Mix of highs & lows...

 ...CALORIES, that isJ

Morning, everyone!  Hope you guys had a great Memorial day weekendJ  If MONTHS can fly by in a blink and it surprises me how fast it goes, it REALLY shouldn't surprise me that three day weekends go by even quicker....and yet it SHOCKS me every timeJ hahahahahah

On the food front, we kept this weekend with a great mix of "keepin it healthy" & "keepin it fun"J

On Friday, we kicked off the weekend with (PORTIONED!) plates of spaghetti (or as Katie said: "bisghetti"J) and these little yummy mini pudding pies...

Mini phyllo cups filled with low-fat pudding and topped with light whipped cream.  These take 2 minutes to make and make for a total sweet tooth fix.  We love them....except that the phyllo dough sticks to your teeth like CRAZY.  You've been warnedJ

Saturday night brought us some homemade PF Chang's Lettuce wraps...

...I followed this exact recipe, except I added a 1/2 bag of cole slaw mix.  It managed to REALLY stretch out the 1/2 pound of ground turkey into 7 lettuce wraps (2 for me, 4 for Scott & 1 for Katie).  Katie, meanwhile, honed her 'wrap skills' quite wellJ 

I tried to make a 'salad & turkey' plate for her, but OH NO!  She saw Mommy & Daddy 'wrapping,' so she was gonna join in the funJ

The filling only took a tumble out of the back twiceJ  We'll chalk that up to a victoryJ

We also finished off Saturday night with a little treat:  COOKIE BUTTER POPCORN to be exact! 

All I did was pop some corn, microwave 2 tablespoons of cookie butter along with 2 teaspoons of coconut oil for 30 seconds (or until it was thinned out) and then give the cookie butter & a shake of sea salt a toss with the popcorn... 

I'm just gonna go out on a limb & say that the whole grain goodness of the popcorn totally canceled out the calories from the cookie butter....(I mean, RIGHT??J )  Either way, we kept our portions low enough so COOKIE BUTTER POPCORN can fit into any day of the weekJ

And then things descended into maddnessJ  Kid.  I kidJ  But Sunday brought our 'Memorial weekend foodie road trip' as we headed up to Rahway, NJ and took in this little gem known as "Kim's in the Mix."

To say this place was BEYOND charming, sweet & adorable is an understatement.  Add to that is the family atmosphere where we were served with a SMILE from Kim's Mom, Andre.  She was so sweet that we were sharing pictures of Katie with her by meals endJ

And on top of THAT, the food was OUTSTANDING.  We started with the unnecessary, but TOTALLY worth itJ, cheesy hush puppies...

Neither of us could pass these up after not being able to remember the last time either of us HAD hush puppiesJ  But these put all memories to rest with their SUPER CRISP exterior and savory with a hint of sweet interior.  DIVINE.

AND THEN CAME OUT THE BIG GUNS!!!!!

I had been talking up CHICKEN & WAFFLES ever since the first time I had them at Roscoe's in LA (almost 10 years ago...EEE!) and I was SO GLAD to FINALLY make Scott a believer in the magicJ  Sweet waffles topped with savory chicken....and that chicken, by the way, was some of the best I've ever had.  It tasted pan fried, rather than deep fried, and was moist and not greasy in the slightest.

I wish I had gotten a better picture of my sides of some of the best mac & cheese I've EVER eaten and one of the most amazing sides:  APPLES.  YES, THE APPLES!  I let Miss Andre pick out my '2nd side' and when she suggested apples, I was only slightly disappointing since FRIED CORN sounded REALLLLLY goodJ  But I am SO GLAD I took her advice since I don't know WHAT kinda magic they put in those simple apples that made them taste like a little cup of APPLE PIE.  And when you mix THOSE with the chicken & waffles...well, that definitely ranks up there with a bite worthy of your lastJ 

And I didn't even get a picture of Scott's dinner of pulled pork, collards, potato salad & cornbread...since we literally ate like wolves...

I DID eat mindfully and kept checking whether I was full after each bite, but after sharing & splitting our plates, I have no honest track of how much I chowed downJ

WORTH IT.

