Much more satisfying = theme of the day...

Thursday Recap:

Workout:  2 sets arms & legs with 8 pound weights

Breakfast:  2 Blueberry Oat Bars

Snack:  1/2 turkey sandwich + 2 slices avocado + mustard on Sprouted Wheat toast 

Lunch:  Asian Fish Tacos 

I split the soy sauce/sesame oil/lime marinated piece of tilaipa between TWO corn tortillas this time and my Mom & I (who joined me for this lunch both days) agreed it was MUCH more filling & satisfying than in one tortilla.  Not to mention:  Quite a bit less messyJ  Only problem with this lunch?  The cole slaw, which I had made on Tuesday, had time to marinate with its microplaned RAW GARLIC and wooooooooooooooooooo...it was a LOT of mints & teeth brushing after THATJ  Hahahahahaha....

Snack:  Chocolate chip coconut Larabar

CAN'T STOP/WON'T STOP.  These TOTALLY fix an afternoon sugar-craving in a jiff!

Dinner:  Zucchini noodles in "bolognese"  (1/2 pound ground turkey mixed with 1/2 jar of Bove's Roasted Garlic Sauce <- 2="" i="" makes="" servings=""> 

After years of nearly lacerating my fingers with the mandolin, I finally bought one of those handy veggie spiralizers (I bought the Veggetti version) and the noodles came MUCH more "noodle-like" and in turn, tasted more satisfying & hearty.  I gave em a quick saute in garlic and oil, but still left em pretty 'sturdy,' which made em fairly similar to al denti pasta.  Very delicious.  And thanks to THEONLYJARSAUCEI'LLUSE, this dinner came together in under 20 minutes...which was a VERY good thing since I was pretty beat last night.

Which brings us to:  WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, it's FRIDAY!!!!  And May!  How bout them apples??  Hope you guys have some great plans.  We don't have too many, but I'm hoping as much of our time as possible can be spent out in the SUNSHINE!  (who am I kidding?  Katie will practically live out there the next 2 daysJ)

Have a great weekend!

Perfect breakast/Subpar dinner...

Wednesday Recap:

Breakfast:  Tone it Up "Perfect Morning Quinoa"  

So let me tell ya:  This recipe is aptly named, because IT IS PERFECT.  I never, ever, EVER thought I'd say such things about a quinoa breakfast, but it was so sweet & yummy with NONE of that 'discernable quinoa taste' (infinitely better than the first one I ever made back in 2010!....WAY before I knew about the importance of RINSING dried quinoa!)  The only adjustment to the above recipe was that the normal TIU Nutrition Program was made with 1/4 cup COOKED quinoa vs. the 2 1/2 cup the above recipe mentions.  Not sure which one is accurate, but I found this (+ the protein from the almonds) very filling.  Nice surprise and def throwing this one into the morning rotation to make it often and a lot!  

Snack:  Blueberry oat bar 

Already wrapped up in a napkin as my on-the-go snack for....

Workout:  Power Yoga Class

And one that ended in the LEAST amount of aches & pains in the last few weeks.  Hallelujah!J

Lunch:  Turkey Sandwich + 1 cup carrots + 1 orange 

There goes that HUGE lunch again...weeeeeeeeeeeeee!  One that kept me COMPLETELY fueled for the afternoon, thankfully, since it involved a FAB time at the park with Katie and one of her little buddies...J

Snack:  Chocolate Chip Coconut Larabar

I wasn't really even THAT hungry by the time 'snack time' rolled around...but more about wanting to get my fix from another one of these FAB barsJ  My poor pre-prepped snacks I had made for the week have taken a backseat next to theseJ

Dinner:  Chicken & Mango salsa lettuce wraps + broccoli 

OK, I gotta admit, these were a little 'uninspired' last night.  In TIU's defense, their original recipe called for marinated tempeh, which may have been a bit different from the 'boring-ness' that turned out to be our chicken (in an attempt not to torment Scott TOO much, I held off from feeding him tempehJ)  I think maybe with some lime-coated GRILLED chicken this woulda been delish, but honestly I didn't even finish it all since it was kinda boring.  Can't complain for only 2 'sorta dud' recipes in 3 weeks.  Thankfully I wasn't too hungry anyway, after a full day of good/filling eats.

