'm still tossing around ideas for my home meal.  I'm thinking this year it might be something that is just AGREEABLE with my stomach (esp. since RICH foods are still the ULTIMATE nemesis)J hahahahahhahaha

SO, hope you guys are doing well and hopefully I'll be back to share some incredible eats I've had lately with you guys tomorrow!

Have a good Wednesday

And while I have you here, here are a few Valentines appropriate recipes you might enjoy making over the next few days:

RED Pasta
Heart Pizza
Sorta-Red Velvet Baked Donuts
Red Velvet Crepe Cake
Brownie Mix Truffles
Chocolate Cream-Filled Hearts
Valentines Pup Pancakes (for your furry Valentine)

Same Journey...New Format

HI EVERYONE!  Yes...it is I, Donna, back from the depths of...well, trying to keep up with my now happy & giggly 10-month oldJ

It feels like 12 years ago since I posted about the adjustments of having a newborn, but here we are:  planning a 1-year old's birthday party and still adjusting DAILY.  I've wanted to get back to blogging for awhile, but couldn't really fathom taking time away from Katie, who changes every single dayJ  So I thought I'd change up the format here a bit and see how things go.  I thought I'd post more of a 'daily eats' type posts vs. the 'cooking dinner' posts, which I'm HOPING will translate to MORE pictures and LESS chatter...becausssseeee the chatter part tends to take up a bit too much time, and I thought this would be easier to post, as well as for you guys to read!  I figured it all leads to the same results, which are:

• Giving you an idea of HOW we try to stay healthy...at least MOST of the timeJ
• And to give you ideas for meals, snacks & exercises to keep your days interesting and keeping you on the 'healthy path.'

I've also updated my weight loss page with my pregnancy 'journey' to give you an idea of where I'm at right now and that I'm on the same page of 'trying to make it all work' as the rest of you.  (I've also updated my Cooking, Travel & Food Finds page as well!)

So here's hoping you like the new format....and since my little buddy has become quite the little chowhound lately, I thought I'd make a little "Katie Corner" to show you all of her noshes...ya know, if you're interested in that sorta thing.  If not for anyone else, I know this will THRILL my Mom, so I'll probably be sharing a lot (Hi Mom!).

SHEESH!  I had a lot of chatter today....let's get on with it, shall we????

8:00am:  Hot lemon water

Here I go....chattering already, but I've GOT to share this with you guys!  Soo...wanna hear the craziest thing??  I've read that drinking a glass of hot water with the juice of 1/2 a lemon first thing in the morning aids digestion, weight loss and all sorts of health benefits (read about em here!), but the main reason I drink it?  IT ACTUALLY KILLS MY CRAVINGS!!!!  Like, DEAD FLAT!  Ya know those weeks where you could KILL someone for chocolate around 2pm??  Well...let me tell you: if I have lemon water in the morning = I couldn't care less.  Did you hear me??  Couldn't. Care. Less.  For chocolate!  For salt!  It's insanity.  For whatever reason it's the thing that makes me PAUSE and ask myself "Do I REALLY want that" before I actually indulge.  Don't ask me why this is true...but I hope it works for you as well as it does for me!  It's not 10000% EVERY time, but it DOES work a good 96% of the time...and those are good enough odds that I'll buy stock in lemons all my live-long daysJ

9:00am:  Coffee with skim & 2 teaspoons honey

9:45am:  Breakfast- "Biggest Loser Oatmeal/Protein Pancakes" with 3 teaspoons peanut butter & a drizzle of maple syrup

These 'cakes are a base blend of oats, egg whites & cottage cheese but give you that carb-y, satisfying feel of pancakes while not weighing you down AND filling you up.  They ACTUALLY taste more like french toast than pancakes...but really, who's going to complain about that?J

10:30-11:45am:  POWER YOGA!

1:00pm:  Lunch- Green Monster Smoothie

• 1/2 cup unsweetened light coconut milk
• Coconut flavored Yoplait Greek yogurt
• 1 banana
• 1 tablespoon Chia seeds
• 2-3 cups of spinach
• 4 ice cubes 

2:45pm: Snack- 2 Trader Joe's Graham Crackers with lite cream cheese

Probably should have had an apple, but this was just what I was wishing for and it kept me full until dinner.

And speaking OF...

6:00pm: DINNER- Toasted Orzo chicken soup 

 Warm, comforting & cozy...just what was needed on the chilly night that was Wednesday in NJ!