Oh, that's right.  And there was still dessert to be hadJ  Kim's cake menu ALONE was enough to get you in the door.  After Miss Andre explained the varieties she had available, she helped us pick out 2 good onesJ  Scott originally ordered the vanilla cake with chocolate layers and her response was something along the lines of "is that what you like?"  hahahahahahaha  She said it was good, but that this German Chocolate cake was "nice."  And given that her expertise was nailed with those aforementioned apples, we were definitely NOT afraid to take her recommendation...

I had 2 bites of the German chocolate (which Scott LOVED), but I can't honestly say I remembered it too much as I was in my oblivion from my dessert:  BANANA PUDDING CAKE!

Miss Andre told us how this was the restaurant's signature dessert & had many article write ups and awards.  How the hell am I gonna pass THAT up???  And even in the face of PINEAPPLE COCONUT CAKE, I knew I had to order this one up...

And much like apples, again Miss Andre's suggestion was one of the best things I've ever tasted.  Holy hell, just looking at that picture is making my mouth waterJ  Sweet vanilla cake SHROUDED in creamy, dreamy banana pudding topped with sliced bananas.  It was TOUGH to stop at HALF, but my FULLNESS had DEFINITELY reached its peak by this pointJ  I was thankful this thing was served in a to-go container, as the leftovers certainly made the trek home with meJ  

We can't say enough sweet things about "Kim's in the Mix" and it's SUPERB service and crazy, wonderful food.  DEFINITELY a place where you can 'taste the love' in the food and leave feeling like you just sat down for dinner with a kind & sweet family.  Love, love, love!  If you're ever in the Rahway area...DO NOT MISS THIS PLACE!

Anndddddd after our big lunch/dinner (linnerJ) on Sunday, we tried to start off our day Monday on a little bit of a lighter note, with RED, WHITE & BLUE berry parfaits...(the white is courtesy of the brown sugar yogurt a la Pioneer Woman, sans the heavy cream, FYIJ)...

...followed quickly by a double gym session of advanced Pilates & Body Flow.  It was my first workout all weekend (wasn't feeling it Saturday and boxing class was canceled on Sunday), but it felt OH SO GOOD to get my body back in 'exercise motion' yesterday morning.  I was OK with my 'break' and then just READY to get up and get started again.  THAT'S how ya gotta do it.  NO GUILT!  Just movin forwardJ

OH yeah...and it did help me feel A LITTLE bit better about our 'traditional meal' of all the picnic goods...

I didn't plan on it, but went back for seconds (or thirds) of my friend's 'famous' baked beans and INCREDIBLE avocado-studded orzo salad.  I could have eaten the ENTIRE bowl of that salad had I been left to my own devices and 'scale ignoranceJ hahahahaha

Oh yeah...and we also had corn on the cob with my traditional "Katie eating corn" picture...because I can't get enough of the cuteness levelJ

And we finished off the weekend with a group-decided new favorite dessert:  Heavenly Blueberry & Cream Angel Dessert...(which I made in mini mason jars for portion control for the ladiesJ)  No worries- the guys got to devour out of a bowlJ)

Layers of (low-fat) cream cheese laced angel food cake, fresh whipped cream & sweet blueberries made this a definite winner.  The angel food cake layer actually tasted like CHEESECAKE...with a fraction of the calories & fat.  I have a feeling this is going to be a summer staple around these parts.  It was as divine as it was easy to make.

ALRIGHT...THAT was a lotJ  And in full disclosure, I weighed myself, as usual, on Monday morning (post-Kim's, but pre-picnic) and was VERY pleased with the results.  Made me happy that despite our SPLURGE meal at Kim's, our healthy choices for every other meal the REST of the weekend kept it all in check.  It's what I always say:  BALANCE IS KEY!  Although today's order of the day is CHUGGING WATER!  Definitely didn't do enough of that over the weekendJ

HAVE A GREAT TUESDAY!J

Good for the soul...

Hey everyone!  Hope you had a great weekend.  Ours whipped by so fast that I think my head is still spinning!  Did you guys do anything fun??

I have to rewind a bit and show you the dinner I promised that was accompanied by a PORTIONED amount of those magical Austin corn chips:  Corn Chip ChiliJ

I took a page from my "Frito Pie" (hmmmm...I may have to break out that very recipe out for the upcoming football season!) and just swapped the Fritos for the yummy chipsJ

First up, I chopped the remainder of our sweet peppers from the farmer's market...