Dessert- Mini Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard

Not to mention I had our "Wednesday night Survivor treat" to look forward toJ  Had to go with an ole reliable classic fav last nightJ  

Man, I feel like we've been spoiled this week since it's been a week of BEAUTIFUL weather.  Today's supposed to be another beautiful day and the weekend just looks RIDICULOUS.  I can already hear the sound of jacked-up parking prices coming from the Jersey Shore.J  A sure-fire sign that sunny days are straight aheadJ

Have a great Thursday!J

Plans for the unplanned...

Tuesday Recap:

Workout:  2 sets arms & legs with 8 pounds
Yep.

Breakfast:  2 blueberry bars  (recipe from TIU Bikini Series)

I'm so bummed the pretty purple/blue hue from these bars isn't evident in this picture!  These were such a bright and yummy mix of fresh blueberries, oats, almonds, dates, maple syrup...and MORE oats.  Sooooooo delicious.

Snack:  1/2 turkey sandwich + 2 slices avocado (and mustard) on sprouted grain wheat brain 

How's that for a SNACK??  Pretty sweet right?  And totally Bikini Series approved!

 Lunch:  Asian Fish Taco (TIU Bikini series recipe)

Soy sauce, lime juice and sesame oil marinated tilapia, topped with cucumbers and cole slaw mix tossed with mayo, rice vinegar & fresh garlic and piled onto a crisped corn tortilla, these were soooooooooo cool and refreshing.  And much like I said yesterday about how you need to make things manageable for you:  The recipe for these tacos were A LOT more involved (including a jicama & cucumber salsa), but this was my scaled down/easy variation that I knew I would be just fine with.  So instead of driving yourself crazy tracking down jicama & vegenaise, just use what you have and make it EASY on yourself.  

And I SWEAR, there WAS tilapia piled under there!  These are on the menu again for lunch later this week and I think I might split it up between 2 corn tortillas next time since all the toppings were tough to keep together in one 'tila.  I think the 60 extra calories will be worth itJ 

Snack:  Chocolate Chip Coconut Larabar

This wasn't the 'originally planned snack,' but I bought them as 'snack back-ups' yesterday and was just DYING to try this flavor.  And trust:  it was sooooooooooooooooooooooo good!!!!

Dinner:  Jo-Jo's Pizza

And speaking of 'not originally planned,' this dinner was FAR from the TIU meal we were planning, but after my Great Aunt called asking for an impromptu pizza party (and don't impromptu plans work out about 85% better than scheduled ones sometimes??), I just could NOT turn her down and instead, just kept myself under control with the 'just full' lessons I've been learning OVERTIME lately.

I started by filling up on balsamic salad filled with roasted red peppers, tomatoes & fresh mozzarella...

And then I stuck to one piece of tomato-garlic...

...and one of the white-broccoli...

Jo-Jo's is yet ANOTHER place in Hamilton, NJ that serves EXCELLENT pizza and it was TOUGH to put the breaks on.  The only thing that kept me from reaching for another slice was knowing I was going to go from "just full" to "OVERLY FULL" from one more slice and knew it wasn't worth it.  It's easy to reel it in when you can think of it that way...but admittedly, HARD to conjure up that thought when you have that pizza staring you in the faceJ  

So, yep, another example this week how ya still gotta live and be normal while keeping it togetherJ  It was a little tough, but better than waking up feeling gross & stuffed this morning.  It's ALSO better than being the person who orders 'just the salad', cause they're trying to be healthy when they really want pizza, but instead just stares longingly at it and spears their salad while hating life.  Don't hate life, don't be that personJ Eat and enjoy in moderation and you'll be much happierJ  

(again-I write all of this just as much as a reminder to myself as it is to share these reminders with all of you!)