I loved the pulled chicken & how light it all tasted with the veggies & broth.  My only swap was to use whole wheat orzo (although that's tough to find some times) & the 2 tablespoons of butter used to toast said orzo seemed a bit much.  Less than a tablespoon would definitely have been enough.  Besides that, it was perfectly winter-y appropriate.

8:00pm:  DESSERT- 2 Vanilla Joe-Joe's

10:00pm:  

• 12 of each: bicep curls, lateral raises, tricep extensions, overhead press, chest fly
• "Booty Blast": 12 standing leg stretches to the right, 12 to the back, 12 squats.  Repeat on the left side.
• 30 side leg raises on each side

Anddddd in "Katie's Corner"....we have all of the soup veggies that I broke up for her and she scarfed down...even the garlic slices...hehehehehheeJ 

• carrots
• zucchini
• pulled chicken
• whole wheat orzo
• onions & garlic

 And I even managed to whirl up the leftovers of the soup...

...into 5 days worth of lunch!  Weeeeeeeeeeee! 

Soooo, how do you like the new format?  I'm hoping to keep it interesting with different tidbits in case things get too repetitive.  I'll try my best to keep it simple, so I can keep it consistent!

Have a great Thursday, everyone!

2 summer delights....

Hey everyone...hope you had a great weekend!  I CAN. NOT. BELIEVE. that it's the LAST week in August.  NOT that I'M complaining!  I couldn't be MORE excited that Saturday is SEPTEMBER 1st! (even if the forecast is "hot & humid"...bleh!)  But I thought I'd show you 2 dinners we had where I actually EMBRACED the beauties of summer....

Starting with last Saturday where we piled into the car and took Miss Katie on her first ever annual beach picnic...

And like last time, we make a quick stop to Jersey Mike's subs along the way.  Although this time we had someone to guard the bagJ 

This year I went with the grilled veggie wrap, which was made with grilled peppers & onions, along with provolone cheese, shredded lettuce & ranch dressing on a wheat wrap...  

This thing was SO. DAMN. GOOD!  I was pleasantly surprised since I felt like branching out from my usual tuna fish.  I will definitely get this one again!

So after out dinner and introducing Katie to the Atlantic...

....we made a quick stop before heading home.  One that is so very necessary, it's a crime not to goJ 

Hoffman's ice cream in Point Pleasant is TRULY some of the best ON. THE. PLANET!  On our car ride home, Scott & I tried to rack our brains to think of anyplace better and really couldn't come up with one.  (although Lake Champlain in Vermont, Flamingo Crossing in Key West & Berthillon in Paris rank right up there.  And no, for the record, Italian gelato is just in a category unto itselfJ)

Again, we gathered up our tickets.  (At least this time they were already on 37 when we got there!)

And I got my VERY favorite from there:  Chocolate Chip...and a scoop of a now NEW favorite: BROWNIE ALA MODE! 

For the love that is all good & holy, if you are in NJ...GET. TO. HOFFMAN'S!  The chip ice cream tastes like pure whipped CREAM, dotted with chocolate CHUNKS....while the Brownie, oh my the brownie, had chunks of brownie bites & swirls of fudge.  Just too die for!!

Even if SOMEONE was NOT impressed...J

Last night's dinner was another definite embrace of 'summer delights,' if I do say so myself...

It all started with these beautiful zebra tomatoes I found at the farmer's market on Saturday.  The end of August is certainly the peak of tomato harvest season in Jersey and I knew I had to give a new variety a try.. 

So while at the market, I also gathered up some fresh mozzarella... 

....a nice loaf of Italian bread... 

...and PLENTY of fresh basil. 

(and don't forget the sea salt & good quality olive oil to bring out all of the great flavors!!)

A quick roast of the sweet zebra tomatoes...

...and a chip chop of the rest of the ingredients and dinner was served!  (oh yeah...I tossed some sliced prosciutto on there for good measure tooJ) 

Load everything up on a slice of baguette and you have the perfect summer bites! 

I was so happy I had tried the SUPER SWEET zebra tomatoes even though they were not the ones I usually pick out.  The market is the GREAT place to find & try out produce you might not be familiar with.  And even better yet, you have plenty of farmers & workers there who will give you the 'insider tips' on what are great for different types of dishes.  (comes especially handy in the fall when you have 87 varieties of apples and someone there to tell you what's great to eat vs. great to bake!)

Alrighty...well after 2 summer-y posts, I better get back to this super gloomy day we're having today.  I only wish it was 65 and chilly hoodie weather rather than UBER humid.  SOOOOOOOOOOO ready for THAT!  hehehehehhehee...

Have a great Monday!J