Not gonna lie, they were kind of a pain to slice and deseed all of these.  I felt like I had seeds EVERYWHERE because they were so small & skinny.  (think if we keep eating them though, that we'll all be 'small & skinny' too???!! J)

6 days & 8 hours later (or at least it felt that way), I finally had all of the peppers chopped and tossed in a pan along with a little olive oil, a diced onion and a few diced cloves of garlic... 

After the peppers cooked about 10 minutes, I tossed in some ground turkey breast to brown... 

Once everything was cooked through, I added them to my slow cooker along with a 1/2 a bottle of BBQ sauce...THIS ONE to be specific: 

Sweet with just a HINT of spice, this sauce was MUCH thinner than the usual BBQ sauce I'm used to.  I'm wondering if that's a regional thing or a specialty of that brand.  

#ponderments

Anyway, because I said my day had been SEVERELY lacking in the veggie department on Wednesday, I decided to toss in 2 diced zucchini to bump up the nutrient department... 

The great thing about chili is that, as long as the seasonings are correct, you can pretty much add ANYTHING to it and it's STILL going to taste like chili.  If you want to 'trick' your family into eating vegetarian one night, chili is the way to go because with or without meat, it still pretty much all tastes the same.

Also into the slow cooker went:

• 28 oz. can of crushed tomato
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 1 can drained & rinsed kidney beans

I let that simmer on low for about 5-6 hours....or pretty much until the aromas wafting from the slow cooker were too overpowering to handle, so we had to rip off the lid and just DIG IN!

First, I added a handful of chips to the bowl, topped for a scoop of chili and finally a sprinkle of grated cheddar cheese & some diced scallions...

And I really did stick to just ONE handful of chips rather than snacking mindlessly.  It was MUCH easier to do when you had a bunch of other goodies to devour as well.

Well, that and keeping an eye on Katie as she devoured her own little bowl of chili. 

Yeah...no more baby utensils or bowls for Miss Independent.  She's movin up in the culinary world.

She even enjoyed herself a few (messy!) bites of corn chips too..hahahahahahahhaJ 

That night, Scott also noted that he can't remembers an August where we've eaten so many dinners out on the back porch thanks to the BEAUTIFUL weather lately.  Not only were we cool & comfortable, but we were eating bowls of hot CHILI.  That's an August FIRST, I'm pretty sure of it.    

But it IS still summer after all and in order to 'embrace' these last 2 weeks, I also made the classic summer dessert:  Popsicles!

Which I decided to make WHILE making the chili....which led to THIS:

I'm a very orderly cook.

Anyway, I halved this recipe and made a yummy chocolate pudding popsicle layered with SALTED CARAMEL!

They LOOK difficult, but they actually were really easy.  I made one pudding base and then just separated it and added chocolate chips to one half and then salted caramel (yes, you have to make that too...but it's not that hard either) to the other half.  Not too shabby for something that sounds 'so fanc'!

Saturday night turned out to be equally as deliciousJ  While Katie hung out with Nona for the night...

Scott & I snuck away to the Jersey Shore for our traditional 'picnic on the beach' in Point Pleasant...

 And in 'tradition fashion,' we made a stop at Jersey Mike's for a chiptole cheesesteaks for him...

...and a classic tuna for her.

Delicious as always.  Or maybe they were so good because it was just such a PEACEFUL & GORGEOUS night out!  We hung out way past sunset and just listening to the waves crashing on the beach.  

I'm tellin ya, the beach during the day is awesome & fun, but the shore at night is just good for the soulJ

And of course we had to make a stop at Hoffman's for some of the best ice cream on the planetJ  I went with just a scoop of chocolate chip...which literally had GOLD MINES of the good stuff hidden throughout the cup...delicious!

The rest of the weekend was spent visiting some friends, an awesome Boxing class & going to see "The Conjuring" on Saturday afternoon with one of my bestiesJ  She's gonna kill me for posting these, but they're JUST TOO FUNNY!!!!  

Here's the "Before" picture when she was nervous, but EXCITED, to see the movie:

...and here she was DURING, in one of the few moments her sweater wasn't covering her eyesJ

I thought it was really scary too....although not as much as my friend who said she wanted to throw up, crawl out of her skin and CRYJ  (Sorry Mare!!! hahahahahahahhaa)  But regardless, I LOVE me a greatttt scary movie...especially with the HALLOWEEN season on the horizon...MWAHAHA!