Now:  To get right back at it and have my planned quinoa breakfastJ  

Have a great Wednesday!   

Thanks, Simba...

Thursday Recap:

10:00am:  Breakfast- Coconut Larabar

+

12:30pm:  Lunch- 2 Manicotti

And in the world of "most random lunch," I UNEARTHED these from the depths of my freezer because I decided HOT & CHEESY were the only things I wanted for lunch yesterday.  At 270 calories for 2 manicotti  + 80 calories for 1/2 a cup of Bove's Garlic sauce, I deemed this decadent lunch NOT a disaster.  And can we all agree, NOT a disaster for HOT & CHEESY is always a win??J

3:30pm:  Snack- Apple with peanut butter

With thoughts of FALL and APPLE PICKING dancing through my head, I must sayJ

6:00pm:  Dinner- "Happy Salad"

And even though I was 'happy' to balance out my decadent lunch with a lighter dinner, the only bummer was the lighter dinner was due to the fact that I now have a full-blown sick SCOTT on my hands.  And while he was relegated to soup & lounging on the couch, I slammed down this salad while chasing Katie around.  OH...who should I mention is ALSO sick BUT that doesn't mean she slows down for a second!J  Thank goodness for The Lion King...it's the only thing that stops this kid in her tracks...at least for a little whileJ

Well...we'll see how all of Scott's birthday plans for the weekend shake up.  It's not looking too promising at the moment, as he might be celebrating with copious bowls of chicken noodle soup from his beloved basement couchJ

Hope you guys have a healthier weekend!J

Official Taste Tester...

Tuesday Recap:

Workout:  20 minute HIIT routine

10:30am:  Breakfast- Perfect Fit Protein Pancake with Blueberries

Giving it a "Garden State" twist this morning, seeing as how blueberries are RIDICULOUSLY cheap at this small moment in the year.  These were so sweet that maple syrup wasn't even a thought!

1:30pm:  Lunch- "Caprese Chicken" 

I. AM. OBSESSED with all things Caprese lately (ya know, if you haven't noticed my 86 recipes devoted to the subjectJ)  I had some tomatoes that were begging me to be roasted yesterday and whipped up this Grilled Chicken + Laughing Cow + Tomato & Basil lunch variation....SOOOOOO FRESH & delicious.

And yes, I swear, there WAS chicken in there somewhereJ 

3:00pm:  Snack- Coconut Cream Pie Larabar

Wanted to make some Mango Coconut Bites, but this satisfied the 'sweet craving' without me having to break out the food processor yesterday afternoonJ  Cause let's be honest:  Sometimes ya just don't FEEL like bustin out the food processorJ

6:00pm:  Dinner- Veggie Spring Rolls with Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce

Much like the food processor, at the 11th hour, I kinda wasn't in the mood to dice up ALL those vegetables.  And by all those vegetables, I mean...like, 5. 

I know.  It was THAT kinda day (didn't I say it was GLOOMY??)  

But then I always manage to smack myself on the forehead when the "HUGE PROJECT" actually takes less than 10 minutesJ  Seriously, the "toughest" were the carrot curls (done with a vegetable peeler) and those took about a minute and a half.  Opppsss...J

Give a quick chop (or peel) to:

• Carrots
• Lettuce
• Green Onions
• Cucumbers
• Avocado
• Basil and/or cilantro

Katie took her position as 'veggie tester' very seriously...

 She deemed this EXTREMELY CRUCIAL to the process since she refused to leave that chair the ENTIRE time we were 'cooking.'J

She also sampled the peanut butter dipping sauce to makes sure Scott made it up to her standards.  He got an "Mmmmm....Dat's Good!"    

SUCCESS!

Next we got to rollin the ...well...ROLLS... 

Filled with the veggies and topped with a sprinkle of the fresh herbs, an addition to my usual rolls that I just LOVEEEEEDDDD!  It really added to all of the fresh flavors...