Anyway, that's about all I got for you today.  Hope you guys were ready to face Monday morning feeling ready for the week (although, does that ever REALLY happen??)

Have a great Monday!J

July 4th & getting back in the swing...

Hi everyone!  Hope you had a great holiday and celebrating the 4th in summer style!  Speaking of, summer has official come to NJ.  And a crazy one at that!  Everyday it is INTENSELY hot & humid, with a torrential downpour tossed in nearly once a day just for fun.  I had to laugh when I was driving on Thursday and was able to WATCH a downpour coming RIGHT towards me and within a mere 5 seconds, it had passed right over.  I almost feel like leprechauns and fairies are controlling the weather because it is JUST. SO. BIZARRE!

Anyway...back to the eats to wrap up our 4th...

8:30am: Breakfast-Handful of toasted coconut almonds

9:30am:  Body Jam Class

At a PACKED TO THE MAX gym, I might add!

11:00am:  Lunch-  Very Berry Smoothie

I knew I would be having this strawberry & blueberry smoothie again in the spirit of red, white & blueJ  Not to mention it particularly hits the spot after a wild & sweaty workout.

...even with enough to shareJ

2:00pm: PICNIC TIME!!!!!

So in trying still keeping in the spirit, I had chose to make a WHITE pizza dip, topped with RED mini-pepperonis & served alongside some BLUE tortilla chips.  Only problem?  My dip broiled maybe a weeeeeeeeee bit too long and my white dip turned a little tanJ  So much for my theme!  hahahahahahhaha...

Besides that it was stringy, gooey and cheese deliciousness...that IS the American way after allJ

White Pizza Dip

• 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 8 oz. mozzarella
• 8 oz. provolone
• 1/4 cup grated cheese
• 4 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped basil
• 2 tablespoons dried thyme
• 1/2 tablespoon oregano
• 1/4 cup mini pepperoni

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix cream cheese, 7 oz of each of the mozzarella & provolone, Parmesan & herbs until incorporated.
3. Pour into an oven-safe baking dish and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella, provolone & Parmesan and top with mini pepperoni.
4. Bake 24-30 minutes or until top is golden (but not too golden!) and bubbly.

For our main courses, we had classic "Scott burgers" (burgers made with Lipton onion soup mix and a secret ingredientJ), "Bloom Baked Beans" and my friends newest & latest bacon-laced potato salad, which he needs to make over & over again from here on out (right????!!!)

And for dessert, there was strawberry & blueberry shortcakes with whipped cream keeping with the theme, which I forgot to snap a photo. But I think you can forgive me for not getting a picture when I tell you what our OTHER dessert was:  an American favorite combo- Chocolate brownies with peanut butter icing!

If that doesn't say 'Happy Birthday, America,' I mean, what DOES???

And after all of that good stuff, Scott & I jumped right back on the 'wagon' today before it spiraled into 4 crazy days of eating!  I started today with MORE coconut almonds, 2+ hours of gentle & power yoga classes and yet ANOTHER smoothie (the Ninja is REALLY getting a workout NOW!):

In the mix today:

• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 banana
• 1 handful blueberries
• 2 strawberries
• 1/4 cup non-fat yogurt
• 1 scoop protein powder
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• LOTS of cinnamon
• 4 ice cubes

After yoga, this tasted like HEAVEN!  I even made Scott a matching 'his' smoothie with blueberry yogurt & blueberries after his own workoutJ  We'll see what the rest of the day calls for.  It might not be AS healthy, but at least it started off wellJ

And in random Katie news that I just felt like sharing, I remembered July 4th weekend last year culminated in  her rolling over for the first time (a big day in the land of baby).  But what I forgot was it was ALSO the first time she ate solid food!  I felt like that was 'blog-appropriate' enough to shareJ

Just a mere 365 days later, she's "helping me cook in the kitchen" and inhaling white beans, berries & cheese like crazy for dinner last night.  When they say a lot can happen in a year, there's a good visual representationJ hahahahahhaha

Anyway, Mommy-bragging completion commencing NOW!J  Hope you guys have a great weekend and STAY COOL if you're out & about!J