...dipped in the side of protein via the peanut butter sauce and this made for a filling & SUPER light dinner.  Not to mention, does it get much more fun than eating veggies all wrapped up in a near-cellophane wrapper?  Katie seemed to think it was pretty cool too...although not as much as the samples she so proudly sidled up to tryJ

We also rounded out dinner with some fresh corn...cause that's just what ya gotta do in the summer time!  I don't think corns EVER been THIS good THIS early.  Seems like all the best corn is usually in the last few weeks of August, but they are SUPER sweet and tender RIGHT NOW!  Maybe all that snow & ice in the winter was good for something!  (didn't do 'strawberry season' any favors though...sigh)  We had em with a little chili lime salt from Austin, which Katie gave her stamp of "Good!"

8:00pm:  Dessert- Bites of leftover cake

Yeah...so that happened.  I need something to catch my tears from the "Farewell to Derek Jeter" All-Star game last night.  

This whole retiring thing is not going very well for me.  I shall be wearing black for the entire month of OctoberJ

I'm kidding.

(I'm not kidding at all)

Have a great Wednesday, everyone!

Random trifecta...

Morning, all!  Well, yet another busy weekend flew by with TONS of summer fun and not a whole lotta food photos from the weekend...oppps!  I actually had REMEMBERED to bring my camera a couple places and STILL forgot to take photosJ  One step closer though...amiright??J

The only pics I got were these AWESOME tacos we got from Mogo Korean Fusion Taco on the boardwalk at Asbury Park.  (they also have a restaurant on the main street in Asbury.)  I tried both the Korean beef topped with Asian pico de gallo.. 

...and the shrimp, topped with sliced cucumbers, red peppers & onions...

What I loved about them (besides eating them with a prime ocean view) was how FRESH everything tasted.  The beef was tender and perfectly seasoned, while the cool shrimp was complimented by all the fresh, crunchy toppings.  Two thumbs WAY up for these babies!  A pretty big step up for your normal beach fare, no???J

Oh...and I also got a picture of this NUTELLA ICE CREAM CAKE that I had made for our dessert on Sunday night.  Ummmmm....Nutella coated rice krispies mixed with (Slow churned) vanilla ice cream??  Ummmm...you can get behind that, right??J

And again, that ALL circles us right back to Monday!  Maybe NEXT weekend I'll do better with the 'weekend recap photos'J

Monday Recap:

9:30am:  Breakfast- Coconut Cream Larabar

12:00pm:  Lunch- 1 Slice of leftover pizza from Treno (dinner on Friday night...not pictured)

3:00pm:  Snack-  Plum 

+ a Chocolate Peanut Butter Skinnygirl bar

Not usually a big fan of eating "2 bars in one day," but after the DELICIOUS plum wasn't really cutting it in the 'filling department,' I cracked open this box of treats from my girl Bethenny that I had gotten from Target on Friday.

These were filling from the protein and were VERY 'candy bar-esq'!  They were chewy, gooey and sprinkled with enough salt to bring out all the flavors.  If you want a sweet treat in the afternoon, skip the vending machine and grab one of these babies!  I guarantee they'll cure any cravings and keep you full for the rest of the afternoon.

5:30pm:  Dinner- Classic Summer dinner! 

Remember I missed out on this on Thursday??  Well, it finally made its appearance yesterday...complete with corn on the cob!  Can't get more summer than this mealJ 

Workout:  Beginner's Power Yoga

And once I got home, I tucked right back into my book that I've been OBSESSED with since I picked it up from the library on Saturday... (I know, I'm only 96 years behind the rest of the planet by JUST reading this now...but better late then neverJ)

...and speaking of the library, tell me THIS isn't the most random trifecta of books ever picked up at the same time..J 

Drama, comedy and some new age-ness for my "yoga self," I couldn't help cracking up every time I saw these all stacked together on my night standJ  You guys have any good recommendations???

Alrighty...well, I left Katie with a pack on markers & a notebook to keep her busy while I wrote this post.  I should probably find out what surfaces the markers ALSO graced while I typed awayJ hahahhaaha

Have a great Tuesday!J